Chapter 28 Old Matters of Past Years

  This remark is almost as good as not saying anything, it seems that the momentum of these people and the tense appearance of several masters have increased, just knowing that these few people are not friendly with the Yang family. Lin Feng was about to ask further, but heard Yang Mu laugh and say: "Deng Shan, you guys also came to Qingyang Gate, didn't you? According to your meaning, you can't stay in Mengyuan City either?"

  There were five people in total, two of whom were sixth-level foundation-building experts and three who were third- or fourth-level. The one who had spoken first was the master of the Deng family, Deng Shan. When he heard Yang Mu's sharp retort, his smile suddenly froze, and his face turned somewhat ugly. The laughter from the others also stopped abruptly, as they glared at Yang Mu with an air that seemed to suggest they might attack him at any moment.

  Lin Feng's several masters, except for Yang Mu who was at the sixth level of the foundation period, Lan Yanlong and Mu Lengxing were one at the fourth level and the other at the third level. Yang Ze, on the other hand, only had a cultivation base of the second level, and overall, his strength was much lower than theirs. However, he didn't back down in the slightest and surrounded Yang Mu along with the others, taking up defensive postures to prevent him from suddenly lashing out.

  But Yang Mu was completely nonchalant, knowing that no matter how deep the hatred between them was, it was impossible to start a fight here. The rules of Qingyang Gate were not something that their small family dared to defy.

  As expected, the Deng family arrived in a mighty manner, their strength surpassing that of the Yang family by a great deal. However, they were restrained by the rules of Qingyang Gate and did not dare to make a move. Deng Shan suppressed his anger for a while before stretching out his hand to stop his family members behind him, saying slowly but fiercely: "Yang Mu, you can be stubborn now, but I'll see if you can continue being stubborn after the grand ceremony is over!"

  "Oh, is that so?" Yang Mu said with a smile, in a casual tone, and then continued with a hint of disdain: "Don't think that just because our Yang family is weaker than yours, we'll be like fish on the chopping board for you to slaughter at will. If it comes down to it, the Deng family will also pay the price in blood! Just because we left Monguang City back then doesn't mean we won't return. You wait and see, before long we'll drive you out of Monguang City just like you drove us out!"

  "Haha! Alright, you've got spirit, Yang Mu. Since things have been said to this point, we don't need to say anything more. The Deng family is waiting for you, and the Yang family should be careful too. One day, I'll personally wipe out the Yang family!" Deng Shan laughed loudly, his momentum not inferior to Yang Mu's. He shouted "Leave!" and immediately left with a few people, truly coming and going quickly.

  "Big brother, why are you being so...?" Yang Ze and Yang Mu were originally brothers and also had the identity of alchemists, with a status that was not ordinary. Seeing Yang Mu suddenly being so tough today, he couldn't understand and opened his mouth to ask.

  However, before he could finish speaking, Yang Mu stretched out his hand to interrupt him: "The Deng family and we will inevitably have a final battle, but as the saying goes, 'hurt the enemy a thousand times, hurt oneself eight hundred times', they haven't completely suppressed our strength, so there's no need to worry too much!"

  "But...?" Yang Ze, although fully focused on alchemy, was not completely ignorant. He knew that compared to the Deng family, the Yang family's strength was clearly inferior. If the two sides were to engage in an all-out battle now, the Yang family would be doomed. So at this moment, he was quite worried.

  Yang Mu didn't wait for him to finish, interrupting his words and waving his hand to signal Lin Feng and the others to leave. Lin Feng and the others naturally didn't dare say more, obediently walking away. Only then did Yang Mu say: "Ze brother, take a look at these many disciples who have come to participate in the selection, how many of them are above the seventh layer of Qi Refining?"

  Yang Ze didn't know why Yang Mu suddenly brought this up, and after glancing at it casually, he said: "Among these thousands of selected disciples, there may not be even a hundred people, but what does this have to do with us?"

  Yang Mu smiled slightly and didn't say much, but glanced at Mo Lan and Mo Leng. Mo Leng saw Yang Mu looking over and thought for a moment before saying: "Is the master referring to Zhao Chun?"

  Yang Mu smiled and nodded, not saying much. Lan Yanlong continued, "The master is indeed calculating. With Zhao Chun's cultivation nearing the 8th layer of refining Qi, becoming a disciple of Qingyang Gate can be said to be a certainty. Just relying on the reputation of Qingyang Gate, even the Deng family will have to weigh their options carefully."

  Yang Ze finally understood a bit, but he didn't usually bother with such things. Thinking of the Deng family's power, he still expressed some concern and said: "Deng Shan is a man who seeks quick success and is fond of taking risks. I'm afraid that if he can't bear it any longer, he might take drastic action."

  Yang Mou shook his head and said, "Ze Di doesn't have to worry too much. After all these years of brotherhood, don't you know my temper? It's just this one trump card, Zhao Chun, I won't be so reckless as to provoke Deng Shan."

  Although Yang Ze was a step higher in the family due to his status as Dan Master, he also deeply respected Yang Mu's leadership of the family. He hastily said: "The master has decided this way, naturally there is his own plan, Ze only knows about alchemy, other things are really not understood, I hope the master will enlighten me."

  Yang Mu knew Yang Ze's temper and said straightforwardly, "Ze brother, have you forgotten that you've made another major breakthrough in your alchemy skills? With your alchemy skills, I'm not worried that our Yang family's strength can't catch up with the Deng family in a short period of time."

