Starting with a daily divination to build an immortal clan

Chapter 217 The Hunt Begins!

After Shen Chongming finished speaking, the leaders of the six major Golden Core forces in Southern Xinjiang were somewhat surprised.

The Great Harvest Plan was clearly a conspiracy orchestrated in advance by several major forces, specifically targeting Yunzhong County and the Shen family.

With just a few more raids, they would surely be able to abduct most of the common people and cultivators under the jurisdiction of Yunzhong County and the Shen family.

On the other hand, even though Luoxia Mountain and the Shen family defeated their opponents in the great harvest, they did not seem to gain much benefit.

After all, even if the cultivators and commoners under their jurisdiction are robbed, they will be taken in and cared for, so that they can take them back during the next harvest.

None of them expected that Shen Chongming would agree so easily.

"Patriarch Shen is indeed straightforward."

After a moment of silence, Lan Jue suddenly spoke with a smile.

The remaining people also smiled, believing that Shen Chongming was a pragmatic person.

Now that the six major Golden Core forces have gathered together, if the Shen family and Luoxia Mountain do not agree, the six major Golden Core forces, having already come all this way, will naturally join forces to give it a try.

Although all six families have their own ulterior motives and will inevitably scheme against each other, they will at least try to defeat the Shen family and Yunzhong County first.

In this situation, agreeing would actually be more advantageous.

Shen Chongming had considered this point; agreeing to the group's agreement to a large-scale harvest would at least buy them some time for development.

If they don't agree, the six families will join forces, and Yunzhong County will likely be divided up in an instant.

Of course, this is just one of them.

He readily agreed because he had other plans.

"Then you should all go back and prepare. This grand feast will officially begin in one month."

"At that time, we would like you all to come here again to draw lots."

Lan Jue stood up and spoke, and the others also smiled, rubbing their hands together, ready to make a big splash.

"Fellow Daoists, farewell."

Shen Chongming stood up, cupped his hands in greeting, and left the Zhili Imperial City with Luo Yao.

The two rode the wind and left the area of ​​the Zhili Imperial City. In the void, Luo Yao couldn't help but chase after them.

"Chongming, do you... have other plans in mind?"

Shen Chongming slowed down, turned around and cupped his hands slightly, saying, "Senior, do you think that if we didn't agree to leave, given the situation just now, we could leave safely?"

Luo Yao's face turned pale.

She was also well aware that the current situation was extremely unfavorable to both of their families.

But now that they've agreed to this harvesting plan, it's likely that after just three to five harvests, the Yunzhong County that the two families have worked so hard to protect will be completely destroyed by those beasts.

"Although the demon cultivators of Mount Dawu claim victory, once a battle breaks out, they will undoubtedly try every means to plunder the common people and cultivators under our two jurisdictions."

"Even if they lose, they will have achieved their goal."

Shen Chongming smiled faintly upon hearing this: "Senior, please don't worry. I have already thought of a solution for this."

Looking around, Shen Chongming immediately focused his voice into a line and conveyed his thoughts to Luo Yao through telepathy.

A moment later, Luo Yao's beautiful eyes widened as she looked at him in disbelief, her eyes flashing with amazement.

"You little rascal, you're much more cunning than your father and grandfather."

Upon hearing this, Shen Chongming chuckled awkwardly and said, "Is Senior praising me?"

Luo Yao chuckled and nodded, saying, "I suppose so, but this move is somewhat dangerous."

"Our two families will need to be extremely careful at that time."

"Alright, I'll head back now to prepare. We'll see how those guys perform in a month."

……

Western wilderness.

After emerging from the lava lake at Flame Lake Hill, Shen Wen'an did not immediately return to Cloud Water City.

The place before him was too eerie, and he wanted to continue searching to see if he could find anything else.

Frost Moon Mountain.

After He Chongyi and Mu Chang collected that wisp of sunflower essence, the wondrous sight of "the moon as cold as frost" disappeared.

Shen Wen'an sat cross-legged on the mountaintop, beginning to explore the mysteries of this land.

He held his sword and carved some strange lines on the bluestone in front of him, marking the directions.

Although he didn't understand formations, he was still the apprentice of a master of alchemy and formations. During his years in Qiyun Valley, Pei Zhao often talked to him about things related to alchemy and formations, and he remembered some of the basics.

For example, the correspondence between the five elements and the five directions that he is currently depicting.

Fire in the south, water in the north, wood in the east, metal in the west, and earth in the center...

Shen Wen'an marked the craggy little mountain where he discovered the innate ugly spirit essence, and then carved the locations of Frost Moon Mountain and Flame Lake Ridge on the stone slab.

"Something seems to be wrong..."

Looking at the orientation and lines on the stone slab in front of him, Shen Wen'an frowned and murmured.

