Family Cultivation: My entire family are Villains-Chapter 624 - 285, Splitting the Earth to Establish Boundaries, Fame Spreads in All Directions (8)_2

As this sentence was finished, everyone immediately understood why Shen Gufan dared to challenge Hou Yuxiao. Without anyone noticing, a dazzling inner core, almost perfect in its completeness, had risen behind him. In an instant, his presence eclipsed that of Hou Yuxiao, and even Wan Renjue, who hadn't yet retracted his inner core, seemed to fall a notch below him in comparison.

"Yuan Dan Second Realm, peak of Divine Skills period, this..."

"Shen Gufan is not a Great Grandmaster of the Fourth Realm!"

"How is it possible, his presence is even stronger than Master Wan!"

"This...this…how is this possible!!!"

...…

As the entire venue fell into a stunned silence, Wan Renjue, Duan Hong, Ying Ning'er, and Yuan Tiecheng exchanged glances, and the apprehension in their eyes suddenly soared to the extreme.

"Worthy of being from the prestigious Shen Clan of the former Sanling County, I had long suspected they were hiding their strength, but I didn't expect Shen Gufan's cultivation to be even slightly superior to mine!"

Wan Renjue's voice was very somber, and there was even a hint of defeat in his tone. He knew there were flaws in his status as the overlord of Xingnan Prefecture, but it was only upon seeing Shen Gufan's cultivation that he realized how significant those flaws were.

"We're probably not even seeing the whole picture yet. The Rakshasa Holy Sect has openly sent only five County Magistrates to Jinling over the years, and who knows how many experts they have sent in secret. For Shen Gufan to have cultivated to the Yuan Dan Second Realm without a sound, the true strength of the Shen Clan is probably far beyond our imagination."

"What a shame. Hou Yuxiao may seem exceedingly intelligent, but he is shortsighted. By killing Yan Sandong, the Shen family will surely take the opportunity to extend their reach to Yinling. Plus, with Yun Xiang, the Shen family will control three counties. Given Shen Gufan's current state, it's possible that Hou Yuxiao will lose his life, and once he dies, the Hou Clan is finished. The Hexi Region that was so hard-won will likely fall into the Shen family's hands."

Ying Ning'er frowned slightly upon hearing Duan Hong and Yuan Tiecheng's words. It wasn't that she questioned their statements—Moling Sect had access to as much information as the other two, and she knew that what they said was largely accurate. Her doubt lay elsewhere.

"In order not to arouse the suspicion of the Holy Church, the Shen family has kept a low profile for hundreds of years. Why would Shen Gufan brazenly take action now, with representatives of all the influential forces from the four prefectures present? With one move, hasn't he rendered all those years of the Shen family's facade useless?"

Ying Ning'er's words caught Wan Renjue and the others off guard, and they exchanged glances as if a realization had come to them, causing their expressions to change dramatically.

With a grave tone, Wan Renjue said, "Unless, he is no longer worried about the suspicion of the Rakshasa Holy Sect. Something new must have happened at the Headquarters, and Shen Gufan must have learned of it in advance!"

What new development could embolden Shen Gufan, fearlessly facing the Holy Church?

While a myriad of thoughts ran through their minds, the combat between Shen Gufan and Hou Yuxiao had already begun...

Shen Gufan, clad in white, moved like a ghost, slicing through the air with thousands of Sword Qi in an instant. As the color of the Sword Qi matched his robes, countless white shadows filled the sky, making it impossible to tell the Sword Qi from the person.

The Sword Qi hidden among the white shadows was so sharp that each one could slash a tiny gap in the sky behind which the void seemed to loom, hinting at the extremity of its sharpness.

Yet sharpness was only one aspect; each streak of his Sword Qi spanned thousands of meters. At first, Hou Yuxiao could dodge when there wasn't much Sword Qi. But as time passed and the air was filled with Sword Qi, he increasingly struggled, until he was forced to withstand it with his body.

Rip…

Hou Yuxiao leaped to dodge a streak of Sword Qi, and suddenly heard a ripping sound beside his ear. He glanced down at his collar, which had been slashed short, yet his expression remained as calm as an ancient well.

Far from being calm, although they had exchanged blows for more than ten breaths, Hou Yuxiao had not even brought out his Canglong Staff; he was still holding the Blood Shadow Sword he had just taken from Fourth Elder.

If one were to compare grades, both the Blood Shadow Sword and the Canglong Staff were classified as Spiritual Artifacts, and in principle, neither was superior to the other. However, Hou Yuxiao was known to excel with the staff.

Hou Yuxiao's continued use of the longsword was an irritation to Shen Gufan, whose expression was already somewhat unpleasant. Added to that Hou Yuxiao's persistent avoidance and his ever-composed demeanor troubled Shen Gufan even more.

Shen Gufan withdrew his sword and narrowed his eyes, looking at Hou Yuxiao, whose attitude still seemed carefree, and said softly, "Family Head Hou, I actually had no intention of becoming enemies with the Hou Family. How about you release Guyun now, and I won't interfere with your claim to the title of Lord of Hexi, what do you say?"

Nobody expected Shen Gufan, who just seconds before had a hostile demeanor, to change faces so quickly and even make a friendly gesture towards Hou Yuxiao. This strange scene made everyone at the scene freeze in surprise.

Th𝗲 most uptodate novels are published on ƒгeewёbnovel.com.

Only a very few, like Wan Renjue, upon hearing Shen Gufan's words, immediately turned their heads to look at Hou Yuxiao, their expressions clearly tensing up.

It just so happened that Wan Renjue's reaction was caught by Hou Yuxiao. He turned his head to look at Shen Gufan with a light chuckle and a shake of his head, saying, "Family Head Shen, I also have no desire to be enemies with the Shen family. We have always treated Guyun with respect and have not mistreated him. Releasing him is not difficult. However..."

Upon hearing this, Shen Gufan's expression immediately brightened, his words genuinely expressing a reluctance to oppose the Hou Clan. At least during this period when Xiayuan Dao was on the verge of chaos, he did not want to.

However, Hou Yuxiao's following words made his face freeze instantly.

"This title of Lord of Hexi, my Hou Clan is set on claiming. Family Head Shen, do not think so highly of yourself. Whether it is you or Master Wan, whether you intervene today or not, it will have no impact whatsoever on my Hou Clan!"