Chapter 41 Encirclement

Since the possessed Luo Sheng and the An Family Head suffered a setback at Chen Li's hands, the two had never appeared in Liangxi County again.

A few days later, two pieces of bad news came from Yeyuan County and Lingchuan County in Yuanwu Prefecture.

One was that in the residence of an immortal clan in Yeyuan County, where the highest combat power was a Cultivator at the Eighth Level of Qi Refining, all the clansmen had turned into dried corpses without anyone noticing; it was only discovered later by clansmen returning from outside.

The other was that the Zhang Family of the Seventh Level of Qi Refining in Lingchuan County discovered the two in advance. Although they resisted desperately, many clansmen were still abducted, and their fate remained unknown.

Upon learning this, Lu Xilou was filled with anxiety. If all the Qi Refining Immortal Clans in the prefecture were wiped out, he, a Foundation Establishment Immortal Clan, would become a commander without an army!

Thus, he immediately formed an Alliance within the prefecture, using sound transmission stones to notify and support each other as soon as the two appeared.

However, the two were incredibly cunning. After a few encounters, they realized an Alliance had been formed in the prefecture and immediately changed their tactics to toy with them.

Luo Sheng would attack one Family alone to draw fire, while on the other side, the An Family Head specifically targeted Qi Refining Immortal Clans with weak defenses, and he actually found quite a few.

When some members of the Qi Refining Immortal Clans returned to help, they found many of their kin had been abducted, causing them to cough up blood in frustration. Their anger had nowhere to go, so they could only express their dissatisfaction to the Lu Family. After paying taxes and tributes for so many years, the time had come for the Lu Family, as a Foundation Establishment entity, to step up!

Lu Xilou's pressure increased instantly!

Inside the main hall of the Lu Family's ancestral grounds, the atmosphere was oppressive!

The Sixth Brother, who was previously at the Seventh Level of Qi Refining, had already cultivated to the Ninth Layer of Qi Refining. He said to Lu Xilou, "Big Brother, these two demonic Cultivators in the prefecture are truly cunning and have many tricks up their sleeves. They possess many Grade 4 Magical Artifacts and techniques. Their cultivation before their Possession must have been quite high, at least at the Late Foundation Establishment Stage."

Continuing, he said, "Why don't we report this matter to the Golden Core Yang Family and ask them to send some people down? We can reveal that these two demonic Cultivators have many high-tier Magical Artifacts, and since their current cultivation is only at the Qi Refinement Stage, I'm sure some Foundation Establishment Cultivators who catch the scent will be interested!"

Lu Xilou had been at his wit's end these past few days. Hearing this, his eyes lit up, and he said, "Sixth Brother's suggestion is excellent. I will write a letter immediately to report to the Yang Family!"

...

At Black Magpie Mountain, Chen Li was planning to create a set of Formations he had never heard of before. From the incident with the two demonic Cultivators, he realized that the early warning functions were inadequate.

The function of this Formation was to sense whether a person was a Cultivator or a Mortal as soon as they stepped into the outskirts of Black Magpie Mountain, and to track their route. This way, he wouldn't have to wait until someone attacked the Formation to know they had arrived.

The moment this idea popped up, Chen Li spent a few days researching it. He found that the technical route for the Formation was sound but would still require some time to perfect.

Today, in the Immortal Teaching Room on the second floor of the Immortal Learning Tower, the recent uproar caused by the two demonic Cultivators provided much inspiration, and he decided to give the Family's Cultivators a lesson!

The lessons for today were "How to Avoid Possession" and "Common Methods Used by Demonic Cultivators."

On the second floor, Chen Li had been presiding over the mountain for the past few days. Nothing had happened, but the jittery atmosphere was still felt by several people.

The sound of explosions outside the mountain a few days ago had been vividly felt by everyone. Today, Chen Li explained what had happened in Yuanwu Prefecture.

Chen Songli and the others also realized the cruelty of the cultivation world. Several Qi Refining Immortal Clans in Liangxi County had vanished in the blink of an eye, which was truly worrying.

