“Is that so?” Yan Ge remained noncommittal. He wasn’t really interested in dealing with Tong He. His current cultivation was at the early Crossing Tribulation stage, would it be interesting to fight against someone in the Foundation Establishment stage? Not at all.
He turned to look at Huangfu Yuchen, a signal that seemed to say, “It’s your turn,” then sat at the front of the car and took out a banana to eat.
Huangfu Yuchen felt that things couldn’t go on like this. He and Yan Ge had come to Earth mainly for leisure, and establishing the farm was meant to counter the Yan family. The fact that those cultivators were coveting the farm was getting quite annoying.
He walked over to Yan Ge, leaned in, and took a bite of the banana. “I’ve got an idea.”
“What idea?” Yan Ge asked.
Huangfu Yuchen explained, “Who has the highest cultivation level in the country? If we defeat him, others won’t dare to bother us.”
Tong He’s pupils contracted. ‘What audacious words!’
Yan Ge stroked his chin and licked the banana off his lips, “Good idea. But won’t it be too high profile?”
“Are you afraid of being high profile?” Huangfu Yuchen looked at him with a smile.
Yan Ge smiled as well. “Afraid of what?”
The two of them decided on their plan and moved to get into the car.
Since Tong He had taken up this job, he had to follow through. Otherwise, what face would he have left in the cultivation world? Seeing them about to leave, he quickly dashed over, launching a surprise attack on Yan Ge from behind.
Yan Ge acted as if he didn’t notice. He opened the car door, and got in.
Huangfu Yuchen delivered a swift palm strike behind him. The move was as elusive as the wind, and it hit Tong He right in the chest.
Tong He was horrified. He retreated three or four steps and had to press his feet tightly against the ground to stabilize himself. The friction between his shoe soles and the ground made a squeaking sound, even emitting a faint puff of smoke. His feet were also burning.
Huangfu Yuchen turned around to get in the car. However, the child suddenly rushed toward him, launching an unexpected ambush. His speed was like a meteor crashing down, the momentum like a rolling wave surging in, filled with killing intent.
Without even turning his head, Huangfu Yuchen lifted his right hand and condensed his true qi into a sword. With a gentle swing, he struck Tong Rui’s waist.
Tong Rui fell silently to the ground. His upper and lower body suddenly began to change, elongating gradually. His childish face transformed into a weathered appearance.
He was actually an adult who had practiced a technique to disguise himself as a child. He intended to ambush Huangfu Yuchen and Yan Ge from the shadows, catching them off guard. However, fate played its hand.
Tong He stared at Huangfu Yuchen in horror. His hands were trembling slightly, and his heart was like ashes.
“You, deliver a message to the cultivator with the highest cultivation level here. Three days from now, we’ll be waiting atop Mount Baichang.”
Huangfu Yuchen delivered these words coldly.
Tong He thought he was destined to die. He watched their car disappear from his sight before finally releasing his tension, falling to the ground with his back hunched. He knew that fear had taken root in his heart. Unless he could kill Huangfu Yuchen, further progress in his cultivation path would be nearly impossible.
He remained seated for a long time before standing up, exhaling lightly, and hurrying away.
Mount Baichang was located in the northern part of the country. Even though it was now March, the air was still chilly, and the mountain was covered in gleaming white snow. Even if there was a commotion here, it wouldn’t attract the attention of ordinary people.
By the time Huangfu Yuchen and Yan Ge arrived, quite a number of people had gathered on the mountain. If they hadn’t recognized that all these people were cultivators, they would have thought they were in the wrong place. A quick glance revealed around a hundred or more individuals.
Yan Ge was surprised. Wang Zhiyuan had mentioned that there were slightly over a hundred cultivators in China. Were they all here now? Upon further thought, it made sense. The allure of the farm was too great, and these cultivators naturally wanted to know the strength of both him and Huangfu Yuchen, and whether they could be challenged.
They walked amidst the gazes of the onlookers and calmly ascended to the mountaintop.
There were shrewd people among the cultivators; at a glance, it was evident that Huangfu Yuchen and Yan Ge were calm and their aura didn’t radiate the slightest trace of true qi, almost as if they were ordinary people. This showed that the two were quite formidable and the cultivators felt excited yet uneasy. Excited, as they were about to witness a splendid battle; uneasy, as if even the highest-level cultivator couldn’t defeat Huangfu Yuchen and Yan Ge, their hopes for the spiritual energy of the farm would be shattered.
Where there were smart people, there were foolish ones. Some cultivators seemed dismissive. In their eyes, Huangfu Yuchen and Yan Ge were just some youngsters who had popped up from nowhere. Especially Yan Ge, who had been an ordinary person a little over two years ago. How much could his cultivation have possibly advanced in just two years? Head Elder Yuan would definitely be able to defeat them and show them their place.
The anticipatory gazes of the crowd were directed towards a middle-aged man standing solidly at the mountaintop, his eyes were closed as if resting. Looking down at his feet, one could see that he hadn’t sunk even half an inch into the snow. Even the minuscule snowflakes fluttered around him, avoiding him as if in awe, falling silently to the ground.
The middle-aged man heard the commotion, opened his eyes slightly, and cast a fleeting glance downward. His expression was calm, his gaze tranquil, exuding a righteous spirit.
He was undoubtedly the cultivator with the acknowledged highest level of cultivation in China — Yuan Luoheng, the head of Danyang Palace. At this moment, his cultivation was at the late Golden Core stage.
