From far away, Hou Yuxiao witnessed the whole scene, his face showing not only shock and regret, but also a faint... disappointment.

    He knew well the strength of the Great Jin.

    But the problem was, Ni Han was not weak either! Sear?h the N??elFirё.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    At the beginning of the battle, Hou Yuxiao even anticipated the failure of the Yuwen Father and Son, and then would call over the other four saints of the Great Jin, but he never expected that within less than a day, the father and son had already slain Ni Han.

    As one of the three major demon holy ancestors, surpassing the Martial Dao Saint, First-grade Immortal Realm, according to Hou Yuxiao''s understanding, when they killed Tai Xi who dominated the earth, the Great Jin mobilized six saints, along with Zhuge Yuan, the top Mystic Realm Master of the current era, and laid down an array to finally succeed. Only four years had passed, and now the Yuwen Father and Son joined forces to slay Ni Han?

    The key is, based on the timeline of the three major demons recuperating, Ni Han''s strength seemingly could have been above Tai Xi, what does that imply?

    The current strength of the Yuwen Father and Son is much stronger than when Tai Xi was slain.

    Hou Yuxiao was shocked by the strength of the Great Jin, regretful at Ni Han''s death, and as for the faint disappointment, it was because a subconscious tide was stirring deep within his heart.

    As the current Lord of Hexi, although Hexi cannot compare to the Holy Land, it is nevertheless a major force across The World, inadvertently leading him to consider himself a player in the game of power. The overwhelming strength of the Great Jin is certainly not a favorable thing.

    However, fortunately, this point is the same for Hexi and all other forces across the world.

    ...

    "Duanmu Hong, this five-colored spirit stone, you take it to Yue''er!"

    "I accept the order, Your Majesty, thank you for the trouble this time."

    "Each takes what they need, no need for formality!"

    Upon hearing the conversation in mid-air, Hou Yuxiao was momentarily stunned, hurriedly raising his head to find that the Yuwen Father and Son he had seen moments ago in the starry sky were now reduced to only Yuwen Dongdu, who was holding a five-colored spirit stone, and after speaking, he tossed the stone to Duanmu Hong and then instantly vanished.

    Five-colored spirit stone?

    Wasn''t Ni Han slain, why is the five-colored spirit stone still present?

    Hou Yuxiao suddenly raised his head, looking at the five-colored spirit stone descending from the sky, his eyes bursting with a fierce radiance, reaching out with his hand.

    The five-colored spirit stone in mid-air unexpectedly split into two halves, one flew towards his hand. Duanmu Hong, who had been waiting early on the ground, suddenly changed his expression, and after taking his share, swiftly flew towards Hou Yuxiao.

    "Duanmu Hong, Sikong Yue said Five Elements Heaven is divided, if you make a move you''re defying her command, you better think it over!"

    Hou Yuxiao withdrew that half of the five-colored spirit stone, his expression tense as he eyed Duanmu Hong, who, if he were to strike now, would indeed leave him with no recourse, just depending on how much Duanmu Hong obeyed Sikong Yue.

    Duanmu Hong stood where he was, undecidedly changing his expression for a long while, ultimately daring not to defy Sikong Yue, let out a cold snort, and turned back to walk towards Zhantai Wuyuan, bowing respectfully: "Young Master, the matters in Nanjiang are done, we should return."

    Zhantai Wuyuan''s strength was too weak to support him witnessing the battle scenes earlier. Leave aside witnessing, without Duanmu Hong''s protection, any minor shockwave from the battle would have been enough to crush him to dust.

    However, judging by the slight astonishment on his face, Duanmu Hong had clearly recounted all that had transpired to him.

    Upon hearing Duanmu Hong''s statement about leaving, Zhantai Wuyuan first cast his gaze towards Hou Yuxiao and stared deeply for more than ten breaths. Judging from his fierce expression, it seemed he wanted to leave some harsh words, but after pondering for a moment, perhaps realizing that his strength was not sufficiently daunting or for other reasons, he said nothing, only slightly closed his eyes and upon reopening them, restored his composure before turning back to nod at Duanmu Hong.

    "Yes, let''s go back first and deliver the items to aunt."

    Duanmu Hong said no more, directly cultivated, enveloped Zhantai Wuyuan, and vanished into thin air, leaving Hou Yuxiao alone, remaining at the site.

    Hou Yuxiao stood there alone, taking out that half of the five-colored spirit stone from his bosom, his expression went from intention steadily turning to questioning and finally morphed into suspicion.

    The five-colored spirit stone was not something he snatched!

