Family Cultivation: My entire family are Villains

Hearing the questioning tone of Hou Yuduan, the three men's expressions darkened. After exchanging a glance, they simultaneously discarded their felt hats. Buyu Monk stepped forward, his expression unfriendly, and said, "Knowing our identities, Lord Hou, the Fifth Son, should mind his tone when speaking!"

They were clearly trying to intimidate me with their authority.

Hou Yuduan's face remained calm as he continued, "Of course, Mr. Hou is aware that all three of you are esteemed disciples from the Righteous Path of Leiyin Temple. Since that is the case, your actions should be all the more justifiable. As far as I am aware, the seat of Leiyin Temple is in the Xiling Path of Jizhou, far across the great river, yet here you are meddling in the affairs of Xiayuan Path, even inciting the Shen Clan and Xiong Yun Gang, fostering this military disaster. This doesn't seem like something disciples of the Chan Sect would do. I had thought perhaps the three of you were young and naive, but from your words, could these actions be instigated by Leiyin Temple itself?"

Hou Yuxiao had already relayed all the information gathered from Hedong to him in detail. Leiyin Temple had been driven out of Jizhou and was planning to invade the Xiayuan Path. The three men, Buyan, Buyu, and Bunu, were clearly sent by Leiyin Temple as scouts. However, since they were wearing hats, this indicated that Leiyin Temple was still concerned about maintaining its reputation.

Seizing upon this, Hou Yuduan openly hinted that Leiyin Temple's actions did not match its esteemed name. Hearing this, the three monks' complexions indeed changed slightly. Buyu Monk, who had initially looked unfriendly, stared at Hou Yuduan with a chilling light in his eyes. If not for the dense military aura of the surrounding soldiers suppressing their cultivation, they would likely have attacked Hou Yuduan already.

"It is widely known that the Fifth Young Master of the Hou Clan of Hexi is eloquent and persuasive, known as 'Zhao Yang Mo Ru.' Having met you today, your reputation is indeed well-deserved. However, this monk is only aware that the Rakshasa Holy Sect intends to conquer the Blood Spirit Demon Sect, with troops marching from Bingzhou, and Xiayuan Path was cast aside like a worn-out shoe. Shouldn't Xiayuan Path be ownerless land at the moment? When did it become the land of the Hou Clan?" said Buyan Monk as he began speaking, while Buyu and Bunu both stepped back a step, giving him the lead. Although they were senior brothers, their cultivation was not as strong as Buyan's, and given his status as a Mystic Realm Master, it was natural for the other two to follow his lead.

"Xiayuan Path is certainly not the sole property of the Hou Clan. Xiong Yun Gang, Shen Clan, and even the Hou Clan, as well as the Pingtian Gate of Jianye Prefecture and the countless souls living in Xiayuan Path generation after generation, naturally took over the area when the Rakshasa Holy Sect retreated. Even if we set that aside and say Xiayuan Path doesn't belong to us, it should still have nothing to do with your Jizhou Leiyin Temple!" replied Hou Yuduan.

Noticing that Hou Yuduan had intentionally emphasized the word "Jizhou," Buyu and Bunu could not help but step forward, and True Yuan instantly surged from the acupoints between their brows, coating their Zen Staffs. Had it not been for Buyan's hand staying them, they might have attacked Hou Yuduan on the spot.

"Today, the Hou Clan's power is great, and we indeed have no way to counter the Fifth Young Master, but there will be other days. The Fifth Young Master should consider carefully. Now that the Rakshasa Holy Sect has retreated, if the Hou Clan thwarts our plans today, you may regret it when you face violent storms in the future," said the monk.

These monks sure know how to play their part!

Hou Yuduan sighed inwardly. Even now, as Buyan Monk threatened him, the warning was covert, reluctant to tarnish the name of Leiyin Temple.

Indeed, it matched the way these bald monks tended to operate.

He showed a timely semblance of fear on his face, and after looking at the three men as though struggling for a long time, he said in a low voice, "Hexi is weak, how could we dare... If the three of you would please leave, today, Mr. Hou will consider it simply having paid his respects to you, how about that?"

The moods of the three men seemed to lighten slightly, but as they looked back to see Hou Clan's army dispersing the city gates, Shen Clan's soldiers killed or fleeing, and a good number surrendering after simply dropping their weapons, most already beaten back into the city, fleeing eastward in an utterly sorry state, their expressions darkened once again.

The monks had managed to intimidate Hou Yuduan into not taking any action against them, which they had expected. Leiyin Temple's reputation was mighty, and the Hou Clan wouldn't dare to cross them lightly.

However, the collapse of the Shen Clan's army at the west gate was harder for them to accept.

The three monks were indeed acting on orders from their master, Zen Master Yuan Kong, to scout ahead for Leiyin Temple. In their opinion, the small area of Xiayuan Path didn't warrant the mobilization of the temple's top experts and army; the three of them were more than enough.

Therefore, they had contacted Shen Clan in advance, hoping to use them to first capture Xingnan Prefecture City, and then to take control of Hexi. They even hoped to unite Xiayuan Path and save their sect the trouble if the temple's experts and army were slow to move south.

The monks certainly had their own ambitions; on one hand, they wished to prove themselves, and on the other, they also aimed to show their abilities in front of their elders in the temple. Unfortunately, due to the involvement of the Hou Clan, their complete defeat had practically declared their plan a failure.

"Seventh brother, Shen Gu Yun is still at the east gate, and the defeated Shen Clan army will likely head there to regroup after entering the city. In Chi Shui County, Shen Gufan still commands 30,000 elite troops. If they can preserve their strength and regroup, there's still hope!" said the eldest brother Buyu through a transmitted message.

Hearing his eldest brother Buyu's silent communication, Buyan's face turned grave. He too had come to this conclusion, but with their heavy losses, Shen Gufan would have a hard time trusting them again. Given Shen Gufan's cautious nature, and with such a significant setback, he would likely wait for the high-ranking monks of Leiyin Temple to arrive before deciding to send troops again.