Family Cultivation: Evergreen of the Song Family

Cangmang Peak, inside the General Affairs Hall.

Song Changsheng was watching the battle report sent back from the front. At first, his brows were furrowed more and more, until the end when he relaxed a little.

To be honest, the first battle between the expeditionary coalition and the main force of the demon clan did not surprise him. When the troops were divided, he had imagined this outcome, but there were some slight differences in the details.

At the beginning, he insisted on dividing the troops in order to lure the main force of the demon clan out for a field battle. Otherwise, if they gathered a large army to defend Qixia Peak, they would pay a heavy price in the process of attack.

However, what he did not expect was that the demon clan actually used the tactic of making a feint to the east and attacking in the west, surrounding a point and attacking the reinforcements. Fortunately, Song Xianming acted cautiously and did not fall into the trap of the demon clan.

But this also caused heavy losses to the right-wing army led by Yuan Tianshu and Chihuo Laogui. After all, they were facing the main force of the demon clan from the beginning.

According to the battle report.

In that encounter, 762 soldiers of the right wing were killed, including five foundation-building monks, all from major families in Yangzhou. There were more than 1,300 seriously injured. After the battle, only 273 people were left out of the 500 fully equipped Chiyang Guards, and almost everyone was injured.

When seeing this, Song Changsheng's heart twitched slightly. Although the Chiyang Guards were all cultivators from other families, they were also discovered through the Ascension Conference held by the Song family.

Only after going through layers of screening will they be assigned to the Liehuo Hall, and then the best of the best will be selected from within the Liehuo Hall, and finally the 500 Chiyang Guards are formed.

After being selected, they also need to practice unified martial arts and drill battle formations every day. It takes a full ten years to have the current combat effectiveness.

When the Chiyang Guard was first formed, it received a good response. Song Changsheng suggested that they expand the number of people to one thousand, but in order to ensure combat effectiveness, Song Lutong and Shangguan Jian unanimously rejected his suggestion and maintained the number of people at five hundred.

It is no exaggeration to say that the treatment these Chiyang Guards received completely surpassed that of ordinary cultivators of the Song family.

During these ten years, it is hard to calculate how much manpower and material resources the Song family has invested in it, but it was broken in half just after it was pulled out. It is really heartbreaking.

Of course, this does not mean that the Chiyang Guards are in name only. On the contrary, they performed exceptionally well in this battle and achieved tremendous results. According to rough estimates, they killed or injured at least tens of thousands of monsters.

Moreover, they stabilized the morale of the right-wing army to a great extent, allowing them to successfully hold out for the support of the left-wing army and achieve the goal of encircling and annihilating the main force of the demon clan. It is no exaggeration to say that they were the main contributors to this battle.

This also made Song Changsheng further firm up his inner thoughts.

It’s just… this loss is truly heartbreaking.

In comparison, the losses of the left army were much smaller. When they arrived, the main force of the monsters had almost collapsed and the battle was almost one-sided. In the final statistics, only more than a hundred people were killed and more than three hundred were injured.

Among them, more than ten soldiers of the Song clan were killed and more than twenty were injured. Elder Song Qingshui unfortunately died after being besieged by two second-level monsters.

He became the first foundation-building cultivator to die in the Song family and even in the entire Left Route Army.

The losses were heavy, but the results of this battle were brilliant.

Not only did he kill the [Red Flame Demon Tiger] and the [One-horned Thunder Lizard], he also severely damaged the strongest demon clan members, the [Golden Winged Eagle] and the [Flying Centipede].

Nearly 30,000 low-level monsters were killed, including no less than 20 second-level monsters.

The demon tribe on the north bank of the Canglan River was not strong to begin with, and more than two-fifths of them were killed in this battle. Such an outcome was completely in line with the "quick battle, quick decision" strategy they had set before the battle.

Now we just have to wait to capture Qixia Mountain to complete the initial strategy.

But before that, there is still a hidden danger that needs to be eliminated in advance.

Song Changsheng picked up another battle report at hand, which was sent back by Song Luyun. Not long after the expeditionary coalition returned triumphantly, the Five Elements Peak was suddenly attacked by monsters. Although it was a small group of monsters, their strength was amazing.

Led by a third-rank mid-grade [Iron-backed Black Bear], all his subordinates are second-rank monsters.

However, after several upgrades, the Five Elements Peak mountain protection formation had an equally amazing defensive capability and was not shaken by the [Iron-backed Black Bear].

Instead, Song Yulong controlled the [Black Star Ship] to kill three second-level monsters, and they retreated in a panic.

