The Immortal Clan begins with deductive intelligence.

The heavy snow has been falling for two days in a row, and it shows no signs of stopping.

As the clan-protecting formation activated, a faint blue light flickered in and out of the snowstorm, keeping the swirling snowflakes outside Cangwu Island.

"It's done."

Xu Changqing withdrew his hand, but his palm was covered in sweat.

The formation was repaired, but the burning spirit stones caused him pain in his heart, liver, spleen, lungs, and kidneys.

The "Sunflower Water Smoke Array," a first-tier low-grade formation, only requires half a low-grade spirit stone to maintain operation for one day.

But if we go all out to resist the wind and snow, the energy consumption will double.

Xu Yanfeng followed behind, carrying a basket of spiritual materials. He was so cold that he was sniffling and his feet were constantly shuffling in the snow.

"Chief, it's so cold today."

The boy tucked his hands into his sleeves and exhaled a puff of white breath: "I heard Uncle Dayou say that it's never been this cold at this time of year. We don't even have enough 'Chiyang charcoal' in our warehouse to burn. Last night, the basin of water in my room froze into a hard lump by midnight."

Xu Changqing looked up and gazed northward.

That's the direction from the depths of the Nanzhu Great Marsh.

The usually hazy, gray expanse where the water meets the sky now appears eerily pale.

"The climate in Daze is unpredictable; it can get quite cold."

Xu Changqing offered words of comfort, but his brow remained furrowed.

Red Sun Charcoal is an ordinary material, made by pressing together a small amount of fire-attribute spiritual slag. It is not valuable, but it is good at burning for a long time.

If even this is lacking, the more than sixty ordinary people and their families on the island will likely have a hard time getting through this winter.

Just then, a muffled rumbling sound suddenly came from above.

The sound was so loud that it caused the snow on the ground to fall down in a rustling sound.

Xu Yanfeng was startled and looked up abruptly.

The clouds parted, and a huge ship, at least twenty feet long, came flying through the air.

The ship was entirely black, with intricate cloud patterns carved on both sides of the hull. A large blue flag hung at the bow, fluttering in the wind, and was embroidered with a long sword piercing through the clouds and mist.

The ship flew extremely low, casting a huge shadow that instantly enveloped half of Cangwu Island.

An immense pressure descended from the sky.

Xu Yanfeng, who was only at the second level of Qi Refining, nearly collapsed to his knees in the snow, his face deathly pale: "What... what is this?"

Xu Changqing reached out and supported the boy's shoulder, channeling his spiritual energy to resist the oppressive force.

"It's a patrol spirit boat from the Qinghe Sword Sect."

That was the behemoth that ruled over this vast expanse of water, the ancestral lineage of the Xu family.

Most of the annual tribute paid by the Xu family ended up in the treasury of the Qinghe Sword Sect.

Several figures dressed in flowing robes could be vaguely seen standing on the deck, their hands behind their backs, their robes fluttering.

Xu Changqing's eyelids twitched, but he still followed the rules and pressed Xu Yanfeng's head down, bowing deeply in the direction the spirit boat had left.

In this world of cultivation, although you don't have to kneel before everyone you see, if a senior from a powerful sect happens to see you staring at their carriage as you pass by, they might casually strike you with a sword aura, and you'd die in vain.

"Boom!"

The spirit boat pierced through the clouds and headed deep into the swamp, leaving only the aftershocks of its airflow to crash into the Xu family's protective formation.

The previously stable blue light shield suddenly began to shake violently.

Xu Changqing felt the ground beneath his feet tremble twice, and his soul, connected to the great formation in his sea of ​​consciousness, felt a slight stinging pain.

He quickly mobilized his spiritual energy to stabilize the array plate.

These old men, they don't even hold back when they pass by.

Xu Changqing watched the departing spirit boat, his eyes dark and unreadable.

"Chieftain, what are they doing in the Great Swamp?"

After recovering, Xu Yanfeng looked at the majestic spirit boat with a mixture of fear and youthful envy in his eyes.