According to the normal order of the Five Elements and Five Directions, the Five Elements attributes and directions of this area in front of us do not match at all!
Frosty Moon Mountain is located in the due west of the place that nurtured the innate ugly spirit essence.

The due west direction should be metal, but what appeared at Frost Moon Mountain was a wisp of innate sunflower water essence.

Flame Lake Hill is located in the north and should belong to the water element, but judging from the actual situation of Flame Lake Hill, it probably has nothing to do with the water element in the Five Elements theory.

Completely baffled, Shen Wen'an redrawn new lines using the principles of mutual generation and restraint of the five elements, when suddenly a flash of inspiration struck him.

I think I overlooked something!
According to conjecture, the land where the Muhe tribe lives has four attributes, but it is currently lacking only the element of wood.

The five elements interact in a cycle of mutual generation and restraint, relying on the interconnectedness of the natural world's energy flow...

Thinking of this, he immediately flew down from Frost Moon Mountain. After his feet touched the ground, he closed his eyes and began to circulate the Meridian Searching Technique!

moment--

Shen Wen'an opened his eyes in surprise and looked around in disbelief.

Under the perception of the vein-finding technique, several terrifying veins converge from all directions beneath this land!

These ley lines are so terrifying that they are not like ordinary ley lines at all; they are more like the main vein that runs through the entire Yangnao land!
Simply put, according to the direction of the earth's veins, this place should be the most spiritually rich and central place in the entire Yangnao Land, and even including the Southern Frontier!
After all, if we consider the entire Yangnao Land and Southern Frontier as a human being, this place is the heart of that human being. All the major meridians of heaven and earth flow to this place and then flow out from here, forming a cycle.

This bizarre situation further perplexed Shen Wen'an.

He vaguely sensed that given the complexity of the situation here, even if his master Pei Zhao and his senior master Fu Yang, both masters of array formations, came, they would probably have a hard time figuring out the specifics.

Turning around to look at Frostmoon Mountain behind him, and then towards Flame Lake Ridge in the distance, Shen Wen'an pondered for a moment before transforming into a sword beam and leaving the place.

This place holds a great secret, but he is just a sword cultivator and cannot fathom its mysteries. Staying any longer would be a waste of time.

Now that the Sword Bone Technique is complete, we should head straight back to Cloudwater City.

The sword light that his figure transformed into streaked across the vast western wilderness sky. Shen Wen'an was on his way when he suddenly saw more than a dozen demon cultivators from the Great Wushan Mountain chasing a group of herdsmen from the western wilderness on the grassland below.

With a slight thought, he had the idea of ​​trying out the Sword Bone Technique.

His figure stood in the void, and a milky white light slowly emanated from between his brows.

The next moment, these milky white lights slowly converged into a three-inch-long white jade sword!
Unlike the magical swords of ordinary sword cultivators, which possess a strong killing aura, the small sword gives people a gentle and refined feeling.

Shen Wen'an pointed his sword finger at the small white jade sword, and in an instant, the sword control technique [Tai Xuan Dividing Light Sword] obtained from the Tai Xuan Sword Scripture was activated!
The three-inch white jade sword instantly transformed into sixteen swords, which flew towards the demon cultivators of Mount Wu below!
Of the dozen or so demon cultivators from Mount Wu below, only two had reached the early stage of the Fetal Breathing realm, while the rest were still half-transformed demons at the Qi Refining realm.

The sword bone technique flew silently and accurately pierced the heads of those demon cultivators.

In an instant, the demon cultivators who had just been jokingly chasing hundreds of herdsmen from the Western Wilderness suddenly stood still, their life force rapidly dissipating!
Pfft!
Pfft!
One after another, the demon cultivators fell to the ground, yet their bodies remained unscathed.

The panicked herders ahead noticed that the ferocious demon cultivators had fallen to the ground in a bizarre manner, their figures slowly transforming into their true forms.

A few bolder young men cautiously approached and gently poked the corpses of the monsters with their spears.

"Dead...dead!"

They're all dead!

These ferocious creatures, who were devouring and capturing their own people just a moment ago, suddenly and inexplicably died the next.

The herders of the western wilderness were all stunned and could not believe what they were seeing.

In the void, the sixteen small white jade swords merged into one during their return journey and once again pierced into Shen Wen'an's brow.

Looking at the demon cultivator who had died silently below, Shen Wen'an showed a hint of satisfaction. He didn't linger any longer and transformed into a stream of light, flying away into the distance.

"Father, there are immortals!"

Among the herdsmen of the western wilderness below, a child suddenly pointed at a streak of light in the sky and shouted.

The other herders around hurriedly looked up and saw a streak of blue light flying towards the east of the grassland.

"He really is an immortal..."

"My lads, quickly kneel down and thank the immortal for saving our lives!"

The elderly man with gray hair knelt respectfully in the direction where Shen Wen'an had disappeared, and the herdsmen behind him also knelt down.

