In truth, Liu Xie's initial thought was not this. It was only when he later discovered that the strength of the four great families far exceeded his expectations...
Even to the point where they were almost on par with them, which made his expression turn grim and caused him to change his mind.
...
Listening to Wang Quan’gui, Li Zihao, Qin Ruhuo, and Kong Xiangxi haggle, a cold glint flashed across Liu Xie's calm face.
"This is too much. I haven't even made my demands yet..."
"These scoundrels dare to make demands of me?"
"Do you really think I'm easy to deal with? It seems I must teach you a lesson."
Liu Xie thought to himself.
Liu Xie swept his gaze, which was like starlight, over the surroundings and slowly raised a finger.
On this fair and white finger, traces of the Yellow Dao calculations and the Law of Destiny flickered, appearing incredibly mysterious.
Seeing this, Wang Quan’gui, Li Zihao, Qin Ruhuo, and Kong Xiangxi’s lips curled up slightly, and a hint of disdainful cold laughter appeared on their faces.
What is it? Is he unwilling to negotiate? Does he want to fight directly? Or is he trying to scare us? Do you think we're easily frightened?
Or do you really think we're afraid of you?
...
As Liu Xie pointed his finger, an invisible wave instantly enveloped the surrounding thousand miles. This space was now under Liu Xie's control.
Time and space froze, and the power of destiny and imperial energy suppressed the spiritual energy of the four directions.
Immediately after, four immensely powerful auras, like those of an abyss and the sea, erupted from Wang Quan’gui, Li Zihao, Qin Ruhuo, and Kong Xiangxi. They easily broke through the suppression.
Before Wang Quan’gui, Li Zihao, Qin Ruhuo, and Kong Xiangxi could even reveal triumphant smiles, they suddenly found strands of destiny’s thread entwining them.
The most terrifying aspect of destiny is that you know the outcome will be bad, but you cannot resist it and can only face it head-on. If you cannot withstand it, you will die.
With extremely grim expressions, Wang Quan’gui, Li Zihao, Qin Ruhuo, and Kong Xiangxi each condensed their law powers and, in terms of rules, severed these threads of destiny that had entangled them.
Liu Xie looked down at Wang Quan’gui, Li Zihao, Qin Ruhuo, and Kong Xiangxi, his eyes filled with coldness. Above his head, imperial energy, like a golden dragon, surged continuously.
At this moment, Liu Xie was like an emperor looking down upon the three realms, the master of all things, whose word decided the life and death of billions of beings.
"You really think I don't know that it was you who instigated Duan Yuhang to ambush me?"
"The spiritual treasures Duan Yuhang used when he ambushed me, you lent them to him, didn't you?"
"Well played... a truly excellent tactic..."
...
Looking at Wang Quan’gui, Li Zihao, Qin Ruhuo, and Kong Xiangxi, Liu Xie said with great dominance, "I am not here to bargain with you. I will simply ask if you agree or not?"
Wang Quan’gui, Li Zihao, Qin Ruhuo, and Kong Xiangxi exchanged glances.
Wang Quan’gui stepped forward and spoke on behalf of the four, "Immortal Emperor, what are you talking about? I don't understand. What you've said is definitely not our doing. Do not falsely accuse good people."
"Everything requires evidence. What proof do you have that we instigated him?"
Upon hearing Wang Quan’gui's words, Liu Xie let out a cold laugh and remained silent for a long time.
The sky was overcast, and heavy rain poured down incessantly. The gentle breeze carried a hint of coldness.
The sudden gust of wind and rain dislodged leaves from the branches.
This strange weather also mirrored the awkward atmosphere of the place.
...
Seeing Liu Xie's continued silence, Wang Quan’gui spoke, "Immortal Emperor, what do you mean? Do you not wish to cooperate with us?"
"..."
Liu Xie remained silent.
"Was it not you four scoundrels who invited me here for negotiations?"
"It's not like I begged you to come negotiate with me. Have you scoundrels gotten something wrong?"
"Although I thought I might suffer a slight disadvantage by speaking first, I never expected you four to be so shameless..."
"Even if you consider me a fool, you shouldn't expect to trick me so easily..."
Liu Xie muttered to himself.
Wang Quan’gui, Li Zihao, Qin Ruhuo, and Kong Xiangxi did not truly consider Liu Xie a fool. If they had thought so, they would have been the fools.
However, over the long years, Wang Quan’gui, Li Zihao, Qin Ruhuo, and Kong Xiangxi had developed certain bad habits.
