Chapter 777 - 410: The Wrong Choice

Weidao Mountain worked for Tian Fulai. That much wasn’t hard for Yang An to guess.

At Tian Fulai’s behest, Weidao Mountain had deliberately gotten close to him to earn his trust. But Tian Fulai couldn’t have cared less if Weidao Mountain was ultimately exposed.

From the moment Yang An appeared until he finished off Weidao Mountain, Tian Fulai’s aura never left the cave. This proved he was waiting for Yang An to arrive.

They were opponents of the same caliber; how could such a petty trick fool either of them?

"Harming fellow members is forbidden within the mansion. Elder Yang, you’ve broken the rules. If the Mansion Master and the Supreme Elder were to learn of this..."

Not long after the words faded, a figure slowly walked out from within the cave.

However, the newcomer wasn’t Tian Fulai, but Meng Jianglai.

His words were filled with menace, and his gaze toward Yang An was defiant.

When he had pursued Tian Fulai here that day, a frenzied Tian Fulai had used him as a punching bag and given him a harsh lesson.

But in Meng Jianglai’s mind, even if Tian Fulai had lost to Yang An on the surface, Yang An would be no match for his Senior Brother in a true fight to the death.

’He knew full well that his Senior Brother had yet to unleash his true power. He was only holding back because of the Mansion Master and the Supreme Elder.’

"Are you threatening me?"

Yang An smiled faintly as he looked at Meng Jianglai.

In that instant, Meng Jianglai shuddered. He felt as if a savage and vicious Fierce Beast had locked its eyes on him, and he instinctively took a step back.

"Th-this isn’t a threat!"

Meng Jianglai steadied his nerves. ’My Senior Brother is right behind me,’ he thought. ’There’s no need to be afraid of Yang An.’

"The fact is that you killed Elder Weidao Mountain!"

"A fact?"

Yang An laughed at that, his eyes suddenly sweeping over their surroundings.

"Can anyone here prove I killed him?"

His gaze finally came to rest on Meng Jianglai.

"You’re the..."

BANG!

Before Meng Jianglai could finish, Yang An appeared in front of him, one hand seizing his throat and slamming him against the stone wall.

Countless cracks instantly spiderwebbed across the stone wall. Meng Jianglai’s face flushed crimson, unable to utter a single word as specks of light began to materialize all around him.

Just as it looked like Meng Jianglai was about to suffer the same fate as Weidao Mountain, Yang An suddenly withdrew, retreating to his original position.

The moment he pulled back, a flash of sword light streaked past, carving an abyssal fissure into the ground. At that same moment, Tian Fulai appeared before Meng Jianglai.

"Senior Brother..."

Meng Jianglai coughed violently. A moment ago, if Tian Fulai hadn’t intervened in time, he would have been killed by Yang An.

Yang An truly would have killed him!

Tian Fulai now stood before Meng Jianglai, having already summoned a blade formed from the Heavenly Dao Laws. His gaze was fixed on Yang An.

The arm that Yang An had previously severed was reattached and had healed completely, without a scratch.

’The man in charge is finally here.’ Yang An smiled. "If you have something to discuss, let’s get to it. You lured me all the way out here, so don’t waste my time. Otherwise, I’m leaving."

As he spoke, Yang An seemed to intentionally glance at Meng Jianglai before looking away.

’If Meng Jianglai dared to repeat his earlier foolishness, he would die, even with Tian Fulai right here.’

"You are a genius. One whose talent is no less than my own."

At this, Tian Fulai finally spoke, his tone remarkably calm.

"And?"

Yang An asked with piqued interest.

"But even a genius must bow before the Great Dao.

Do you know how long it took me to break through a single Small Realm in Harmonizing with the Dao?"

"Not interested."

Yang An said, waving his hand dismissively.

But Tian Fulai ignored him and continued speaking.

"Twenty years! Twenty whole years!"

Yang An gave him a surprised look. ’If I remember correctly, Weidao Mountain said ten years.’

"The ’ten years’ you heard of was merely their perception. Who could possibly understand the hardships I’ve faced?"

"What does any of this have to do with me? You don’t actually think I’m the empathetic type, do you?"

’Yang An maintained an air of indifference. If he wasn’t mistaken, Tian Fulai was about to get to the real point—something to do with the turbid qi.’

"Of course it has to do with you!

As I said, you’re a genius. But when you eventually reach the stage of Harmonizing with the Dao, you will face the same dilemma I did. You might spend the rest of your life stuck in a single realm, unable to advance a single step no matter what you try."

"So, you have a solution?"

Tian Fulai had laid an obvious trap, waiting for Yang An to walk into it. Instead, Yang An chose to call it out directly.

’No need to beat around the bush with an intelligent man.’ A hint of appreciation flickered in Tian Fulai’s eyes.

"That is precisely why I invited you here. We could cooperate. I have a method that can guarantee your cultivation path will be completely unobstructed. All it requires is a small price from you."

"What method?"

A look of curiosity spread across Yang An’s face, as if he was suddenly eager to know what this ’trap’ contained.

"We cultivate our entire lives to seek longevity, to see a vaster world. But how many people know that above our world, an even greater one has always existed?

There are Cultivators there, just like us. But they don’t yearn for longevity as we do; they are born with the power of eternal life. Everything we crave is nothing more than a cheap trinket they possess from birth.