……

The Shen family, Blackwater Pavilion.

Shen Chongming has already returned from the capital of Zhili.

The grandfather and grandson were discussing matters related to the harvest plan on the second floor of the pavilion when a streak of light suddenly broke through the great formation of Yunshui City and flew towards the Blackwater Pavilion.

The stream of light arrived on the second floor and transformed into Shen Wen'an's figure.

"Third uncle?"

Upon seeing Shen Wen'an, Shen Chongming's face lit up with surprise, and he quickly stood up and clasped his hands in greeting.

Shen Wen'an nodded and then bowed to Shen Yuan, saying, "Father."

"sit down."

The uncle and nephew sat down, and Shen Yuan looked at him and asked, "How is it?"

"A very fruitful harvest," Shen Wen'an said, taking out a jade bottle from his storage bag.

"This time, my son not only successfully forged the Sword Bone Technique Sword, but also obtained a wisp of mid-grade innate ugly spirit essence."

"The other two items are too big to be easily taken out."

Upon hearing this, Shen Yuan's face lit up with joy. He reached out, took the jade bottle, glanced at it, and then handed it to Shen Chongming.

"The innate ugly spirit essence is earth-attribute innate essence. Mu Chang and Mu Yan have been stuck at the Qi Refining Perfection Realm for several years. When you return, give them this wisp of ugly spirit essence and let them break through one level first."

Shen Chongming nodded.

In recent years, many cultivators in Yunshui City have successively reached the peak or perfect Qi Refining realm.

The demand for innate spiritual energy is increasing.

Right now, every wisp of innate essence represents the combat power of a Nascent Soul Realm cultivator.

"Now that your third uncle is back, with him around, this so-called harvest plan shouldn't pose much of a risk."

"The rest of the work is up to you two, uncle and nephew."

After responding, Shen Chongming suddenly turned to Shen Wen'an with curiosity and cupped his hands in greeting: "What level of strength has Third Uncle reached now?"

As the current leader of the Shen family, he needs to understand the specific strength of each family member in order to maximize his benefits in the upcoming harvest plan.

Shen Wen'an pondered for a moment and said, "Below the Golden Core stage, in a one-on-one fight, no one is a match for Third Uncle."

“At the normal level of perfect embryonic breathing, even three to five people should be unable to do anything to Third Uncle.”

Although he felt that he should now have the strength to fight against a Golden Core Realm expert, he did not make any rash statements since he had not yet tried.

Upon hearing this, Shen Chongming's face broke into a broad smile!
He is invincible below the Golden Core stage, and cannot be harmed by three or five cultivators at the peak of the Embryo Breathing stage.

This strength is sufficient for the current Yangnao Land.

After all, apart from Jiang Xiuqi, there are no Golden Core cultivators in Yangnao Land now.

……

The matter of the great harvest should have been a private agreement among the top powers in Yangnao Land, and it was inconvenient to reveal it to the common people and those rogue cultivators under their jurisdiction.

However, someone has secretly leaked this news.

In no time, the common people and independent cultivators of the entire Yangnao Land received the news that a major war would break out between various forces a month later, and the entire Yangnao Land would inevitably suffer devastation.

The news spread like wildfire, causing widespread panic.

The Zhili Prefecture occupied by Canaan Temple and its vast territory were originally considered sacred places by many commoners and independent cultivators. Now that this news has spread, even more cultivators and commoners have flocked to it.

The Golden Core forces bordering the territory of Canaan Temple didn't seem to care much about this.

They never wanted to bother with managing worldly affairs, so it was actually quite good that the common people and independent monks fled to Canaan Temple.

The people of Canaan Temple are raising them; when the time comes to harvest, we can simply take them back.

Xingyang City.

The Shen family ruled over five cities, with Yunshui City being a newly built city, surrounded by the original four cities.

Originally, Xingyang City was connected to Zhili Prefecture and Jinghe Prefecture among the four cities, and Anyang City was also connected to Jinghe Prefecture, but it was closer to Yingchuan Prefecture.

The two cities of Chungui and Hejian on the west side are both adjacent to Yinlong Mountain.

Upon closer examination, the four cities under the Shen family's jurisdiction border four Golden Core forces, putting them in a very precarious situation.

The City Lord's Mansion of Xingyang City.

Liu Jing, the head of the Liu family, sat solemnly in the main seat, with seven direct descendants of the Liu family sitting in front of him.

After nearly a century of development, the Liu family now has dozens of cultivators, the most powerful of whom is an old man sitting next to Liu Jing.

This person is Liu Quan, Liu Jing's cousin, who has a peak cultivation level of the ninth level of Qi Refining.

"The rumors circulating in the streets are probably true. The main family just granted autonomy to us, the various affiliated families, and then this happened. It's really quite strange."

Liu Jing spoke in a deep voice.