They evacuated openly, but actually hid in the dark, trying to intercept the fleet sent by Wuxing Peak to Qixia Peak to pick them up.

Fortunately, Song Luyun acted cautiously and did not directly send out a large flying boat with a huge body and weak defense. He only sent two warships out to test.

Less than three thousand miles out of the Five Elements Peak, they encountered an attack. Fortunately, the [Black Star Ship] provided support in the rear, preventing the [Iron-backed Black Bear] from succeeding. However, even so, one warship was still severely damaged and needed to be "returned to the factory for overhaul."

"Even though this [Iron-backed Black Bear] is no threat to the Five Elements Peak, we can't just sit back and watch." Song Changsheng tapped the tabletop regularly with his knuckles, thinking secretly in his heart.

As the base camp of the expeditionary coalition, Wuxing Peak also undertakes the important tasks of transporting supplies to the front line, replenishing soldiers, and treating the wounded.

The front line had just experienced a tough battle. Not only were supplies severely depleted, but there were also a large number of seriously injured soldiers who could not continue to fight and needed to be transferred to the rear where conditions were more stable and better for recuperation.

This [Iron-backed Black Bear] was lingering outside the Five Elements Peak like a ghost. Song Luyun did not dare to send a fleet there rashly. If it continued to drag on like this, it would be extremely disadvantageous to the battle situation. He had to find a way to resolve this hidden danger.

It is not very possible to transfer people back from the front line. The expeditionary coalition is about to reach Qixia Peak and is about to face a tough battle. They are short of people at this time. It would be too trivial to transfer them back. Moreover, it would take more than half a month for even a Purple Mansion cultivator to go back and forth, and they cannot afford the delay.

After much thought, he decided to do it himself.

At present, the situation in the Da Qi cultivation world is relatively calm. The Haoran Alliance and the Blood Demon Cult have not taken any action for the time being, so he can also make some moves.

In addition, there is a space teleportation array between Wuxing Peak and Cangmang Peak, which can save time to the maximum extent. Even if there is any change in Cangmang Peak, he can rush back in the first time.

Thinking of this, he stopped hesitating and quietly set off for the Five Elements Peak without alerting anyone...

On a barren mountain outside the Five Elements Peak, the Iron-backed Black Bear was lying bored on a huge and smooth bluestone. As long as it opened its mouth, the monsters under its command would pass the blood food they had hunted to its mouth.

After eating and drinking, [Iron-backed Black Bear] couldn't help but start thinking about a way to retreat.

It secretly left the main battlefield and led its monsters to this place, originally intending to enjoy the blood food and treasures in the Five Elements Peak alone. However, it unexpectedly suffered a bruise in front of the impregnable formation.

After knowing that it was impossible to break through the defense of the Five Elements Peak with its own strength, it decided to wait for the Golden Winged Eagle and other monsters to arrive before launching an attack.

Unexpectedly, after waiting for a few days, what it heard from the rear was not support from the [Golden-winged Eagle] and other monsters, but the defeat of the main force of the monster clan. Only then did it realize the seriousness of the matter.

If someone had to take the blame for this defeat, it would undoubtedly be the first to bear the brunt, because it had left the battlefield without permission. If it had just fled back to Qixia Peak, it would have certainly faced the reckoning of the [Golden Winged Eagle] and other monsters.

So it continued with its strategy of besieging the point and attacking the reinforcements, except that it changed from attacking the left-wing army to attacking the fleet sent by the Five Elements Peak.

He thought that by making some achievements he could use them to clear himself of the charges when he returned.

However, it didn't expect that the humans inside were just like turtles. Ever since they suffered a loss at its hands, they had been hiding in the formation and no longer sending out any soldiers, making its plan completely fail.

However, it had delayed for such a long time after all, and it thought that it had made a contribution. With this contribution, it would have the capital to excuse itself when facing the questioning of monsters such as the Golden-winged Eagle after returning.

"Well... it's time to run away. It would be disastrous if those humans get desperate." The pair of black gemstone-like eyes of [Iron-backed Black Bear] rolled around, revealing a shrewdness that was completely different from its appearance.

The Black Bear's IQ was not low to begin with. After breaking through the third level and completely opening up his spiritual intelligence, he became even smarter than the average human cultivator.

The tactics used against the human race this time were actually formulated by it. If Song Xianming had been a little anxious, he would have fallen into its trap.

Unfortunately, things went against one's wishes. Not only did Song Xianming not fall for the trick, but he became incredibly strong and even the [Golden-winged Eagle] was severely damaged by him.

Just as it was about to run away, a Hurricane Wolf it had sent out to "look out" suddenly came up to it and respectfully reported: "We have spotted a human flying boat."

