Chapter 1860: Secret History

Leading them was a tall, thin, scholarly-looking middle-aged man at the Mid Nascent Soul stage. All four of them wore over a dozen storage beads on their hands.

Seeing the four Nascent Soul cultivators arrive, Ye Tianlong's heart sank, and his brows furrowed deeply, sensing a fierce battle might be imminent.

"So it's the Liu family from the Great Qin Dynasty," Wang Youwei said calmly. "Fellow Daoist Liu, our Wang family has already taken over the Ye family. Please go elsewhere."

The middle-aged man glanced at the two Level 4 puppet beasts, then shifted his gaze, cupped his hands, and bowed. "Pardon the intrusion, Fellow Daoist Wang."

The giant green eagle let out a sharp, piercing cry, flapped its wings fiercely, and soared high into the sky, quickly vanishing into the horizon.

The Ye family cultivators were utterly shocked. They exchanged bewildered glances, their faces filled with disbelief. With just a few words, Wang Youwei had made four Nascent Soul cultivators obediently leave. It seemed the Wang family's strength was even greater than they had imagined.

The stronger the Wang family's power, the more at ease the Ye family felt.

"Fellow Daoist Wang, Madam Wang, please come in," Ye Tianlong said, his tone much friendlier. He made an inviting gesture.

Wang Youwei remained unmoved. Ouyang Mingyue conjured a Soul-Suppressing Bead, and it landed before Ye Tianlong.

"Madam Wang, what is the meaning of this?" Ye Tianlong's face turned cold.

"It's better to be upfront and then honorable, Fellow Daoist Ye," Ouyang Mingyue said with a cold, indifferent tone. "For the sake of caution, you will each leave one-third of your nascent souls in the Soul-Suppressing Bead. Once our Wang family has completely taken over the Ye family, we will return your nascent souls to you. It's not that we don't trust you, but we've been deceived too many times. Previously, we encountered several forces who claimed they wanted to pledge allegiance to our Wang family, only to launch an immediate attack once we entered their strongholds."

They weren't foolish; naturally, they couldn't simply trust Ye Tianlong's words. What if the Ye family was setting a trap for them?

Ye Tianlong's face was clouded with uncertainty, and he showed a hesitant expression.

A deafening roar echoed from high in the sky, as a massive red cloud of fire flew in from the distant horizon. Before long, the red fire cloud halted.

The fire cloud churned violently, revealing three Nascent Soul cultivators—two men and one woman. Leading them was a burly, red-robed man with a fleshy face and broad shoulders, at the Mid Nascent Soul stage.

"I am Wang Youwei of the Azure Lotus," Wang Youwei said calmly, without a trace of fear. "How should I address you, Fellow Daoist?"

The red-robed man let out a hearty laugh and said, "This old man is Fiery Cloud True Monarch. If I'm not mistaken, Fellow Daoist Wang's wife is from the Ouyang family, one of the Ten Great Immortal Cultivation Families of the South Sea. Both of your families have many Nascent Soul cultivators. Why are there only two of you?"

"Our main force is behind us," Ouyang Mingyue replied calmly. "What can we do for you, Fellow Daoist?"

"Nothing much, just asking. Pardon the intrusion."

Fiery Cloud True Monarch formed a hand seal; the red fire cloud churned violently, transforming into a streak of red light that shot through the air and away.

"The Ten Great Immortal Cultivation Families of the South Sea!" Ye Tianlong swallowed hard, his expression growing even more respectful.

Two consecutive waves of Nascent Soul cultivators were unwilling to provoke the Wang family; the Wang family's strength was certainly not weak.

He no longer hesitated, leaving one-third of his nascent soul in the Soul-Suppressing Bead, and the Ye family's high-ranking members followed suit.

Ouyang Mingyue put away the Soul-Suppressing Bead. Under the gaze of Ye Tianlong and the other cultivators, Wang Youwei and Ouyang Mingyue entered Xuanyang Villa.

Not long after, they appeared in the council hall.

"Fellow Daoist Ye," Wang Youwei instructed, "immediately send someone to change all the flags to our Wang family's banner. This will prevent losses, and all of your Ye family's assets have now been taken over by our Wang family."

Ye Tianlong repeatedly agreed. Even if Wang Youwei hadn't said it, he would have done so.

