Chapter 454 - 449: The Top-Tier Nascent Soul Early Stage

As the nephew of the Duan Clan’s Patriarch, Du Youqian quickly intervened in the struggle for Dali City.

With a Nascent Soul Cultivator like him having so clearly taken a side, most of the branch families and other minor clans had to give way, completely powerless to resist.

For the few who failed to recognize the situation, it was no matter. Du Youqian would arrange a meeting with them and then let them go.

A few days later, they would drop dead. That was just a case of poor luck, wasn’t it?

They weren’t killed on the spot, so one couldn’t blame Du Youqian for their deaths, could they?

Of course, everyone knew it was Du Youqian who had made the move.

But there was no proof.

When dealing with people weaker than yourself, suspicion was enough; you didn’t need evidence.

If you suspected someone, you just killed them. Simple as that.

But that wouldn’t work when dealing with people stronger than yourself. You needed irrefutable evidence.

And if you wanted to deal with someone much stronger, you not only needed evidence, but you also had to find someone willing to look at that evidence and back you up.

Thus, in just half a year, the main branch had reclaimed nearly all of Dali City’s resources, and the various branch and vassal families had all fallen silent.

Du Youqian’s next step was to head over to the Alliance and reclaim Dali City’s rightful share of resources.

That would inevitably involve giving some gifts, engaging in a few rounds of Magical Combat, and perhaps even killing a few people.

As for Dali City itself, he figured things were settled.

’Master Changfu still hasn’t made a move. I guess the guy knows his own limits and doesn’t want to be humiliated, so he’s staying out of it.’

But to Du Youqian’s surprise, he had only just made a trip to the Seven Cities Alliance to pull some strings with his contacts when he received some bad news. Everyone knew that the Seven Cities Alliance was the heart of the Immortal City Alliance; if you wanted to get anything done, you had to smooth things over with them first.

He had just finished making his rounds with gifts when he heard that Master Changfu had wrecked his backyard.

"What exactly happened?"

The Seven Cities Alliance was thousands of miles from Dali City, so he couldn’t return at a moment’s notice. Naturally, Du Youqian went to Kai Feng Master—a man he was as thick as thieves with—to find out what was going on.

"It’s a message from the Long-distance Communication Array. The message is very brief. It only says Master Changfu arrived in Dali City, the Dali Duan Clan surrendered, and they have decided to serve Master Changfu as their lord."

Du Youqian found it hard to understand. "Isn’t Master Changfu breaking the rules? He already has an Immortal City of his own, and now he wants to take Dali City too?"

Kai Feng Master explained, "The message from the array was vague, but I suspect Master Changfu gave up his own Second-class Immortal City. Then, as an in-law of the Yin Clan, he propped them up to become the masters of Dali City. From a legal standpoint, this is feasible, because the Yin Clan is a family native to Dali City."

Du Youqian felt a flicker of unease. He was worried about his mother, the main branch of the Duan Clan, and his people stationed in Dali City, like Sui Yu, suffering any casualties.

But Kai Feng Master had no further news.

Every Immortal City had a Communication Array that could contact the Alliance Headquarters at any time. The news Kai Feng Master received had been relayed through the Alliance Headquarters, so he didn’t know the specifics either.

There was nothing Du Youqian could do. He had to get a clear picture of the situation before heading back; he couldn’t just charge into Dali City blind.

"Kai Feng, could I trouble you to ask the people at Alliance Headquarters to find out the specifics? What exactly happened in Dali City, what did Master Changfu do, and what’s the status of the Duan Clan and the Sui Family?"

In terms of prospects, everyone knew that Du Youqian’s were no worse than Kai Feng Master’s.

But Du Youqian’s influence simply didn’t carry as much weight as Kai Feng Master’s.

There was nothing to be done about it; after all, Kai Feng Master was backed by the Seven Cities Alliance.

Even if Du Youqian reached the Nascent Soul Late Stage while Kai Feng Master was still in the Nascent Soul Middle Stage, Du Youqian’s influence wouldn’t be greater than his.

Only when Du Youqian advanced to Divinity Transformation, representing the Alliance’s peak Martial Force all by himself, would his influence become truly effective.

Kai Feng Master naturally wouldn’t refuse Du Youqian’s small request.

「Half an hour later.」

He replied to Du Youqian, "The Duan Clan’s main branch was decimated, and Patriarch Duan Shuma is gravely wounded. Because this is an internal matter for Dali City, the Alliance can’t say much. In addition, Fellow Daoist Xiao, although your mother intervened, no one dared to harm her. Your cousin only suffered minor injuries and was taken captive."

Du Youqian breathed a sigh of relief. ’As long as they’re safe, that’s what matters.’

’As for the main branch of the Duan Clan suffering heavy casualties... I have only one thing to say: Good riddance.’

’If you hadn’t suffered such heavy losses, what excuse would I have to go all out and kill Master Changfu!’

’The only fly in the ointment is that my uncle, Duan Shuma, was only gravely wounded, not killed.’

’If Duan Shuma had died too, I could go back and kill Master Changfu outright.’

’But since Duan Shuma is only wounded, I can’t just kill Master Changfu. I can only wound him severely.’

’It can’t be helped. I still have to make my way in the Alliance, which means I have to follow its rules.’

’Unless, one day, I ascend to Divinity Transformation. Then the entire Alliance will have to abide by *my* rules.’

"Thank you, Kai Feng. I’m heading back now."

