Chapter 1917: Big Fight

He was wary of Wang Mengbin's strength. As a thunder cultivator at the late Nascent Soul stage, he truly didn't want to make an enemy of him, especially since Wang Mengbin likely possessed a Divine Crystal of the Golden Ring. If they could persuade him to join them, they would not only acquire a Divine Crystal of the Golden Ring but also gain a powerful ally.

The young woman in green advised, her voice full of temptation, "That's right, Daoist friend, why not join our Deng family? Whatever treatment the Zhong family offers you, our Deng family will double it. We can use the Divine Crystal of the Golden Ring to set up a grand formation and contact our ancestors in the Spirit Realm. If successful, we might even be able to help you ascend to the Spirit Realm."

Zhong Yangming sneered and retorted impolitely, "Hmph, our Zhong family also has backing in the Spirit Realm. We can likewise set up a grand formation to contact our ancestors there, and if conditions allow, we will bring Daoist friend Wang along too."

The old man in green robes scoffed, "You probably don't know this, but your Zhong family's stronghold in the Spirit Realm has been wiped out by foreign races. Even if they weren't completely annihilated, they're just barely clinging on. How can they compare to our Deng family's ancestors in the Spirit Realm?" He then looked at Wang Mengbin and said in a deep voice, "Daoist friend Wang, if you are willing to join our Deng family, I, Deng Yunbo, am willing to marry Yujiao to you as a Daoist partner. If you marry Yujiao, you will be our Deng family's son-in-law, and we will not mistreat our own."

Deng Yunbo and the other three had witnessed Wang Mengbin and his companions slaying the fourth-order flood dragon, and they were extremely wary of Wang Mengbin's strength. If they could persuade him to join them, nothing could be better.

The young woman in green was slightly taken aback, her eyebrows furrowing. It was her first time meeting Wang Mengbin, but for the sake of the overall situation, she said nothing.

Song Yujiao's expression was sincere. Given Wang Mengbin's formidable strength, they could only entice him, not coerce him. "Daoist friend Wang," she continued, "I know you are in a difficult position. We don't need you to fight the Zhong family. As long as you hand over the Divine Crystal of the Golden Ring to our Deng family, I am willing to become your dual cultivation partner. In the future, we will have a chance to ascend to the Spirit Realm."

Zhong Yangming sneered and said meaningfully, "What a joke! Have you been to the Spirit Realm? Is whatever you say true? Daoist friend Wang, don't believe him. Your original promised reward will be doubled. You should know how our Zhong family has treated you over the years. As for the Deng family, they might just discard you like an old millstone once you lose your usefulness. It's hard to say what they'll do then."

None of them had been to the Spirit Realm, so no one knew its specific situation. Wang Mengbin had no way to distinguish truth from falsehood.

To be honest, he was unwilling to make enemies with the native cultivators of the Azure Ring Realm. The Zhong family had already lost a Nascent Soul cultivator. If Wang Mengbin didn't help the Zhong family, and they later contacted their ancestors in the Spirit Realm, there was no guarantee they wouldn't cast him aside or even kill him—who knew what powerful divine abilities great cultivators in the Spirit Realm possessed? Conversely, if he helped the Zhong family but allowed the Deng family cultivators to leave safely, and they then ascended to the Spirit Realm or contacted their ancestors, they might retaliate against him.

The Zhong family had already lost a Nascent Soul cultivator and would definitely not let the matter rest. If Wang Mengbin didn't help eliminate the Deng family cultivators, there was no guarantee the Zhong family wouldn't turn hostile later.

The best option was to kill all the Deng family cultivators; dead men tell no tales. However, doing so would completely tie Wang Mengbin to the Zhong family's warship.

As the saying goes, one cannot have both bear's paw and fish. It was impossible to gain the greatest benefits without making enemies of two cultivation families.

"I am an honored patron of the Zhong family, Immortal Zhong," Wang Mengbin stated. "I will certainly fulfill my promise to you."

Wang Mengbin took out a cyan storage ring and tossed it to Zhong Yunxiu. Her divine sense swept over it, and her clear phoenix eyes filled with joy.

