Simultaneous traversal: All Abyss difficulty.

Chapter 823 Seven factions gather, the advantage lies with me.

One day later, at the summit of Lanyue Peak, the Hidden Moon Sect.

This place, shrouded in mist and filled with the clear cries of cranes, is an ideal spot for quiet cultivation.

At this moment, the atmosphere on the Moon-Viewing Platform, carved from a single piece of millennia-old warm jade, at the summit was so heavy it could be squeezed out of water.

The pinnacle of cultivation in the Yue Kingdom, the Nascent Soul stage elders, have all gathered here!
Linghu the Elder was dressed in a faded blue robe, his withered fingers twirling a warm jade thumb ring. His old eyes were half-closed, as if he were in deep meditation. Only the thumb ring turned silently between his fingers, revealing the turmoil in his heart.

The Grand Elder of the Hidden Moon Sect had a sullen face, with a volcanic rage and a hint of barely perceptible anxiety suppressed deep within his cold eyes.

Beside her was a thin man. The people of the Hidden Moon Sect did not often see this mysterious ancestor. They only knew that he was another Nascent Soul stage cultivator besides the Grand Elder.

The Nascent Soul cultivator of the Giant Sword Sect was a shirtless, burly man. A giant sword, as large as a door panel, was casually placed beside him, causing the warm jade ground to slightly dent. The breath he exhaled from his nostrils carried scorching sparks, and his eyes were as fierce as a savage beast ready to devour its prey.

The old Taoist priest of Qingxu Sect had white hair and beard, holding a jade-handled whisk. He had an air of otherworldly elegance, but the end of the whisk trembled slightly unconsciously, revealing his inner thoughts.

The Nascent Soul elders of Tianque Fortress, Huadao Dock, and Spirit Beast Mountain also had different expressions, some sinister, some solemn, and some worried.

The invisible nascent soul energy fields collided, probed, and merged with each other, stirring up the clouds and mist on the Moon-Gazing Platform and forming tiny vortexes of spiritual energy.

In the shadows below the stage, the core disciples and Core Formation elders, carefully selected by each sect, remained silent, trembling with fear.

Hundreds of people stood in a dark mass, each deliberately holding their breath, afraid of disturbing the few people on the stage who would decide the fate of the Yue Kingdom.

Countless gazes swept over the seven ancestors, filled with awe, anticipation, and a deep-seated fear.

Just as this suffocating atmosphere was about to reach its peak—

"Buzz!"

Without warning, the air in the very center of the Moon-Viewing Platform emitted a strange groan.

Immediately afterwards, the space seemed to shrink inward like a thin veil grasped by an invisible giant hand!
Tsk-!
A dark, narrow spatial rift, with its edges shimmering with tiny silver light, was torn open right before everyone's eyes, abruptly and irrationally!

In an instant, all seven of the eight Nascent Soul elders on the stage, except for Elder Linghu who raised his eyelids almost imperceptibly, completely lost control of their facial expressions!
Several Nascent Soul cultivators were thrown into disarray, instinctively adopting defensive stances, their protective spiritual light suddenly blazing forth!

A spatial tear?! Barehanded?! So effortlessly?!
This technique is far beyond the capabilities of ordinary early-stage Nascent Soul cultivators!
This kid.
The elite disciples below the stage were even more shaken, feeling a fear originating from their very life instincts grip their hearts. Those with weaker cultivation even staggered backward, their faces as pale as paper.

Just as everyone was stunned and shaken by this audacious entrance—

In the corner, the initial shock in Nangong Wan's cold eyes quickly faded, replaced by a knowing understanding and a hint of barely perceptible worry.

She even turned her head slightly away, unwilling to look at the figure about to step out of the crack, afraid that her expression would "expose" that Fang Yu had actually used an unknown magic weapon to tear the space apart.

A flash of light, and the crack closed.

Fang Yu's figure appeared where the crack disappeared, still dressed as an ordinary disciple of Huangfeng Valley, with white light flowing around his severed arm.