Beside him, Liu Quan, a peak ninth-level Qi Refining cultivator, stroked his beard and said in a deep voice, "Does the patriarch mean that the head of the family did this on purpose?"

Upon hearing this, the expressions of the Liu family's direct descendants below changed drastically.

"Uncle, be careful what you say!"

A middle-aged man dressed in a dark green brocade robe and sporting a mustache quickly cupped his hands in greeting.

Liu Quan smiled faintly: "I have already set up a protective barrier here to isolate our auras, unless you are the kind of people who would sacrifice your own family for the greater good."

"Otherwise, what we say here today would never have reached the ears of our master."

Upon hearing this, the middle-aged man with the mustache breathed a slight sigh of relief. After pondering for a moment, he still spoke up, saying, "The master would not do such a thing."

Liu Quan chuckled awkwardly, "I was just joking."

He glanced at the middle-aged man with the mustache, then turned to Liu Jing and asked, "Has the master's family given any response on this matter?"

Liu Jing shook his head slightly.

Upon receiving this news, not only the Liu family of Xingyang, but also the Zhao family of Anyang, the Liu family of Chungui, and the Lü family of Hejian, all hurriedly sent people to Yunshui City to verify the matter.

However, Yunshui City simply told them not to panic, as everything was under control.

Although everyone believed that the Shen family could handle the matter well, they still could not be completely at ease.

"The head of the family should be prepared for both possibilities."

After a moment's thought, Liu Quan's eyes flashed with a sharp light as he spoke in a deep voice.

Liu Jing remained silent, a hint of struggle flickering in his eyes.

After a long silence, he seemed unwilling to continue the discussion and changed the subject, asking, "Are there any signs of the common people under Xingyang's jurisdiction fleeing?"

Upon hearing this, the people below reported the situation in various towns and cities of Xingyang.

The people of Yunzhong County still trusted Luoxia Mountain and the Shen family. Although the news caused panic, only a very small number of the people and rogue cultivators who had originally fled from outside escaped to Zhili County and sought refuge with Canaan Temple.

The remaining locals still believed that the Shen family could protect them.

"Let's not scare ourselves."

Seeing the dazed look on everyone's face, Liu Jing understood that no matter how he changed the subject, they were still thinking about the upcoming battle.

After enjoying good times for too long, each member of the clan became a "celestial being" in the eyes of ordinary people.

Having controlled a city and acted arrogantly for decades, how could one not be worried about being killed or kidnapped?
"Although the master allowed us to govern ourselves, he did not say that he would abandon us."

"In the end, Xingyang City still belongs to the Shen family; my Liu family is just managing it on their behalf."

"If cultivators from the Southern Frontier were to attack, the Liu family would be unable to defend themselves. At most, they would lose the lives of their clan, but for the main family, it would mean the loss of a large territory."

"So the family can't possibly ignore this matter."

"Go ahead and get busy."

Liu Jing waved his hand, speaking in a seemingly casual manner.

Seeing this, the people below did not say anything more, and they all stood up, bowed, and withdrew.

"Uncle Quan, you should go back and rest too."

After everyone had left, he stood up, cupped his hands in greeting to Liu Quan beside him, and then walked outside.

After returning home from the city lord's mansion, Liu Jing's eyes were gloomy.

"father."

Liu Wenzhi, the eldest son of the Liu family, who was dressed with a somewhat scholarly air and held a sword in his hand, respectfully cupped his hands when he saw him return.

"Are those people in the clan worried about that rumor again?"

Liu Jing sighed heavily and said, "The rumor is very likely true."

"Your uncles' concerns are not without merit."

Upon hearing this, Liu Wenzhi frowned slightly and said in a low voice, "Father, are you worried that the master's family won't be able to withstand it?"

Liu Jing remained silent.

As the head of a subordinate family, he actually understood the Shen family better than outsiders.

The person who knows the strongest in the Shen family right now is actually the Third Master, Shen Wen'an.

However, once the great war breaks out, the four cities under the Shen family's rule are generally adjacent to four Golden Core forces. The two cities of Chun Gui and He Jian are relatively easy to deal with, as they only need to face some mindless demonic beasts.

However, the two cities of Xingyang and Anyang need to face three major Golden Core forces: the Yin Corpse Sect, the Fushan Kingdom, and the Canaan Temple.

No matter how strong Shen Wen'an is, he will be unable to be in two places at the same time and cannot defend two cities simultaneously.

His concern wasn't that the main family couldn't hold out, but rather that, compared to the Liu family, the main family would likely favor Anyang City, where the Zhao family was based.

After all, the two families are related by marriage and have a personal relationship.

As for the Liu family, because of the matter involving Liu Yiran and her brother and Shen Chongxu, they certainly didn't have a good impression in the eyes of the main family.

"Wenzhi, find an opportunity in the next couple of days to send Xu'er and her brother away again."

