Chapter 591: Chapter 591

In the dense forest, a Tier Two High-Grade Demon Beast, the Cyan Cloud Deer, was crying "you you" as it desperately fled through the thickets.

Meanwhile, a youth dressed in a light yellow magic robe was gracefully chasing the Cyan Cloud Deer from atop a pale golden flying sword, a hundred meters above the forest.

The ability to perform sword flight indicated that this yellow-robed young cultivator possessed Foundation Establishment Stage cultivation. With such cultivation, it would be impossible for the demon beast to escape if he truly intended to kill it.

Therefore, it was apparent that the young cultivator in the yellow robe did not intend to kill the Cyan Cloud Deer.

Judging from the fact that he did not use any magical artifact to attack the Cyan Cloud Deer, it seemed he did not intend to capture the demon beast alive, either.

Thus, the true intention behind his pursuit of the Cyan Cloud Deer was somewhat intriguing.

The yellow-robed young cultivator’s name was Huang Yuanji, an elder of the Huang family, a cultivation clan in An Country. The Huang family was a large clan with two Purple Mansion Stage cultivators. After An Country rejoined the Six Paths Alliance, the Huang family also followed suit, becoming a vassal to the middle-level sect Cyan Cloud Valley within the alliance.

Several months ago, Cyan Cloud Valley issued a decree instructing the Huang family and another subordinate cultivation clan within An Country to dispatch middle-lower tier cultivators to Chongxuan Mountain for demon hunting and herbal gathering.

Indeed, that’s what the decree said, and Huang Yuanji personally saw the decree signed by a Golden Core Stage cultivator from Cyan Cloud Valley, leaving no doubt about its intent.

However, Huang Yuanji and those in power within the Huang family knew that the deeper meaning of the decree was certainly not as simple as it appeared on the surface.

Chongxuan Mountain was, after all, the territory of the Yuqing Daoist Sect. The sudden invasion of Six Paths Alliance cultivators to hunt demon beasts and pick spirit herbs, though not outright invasion, could definitely be seen as "provoking disorder."

This accusation could be large or small, depending on how "Qingyun Wanderer" of Chongxuan Mountain chose to handle it.

Huang Yuanji didn’t know what Cyan Cloud Valley intended with this decree, but before he left, the family patriarch and the supreme elder personally summoned him and advised him not to overthink it, just to focus on following the instructions in the decree.

Thus, after arriving at Chongxuan Mountain, he would lead some family Qi Cultivation Stage cultivators into the mountain’s forest every few days for demon hunting and herbal gathering. He even deliberately caused a commotion by setting fires, ensuring the cultivators on distant Chongxuan Mountain could see them.

Initially, Huang Yuanji was quite apprehensive about doing such things, fearing that Qingyun Wanderer on Chongxuan Mountain might take his life with a sword light from a hundred miles away upon witnessing such events.

However, as he did this more often without any response from the mountain, he began to infer something and gradually grew confident, acting ever more boldly.

Upon discovering the Cyan Cloud Deer today, he had a thought and refrained from immediately killing it, instead driving the beast towards Chongxuan Mountain deliberately.

He intended to do something more thrilling, to kill the Cyan Cloud Deer right under Chongxuan Mountain and see if the cultivators on the mountain would continue to pretend not to see.

Though dangerous, Huang Yuanji felt that a bit of adventure could do him no harm.

He knew that the events around Chongxuan Mountain were certainly being observed by certain entities.

And if Huang Yuanji could impress them somehow during this affair, the benefits would be immense in the future.

In the distance, Chongxuan Mountain was already in sight, and at most, the Cyan Cloud Deer would reach the foot of the mountain in about fifteen minutes. His moment of glory was just about to arrive. ʀᴇᴀᴅ ʟᴀᴛᴇsᴛ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀᴛ novel(ꜰ)ire.net

Thinking of his scheme, Huang Yuanji could not help but reveal a hint of smugness in his eyes.

He was naturally bold, daring to do things others wouldn’t, and this daring had allowed him to succeed in numerous bold gambles decades ago, propelling him from an ordinary family member to a Foundation Establishment Stage cultivator.

This time, he intended to gamble boldly once more. If he won, he might very well have a chance to establish a Purple Mansion and become the patriarch of the Huang family.

But as the saying goes: "If you tread by the river often, you won’t avoid getting your shoes wet."

Just as Huang Yuanji chased the Cyan Cloud Deer to the foot of Chongxuan Mountain and was about to make a move, six sword lights suddenly descended from the misty Chongxuan Mountain.

Seeing this, Huang Yuanji’s expression changed drastically. He quickly made a hand seal to control the flying sword under his feet to make a turn, intending to flee.

But just as he turned around, several powerful Tier Three Magics were launched from several thousand meters away at him.

