At the mine, everyone stared with trepidation at the Wushan Four Fiends, their bodies emanating a profound Evil Qi.
Zhou Jiang and the others unconsciously shuffled their feet, moving to stand behind Xu Yang. As for Liu Xunjiang, they paid him no mind at all.
Liu Xunjiang shouted sharply, "The Wushan Four Fiends have barged into the mine to kill! Is this not a trampling of our Sect’s prestige? Xu Yang, if you allow them to run rampant here, I will most certainly report you to the Sect for punishment."
Xu Yang snorted. "Go ahead and report it. As long as they don’t touch the mine’s personnel, I don’t care what you report. You’re the one who allowed outsiders into the mine and caused all this trouble. I’m curious to see who gets punished—you or me."
"So, you must be Xu Yang, the recently acclaimed genius of the Purple Sun Sect. Rest assured, Brother Xu, we are only here to kill members of the Song Family. Of course, if someone from your Purple Sun Sect attacks us, then don’t blame us for what follows." Li Haoran wasn’t in a hurry to make a move, content to watch the Purple Sun Sect’s internal conflict unfold.
Xu Yang glanced dispassionately at Li Haoran. "As long as you don’t initiate an attack on the mine’s personnel, I will not get involved. If someone attacks you and gets killed, it has nothing to do with me. Worst case, I’ll just request more people from the Sect."
Li Haoran nodded and turned to Song Wenxuan. "Snatching food from a tiger’s mouth... you’ve got some nerve. Did you think the Yunling Mountain Range was your personal fiefdom? Hand over the item, and I’ll give you a quick death."
"We found it first! By what right do you claim it’s yours?"
Song Wenxuan shouted fiercely, "Li Haoran, don’t take it too far! Do you really think my Song Family fears you? If you force a Celestial Essence Strong Person to act, there will be no place for you to hide in the entire Yunling Mountain Range, no matter how vast it is."
’I can’t believe this. Yesterday, Liu Xunjiang gave me his word that he would make Xu Yang intervene. I never thought Xu Yang would ignore him completely.’
’If I had known, I would have left in the middle of the night. We might have already escaped the Wushan Four Fiends by now.’
"Are you talking about Song Yushao? He’s merely a Celestial Essence Strong Person. You don’t really think he’s a god, do you? The Yunling Mountain Range is enormous. If he could actually find us, my Wushan Four Fiends would have died a thousand times over by now."
As he spoke, Li Haoran strode forward, closing the distance. "Everyone who isn’t with the Song Family, scram! Otherwise, don’t blame me for not giving you a heads-up when you die."
The aura of Marrow Cleansing Great Success erupted from his body, stirring up a gale.
Across from him, the color drained from Liu Xunjiang’s face again and again.
He had heard Song Wenxuan describe their previous encounter with the Wushan Four Fiends. Back then, they had only faced the eldest, Li Haoran, and the fourth brother, Li Haoning.
Just those two had been enough to wound their party of three grievously and force them to flee. Now, with all four of the Wushan Four Fiends present and no help from Xu Yang, Song Wenxuan and his two companions were as good as dead.
Even if he joined in, the outcome would be the same. His Cultivation was merely at Marrow Cleansing Minor Achievement; he couldn’t change a thing.
"Xu Yang, I am the Steward of this mine! How dare you disobey my command!" he roared, his voice laced with panic.
"You fool," Xu Yang stated flatly, spitting out the two words.
’It’s not as if I didn’t warn him,’ Xu Yang thought. ’But even if I hadn’t, given his connection to Liu Qingyuan, I wouldn’t have lifted a finger to save him anyway.’
’Besides, both Liu Xunjiang and Song Wenxuan showed killing intent toward me yesterday. This is a perfect chance to let the Wushan Four Fiends dispose of two people I want dead anyway.’
"Xu Yang! The Wushan Four Fiends are vicious and merciless! They never leave survivors! After they kill us, they won’t let you go. It’s impossible for you to just stand by and watch! They’re just lulling you into a false sense of security before picking us off one by one.
"Once we’re dead, you won’t be able to stand against them alone. They will certainly kill you and then sack the mine.
"If you act now, you’ll be saving us and the mine. If something happens to the mine, you won’t be able to bear the consequences.
"How about this? If you help, I, Song Wenxuan, will owe you a favor."
Seeing that Liu Xunjiang couldn’t order Xu Yang around, Song Wenxuan decided to try himself, analyzing the potential aftermath of their demise at the hands of the Wushan Four Fiends while simultaneously offering a favor.
Unfortunately for him, he had no idea that Xu Yang had overheard his entire conversation with Liu Xunjiang the day before.
"I am only responsible for the mine’s security. I will not concern myself with anything else."
Xu Yang looked at Liu Xunjiang. "If you interfere in their dispute and get yourself killed, it will have nothing to do with me. The Sect sent us here to serve the Sect, not to meddle in other people’s affairs. You’d be wise to remember that."
’Of course, I’m not actually worried about him getting killed,’ he thought. ’I’m just shifting any potential blame.’
’I’ve warned him. If he still goes looking for death, I’ll have a perfectly good excuse, even if this gets brought before the Sect Leader. As for Liu Qingyuan... we’re already enemies. What’s the death of one more Liu Xunjiang between us?’
’Whether the Wushan Four Fiends will try to sack the mine afterward is a problem for later.’
’Never mind that only two of the Wushan Four Fiends have reached Marrow Cleansing Great Success. Even if all four of them had a Great Achievement in Bone Marrow Cleansing Cultivation, I wouldn’t be afraid.’
’With my Sword Intent and my Unmoving Bright King Body at the Minor Achievement stage, I have no fear of a group fight.’
’Besides, these Wushan Four Fiends look pretty pathetic. Two of them are at Marrow Cleansing Great Success, yet they only have a single Half-Spirit Weapon between them.’
"Brother Xu, please take your men and move back a little. We wouldn’t want you to get caught in the crossfire," Li Haoran said, preparing to strike.
His main fear was that Xu Yang’s group was just putting on an act—pretending to be at odds with the others—and would launch a sneak attack once he was engaged with Song Wenxuan.
Although rumor had it that Xu Yang only had a Minor Achievement in Bone Marrow Cleansing Cultivation, Li Haoran had heard the real expert here was named Guan Du. It was best to be cautious.
"Everyone, fall back."
Without another word, Xu Yang led Zhou Jiang and the others back by a good hundred feet.
"Kill them! Let’s see what Song Yushao can do to me!"
Li Haoran’s Gang Qi surged like a tide as he drew his Half-Spirit Weapon, the light of the blade rapidly coalescing into a sharp edge of energy!
"Xu Yang, you just stand by and do nothing! If anything happens to us, the Song Family will never forgive you!" Song Wenxuan cried in despair.
"This has nothing to do with me! I’m out!" Liu Xunjiang shouted.