Fairy, help me cultivate.

The young Taoist boy snorted and stopped amidst the red clouds and wind, pointing to the vast plain below.

"That's it. The ancestor is already backing you up, but you should still be careful."

She couldn't help but remind Chen Yao.

Chen Yao patted her shoulder: "Thanks. I'll come find you to play when I get out."

"Really?"

The young Taoist's eyes lit up.

Without further delay, Chen Yao landed directly at his destination.

The Green Ox Daoist and the Green Ox stood there quietly, facing Pang Suo and the Nascent Soul cultivator from the Qingxu Sect who had summoned the clouds at Chaoqing Peak that day.

"They were on time, though."

The Nascent Soul cultivator from the Qingxu Sect smirked, a look of disdain and mockery on his lips.

Pang Suo nodded to Chen Yao, seemingly unaware that one of the conditions for the Jiang family's peace talks was to take his head.

Chen Yao glanced at the two men with surprise, then bowed to the Green Ox Taoist in respect.

The Green Ox Taoist stroked his beard, his expression stern: "I am honored that both families have chosen me, a neutral party, to witness the peace talks. Let me make this clear from the outset: this is my territory, my grotto. If any of you break the agreement or betray my principles, and disgrace me, then don't blame my Green Ox grotto for not tolerating you!"

These words were spoken with great force and intensity.

The three people present all turned serious.

"My Yuanhu Cave Heaven was originally created for self-cultivation, so no one who enters it can use magic."

With a wave of his hand, the Green Ox Taoist sent a few streaks of green swirling in the air, which quickly produced a jade gourd.

He tapped the gourd with his finger, and with a crisp sound, the gourd lid shot up into the sky, and a beam of green light shot straight into the clouds.

"Now, make sure you don't have any offensive magical artifacts on you."

When the Green Ox Taoist spoke, the boy apologized and began searching the people's bodies and checking their storage magic items.

She searched Pang Suo and the old Nascent Soul cultivator extremely thoroughly, and the two of them frowned and were very impatient.

When it was Chen Yao's turn, she blushed before even being searched.

Chen Yao joked, "Did you sneak a drink? Your face is as red as a monkey's bottom."

"You're the one who looks like a monkey's butt!"

She only briefly searched Chen Yao's body, then rummaged through his storage ring. She did take out the jade slip that had been disguised and examined it; this was a deliberate tactic to lower Pang Suo and the old Nascent Soul cultivator's guard.

The two of them merely glanced at it and did not react in any particular way.

So the young Taoist handed the jade slip to Chen Yao, who simply took it in his hand.

"Alright, you three, please enter the cave!"

The Green Ox Taoist waved his sleeve and pointed.

The old Nascent Soul cultivator raised his sleeves and strode forward with composure: "I'll go first. I've long heard that the food in Qingniu Zhenren's Yuanhu Cave is the best. This time, I'm going to have a good time."

He didn't look like he was there to negotiate at all; he was very relaxed and casual. He straightened up and plunged into the green light.

Pang Suo glanced at Chen Yao and said in a friendly tone, "There are two of us. To avoid making you feel uneasy, please go first."

Chen Yao entered the cave and found it to be a beautiful place with clear waters and lush mountains. In the center of his eyes stood an exquisite little pavilion.

The old nascent soul was already seated inside, leisurely sipping his drink.

When Chen Yao came in, he didn't even look up, just kept eating and drinking, completely ignoring him.

Just as he sat down, Pang Suo followed him in.

The three of them sat down.

"Come, first try this unique Divine Crane from Yuanhu Cave. Its meat is tender and delicious, with a refreshing aroma of immortal gourd. Paired with this Divine Crane, it's truly a rare treat!"

The old nascent soul picked up a piece of crane meat, tilted his head back, and drank a cup of wine in one gulp, swaying his head with delight.

Pang Suo smiled and got straight to the point with Chen Yao: "I heard that the Jiang family's condition for peace talks is my head."

"You have stepped on the Jiang family's face."

Chen Yao said calmly.

Pang Suo looked at him: "I heard you are the new patriarch of the Jiang clan and Jiang Bailian's Daoist partner?"

"Yes."

"I've also heard that you have a good relationship with Su Quanyu of the Mingyang Sect."

"Ah."

"It seems that you and the Jiang family are not entirely inseparable."

"But I don't need to separate from the Jiang family."

Pang Suo thought for a moment: "Young man, your surname is Chen, and your background is not illustrious. Now you are not tolerated by the righteous path of the South China Sea. To be honest, I alone, Pang Suo, can cause the Jiang family a lot of trouble. If the righteous path of the South China Sea unites to deal with the Jiang family under the pretext of harboring you, they will not be able to protect you."

Chen Yao remained expressionless.

Pang Suo continued, "The Jiang family is an anomaly in Jiujiang now, and Jiujiang won't back them up. If pressure comes, I don't think the Jiang family will be a united front. Many people, for the sake of their family interests, wouldn't hesitate to kidnap you and hand you over to us. So, young man, you made a mistake from the start by thinking you could rely on the Jiang family for support!"

