The summit was enshrouded in clouds and fog. The whereabouts of Li Sanbai, Daoist Zhao Nan of the Zhongnan Mountains, and the others were nowhere to be seen. But the Spirit Stones, each engraved with Array Patterns, floated in their designated positions within the Formation, flickering incessantly.

Zou Qingsheng watched this scene, a complicated gleam in his eyes. There was envy, and even more so, jealousy. Including Mount Haitang, where Xu Lai resided, the Jiangnan region containing East Sea City now actually possessed two Spirit Veins! Meanwhile, Jiangbei… had none. This ignited a strong sense of dissatisfaction in Zou Qingsheng.

I told Master Li Sanbai about the conflict between Xu Lai and Dongfang Xun before. Why didn't he show any reaction at all...?

Zou Qingsheng fell into deep thought. He wanted to use someone else to kill Xu Lai. Not only was Li Sanbai a grandmaster of Array Setting, but his Martial Dao prowess was also terrifying. Li Sanbai should be able to overpower Xu Lai.

Zou Qingsheng was still pondering whether he should wait until the Spirit Gathering Great Array was successful before approaching Li Sanbai again about these matters when he saw several figures slowly approaching from the distance.

It was Xu Lai! Along with Su Daiyi, Old Jiang Ba, and… Dongfang Xun???

Zou Qingsheng was stunned. The intelligence he'd received indicated that Dongfang Xun had tried to sell fake Magic Artifacts to the Leading Families of the thirteen cities in Jiangnan, only to be exposed by Xu Lai and subsequently beaten up by the major families. During the ordeal, he had somehow lost his Boundary and was unable to fight back, leaving him battered and bruised.

This was a blood feud! So why did Dongfang Xun look like a lackey, acting so obsequious and fawning by Xu Lai's side?

This wouldn't do. This simply wouldn't do. If Dongfang Xun and Xu Lai were getting friendly, how could he possibly incite Li Sanbai to kill Xu Lai?

Zou Qingsheng couldn't help but shout, "Dongfang Xun!"

Dongfang Xun was in the middle of frantically sucking up to Xu Lai, hoping to build a good relationship. That way, he figured he wouldn't have to repay the money he'd scammed from those wealthy families in Jiangnan. While he was lost in his little scheme, Zou Qingsheng's sudden shout startled him, making him shiver.

"Who… who called me?"

"It is I!" Zou Qingsheng strode forward and said in an exasperated tone, "Have you lost your Boundary?"

"Yeah," Dongfang Xun replied subconsciously.

His eyes filled with suspicion. Who was this person? His tone was so aggressive. Could he be one of his senior brothers who had mysteriously vanished? No, that didn't seem right. Was he perhaps one of his creditors from the thirteen cities of Jiangnan?

As he hesitated, the man asked again, "Is it true you were beaten up by ordinary people after Xu Lai exposed you for selling fake Magic Artifacts?!"

Dongfang Xun subconsciously glanced at Xu Lai before replying blankly, "Yeah. What about it?"

"If that's the case, why are you still following Xu Lai around?" Zou Qingsheng scolded. "As a man, do you have no sense of shame?!"

"???"

Dongfang Xun was utterly baffled. He replied earnestly, "I am shameless. Is that a good enough answer for you?"

"..."

Zou Qingsheng was left speechless.

Dongfang Xun asked strangely, "And you… who might you be?"

"I am Zou Qingsheng!"

"Zou Qingsheng…" Dongfang Xun frowned, thinking hard. After confirming he had no memory of the name, he asked in surprise, "Are you, by any chance, a disciple of my master?"

"No…" Zou Qingsheng looked puzzled, not understanding the point of the question.

"Then are you a relative or a friend of my master?"

"No." Zou Qingsheng shook his head repeatedly. He wasn't yet qualified to be Master Li Sanbai's friend.

"Do I owe you money, then?"

"You do not."

"Oh…" Dongfang Xun drew out the sound. He took a deep breath, then pointed a finger at Zou Qingsheng and began to curse, "Then are you fucking brain-damaged or something? I don't even know you, so what gives you the right to butt into my business!"

