Chapter 145: Chapter 143: Dare or Not?

Satisfied?

How could I be satisfied!

Chen Fangli’s face changed, utterly shocked and incredulous at the fact Zhouyang personally admitted, and deeply filled with jealousy and anger.

To outsiders, Zhouyang’s words were that he had slain several Foundation Establishment Demon Cultivators, exhibiting extraordinary combat power.

But in Chen Fangli’s eyes, who already had preconceived biases, he focused only on the phrase “following the senior cultivators in Demon Extermination and Dao Protection”, believing he only accomplished this by basking in the glory of the Purple Mansion Stage senior cultivators.

Once a person is prejudiced, it’s very hard to change!

Thus, blinded by jealousy, Chen Fangli finally couldn’t resist blurting out the words he had been unwilling to say directly earlier.

“Since Fellow Daoist Zhou is so confident, I wonder if you dare to spar with me, allow me to witness Fellow Daoist Zhou’s Great Divine Techniques in Demon Extermination and Dao Protection?”

Here it comes!

The words eagerly awaited finally came out of Chen Fangli’s mouth, causing the onlookers to be invigorated, snapping out of the shock brought by Zhouyang’s words earlier, looking towards Zhouyang with excitement.

Hearing is believing, seeing is proving.

Zhouyang claimed to have killed several Foundation Establishment Demon Cultivators, but the specifics are impossible for most to know.

However, if they could see Zhouyang in action, they’d be able to truly ascertain Zhouyang’s skills.

Nevertheless, Zhouyang was bound to disappoint them, as he had no desire to engage in combat on such a joyous day, or escalate things further.

With an indifferent gaze, he looked at Chen Fangli and asked calmly: “May I ask, what is this year of advanced age of Fellow Daoist Chen?”

The term “advanced age” is typically used to ask about the lifespan of elders, now used by him to inquire about Chen Fangli, anyone could sense the sarcasm within.

Hearing this, Chen Fangli’s face changed suddenly, unable to admit shame and anger, shouted, “What does Fellow Daoist Zhou mean by this? Although I am a few years older than you, I’ve reached Foundation Establishment later than you. If you claim I am bullying you with age, others would laugh at it!”

“No, Fellow Daoist Chen misunderstood me. I only meant to say, with your years accumulated, were they lived on a dog’s body?”

“In terms of cultivation realm, I established Foundation earlier than you, at a younger age than you, and my cultivation is currently higher than yours. Who gave you the courage to publicly challenge me?”

“In terms of identity and experience, upon completing Foundation Establishment, I assumed the position of Zhou Family Patriarch, leading the Zhou Family towards prosperity and actively engaging in Demon Extermination and Dao Protection, personally slaying several Foundation Establishment Demon Cultivators. Can you, sheltered under your clan’s elders, even compare?”

“As for my identity as a Tier Three Refiner, let’s not dwell on it. Otherwise, you might once again ask me to refine a Tier Three Spiritual Artifact for you in public!”

“Finally, you wish to spar with me, but simply because you want it, do you think I will comply? Who do you think you are? Do you presume you’re a Chen Family cultivator capable of representing the Chen Family?”

“Or dare you publicly declare that you’re representing the Chen Family in challenging me, Zhouyang?”

“Do you dare?”

“Do you dare?”

Zhouyang’s sharp gaze fixed on Chen Fangli, his voice resonating like thunder at Chen Fangli’s ears.

Simultaneously, his formidable divine sense power surged like crashing waves, continuously impacting Chen Fangli, causing him to stumble backward, retreating over ten steps before he regained composure to forcibly use magical power to disperse and isolate Zhouyang’s divine sense oppression.

Such powerful divine sense!

All present Foundation Establishment cultivators witnessed this scene, their faces changed, heart filled with shock and amazement.

Though not directly facing Zhouyang’s divine sense oppression like Chen Fangli, as Foundation Establishment cultivators, they could still perceive the powerful divine sense fluctuation Zhouyang emitted.

To these people, especially a Late-Stage Foundation Establishment cultivator like Yang Xingyan, the divine sense fluctuation Zhouyang released was definitely comparable to that of cultivators in the seventh or eighth layer of Foundation Establishment.

Yet nobody knew whether this was his limit!

Zhouyang chose to reveal his strong divine sense, firstly to intimidate Chen Fangli, and secondly, to provide others with an explanation as to why he could continuously slay demon cultivators, warning them not to offend him or the Zhou Family lightly.

As widely known, the stronger the divine sense, the greater the aid in opening the Purple Mansion.

Whether Zhouyang’s divine sense was inherently strong or it resulted from consuming some spiritual object, it suggests that he has a considerable chance of opening the Purple Mansion in the future.

Under such circumstances, unless a bitter hatred exists, those with any sense would not easily offend him or the Zhou Family, to avoid increasing the likelihood of creating a Purple Mansion Stage enemy in the future.

Chen Fangli, of course, understood all these.

As the involved party, presently under Zhouyang’s sharp gaze, he felt ashamed and enraged, panic-stricken within, his face alternating between pale and crimson, truly a sight to behold.

Being publicly scolded by Zhouyang as having lived his years on a dog’s body naturally incited uncontainable anger within him, yearning to fight Zhouyang desperately.

But could he? Would he dare?

Zhouyang asked if he dared to claim representing Chen Family to challenge him; the truth was, he did not dare!

If he truly said so, upon returning to Chen Family, he’d likely never be able to leave White Camel Peak again!

He was indeed jealous of Zhouyang, but he was not foolish. Of course, he knew how much his ancestor valued Zhouyang.

If he involved the Chen Family solely to provoke Zhouyang, it would be merely his own enmity with Zhouyang.

