"Sister Tang, what is this old bark trying to snatch from you?" Di Jiu asked, gripping Xiang Mu by the neck and looking at Tang Xitan.
"Tang Beiwei greets Senior Brother Di. This person tried to steal my Nirvana Tree Fragment, which I bought at great expense at the auction," Tang Beiwei quickly said, having heard about Di Jiu from Tang Xitan.
Now that Di Jiu was here, he was indeed formidable. The sight of Di Jiu reminded Tang Beiwei of her brother; they were the same kind of person. Tang Beiwei was sure she wasn't mistaken.
Xiang Mu knew he couldn't survive relying on himself now, so he quickly looked to Ao Kui and Giles, shrieking, "Fellow Daoist Giles, Fellow Daoist Ao, please help me! I'm also a member of the Hundred Clans Summit, and this man has destroyed many things of the Dragon Clan..."
Xiang Mu was well aware of Di Jiu's strength. Di Jiu had subdued him easily because he relied too much on his own domain and was caught off guard. If four or five late-stage Hunyuan cultivators teamed up against Di Jiu, Di Jiu would definitely be in trouble. Even if they couldn't kill him, they'd force him to flee severely wounded.
With Ao Kui's influence, getting four or five late-stage Hunyuan cultivators to join forces against Di Jiu should be easy.
Ao Kui's face was grim. After living so many years, he could easily tell that if he joined forces with the other Hunyuan Saint Emperors of the Dragon Clan, plus Giles, they could likely seriously injure Di Jiu. But what would be the point? He was sure that a powerhouse like Di Jiu couldn't be kept here.
If they couldn't keep Di Jiu here, wounding him would only bring disaster to the entire Dragon Clan. Could Ao Kui really do such a thing?
"Daoist Di, please show mercy. Xiang Mu is the chief of the Tianmu Clan, and our realm is in crisis..."
Before Giles could finish, a mist of blood exploded. Xiang Mu, gripped by Di Jiu, was reduced to nothingness.
Giles was furious, but he truly didn't dare make a move against Di Jiu. If Ao Kui stepped up to lead, Giles would be the first to join, even pulling in one or two Hunyuan Saint Emperors to besiege Di Jiu. But now, with Di Jiu having destroyed the Dragon Clan's main hall and Xiang Mu openly mentioning it, Ao Kui only looked grim and showed no intention of acting.
"It's your turn," Di Jiu said, walking toward Giles, his domain surging and locking down the space around Giles.
"Daoist Di, please hear me out," Ao Kui finally couldn't hold back and stepped forward. As he did, a mid-stage Hunyuan cultivator and an early-stage Hunyuan cultivator stood to his left and right.
Giles was overjoyed and immediately moved to stand in a pincer formation with Ao Kui, shouting sternly, "I don't care who you are—at a time when our realm faces life and death, you still kill our realm's powerhouses and weaken our strength. Even if I, Giles, pretended not to see, Clan Chief Ao Kui and the other clan chiefs wouldn't just let this go."
As Giles swept his gaze around, two mid-stage Hunyuan Saint Emperors subconsciously moved closer to him.
Di Jiu frowned slightly. If five or six Hunyuan Saint Emperors attacked him at once, he'd be in trouble.
At that moment, Tang Xitan immediately stood by Di Jiu's side, and Tang Beiwei also stepped forward without hesitation. A Hunyuan Saint Emperor who had a good relationship with the Phoenix Clan instinctively moved closer to Di Jiu's group as well.
Seeing things take a turn for the worse, and with Fan Yuan of the Demon Clan and Ma Ju Jia of the Sea Clan showing no intention of acting, Ao Kui quickly called out, "Everyone, calm down. We're here to discuss how to deal with the invading outsiders, not to fight among ourselves."
Giles frowned slightly. If it were just Di Jiu alone, he wouldn't be afraid. But now, with six people on their side and four on Di Jiu's, if a fight broke out, given Di Jiu's strength, their side would surely lose. Besides, if it came to a fight, who knew who the others would support?
"Clan Chief Ao is right. Brother Giles, Daoist Di, this time we're united against foreign invaders—we shouldn't fight among ourselves." Seeing that a fight was unlikely, Fan Yuan stepped forward to play the peacemaker.
