Family Cultivation: My entire family are Villains

A Martial Dao Saint opened his mouth to ask something from him...

If Hou Yuxiao claimed he wasn't feeling a bit proud at this moment, it would definitely be a lie. He wasn't sure how many Saints there were in the world, but he was certain there weren't many—certainly not more than twenty.

Among the hundreds of millions of people in Shenzhou, there were fewer than twenty Saints.

Just looking at this ratio, one could understand the status of a Saint!

In just a mere decade, he had managed to make a Martial Dao Saint yield. Such an achievement was likely unparalleled in the world.

Hou Yuxiao felt elated, but his face didn't dare to show even the slightest hint of it, especially since Shi Tian was still watching him closely.

He displayed a hint of awkwardness. Honestly, even he felt a bit hypocritical, but he had to show this awkwardness because he had to consider Shi Tian's face.

Using sound transmission, it was clear Shi Tian didn't want the outside world to know he was compromising with him. Hou Yuxiao was naturally willing to oblige this small favor.

He clearly understood why Shi Tian wanted to yield to him.

"A withdrawal from Hexi is not impossible..."

The battle on the ground had not ceased. The soldiers of the Huang Chan Army at the city gate seemed to have received some directive and hadn't retreated further into the city; instead, they held their ground, attempting to resist the Red Flame Army. Although they were achieving little, due to the narrowness of the gate, the Red Flame Army wasn't able to break through quickly.

Hou Yuxiao glanced down at the ground and saw the Red Flame Army still fiercely attacking the city gate. A smile appeared on his face as he transmitted, "As long as Buddha agrees to one condition of Mr. Hou's, Hexi will immediately withdraw troops!"

Shi Tian did not immediately respond through sound transmission. Only after a dozen breaths did his voice ring in Hou Yuxiao's ears.

"Do you want Jianye Prefecture?"

"Of course!"

They had fought for Hexi for so long, losing over a hundred thousand men, all for this Jianye Prefecture City. Hou Yuxiao's reply was direct and crisp, but he also braced himself because he knew in his heart that Shi Tian would likely refuse this condition.

Or rather, Leiyin Temple didn't have the means to agree now.

Although Leiyin Temple was forced out of Jizhou by Qinjian Villa five years ago, seemingly out of desperation, from the role the Great Luo Sect played in the Tongling turmoil, it was clear Leiyin Temple had planned the move south long ago.

This also meant that Leiyin Temple knew from early on that they couldn't remain in Jizhou for long. The Xuyong conflict and the subsequent Tongling turmoil, with the eastern Wuwei King advancing into Xuzhou, and the western Rakshasa Holy Sect aiming to advance into Bingzhou, required a buffer zone in between. Leiyin Temple settling in Xiayuan Dao happened due to a fortunate coincidence of various factors.

Of course, the biggest variable in this was the Rakshasa Holy Sect supporting a Hou Clan, combined with the deliberate indulgence from the Ziqing Holy Sect and Wuwei King later on, which made it impossible for Leiyin Temple to successfully take over the entire Xiayuan Dao and ultimately forced them into the small Jianye Prefecture.

Now, Hou Yuxiao had long considered why Leiyin Temple was forced into Jianye Prefecture without being able to move. The Battle of Longxiang Ferry at most subdued Leiyin Temple's spirit; if Leiyin Temple got serious, Hexi would have no room to resist.

The Tongtian River Lord was just west of Xuzhou, and for years the Wuwei King had been fiercely battling in Xuzhou to the east without the River Lord making any move. Hou Yuxiao would never believe there was no connection between the two.

Clearly, when the River Lord helped Hexi in the Battle of Longxiang Ferry, it somewhat represented the attitude of the Wuwei King. Considering the covert alliance between the Wuwei King and Ziqing Holy Sect, everything became clear.

Leiyin Temple wasn't forced into Jianye Prefecture by Hexi but by a joint force of the Ziqing Holy Sect and the Wuwei King, and in deeper terms, it was the three-way alliance borrowing Hexi's guise to force Leiyin Temple.

This is why Leiyin Temple doesn't dare act seriously against Hexi.

In the end, in this world, it's the Holy Lands that have the final say. After Great Yu's downfall, only nine Holy Lands remain. Leiyin Temple wants to become a Holy Land, but nobody agrees—not even just to take a slightly larger territory.

Qinjian Villa drove them away to avoid acting directly;

The Rakshasa Holy Sect made room for them, fearing mutual destruction, and given they wanted to act against Bingzhou, they possibly also intended to give up Xiayuan Dao, retracting their power;

The Ziqing Holy Sect, Wuwei King, and even Xuzhou maintained silence on Leiyin Temple moving south, even though these are supposedly on the side of the Righteous Path.

Once these matters are cleared up, it's easy to draw the conclusion:

From the moment they retreated into Jianye Prefecture, the world no longer had a place for Leiyin Temple!

This is also why Hou Yuxiao knew Shi Tian would never agree to his condition—if not in Jianye Prefecture, where else could Leiyin Temple go?

A southward march from Jizhou had already left Leiyin Temple devastated, losing countless sect members and disciples, being excluded and schemed against by the major Holy Lands, humiliated by merely three first-class forces at Longxiang Ferry, their reputation gone, ultimately retreating to a small Jianye Prefecture.

Now, the entire world is territory of the Holy Lands. Leaving Jianye Prefecture to go elsewhere, trying to snatch from the jaws of these Holy Lands—whether it's even possible doesn't matter; Leiyin Temple can no longer withstand such turmoil...

"Master of Hou Family, do you really want to do this?"

Despite detecting a threatening tone in Shi Tian's voice, Hou Yuxiao's expression didn't change at all. He simply nodded lightly, then shifted his gaze to Hou Yucheng below, with a sharp glint flashing deep in his eyes.