Upon hearing this, [Iron-backed Black Bear] immediately turned over and stood up. When he looked up, he found that there was a fleet approaching rapidly in the distance. Judging from the number of ships, there were more than a dozen. In addition to the small boats seen before, there were also large ships with "big bellies".

It knew very well what this type of ship represented; this was the human fleet it planned to intercept.

"Have these humans finally lost their patience?" The Iron-backed Black Bear scratched its throat with its big furry claws, its huge eyes flashing with wisdom.

It did not act rashly because it felt that something was wrong, but it couldn't put its finger on it.

"Could it be that there is another strange ship following us?"

After two encounters, the [Black Starship] left a deep impression on it. Among so many flying boats, it was the only one that could pose a threat to it.

However, it was just a threat. If a real fight came to fruition, it was confident that it could turn the ship into a pile of scrap metal.

After a slight hesitation, it finally decided to intercept the fleet.

The fruits of its victory during this period were really limited, and not enough to make up for its guilt of leaving the battlefield without permission. But if it could devour this human fleet, it could return to Qixia Peak with its head held high, and even the [Golden-winged Eagle] would not dare to hold it accountable.

After making the decision, it gave a look to the [Hurricane Wolf] beside it, who understood and immediately went down to gather his subordinates, preparing to launch a surprise attack on the human fleet.

[Iron-backed Black Bear] also shrunk its body, hiding its majestic demonic aura, waiting for the human fleet to approach.

Not long after, the human fleet arrived near the barren mountain. Everything was calm as usual, and they seemed to have discovered nothing.

Seeing this, the Iron-backed Black Bear calmed down and let out a roar. Its body instantly expanded dozens of times, revealing its sharp fangs and claws, and pounced towards the largest flying boat in the lead.

The other monsters hiding in the surroundings received the signal and also launched attacks on the fleet in the air.

[Iron-backed Black Bear] One would have thought that facing its sudden attack, the human monks on the flying boat would panic, but they behaved unusually calmly, as if they had expected it.

This moment made [Iron-backed Black Bear] realize that he might have been fooled.

Without any hesitation, it immediately abandoned its target, turned around and transformed into a dark beam of light, fleeing towards the direction of Qixia Peak.

But before it could run far, it heard an extremely cold voice coming from behind: "Now that you're here, you still want to leave?"

As soon as this voice appeared, all the hair on its body suddenly stood up.

It didn't even dare to look back, but just ran forward with all its might.

But it only felt a strong wind passing over its head, and right in front of it there appeared a human cultivator wearing a green robe, standing on the void and holding a sword.

He just stood there quietly, and Iron-backed Black Bear felt invincible in his heart. For a moment, he felt infinitely desolate.

"I've fought so many battles with the demon tribe, but it's rare to find someone as afraid of death as you."

Song Changsheng looked at the round black bear in front of him and couldn't help feeling speechless. It ran away without even noticing anyone else. If it weren't for his amazing speed, an ordinary Purple Mansion cultivator might not be able to catch up with it.

"Who in this world is not afraid of death? Aren't you afraid of death?" [Iron-backed Black Bear] still had the backbone of a great demon and did not kneel down and beg for mercy from Song Changsheng.

"You are right. You have violated my territory and deserve death. I will give you a chance to strike first." Song Changsheng said in a flat tone, and the [Ding Jiangshan] in his hand released a sonorous sword chant.

"Roar--"

[Iron-backed Black Bear] let out a roar and pounced directly towards Song Changsheng. It was very clear that the opponent's cultivation was far superior to its own, and it could only have a chance of survival by using its powerful strength and body to engage in close combat with him.

The decision it made could not be considered wrong, and it was even the optimal solution at the moment. Unfortunately, it encountered Song Changsheng, a hexagonal warrior with almost no weaknesses!

……

Just when Song Changsheng was fighting with the Iron-backed Black Bear, the Blood Demon Cult, which had been silent for many years, finally took action. Figures dressed in blood-stained robes and masks quietly appeared from various areas.

Qingzhou, Quanzhou, Luoxia City, Tuozhou...

Two sects and one city, and even important strongholds of forces such as the Huansha Sect and the Demon-Subduing Palace located around Lingzhou were attacked by the Blood Demon Cult almost at the same time. For a time, smoke was everywhere, and the southern part of Da Qi was turned into a mess.

As the main target of the Blood Demon Cult, the Song family naturally could not escape unscathed.

A large number of Blood Demon Cult members gathered in the Moon-Watching Mountains and besieged Cangmang Peak!
……

(End of this chapter)