Xiaoxiao.

Chapter 257 Appearance

“Young friend, shall we call a truce here? Your brother may have met with misfortune, but it was his own fault. We only intended to punish him slightly, but he took such an extreme step.” The three of them walked out of the Ten Mile Cave together, and Red Shadow spoke first.

Seeing that the other party still did not react, he continued, "Young hero, you not only slaughtered all seven elders of Yekou Ridge, but also razed the entire Leiji Mountain to the ground. Even the greatest resentment should have subsided by now, right?"

As Kuang Zheng had imagined, they had already received news from Noguchi Ridge and Raiji Mountain.

Whether they were genuinely scared or for some other reason, the three of them remained huddled in Shili Cave.

Now that there is no way to avoid it, Akakage has taken the initiative to seek peace.

The three had obviously discussed it beforehand, and Zhu Xian showed no displeasure at the suggestion.

Lei Mang, however, was different. The thought of his entire clansmen being slaughtered, and now having to humiliatingly beg for peace, caused his blood to surge. His eyes instantly turned red.

If looks could kill, Kuang Zheng would probably be chopped into mincemeat by now.

For some unknown reason, faced with such a deep-seated hatred and his own overwhelming rage, Lei Mang ultimately forced himself to endure it.

This illogical scene further solidified Kuang Zheng's suspicions.

If it was because the power I displayed intimidated them and made them feel afraid, even I don't believe it.

But the respect and humility of the three people in front of them clearly showed their attitude: they admitted defeat and gave up!

This illogical scene immediately alerted Kuang Zheng.

As the saying goes, "There must be something fishy going on when things are out of the ordinary," given their arrogance and confidence in their abilities.

The mere killing of the seven elders of Noguchi Ridge and the extermination of the Thunderscale Devouring Python clan of Raiji Mountain would not have made them make such a retreat.

As the saying goes, "One will not give up until one reaches the Yellow River, nor shed tears until one sees the coffin."

The higher a person's position, the more they will struggle when they are on their deathbed.

Because they are very confident in their own strength, they believe that no one can do anything to them.

You must know that Chiying and his group have dominated the wilderness for thousands of years, and they have long regarded themselves as gods.

How could someone like that willingly step down from their pedestal?

Even if their subordinates suffer heavy casualties, or even if the situation is dire, they will still cling tightly to their power.

This is the nature of animals, and also a long-standing habit.

Whether a person is clear-headed or not, or whether they are intelligent or not, has little to do with it.

But now, contrary to their usual behavior, the three of them have already asked for peace before even exchanging blows.

This is not just empty talk; it means that if an agreement is reached, the three of them will be completely dethroned.

Whether it's a temporary delaying tactic or a desperate attempt to cut losses and survive, that's another story.

From the moment the agreement is reached, Kuangzheng will certainly do everything possible to implement its terms.

The purpose is to turn the contents of the agreement into tangible benefits.

This is how it has been done throughout history, regardless of who it is.

Faced with absolute power, any schemes and tricks are laughable.

Because at this time, people's minds are incredibly clear.

If any point cannot be implemented, it will either not appear in the agreement or no agreement can be reached at all.

Therefore, once Kuang Zheng agreed, it marked the beginning of a massive financial loss for the three of them.

Without knowing the other party's true strength, the three would not have made such a concession, since blackmail requires absolute power to back it up.

But right now, Kuangzheng hasn't revealed his hand yet.

The fact that the three of them gave in first seemed somewhat unbelievable.

This illogical scene immediately ignited Ying Yue's anger.

"You talk a good game, but now that you're about to die, you suddenly want to beg for peace. If you were truly tolerant, you wouldn't have pressured us so relentlessly in the first place. Now that we're all dead, you've not only cleaned yourselves up, but you're also coming to us to play the victim. Don't you find that ridiculous?"

Upon hearing this, Lei Mang could no longer contain his anger: "We've already retreated time and time again, what more do you want? Do you really think we're afraid of you? At worst, we'll fight to the death. I'll take someone down with me when I die. When that time comes, no one will have an easy time."

Seeing this, Chi Ying quickly pulled Lei Mang back from his rampage.

Then he said to Ying Yue, "It's not that we're shirking responsibility, but that Young Hero Wu acted too impulsively. Everyone present at the time can attest to that! We are also very saddened by this incident. Young Hero Wu was a rare young hero! We deeply regret the passing of such a young hero."

"But the dead are gone! We must all look forward. The fact that we have sought peace is enough to prove our sincerity. We are all at the pinnacle of the Wilderness Pyramid. If we were to fight, it would only benefit others. So why can't we sit down and discuss things calmly?"

Upon hearing this, Ying Yue angrily retorted, "What's there to discuss! If you want to discuss it, then the three of you must immediately commit suicide to atone for your sins! That way, we won't pursue the matter further. How about that?"

Lei Mang was furious upon hearing this: "Hmph! Aren't you afraid of biting off more than you can chew? This isn't negotiation, it's clearly a death wish! If that's the case, then what's the point of negotiating! Let's fight! We might as well fight to the death. Even if we die, you won't get away with it!"

Upon hearing this, Ying Yue showed no fear whatsoever and immediately replied, "Since that's the case, what's there to say? Let's see who's the better fighter!"

Despite the fact that things had been discussed to this extent, neither side made a move.

The reason why Ying Yue and Lei Mang are at odds is ultimately just a test between them.

The real decision-makers are Chiying and Kuangzheng; without their input, the matter remains unresolved.

The others were just testing each other's limits!

"Peace talks are possible, but before that, you must hand over Zhu Xian to me." Just when the two sides were at a standstill, Kuang Zheng suddenly put forward his conditions.

Upon hearing this, Chi Ying glanced at Zhu Xian beside him, then turned and said, "Our three sects are of one mind and share the same fate; we should all share the same glory and the same loss. Young Hero Kuang's request is truly unreasonable!"

To Ying Yue's surprise, the other party rejected such tempting terms.

The so-called "sharing wealth and hardship" is nothing but a deceptive lie.

When faced with sufficient interests, it's not uncommon for alliances to break out, let alone fathers and sons turning against each other.

But Akakage uttered such deceitful lies; wasn't that an admission of guilt?

It seems that the other party, like them, has never considered any so-called reconciliation.

At first, I didn't understand why Kuangzheng would propose such a simple condition. It turns out he had calculated that the other party would not actually ask for a settlement.

Come to think of it, the hostile relationship between the two sides has developed to the point where there is no possibility of resolving it.

The reason Kuang Zhengzhi proposed this seemingly insignificant condition was to expose the other party's lie.

As Ying Yue had predicted, the so-called peace talks were just an excuse.

At this point, there's no possibility of further discussion.

"In that case, what shall we talk about?" Ying Yue said immediately.

Just then, a transparent energy membrane suddenly appeared from all around the entire Ten Mile Cave, and in the blink of an eye, the energy membrane enveloped the entire Ten Mile Cave.

Ying Yue sensed that she and the vast Ten-Mile Cave had completely lost contact with the wilderness, instantly becoming an isolated island.

Just then, countless chanting sounds suddenly came from all directions.

The sound was dreamlike and ethereal, sometimes there and sometimes it was not.