Chapter 121: To Hell with That

"Presumptuous!"

Before Cailing could even speak, another cultivator from Cloud Palace Peak who had just arrived looked at Li Fusheng and said in a deep voice, "What do you think the Shangyang Li Clan is? How dare you declare war on Cloud Palace Peak? Are you courting death?"

"Senior Sister, let me handle this. Let me teach these people who don't know the immensity of heaven and earth a lesson!"

"Never mind whether it's the Shangyang Li Clan or the Xiayang Li Clan, let's just wipe them out today!"

As he spoke, the Cloud Palace Peak cultivator assumed a stance, ready to move against Li Fusheng.

Wang Changsheng sensed the situation. Although he could not discern the specific cultivation level of the man, he was certain that this person had not yet reached the Core Formation realm. In other words, he was merely at the Huayuan realm; how could he possibly be a match for Li Fusheng?

Are all the cultivators of Cloud Palace Peak this arrogant?

"Presumptuous!"

Before Li Fusheng could even react, a furious shout erupted from Cailing's lips. Immediately after, a surge of true essence shot out, striking the posturing Cloud Palace Peak cultivator directly.

Boom!

A muffled thud echoed as the cultivator was sent flying backward, spitting out a mouthful of blood. He looked at Cailing in disbelief.

The flying cultivator was utterly bewildered. Given his cultivation, even if he were no match for Cailing, he shouldn't have been blasted away by a single strike of her true essence. The main reason was that he never expected her to attack him, let alone with such severity.

By the time he realized what was happening, it was already too late.

"Senior Sister! Why did you hit me?"

"Senior Sister, what is going on?"

"Senior Sister? Why attack a fellow disciple? And with such force?"

The remaining Cloud Palace Peak cultivators were left in confusion. Even those who had just been revived stared at the scene in disbelief.

"It seems... it seems we have offended some formidable power..."

The cultivator who had been revived first—the one who initially blocked Wang Changsheng and his group—wore a bitter smile as he witnessed the scene. Having been the first to encounter them, he understood the situation better than those who arrived later. Combining the earlier events with Cailing's current attack on a fellow disciple, he began to piece things together.

"The Corpse Refining Sect... the Shangyang Li Clan... I don't seem to have heard of them..."

"All of you, stand down and tend to your fellow disciples!" Cailing commanded coldly to those behind her who were still bewildered.

The Cloud Palace Peak disciples were not fools. They had been ignorant before, but Cailing's repeated erratic behavior and her direct attack on a fellow disciple made it clear that the cultivators on the cloud ship were not to be trifled with.

"Could they be true cultivators who have attained the Golden Core?" the group speculated.

According to the mindset of the disciples brought by Cailing, given the prestige and strength of Cloud Palace Peak, they were undoubtedly the most powerful sect in the Shentian Realm. Even if the opposing sect were powerful, it shouldn't be enough to make Cloud Palace Peak bow.

The only possibility was that they were true cultivators of the Golden Core Dao.

In the Shentian Realm, true cultivators of the Golden Core Dao were the elite. Even Cloud Palace Peak could not afford to ignore such a person. If they truly offended one, Cloud Palace Peak might have to pay a heavy price; after all, a Golden Core cultivator, even if they couldn't defeat the entire sect, could hide and pick off individual Cloud Palace Peak disciples one by one.

That was a consequence Cloud Palace Peak could not bear.

This was also the reason why true cultivators of the Golden Core Dao held such a transcendent status in the Shentian Realm.

After dismissing the other cultivators, Cailing stepped onto the cloud ship and immediately spotted Wang Changsheng and his group.

Ignoring Li Fusheng, Cailing addressed the others, "I presume you are the fellow Daoists from the Corpse Refining Sect. Cailing greets you all!"

Wang Changsheng looked at Cailing and smiled, "Long time no see!"

Seeing Wang Changsheng respond, Cailing immediately shifted her gaze toward him.

At first, she hadn't paid much attention to him, as his cultivation was too low—only at the first level of the Huayuan realm. In her eyes, he didn't seem significant, and she had assumed he was merely an attendant. Now, seeing him speak first, she was taken aback.

"Have we met?" Cailing asked, somewhat puzzled.

Wang Changsheng smiled faintly, "Daoist Cailing, we have indeed met. Have you forgotten our time in the Chengtian Realm..."

As he spoke, he released his aura.

"It's you?" Cailing looked at him, her expression shifting to surprise.

Remembering him, she said somewhat awkwardly, "I didn't expect it to be you. I almost didn't recognize you; you've changed so much in appearance..."