After some thought, Liu Jing suddenly spoke up.

The "Xu'er siblings" he mentioned are Liu Wenzhi's two children.

Liu Wenzhi inherited his father's womanizing ways. At only thirty-something years old, he already had more than ten wives and concubines, and his children were already over twenty years old. "My lineage must continue in the end."

"Make sure things are done cleanly, and don't let the main family or the clan head find anything out."

Upon hearing this, Liu Wenzhi's gaze deepened, and he cupped his hands in a respectful gesture: "Father, rest assured, I already have connections when I sent my two younger brothers away back then."

Liu Jing nodded with a smile.

……

Time flies, and in the blink of an eye, the day agreed upon by the eight forces has arrived.

In the main hall of the Zhili Imperial City, Shen Chongming and his eight companions gathered together once again.

"Everyone is very punctual."

Seeing that all eight people had arrived ahead of time, Lan Jue spoke with a smile.

"Alright, enough talk, just tell me how the draw works."

Among the crowd, a dark-faced old man with a sinister expression spoke in a cold voice.

This old man came from the Yin Corpse Sect, and his body exuded a strong aura of death, which made people very uncomfortable.

"That's right, that's right. My ancestor has already sent people to urge us many times. We're waiting for talented people to refine pills, so let's stop dawdling."

Another gaunt old man with two prominent mustaches and a body only five feet tall spoke in a high-pitched voice.

The old man was a rat demon from another demon cave of comparable strength to Mount Dawu, called the Tian Tan Mountain Demon Cave.

Despite being urged repeatedly, Lan Jue didn't get angry.

With a flash of light, he took out eight jade balls of different colors.

Of the eight jade balls, two pairs are the same color.

Clearly, the faction that obtained the jade ball of the same color is the one they will be targeting this time.

"As you all see, I will use magic to cover these eight jade spheres in a moment."

"Fellow Daoists, use your spiritual power to randomly capture them; those of the same color will be grouped together."

Seeing that everyone remained silent, he opened his mouth and exhaled a cloud of blood-red mist, completely enveloping the eight jade spheres.

This crimson mist is clearly able to block a cultivator's divine sense from probing, making it almost impossible for anyone to cheat.

"In that case, I shall go first."

Seeing that everyone was still hesitating, Wu Shi'ao, who was opposite Shen Chongming, suddenly smiled and spoke.

With a wave of his hand, he scooped up a small blue ball from the blood-red mist.

"I'm here too!"

The old man from the Yin Corpse Sect waved his hand, and a small, azure-blue ball was scooped out.

Shen Chongming glanced at the small ball in front of the two of them and flicked it with his finger.

A bolt of lightning disappeared into the blood-red mist, retrieving a red jade ball.

"The three of you were lucky; you didn't run into them."

The three of them produced three different colored balls. Lan Jue smiled and said, "That's good. Now the next few will have a reference."

"I will come."

Seeing that Shen Chongming had already made a move, Luo Yao was not to be outdone and immediately took out a jade ball.

When he opened his palm, the jade ball was a striking deep blue.

Upon seeing this, a smile immediately appeared on the face of the dark-skinned, thin old man from the Yin Corpse Sect.

The remaining people also showed a hint of envy on their faces.

Everyone present knew that after several harvests, the blood food of Yangnao Land was almost gone, except for Yunzhong County under Luoxia Mountain and the five cities under the Shen family's rule, and there was not much left in the territories of other forces.

If the Yin Corpse Sect were to encounter Luoxia Mountain, they could make a fortune simply by plundering a city's worth of food.

In this lottery, all six of them secretly hoped that they could draw Luoxia Mountain and the Shen family.

Now that Luoxia Mountain and Yinshi Sect have formed a group, the remaining four people have all set their sights on Shen Chongming.

"I'll give it a try first!"

That day, the old man from the Tanshan Demon Cave glanced at the red jade ball in front of Shen Chongming and suddenly reached out his palm.

Lan Jue and the others all stared intently at the old man's palm.

I don't want him to get the red jade ball.

Shen Chongming also curiously examined his tightly clenched hands.

Of the remaining factions, Canaan Temple was the one he least wanted to encounter.

This group of guys, who use compassion as a pretext, are probably the most troublesome of the six major Golden Core factions in Southern Xinjiang.

Compared to Canaan Temple and that immortal sect called Huangsheng Sect, he actually preferred that the Shen family's opponents be Tiantan Mountain or the demon cave of Dawu Mountain.

After all, demon cultivators are much easier to deal with than human cultivators.

More importantly, the corpses of monsters can be considered a resource in a certain sense.

The two demon caves coveted the common people and cultivators in the cities under the Shen family's rule, while the Shen family also wanted the corpses of those demon beasts.

"You stinky rat, stop keeping me in suspense!"

