The conflict between the Wenqing Sect and the Ice Heart Valley had long spread throughout the
"Exactly. The women of Ice Heart Valley may be a bit arrogant and cold, but they're all reasonable people. Why would they hold something like this against us?"
"So that's how it is!" Yang Kai's face showed understanding as he nodded slightly.
As the saying goes, a gentleman can be bullied by those who follow the rules. While this saying might not perfectly fit the Ice Heart Valley, it was close enough.
If the roles were reversed and the Ice Heart Valley had suffered a calamity, and they showed up under the pretense of offering aid, the Wenqing Sect would certainly not have let them go.
It was precisely because they understood the Ice Heart Valley's principles that these people felt so confident.
"Young brother, you still haven't told us what the situation inside the Wenqing Sect really is," Li Qingyuan said, noticing the conversation had drifted off track, and quickly steered it back.
Yang Kai said flatly, "The higher-ups of the Wenqing Sect were completely wiped out. Countless disciples below are dead or injured. What else could the situation be? It's nothing more than a tree falling and the monkeys scattering."
Li Qingyuan's eyes lit up with excitement as he asked, "Does that mean the Wenqing Sect is completely empty now?"
Yang Kai looked at him with a mocking expression. "This lord seems quite happy about it. Didn't you come to offer condolences and help in their time of need?"
Upon hearing this, Li Qingyuan immediately put on a sorrowful expression. "How could I be happy? My heart aches right now. The Wenqing Sect, a distinguished top-tier sect, has suffered the catastrophe of annihilation. Tens of thousands of years of heritage and legacy, severed. Truly a great loss for our Northern Territory."
"What a pity, what a pity. Truly a pity."
"With such a powerful force, how could it suddenly be destroyed?"
The others all chimed in with sighs, their faces full of grief. To anyone who didn't know the truth, it would really seem like they had excellent relations with the Wenqing Sect.
Changing the subject, Li Qingyuan fixed Yang Kai with a burning gaze. "Since you came out from within the Wenqing Sect, did you perhaps... discover anything inside?"
At this point, he was in no rush to charge in and plunder. Since Yang Kai had entered the Wenqing Sect before them, if there were really any benefits to be had, Yang Kai would have already claimed them. Keeping his eyes on Yang Kai right now was the safest approach.
"I discovered a treasury!" Yang Kai's words were nothing short of shocking.
The moment these words left his mouth, countless pairs of eyes filled with greed and covetousness locked onto Yang Kai, sharp as unsheathed blades.
"What's... inside the treasury?" Li Qingyuan's voice couldn't help but tremble.
Yang Kai chuckled. "Source Crystals—billions of Source Crystals. Low-grade, mid-grade, high-grade, everything you could want. All kinds of spirit pills and miraculous medicines. Artifacts, Emperor Artifacts, cultivation technique manuals—there's nothing you can think of that you won't find."
"Gasp..."
A wave of sharp inhales rippled through the crowd. Everyone perked up, the greedy light in their eyes blazing brighter than ever.
Yang Kai gazed at the crowd with a smile. "You all seem quite tempted."
Li Qingyuan swallowed hard, suppressing the urge to drool, his mind racing about how to take down this brat who didn't know the height of the sky or the depth of the earth, and then claim everything for himself. The Wenqing Sect's accumulation over tens of thousands of years—if he really got his hands on it, the Feiyuan Pavilion's strength would surely increase dramatically. Given time, becoming the second Wenqing Sect wouldn't be just a dream.
Many others harbored the same thoughts. In that instant, everyone felt that those standing around them were enemies, and wariness flared in every exchanged glance.
"This brat is spouting nonsense!" someone suddenly spoke up. "It's true that the Wenqing Sect has a treasury, but how could someone of your strength possibly open it? So young yet so scheming, trying to sow discord among us all. Truly, his intentions are damnable. Everyone, don't fall for his tricks."
Hearing this, everyone was slightly startled and felt that the speaker made a valid point. With a sect as massive as the Wenqing Sect, there was indeed a treasury, but such a place couldn't be opened by just anyone. The method of opening it was probably only in the hands of people like
Li Qingyuan snapped back to his senses and immediately said disapprovingly, "Young brother, that's rather unkind of you."
Yang Kai gave a disdainful smile. "Believe it or not!"
As he spoke, he suddenly retrieved a peculiar stone about three zhang tall from his spatial ring. The moment this stone appeared, the surrounding temperature plummeted. An aura of extreme cold instantly spread in all directions.
Even those dozen or so Emperor Venerable-realm experts felt their internal energy sluggish under the influence of this aura.
"This is..."
"Ten-Thousand-Year Cold Heart Iron!"
"What? This is actually Ten-Thousand-Year Cold Heart Iron? Such a treasure actually exists in this world, and such a massive piece at that!"
"Heavens, where did this thing come from? I've heard that a palm-sized piece of Ten-Thousand-Year Cold Heart Iron can be forged into a single Emperor Artifact. How many Emperor Artifacts could this three-zhang-tall piece produce?"
"If this were sold, it would fetch at least over a hundred million high-grade Source Crystals."
"This kid isn't lying. He definitely opened the Wenqing Sect's treasury. This is the Wenqing Sect's stuff."
...