Chapter 438: Chapter 423: Clash
Thousand autumns endure, ten thousand generations prosper.
This is, of course, just a beautiful wish.
Perhaps all the Zhou Family cultivators present today only see it as a beautiful wish, no one truly believing it can be realized.
But for Zhouyang, he believes that as long as he continues his cultivation, forms a Golden Core, transforms into a Nascent Soul, and crosses the Celestial Tribulation, this wish will come true one day!
After the ceremony of offering to the heavens, the real celebration begins.
Zhouyang stepped down from the magic altar to personally entertain the visiting Purple Mansion cultivators Zhang Yunpeng, Chen Ping’an, Nie Qiufeng, Yan Nantian, Yang Wenxiong, and others.
As for those at the Purple Mansion Stage, they were left to Clan Leader Zhou Guangxiang.
Chen Ping’an opened his Purple Mansion decades earlier than Zhouyang, and his spirit root talent is also of the upper grade. However, being trapped in the Boundless Sea of Sand Cultivation Realm, and unlike Zhouyang, unable to consume spirit pills extensively to elevate his cultivation, his current level is only the fourth-layer of the Purple Mansion, on par with Xiao Ying.
Watching Zhouyang, who opened his Purple Mansion decades after him, suddenly surpassing him in cultivation by an entire minor realm, his complicated feelings were difficult for outsiders to understand.
Especially so, with the Zhou Family’s successful occupation of Rhino Horn Continent, owning a Tier Five spiritual vein and a super-large oasis, the Zhou Family has completely surpassed the Chen Family in terms of territory and resources, not to mention the number of Purple Mansion and Foundation Establishment cultivators.
As an intelligent and insightful person, he understands that the current Zhouyang and the Zhou Family are entities neither he nor his Chen Family can afford to offend. For the sake of his family’s future legacy, he must do something to remedy the situation.
"Fellow Daoist Zhou, because of some inappropriate actions by my family ancestor and the evil deeds of Chen Fangli back then, a rift developed in the long-standing relationship between our two families; today, I, Chen, stand here to apologize to you on behalf of my ancestor and the Chen Family!"
Halfway through the banquet, with resolute determination, Chen Ping’an suddenly stood up, bowed to Zhouyang, and began apologizing for the actions that Chen Family Ancestor Chen Yaohui took to attack the Zhou Family years ago.
In an instant, the surrounding cultivators who heard his words all paused with their wine cups and chopsticks, stunned on the spot.
Nobody expected Chen Ping’an to suddenly make such a move, Zhouyang included.
It must be known that as a Purple Mansion Stage cultivator and the clan leader of an old Purple Mansion clan, Chen Ping’an is a well-known figure in the Boundless Desert Sea Cultivation Realm.
Such a figure, to lower his face publicly and apologize to Zhouyang for a long past incident, is truly surprising.
While surprised, everyone’s hearts were also seized with a chill, compelled to reassess Zhouyang and the Zhou Family.
No cultivator seated here today is a fool.
For Chen Ping’an, a clan leader of an established Purple Mansion clan, to willingly apologize publicly to Zhouyang and the Zhou Family for a centuries-old incident, the implication is clear.
In the eyes of Chen Ping’an, Zhouyang and the Zhou Family have become a formidable force that even the Chen Family cannot provoke, so he uses this old matter as an excuse to willingly submit to the Zhou Family.
And when a clan like the Chen Family, which has produced two Purple Mansion cultivators, is cautious enough to submit to the Zhou Family, those other familial forces which are inferior to the Chen Family must carefully consider what attitude to adopt toward the Zhou Family in the future.
Looking at Zhouyang again, after being stunned for a while, he quickly understood this point, even thinking further than others.
Others might not know what kind of person Chen Ping’an is, but having dealt with him since his own Foundation Establishment days, he knows very well.
He knows clearly that this is a very proud man.
For such a proud man to suddenly lower his pride and apologize publicly for an old matter, the intricate reasons behind it are thought-provoking!
Courtesy shown conceals an ulterior motive.
With a realization, Zhouyang quickly dodged aside, saying, "I can’t accept this, I can’t accept this! Fellow Daoist Chen, you are still a senior to Zhou, what virtue does Zhou have to receive such great courtesy from you!"
After speaking, he paused and said with emotion, "Besides, if you, Fellow Daoist Chen, hadn’t mentioned those old trivial matters, Zhou would have forgotten them. Let those past things stay in the past!"
Forgetting is impossible; with Purple Mansion Stage cultivators’ strong memory, and being only a little over two hundred years old, he would not forget things from a century ago.
However, he indeed had no intention of settling old scores regarding that year’s matters.
After all, the Chen Family Ancestor Chen Yaohui, who targeted the Zhou Family back then, had long since fallen at the hands of the Tier Five High-Grade Demon Beast, the Golden-winged Thunder Eagle, and Chen Fangli, who secretly harmed Zhou Family Elder Zhou Yuanjing, had also been killed by him. He had long since reconciled these matters with Chen Ping’an.
However, at this moment, Zhang Yunpeng, who had been looking a bit off since Chen Ping’an started apologizing, suddenly laughed and said, "Fellow Daoist Zhou is right, what Fellow Daoist Chen Yaohui did was indeed wrong, but he has long passed away. With Fellow Daoist Zhou’s magnanimity and Zhang’s understanding of you, surely you wouldn’t bear a grudge against the Chen Family for this, so Fellow Daoist Chen, you can rest assured!"