From such a distance, the magic was far beyond the range of a Foundation Establishment cultivator’s divine sense, making it impossible to aim accurately.

But the sheer number of spells targeting Huang Yuanji was overwhelming!

His sword light danced diagonally through the air, avoiding eighty to ninety percent of the magic attacks, but eventually, he was hit by a firebird, which knocked him down to the ground.

With the protection of a defensive spiritual artifact and body-protecting technique, Huang Yuanji was not harmed by the firebird’s attack.

However, with his sword flight interrupted, he was quickly locked onto by the divine sense of six peers who had caught up from behind. If he continued to flee blindly at this moment, he would face the attacks of all six at once.

Although Huang Yuanji was at the mid-stage Foundation Establishment, he had no confidence in safely escaping under the concentrated attack of six peers.

So he simply stopped, and while raising his hand to pat his storage bag, he took out a Tier Three Defense Spirit Talisman and activated it, applying a new layer of protection on himself. Meanwhile, he controlled his pale golden flying sword to hover motionlessly above his head, ready for attack.

Then, with a cold expression, he glared at the cultivators standing on six flying swords in the sky and shouted sternly, "I am Elder Huang Yuanji of the Huang Family from Cyan Leaf Ridge in An Country. May I ask why you all suddenly attacked me? My Huang Family is a formal member of the Six Paths Alliance. If you do not give me a reasonable explanation today, I and the Huang Family will not let this matter go easily!"

His tone was extremely strong, as if he were the one in the right, completely forgetting that he was currently in the territory of the Yuqing Daoist Sect.

"Explanation? The place where you now stand is the explanation for our attack on you!"

On the flying sword, Wang Yanzhang, with a sullen face, waved his hand and shouted, "Everyone, let’s attack together and capture him to make an example, to show those other folks they dare not act recklessly within the Chongxuan Mountain territory!"

Since the first person expressed willingness to fight to the death for Chongxuan Mountain a few days ago, Wang Yanzhang was appointed by Zhouyang to lead several Foundation Establishment cultivators on the mountain, commanding all registered disciples to follow his orders after descending the mountain.

Thus, upon hearing his words, the other five cultivators, including Zhou Ronghua from the Zhou Family, without saying a word, unleashed the fine magical artifacts bestowed by Zhouyang on Huang Yuanji.

"Stop! Please stop! I admit defeat!"

Huang Yuanji, who managed to stand out from a crowd of ordinary clan members and become a Foundation Establishment cultivator, was a battle-hardened individual. If there were only two or three enemies, he would still dare to fight, but when facing six peers equipped with superior artifacts at once, he had no assurance whatsoever and immediately conceded.

However, his words received no response.

Wang Yanzhang was determined to make an example of him, with no intention of sparing his life.

In less than half a moment, Huang Yuanji was torn apart by a flurry of swords, leaving only his head deliberately preserved.

"I, Wang, shall take the head and warn the intruders outside. All junior and senior brothers follow the planned arrangements and clean up the remaining intruders in the forests two by two. If you encounter a tough character, immediately signal for reinforcements."

From the air, Wang Yanzhang beckoned, and Huang Yuanji’s head and storage bag came to his hand. He casually hung the storage bag on his waist, then, with a solemn expression, issued follow-up orders to the others.

"We obey the command."

Exchanging glances, Zhou Ronghua and the other cultivators cupped their hands towards Wang Yanzhang and then departed in pairs in different directions, flying off on their swords, leaving only Wang Yanzhang and Zhou Shengying behind.

Seeing this, Wang Yanzhang gave a slight nod, and then, greeting Zhou Shengying, he said, "Junior Sister Zhou, let’s go too."

With that, his sword light flickered under his feet, and he flew towards the border of the Chongxuan Mountain territory.

Huang Yuanji’s demise and the actions of Chongxuan Mountain quickly spread to various forces in An Country.

Subsequently, the head of the Huang Family from Cyan Leaf Ridge formally submitted a petition to Qingyun Valley behind them, requesting the Six Paths Alliance to seek justice for their fallen elder and severely punish the murderer.

Upon receiving the petition, Li Boyang, a Golden Core Stage cultivator from Qingyun Valley, immediately came personally to the outside of Chongxuan Mountain to request a meeting with Qingyun Wanderer, demanding that the latter hand over the perpetrators.

Naturally, this request was flatly refused.

And Li Boyang, as if expecting the refusal, immediately issued an ultimatum: if Qingyun Wanderer failed to provide a satisfactory explanation for the incident, the Six Paths Alliance would certainly mobilize an army to seek justice for the fallen Huang Yuanji.

In the face of such a near-declaration of war, Qingyun Wanderer was unafraid. Instead, in front of Li Boyang, he strongly declared that from that moment on, within a thousand miles of Chongxuan Mountain would be declared a forbidden zone. Any non-Profound Purity Dao Alliance cultivators entering would do so at their own risk.