His gaze swept over the varied and still-shaken faces on and off the stage, and a subtle smile tugged at the corner of his lips:

"Oh, quite complete. It seems that those people from the Shayun Kingdom who are in such a hurry to be reborn have spoiled the enjoyment of all the patriarchs?"

Nobody took the bait.

The brief silence was broken by a rough, low roar from the patriarch of the Giant Sword Sect: "Young Fang! The Sha Yun Sect has mobilized the entire nation to press its attack, and their wolfish ambitions are known to all! We were not summoned here to watch you play tricks!"

Then, Ni Chang brought the topic back to the main point, "Now that they're all here, let's analyze why these bastards are so crazy as to leave their own territory and come here to gnaw on the bone of my Yue Kingdom!"

A cloud of doubt hung over everyone's heads.

The resources of Yue Kingdom are not among the top in the surrounding countries. Why is the Shayun Sect making such a large-scale mobilization, even going so far as to integrate the strength of the entire country?
Fang Yu took a few steps, walked to the edge of the Moon-Viewing Platform, turned his back to the crowd, and looked into the distance.

"What's the point?" he scoffed, his voice low but clear throughout the room. "Because their asses are on fire, they want to find a cool place to sit and, incidentally, spread the fire to someone else's house."

He turned around, his gaze sweeping over the crowd with a languid air of worldly wisdom: "Esteemed ancestors, you've all seen the map, haven't you? Yue Kingdom borders Shayun to the west and Tianluo to the north, but who is right next to the northwestern border of Shayun and Tianluo?"

The Fairy of Rainbow Garments frowned: "You mean the Six Sects of the Demonic Path?"

"Not bad!"

Fang Yu snapped his fingers. "In the southern lands, the friction between the righteous and demonic paths has a long history. In the last hundred years, the demonic forces have expanded and intensified. The northwest of Shayun Kingdom and Tianluo Kingdom are the front line directly facing the edge of the demonic path!"

He paused, his tone tinged with sarcasm: "The pressure on the front lines is increasing, resources are being consumed like water, and territory is being constantly eroded. The so-called 'unification' of the Shayun Sect is nothing more than banding together for warmth and preparing for a strategic retreat. Where have they set their sights?"

He pointed to the ground, "They've set their sights on our Yue Kingdom, this relatively stable rear area! By swallowing us up, they can retreat to the second line, letting the Yue Kingdom, or rather, the newly integrated Shayun Sect, hold off the demonic forces for them!"

"hiss"

A collective gasp of astonishment rang out.

The elite disciples below the stage, who had been completely bewildered, suddenly realized what was happening, their eyes filled with shock and lingering fear.

"So that's how it is!" "It was all a case of shifting the blame!"

"Using us as meat shields and buffers?!"

The faces of the Nascent Soul elders on the stage grew increasingly grim.

Fang Yu's analysis precisely exposed the dirty nature beneath the high-sounding slogans of the Shayun Sect.

All that talk of "jointly celebrating a grand event" and "paving the way to heaven" is utter nonsense! The core issue is that the front lines can't hold out any longer, they want to run away, and they're looking for an easy target to pick on, to seize a piece of territory as a new shield!

"Humph!"

A cold snort containing immense spiritual pressure suddenly rang out, like a muffled thunderclap exploding in everyone's hearts.

The one who spoke was the Grand Elder of the Hidden Moon Sect, a mid-stage Nascent Soul cultivator!

Her gaze was like lightning, piercing straight at Fang Yu, carrying the powerful pressure unique to the mid-stage Nascent Soul realm:

"Boy! Even if you see through their wolfish ambitions, so what?! You speak so eloquently, but then show us the way forward. What should our seven major sects do? Kneel down and beg for surrender, or offer our necks to be slaughtered?"

His voice was filled with disdain for armchair strategists and the arrogance of a strong person.

Despite the terrifying pressure, Fang Yu acted as if nothing had happened, even scratching his glowing severed arm.

