The Immortal Clan begins with deductive intelligence.

Xu Xining fell flat on his face in the training ground, but he didn't cry out in pain after getting up. He just dusted himself off and kept wiggling around.

Xu Changqing watched for a while and saw that although his posture was awkward, he was using his cleverness in the right place, so he didn't pay any more attention to it and turned to go to the scripture pavilion on the back mountain.

Despite being called a scripture repository, it was actually just a two-story wooden building. The red paint on the outside had mostly peeled off, revealing the grayish wood stubble inside.

Pushing open the door, a strong smell of old, worn-out paper hit me.

Xu Changqing stepped inside, the wooden planks under his feet creaking and echoing in the empty building.

This place is a forbidden area of ​​the Xu family; only clansmen who have made great contributions are allowed to enter and choose cultivation techniques.

Previously, the first floor here displayed the methods for Qi Refining stage, while the second floor contained the insights and secret techniques left behind by the Foundation Establishment Ancestor, and even two top-grade magic artifacts used by the Ancestor to suppress Qi and luck.

Nowadays...

Xu Changqing looked up at the empty second floor.

The things on those buildings were all taken away by the ancestor thirty years ago to resist the demon tide, and then they never came back.

The remaining assets have been almost entirely depleted by several rounds of turmoil.

Now, these shelves are sparsely furnished with a few jade slips and dozens of thread-bound books, looking rather shabby.

Xu Changqing walked to the wooden shelf marked with the words "Conquest", picked up a dusty jade slip, and stuck it to his forehead.

Water bullet technique.

Xu Changqing pursed his lips and put it back.

This thing is only convenient for watering spiritual fields. When it hits a person, it's like tickling them. Unless you can cultivate to the level of "dripping water wears away stone", it's a waste of spiritual energy.

He then picked up a yellowed booklet.

"The Green Wood Entangling Technique".

This is not bad; it's a wood-based spell that can generate vines to trap enemies.

Unfortunately, Xu Changqing doesn't have the spare money to buy specially made ironwood seeds. The vines he conjures with his spiritual power are as brittle as noodles; they break easily with the slightest effort.

"Isn't there anything more ruthless?"

Xu Changqing rummaged through the shelves.

Although he has now reached the fifth level of Qi Refining and his spiritual power has become much stronger, if it really comes down to fighting, he only knows the health-preserving technique "Evergreen Skill," so he's just waiting to be used as a target.

When he flipped to the bottom corner, a booklet covered in the thickest dust, with even the corners eaten away by insects, caught his attention.

The Spiritual Pivot.

The name sounded rather mysterious, but when Xu Changqing opened it, his brows relaxed.

This is not a traditional Taoist magic technique; rather, it seems to be an unorthodox method evolved from traditional Chinese medicine and acupuncture.

The key is to compress wood-type spiritual energy to the extreme, turning it into fine, hair-like spikes, specifically designed to break through protective spiritual shields, pierce acupoints, and block the flow of spiritual energy in the meridians.

It is insidious, covert, and does not require a large amount of spiritual energy.

The only drawback is its short range, requiring close-range combat, and it demands extremely high control over spiritual energy; a slight misstep could result in it exploding within one's own meridians.

"That's it."

Xu Changqing closed the booklet, a glint of shrewdness flashing in his eyes.

These past few days, because of playing with that peach pit, his micro-management and control of spiritual power has become incredibly refined, and this spell is practically tailor-made for him.

For the next two days, apart from handling necessary clan affairs, Xu Changqing devoted himself to studying the "Ling Shu Ci" (Spiritual Pivot Thorn) in the Sutra Repository.

Beside the fishpond.

Xu Sanshun huddled in a corner of the thatched shed, clutching a communication talisman that had just emerged from the ground. His face was deathly pale, and cold sweat streamed down his face.

"San...San Shun, what did you say?"

Xu Tiezhu watched in horror, forgetting to even put the dark steamed bun in his hand into his mouth.

Xu San flicked his wrist, and the communication talisman turned to ashes.

He gritted his teeth, puffed out his cheeks a few times, and finally managed to squeeze out a sound through his teeth:

"That manager surnamed Zhang got anxious."

"He said we were lying to him, saying that if the fish really had rotten intestines, how could it have been eating even more these past two days?"

Upon hearing this, Xu Tiezhu was so frightened that he dropped his steamed bun on the ground. Without even picking it up, he trembled and asked, "Then...what do we do? We didn't lie! It was the clan chief himself who said it was a final burst of energy before death!"

"People don't believe it!"

Xu Sanshun suddenly stood up and spun around twice, like a trapped mad dog.

"They gave us a direct order: since the fish aren't all dead yet, we have to find a chance tonight to pour in the remaining half-bottle of medicine!"

"If this fish isn't belly up by tomorrow morning, not only will we not receive the promised spirit stones, but they'll also expose our collusion with the Zhang family to Xu Changqing!"

Xu Tiezhu's face turned green, and he collapsed to the ground.

"This is driving us to our deaths! Although the clan leader hasn't been around much these past few days, I always feel like someone's watching us..."

"To not do it is to die!"

A ruthless glint flashed in Xu Sanshun's eyes.

"We're already on this pirate ship, there's no getting off. Let's make our move tonight! Once all the fish are dead, the Xu family will be finished. Then we can run away and make our own way, what can they do to us then!"

into the night.

Xu Changqing sat in his study, with the book "Ling Shu Ci" on the table in front of him. A faint blue light appeared at his fingertips, then vanished into nothingness and disappeared into the air.

"I've mastered it."

Xu Changqing finished his work, a satisfied look on his face.

"Knock knock knock".

A very faint knock sounded on the door.

"Enter."

Xu Dayou pushed open the door and entered, his expression somewhat solemn, yet also carrying a hint of excitement.

"Chief, the news is confirmed."

Xu Dayou walked to the table and said in a low voice, "This morning, Zhang Xianzhu took two of the Zhang family's best fighters and went to the Demon-Slaying Dike in a spirit boat."

"Gone?"

Xu Changqing tapped his fingers lightly on the table, making a crisp sound.

"Good riddance."

With Zhang Xianzhu gone, the Zhang family lost a combatant at the seventh level of Qi Refining. Although the old ghost Zhang Shichang was at the ninth level of Qi Refining, he was old and cherished his reputation, so he would not easily leave his old lair on Ling'ao Island.

This means that the area around Cangwu Island is safe for the next few days.

"Chieftain, then let's..."

Xu Dayou made a throat-slitting gesture, his eyes filled with murderous intent.

These past few days, seeing those two traitors roaming right under his nose, being fed and cared for, had been fueling his pent-up anger.

"It's come to an end after all this time. The Zhang family isn't stupid; it's unlikely they can keep delaying us with these two."

Xu Changqing stood up, straightened his sleeves, and looked indifferent.

"Let the tribesmen on night patrol leave and make way for them."

......

Xu Sanshun hunched his neck, clutching the porcelain bottle in his arms tightly with one hand. He had just taken it out of his inner pocket, and it was still warm from his body.

The bottle contained the remaining half-bottle of Rotten Vine Juice.

"Hurry up! What are you dawdling for!"

Xu Sanshun turned around and kicked Xu Tiezhu, who was trembling behind him, and cursed in a low voice, "You're always the one leading the way when it comes to eating meat, but why are you like a sick chicken now?"