To Li Boyang’s surprise and anger, immediately after this strong declaration, Qingyun Wanderer personally began to expel him.

A great battle between Golden Core Stage cultivators quickly erupted outside Chongxuan Mountain.

However, to everyone’s shock, facing Qingyun Wanderer, who had only a Fourth-Layer Golden Core cultivation, Li Boyang, whose cultivation was two layers higher, was defeated and defeated swiftly, in less than a quarter of an hour.

Although afterward, Li Boyang claimed he was not prepared and that if given another chance, he would not be defeated so easily.

But people only heard him say this and didn’t see him going to Chongxuan Mountain to find the Qingyun Wanderer for another battle.

There’s a saying that goes, don’t just listen to what he says, but watch what he does.

Li Boyang’s actions, speaking but not acting, have already revealed a lot to those truly knowledgeable people.

As a result, the situation suddenly settled into an eerie calm.

Li Boyang, who boasted of mustering a great army to attack Chongxuan Mountain, did not appear again, nor was there a sight of the so-called army.

It seemed as though this turmoil had passed just like that.

But was it really that simple?

Zhouyang didn’t think so.

He acted to drive Li Boyang away to demonstrate his own strength and tell those who wanted to make a move against Chongxuan Mountain that he was not someone they could easily push around.

And by instructing Wang Yanzhang and other disciples to kill the Six Paths Alliance cultivators who intruded into Chongxuan Mountain’s territory, he expressed his unyielding determination.

He dared to kill the cultivators of the Six Paths Alliance and was unafraid of any retaliation.

This signal was enough to intimidate those behind the scenes, who sent people to probe him for some time.

Before those behind the scenes could figure out his true strength, any probing against Chongxuan Mountain would definitely cease.

However, Zhouyang knew that once those behind the scenes discovered he was bluffing, the army of the Six Paths Alliance would undoubtedly be at Chongxuan Mountain’s doorstep.

Therefore, during this time, he must turn his bluff into reality and truly find a backing that would make the enemy afraid to make a reckless move.

This backing could only be the Profound Sun Immortal Sect and Master Cyan Yang.

So, after the battle with Li Boyang, once Zhouyang confirmed that the enemy was bluffed, he instructed the disciples to continue patrolling the territory daily to deter the enemy, while he quietly left Chongxuan Mountain and personally rushed to Immortal Sun City for help.

Coincidentally, when Zhouyang arrived at Immortal Sun City, Zhou Guangxiang, along with a Purple Mansion stage cultivator from the Yellow Sand Sect, had also just arrived in the city a few days earlier, getting familiar with the situation and planning to reach out to him.

He had to temporarily suppress the idea of ​​seeking Master Cyan Yang and went to the Profound Sun Pavilion to temporarily secure a vacant cave abode to entertain these family members.

"The family members who accompanied me this time include six people in total, three Foundation Establishment cultivators and three Qi Cultivation stage cultivators. Ninth Uncle, if you’re short-handed, these people are at your disposal."

"Additionally, I brought over two million low-grade spirit stones and some specialties from the Boundless Desert Sea. If you need them, they are yours to handle."

In the cave abode, once Zhou Guangxiang and Zhouyang sat down, without waiting for Zhouyang to inquire, he proactively spoke about his current situation.

Although it was his first time visiting the Liuyun Continent’s Cultivation Realm, the accompanying Yellow Sand Sect Purple Mansion stage cultivator, Wu Nanli, was an experienced traveler who had been here twice before, so there was no risk of getting lost.

With Zhouyang’s Illusory Cloud Ship left in the family assisting them and the standard Hidden Spirit Incense masking their presence, they arrived smoothly in the Liuyun Continent’s Cultivation Realm without any danger.

Being preoccupied with the thought of meeting Zhouyang, Zhou Guangxiang didn’t rush to travel elsewhere and came directly to Immortal Sun City.

At that moment, hearing Zhou Guangxiang’s words, after a brief moment of consideration, Zhouyang waved his hand and said, "There’s no rush on this matter. Tell me about the family’s situation first. Has anything happened on that side in the past twenty years I’ve been away?"

"Ninth Uncle, you worry too much. With the foundation you left behind, our Zhou Family in the Boundless Desert Sea Cultivation Realm basically has no rivals, so how could anything happen?"

"If anything, since you disclosed the information about the Westernmost Cultivation Realm and Liuyun Continent’s Cultivation Realm within the family, those mid-tier cultivators in the family have been clamoring to go to the Liuyun Continent’s Cultivation Realm to help you."

"Hehe, they say it nicely, but you and I both know that these folks just heard about the prosperity here and want to seek better opportunities."

Zhou Guangxiang smiled, shook his head, mentioned a few critical points about the Zhou Family in recent years, and didn’t elaborate further.

