Sword Qi to the Sky

Chapter 364 Confrontation
"Don't dare."

The patriarch of the Cui family said, "The imperial court rules the world. Although we are a noble family, we are also under the jurisdiction of the imperial court. However, so many of our Cui family members and cultivators from Qinghe County perished in the battle at Shenmu Manor. Naturally, we must find out what happened to prevent the villains from succeeding in their schemes."

Upon hearing the words of the Cui family patriarch, the crowd erupted in uproar. Judging from the patriarch's words, was he questioning the Prince of Qinghe? Did he even believe that the events at Shenmu Manor and the demonic calamity were a conspiracy?
An Lu squinted at the Cui family patriarch and said with a smile, "The Cui family has been in Qinghe County for many years, and their businesses are spread to every corner of Qinghe County. People outside say that the Cui and Xie families are the local emperors of Qinghe County. Sure enough, they don't even put the imperial court in their eyes. Now it seems that Senior Cui does not intend to cooperate with the imperial court to capture the demon. The interests of the Cui family are above all else?"

After saying this, An Lu's eyes revealed a coldness as sharp as a knife, and an invisible pressure enveloped the world, completely erasing his previous friendly demeanor.

In an instant, the atmosphere in the Prince's mansion seemed to become extremely oppressive. Looking at that obese figure now, it felt like a mountain pressing down on everyone's hearts.

Sure enough, not only was Prince An Shicheng hiding his strength, but Prince An Lu was hiding it even more. At this moment, feeling that powerful aura, this fat prince's strength was definitely no less than that of the Cui family patriarch.

So, is the demonic chaos truly a conspiracy? Or is it that the Cui and Xie families are unwilling to sacrifice their family interests?

"If the Cui family puts its interests above all else, it will be like the Prince, waiting for the imperial court to first quell the demons and monsters, and then the Cui family will follow up and call on the heroes. It will not be like this now." The Cui family patriarch sneered, his words carrying a hidden meaning.

"You actually speak of the Cui family's incompetence with such righteous indignation?" The old Taoist sneered. "If it weren't for the Prince's intervention, the Divine Tree Demon would still be wreaking havoc. Do you really expect the Cui family to slay the demon?"

"Old Taoist, who exactly are you? Why are you putting on airs in Qinghe County?" The Xie family patriarch shouted coldly, his eyes fixed on the Cold Crow Taoist.

“The Taoist priest is a guest I invited to capture the demon. It is thanks to the Taoist priest’s help that we were able to successfully capture the Divine Tree Demon,” An Lu said.

"Is that so?" The Xie family patriarch stared at the old Taoist priest, his eyes sharp: "I've heard that you are skilled in all kinds of magic, possess great supernatural powers, can be both gods and ghosts, and have boundless magic. So, you must also be skilled in demonic magic, right?"

"Insolence!" Daoist Hanya roared, raising his eyes to stare at the Xie family patriarch. "You incompetent fool! I captured a demon for Qinghe County, and you dare to doubt me?"

The burly Taoist, Han Ya, took a step forward and roared angrily, causing the crowd below to tremble. Many whispered, "The Taoist is a celestial being; how could he know demonic magic?"

"Yes, I have personally witnessed the Taoist priest healing and saving people. Some people were on the verge of death but were saved by the Taoist priest. It is truly disheartening that Elder Xie would slander the Taoist priest like this."

"The Prince is indeed remarkable. The matter of the demons had just occurred when the Taoist priest was summoned to Qinghe County. Did he already know beforehand that the demons would cause trouble? Or did the demons only start causing trouble after the Taoist priest arrived?"

The Xie family patriarch didn't care and continued coldly, saying that he had been severely injured in the battle in the wilderness that day, and that something had always felt wrong when he thought about it afterwards.

After being reminded by someone, he realized that the Cui and Xie families were facing a life-or-death crisis.

"You old fool, dare to say another word?" The voice of the Cold Crow Daoist was like a booming bell, echoing throughout the Prince's mansion. His wide robes fluttered in the wind, and his imposing aura swept towards the sky.

"What is there to be afraid of?" the Xie family patriarch roared in response. "Today I will see clearly whether you, this old Taoist who pretends to be a god, are a human or a ghost."

As soon as he finished speaking, it was as if a blazing sun appeared in the sky, with extremely dazzling rays of sunlight pouring down from the heavens. The Xie family patriarch was bathed in it and shone as brightly as the sun.

A divine bow appeared in his hand, and the blazing sunlight fell upon it. The bow seemed to be bathed in golden divine fire, enveloping the boundless land. In an instant, everyone felt an extremely strong scorching airflow, as if the entire Prince's mansion was about to burn.

As the Xie family patriarch drew his bow, a burst of destructive golden flames shot out, and even before the arrow was released, those around him were already terrified.

"Come up and fight!" the Xie family patriarch roared, his figure soaring into the sky, bathed in the sunlight.

"You fool, you're courting death." The majestic body of the Cold Crow Daoist soared into the sky, instantly reaching the high heavens, his powerful aura erupting from his body.

"Die!" the Xie family patriarch roared. Arrows pierced the air, and the crowd only saw a beam of light tear through space, revealing a beam of sunlight in the sky that stung people's eyes.

