Fan Jingxing immediately wrote a letter to Zhan Zhiming in the name of the Duan family, asking him to return A'li immediately.
If the other party was sensible and returned A'li obediently, then everything could be discussed.
If they were not sensible, then there was nothing more to say, it was war!
Zhan Zhiming quickly replied, denying the matter and not admitting to taking A'li, clearing himself of all responsibility.
He had ulterior motives and did not want the outside world to know that he had captured A'li, so naturally, he would not admit it.
Fan Jingxing informed Huineng and Xuan'ao of the situation. After a discussion, the three decided to bring the Ginseng King to confront Zhan Zhiming.
Several people went to Mingyue City and met Zhan Zhiming.
"Young Master Zhan, I represent the Duan family. I won't beat around the bush. Let's be upfront, are you going to release A'li or not?"
Fan Jingxing got straight to the point and clarified the matter.
The Ginseng King also spoke up to accuse him, "Pretty boy, don't even think about denying it. A'li was kidnapped by you. Hand over the little girl obediently, or don't blame us for being impolite."
At the same time, Fan Jingxing, Huineng, and Xuan'ao unleashed their peak Spirit Saint realm auras without reservation, applying pressure on the other party.
In the cultivation world, things were often simple and unadorned, relying purely on strength.
They were displaying their strength to make the other party properly weigh their options.
With the conversation reaching this point, Zhan Zhiming knew he could no longer deny it and stopped.
He was not flustered at all and calmly argued, "If I recall correctly, A'li is a member of the Luo family, and Ye Yao is her maternal aunt and her only living relative. It was Ji Mo who snatched A'li. I merely saw injustice and drew my sword to help Ye Yao get A'li back."
Facing Fan Jingxing and the others, Zhan Zhiming was not afraid at all, his face full of composure.
After all, the Zhan family had an ancestor who was a Spirit Emperor, although only in the early Emperor realm, it was enough to deter one side.
This was Zhan Zhiming's confidence; he was not afraid of the pressure from the Duan family, nor of Fan Jingxing and the other two.
At the same time, Zhan Zhiming was also filled with curiosity about Ji Mo. What means did he possess to enlist the Duan family?
Could it be that the ninth-grade spirit pills on A'li were indeed refined by that Ji Mo, and the Duan family, impressed by his alchemy skills, wanted to recruit him, hence they were stepping forward for him?
If that were the case, then Ji Mo was definitely an extraordinary alchemist, and he had to find a way to get his hands on him.
At this moment, Zhan Zhiming had a wild thought and developed wicked intentions towards Ji Mo as well.
After all, an alchemist who could casually refine ninth-grade pills was like a hen that laid golden eggs; who wouldn't be tempted!
"A'li is our Mr. Ji's adopted sister. She is willing to stay by Mr. Ji's side; this is her choice, and Ye Yao has no right to interfere. Also, don't think I don't know your malicious intentions. You have close ties with certain people in the Luo family. Who knows if there are any unsavory dealings between you?"
Fan Jingxing had thoroughly investigated Zhan Zhiming's background and knew that he was very close to a powerful figure in the Luo family, and that powerful figure was very likely the mastermind behind the theft of A'li's Dao bone years ago.
If that were the case, then Zhan Zhiming's words could not be trusted, and he must have had other motives for snatching A'li.
"Nonsense! I, Zhan Zhiming, am upright and honorable. You are deliberately slandering me, what is your intention? Elder Fang, see them out. Our Zhan family does not welcome these people."
Zhan Zhiming's face turned ashen, and he immediately ordered his servants to escort them out.
"Young Master Zhan, A'li is not someone you can trifle with. This old monk advises you to turn back while there is still time, otherwise, your Zhan family cannot bear the consequences."
Huineng threatened him unceremoniously.
"What consequences? Just based on the few of you, and the Duan family? You probably don't understand our Zhan family thoroughly enough. Not only do we have a Spirit Emperor ancestor, but we also have an Emperor Weapon. How can you shake us? Do you want to die?"
Zhan Zhiming responded arrogantly.
Three peak Spirit Saints were not enough to intimidate him. Moreover, the Duan family had already declined and had no Spirit Emperors, so there was no need to fear them too much.
More importantly, he had someone backing him.
"Heh, a mere Spirit Emperor and a broken Emperor Weapon are the Zhan family's reliance? Ridiculous. Do you truly not know the immensity of heaven and earth..."
The Ginseng King couldn't help but retort. This fellow must be ignorant of the world; a mere Spirit Emperor and Emperor Weapon were nothing, why was he so arrogant?
Our vegetable patch still has a divine artifact lying around, and it's not as boastful as you.
It wanted to speak again but was stopped by Huineng.
With the conversation reaching this point, it was a complete breakdown. Any further argument might lead to them being attacked.
The group left the Zhan residence, unsure of what to do next. Zhan Zhiming's attitude was too tough; he was unyielding and very difficult to deal with.
"Monk, what should we do next?"
Fan Jingxing looked at Huineng.
"Amitabha, let's just do it!"
Even a Buddha has three parts anger, let alone Huineng, the wicked monk, who was never a pushover.
Was a Spirit Emperor something to be afraid of?
"I will immediately dispatch men to surround the Zhan family. If Zhan Zhiming remains obstinate, then we will go to war."
Fan Jingxing also had courage and was not intimidated at all.
"Old Fan, Mr. Ji gave you so much dowry last time, it's time to show it off," Xuan'ao grumbled through clenched teeth.
Fan Jingxing nodded, a sinister smile appearing on his face, and began mobilizing his forces.
The Zhan family's scouts received the news immediately and reported to Zhan Zhiming, "Young Master, something is wrong. The Duan family has mobilized a large number of cultivators and is attacking our Zhan family."
Zhan Zhiming sneered, "The Duan family truly doesn't know its place, daring to provoke the tiger's whiskers of my Zhan family. Inform everyone, any Duan family cultivator who dares to step half a step into the Zhan family will be killed without mercy."
As soon as the news of the Duan family's campaign against the Zhan family spread, it caused a sensation.
The entire Mingyue City was in an uproar, and even the Wen family was alerted.
Both the Duan and Zhan families were ancient clans with long histories in Mingyue City. If a war broke out, it would cause severe turmoil in Mingyue City.
Many people couldn't understand why the Duan and Zhan families, who had no past grievances, had reached such a point.
Moreover, the Duan family had fallen; why did they have the courage to proactively confront the Zhan family?
Not long after.
People learned the reason for the Duan family's confidence, and they were all stunned.
The Duan family sent out a small force, less than two hundred people.
However, each person carried a powerful weapon, the weakest being of the inheritance grade.
The thirty-six leading powerhouses were all equipped with legendary weapons.
The divine light emanating from these weapons was blindingly brilliant, illuminating half of Mingyue City.
But what was confusing was that these weapons had unique shapes, consisting of cleavers, hammers, hoes, shovels, and the like. If they hadn't emitted astonishing energy fluctuations, one would have thought they were carrying a pile of scrap metal.
"What!"
Upon hearing this news, Zhan Zhiming staggered in shock.
When did the Duan family become so wealthy as to produce so many powerful weapons?
With dozens of legendary weapons, they could probably level the Zhan family in less than an hour.
Now, how should he respond?
He panicked!