Chapter 248: Heaven and Earth Combined

"Damn it!" Yu Xiaogui was instantly startled. He realized that directly attacking Li Tongya without waiting for his Foundation Establishment artifact, the Jade Smoke Mountain, to return was overstepping his bounds and clearly overconfident. He cursed inwardly, "They all say the Li family has a third-grade sword art, but what third-grade sword art! There's no way this is a mere third-grade sword art!"

Though cursing inwardly, Yu Xiaogui still had a trump card. His expression showed no surprise or fear. With a flick of his spiritual sense, several wisps of grey cloud energy appeared around his neck, firmly resisting the two streaks of light. He hastily pushed away the streaming sword qi from his hand and reached back to grab.

How could Li Tongya watch him resolve the attack like that? With a shake of his magic sword, he conjured a flurry of sword qi, pure white like frost and flowing like water, all directed at Yu Xiaogui. Yu Xiaogui, however, paid no mind. Just as the sword qi was about to strike his body, a loud clang echoed. The Jade Smoke Mountain had already returned to defense, its white mist swirling, steadily blocking Li Tongya's sword qi.

"What a treasure! A Foundation Establishment artifact is indeed extraordinary!" Li Tongya sighed. The struggle had lasted only two breaths, yet the Jade Smoke Mountain had already neutralized two of his attacks. He had barely managed to feign weakness to lure Yu Xiaogui in, only for this artifact to counter every move, leaving not even a scratch. Now that Yu Xiaogui was on guard, it would be difficult to deal with him!

"Go!"

As expected, while the Jade Smoke Mountain held Li Tongya at bay, Yu Xiaogui quickly shattered the two streaks of light. With a clap of his hands, he also destroyed the one that had escaped earlier, thus turning the tide of the disadvantage. His expression turned solemn as he gathered power in his palms and advanced again.

Having cultivated to the Foundation Establishment level, Yu Xiaogui's combat experience was top-notch. He had previously underestimated Li Tongya, but now, attacking again, he had a plan. Facing Li Tongya's sharp, incoming sword qi, he no longer activated the Foundation Establishment artifact, Jade Smoke Mountain, but instead countered each move, shattering the sword qi one by one.

Yu Xiaogui's power was a notch above Li Tongya's. This steady, persistent approach rapidly increased the pressure on Li Tongya. After a brief stalemate, the force of Yu Xiaogui's palms was already causing Li Tongya faint pain, and his immortal foundation vibrated. He had no choice but to unleash three streaks of light to buy himself time to adjust.

"Come!"

Yu Xiaogui was waiting for these three streaks of light. With a simple hand seal, the Jade Smoke Mountain leaped up, absorbing and suppressing them. Yu Xiaogui then closely followed, pressing his attack on Li Tongya, clearly not giving him any time to recover.

Li Tongya only had time to retreat two steps. In a single breath, the Grand Ocean Long Whale Record within him shone brightly, and all discomfort vanished. His mind clear, he mused, "Yu Xiaogui is relying on his deeper cultivation to suppress me, but he doesn't know I have the Grand Ocean Long Whale Record's blessing. All his efforts are futile."

Li Tongya understood this inwardly but showed no sign on his face. He simply feigned a pained expression, which delighted Yu Xiaogui, making him fight with even greater vigor and continue to press his attack, buying time for Fei Wangbai and his group.

Only Li Tongya knew how terrifying the combined capacity and recovery power of his Vast Ocean and Grand Ocean Long Whale Record were. If one were to compete with him in terms of spiritual power consumption, just one-tenth of his spiritual power could be equivalent to two or three tenths of an ordinary early Foundation Establishment cultivator's. Not to mention the spiritual power he recovered with every breath.

By his reckoning, even with the artifact's blessing, if Yu Xiaogui's spiritual power reserves were typical for a Foundation Establishment cultivator, he would likely deplete himself while Li Tongya would only have used about 60% of his own spiritual power.

"I wonder how Fei Wangbai is doing. If that fellow fails, not only will he not breach the market, but he might also let the Yu family's Qi Refining cultivators through, which would make things difficult."

Li Tongya had always been cautious. He had agreed to help the Xiao family, and this was a good opportunity to destroy the Misty Forest County market. He had no choice but to provoke Yu Xiaogui. If Yu Xiaogui were allowed to return and Yu Yufeng was still absent, Yu Xiaogui would certainly realize something was wrong. After analyzing the situation with Yu Mugao, they wouldn't let Yu Xiaogui leave again. Therefore, he had to take a risky gamble.