What followed was a torrent of vulgar curses, some even tinged with a Jiangnan regional dialect.

Zou Qingsheng was dumbfounded. He had never encountered a Martial Artist of his level who cursed so freely. After all, everyone cared about face. They saw themselves as people of status, and Martial Ancestors had a certain image to maintain.

After being cursed out by Dongfang Xun for several minutes straight, Zou Qingsheng's face turned ugly. "You dare to curse me? You are a disciple of Master Li Sanbai, and yet…"

"Not only will I curse you, I'll curse eighteen generations of your ancestors! Your father must have been a real piece of work to produce someone like you!"

Dongfang Xun was fuming. This man wasn't a creditor, nor was he related to his Sect. He was just a total stranger who popped out of nowhere to criticize him. If he hadn't lost his Boundary, Dongfang Xun would have definitely challenged the man to a real duel.

"Unreasonable!" Zou Qingsheng's expression was grim. "I was only doing this for your own good! You and your enemy…"

"To hell with your 'for my own good'! What are you, my son, looking out for your old man like this? Gee, thanks so much!"

"..."

Zou Qingsheng was so furious he flung his sleeve and turned away, refusing to engage further. He hadn't expected Dongfang Xun to be like a stubborn leech, impossible to shake off, who just kept on cursing…

"This—" Gao He, the head of the East Sea City Martial Dao Association, and the other Eighth Grade Martial Ancestors looked at each other in dismay. Is this really Master Li Sanbai's disciple? He's clearly just a street punk. No, wait. He's a veteran street hooligan!

On the other side, Su Daiyi and Old Jiang Ba also wore peculiar expressions. They clearly had no idea Dongfang Xun had such a side to him. It was truly surprising.

After cursing for a full half hour, Dongfang Xun finally took a break and moved to stand behind Xu Lai again.

Old Jiang Ba asked in a low voice, "After all that yelling, aren't you thirsty?"

"A little," Dongfang Xun admitted, his throat feeling like it was about to emit smoke. He certainly wasn't going to miss this prime opportunity to brown-nose. He continued, "But no matter how tired I get, I have to keep cursing! That bastard Zou Qingsheng actually tried to drive a wedge between Senior Xu and me. Could I tolerate that? Absolutely not!"

"It doesn't matter if Zou Qingsheng slanders me, it doesn't even matter if he insults my master, but insulting Senior Xu… that is absolutely unacceptable!"

Dongfang Xun enunciated every word, proclaiming loudly, "No one is allowed to insult Senior Xu in front of me, not even by a single half-word!"

"..."

The crowd fell silent, stunned by Dongfang Xun's shamelessness.

So it's not okay to insult Xu Lai, but insulting your master is fine? Your master, Li Sanbai, is only a thousand meters away setting up a Formation!

"You're laying on the flattery a bit thick," Su Daiyi couldn't help but remark.

"Hehe." Dongfang Xun looked embarrassed for a moment but quickly recovered. "This isn't flattery, it's a genuine expression of my feelings."

Xu Lai had heard enough. "Shut up."

"Right away." Dongfang Xun shut his mouth, though the occasional glance he shot at Zou Qingsheng was still filled with provocation.

Zou Qingsheng's eyes blazed with fire. If several Martial Ancestors from Jiangbei hadn't been holding him back, a huge fight might have actually broken out.

"Martial Ancestor Zou, calm down. His master is Li Sanbai, after all," one of the Eighth Grade Martial Ancestors from Jiangbei advised. "If this incident leads to the failure of the Spirit Gathering Great Array, the consequences…"

Reminded by his friend, Zou Qingsheng finally suppressed his rage. He didn't dare make a move on Dongfang Xun, but that didn't mean he was afraid of Xu Lai.

"Xu Lai, you've truly disappointed me. To think you'd incite Dongfang Xun to hurl insults at me." Zou Qingsheng said sinisterly, "If Master Li Sanbai were to learn of this, what do you think he would do?"

Xu Lai paid no attention to this buffoon.

His gaze pierced through the layers of Mist, landing on Li Sanbai, who was in the middle of the Array Setting. As for the other three Daoists who had volunteered to help… they had already become desiccated corpses.

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