Single-mindedly devoted to cultivation, Yuan Luoheng rarely concerned himself with worldly matters. Hearing that someone was challenging him, he had to respond. If he didn’t, outsiders might think he was afraid. He saw that he couldn’t discern Huangfu Yuchen’s and Yan Ge’s cultivation levels, and he had a bad premonition, but he remained unfazed.
Yan Ge and Huangfu Yuchen stood before Yuan Luoheng, and noticed that Tong He was also present.
Tong He stood quietly not far away, expressionless, as if he had grown indifferent to something, probably deeply affected by his previous defeat.
How could something this big in the cultivation world be hidden from the shadow operatives department force? Ji Chang, Ruan Mingwei, He Hong, and Zhang Jian were also there, trying to minimize their presence. As Yan Ge’s gaze swept over them, the four nodded respectfully.
“Fellow Cultivator Yan, Fellow Cultivator Huangfu,” Yuan Luoheng nodded slightly, very composed. “I have heard of your great reputations. I’m fortunate to learn from you.”
“Fellow Cultivator Yuan, pleased to meet you,” Yan Ge smiled gently. “We’ve been a bit presumptuous this time. If it weren’t for some people repeatedly causing trouble with us, we wouldn’t have disturbed your cultivation. We hope you won’t take offense.”
Seeing that Yan Ge was easy to talk to, Yuan Luoheng pondered for a moment, and responded, “Fengshan Farm is indeed privately owned by the two of you, that’s beyond question. However, Fellow Cultivator Yan, you’re also a cultivator and should understand the aspirations of fellow cultivators. I fear that in the future, conflicts with Fengshan Farm might persist. I believe opening the farm to cultivators wouldn’t be a bad idea. I trust that fellow cultivators will possess sufficient resources to exchange.”
On hearing this, everyone’s gaze shifted onto Yan Ge and Huangfu Yuchen, and they voiced their agreement, their eyes filled with eagerness.
Huangfu Yuchen observed coldly. He and Xiao Ge had intended to compromise, but the specifics would be decided by them.
Yan Ge gestured noncommittally. “We can talk more after you’ve defeated me.”
Yuan Luoheng nodded. “Very well. Please.”
The others quickly retreated to a distance. Yuan Luoheng was in the Golden Core stage, and his formidable power was not something those of lower cultivation levels like them could withstand.
Huangfu Yuchen only stepped back four or five paces before he stopped retreating altogether.
The cultivators frowned. Was he planning to secretly aid Yan Ge?
Yan Ge chuckled inwardly at their assumptions, but still directed Huangfu Yuchen, “Yuchen, step back a bit more.”
Only then did Huangfu Yuchen take a few more steps back, staying two paces closer than the other spectators.
Yan Ge addressed Yuan Luoheng, “Fellow Cultivator Yuan, please.”
Yuan Luoheng’s two junior disciples, Liu Yuandao and Gong Zhicheng, wore displeased expressions. They noticed that Yan Ge didn’t even remove his hat, as if he didn’t take their master seriously.
Yuan Luoheng remained calm, not a hint of fluctuation in his expression or gaze. He nodded and said, “Since that’s the case, I won’t hold back.”
With that, he made a semi-circular motion, arriving in front of Yan Ge and launching a punch.
This punch was as fast as lightning, and its force was astonishing.
Even those standing behind Yan Ge felt it, as if a tall stone wall were collapsing toward them. Snow on the ground also burst into the air, as if someone were vigorously using an industrial fan. The snow struck their faces like they were being hit by small stones. It was stinging and painful.
Liu Yuandao hurriedly shouted, “Step back even further!”
The cultivators quickly retreated nearly a mile.
Liu Yuandao and Gong Zhicheng, relying on their high cultivation levels, remained in place without moving, frowning as they looked at Yan Ge.
Yan Ge calmly raised his hand, and the snow on the ground was pulled up as if it were a piece of white cloth, forming a barrier in front of him. He casually struck his palm against this barrier, and the “white cloth” instantly solidified into a snowball, shooting toward Yuan Luoheng like a cannonball.
Yuan Luoheng quickly stepped back, but the snowball was fast. In an instant, it reached him, almost hitting his chest. He leaned backward just in time, and the snowball whooshed past him, making a “boom” as it collided with a mature pine tree about ten meters away.
The pine tree trembled violently, and the accumulated snow on it burst out like fireworks, leaving not a trace of snow behind. The towering green pine shed its snowy cover, its verdant green contrasting sharply with the surrounding white ice and snow.
Before the onlookers could recover from their astonishment, they heard a “crack” sound. The pine tree had snapped, and the break was so clean, as if it had been cut with a single horizontal stroke of a blade!
The crowd involuntarily sucked in a cold breath. With their strength, they could break a tree as thick as that, but Yan Ge had done it with a snowball, and from such a distance. It was evident just how immense the power contained within the snowball was!
The expressions of Liu Yuandao and Gong Zhicheng turned solemn at this moment.
The leaders of several other sects also wore somewhat grave expressions. While there had been conflicts between their sects and Danyang Palace in the past due to the competition for cultivation resources, they now stood on Yuan Luoheng’s side. If Yuan Luoheng defeated Yan Ge, they might still have a chance to negotiate with him. However, if Yuan Luoheng lost, they would be faced with a substantial opportunity, yet they couldn’t seize it. Wouldn’t they feel stifled for the rest of their lives?
The situation was not looking good. They exchanged glances and focused even more intently on Yan Ge and Yuan Luoheng.
