Chapter 87 Civil War

"who are they?"

Xu Yuankun quickly blocked the two of them, his sharp eyes fixed on them.

"Cao Nanmu, Cao Nanxiu, and Cao Nan'e from the second branch of the Cao family."

The three of them used to target me every day; several missions failed because of them.

People from the Cao family?

Xu Yuanlang's expression suddenly turned serious. He swallowed a pill to heal his injuries, and then exchanged a glance with Xu Yuankun.

There was worry in their eyes.

"Gentlemen, there are many paths to take, and we should all go our separate ways. It was all a misunderstanding just now, so please don't take offense."

Xu Yuanlang cupped his hands in greeting to the three of them, while Cao Nanning stood behind them with a frustrated expression on his face.

He wasn't a fool. The attack was clearly aimed at his life. If Xu Yuanlang hadn't reacted quickly enough, he would probably be a corpse by now.

Even so, the three of them had no choice but to show weakness. After all, the two of them came from Foundation Establishment families. If they attacked members of the Golden Core Cao family and the news leaked out, the Xu family would probably be punished if the matter was investigated later.

"Misunderstand?"

All three were at the late stage of Qi Refining, with Cao Nanmu being the strongest. The threat he posed was even greater than that posed by Bai Daobin. He was definitely at the peak of Qi Refining. He had a long face, thin and long eyebrows, and wore a gorgeous brocade robe.

Xu Yuanlang merely raised an eyebrow at Xu's show of weakness, impatiently tapped his shoulder lightly with his jade-bone folding fan, and asked in a disdainful voice.

"Nanning, have you received Wangyue Gui yet?"

Cao Nanning was young and impetuous, and Fifth Brother was worried that this might cause trouble, so he took a step forward and said.

"Young Master Cao, we're out of luck..."

Before Xu Yuankun could finish speaking, Cao Nanmu snapped open his folding fan, glanced at him sideways, and said contemptuously.

Did I tell you to speak?

Xu Yuankun's expression suddenly turned grim, but he quickly realized what was happening, put on a smile again, and stood aside.

At this moment, Cao Nanning finally appeared. Facing Cao Nanmu's cold and mocking gaze, he still had the spirit of youth and spoke up to refute him.

"Cao Nanmu, whether I completed the mission or not is none of your business. Besides, if you hadn't been stirring things up from the inside, how could I have failed the mission?"

Xu Yuanlang silently clenched his fist. The three people in front of him seemed to have ill intentions and appeared to know a lot about Xu Yuanlang and his companions. Thinking of this, his eyelids twitched, and he suddenly looked up at Cao Nanmu.

"You're the ones who've been secretly watching the three of us these past few days, aren't you?"

Upon hearing this, the cultivator named Cao Nan'e behind Cao Nanmu took a step forward.

He looked exceptionally weathered, with phoenix eyes, a dignified face, and a height of over eight feet—a veritable giant.

"Impressive, they actually sensed it."

Cao Nan'e stretched out his right hand, and a night owl with a wingspan of over ten feet silently swept across the night sky and slowly landed on his shoulder. The night owl's head suddenly turned around, and one of its blood-red eyes lit up.

"They're using spirit beasts to monitor us? No wonder I didn't notice."

Xu Yuanlang couldn't help but slap his forehead, while Cao Nan'e showed a hint of pride on his face.

"My Night Owl has the talent to suppress demonic power from leaking out. I have never been detected when tracking cultivators who have reached the Qi Refining stage. You are the first one to notice me in the Qi Refining stage."

"Are you suggesting I should be arrogant?"

Xu Yuanlang looked at Cao Nan'e, his tone laced with sarcasm.

"That's how it should be."

"You think that by revealing such crucial information to us, the three of us won't leak any information to you?"

"Of course, how could a dead person reveal any information?"

Cao Nanmu spoke calmly, his tone filled with indifference and cruelty.

"You're all of the same race! Aren't you worried about being held accountable later?"

Xu Yuankun spoke up, somewhat incredulously, to remind him.

Although the Xu family could not be described as being as close as family, and they would scheme against each other for the chance to establish their foundation, they had never called for war or killed each other, nor had they ever wished to eliminate their clansmen as much as these people had.

"We are not a Foundation Establishment family; the strong survive, the weak perish..."

Cao Nanmu looked down at the three of them in a condescending tone, as if he were about to pronounce their fate.

"Let's do it!"

Before the other party could finish speaking, Xu Yuanlang suddenly sprang into action, unleashing nine sword shadows from the Demon-Slaying Gourd in his hand, which headed towards Cao Nanmu, the strongest among them.

"A mere eighth-level Qi Refining cultivator dares to be so overconfident! Go!"

When Cao Nanmu saw the nine sword lights, a look of disdain appeared on his face. He flicked his folding fan, and the original jade-colored folding fan suddenly transformed into a huge iron umbrella made of steel.

The umbrella opened like a round shield, and the nine sword lights shattered upon impact. The iron umbrella suddenly spun, and a dark, whirlwind arose abruptly.

"Iron Sand Wind!"

In an instant, the sky darkened, and the raging winds blew away more than a foot from the earth.

What's even more terrifying is that the storm also carries a sharp edge, and the sound of metal clashing can even be heard in the air.

"Vermilion Bird - A Thousand Trees of Flowers!"

Xu Yuanlang spat out a red sphere. As soon as it appeared, the Vermilion Bird pattern on it lit up, and with a flap of its wings, a beam of light crashed into the storm.

"A natal magical artifact?"

When Cao Nanmu saw the firelight, a look of surprise crossed his face. Then he saw the pillar of light shattered by the storm, followed by countless tiny pillars of light flying out from the broken pieces.

Like a large red tree dancing in the wind, the storm was forcefully stopped by this red tree.

Fire overcomes metal; the sharpness within the storm was completely burned away by the extremely hot beam of light.

Cao Nanmu looked at Xu Yuanlang with some alarm. This kid was only from a Foundation Establishment family. Whether it was the cultivation technique, magic weapon, or cultivation level, he was a step below him. Logically speaking, the battle should have been one-sided.

However, due to the mutual restraint of the five elements, a stalemate was vaguely formed. He knew very well that this stalemate could not continue, but even so, he couldn't help but feel jealous.

"Hmph, you managed to block my Iron Sand Wind, but I don't believe you can continue to block it."

While Cao Nanmu and Xu Yuanlang were fighting, the other four also started fighting.

"Knock knock..."

Cao Nan'e was already like a small giant, and the magical weapon he used was a pair of heavy hammers the size of a human head. Every step he took when he ran would cause the ground to tremble.

Xu Yuankun's eyelids twitched when he saw this scene. Not daring to confront him head-on, he slashed at his ankle with his magic weapon.

"Clang clang..."

Cao Nanxiu and Cao Nanning were extremely fast. During the battle, their bodies were like phantoms, colliding with each other dozens of times in an instant.

Each of them pointed their magical weapons at the other's vital points, ready to deliver a fatal blow at any moment.

At that moment, none of them noticed that a monk was standing quietly to the side.