Now that the situation was gradually clearing, Li Tongya was confident he could hold Yu Xiaogui. Still, he considered the worst-case scenario. The Azure Foot Sword behind him continuously vibrated. He mused, "The Azure Foot Sword still contains Jing'er's sword intent. If it comes to that, I can only draw the Azure Foot Sword and force the Yu family cultivators back... Being suspected afterward would be unavoidable, but Fei Wangbai is usually reliable; it shouldn't come to that."

On Fei Wangbai's side, after bidding farewell to Chen Donghe, he ascended into the wind from the cliff, feeling both joy and doubt. He was glad there was finally an opportunity to suppress the Yu family but doubted why Yu Yufeng had been so suddenly trapped outside.

"Yu Yufeng, a dignified late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator and a top-tier expert, also blessed by the Foundation Establishment artifact Jade Smoke Mountain, has always stayed hidden in his cave dwelling, never leaving. How could he be trapped outside...?"

As Fei Wangbai pondered, he flew for a dozen breaths before landing on Cold Cloud Peak. Seeing his eldest son, Fei Yihe, approaching him, he said gravely, "Gather those guest cultivators and follow me to the Yu family market!"

Naturally, he couldn't have his own descendants handle such a matter. Fei Wangbai summoned his usual guest cultivators, preparing to seek his Foundation Establishment friends. Fei Yihe, standing below, was startled upon hearing this, knowing it was a major affair, and quickly departed. Fei Wangbai stood alone on the peak, finding it stranger the more he thought about it. He mused, "Could it be Li Chijng? But Li Chijng is a Sword Immortal, not some practitioner of dark arts; how could he make Yu Yufeng obediently leave his cave dwelling and then get himself trapped somewhere...? And how did they know where Yu Yufeng was going for such a significant departure? Has Yu Mugao gone mad, daring to speak of such a thing outside?"

Fei Wangbai increasingly felt a hidden secret, which sent a chill down his spine. Yet, seeing the figures drifting over the snow, his guest cultivators had already arrived before him. He had no time to hesitate, so he gave a brief instruction and soared into the wind.

"The arrow is on the string; it must be shot!"

Fei Wangbai gritted his teeth and, with his people, rode the wind towards the market to the east. His mind raced like lightning as he calmed himself to analyze, reaching a conclusion based on the most basic logic.

"The Yu family's power is too immense. Not to mention their numerous peak Qi Refining cultivators, as long as Yu Yufeng, a late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator, remains alive, the Li and Fei families will be like brothers united against a common enemy. No one can harbor ulterior motives!"

Having made up his mind, Fei Wangbai's actions became decisive. Leading his group, he flew over the island in the lake, concealed their forms, and landed on a small hill beside Misty Forest County. He transmitted a message with his spiritual power, saying gravely, "Brother He Gan, Wangbai is here to visit!"

After a brief wait, the ground slightly trembled, and a dark cave dwelling entrance slowly appeared. A hearty laugh was heard, and a middle-aged man emerged, clad in jade armor. He had refined features and an air of dignified grace. His cultivation was also early Foundation Establishment. This was He Gan, Fei Wangbai's long-time friend who had caused trouble for the Yu family on the east bank for years. Upon seeing Fei Wangbai, he slightly cupped his hands and chuckled, "Brother Wangbai, what brings you to remember me today?"

Fei Wangbai had no time for pleasantries. His expression grew stern as he said gravely, "He Gan, Yu Yufeng has been trapped outside by the Li family's scheme, and Yu Xiaogui is being held by Li Tongya at Mount Huashan! The Yu family no longer has any Foundation Establishment combat power... This is an excellent opportunity to raid Misty Forest County and its market!"

"What?!"

The middle-aged man, whom Fei Wangbai called He Gan, was instantly astonished, his expression erupting into wild delight. His eyes gleamed with malicious hatred. His air of dignified grace vanished instantly as he cried out with a venomous voice, "This is excellent! Truly excellent! I, Jiang, have long grown tired of the petty skirmishes and harassment from the various families on the East Bank. This time... this time... we'll make those Yu bandits bleed thoroughly! Hahahahahahaha!"