Chen Yao knew he was telling the truth.

"So, when it comes to planning for you, why not listen to my advice? If you submit to us, you'll have the entire Jiujiang region as your backing. As for women, you can have as many as you want. My eldest daughter, Pang Ling, is a renowned beauty in Jiujiang. I can even arrange for you to have the pleasures of women from other prominent families. What do you say?"

At this moment, the old Nascent Soul spoke up while eating: "What a great opportunity, so many beautiful women, it makes my heart flutter."

Chen Yao looked at him: "You're from the Qingxu Sect."

"Yes, he is from the Qingxu Sect, but the Qingxu Sect is close to Jiujiang, but far from the South China Sea. It is also at odds with the Kuanglu Sect, from which you originally came. In the past two years, it has been suppressed by the Mingyang Sect and has long wanted to overthrow them. It is impossible for it to be of one mind with them. So you don't need to worry that the Qingxu Sect will reveal your whereabouts."

Pompeo explained.

"On the condition that I agree to your conditions," Chen Yao added.

"That kid's pretty smart."

The old nascent soul and Pang Suo casually pointed at Chen Yao with their chopsticks.

Chen Yao looked at the two of them, constantly fiddling with the jade slip in his hand.

Pang Suo glanced at the jade slip in his hand: "You really need to think about yourself! You didn't have the chance to contact other families in Jiujiang before, but now that you have this opportunity, it's not wise of you to cling to the Jiang family, this sinking ship."

Chen Yao smiled, his thumb rubbing the lock on the jade slip, preparing to release Jiu Luo.

After finishing the food and wine, the old Nascent Soul put down his chopsticks and suddenly looked up at the sky.

"I told you long ago there was no need to waste words with him."

He suddenly said this, and Chen Yao abruptly noticed that the surrounding scenery began to fade, and was soon enveloped in a blood-red hue.

The table and chairs in front of him disappeared, and he was almost knocked over by the sudden light.

Everything has changed.

The air was thick with malevolent energy.

Pang Suo let out a long breath.

"My suggestion just now was sincere, but you hesitated for too long, which shows that you weren't sincere. Then don't blame us for sending you to the Qingxu Sect."

Chapter 174 The Nine Fallen Ones in Pure Cultivation

Chen Yao knew that this was Pang Suo and the old Nascent Soul's plan. The old Nascent Soul probably used eating and drinking as a smokescreen to secretly resist the inspection of the Green Ox Taoist, and then created another layer of cave heaven to capture him.

The old Nascent Soul urged, "Hurry up, there are only thirty breaths left before that old thing can sense that something is wrong here."

Pang Suo glanced at Chen Yao with a hint of regret, then began to chant an incantation. The murderous aura enveloped Chen Yao before dissipating, condensing into a person exactly like him beside him.

"All right."

The two of them didn't even glance at Chen Yao, but simply flew away with the puppet.

Chen Yao sighed, gave a self-deprecating smile, and then sharply pressed his thumb against the seal on the jade slip in his hand.

The crimson cave suddenly trembled violently, and a strong wind rose up, converging into a whirlwind centered on Chen Yao.

"what happened?"

The old Nascent Soul cultivator, who had already reached the edge, swayed and asked in a rapid voice.

Pompeo was also puzzled.

Both of them looked at the raging storm and Chen Yao in the center.

A bright red line of blood trailed towards them, seemingly slow, but by the time the two reacted, it was already within arm's reach, filled with an irresistible aura of bloodlust.

The old Nascent Soul cultivator's face instantly turned red, and he flashed in front of Pang Suo, saying, "This is your cave heaven! Quickly find a way to suppress the blood energy!"

"But...but this blood energy isn't from my grotto-heaven!"

"what?"

As the old nascent soul spoke, he waved his sleeves repeatedly, setting up a dozen or so barriers in front of him.

But the line of blood, like a white mourning garment, instantly pressed against his chest.

"No!"

The old nascent soul watched helplessly as the bloodline pierced his chest, tearing out his heart.

The throbbing, pulsating heart was shredded into pieces in the bloody wind.

The blood didn't stop there; it then pierced through Ponso's forehead, and fragments of bone and brain matter exploded from the back of his head.

The two waited for Chen Yao, who was raging at the center, until their deaths. They couldn't understand how he had broken free from the blood energy restraints, or what powerful attack artifact he had used that even the old Nascent Soul cultivator couldn't detect...

The raging storm subsided, and the blood and qi were cleansed.

The crimson color quickly faded and dissipated before Chen Yao's eyes, restoring the pavilions, terraces, lakes, and mountains of Yuanhu Cave Heaven.

Somewhat spoils the scene are the two corpses, one lying face down and the other face up, with blood splattered everywhere on the table.

"why you?"

Looking at the beauty sitting in his lap, Chen Yao felt a mix of excitement and relief.