  The method of refining the Zhongpin Tiqi Pill researched by Lin Feng has a historic significance for the enhancement of the Yang family's strength, and due to its great importance, the news is still sealed by Yang Mu.

  Yang Mu's intention was to keep the secret for as long as possible, not because he didn't trust his family members, but in order to maintain confidentiality and let as few people know as possible. After all, the more people who knew the secret, the harder it would be to avoid leaks.

  However, today he unexpectedly met Deng Shan and others, which made him have to reveal a little news to let Lan Mu and the two of them put their minds at ease. Lan Mu and the two were both foundation-building cultivators who had participated in the struggle between the Yang family and the Deng family back then, and they could be trusted with loyalty. Moreover, from now on, foundation-building cultivators would get more cultivation resources, and sooner or later they would know about it anyway. So, he might as well tell them in advance, which could also boost the morale of the family's cultivators.

  However, Yang Mu considered the relationship with Zhong Pin Ti Qi Dan to be too great, so he didn't say it very thoroughly. Yang Ze naturally knew what Yang Mu was referring to and wouldn't speak out loud, nodding his head without saying another word. Lan Mu and the others, however, heard the meaning behind Yang Mu's words and thought about how the family had recently relaxed its treatment of the disciples in various ways, so they naturally believed that Yang Mu's words were true.

  "I said that the elixir provided by our family has suddenly become more abundant and better in quality recently, it turns out that Yang Shidi's alchemy skills have made another breakthrough, congratulations are in order! Blue Flame Dragon Cultivated Truth for many years, the reason is naturally understood at once, and immediately offered congratulations."

  Mu Lengxing also chimed in, "Congratulations! Ze Shidi's alchemy skills have reached a new height, and we've all benefited greatly from it. I believe it won't be long before the Deng family will no longer be so arrogant!"

  Yang Ze repeatedly expressed his gratitude and humility, and the few people said a few more words of mutual encouragement. Only then did they slowly break free from the negative emotions brought by Deng Shan and others, chatted for a while, and each returned to their shed to meditate quietly.

  Lin Feng and the others of his generation couldn't join in on their conversation, but curiosity is something everyone has. When he saw Yang Ze alone, Lin Feng took advantage of the opportunity to sneak up and hand him a cup of tea, then quietly asked: "Master Uncle, what's the story behind the Deng family? Why are they so fierce?"

  Yang Ze glanced at Lin Feng, thinking of Yang Mu's plan to greatly enhance the family's power by relying on the middle-grade Qi Dan. He couldn't help but look at Lin Feng in a different light, and after some thought, he said: "This is an old matter between our Yang family and the Deng family, you young people don't need to know about it, but there's no harm in telling you either."

  Lin Feng immediately heard the door and hurriedly poured tea water, letting Yang Ze continue speaking.

  The Yang family was originally a medium-sized alchemy family in the city of Mengyang, and due to their inherited pill-refining techniques being quite impressive, they also had a place among the many alchemy families in Mengyang.

  However, Meng City is not a small city like Fei Ling City. The city is huge and there are many cultivators, as numerous as the fish in the river. With more cultivators come more conflicts, for benefits, for fame, just like ordinary people, there will always be various disputes.

  The Deng family was also a family that relied on alchemy to make a name for itself in the city of Mengyang. In order to compete with the Yang family for the market share of elixirs, they gradually became rivals. However, the Deng family's alchemy skills were generally inferior to those of the Yang family, and their market share was not high. The entire family was barely scraping by, and the development of the family was naturally very slow.

  This situation made Deng Jia's current head, Deng Ba, very worried. So he came up with a vicious plan and bribed an apprentice from Yang Jia's Dan medicine shop to exchange his own worst dan medicine for some of Yang Jia's good ones. As time went by, the cultivators in Mengyang City gradually felt the difference, resulting in a large number of Yang Jia's dan medicines being unsold.

  After the Yang family reacted and investigated the truth, the bought-out partner was naturally dead, but the family's elixir business had been damaged too deeply and could not recover in a short period of time.

  At this time, the Deng family developed rapidly by relying on the exchange of high-quality elixirs. In order to prevent the Yang family from taking revenge and re-occupying the market with their excellent elixir technology, the Deng family went all out and spent a large amount of spirit stones to buy off several masters, designing to kill the mid-level alchemist who was best at refining elixirs in the Yang family, namely Yang Mu's father. As a result, the Yang family suddenly lost its foundation for standing in Mengyang City and had no choice but to move to Feiling City, where the spiritual energy and human resources were far inferior to those of Mengyang City.

  The Yang family, having no reason to be involved in so many things, naturally also sensed the strangeness of it all and left Mong City to secretly investigate several times. It wasn't until later that they discovered it was actually the Deng family behind everything. However, by this time, the Deng family had already greatly developed their power in Mong City and significantly increased their strength. The Yang family, having lost a mid-level alchemist, saw many of their former followers slowly disperse after leaving Mong City, greatly reducing their strength. Although they clashed with the Deng family several times, they were defeated each time. Fortunately, the Yang family had been cautious and decisive in their actions at the time and didn't leave any clues for the Deng family to follow, so even now the Deng family still hasn't found the Yang family's address. Otherwise, who knows, maybe the Deng family would have already come to Fei Ling City to kill them.

  The Yang family went through several open and secret assassinations, but none of them shook the foundation of the Deng family. So they settled down to secretly develop their own strength in Fei Ling City, preparing for a comeback. Sending disciples into Qingyang Gate was one of the plans for the family's rise, but this was something Yang Ze would never tell Lin Feng.

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