Chapter 65: Unyielding

Regarding this matter, the Five Great Immortal Families offered an explanation.

Only those spirits with shallow cultivation would seek an imperial enfeoffment with clear intentions; sometimes, a mere title was entirely sufficient for that purpose.

As for those endowed with immense fortune or holding lofty positions, every word and action invariably affected the fates of millions of people or the operation of the laws of heaven and earth.

In other words, those in high positions must be even more cautious in their words and deeds.

Granny Hu spoke, "With a single word of imperial enfeoffment from you, we would then have the confidence to deal with those three demon immortals. That gyrfalcon merely obtained a word of praise from the emperor of the previous dynasty, which greatly boosted its destiny."

"Hmph, a dynasty established by an alien race possessed such dragon fortune, yet the fortune carried on your person is currently the most flourishing I have seen in a millennia. If we were to obtain a single word from you..."

Meng Fan chuckled at this, "If I were to utter that word, aren't you afraid that the karmic entanglement would be so heavy it would crush you into a fox meat patty?"

Granny Hu narrowed her eyes, "To attain a grand opportunity, one must naturally take a grand risk. With my thousand years of cultivation, I naturally want to try. Unfortunately..."

Meng Fan sneered a few times, "Unfortunately, you are dreaming! Humanity is blazing and glorious, and the times have long since changed!"

Suddenly, Meng Fan changed the subject, "Karma and fortune, incense and the power of vows—it seems you immortal families really need them!"

"Hiss-hiss~"

Liu Kundong spat out its purplish-black forked tongue, its massive scales scraping together like sheet metal with a clatter. The snake formation moved in response, adopting an offensive posture.

"Boy, I advise you not to pry into things you shouldn't."

Seeing this, Gao Dazhuang quickly stepped forward to shield Meng Fan behind him, but Meng Fan stopped him, "Don't worry, it wouldn't dare touch me. It's just putting on a bluff."

"Hiss~!"

Liu Kundong was enraged, its temper flaring, but it was abruptly pressed down by Grandpa Huang standing nearby. "Brother Liu, don't take it too seriously. If you really touch him, our five immortal branches share the same breath and branch, and we will inevitably be implicated."

"Your Liu family doesn't care much about sentiments—you eat your fill and the whole family is free from hunger, but my Huang family still has a nest of little ones to raise."

"Calm your anger!"

Seeing that the other four immortals felt the same way, Liu Kundong had no choice but to lower its millstone-thick body and desist.

As the leader of the proceedings, Granny Hu proposed an idea: "How about this? You give us the enfeoffment we want, and we will pass down our immortal heritage to you."

"By then, our fortunes and karma will be bound together—we prosper together and perish together. No matter what, we wouldn't harm you, would we?"

To be honest, the moment these words were spoken, the Five Great Immortal Families had already shown a significant drop in momentum compared to Meng Fan.

Meng Fan rubbed his chin in thought, but then shook his head, "The terms are tempting, but please forgive me for refusing!"

"Brat, trying to get something for nothing? There is no such thing in this world! Don't toast only to be forced to drink a forfeit!" Gray Fourth Master squeaked, a massive black rat displaying surprisingly human expressions.

"A forfeit?"

"What kind of forfeit could you possibly make me drink?"

Liu Kundong hardened its heart, its serpentine body writhing as cold light gleamed in its snake eyes. "Do you really think we five great immortal families can do nothing to you? When it all comes down to it, the entanglement on you is just too heavy, yet your fortune is merely that of a dormant dragon, not even transforming into a horned dragon."

"First, we will strip away the dragon Qi on your body, shifting the dormant dragon's position, and as for the rest... humph!"

Having lived for so many years, the Five Great Immortal Families possessed countless means at their disposal, and it was hard to guarantee they didn't harbor some sinister arts.

Listening to Liu Kundong's semi-threatening words, Meng Fan showed not the slightest bit of cowardice. Instead, he retorted, "And how would you butcher the rest? Why don't you spell it out and let me hear it?"

Liu Kundong clamored, "First, use a life-substitution method to deceive the mandate of heaven, and then disguise it as the work of those three demon immortals. We shall see how things play out then!"

"Number Five!!!"

Granny Hu shouted sternly.

Liu Kundong hissed disdainfully, however. It had been coveting the dragon Qi on Meng Fan for a long time; if it could devour him, it might actually stand a chance of transforming into a horned dragon.

However, once it devoured him, the heavenly retribution manifested by the dim mandate of heaven would definitely not spare it. The Five Great Immortal Families had always lived in harmony with humans precisely because humans were the spiritual essence of heaven and earth, favored by the Dao.

Unless it reached the final step of a complete falling out, Liu Kundong did not want to make a move against Meng Fan either.

Yet Meng Fan had come right out demanding to dig up the foundation of the Five Great Immortal Families while offering zero benefits—something they simply could not tolerate.

Had it been Liu Kundong's younger days, it would have gone for a mutual destruction long ago, and this little brat wouldn't have had the chance to manipulate them.

Clap, clap, clap!

Meng Fan clapped his hands, "Fascinating, killing two birds with one stone, right? You calculate quite well!"

Those not of our kin will certainly have different hearts.

This saying wasn't just empty talk, though of course, there was another saying: every man for himself, or heaven and earth will destroy him—all the more so for animals!

Although the Five Great Immortal Families understood human nature, they were not human after all. When they made a move, they wouldn't have any reservations or scruples.

Fortunately, Meng Fan truly wasn't without trump cards. Aside from his three spirit beasts—Attracting Wealth, Bringing Treasure, and Silver Dollar—he had also brought Chaos along.

After all, he couldn't genuinely risk his own life as a joke. At this very moment, the Chaos within Department 139 was merely a pre-divided sub-body of Chaos.

The true main body had always remained disguised as the size of a tardigrade, suppressing its aura and hiding behind Meng Fan's ear. In case anything went wrong, Chaos would manifest directly.

Meng Fan looked coldly at the Five Great Immortal Families, "Since everything has been laid out in the open, there is no need to hide or conceal anything further."

"Wanting the imperial enfeoffment is out of the question, and I will also take the immortal heritage. Who agrees, and who objects?"

As soon as his voice fell, among the Five Great Immortal Families, even Grandpa Huang—who had been smiling all along—and the benevolent-looking Granny Bai let their faces fall.

That was not even mentioning the short-tempered Liu Kundong, the stingy Gray Fourth Master who hated parting with any flesh, and Granny Hu, the head of the five families.

Granny Hu said in a deep voice, "Today, are you trying to use your position to pressure us?"

Meng Fan smiled, "Don't rush. I haven't finished speaking yet. I want the immortal heritage, but we can help you solve the problem of the three demon immortals that you are worried about."

Hearing this, the momentum of the Five Great Immortal Families stagnated, and they looked at one another.

Granny Hu, in particular, lowered her head in thought. If the higher-ups had made up their minds to help, let alone the three demon immortals, even if all five of their immortal families were bundled together, they probably wouldn't be a match.

One should never make an enemy of the imperial court—Granny Hu understood this principle all too well.

Did anyone really think the Dragon-Locking Wells of ancient times were just for show? Among all those snakes that vainly dreamed of turning into horned dragons over the millennia, which one had ever succeeded?

Weren't they all suppressed by the practitioners of the Three Teachings and One Family?

In truth, if Meng Fan were to genuinely break ties with them, they wouldn't really dare to pull anything. Aside from the cold-blooded Liu Kundong, which family didn't have hundreds or thousands of little ones at home needing protection?

The ultimate ending would only be to swallow their pride and obediently offer up their heritage.