But seeing the old man from Tian Tan Mountain clenching his fists and muttering a mysterious prayer, the dark-skinned, thin old man from the Yin Corpse Sect couldn't hold back any longer and spoke up coldly.

The rat demon of Tian Tan Mountain was interrupted. He narrowed his eyes into slits, glanced at him, and slowly opened his palm.

"black?"

Upon catching a glimpse of the jet-black jade ball in the rat demon's hand, Lan Jue secretly breathed a sigh of relief and smiled.

When Shen Chongming saw the black jade ball, he was slightly disappointed.

Now there are three forces left, two of which are the ones he least wants to encounter, especially Canaan Temple.

"Hehe... It's my turn."

The monk from Canaan Monastery, dressed in dark brown robes and with a bald head, smiled and waved his hand, sending out a golden light that slowly drew a jade ball out from the blood-red mist.

Unlike the rat demon of Tian Tan Mountain, this Buddhist monk did not try to be mysterious.

When the jade ball was drawn into the blood-red mist, everyone saw its color.

"Why has Master Huiyuan come to me?"

Upon seeing the blue jade ball appear, Wu Shi'ao of Fushan Kingdom shook his head in regret.

He seemed to know something about Canaan Temple and really didn't want to confront it.

Although Huiyuan was somewhat disappointed, he seemed to be able to accept it. He smiled and said, "Fortunately, the people under the rule of Fushan Kingdom must also be suffering in dire straits. I will do my best to help them then."

Wu Shi Ao sneered: "Is that much confidence from a mage?"

Upon hearing this, Huiyuan simply smiled faintly and did not continue speaking.

On the other side, Lan Jue looked at the last white-bearded elder from Huangsheng Sect and said, "Fellow Daoist Qiao, only our two families are left."

"please."

The white-bearded old man remained expressionless, waving his hand to grab at the blood-red mist, then directly opened his palm.

Upon seeing the color of the jade ball he had chosen, Lan Jue suddenly smiled.

He waved his hand to dispel the blood-red mist in the air, revealing a red jade ball, and then turned to Shen Chongming, saying, "Patriarch Shen, I look forward to your guidance."

A smile appeared on Shen Chongming's face as he nodded in agreement: "Definitely, definitely."

Lan Jue didn't pay attention to the smile on Shen Chongming's face, and turned to look at everyone and said, "I hope everyone enjoys this harvest."

"As agreed, I hope everyone will exercise restraint and not break the rules."

"I'll take my leave."

As soon as he finished speaking, his figure slowly disappeared into the hall.

The rest of the people politely bowed and left.

In the void outside the imperial city, as their parting was imminent, Shen Chongming looked at Luo Yao and cupped his hands, saying, "Senior, please be careful this time. Those guys from the Yin Corpse Sect are not easy to deal with."

Luo Yao nodded and said, "It's alright, Uncle Jiang had already made sufficient preparations beforehand."

"Although he can't take action himself, he can still refine some talismans and array plates for his disciples to use."

Upon hearing this, Shen Chongming's expression turned strange.

"The old man certainly found a good loophole."

Luo Yao chuckled: "He can't really just watch his disciples die one by one in battle, can he?"

"Be careful when you get back. If you are outmatched, send someone to the county town for help immediately. If I can spare any manpower, I will definitely send someone to support you."

Shen Chongming did not refuse, saying that if the Shen family could hold out, they might be able to spare some manpower to help.

They both understood that if they didn't want to give up everything in Yangnao, the two families could only help each other to survive.

If any one falls, the other will find it difficult to withstand the ferocious forces of the southern border.

……

In the Western Wilderness, in the Hidden Dragon Mountain.

After Lan Jue returned first, he immediately gathered all the demon cultivators from the Great Wu Mountain in the entire Western Wilderness.

Aside from Lan Jue, who is at the half-step Golden Core stage, there are four great demons at the perfected Fetal Breathing stage, and forty or fifty demon cultivators ranging from the early to late Fetal Breathing stages, as well as tens of thousands of lesser demons at the Qi Refining stage.

Lan Jue and Bai Shanjun, along with three other cultivators at the peak of the Nascent Soul stage, hovered in the void, gazing down at the numerous lesser demons whose murderous aura soared into the sky.

"This time, I, along with the Black Ape and the Old Goat, will hold off the Shen family cultivators of Yunshui City, while Lord Baishan and the Snow Wolf King will each lead the rest of their men to attack the cities of Chungui and Hejian."

"If we encounter resistance, we should immediately send people to defend against it, so as not to delay the blood plunder."

Lord Baishan and the Snow Wolf King nodded slightly, and then each led a squad of demon soldiers, riding the dense demonic winds, across Hidden Dragon Mountain, heading towards the cities of Chun Gui and Hejian.

Dark, ominous clouds swept across the sky, engulfing villages and towns within the territories of Chun Gui City and He Jian City.