As the Cold Crow Daoist waved his hand, a huge talisman appeared in front of him. The talisman was burning with golden divine fire and instantly transformed into a huge golden stone tablet that stretched across the heavens and earth.

With a deafening roar, the violent arrow struck the massive stone tablet, causing it to shatter. The arrow continued its trajectory, but the Cold Crow Daoist raised his hand and unleashed a massive palm print, finally intercepting the arrow.

"Such a volatile temper." Everyone looked up at the two people in the sky. Both were seventh-realm cultivators, and they started fighting without saying a word. Both of them seemed to be extremely irritable.

"You're courting death." The Cold Crow Daoist stepped forward, and as he waved his hands, numerous runes appeared in the world, seemingly appearing out of thin air and transforming into countless hanging talismans. As the runes lit up, huge stone tablets appeared, bursting with brilliant light and unleashing a powerful force. The countless inscriptions on the tablets simultaneously shot out, resembling a great Dao phenomenon, and bombarded the Xie family patriarch.

"Little tricks."

The Xie family patriarch shouted coldly, and a great phenomenon also appeared behind him. A huge, boundless divine bow phantom appeared. The Xie family patriarch pulled the bowstring, and countless arrows appeared. When the phantom arrows were shot out, they hit the phantom stone tablets. A violent booming sound was heard, and the surrounding world seemed to explode.

The people below were all greatly alarmed; the fact that what was erupting at this moment was not a real attack was already so terrifying.

Seven Realms, Myriad Realms, Extraordinary Phenomena of Heaven and Earth, Myriad Realm True Man.

"Combine!" Daoist Hanya roared, and all the runes of the heavens lit up at the same time, suppressing the Xie family patriarch. They actually sealed the heavens and earth, and the vast heavenly power suppressed and killed him.

"Buzz..." The Xie family patriarch drew his bow to its fullest extent, and the sunlight fell upon the arrow, emitting boundless brilliance.

"Go." He released his arm, and the many arrows merged into one, striking the inscription directly in front of him.

With a loud cracking sound, the inscription on the stele cracked and then shattered into pieces. The dazzling divine light continued forward, striking towards the Cold Crow Daoist.

The divine light was extremely fast, arriving in an instant. It seemed that Daoist Hanya had no time to react, but he threw a punch forward. That casual punch actually shattered the divine light and blocked the divine arrow attack.

"This is a physical attack."

Everyone looked up in shock at the scene before them. Even though the divine arrow had been weakened by being blocked, its power was still terrifying. The fact that it was blocked by a single punch showed how formidable the Cold Crow Daoist was.

This Taoist is not only powerful in magic, but also possesses unparalleled physical strength.
As he blocked the arrow, the Xie family patriarch unleashed a series of sun-shattering arrows at terrifying speed, each one exploding with a deafening sound, shattering and destroying the inscriptions that were descending to suppress him.

However, the Xie family patriarch stared intently at the Cold Crow Daoist, his eyes devoid of any smugness, but rather cold and solemn.

"His physical strength is comparable to that of a demon." The Xie family patriarch stared at the Cold Crow Daoist and said, "That night, when I fought the old Hou demon, his strength was also domineering and unparalleled. His flesh and blood body could not withstand my divine arrow."

The Cold Crow Daoist raised an eyebrow, staring at the Xie family patriarch and said, "Demon? How do I look like a demon?"

"Did I say you resemble a demon?" The Xie family patriarch looked at the Cold Crow Daoist: "Why are you admitting it without being asked?"

Those below were puzzled upon hearing this.

The words spoken by Daoist Hanya just now were indeed somewhat unusual. The Xie family patriarch only said that his physical strength was comparable to that of a demon and similar to that of the old Hou, but he did not say it explicitly. None of the people below had associated Daoist Hanya with a demon. Why did Daoist Hanya himself make that association?

Could it be that something truly sinister is happening?
Li Fan looked up at the Cold Crow Daoist, his eyes turning golden. The Cold Crow Daoist showed no unusual signs or demonic aura.

At least, he couldn't tell at all.

Moreover, the Prince of Qinghe was, after all, a prince of the imperial court, so he probably wouldn't dare to openly ask demons to capture monsters.

His senior brother told him to watch, so what is the truth?
“Senior Xie, I address you as senior, but you caused trouble on this day of demon slaying, which is quite disrespectful to me. If you repent now, the court will not pursue this matter.” An Lu spoke up, interrupting the confrontation between the two.

The Xie family patriarch glanced down at An Lu but ignored him. Meanwhile, the Cui family patriarch chimed in, saying, "Why is Your Highness in such a hurry? This Taoist priest is unpredictable; we don't even know if he's a human or a ghost. Does Your Highness know something about him?"

“I know the Taoist priest I invited to exorcise the demon, so what’s the problem?” An Lu seemed to be getting angry as well, and shouted, “Are you two seniors determined to cause trouble?”

“If the Prince keeps a close watch, there will be no problem,” the Cui family patriarch replied, leaving everyone below in shock.

Today, Qinghe County is about to undergo a complete upheaval.

(End of this chapter)