Chapter 181: The Struggle of a Cornered Beast

"Ocean-Severing Wave—Duan! Qian! Kun!" Through gritted teeth, Mi Shuhua spat out the name, each word filled with anger

One hand clutched his throat, trying to stem the blood that continued to seep through his fingers. From the glow of lanterns, an elderly figure emerged—so aged he seemed like a candle flickering in the wind.

With a casual motion, he reached out, and a deep blue flying sword landed in his grasp. For a moment, it seemed as if crashing waves and towering tides were contained within his palm.

Looking at Mi Shuhua’s shocked and furious expression, Duan Qiankun let out a bitter smile. "I'm sorry, but I made a promise—to act once on someone else's behalf."

Mi Shuhua roared like a furious beast. "Someone else? Who? Can they compare to our century-long friendship?"

In the next moment, the howling of the wind echoed all around.

A familiar voice reached his ears. "Fellow Daoist Mi, I trust you've been well?"

The man standing before him wore the same ever-smiling face that had once greeted him with warmth.

"Elder Zhou!"

"I don’t recall ever offending the Lianyun Trade Alliance," Mi Shuhua said coldly. "Even when Poshan Gang won the Debate Platform duel last time, I strengthened our cooperation. I even lowered supply prices by ten percent."

Elder Zhou sighed. "I was indeed satisfied with your sincerity. Unfortunately, the other elders in the trade alliance were not. Besides...

"A man without sin may still be doomed for possessing treasure."

Another figure appeared, stepping through the darkness as if walking upon waves.

Wang Haichao's expression was solemn. "Hand over the storage ring you obtained from the Golden Core Ruins—along with everything inside!"

Mi Shuhua's grip tightened. "There's no Golden Core pill inside!" he argued, taking step after step backward.

Suddenly, he halted in his tracks.

A wave of extreme cold surged forth, solidifying into an unyielding wall of ice, stretching hundreds of meters and cutting off his retreat.

"Whether it does or not isn’t for you to decide. A storage ring from the Supreme Elder of Valley of Ghosts and Divinities—without a Golden Core pill? I don’t believe it."

Mi Shuhua clenched his teeth, his round, plump face trembling uncontrollably.

The patriarch of the Nangong family—Nangong Jin!

The moment he saw Nangong Jin appear, Mi Shuhua knew there was no room for negotiation left. He scanned his surroundings, suppressing his earlier frantic and furious expression.

"Since the four of you are already here, Fellow Daoist Li Yixian, there's no need to keep hiding, is there?"

A voice drifted from the shadows, ethereal, elusive. "Senior Mi, your skills are formidable. I'd rather not show my face."

Under the night sky, a voice flitted from left to right, front to back, like a ghost.

"I do not ask for much—just the Beast Hall of Poshan Gang and two or three safe hunting grounds in the Ancient Plains."

Mi Shuhua sneered. "Such a trivial request—was it truly worth taking action?"

"Sigh, for the sake of my family, I had no choice."

The ghostly voice echoed once more, followed by a soft chuckle. "Besides, I'm not the only one. Isn't your old friend, Senior Duan Qiankun, doing the same?"

Mi Shuhua froze for a moment, then looked down at the oldest man present.

Within the Mi family estate, Duan Qiankun let out a deep sigh.

"The Foundation Establishment pill from the auction failed to help my Duan family’s prodigy break through. My lifespan is running out—I must cultivate a Foundation Establishment Initiate for my family. I had no choice but to use an eight hundred year old heaven and earth root as leverage and agree to assist Elder Zhou once."

"Do you realize that I have a Foundation Establishment pill in my possession?" Mi Shuhua growled.

Duan Qiankun shook his head. "Old friend, why deceive yourself? Your benefits are never so easily taken. That Foundation Establishment pill—you've toyed with it too much. How could it possibly fall into my hands?"

Mi Shuhua was taken aback. Memories surfaced, and he felt a trace of bitterness at the corner of his lips.

He had played too many tricks. Even an old friend of decades no longer trusted him.

Enemies surrounded him. Five Foundation Establishment cultivators sealed every direction—no escape to the heavens, no retreat to the earth [1].

Unknowingly, he had already fallen into a situation of certain death.

𝐟𝐫𝕖𝗲𝘄𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝕧𝐞𝚕.𝕔𝕠𝐦

Clinging to a sliver of hope, Mi Shuhua looked at Elder Zhou. "Business is business—must you really push me to the brink? From now on, I’ll offer three percent more in our trade deals. No, make that five percent!"

Elder Zhou stroked his chin with interest, as if genuinely considering the proposal.

"Fellow Daoist Nangong!" Mi Shuhua called toward the back. "Your esteemed family relocated from Snow Lotus Market to Dahe Market, yet I doubt you’ve claimed a suitable spirit vein. My humble Mi family possesses a branch vein beneath our forbidden grounds—its efficacy rivals that of a primary vein. With the addition of a spirit-gathering array, it can even match a second-tier spirit vein! If it pleases you, I will offer it with both hands!"

Nangong Jin raised an eyebrow, visibly tempted.