Hearing this, the faces of Deng Yunbo and the other three darkened. They naturally understood the meaning behind Wang Mengbin's words: they had killed a Nascent Soul cultivator from the Zhong family, so this matter could not end peacefully. If the opponents escaped, there would be endless trouble.

Deng Yunbo transmitted his voice, "Since that's the case, there's nothing more to say. Yuanjie, you and I will deal with this person. Yujiao, Yuanbiao, you two deal with the others." He flipped his palm, and with a flash of spiritual light, a glittering cyan feather fan appeared in his hand. It seemed to be refined from the feathers of some spiritual beast. Massive spiritual power poured into the fan, which suddenly glowed brightly, emitting terrifying spiritual power fluctuations. It was clearly a spirit treasure.

A piercing whistle sounded, and over a dozen misty cyan tornadoes swept out. After a blur, they transformed into over a dozen misty cyan wind dragons, pouncing towards Wang Mengbin and his three companions.

Two rather similar-looking men each summoned nine glittering small mirrors. The mirror surfaces lit up with countless golden and silver runes. A piercing shriek sounded, and the eighteen small mirrors each sprayed out countless slender golden and silver beams of light.

The nine mirrors were all magic tools, not spirit treasures, indicating that the Deng family was no longer as powerful as before.

Deng Yujiao's shoulders twitched, and three clear, resonant sword cries sounded as three misty cyan flying swords flew out of their sheaths and hovered above her head. She formed a sword seal, and the three cyan flying swords began to shake, emitting a piercing sword cry. They then multiplied into hundreds of misty cyan flying swords hovering above her head.

"Go!" Deng Yujiao commanded softly. Hundreds of misty cyan flying swords, like a torrent of green, struck towards Zhong Yangming.

The Zhong family cultivators reacted quickly, unwilling to let their opponents escape, or there would be endless trouble.

Zhong Yunxiu flicked her sleeve, and a shimmering red silk ribbon flew out. It spun rapidly in mid-air, crushing the incoming golden and silver beams. Roaring sounds echoed continuously, and airwaves surged like tides, creating massive waves on the sea surface.

Zhong Yangming summoned the red small mirror in his hand and infused it with a magic seal. The small mirror instantly expanded, and countless lightning-fireballs flew out. After a blur, they transformed into over a dozen crimson fire pythons, meeting the dozen or so cyan wind dragons.

Boom! The crimson fire pythons were no match for the cyan wind dragons and were torn to shreds on first contact. The crimson fire pythons were released by a magic tool, while the cyan wind dragons were released by a spirit treasure, so their power naturally differed greatly.

Zhong Yangming showed no surprise. He flipped his right hand, and with a flash of red light, a two-foot-long crimson short blade appeared in his hand. A lifelike flood dragon was carved on its hilt, and it emitted powerful fire spiritual energy fluctuations. It was clearly a spirit treasure.

He chopped towards the void, and a deafening dragon's roar sounded. Hundreds of crimson blade qi swept out, slashing towards the dozen or so cyan wind dragons.

Deng Yunbo sneered and formed a magic seal. The dozen or so cyan wind dragons gathered together and suddenly merged into a single cyan wind dragon hundreds of feet long.

Zhong Yangming changed his magic seal, and the hundreds of crimson blade qi also merged, forming a shimmering crimson sky-piercing giant blade that slashed towards the cyan wind dragon.

After a tremendous roar, the sky-piercing giant blade collided with the cyan wind dragon. The void rippled like water, appearing on the verge of tearing apart. Airwaves surged like tides, and sea waves rolled backward.

Before long, the sky-piercing giant blade fragmented as if cracking apart. The cyan wind dragon's body shrank by more than half and pounced towards Zhong Yunxiu and her companions.

A deafening thunderclap came from high in the sky, and a black thundercloud several tens of miles wide appeared without warning, instantly darkening the sky. The black thundercloud hung heavily, with lightning flashing and thunder rumbling, giving off a heavy sense of oppression.

After a tremendous roar of thunder, dazzling silver lightning tore through the sky. Hundreds of thick silver lightning bolts descended from the sky, accurately striking the cyan wind dragon. The cyan wind dragon was submerged by the dazzling silver lightning. After letting out a pained wail, it dispersed into specks of spiritual light and vanished.