However, in these villages and towns, not only people, but even livestock have disappeared without a trace.

The demon soldiers who rushed down excitedly found nothing and ran back dejectedly to report.

“Mountain Lord, all the two-legged sheep in the village have disappeared, and not even any livestock have been left. The little ones have been busy for half a day, but they haven’t even found a few chicken feathers.”

"Ran?"

Bai Shanjun frowned slightly and looked around.

After a moment's thought, a look of joy suddenly appeared on his face.

"The Shen family must have leaked the news beforehand and smuggled all these sheep into the city!"

"Tell the boys, ignore the villages and towns along the way, follow me straight to Chun Gui City!"

After the order was given, Lord Baishan could not hide his joy and murmured, "It's good that they all ran into the city, saving me the trouble of searching everywhere."

"By taking them all in one go, we can reap even greater rewards."

Below, numerous lesser demons, having received their orders, roared and rode the demonic winds toward Chun Gui City!
Meanwhile, the Snow Wolf King, who was heading to River City, encountered the same situation.

The Snow Wolf King also believed that the common people in the villages and towns must have run into Hejian City.

But when they arrived at Chun Gui and He Jian City, they were surprised to find that the two huge cities were also completely deserted!
The divine sense enveloped the entire city, and there wasn't a single living creature in sight!

This bizarre scene left Bai Shanjun and his companions completely bewildered.

"Mountain Lord, could it be that all these two-legged sheep have gone into hiding?"

A little demon spoke in a fawning tone.

When they were in southern Xinjiang, they would occasionally run into some human villages to plunder and kill prey.

Over time, the human villages and cities near Mount Wushan came up with some countermeasures.

Upon discovering that a powerful demonic beast was approaching, ordinary people scattered and fled, hiding in the mountains, forests, and lakes.

In this situation, aside from a few unlucky ones who will be discovered, most people can escape with their lives.

Lord Baishan, having cultivated himself from a weak demon beast, naturally knew the cunning of humans.

His eyes narrowed slightly, a hint of anger flashing in them.

I thought we could wipe out millions of lives in Chun Gui City in one fell swoop, but I never expected that the common people of Yang Nao Land would also learn this disgusting demon's method.

"Search separately!"

"Each squad must be led by a demon general at the Nascent Soul stage!"

"Find those two-legged sheep even if you have to dig three feet into the ground!"

After a slight pause, he turned to a plump, dark-skinned woman in the late stage of the Fetal Breathing Realm beside him and said, "Mingzhu, you're in charge of this place."

"I will take my men to check out the city to the east."

The fat, dark-skinned spider demon quickly cupped his hands in greeting: "Don't worry, Mountain Lord, this humble demon will definitely find those two-legged sheep!"

Bai Shan Jun didn't speak, but directly ordered nearly a thousand lesser demons to fly towards Xingyang City, which is directly east of Chun Gui City.

After seeing Bai Shanjun and the others leave from afar, hundreds of figures slowly removed their invisibility talismans from the dense forest of a small hill in the distance outside the city.

"Elder Mu, we still can't deal with the remaining demon cultivators."

"There are too many powerful demons at the Nascent Soul Realm, at least a dozen."

At the front of the crowd, a spirited young woman dressed in brown armor and holding a long sword spoke in a low voice.

This girl was Shen You.

Shen You's cultivation has now reached the ninth level of Qi Refining, and the long sword magic weapon she holds is the combat item that Shen Wen'an seized from a late-stage Nascent Soul cultivator of the Sui Huo Sect.

Mu Chang, dressed in a wide gray robe, quietly observed the many demon cultivators searching and flitting about in the distance in Chun Gui City. After a moment of contemplation, he said, "Miss, please send a message to the patriarch."

"With the patriarch taking action, as long as we kill those few powerful demons at the Nascent Soul stage, we should be able to handle the remaining lesser demons."

Shen You nodded and immediately took out a sound transmission stone from her bosom.

Pass the message out.

On the other hand, after returning from the capital of Zhili, Shen Chongming did not go directly back to Yunshui City.

The harvest had been arranged in advance before he went to the capital of Zhili.

Moreover, with his grandfather Shen Yuan and third uncle Shen Wen'an in charge of Yunshui City, he had already planned to play the role of a hunter, cooperating with the Shen family cultivators who had been lurking outside various cities to hunt down the demon cultivators of Dawu Mountain.

Although his current cultivation level is only at the mid-stage of the embryonic breathing stage, he cultivates the true method that best suits him, and he is also a lightning cultivator.

With the secret technique "Purple Thunder Breaking Limit" that he had previously comprehended, he was confident that he could defeat any unsuspecting opponent he was facing, as long as he was not facing a great demon at the Perfected Breathing Realm.

The sound transmission stone in my arms vibrated.