"Fellow Daoist Li! The Beast Hall and hunting grounds you seek are hardly worth expending your spirit power over. If you spare me, I will give you a map—one detailing a century’s worth of exploration by Poshan Gang, mapping the entire outer region of the Ancient Plains. You may go wherever you please!"

Before Li Yixian could respond, Mi Shuhua took a deep breath and turned to Duan Qiankun.

"Old friend, let us trade sincerity for sincerity. I will give you the Foundation Establishment pill, and you may return to the Duan family. Moreover, I will swear upon the Great Dao—after your passing, whether or not your prodigy succeeds in Foundation Establishment, I will watch over your family for a century!"

One offer after another was laid out. Among the five present, four were visibly swayed.

The conditions Mi Shuhua offered were not empty words nor wild promises. They were all things he was fully capable of delivering. His sincerity was evident.

Suddenly, a ghostly voice drifted in.

"Does Fellow Daoist Wang mean so little to you?"

Mi Shuhua snapped his head around. "A petty man who breaks his word—what terms could we possibly discuss?"

His righteous indignation shone through, showcasing his unwavering adherence to his word.

For a brief moment, Wang Haichao actually felt a twinge of shame.

After all, he and Mi Shuhua had made multiple agreements in the past. They had even formalized a written alliance after the Debate Platform duel, vowing not to act against each other in the short term.

Yet now, Dajiang Gang led a coalition to attack Poshan Gang on all fronts.

It was, undeniably, a betrayal of their agreement.

The others cast peculiar glances at Wang Haichao.

While Mi Shuhua’s words were resolute, his heart pounded wildly within his chest.

Suddenly!

Elder Zhou chuckled dryly.

The others were puzzled and turned their gazes toward him.

"Elder Zhou, what remains unsatisfactory to you?"

Elder Zhou shook his head. "Your offers are excellent—I must admit, they’ve moved me. But tell me... after giving away so much, what leverage do you have left to maintain business with Lianyun Trade Alliance?"

Mi Shuhua froze.

He had overlooked one crucial detail. In his desperation, the conditions he hastily offered ultimately contradicted one another.

He shook his head abruptly and hurriedly said, "Because I am a mid-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator with a lifespan of another hundred years!"

"Not enough!"

"Luo Chen! Yes, Luo Chen! He is absolutely qualified!"

"Oh?"

"Dan Chenzi, Luo Chen’s Dao title is Dan Chenzi. He possesses an unparalleled talent in alchemy, capable of refining mid-grade pills with an astonishing success rate. With him, the Lianyun Trade Alliance will expand at an unprecedented speed and become one of the top trade alliances in the Jade Cauldron Domain!"

Upon hearing the Dao title "Dan Chenzi," Elder Zhou's eyes lit up.

This condition was simply too good to refuse.

"I accept your terms!"

As these words left his mouth, it felt like a royal pardon had been granted.

Mi Shuhua nearly burst into excitement.

However, the next sentence froze him in place.

"However, you still need to hand over the Supreme Elder’s storage ring from Valley of Ghosts and Divinities, along with all your enchanted treasures."

Elder Zhou shrugged. "I’m afraid I can’t let that slide. With the opportunity for Core Formation before us, I can’t afford to let it go. I assume the other Daoists feel the same."

Mi Shuhua’s heart plummeted to the depths.

He scanned the surroundings—Wang Haichao sneered, Nangong Jin’s eyes gleamed with greed, and Duan Qiankun kept his head lowered, his expression unreadable.

"Hahaha..."

A bitter, sorrowful laughter escaped from Mi Shuhua’s lips.

"If I hand over my treasures, won’t I become a lamb waiting for slaughter? Do you all truly take me for a fool?"

"That’s not exactly the case. We can first establish—wait, no!"

Elder Zhou’s expression changed rapidly, turning as dark as still water.

"Attack!"

"He’s stalling for time!"

Before the words even finished, a surge of fire erupted, turning the dark night into blinding daylight.

The others reacted immediately, wasting no further words. They unleashed their techniques all at once.

At this moment, Mi Shuhua finally dropped all pretense.

Every condition he had proposed, every word he had spoken, every expression he had worn—they had all been nothing more than a facade to buy time.

Unfortunately, even after all that stalling, no reinforcements had arrived.

"So be it."

"Let’s settle this with a fight!"

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Countless spinning blades shot out from around him, shattering the air itself as they erupted in all directions. A black-and-white radiance erupted from within him, enveloping his entire body.

Offensive enchanted treasures! Defensive enchanted treasures!

Not only that, but he also swallowed a pill, and his eyes instantly turned blood-red. With a single hand seal, a small pagoda spun from his palm and slammed into the ground.

In an instant, it expanded to thirty zhang in height, towering over the battlefield. Half of the Mi family estate was reduced to dust.

Standing atop the tower’s peak, Mi Shuhua roared.

"If you want my life, you’ll have to pay the price!"

1. The phrase "上天无路，入地无门" (shang tian wu lu, ru di you ren) is a Chinese idiom that describes a situation where one has no way out, feeling utterly trapped with no escape routes. It is often used to convey a sense of desperation and hopelessness. This expression originates from the Song Dynasty, specifically from the work "Five Lamps Meeting Source" (五灯会元) by Shi Puji. ☜