The Capital, Ye Family Main Hall.
The main hall, which should have been silent late at night, was brightly lit. The atmosphere was as heavy as the calm before a storm.
Ye Chengye, the current Patriarch; Ye Qingyun, the Innate Master; and Ye Qingcheng, who had just emerged from seclusion with an aura even colder and more profound than before, all stood respectfully in the lower positions.
On the main seat, Shan Hu sat casually, toying with the compass artifact he had seized from Yuan Hu.
Thud!
With a casual wave of Shan Hu's hand, a black shadow flew out from his Storage Ring and crashed heavily onto the expensive carpet of the main hall. It was the surveillance agent, Yuan Hu, whose cultivation had been sealed and limbs broken.
"Take a look. This is the man who has been staring at your Ye family," Shan Hu said flatly, as if he had tossed out a bag of trash rather than a person.
Ye Qingyun stepped forward to inspect Yuan Hu, his face instantly turning iron-blue.
"This is... a member of the 'Black Serpent' organization? These rogue cultivators will do any dirty work for money. Who hired him?"
"The Chen family. Chen Tiannan," Shan Hu provided the answer.
Hearing this name, Ye Chengye slammed his fist onto the table, his eyes burning with rage. "The Chen family! Them again! Over the past few years, they have targeted us commercially at every turn. I didn't expect them to extend their reach to the very foundation of our family now!"
Ye Qingcheng's eyes flashed with a cold light as she looked at Shan Hu. "Sir, what is the Chen family's intention in spying on our underground secrets?"
"Not just spying." Shan Hu pointed at Yuan Hu on the floor. "They want to confirm if the Ye family has truly declined. Then, they plan to seize the opportunity to swallow the Ye family whole, turn you, Ye Qingcheng, into Chen Tiannan's plaything, and conveniently dig up the 'treasure' underground."
These words stripped the Chen family's ambitions bare, causing the faces of the three Ye family members to turn extremely ugly.
"This is bullying to the extreme!" Ye Qingyun's Innate True Qi surged around him, his hair and beard bristling. "Mr. Shan, with just one word from you, this old man will lead our people to slaughter our way into the Chen family. Even if the fish dies and the net breaks, we will make them pay!"
Shan Hu raised his hand, stopping the agitated Ye Qingyun.
"The fish dies and the net breaks? Are they worthy?"
Shan Hu stood up and walked to the entrance of the main hall, gazing in the direction of the Chen family estate. A cruel curve appeared on his lips.
"In this world, no one is allowed to covet what belongs to me. The Ye family is now under my protection, and the spiritual vein underground is my Daoist sanctuary. Since the Chen family has reached out their hand, the punishment will not be as simple as just chopping it off."
He turned around, his gaze sweeping over the three Ye family members, exuding an aura of sovereign supremacy.
"Ye Chengye, send out invitations to all the aristocratic families in the Capital tomorrow. Announce that the Ye family will hold a 'Treasure Appreciation Banquet' in three days, where several rare peerless treasures will be displayed."
Ye Chengye was stunned, struggling to keep up with Shan Hu's train of thought. "Sir, why do this? Shouldn't we..."
"Luring the snake out of its hole," Ye Qingcheng reacted first. She looked at Shan Hu, her eyes shining with the light of wisdom. "Since the Chen family wants the Ye family's treasures, rather than letting them plot in the dark, it's better to place the bait directly in the open, forcing them to come."
Shan Hu glanced at Ye Qingcheng appreciatively. "Correct. Instead of swatting flies one by one, it's better to muddy the waters, force all the ghosts hiding in the shadows to jump out, and solve them all at once."
"Furthermore," Shan Hu's voice dropped lower, "I searched the memories of this 'rat' and found that behind the Chen family stands a more interesting character—an Evil Cultivator at the Foundation Establishment stage who plays with corpse poison. This is the confidence behind the Chen family's dare to provoke the Ye family."
"A Foundation Establishment Evil Cultivator?!"
Ye Qingyun and Ye Chengye gasped. In the current cultivation world of Earth, the Foundation Establishment stage represented a legendary Ancestor-level figure, possessing unpredictable and ghostly methods far beyond those of an Innate martial artist.
"Relax." Shan Hu gently patted Ye Qingyun's shoulder, injecting a stream of pure Wood-attribute spiritual energy into him, instantly smoothing out his chaotic breath caused by agitation.
"In front of me, the Foundation Establishment stage is no different from an ant."
"Go and prepare. At the Treasure Appreciation Banquet in three days, I want everyone in the Capital to know that the Ye family is not just a hard bone to chew, but... one that eats people."
The three Ye family members exchanged glances and bowed in unison.
"We obey the Sir's decree!"
That night, the lights of the Ye family burned until dawn. In the shadows of the Capital, a massive net of counter-kill targeting the Chen family and the forces behind them was quietly spreading under Shan Hu's will.