"That Zong Shouzheng has some nerve! Attacking us beneath the Sea of Clouds, isn't he afraid of being besieged by all the sects later?"

The speaker was none other than Lin Ji. His expression was one of righteous indignation, his eyes blazing with fury.

However, everyone else present was now looking at him as if he were an idiot.

"Fool! I, Feng Nu, have never met such an imbecile! This spot is dozens of li away; Zong Shou never even showed his face to us. He can easily deny everything by simply saying he didn't see us. And if we mention that my three-city fleet was here at this exact time, it leaves us speechless! Even if we report this to all the sects, what good would it do? Do you think they would rule in our favor? His invitation for the Lingyun Sect disciples aboard—this intent alone is worthy of joint execution—"

The more Feng Nu spoke, the colder his heart grew. He had initially assumed Zong Shou had paid a hefty price to invite the Lingyun Sect people onto the ship merely to guard against them making a move beneath the Sea of Clouds.

But now, thinking it through, it sent a chill to his very bones. This was clearly a massive trap he had been digging for them since they left Tongling Island!

Those inner disciples of the Lingyun Sect were nothing more than Zong Shou's witnesses to absolve himself of guilt!

"Brother Feng, your words are somewhat misplaced! Today's affair, while we lords of the various cities certainly bear some fault, should still be announced to the world, letting everyone in the Cloud Realm know the wickedness of this fellow!"

Xiong Ba let out a cold snort, his eyes, like churning whirlpools, fixed dead ahead: "But the pressing matter is to break out as soon as possible! No matter the cost, we must push through!"

As soon as this was said, Yue Guanyun and the others immediately furrowed their brows again, looking back and forth.

The spirit beasts within the gorge had indeed been mostly cleared out by the Yuan Mie Crossbows. The remaining ones knew better, crouching in the corners to hide.

Although spirit beasts were continuously driven into the valley under the urging of the Rank Seven spirit beasts, they were often annihilated within a mere dozen li of distance.

Watching the dense swarm, with destruction beams flashing through the valley every twenty breaths, made everyone's scalps tingle.

They would much rather face the beast tide before them than endure the bombardments of those Yuan Mie Crossbows to advance deeper into the gorge.

All the cloud ships here were massive, lacking the flexibility of the spirit beasts. Facing the Yuan Mie Crossbows, they would likely be pulverized into dust before they could even charge into the valley depths.

Unless they could break into visual range, Zong Shou certainly wouldn't take pity and stop the Yuan Mie Crossbows.

Yet, the beast tide before them was equally terrifying. Millions of spirit beasts were gathered here; just the Rank Six alone numbered over thirty thousand—besides those Rank Seven beasts, partially visible and completely invisible, which brought a sense of utter despair.

The current situation was a complete dilemma: neither advancing nor retreating was an option.

"Damn Zong Shou's entire ancestral lineage! Only a piece of dogshit like Zong Weiran could father such a cunning whelp. Neither father nor son has ever been easy to deal with!"

Xiong Ba slammed a fist viciously onto the railing, shattering the wooden balustrade at the ship's prow into dust.

In the past, seeing Xiong Ba damage his beloved ship, Yue Guanyun would surely have been displeased. But now, he had no mind to pay attention, his face grim and silent.

Then, Xiong Ba's tone suddenly changed, becoming unexpectedly high-pitched: "Damn it! It's Rank Seven Cracking Wind Eagles—three at once—"

Without hesitation, he leaped from the deck of the Seven-Tusk Giant Ship and jumped toward a nearby vessel. Feng Nu’s pupils contracted; he too immediately sprang up and swiftly fled.

Yue Guanyun looked up and saw three black dots in the cloud-sky, plummeting down amidst a fierce gale.

In that instant, his heart twisted in agony, and threads of blood seeped from the corners of his lips. But he dared not delay. Grabbing the few people beside him, he too flashed away, soaring tens of zhang away.

In the next moment, three huge figures, each with a wingspan of a hundred zhang, slammed into the Seven-Tusk Giant Ship.

They pierced the seemingly indestructible giant vessel, creating three massive holes. Then, countless sharp wind blades danced wildly, shredding the massive Seven-Tusk Giant Ship into a wreck riddled with holes.

Yue Guanyun couldn't help but look back, and the pent-up frustration in his chest could no longer be suppressed. He spat out a mouthful of black blood, his expression utterly ferocious.

"Zong Shou! Yue Guanyun and I are irreconcilable enemies!"

In his entire life, he had never hated anyone as intensely as he did today. Not even when Zong Weiran reigned supreme across the Nine Provinces at the height of his power had he felt this way.

Only Zong Shou made him hate to the extreme! And ache to the very marrow of his bones!

※※※※

While the cloud ships of the outer Tao Yun Three Cities were suffering in fire and water, Zong Shou was seated cross-legged in the relatively 'peaceful' gorge, calmly examining the fragments of the Phoenix Pattern Swords in his hands.

Second-rank magical artifacts—their material quality was, of course, beyond question. Even after being shattered, they could be reforged by a skilled artifact refiner into extremely high-grade spirit artifacts.

But Zong Shou's current thoughts were not on that. Rather, he was pondering how to extract the sword spirit and restore it.