As expected, Zhouyang wasn’t particularly concerned with these matters of the clan. Instead, after hearing his words, he suddenly asked, "How are Guangxiang and his wife?"

When Zhou Guangxiang heard him ask about this, he immediately grinned and said, "Of course, they’re doing well. According to your instructions back then, we allotted a mid-sized oasis to my sister and brother-in-law as the foundation for rebuilding the Li Family. Now, my brother-in-law’s two children are both married with offspring, and my sister gave birth to a second son eight years ago."

Hearing this, Zhouyang felt quite frustrated.

Zhou Guangxiang and Li Mubai were both high-tier cultivators, yet they already had two sons and a daughter, all with spiritual roots.

On the other hand, he and Xiao Ying, despite having undergone dual cultivation for many years, didn’t even have the shadow of a child, which truly frustrated him.

It’s understandable if Nascent Soul stage cultivators have difficulty with childbirth, after all, such beings are already considered "Demi-Immortal," with their bodies beginning to transform toward an "Immortal Body."

But Golden Core stage cultivators aren’t in that category.

Although Golden Core stage cultivators also have a lower birthrate due to their cultivation compared to ordinary mortals and middle-lower tier cultivators, it’s rare for someone like Zhouyang to be unable to conceive for over ten years.

Sometimes Zhouyang even wondered if the cultivation technique he practiced restricted his fertility, or if the Qianyang Treasure Body limited his fertility.

However, after carefully examining the Qianyang Immortal Scripture, he didn’t find any mention of this aspect, nor did he find any information about it when researching the Qianyang Treasure Body.

In any case, this matter was indeed a vexing personal issue for him.

However, it’s not appropriate to share such private matters with a junior like Zhou Guangxiang, so he could only suppress his frustration, smile, and nod, saying, "It’s good as long as you’re doing well. If you’re well, Ninth Uncle can be at ease."

Upon finishing, he raised his hand and took out dozens of pill bottles, placing them in front of him.

"Here are one hundred and fifty Foundation Establishment Pills, and five bottles of Tier Four Spirit Pills that can enhance Purple Mansion stage cultivators, along with twenty-three bottles of Tier Three Spirit Pills with various effects. They were all refined by your Aunt Nine over the years, take them."

As Zhouyang expected, upon hearing "one hundred and fifty Foundation Establishment Pills," Zhou Guangxiang’s eyes widened with shock, and he looked at him in disbelief, unable to speak for a long time.

As the Zhou Family Patriarch, Zhou Guangxiang was no stranger to the world; for instance, he carried over two million low-grade spirit stones, worth more than a hundred Foundation Establishment Pills.

However, for a clan leader like him, spirit stones couldn’t compare to the strategic value of Foundation Establishment Pills.

If he could, he would willingly spend all his spirit stones just for eighty Foundation Establishment Pills.

"This, this, this..."

Zhou Guangxiang, his mouth agape, took a long breath, his expression complicated, and finally sighed, "This is so precious! Ninth Uncle, if you entrust something so valuable to me, I fear I won’t even be able to sleep until I return to the family!"

He couldn’t imagine the trouble that would arise if word got out that a Seventh-Layer Purple Mansion cultivator like him was carrying one hundred and fifty Foundation Establishment Pills.

"What’s there to lose sleep over? Only you and I know about this, no third person is aware. Just rest easy and take them."

Zhouyang shook his head, dismissing his nephew’s concerns.

He actually understood what Zhou Guangxiang meant, but he truly couldn’t leave at this moment.

"Nephew understands. Please extend my and the Zhou family’s gratitude to Aunt Nine on my behalf."

After a moment of silence, Zhou Guangxiang finally nodded, waved his hand to store all the pill bottles, then bowed and expressed his gratitude to Zhouyang.

Zhouyang accepted the bow without hesitation, then waved his hand and said, "Alright, Ninth Uncle has matters to attend to at the Profound Sun Immortal Sect, so I’ll leave this cave abode to you for now. Once I return, we’ll discuss the matter of the clan members staying in the Liuyun Continent Cultivation Realm."

By this time, the events at Chongxuan Mountain had already been communicated to the Profound Sun Immortal Sect via the Communication Array, and his visit to meet Master Cyan Yang had been arranged in advance.

Therefore, when he arrived at the Profound Sun Immortal Sect, Master Cyan Yang had already exited seclusion and met him in his Cyan Yang Cave.

Yet, to Zhouyang’s surprise, upon meeting Master Cyan Yang, he was immediately given startling news.

"Senior Brother Lu passed away a year ago!"

This short sentence instantly solved Zhouyang’s doubts about why the Six Paths Alliance suddenly began probing Chongxuan Mountain.

It also made him realize that the plans for this visit might not be so easily accomplished.