But if he involved the Chen Family, it would truly drag the whole clan into it. Then, how could the Chen Family Ancestor and other members let him off easily?

Honestly, after Zhouyang displayed such formidable Divine Sense, he had lost all hope of winning.

If he really fought Zhouyang and ended up being subdued, his fate on returning home would be even more miserable.

Thus, even though Zhouyang pointed at his nose and cursed him, he instead became timid, standing there glaring at Zhouyang, unable to utter a single word.

Seeing this, the Zhou Family Cultivators who were previously angered by Chen Fangli’s words felt a rush of relief, as if they’d drunk cold water on a hot day.

If it wasn’t for their own low cultivation, unsuitable for interrupting, they might have applauded and laughed heartily.

Even Zhou Minghan narrowed his eyes, full of amusement.

At this point, seeing Chen Fangli’s demeanor, everyone knew there’d be no more spectacle today.

Thus, the Patriarch of the Yang Family from Golden Spring Valley, Yang Xingyan, who was also watching the commotion, suddenly squinted his eyes and stepped forward, lightly coughing to draw attention, saying, “Both of you should calm down, today’s a day of celebration, how could there be fighting?”

Then he turned his gaze humorously towards Zhou Minghan, saying, “Brother Minghan, could it be that your Zhou Family, seeing so many people today, feared we would empty your granary, and thus staged this play with Fellow Daoist Chen to fool us into leaving?”

“Haha, Fellow Daoist Yang is joking. Although our Zhou Family isn’t as wealthy as your Yang Family, we can still take out some Spirit Rice. Since you say so, to avoid misunderstanding, let’s all sit and feast!”

Zhou Minghan chuckled, understanding Yang Xingyan was trying to grant Chen Fangping a graceful exit, and thus played along with a smile.

No one else dared to risk offending the Chen, Yang, and Zhou families, and promptly sat down to eat.

Of course, while others could eat, Chen Fangli certainly had no mood to stay and eat.

So, after others sat down to eat, he quietly left Jade Spring Peak with a sullen face, heading back to the Chen Family, only transmitting his thanks to Yang Xingyan.

Zhouyang paid no mind to such a person, believing that once today’s events reached the Chen Family, this individual would be grounded by the Chen Family Ancestor, with no chance to cause trouble in the future.

The feast on Jade Spring Peak lasted for three days and nights before ending, with the Zhou Family’s preparation of twenty to thirty thousand pounds of Spirit Rice and hundreds of jars of Spirit Wine consumed entirely.

Including the Spirit Fruits, demon beast meat, and Spirit Medicine Cuisine prepared, the materials the Zhou Family used for the feast were worth thousands of Spirit Stones.

This wasn’t counting the special ingredients for the Foundation Establishment Cultivators’ tables, where the main dish was the fish of the Tier Three High-grade Water Demon.

Such spiritual flesh from Tier Three High-grade Demon Beasts was rich in Spiritual Qi and had an excellent taste. When Zhouyang and the others brought back the Water Demon corpse, each cultivator of the Zhou Family received seven to eight pounds to savor, and the rest was sliced and stored in Jade Boxes for the feast.

Once brought out at this feast, it indeed earned praises from the Foundation Establishment Cultivators, who lowered themselves to partake eagerly.

“Amazing, amazing. Such delicious fish, the first I’ve tasted in over a century, Brother Minghan, what’s the origin of this fish? Could you share with us?”

Yang Xingyan devoured several fish pieces before putting his chopsticks down, enjoying himself fully as he inquired about the fish from Zhou Minghan seated nearby.

“Hahaha, Junior Brother Yang, you are well-versed; care to guess?”

Zhou Minghan laughed, keeping the mystery.

Yang Xingyan wasn’t lured in, shaking his head and smiling, “I won’t guess. Even if I guess right, it wouldn’t mean more fish. I’d rather eat first.”

He truly began to scoop more fish from the hotpot into his bowl to relish.

Zhou Minghan, seeing his actions, felt even more proud.

If even someone like Yang Xingyan was satisfied, why worry others invited wouldn’t be?

In good spirits, he stopped keeping the secret, describing vividly the origin of the fish and the battle where Chen Ping’an sword-slashed the Water Demon.

By narrating Chen Ping’an’s aid in slaying the demon, he hinted that relations between the Zhou and Chen families remained strong, unaffected by Chen Fangli’s actions, honoring their centuries-old bond.

Learning the fish was Tier Three High-Grade Water Beast Spiritual Flesh, slain by a Purple Mansion Stage Cultivator controlling the sword, even those who disliked fish found themselves joining in to grab a share, let alone Yang Xingyan, a fond fish-eater.

After three days of indulgence, the banquet tables were finally removed.

During these three days, the gathered hundreds of cultivators weren’t merely indulging; according to Cultivation Realm customs, senior Foundation Establishment Cultivators at such events should explain cultivation experiences and resolve cultivation difficulties for juniors.

If unwilling, it’s fine too, sharing anecdotes, or technical points from the Hundred Skills of Cultivation not involving core inheritance, or even aspects of magic practice detailing was an alternative.

Low-tier cultivators gaining from these teachings, besides thanking the mentioning cultivator, would also be grateful to the Zhou Family for hosting and remember this favor.

Though Zhouyang didn’t gain much from the teachings focused on Qi Cultivation Stage Cultivators, his own teachings included explanations of low-tier Magical Artifact refining techniques and key considerations.

Post-teaching concluded the final event of the celebration.

Standing erect on the high platform, Zhouyang loudly declared, “On behalf of the Zhou Family, I thank you all for sharing your cultivation experiences. Next, our Zhou Family will set up a temporary Marketplace on the mountain for half a day; if interested, feel free to visit to see if there are gains.”