At this moment, at the Nangong family estate in Eternal Sun Prefecture, the Nangong family head and numerous clan elders were kowtowing before their ancestor, Nangong Xianliu.
Nangong Xianliu, the same ancestor who had flown into a rage during the family gathering, was now filled with fury. His aged face was flushed red as he pointed a trembling finger at his descendants.
"You… you have deceived me!!!"
Seeing their ancestor's fury, the Nangong family head merely frowned, a sense of sorrow welling up within him. He felt sorrow for the great Nangong family. Their one and only Divinity Transformation expert was as timid as a mouse, content to bow his head to others, with no ambition to speak of.
"Ancestor, please forgive your descendant for deceiving you."
The Nangong family head's expression was blank.
"If you're going to put on an act, you must see it through to the end. Of the great Immortal Clans of Eternal Sun, only six remain, and all eyes are on my Nangong family of the Hundred Treasures Pavilion. If not for what happened that day, how could the other powers of Eternal Sun have been drawn into the scheme? Prince Qian of the Duravia Trade Prefecture has spies everywhere; how else could he have been drawn in?"
Seeing that his ancestor's expression remained grim, the Nangong family head simply raised his chin and met his ancestor's gaze.
"Besides, Ancestor, the story you told was wrong. The founding ancestor of our Nangong family was a merchant. He pursued things that were once far beyond his reach. He grew arrogant and complacent, and he died on the battlefield ."
"But we are different now. Our starting point is different."
"Heroes are born from chaotic times. In the past, those who sought the Immortal Dao did so by following the established rules. But now, the Great Dao must be fought for!"
"After this battle, our Nangong family will no longer be mere merchants. We will stand with the Li family. We will control both the Eternal Sun and the Duravia Trade Prefectures. We will seize more territory, and I will be an overlord!"
"Ancestor…"
The Nangong family head slowly rose to his feet. He waved to his clansmen, then turned his back on his ancestor without a single glance.
"The times have changed. If we continue to stagnate as you say we should, Ancestor, our Nangong family will eventually become meat on someone else's chopping block."
"You…"
Nangong Xianliu watched in stunned silence as his descendants departed. High above the Nangong estate, every member of the clan was taking to the sky on their swords. From beneath the grand formation, armored soldiers and puppets surged like a tide, boarding the spirit arks.
As the spirit arks ascended into the sky, the Nangong family head stood atop a firebird mount. He waved to his clansmen.
"Nangong family of the Hundred Treasures Pavilion, all clansmen, hear my command!"
"Today!"
"Eternal Sun Prefecture is in turmoil, beset by the rebels of the Duravia Trade Prefecture! I have received an order from our Prefecture Lord, Li Dalong, commanding the Nangong family to eradicate this internal threat!"
"My fellow clansmen, follow me and—"
"Suppress the rebellion!"
At that same moment, it was not just the Nangong family.
Countless other powers throughout the Eternal Sun Prefecture, both great and small, were mustering their forces and ascending into the sky. They opened their grand formations and surged out from their territories like a great flood.
They even flew right past the assassins of the Hall of Heavenly Principle.
"Suppress the rebellion!"
"Suppress the rebellion!"
"By order of the Human Emperor, we follow our Prefecture Lord to slay the traitors and kill Prince Qian!!!"
…
"What?!! What are you saying?!!"
The terrifying power of the anti-matter bombs was not the source of Baimei's ultimate despair.
Now, Baimei's shattered body trembled!
"For more than forty years, our Li family has been suppressing these great powers."
Li Wei let out a savage grin.
He was delighted!
"There are too many of them. Too many powers in the Eternal Sun Prefecture. Suppressing them like that is useless. We came from the Azure Cloud Region. We know what it is to be suppressed, and we know that they would never take it lying down. Blindly crushing them would be the work of a fool."
"As long as they harbor resentment, they will forever be a thorn stuck deep in our side."
"But the baser aspects of human nature include more than just resentment. There is also greed!"
"The Great Ming King Temple, the True Yang Faction, the Red Star Fort, the Nangong family… if they were to unite, they could even destroy our Li family !"
"But that doesn't matter. We know what they want. We can accept their greed, we can satisfy their desires, and in doing so, we can make them work for us."
"There is no better way to get them on our side than the promise of more territory, more spirit mines, a larger populace, and more spirit fields."
The old Daoist Baimei saw a demon crawling out from the eighteenth level of hell.
The Li family's Old Ancestor… no, the entire Li family were demons!
"Everything can be used. With enough incentive, potential enemies can become friends. As long as we stand on the deck of the same warship, our interests will be aligned."
"And so, forty years ago, these great powers of Eternal Sun Prefecture presented Prince Qian with a jade slip."
"'One cannot tolerate a potential threat existing so close to one's own sphere of influence.' He thought he was the only one who understood that principle!"
"But we… understand it even better!"
"The first jade slip was sent by the Nangong family. In the years that followed, more and more families pledged their loyalty to Prince Qian. At first, their pledges were false. But later, more and more of them began to truly believe in his cause."
"Our Li family's supposed oppression of the great powers of Eternal Sun Prefecture all those years ago—that was the perfect disguise."
"And the geniuses we sent back to their clans after rescuing them from the Tian Xing Cultivator Abode? They became our most persuasive agents…"
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