    Yuwen Dongdu explicitly instructed Duanmu Hong to take the stone back for Sikong Yue, and since he''s gone, Hou Yuxiao dared not stretch out his hand to snatch it. In fact, when the stone descended, Hou Yuxiao clearly sensed his connection with half of the spirit stone, with just a mere thought, that half of the stone automatically flew to his hand.

    This implies that Sikong Yue''s previous promise was true.

    The five-colored spirit stone was Ni Han''s demon body, essentially the world core of the Five Elements Heaven, and he refined half of it earlier. Ni Han perished, but the lifeless world core remained; therefore, the half of the stone he refined was still rightfully his, allowing him to sense the connection when Yuwen Dongdu let go.

    Considering it, the affair in Nanjiang was initially mediated by Sikong Yue to identify Ni Han for the Great Jin, and the five-colored spirit stone was used as a bargaining chip. This constituted the transaction between Sikong Yue and the Great Jin.

    Then what role did Hexi play in all of this?

    Hexi''s invasion of Nanjiang was meant to spill enough blood from the Nanjiang Five Miao Tribes to open the Five Elements Heaven, find the hidden Ni Han, and then Bai Tong, Qing Xuan along with himself, using the deaths of three Sub-Saints of Martial Dao, to awaken Ni Han, enabling the Great Jin''s Yuwen Father and Son to come and kill him.

    A sudden chill rose on Hou Yuxiao''s back.

    Throughout, Hexi was merely Sikong Yue''s pawn, used to awaken Ni Han and complete her transaction with the Great Jin. Had he not captured Zhantai Wuyuan, Sikong Yue possibly wouldn''t have granted even half of the Five Elements Heaven, rendering Hexi truly bloodied from this operation.

    Hou Yuxiao repeatedly recalled events from the past period in his mind, feeling an intense dread of Sikong Yue surge to its peak.

    While the battle was raging in Bingzhou, she could still plot in Nanjiang, and involving Hexi doesn''t count for much. The critical point is that even the Great Jin''s dual emperors were moved by her schemes, and post-Nanjiang operation, not a single person from the Rakshasa Holy Sect perished; all fatalities were among Hexi soldiers, living beings in Nanjiang, and the clan leaders of the Nanjiang Five Miao Tribes, along with five Sub-Saints of Martial Dao.

    If it weren''t for cultivating with merit to boost his cultivation, at the moment of Ni Han''s resurrection, his fate would likely have aligned with Qing Xuan and Bai Tong...

    At this thought, Hou Yuxiao''s expression abruptly froze.

    Wrong!

    The merit situation is known to Sikong Yue as well.

    Ten years ago, when he received the Merit Gold Page sent by Sikong Yue, Hou Yuxiao had clear knowledge that Sikong Yue was aware of his ability to harness merit and karmic obstacles, perhaps even the Divine Lotus. It is largely due to this matter that Hou Yuxiao has experienced shadows looming over Sikong Yue all these years.

    The Divine Lotus was his greatest secret, which he hadn''t even divulged to Hou Yucheng and the other three.

    If she had known about the merit beforehand, then Sikong Yue wasn''t trying to harm him.

    Hou Yuxiao wasn''t surprised at all that Sikong Yue could think of this extent, fully aware of the terrifying insight she had, with this Nanjiang affair being a vivid illustration.

    Forcing him to believe from start to finish that Sikong Yue was aiming to restore Five Elements Heaven, hence sending Duanmu Hong with people, only to later realize it was merely her transactional interaction with the Great Jin.

    "The only oversight Sikong Yue made was me capturing Zhantai Wuyuan, right?"

    Traces of a dark gleam flashed in Hou Yuxiao''s eyes; perhaps Sikong Yue and the Great Jin''s trade-off stemmed from other objectives, but the five-colored spirit stone was unquestionably a focal point of the deal.

    For Zhantai Wuyuan''s life, she was willing to part with half of the five-colored spirit stone for him. This implied that Zhantai Wuyuan held an unimaginable status in her mind.

    That which you cherish the most often becomes your fatal weakness.

    A cunning woman like Sikong Yue, surprisingly falls into such a folly!

    Hou Yuxiao''s lips curled in a slight smile, finding Sikong Yue''s vulnerability was a significant delight for him, serving as a potent solace against the shadows of the past decade.

    After all, in his previous understanding, Sikong Yue was presumed to be without any flaws.

    Hou Yuxiao stood alone for a long time, finally letting out a slow exhale, casting aside his chaotic thoughts, and lowered his gaze towards the ground, staring at the position in Nanjiang, especially the faint silhouette of Qingmiao City, breathing a deep sigh of relief:

    "No matter what, Nanjiang has now been acquired!"