Under Liu Xie's gaze, which was akin to looking at an idiot, even Wang Quan’gui, Li Zihao, Qin Ruhuo, and Kong Xiangxi, with their thick skin, couldn't hold on and awkwardly turned their heads.
...
"Stop beating around the bush and spewing nonsense. I don't have that much time to waste here."
"The reason I agreed to your invitation to come here is because I indeed sensed that certain forces were lurking in the shadows, waiting for an opportunity. Today's predicament for our Liu imperial clan is the work of those scoundrels acting in secret..."
"This was clearly a great opportunity to amass vast resources, yet they left it for us. This shows how malicious their hearts are..."
"Isn't the reason you actively sought me out for negotiation also for this very reason?"
Liu Xie said word by word.
The thought of someone lurking in the shadows, watching him without him knowing who they were, filled Liu Xie with an indescribable sense of danger.
After a long silence, Wang Quan’gui said with a sigh, "Indeed. It's not a pleasant feeling to constantly be schemed against by someone behind the scenes..."
...
"Hmph! If that's the case, what else is there to say..."
Liu Xie snorted and said solemnly, "In short, either we split it fifty-fifty, or we go our separate ways now."
...
Upon hearing this, Wang Quan’gui let out a sneering laugh, "Hahahaha, forget it, forget it. I'm not joking with you anymore. Let's do it this way!"
Hearing Liu Xie's words, Wang Quan’gui, Li Zihao, Qin Ruhuo, and Kong Xiangxi knew that Liu Xie would not compromise. Since that was the case, they naturally agreed.
After all, this condition did not harm their interests and was very fair.
Raising his head, Liu Xie slowly uttered his true thoughts, word by word, "Good, wasn't it better to be so straightforward earlier? Why the unnecessary talk?"
"Since that's the case, let's join forces and completely exterminate those hidden scum!!!"
"Then it will be time for our two sides to fight it out..."
"I won't show any mercy to you then."
Wang Quan’gui, Li Zihao, Qin Ruhuo, and Kong Xiangxi suddenly burst into laughter.
"Hahahaha..."
Facing the wildly laughing quartet, Liu Xie frowned but did not interrupt their laughter.
When Wang Quan’gui finally spoke about wanting to spar, Liu Xie stopped wasting words and simply stood up, stretching his limbs.
Although he didn't speak, his demeanor clearly indicated his agreement.
It seemed that Liu Xie was truly angered at this moment.
"You want to play? Then I'll play with you, but you alone are not enough for me!"
Wang Quan’gui pulled Li Zihao up and said loudly, "I am indeed no match for you, Immortal Emperor, but the two of us together... it's not certain."
"Hmph! Come on."
The movements of the three were surprisingly synchronized as they attacked simultaneously.
"Bang!"
The laws of destiny, the law of the soul, and the law of earth collided.
The terrifying power caused the surrounding space to warp. Even Liu Chuang, Liu Shan, Liu Gao, Liu Jing, Qin Ruhuo, and Kong Xiangxi felt a tightness in their chests, as if a huge stone was pressing down on them.
Not to mention the cultivators standing at the foot of the mountain, serving them.
"What's happening?"
"Weren't we supposed to be negotiating? Why does this look more like the start of a war? Are we about to go to war? If they're fighting up there, should we start fighting down here..."
This was the first reaction of the Liu imperial clan members.
On the other side, the cultivators of the four great families also became agitated, drawing out their magical artifacts from their storage bags and confronting the Liu imperial clan cultivators nearby.
"Look up at the sky, what is that?"
"My heavens! What is that?"
"Hiss, how terrifying..."
Before the cultivators below could even start fighting, streams of law power began to diffuse in all directions above the heads of Liu Xie, Wang Quan’gui, and Li Zihao.
However, none of them wanted to harm their subordinates, so they intentionally directed their power towards the sky.
Instantly, the sky churned with wind and clouds!
Huge cracks began to spread across the sky.
It looked as if the sky itself could not withstand the power of the three of them.
"Gulp... Gulp... Gulp..."
The cultivators below, upon witnessing this scene, collectively swallowed hard in unison.
This was not the end. Liu Chuang, Liu Shan, Liu Gao, Liu Jing, Qin Ruhuo, and Kong Xiangxi also engaged in combat.
Liu Xie was fighting two against one, facing Wang Quan’gui and Li Zihao alone.
Liu Chuang, Liu Shan, Liu Gao, and Liu Jing were fighting two against four, facing Qin Ruhuo and Kong Xiangxi!
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