Xiao Tian understood perfectly well that Liu Shan was urging him to leave not out of fear of being dragged in, but out of worry that he would suffer a loss in a clash with Burning Flame Valley. After all, the Valley was the strongest force in the southwest of the Central Plains, and its reputation had long been carved deep into people's hearts.
He looked at Liu Shan. "If I leave, won't your Liu Family have to face the Valley's wrath?"
"It will be fine. We will cover it up and make it look like a fight between two families. Both of our families are vassals of Burning Flame Valley, so at worst it will be treated as an internal dispute. The Valley will give us a warning, and that will be the end of it." Liu Shan stepped forward as he spoke.
Xiao Tian understood that they meant to take responsibility for the matter. But if it came to light, the Liu Family would be the first target of the Valley's anger. He could also tell that their words were sincere and not empty courtesy. He shook his head.
"But it won't stay hidden for long, and when it comes out, your Liu Family will be in danger. Don't worry. I will settle this matter today, and it won't implicate the Liu Family."
Where Burning Flame Valley was concerned, Xiao Tian had some wariness, but only toward the Old Ancestor Huoyun. Apart from him, the strongest was Tang Zhen, a peak Five-Star Dou Zun. The Valley's strength suffered from a severe generational gap.
If the Valley insisted on coming after him, he would not mind sending them a little "warmth" now and then, even though the Valley had ties to his former Xiao Family. He also wanted to test whether Thunder's Fury, combined with flame and all of his trump cards, could kill a Peak Dou Zun.
Liu Shan looked at the confidence on Xiao Tian's face and could not help opening his mouth, but in the end he said nothing.
Suddenly a streak of light appeared before Liu Shan. When it faded, an exquisite token hung in the air. Liu Shan saw the pattern on its face and the characters on its back, and his pupils dilated at once. His eyes fixed on it.
"Patriarch Liu, you must know very well how much this token weighs." Xuan Yi, with Xiao Ling and Xiao Meng, who had recovered after taking pills, came to stand at Xiao Tian's side. Her voice was calm, yet it carried a deep, confident authority.
At the sight of the token, Liu Shan understood why Xiao Tian and the others were so sure they could settle this. With that token, and with right on their side, they could destroy a mere vassal force, or even kill an elder of Burning Flame Valley, and the other side could only bow its head and apologize. The power the token stood for was far too great and too terrifying. Most forces on the continent were unwilling to offend it, and did not dare. To offend it was to poke a hornet's nest, and it could set off a whole chain of consequences.
"That's enough. It seems we worried for nothing." The great stone in Liu Shan's heart fell away. He felt entirely at ease and could not help rubbing his hands and laughing.
He had never expected that the woman who had followed so quietly behind Xiao Tian, speaking so rarely, would have such a formidable background.
Xuan Yi took back the token and stood silently behind Xiao Tian without a word.
Xiao Tian's opinion of Liu Shan and the others rose even higher. In gratitude at least, they had real courage. He was quite satisfied with the Liu Family's character and had already decided that once this was dealt with, he would support them, which could be counted as repayment for their brave wager.
"I may need to trouble Uncle Liu a few more days. If anyone from Burning Flame Valley comes, just tell them what happened."
The Boundless Heaven Divine Palace's intelligence department was already established, and he knew exactly what the token in front of him was, though it was not Xuan Yi's personal identity token.
"It's no trouble at all, no trouble at all. Stay as long as you like." Liu Shan waved his hands hurriedly. To have such a great Buddha in his house was a blessing that his ancestors' graves must have been smoking for.
Xiao Tian nodded and returned toward the Liu Family's guest rooms with Xuan Yi and the others.
Liu Shan looked around at the members of the Liu Family and said in a low voice, "You all understand what may be said about today's events and what may not, correct?"
"Understood, Patriarch!" The Liu Family members all nodded gravely. This concerned their very survival, so of course they understood.
"Good. First Elder, everyone present today will receive a reward. Please arrange it."
"Yes, Patriarch!"
"All right. Leave a few people to clean up here, and the rest of you may disperse." Having used both carrot and stick, Liu Shan waved a hand at the crowd.
The Liu Family members cupped their fists to him and left.
Before the Liu Family gate, only Liu Shan and Liu Qing, Liu Fei, and about ten guards remained to handle the aftermath.
Liu Shan turned his gaze toward the Cheng Family's side of the city. Today the Cheng Family had sent out its elite, and all of them had died here. The Cheng Family, his family's sworn enemy for generations, was now officially annihilated. He had done what his ancestors had never managed to do. When he met them in the afterlife, he could hold his head high and might even say that founding a new branch of the family tree would be no problem.
"Father, you should rein in your expression. It isn't good to keep gloating in secret." Liu Qing, beside him, saw his father's mouth curling higher and higher and hurried to remind him.
"Ahem. How am I gloating in secret? I'm only exercising my face to keep it from stiffening. It's nothing like what you say." Liu Shan cleared his throat and spoke with great earnestness.
Liu Fei, hearing them, covered her mouth and giggled softly.
"By the way, Father, what was that token just now that surprised you so much? And from what you said, it seems even Burning Flame Valley is wary of it?" Liu Qing asked, full of curiosity.
Liu Shan glanced around and said two words with a solemn face. "Pill Tower."
When Liu Fei and Liu Qing heard them, their eyes went wide with disbelief.
To the people of the Central Plains, the Pill Tower was a name that rang like thunder. If one ranked the forces that must never be offended, the Pill Tower would stand at the very top. It was the holy land in the hearts of Alchemists across the whole continent, and its power was extraordinary. Even Burning Flame Valley had to bow its head before it.
"Moreover, that token is not an ordinary one from within the Pill Tower. The power it represents is greater still, and the status it signifies is even more terrifying," Liu Shan's voice came to them again.