At first glance, his words seemed to mediate and lighten the atmosphere.
But everyone present was perceptive, how could they not detect the hint of incitement in his words?
Zhouyang’s face immediately showed displeasure.
Could it be that Zhang Yunpeng is getting more and more muddled with age?
Not to mention that he had stated more than once that he would not do anything detrimental to the Yellow Sand Sect.
And as the Chen family being an established Purple Mansion Clan, it’s unlikely that they would truly submit to the Zhou family, another Purple Mansion Clan.
He wouldn’t dare accept such a big power as a vassal.
So what is Zhang Yunpeng’s intention in trying to sow discord between the Zhou family and the Chen family?
On the other side, Chen Ping’an was also quite annoyed in his heart.
He had just come forward to apologize to Zhouyang and the Zhou family, partly because he had seen the Zhou family’s strength today and wanted to repair relations and restore old ties.
But his real intention was indeed as Zhouyang had thought, to use this situation to ask the Zhou family for help with something.
There was not the slightest intention or plan to submit to the Zhou family.
Now with Zhang Yunpeng’s provocation, he insinuates about the past suppression of Zhouyang by the Chen family. Is he afraid others wouldn’t know this, or that Zhouyang might forget this?
Yet despite the displeasure and annoyance, on this celebratory day, both Zhouyang and Chen Ping’an didn’t want to escalate the situation to an irreconcilable point.
Moreover, although Zhang Yunpeng’s intention was malicious, his status was evident, and he appeared to be using his position to act as a mediator. They naturally couldn’t openly counterattack him.
Thus, Zhouyang immediately said, "Sect Leader Zhang is right, although Elder Chen and the Zhou family had some disagreements in the past, he responded to Elder Cao’s call at Rhino Horn Continent to fight against the Tier Five Demon Beast and perished, which indirectly saved my life. What are those little past disagreements compared to such a life-saving grace?"
"Besides, without the contributions of Elder Cao, Elder Chen, and all the predecessors of the Yellow Sand Sect, I don’t know how many more cultivators our Zhou family would have had to sacrifice to occupy Rhino Horn Continent. I and the Zhou family are grateful for this great favor from all the predecessors, how could we harbor resentment against the descendants of these seniors?"
Well said!
Ninth Uncle truly lives up to his name, a model for us all!
Not far away, Zhou Guangxiang couldn’t help but cheer loudly in his heart upon hearing Zhouyang’s speech, his eyes filled with admiration and respect as he looked at Zhouyang.
Compared to Zhang Yunpeng’s provocative sarcasm, Zhouyang’s grand and righteous response was truly empowering.
His words not only expressed gratitude and appreciation for the sacrificed predecessor cultivators who attacked Rhino Horn Continent back then but also subtly reminded everyone present of the true face of the Yellow Sand Sect.
In contrast to Zhang Yunpeng’s provocative sarcasm, Zhouyang’s grand and righteous response was undoubtedly much more convincing.
And judging by the expressions of the cultivators who heard his words, their faces indeed looked somewhat unpleasant, and their gazes towards Zhang Yunpeng grew colder.
It must be noted that most of the cultivators attending the Zhou family’s celebration today were from the vassal clans of the Yellow Sand Sect, and the cultivators who died in the expedition to Rhino Horn Continent back then were mostly the ancestors of their clans.
In recent years, many families have faced extinction and decline because their forebears fell in that expedition war.
Even those families that were lucky enough to preserve their legacy have had little goodwill towards the Yellow Sand Sect because of that past incident.
If not for the lack of a heavyweight leader and the deterrence of Jiang Yuyan, the "Fake Golden Core" cultivator, a rebellion war against the Yellow Sand Sect might have long been ignited.
Zhang Yunpeng did not expect that his provocative words not only failed to have the desired effect but also backfired, leaving him stunned, with his face alternating between green and white, feeling regret and anger in his heart.
Nie Qiufeng, the Nie Family Patriarch who maintained a good relationship with the Yellow Sand Sect and didn’t send anyone to participate in the first Rhino Horn Continent war, quickly stepped forward to mediate and break the stalemate, seeing that the atmosphere was off, to help Zhang Yunpeng out of the predicament:
"Fellow Daoist Zhou is right, what’s past is past, bringing up old matters only adds sorrow and is of no help. We cultivators should focus on the future, which is paramount. For instance, the Treasure Hunting Conference hosted by the Zhou family this time has caught the interest of our Nie family juniors. I wonder when Fellow Daoist Zhou plans to start?"
Chen Ping’an, also brought back to reality by Nie Qiufeng’s intervention, realized that he couldn’t let Zhang Yunpeng be utterly embarrassed because of him. Unlike the Zhou family, his Chen family still had much to rely on from the Yellow Sand Sect.
So he took a deep breath to compose himself and nodded along: "My gratitude to Fellow Daoist Zhou for forgiving the actions of my ancestor, and even more so for not holding grudges and allowing the juniors of the Chen family to participate in the Treasure Hunting Conference."
Zhouyang, of course, understood the intention of Nie Qiufeng and Chen Ping’an in steering the topic towards the ’Treasure Hunting Conference’ and didn’t dwell on the matter any longer. After all, his purpose of reminding Zhang Yunpeng was accomplished, so there was no need to pursue it to the point of upsetting the joyous occasion today.
Thus, hearing this, he nodded and said, "Since all fellow Daoists are so interested in this matter, let us move together to the arena at the foot of the mountain and watch!"