Chapter 305: The Wealthy Investor

Subduing a magical artifact is like taming a wild horse—it requires methods, skills, and patience. Tai Wu had none of these shortages. He used every trick at his disposal to deal with the wealthy investor for a long time. Though he hadn’t seen any results yet, he remained full of confidence and endless patience. As long as he could obtain a top-grade Dao artifact, no amount of effort would be wasted.

Feng Ying had remained on the sidelines, observing. According to their oral agreement, he was supposed to step in at critical moments—such as helping to stop the wealthy investor from escaping or intervening if other competitors appeared. But only he knew his true intentions.

“Sky-Splitting Slash!”
Tai Wu roared loudly, wielding his Tai Wu Divine Blade and unleashing another of his divine powers.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh…
Dozens of dark red blades appeared in the sky, each over a dozen zhang long. Though formed by divine power, they were razor-sharp, as if solid. Each blade could split a thousand-zhang-high mountain in half. Combined, their combined force seemed capable of tearing a huge hole in the sky that would never heal.

Yet Tai Wu knew that even so, it wouldn’t break through the wealthy investor’s formidable defenses. This was merely a powerful strike; hundreds or even thousands more might still not be enough to subdue it.

That’s what a top-grade Dao artifact should be like!

Vroom…
The dozens of blades flew forward, all aiming at the same spot near the gates of the wealthy investor’s palace.

But something unexpected happened. This time, the palace didn’t resist head-on. Instead, it suddenly shrank, turning into a palm-sized miniature palace—like a delicate craft. In an instant, it moved dozens of zhang sideways, dodging all the blade strikes.

The once-huge palace, standing a hundred zhang tall, instantly turned into a tiny model. The sheer visual impact was unparalleled, causing the over 300 cultivators watching from afar to gasp in unison. Afraid of being scolded by the two elders, they quickly snapped out of their daze and fell silent.

Tai Wu didn’t scold them. Instead, he looked thrilled, exclaiming in his heart, “Great! It’s finally starting to dodge! This means its defensive energy is almost exhausted!”

After all, the palace had remained underground for thousands of years, and the Beihuang Island region lacked spiritual energy. It was only natural that its defensive power had dwindled.

Yet, the subsequent behavior of the Giant Wealth Palace once again shocked Tai Wu greatly.
Whoosh!
The delicate and small Giant Wealth Palace flew at incredible speed—not to escape, but straight toward Patriarch Feng Ying.
Along the way, it emitted drumbeats and chants again: “The giant wealth belongs to you! Save me, save me…”
It rushed toward Patriarch Feng Ying as if offering itself willingly.
“The giant wealth belongs to me?”
Patriarch Feng Ying was utterly shocked; he had never expected such a situation. Instinctively, he raised his hand and held the Giant Wealth Palace in his palm.
The Giant Wealth Palace, which should have been as heavy as a mountain, felt weightless in his hand, yet he could clearly sense its presence.
“No! This isn’t an illusion—it truly lies in my palm!”
“So, when it said it had a master, it meant me!”
“I am its true destined owner!”
A wave of overwhelming joy surged through him. The voluntary offering of this top-tier Dao artifact filled Patriarch Feng Ying with extreme excitement, causing his emotions to spiral out of control. He laughed loudly to the sky: “Haha! So all this time, this was a gift from heaven. The reason the giant wealth returned to the cultivation world was actually aimed at me…”
“Feng Ying!”
Tai Wu’s face turned red with fury as he rushed over in a flash of anger, his roar like thunderclaps: “Feng Ying, put down the Giant Wealth Palace! No! Return it to me!”
In his desperation, the Patriarch with centuries of experience spoke in a disordered manner.
There were certain things that mattered more than anything else in their hearts, and a top-tier Dao artifact like the Giant Wealth Palace was one of them. They would go to extremes for it.
“Brother Tai Wu, you’re wrong.”
Holding the Giant Wealth Palace in his hand, Patriarch Feng Ying’s face was filled with joy, happiness, and satisfaction—none of fear. He chuckled and said, “It’s obvious that I am the true master of the Giant Wealth Palace. This is its own choice.”
“Nonsense!”
Tai Wu’s expression was ferocious, his emotions clearly out of control. He truly hadn’t expected such a turn of events.
“Feng Ying, you promised me you wouldn’t compete with me for the Giant Wealth Palace. As a Yuan Ying cultivator, should you speak like nonsense?”
Tai Wu’s roar made the earth tremble and the tides recede. More than three hundred cultivators watching from afar also retreated in fear, afraid of being burned to ashes by the Patriarch’s wrath.
“Brother Tai Wu, let me say it again—this is a gift from heaven, and it’s also the Giant Wealth Palace’s own choice. It’s fate—I am its owner.”