A grave expression appeared on Kai Feng Master’s handsome face. "Fellow Daoist Xiao, I know you’re a man who understands priorities and doesn’t act on impulse, so I’m not worried on that front. But I can’t shake this feeling... Master Changfu has suffered at your hands before; he should know your strength. The entire Alliance knows you’re making a play for Dali City. So where did he get the nerve to move against the Duan Clan so openly? Be careful. Don’t let your ship capsize in a small place like Dali City."

Du Youqian actually had his own theory. "Master Changfu... either he’s gone mad, or he’s found backup. I’m leaning towards the latter."

Kai Feng Master nodded. "It’s said that in the past few years, he has gotten very close with Master Huaisu of Star Concealing City. Master Huaisu is even considering becoming Dao Companions with him. Some also speculate that at over eight hundred years old, with his years of accumulation, it’s about time Master Changfu advanced to the Nascent Soul Middle Stage. With his skill in Magical Combat, if he successfully advances, he could probably compete with most Nascent Soul Late Stage Cultivators."

Du Youqian had also gathered intelligence on Master Changfu. After all, only Master Changfu could cause him trouble in the fight for Dali City. As for the Master Huaisu that Kai Feng Master mentioned, Du Youqian had seen her in his intelligence reports as well.

However, the intelligence he had gathered didn’t mention Master Huaisu possibly becoming Dao Companions with Master Changfu, nor did it say that Master Changfu might have advanced.

’So this is the advantage a major power has in gathering intelligence.’

Du Youqian nodded and said, "Thank you for the reminder. I will act with caution."

He took out the Thousand-Mile Shuttle, traveled for an hour, then stopped and switched to a common Tier Three Flying Boat, flying slowly towards Dali City.

Du Youqian understood the situation perfectly.

’Master Changfu has already killed who he was going to kill and captured who he was going to capture. I’m definitely too late to save anyone.’

’Right now, Master Changfu has surely laid a trap and is just waiting for me to walk right into it.’

’So there’s no need to rush. I just need to take my time getting back, then use brute force to shatter his schemes and kill him. As long as Master Changfu is dealt with, the people I want to save will naturally be freed.’

’My travel speed is completely unimportant.’

And so, it took Du Youqian the better part of half a month to return to Dali City.

Nascent Soul Masters actually have the privilege of not having to go through the city gates and can directly descend from above the city in their Flying Boats.

The last time Du Youqian came to Dali City, he had landed directly in front of the Duan Clan’s main residence, with hundreds of Duan clansmen lining the path to welcome him.

But this time, Du Youqian was more cautious. He landed at the city gates first to carefully sense any changes in the city’s Grand Array.

The Grand Array of a First-class Immortal City can generally withstand forces at the Tier Five Early Stage.

If he were to charge in recklessly, he would be unlikely to gain any advantage, even as an expert approaching the level of a Tier Four Array Grandmaster.

Since Master Changfu had seized initial control of Dali City, he must have gained control of the City Defense Array.

Since he held the home-field advantage, it was impossible that he wouldn’t leverage the City Defense Array when the Magical Combat began.

However, City Defense Arrays are mainly designed for external defense. Although they also have functions for internal suppression, the power of internal suppression is definitely far weaker than that of external defense.

Although Du Youqian was only in the Nascent Soul Early Stage, his Divine Sense was comparable to that of a Nascent Soul Late Stage Cultivator—perhaps even a fair bit stronger than the average one.

His Nascent Soul Formation this time was completely different from his last life’s.

In his previous life, he had achieved Nascent Soul Formation with an immature Seven Transition Celestial Dance Scripture, and he hadn’t even performed the Seven Transitions before doing so. One could say he had the weakest type of Nascent Soul. He hadn’t even comprehended the Heaven and Earth Divine Abilities, and his Cultivation was barely stronger than Golden Core Perfection.

Don’t be fooled by the fact that he could kill a Nascent Soul Late Stage Cultivator back then. On one hand, Wen Wuxin had also been incredibly weak, and on the other, his own Magical Combat abilities were just too strong.

But this life was different. Having achieved Nascent Soul Formation with the Golden Jade Flying Scripture of the Eight Realms of Truth, he could say without any modesty that even disregarding his combat techniques and looking only at his Cultivation, he was among the absolute top tier of Nascent Soul Early Stage Cultivators.

’Even if Master Changfu has already advanced to the Nascent Soul Middle Stage... and even if he has a Dao Companion who’s also at the Middle Stage...’

’So what?’

’Killing both of you while under the pressure of the Grand Array... that’s impossible, of course.’

Du Youqian was not yet so arrogant as to think he could defeat Master Changfu and Master Huaisu under the pressure of the Grand Array.

’So... first, I have to either gain partial control of the City Defense Array, nullify Master Changfu’s control over it, or lure Master Changfu and Master Huaisu out of the city to fight.’

’Otherwise, there’s no way to win this fight.’

Du Youqian figured the Duan Clan might still have an ace up their sleeve, but it would be incredibly difficult to contact them now.

’Then I’ll have to go with the third option.’

"Changfu, you little thief! You didn’t dare face me, so you waited until I was gone to launch your pathetic sneak attack. The last time I beat you, I don’t recall cutting off your balls, did I? So how did you suddenly lose them? And Master Huaisu! I hear you’re quite the beauty, one who usually gives all sorts of heroes the cold shoulder. So this is the kind of thing you’re into, huh!"

Aided by a Secret Technique, Du Youqian’s voice echoed above Dali City, and ten million people, both inside and outside the walls, heard his voice at the same time.