Chapter 3262 — He Dantou's Elder Brother

"Yang Qiqi and Wei Zhao are probably just acquaintances, on fairly good terms. She grew up here and has little dealings with the cultivators over there. Besides, her background is rather complicated—it's best we leave her alone." He Dantou shook his head, rejecting He Tianzu's suggestion. He had no wish to offend anyone on account of Wei Zhao, and Yang Qiqi was, after all, a member of the Overseas Cultivators Association. If they took their anger at Wei Zhao out on her, it would stir resentment among the other members.

People made friends however they pleased, with no way of knowing whether a given friend might be an enemy of the Overseas Cultivators Association. If everyone took it out on the associates of any enemy they ran into, then no one would dare make friends at all.

"Then what about our automatic medicinal cauldron..." He Tianzu knew he had caused trouble, and he looked dejected.

"It seems we have no choice but to beg the Xuandan Sect... I don't want to contact that man, but there's no help for it. As things stand, he's the only one I can turn to..." He Dantou sighed. He had long had his eye on a first-grade automatic medicinal cauldron, but the one at Guan Daifu Pharmaceuticals was tangled up in countless threads with Wei Zhao, leaving him no way in. As for the Xuandan Sect, he was unfamiliar with them and could only ask that man to make the introductions. But... he and that man had broken off relations long ago, and he had no desire to contact him again...

"Father... I'm sorry..." He Tianzu had caught the difficulty in his father's voice too, and his own was tinged with helplessness and remorse.

"Never mind. You and Fleonow come back. We'll let this matter rest for now. As for Wei Zhao, we'll settle accounts with him later. We know his strength now—since he could only wound you and flee, his abilities clearly aren't anything to write home about." He Dantou tried to console him.

"Yes, Father!" He Tianzu nodded hastily in agreement.

He Tianzu and Fleonow returned to the headquarters of the Overseas Cultivators Association in low spirits, where they found He Dantou with a face like thunder.

"You two, on your knees!" He Dantou said coldly, looking at them. He Tianzu might be his son, but the Overseas Cultivators Association had its rules, and even for He Dantou's son, the formalities had to be observed.

"Yes..." He Tianzu and Fleonow did not argue. The two of them knelt in the great hall. Fleonow was merely caught up in it, but he had no choice—who had told him not to stop it in the first place?

"Think about your mistakes for now. As for me... I'll contact the cultivators of Huaxia..." He Dantou truly did not want to make this call. It had been so many years. He had left his homeland behind long ago. Fifty years ago he had quarreled with his elder brother, and then eleven years ago he had successfully advanced to the great perfection of the late Heaven Rank's peak, and founded the Overseas Cultivators Association—a great sect no less formidable than the ancient sects. The bitterness of it all was more than ordinary people could ever understand.

He Dantou understood that his elder brother had scolded him back then for his own good, but he simply could not untie that knot in his heart. In the blink of an eye, so many years had passed. He knew his brother's number, and he knew what his brother was doing these days, yet he had never made contact.

After all, his elder brother was in the light, and he was in the dark.

But today's events had caught He Dantou off guard. He had counted on getting the right to purchase an automatic medicinal cauldron from Wei Zhao, but now he could only pin his hopes on his elder brother. His brother, after all, had some connections with the Xuandan Sect, whereas he was completely in the dark and had no dealings with the Xuandan Sect whatsoever.

Entering a hidden chamber, He Dantou dialed the number that, over the years, he had dialed a few times only to hang up on each occasion.

"Hello? Who is this?" A deep, resonant voice came over the line.

"Elder Brother..." At the sound of that voice, tears instantly welled in He Dantou's eyes, and for a moment he was overcome with emotion...

"Dantou?" The voice on the other end seemed hardly able to believe it and asked instinctively.

"It's me... Elder Brother..." He Dantou had thought he bore his brother a grudge, but once he had said those words, decades of grievance buried deep in his heart dissolved all at once...

"Dantou, where are you? How have you been all these years? When are you coming back to help me? The Five Luminaries Sect is now completely under my control. Back then... when I disciplined you, I was actually afraid the Master might grow wary of me. That's no longer a concern—I call the shots here now..." So He Dantou's elder brother was none other than Ancestor Xuanchen of the Five Luminaries Sect!

In those days, He Dantou had been young and, relying on the fact that his elder brother was Ancestor Xuanchen, had said a few things to throw his weight around. Ancestor Xuanchen had always doted on this younger brother of his, but he feared the Master might grow suspicious because of those words, and so he gave He Dantou a dressing-down. Little did he expect that He Dantou, hot-blooded and proud in his youth, would simply leave the mountain gate and vanish without a trace!

Since He Dantou was only a nominal disciple of the Five Luminaries Sect, not a direct heir of any lineage, he was not particularly important. Ancestor Xuanchen's Master did not send anyone to look for him—if he had left, then he had left. Bound by the sect's rules, Ancestor Xuanchen could not go searching either, and so the matter was left to fizzle out and be set aside.

Some years later, Ancestor Xuanchen took charge of the Five Luminaries Sect. He had secretly made inquiries about He Dantou's whereabouts, but no news ever came, to his great regret. As the years went on, Ancestor Xuanchen gave up the search. After all, he did not believe He Dantou could have cultivated to any impressive level—so many years had passed, and perhaps the man had already passed away.

Back then, He Dantou had been nothing but a spoiled young dandy who threw his weight around the sect on the strength of his formidable brother, with little interest in cultivation. Yet who would have thought He Dantou would actually call? And that he was still alive?

"Elder Brother... I'm overseas. You know the Overseas Cultivators Association..." He Dantou said, choking back tears.

"I know it. You're a member there? Come back and help me. I know of that Overseas Cultivators Association—it's no small operation, but in the end it belongs to someone else." Ancestor Xuanchen extended the invitation.

"Elder Brother, I founded the Overseas Cultivators Association..." He Dantou said with a bitter smile. "Is your younger brother really so useless? You can lead the Five Luminaries Sect—can't I do the same?"

"What?! The Overseas Cultivators Association is yours?" Ancestor Xuanchen was astounded. "Then that Elder Chen who was beaten to death by Wei Zhao—he was your subordinate?"

"Indeed! He was one of mine, and I've been preparing to settle accounts with Wei Zhao all this time!" The thought that Wei Zhao had actually escaped made He Dantou's teeth itch with fury. If he could use his brother's hand to do away with Wei Zhao, so much the better. So he said, "Elder Brother, the Five Luminaries Sect is still the mightiest of the ancient sects, isn't it? Could you step in and help me do away with Wei Zhao?"RS