Di Jiu pointed at Giles and asked calmly, "Who is this person?"
This was the guy who had teamed up with the old bark to bully Tang Xitan. Even if Di Jiu couldn't kill him now, he wouldn't let him go once they left.
"He's Giles of the Demon Clan," Tang Xitan quickly replied.
Giles? Di Jiu laughed and looked at Giles. "You teamed up with Xiang Mu to suppress my friend earlier. Xiang Mu is dead by my hand. If you don't give me an explanation, I won't let you off today."
If it were anyone else, Di Jiu wouldn't provoke them further—this would be a blatant insult to the Dragon Clan and earn their enmity. But Giles possessed the Radiant Heart, and Di Jiu couldn't let him go.
Sure enough, as soon as Di Jiu spoke, Ao Kui's expression changed.
Not just Ao Kui—even Fan Yuan looked at Di Jiu in surprise. What did this mean? Had he misjudged Di Jiu, who truly dared to keep pushing?
"Brother Di..." Tang Xitan couldn't help but call out. Taking action now was definitely a bad idea, and she didn't understand Di Jiu's intent.
Ao Kui spoke calmly, "Daoist Di, earlier your friend was suppressed by Xiang Mu's domain. You shattered countless restrictions of my Dragon Clan and destroyed our council hall, yet I said nothing. To be fair, I did not handle things justly in my territory, letting Xiang Mu oppress your friend.
But now that Xiang Mu has been killed by you, I won't pursue the matter any further. By rights, you've avenged your friend. If you still wish to act, know that while my Dragon Clan may not be the strongest, we've existed here for countless millennia and will not be bullied by anyone."
As Ao Kui spoke, his perfected Hunyuan domain swept out. The vast aura of dragon might filled the space, and in that instant, Di Jiu felt his own domain loosen and could barely maintain it.
So powerful—Di Jiu was startled. Only now did he realize how formidable a truly perfected Hunyuan cultivator was. Compared to Ao Kui, Xiang Mu, whom he'd killed earlier, was nothing but a paper tiger.
Di Jiu cupped his fists to Ao Kui. "Clan Chief Ao, I apologize for accidentally damaging the Dragon Clan's palace earlier and am willing to pay compensation. But Giles attacked my friend, and I can't let that go. I can allow Giles to leave the Dragon Clan—we'll settle things outside."
Once Ao Kui revealed his strength, Di Jiu understood that to deal with Giles, he absolutely couldn't offend Ao Kui; he wasn't strong enough yet.
Hearing Di Jiu's words, Ao Kui was relieved. He knew full well that Di Jiu had deliberately destroyed the Dragon Clan's palace and restrictions—it wasn't an accident. Now Di Jiu was apologizing and willing to compensate, giving the Dragon Clan both face and a way out. Unless absolutely necessary, Ao Kui had no desire to make an enemy of Di Jiu.
Di Jiu reminded him of someone—the Human Clan's Ye Mo. Back then, Ye Mo was at the Dao Origin Realm and had suppressed Wen Deshui in the Dragon Clan, leaving him speechless. Wen Deshui was far stronger than Xiang Mu; several Xiang Mus wouldn't compare. Di Jiu had just crushed Xiang Mu with ease, just like Ye Mo had done in the past. Both were from the Human Clan, both were supreme powerhouses.
The reason he didn't dare risk everything was because he remembered how Ye Mo had killed five late-stage Hunyuan cultivators who teamed up against him—Ye Mo was also only at the Dao Origin Realm then.
Offending such a powerhouse would bring no benefit to the Dragon Clan—the worst outcome could even be annihilation.
"Since Daoist Di has said so, if I keep holding on, it would make the Dragon Clan seem petty." Ao Kui didn't hesitate and immediately accepted the way out Di Jiu offered. Both face and substance were preserved; for the Dragon Clan, a few superficial losses meant nothing.
Di Jiu turned to Giles and said calmly, "Now it's time to settle our score. When you attacked my friend earlier, was it because you thought the Human Clan had no one to stand up for them?"
Giles took a breath and softened his tone. "What do you want?"
He was truly afraid now. With Ao Kui clearly unwilling to intervene, facing this powerful Human Clan cultivator alone spelled almost certain doom.
(Author's note: Requesting monthly support tickets today.)