"Fellow Daoist Wang," Ye Tianlong asked cautiously, "we know of several forces who are staunch allies of the demonic realm. They are right next to our Ye family's territory. What do you think...?" The Ye family wanted to use this opportunity to grow stronger; this was a rare and golden opportunity.

"Don't make too much of a stir," Wang Youwei instructed. "Cultivators who firmly side with the demonic realm are to be executed without mercy." He knew that to get the horse to run, he had to give it grass. If the Ye family wasn't given some benefits, why would they risk their lives for the Wang family?

Ye Tianlong was instantly overjoyed and agreed repeatedly.

"Fellow Daoist Ye, take me to your Ye family's scripture pavilion to have a look," Wang Youwei said meaningfully. "Also, our Ancestor enjoys refining artifacts and making talismans. If you have any excellent materials, feel free to present them. If the Ancestor is pleased, your Ye family will not be shortchanged." Wang Youwei said this meaningfully, as he wanted to examine the ancient texts treasured by the Ye family to search for secret realms or forbidden grounds. Those were the greatest wealth. Spirit stone veins would eventually be depleted, but controlling a secret realm or forbidden ground was like possessing a cornucopia, which could strengthen the family's foundation.

"Of course," Ye Tianlong replied. "Fifth Brother, Seventh Brother, go and handle this matter immediately. Inform other forces that we have pledged allegiance to the Azure Lotus Wang family." Ye Tianlong gave a few instructions, then personally led the way for Wang Youwei and Ouyang Mingyue.

After a while, they arrived at a red stone plaza spanning a thousand *mu*. The ground was paved with a type of red stone, emitting waves of heat. A towering red pagoda, over a hundred *zhang* high, stood in the center of the plaza. The words "Blazing Sun Pagoda" were carved in large characters on its body, shimmering with spiritual light.

"Fellow Daoist Wang," Ye Tianlong said proudly, "this is where our Ye family's scripture pavilion is located. It's not that I'm boasting, but in terms of the variety and quantity of our ancient texts alone, our Ye family ranks among the top twenty in the Thousand Gourd Realm."

Wang Youwei nodded and walked towards the Blazing Sun Pagoda.

The first floor was spacious and brightly lit, with no shelves. The stone walls were covered with flame patterns of various sizes.

Ye Tianlong reached out towards the stone wall; a cluster of flames suddenly lit up, transforming into a red jade slip which landed in his hand.

"Fellow Daoist Wang," Ye Tianlong said, handing the red jade slip to Wang Youwei, "this contains information on the cultivation resources of the Thousand Gourd Realm. It includes demonic beasts, mineral veins, spiritual lands, secret realms, and so on. There are certainly some omissions, but not many."

Wang Youwei scanned it with his divine sense, and an interested expression appeared on his face.

"Immortal Burial Cavern-Heaven? The most perilous place in the Thousand Gourd Realm?"

Ye Tianlong nodded and said, "Seventy thousand years ago, the Ghost Realm invaded our Thousand Gourd Realm. After much struggle, we finally repelled the invasion and sealed the spatial passage. The final decisive battle took place in the Immortal Burial Cavern-Heaven. Over a dozen Deity Transformation cultivators perished there. Speaking of which, Myriad Ghost True Monarch, the leader of the Ghost Realm's invasion of the Thousand Gourd Realm, was truly formidable. He could hold his own against two opponents simultaneously. If it weren't for True Monarch Thousand Gourd using his sect's treasured artifact, the Demon Refining Gourd, along with his own great divine abilities, he wouldn't have been able to eradicate that demon. The Thousand Gourd Sect was unrivalled in prestige; the realm was also renamed the Thousand Gourd Realm, and the Thousand Gourd Sect became the foremost sect in the Thousand Gourd Realm. However, after that battle, the treasured artifact was severely damaged, and the Thousand Gourd Sect consequently began to decline."

"I heard that the Thousand Gourd Sect had always wanted to re-forge a Demon Refining Gourd," Ye Tianlong continued. "Unfortunately, they never succeeded in forging one, even until the sect's destruction. However, before the Thousand Gourd Sect was destroyed, its main headquarters vanished. It has yet to be found."

Ye Tianlong's tone was filled with regret. The fact that the Thousand Gourd Sect could cause an entire realm to be renamed showed just how powerful it was in its heyday. Presumably, the Thousand Gourd Sect's treasure vault contained many treasures. At the very least, there must have been a good number of rare materials.