He crossed his arms over his chest, striking a pose that suggested, "This is easy enough."
"Where to go from here? It's simple!"

He slightly raised his chin, his eyes flashing with an almost rogue-like sharpness:

"beat!"

"Didn't they announce that they'd send eight Nascent Soul cultivators to 'spar' in seven days? What a coincidence! Our seven sects of Yue Kingdom, plus me, a junior member, make exactly nine Nascent Soul cultivators!"

He grinned, revealing a set of white teeth; his smile was bright but utterly devoid of warmth.
"Nine against eight, the advantage is in my hands! If you don't even dare to fight, what kind of immortal are you cultivating? You might as well go home and take care of your kids!"

"beat?"

The Grand Elder seemed to have heard the biggest joke in the world. His aged face showed even more mockery, and his voice was as cold as ice. "You make it sound so easy! Fight? With what? Just based on your empty words?! Do you know that of the eight Nascent Soul cultivators on their side, at least four are at the mid-stage of Nascent Soul! And our side..."

Her gaze swept over Linghu Patriarch and the others, then settled heavily on Fang Yu. "Nine Nascent Soul cultivators are true, but most of them are newly promoted to the early stage! Only Linghu and I are at the mid-stage. You should consider this yourself. Is this combat power enough to fill their teeth?!"

The stark contrast in strength was laid bare, like a bucket of ice water poured over them, instantly chilling those who had just been stirred by Fang Yu to the bone.

Indeed, quantitative advantages appear so pale and powerless in the face of a huge quality gap.

Fang Yu shrugged nonchalantly, his white, glowing arm swaying slightly with the movement.
"Elder, you are mistaken. Fighting doesn't necessarily have to be a one-on-one battle. They send eight, and we send nine. This means that we can at least 'arrange' one person to deal with the weakest one in the early Nascent Soul stage."

He paused, his gaze sweeping over the early-stage Nascent Soul cultivators on the stage, before finally patting his belly with complete composure. "Take me for example, a mere early-stage Nascent Soul cultivator. On this stage, if I can just defeat one of them and ensure that my Yellow Maple Valley doesn't lose face, then I've completed my mission and done right by the people of Yue Kingdom, right?"

He abruptly changed the subject, a cold mockery creeping into his smile, his gaze sweeping over the other early-stage Nascent Soul elders with an almost tangible intensity:

"As for what happens if any ancestor unfortunately encounters a mid-stage Nascent Soul cultivator on the other side, or is so unlucky that they can't even defeat an early-stage Nascent Soul cultivator... hehe."

Fang Yu spread his hands, looking completely innocent, as if it had nothing to do with him:

"Then it would be a disgrace to the Seven Sects and a crime against the Yue Kingdom. I can't be the one who takes the blame for this, since I'm just a junior who was only responsible for fighting a junior in the early stages, can I? Elder, don't you think that makes sense?"

These words precisely distributed the pressure onto every Nascent Soul cultivator, especially those early-stage ancestors.

Winning is our duty, losing makes us sinners against the country and our sect!

This large pot is heavy and dark.

"you!"

The Grand Elder was so stifled by this almost illogical reasoning that he didn't know how to refute it.

The expressions of the other early-stage Nascent Soul cultivators also became quite interesting.

"Cough cough."

Linghu Laozu, who had been keeping his eyes half-closed, finally coughed twice, breaking the awkward and heavy atmosphere.

He slowly opened his eyes, a glint of light flashing in his cloudy old eyes, and his withered fingers stopped twisting the jade thumb ring.

He glanced around, his gaze lingering for a moment on Fang Yu's nonchalant face, then sweeping over the other Nascent Soul cultivators with their varying expressions. Finally, he spoke in a deep voice, not loud, but carrying the weight of a final decision, clearly suppressing all other noises:
"Things have come to this point, there's no point in saying more. The meeting in six days is a must."

"Let's see who prevails in this arena, whether it's war or surrender, life or death."

(End of this chapter)