A sword spirit that maintained itself for ten thousand years without dissipation, and one that had the martial intent of its master merged within the blade—this level of sword spirit was exceedingly rare.

Others might not recognize its value, and even Jing Tao was ignorant of it. But Zong Shou knew deeply that such a mutable and growing sword spirit was highly coveted, even by experts in the Immortal Realm, or even the Divine Realm.

Whether used as a guardian or to forge a new sword, it was supreme.

In his eyes, these fragments of the magical artifact were worth more than the Qiankun Pouch.

He probed with his spiritual sense and the results were quite encouraging. Although the sword was shattered and the spirit's primordial soul greatly damaged, it had not yet completely perished.

With a few spiritual materials and the secret methods from his memory, he could extract the artifact spirit within.

The most difficult part now was figuring out how to erase the sword spirit’s memories and the imprint left by its former master.

This sword had guarded the remains for ten millennia, clearly showing deep attachment to its master, unwilling to seek survival even when facing dissipation.

He could, of course, inherit it directly, but Zong Shou ultimately couldn't feel at ease with that method; it still felt like someone else's property.

Just as he was frowning in deep thought, Xuanyuan Yiren safely retrieved the last stalk of Corpse-Swallowing Sword Extreme Grass. With a complicated gaze, she looked at Zong Shou beside her: "Little Shou, I'm finding you increasingly treacherous..."

Zong Shou smiled upon hearing this, knowing this matter could not be hidden from the righteous little girl who accompanied him day and night. He didn't deny it, merely asking back, "Then, in my actions, have I violated the Way of Benevolence and Righteousness?"

"Not quite. Those people brought it upon themselves; they have no one to blame!"

Xuanyuan Yiren shook her head, her expression somewhat conflicted. "There is no such thing as benevolence between warring nations. The word 'Ren' naturally cannot be discussed. If one shows benevolence to an enemy nation, it means failing one's own people. But once conflict erupts and slaughter occurs, it is ultimately regrettable..."

"Precisely!"

Zong Shou’s brow lifted. He hadn't expected his fiancée to see things so clearly. When nations contended, it was all for profit. All notions of fame and righteousness were hollow. Obsessing over benevolence and righteousness was the mark of a fool.

"That is why your husband has always believed that a long pain is worse than a short one. Better one city of the enemy weeps, than one family of my people weeps—"

Suddenly reaching out, he snatched the Corpse-Swallowing Sword Extreme Grass from Xuanyuan Yiren's hand and casually tossed it into an empty area.

"Uncle Zhu, please act!"

Zhu Junhou, who had been holding his halberd, watching the gorge entrance with focused attention, was startled when he heard this and turned back. Seeing the Corpse-Swallowing Sword Extreme Grass hanging in mid-air, his eyes were first blank, then immediately flared with brilliant light.

"Marquis, I obey!"

With a casual sweep of his halberd, a blade of light shot out, utterly shattering the Corpse-Swallowing Sword Extreme Grass!

As before, a dense aura of death spread first, followed by a refreshing medicinal fragrance that slightly invigorated everyone in the valley. Especially the Spirit Masters, who felt their depleted soul power instantly recover by more than half.

Xuanyuan Yiren froze on the spot, and True Man Jing Tao in the distance was equally astonished, staring at the scene in disbelief.

Then his old face contorted beyond recognition: "City Lord Zong! I request an explanation for this action from Your Excellency!"

His tone had lost all previous warmth, replaced by a stiff chill.

But Zong Shou remained completely calm upon hearing this, showing not a trace of anxiety or shame.

"Please remain calm, True Man. My action is also intended to allow us to escape this place sooner!"

True Man Jing Tao immediately paused again, wondering what destroying the Corpse-Swallowing Sword Extreme Grass had to do with their escape. The medicinal fragrance would only incite the outer spirit beasts and make them even more frenzied.

Then Jing Tao's heart stirred, his eyes showing a glimmer of understanding.

Seeing this, Zong Shou sighed, filled with an expression of admiration: "The True Man is indeed wise; it seems I need not explain further. If we do not incite these outer spirit beasts to lose their minds and attack, exhausting their numbers, we might be trapped here indefinitely before we can leave—"

He followed this with a bitter laugh, his face filled with helplessness, "Moreover, the Rank Six beast cores I possess are ultimately finite."

His words were delivered with such sincere emotion that True Man Jing Tao’s face flushed red, realizing he had indeed misunderstood Zong Shou.

Thinking it over carefully, eight hundred Yuan Mie Crossbows firing once consumed eight hundred Rank Six beast cores. This was certainly not something ordinary mortal powers could sustain. Even the wealthy Lingyun Sect would likely struggle to bear the cost. Zong Shou destroying one stalk of Corpse-Swallowing Sword Extreme Grass was likely born of desperation.

Not far away, Zhao Yanran shivered uncontrollably and stared speechlessly. Finally, she sighed, "Senior Sister Xuan, if possible, you best never offend this man in your life."

Xuan Yunlan deeply agreed, acknowledging that she had finally witnessed the ruthless methods of this great-great-great grand-uncle today. He was clearly planning to push the cloud ships of the Tao Yun Three Cities into a corner from which there was no return—