Wang Changsheng nodded slightly.

Cailing hadn't recognized him initially. In truth, she had a deep impression of him because, back in the Chengtian Realm, under the pressure of Li Fusheng and others, Wang Changsheng—a low-level cultivator—had managed to hold his own, which she found incredible. The change was simply too drastic; he had previously appeared elderly and frail, but now he looked like a young cultivator.

"I didn't expect you to be with Daoist Li!" Cailing said in a low voice. "Did you join the Shangyang Li Clan?"

"That's impossible!" she immediately refuted.

Based on her knowledge, the Shangyang Li Clan was a family-based cultivation lineage that did not recruit outsiders. Furthermore, she didn't believe they would recruit someone with Wang Changsheng's poor aptitude. Back at the Temple of Arts, he hadn't managed to comprehend anything, which was a sign of remarkably poor talent.

"Would my Shangyang Li Clan want someone like him?" Li Fusheng remarked with disdain.

"Daoist Cailing, you've misunderstood. I am currently a deacon of the Corpse Refining Sect," Wang Changsheng explained.

"What?" Cailing was stunned. "You are the deacon of the Corpse Refining Sect? Wang Changsheng?"

"Indeed, I am," Wang Changsheng replied with a bow.

Cailing instantly understood why he had stepped forward to speak.

"Unbelievable... simply unbelievable," she sighed. Who could have imagined that a lowly cultivator once rejected by Cloud Palace Peak would become a deacon of the Corpse Refining Sect? In terms of status, a deacon of the Corpse Refining Sect was far higher than her own.

"I hope Deacon Wang and Daoist Li will not take offense!" Cailing said immediately. "The Corpse Refining Sect has been in seclusion for many years, and the Shangyang Li Clan is a reclusive family. Many of our disciples were unaware of your identities. If there was any offense, please forgive us!"

If not for pure coincidence, Cailing herself would never have known of their existence.

"It's fine! It's fine!" Wang Changsheng smiled. "Ignorance is no sin!"

"Thank you for your understanding, Deacon Wang!" Cailing bowed again.

"It's not fine at all!" Li Fusheng interjected coldly. "Your Cloud Palace Peak disciples have terrible conduct—truly terrible, even worse than Wang Changsheng's! If I didn't have a few protective measures, I would have been killed by your disciples just now!"

"They even tried to expel me from the territory, can you believe it?"

Li Fusheng looked at Cailing and said, "If Cloud Palace Peak doesn't provide an explanation, the Shangyang Li Clan will remember this slight! Compensation—we must have compensation, otherwise, my clan will not let this go!"

Cailing's expression changed instantly at his words. Even Wang Changsheng stepped two paces away from Li Fusheng; it was simply too embarrassing. While Cailing wasn't there, she could guess that even if the disciples were at fault, they couldn't have posed a real threat to Li Fusheng.

Not to mention the spiritual cannons on the ship, Li Fusheng's own strength was enough to handle those disciples. Almost killed? Who was he trying to fool?

"What kind of compensation do you require, Daoist Li?" Cailing asked.

"Let me think!" Li Fusheng put on a thoughtful expression. "Never mind, I haven't decided yet. I'll tell you when I think of it!"

Wang Changsheng: "..."

Cailing: "..."

Wang Changsheng could see that Li Fusheng was just throwing a tantrum, and Cailing realized it too. However, due to the difference in their status, she dared not argue with him.

"Fellow Daoists, I heard you came to visit Cloud Palace Peak. Perhaps we should head there now?" Cailing suggested. "We have already prepared refreshments to welcome our guests."

"That's more like it," Li Fusheng muttered.

"Please lead the way, Daoist Cailing," Wang Changsheng said with a smile.

Cailing did not leave; she boarded the cloud ship to guide them personally. She was worried that if she weren't there, Li Fusheng would stir up more trouble if they encountered other disciples.

Sure enough, as they drew closer to Cloud Palace Peak, they encountered several more groups of cultivators who came to inspect them. There was no helping it; a cloud ship of such magnitude was bound to attract attention.

"It's a good thing Cailing stayed," Wang Changsheng thought to himself with lingering fear. "Otherwise, if it were just us and Li Fusheng, who knows how much trouble he would have caused."

Li Fusheng possessed a fearless personality, immense strength, and a powerful background. In the Shentian Realm, there was arguably no one he couldn't provoke. Wang Changsheng couldn't help but wonder if bringing Li Fusheng along had been the right decision.