Shen Chongming, who was inside the canopy of the giant ancient tree, immediately took out the sound transmission stone.

"Brother, the opportunity in Chun Gui City is quite good."

Shen Li's voice rang out from the sound transmission stone.

Upon hearing this, a glint flashed in Shen Chongming's eyes. He immediately slapped an invisibility talisman on his body and flew towards Chun Gui City on the wind.

About an hour later, his figure arrived at the grove where Shen You and Mu Chang were hiding.

"Master of the house."

Mu Chang bowed with his hands clasped in greeting.

Shen Li also came up and whispered, "Brother, the great demon who led this group has left. It looks like he went to Xingyang City."

"The thousands of demon cultivators left behind are searching for someone in Chun Gui City."

"Those fully transformed ones are probably all at the Nascent Soul stage, but their exact strength is unknown."

"Do you think we should make a move?"

Despite being a woman, Shen You is very efficient and decisive in her actions and speech, displaying the demeanor of a general.

Shen Chongming's gaze turned to Chun Gui City in the distance.

Above Chun Gui City, a dozen figures were suspended in the void, each ordering the Qi Refining Realm demons below to search the surrounding area.

Shen Chongming said in a deep voice, "Among these eleven Nascent Soul Realm demons, there is none at the Nascent Soul Perfection Realm."

"Hide well and don't let your presence be revealed."

"After I kill those eleven Nascent Soul Realm demons, then you can make your move."

"Remember, finish this quickly, and take all the monster corpses with you when you're done."

After Shen You and Mu Chang nodded solemnly, they had everyone apply an invisibility talisman to their bodies again.

In order to cooperate with the Tianfu Sect, the Shen family planted a large amount of Lingshuo grass to make talisman paper.

Later, the Tianfu Sect withdrew from Yangnao Land, and the spiritual shuttle grass harvested by the Shen family could only be made into spiritual paper, which was used by their own cultivators to practice making talismans.

They naturally couldn't draw high-level talismans, but over the years, they had accumulated mountains of low-level talismans like invisibility talismans and teleportation talismans.

Even many cultivators in Yunshui City displayed considerable talent in talisman-making during the process of drawing these talismans.

Therefore, Shen Chongming was thinking that once the pressure in the southern border region eased a bit, he should find a way to go to Danzhou as soon as possible and use the resources at hand to exchange some talisman-making related inheritances for the cultivators in his clan.

After taking a picture of the invisibility talisman, hundreds of people in the dense forest instantly disappeared.

If a cultivator hadn't come close and carefully examined the area with their divine sense, it would have been impossible to discover it so easily.

After leaving the woods, Shen Chongming found a post station in the south of the city where traveling merchants could rest.

After observing carefully from the inn, he discovered that among the group of Nascent Soul Realm demon cultivators above Chun Gui City, the one with the strongest aura was the plump, dark-skinned woman.

Judging from her aura, the plump, dark-skinned woman was at least in the late stage of the embryonic breathing realm, but definitely had not reached the perfect state.

Because the soul of a cultivator at the Perfected Stage of Fetal Breathing has already begun to transform, given the distance between them, if she were at the Perfected Stage, she should have already discovered her.

Having identified his target, a flash of light appeared in his hand, and he directly took out the magical artifact, Silent Guest.

The low-grade magical artifact, Silent Guest, had been nurtured in the Thunder Pool within his body for several years, and its appearance had already changed drastically.

The bow, originally made of white bones, is now covered with mysterious azure runes, and its aura has become significantly stronger.

Holding the Silent Great Bow in his hand, Shen Chongming hesitated for a moment before taking out a dark red arrow with an even stronger aura!
This arrow was given to him by the sword immortal Ling Shan when he was at the Qingluo Sword Pavilion.

Its quality has reached the level of a mid-grade magic weapon.

To be on the safe side, Shen Chongming still planned to use this arrow in conjunction with the Silent Guest Great Bow, and utilize the "Purple Thunder Breaking Limit" secret technique to unleash his strongest attack and try to kill the fat, dark-skinned woman in one strike.

Holding his breath and concentrating, he drew his bow and nocked an arrow.

The Purple Lightning Breakthrough Technique was activated, causing a surge of lightning-attribute spiritual power within his body, resulting in a needle-like pain in his meridians.

Countless terrifying lightning-attribute spiritual energies surged into the arrow, forming a tiny sapphire-like point of light at the tip, but no other unusual phenomena appeared on the entire arrow.

Shen Chongming drew his longbow to its fullest extent and slowly aimed at the plump, dark-skinned woman several miles away.

The plump, dark-skinned woman, being a spider demon in the late stage of the embryonic breathing realm, possessed extremely keen senses.

Although no suspicious places were found within the range of his divine sense, the faint sense of crisis rising in his heart still made him ready to raise the demonic energy shield at any time!

(End of this chapter)