"It's a battle between gods, let's not worry about it."

Xu Changqing also wanted to know what these plague gods were up to.

While spirit boats are common in the Qinghe Sword Sect, warships this long (20 zhang) are rare. They are rarely deployed unless there is a large-scale demon tide.

In the dead of winter, when monsters are dormant, they are making such a large commotion to rush into the depths of the swamp.

There must be a demon in the abnormal situation.

Could something have gone wrong deep within the swamp?

If the "Demon-Slaying Dike" cannot be defended, the first thing to be affected will be the three thousand miles of water surrounding it.

At that point, let alone the fishponds, it's uncertain whether Cangwu Island can even be saved.

"Never mind, never mind."

Xu Changqing shook his head. If the sky falls, the tall ones will hold it up. Since the Qinghe Sword Sect has sent warships, they must be confident.

Thinking of this, he looked away and patted Xu Yanfeng on the back of the head.

"Go back, don't stand here freezing. Wipe your snotty nose."

Xu Yanfeng shrank back, picked up the basket, and ran off to the backyard.

Xu Changqing stood in the snow, not in a hurry to go back inside.

He looked down at his feet.

This chill is off.

……

This eerie cold wave did not dissipate; instead, it intensified over the next two days.

The world was shrouded in a hazy gray, making it impossible to distinguish between day and night.

Inside the main hall of the Xu family residence, the doors and windows were tightly shut.

Xu Dayou, wrapped in an ill-fitting cloak, paced back and forth on the ground with his hands tucked into his sleeves, the soles of his shoes scraping loudly on the blue brick floor.

"Chieftain, something's wrong."

Xu Dayou stopped, his brows furrowed.

"It's eerily cold today."

Xu Changqing sat in the main seat, holding a cup of hot tea in his hands, while also making plans in his mind.

The consumption of spirit stones for the clan's protective formation has increased again in the past two days.

If we keep wasting time like this, we'll burn through all our savings before we even get our money back.

Seeing that he didn't speak, Xu Dayou took two steps closer.

"Chieftain, you said... is the legendary 'White Calamity' coming?"

White disaster.

Legend has it that every two or three cycles of sixty years, a burst of icy energy erupts from the depths of the Great Swamp, freezing everything in its path and extinguishing all life.

A cultivator in the Qi Refining stage would freeze to death if he stayed in the wild for no more than half an hour, and an ordinary person would die instantly upon touching him.

The last time there was a white disaster was two hundred years ago, before the Xu family moved to Cangwu Island.

Xu Changqing glanced at his uncle, his expression remaining calm, and gently blew away the floating leaves on the tea leaves.

"Uncle, don't scare yourself."

"If there really were a White Disaster, the Qinghe Sword Sect would have already issued the Crimson Fire Order to summon its affiliated families to evacuate or activate the Melting Gold Array to resist it."

"The fact that we haven't received a single message from the upper sect indicates that this is just a normal cold wave, albeit a bit stronger than in previous years."

Xu Changqing spoke with certainty, but in reality, he wasn't sure.

The patrol vessel that flew in a couple of days ago still hasn't come out.

But he can't panic.

He is the clan leader. If he panics, the entire Xu family of dozens of people will be thrown into chaos.

Upon hearing this, Xu Dayou seemed to have found a pillar of support and breathed a sigh of relief.

"That's true. Those True Immortals in the Upper Sect have extraordinary abilities. If something happens, they will definitely know before us. No news is good news."

He rubbed his hands together and moved closer to the charcoal brazier.

"However, chieftain, if the weather continues to get this cold, we'll have to send people to break the ice in those ponds to let them breathe, otherwise the fish will suffocate."

Xu Changqing nodded.

"Have people take turns going. Give the tribesmen who are breaking the ice an extra two ounces of spirit beast meat each day, so they don't freeze to death."

At this point, Xu Changqing put down his teacup.

"Speaking of which, judging by the dates, the envoy from the upper sect to collect the annual tribute should arrive in the next day or two, right?"