Feng Ying showed no weakness and shouted with great momentum, “So it turns out you’ve been competing with me from start to finish, trying to snatch away what heaven has given me and that originally belonged to me. How could I, Feng Ying, allow that?”
“Good, good, good!”
Tai Wu laughed in fury, “If that’s the case, we’re bound to have a fierce battle. From now on, your Fengmo Hall will also crumble to dust.”
He then roared, “Disciples of the Taiyi Sect, heed my order!”
“Yes!”
About two thousand zhang away, over two hundred disciples of the Taiyi Sect replied in unison, one-third of them at the Golden Core stage.
“Seize everyone from the Fengmo Hall! If they resist, kill them without hesitation!” Tai Wu, seemingly insane, immediately gave the order.
“Yes!”
The disciples of the Taiyi Sect replied in unison and scattered, surrounding the smaller group from the Fengmo Hall, including Feng Sha, who was at the late Golden Core stage.
The people of the Fengmo Hall were terrified and called out to their sect leader.
Feng Ying held the giant beast in one hand while gently stroking it with the other, his eyes filled with obsession and affection. He whispered, “Old Tai Wu, do whatever you want. It doesn’t matter to me anymore. With this giant beast, I have everything. Haha, the Fengmo Hall is now a burden; it’s better without it.”
The delicate and small giant beast lay quietly in his palm like a well-behaved pet, showing no resistance or aversion.
“Attack!”
This scene filled Tai Wu with jealousy, his chest burning as his red eyes, like those of a madman, stared at Patriarch Feng Ying as he issued such an order.
Boom, boom, boom…
The over two hundred disciples of the Taiyi Sect attacked simultaneously, launching a fierce assault on the clearly weaker group from the Fengmo Hall.
The life-or-death battle between the two patriarchs was also on the verge of erupting at any moment.
Boom…
Su Che and True Master Huaguang watched as various supernatural powers and spells began to shine dozens of miles away. For a moment, both felt heavy-hearted and anxious.
“Did the giant beast willingly fall into Feng Ying’s hands? Is this a strategy to sow discord among them, or has it truly chosen Feng Ying?” Su Che murmured.
“I think it’s the former,” True Master Huaguang thought as well. The giant beast might be using a tactic to create division. But after all, it was just a magical artifact, not a real relative or friend one could truly understand.
Who could predict the thoughts of a magical artifact? It was impossible to be certain.
Thus, True Master Huaguang’s reply also sounded somewhat uncertain.
“It must be a tactic to sow discord!”
Yet one person gave a very confident and decisive answer.

Lao Hei said confidently, “Master, don’t worry. I believe that Jufu was originally the treasure that protected the Giant Wealth Palace, possessing wisdom and experience accumulated over tens of thousands of years. He’s certainly not a fool, so it’s not surprising he could devise a strategy to create discord. I’m a spirit of an artifact, and so is he. I feel my judgment can’t be wrong. Just wait for the snipe and the clam to fight while the fisherman reaps the benefits!”

“I hope so…” Su Che said silently, still feeling somewhat uneasy and anxious.

Heaven-Splitting Slash!

On the other side, Tai Wu was already extremely anxious and impatient. At this moment, he had only one thought: destroy Feng Ying and reclaim Jufu.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh…

The most powerful Heaven-Splitting Slash was unleashed, with nearly a hundred giant blades forming, casting a shadow that covered the sky and enveloped Feng Ying.

“Jufu is powerless! Save me, save me…”

Jufu, the greatest defensive treasure in the cultivation world, now emitted dim light, like a frightened kitten, curled up in the palm of Feng Ying’s ancestor, emitting a faint and ethereal wail.

“Don’t be afraid. I know you’ve been dormant for thousands of years, lacking energy and unable to defend yourself.”

Feng Ying comforted him gently, “It’s okay. With me here, you’ll soon shine again. Just now, that old Tai Wu bullied you for so long. I’ll avenge you first and relieve your anger!”

The gentler and more intimate Feng Ying was toward Jufu, the greater the provocation to Tai Wu.

“Feng Ying, die!”

Tai Wu was furious. With a whoosh, nearly a hundred Heaven-Indignant Slices rushed toward the seal.

The seal showed no fear. It protected Jufu in its left arm and immediately unleashed its strongest divine power, fighting back against Tai Wu.

Of course, at this moment, Feng Ying’s goal wasn’t to fight to the death with Tai Wu but to hold off briefly and seize the chance to escape. With the treasure already in hand, no fool would risk their life. Finding a safe place and fully subjugating Jufu was the top priority.

The two Yuan Ying ancestors never expected Jufu to use any strategy to create discord. It wasn’t that they lacked wisdom, but rather they didn’t realize there was a third party—Su Che and Hua Guang—hidden here.

Without a third party, there could be no talk of discord.

The snipe and the clam wouldn’t fight each other if they knew the fisherman was hiding in the shadows.

Boom!

The fierce clash between Feng Ying and Tai Wu changed the colors of heaven and earth, causing all living things to wail in pain. The two ancestors were evenly matched, and it would be impossible to determine a winner in a short time.

As for the other battlefield where the melee was taking place, Taiyi Gate held a decisive advantage. They had either captured or killed the cultivators at the Foundation Establishment stage of the Seal Demon Hall, leaving only a few Golden Core cultivators struggling desperately.
Feng Sha, who was at the later stage of Golden Core and served as the senior elder of the Seal Demon Hall, was the second-highest in cultivation and status after its leader, Feng Ying.
At this moment, he had confirmed that the leader had completely abandoned the many disciples of the Seal Demon Hall for that Dao artifact.
The Seal Demon Hall was doomed!
“Younger brothers, fight our way out and let fate decide our destinies!” Feng Sha shouted at the few surviving disciples.
“Yes, elder brother.”
The few disciples who could still fight were all at the middle stage of Golden Core.
“Fight!”
Feng Sha’s hair and beard stood on end as if possessed by a war god, but inside, he cried out in despair: The Seal Demon Hall is ruined; all our previous efforts have been in vain…