At this point, Chen Li spoke, "I have selected several Divine Soul-type Cultivation Techniques for everyone. These two, 'Soul Suppressing Art' and 'Seven Orifices Clarity Method,' are for you to study and strengthen your Divine Soul control. Later, when the opportunity arises, we can create some 'Soul-Extinguishing Talismans'."

Both of these were Grade 3 Cultivation Techniques. He had obtained them from that Foundation Establishment Cultivator of the Luo Family and placed them on the second floor before, but no one had read them. Today, he happened to pick them out!

Chen Songli and the others responded one after another. Among them, Chen Songli expressed her concern, "Father, when can those two demonic Cultivators be eliminated? If they hide in the shadows, how can we defend against them?"

Chen Li thought about the possessed Luo Sheng and the An Family Head. They were indeed in a passive position, which gave Chen Li a headache! Those two must have been at least at the Late Foundation Establishment Stage before their Possession to have so many tricks.

"For now, we can only stay within the Family grounds. With their Qi Refinement Stage cultivation, they won't dare to act recklessly. As long as we are more patient than they are and remain united, they won't necessarily be able to assassinate us!"

Chen Li changed the subject, "As long as the Lu Family isn't stupid and the people above find out, those two will have even less room to survive!"

Chen Songli also felt relieved. Hearing Chen Li's words, she smiled and said, "Yes, as long as Father is here, they certainly won't dare return to our Black Magpie Mountain."

Chen Li nodded with a smile and then went on to introduce the methods of demonic Cultivators, such as devouring human blood, refining human pills, swallowing human souls, and so on.

...

Taihu Mountain Range, Yang Family.

The Golden Core Yang Jing was in an inner hall performing his daily Dual Cultivation with over a dozen female Cultivators. Indulging in pleasure, Yang Jing had handed over the Family's external affairs to the Foundation Establishment Cultivator who had seized the Luo Family's Beiguang West Lake last time.

This Foundation Establishment Cultivator looked to be in his fifties or sixties and was named Yuan Biao.

At this moment, this Foundation Establishment Cultivator was in high spirits in the grand hall. Last time, he had obtained those ten acres of High Grade spirit fields at Beiguang West Lake from the Luo Family for only six thousand Spirit Stones. He had publicized it extensively and recruited three more Loose Cultivator Foundation Establishment practitioners with different surnames.

Although he hadn't yet found the secret of those ten acres of High Grade spirit fields, he believed that given enough time, he would surely be able to uncover it.

Inside the hall, Yuan Biao read Lu Xilou's letter over and over again, then said to the three newly joined Foundation Establishment Cultivators, "My three fellow brothers, take a look at this letter for help from Yuanwu Prefecture."

After they finished reading, one of the Foundation Establishment Cultivators picked up on some details and said to Steward Yuan, "Steward Yuan, I am willing to assist the Lu Family's Foundation Establishment Cultivator in capturing these two demonic Cultivators!"

Another person grew anxious upon seeing this and also said, "Steward Yuan, I have a deep-seated hatred for demonic Cultivators. Let me go!"

The two were at an impasse. Yuan Biao quite enjoyed this and said, "Go together then. Whatever rewards you gain will be up to you."

After the two left, Yuan Biao chuckled! This feeling of holding great power was truly wonderful. He pondered that he should find a few more female Cultivators to send to Yang Jing so he wouldn't get tired of playing or lose interest. Otherwise, once Yang Jing had free time to interfere in affairs, Yuan Biao would have to act like a subservient grandson again.

...

Another month passed. During this month, when the possessed Luo Sheng and the An Family Head appeared again, the three Foundation Establishment Cultivators showed up right on time.

The two didn't expect to be ambushed by three Foundation Establishment Cultivators and immediately used Talismans to flee. However, the three pursuing Foundation Establishment Cultivators seemed to have anticipated this.

Previously, these two outside Foundation Establishment Cultivators of the Yang Family had borrowed Soul-Chasing Dogs from the Beast Hunting Sect in Yang Jing's name. The moment the two appeared, their aura was locked onto by the Soul-Chasing Dogs.

The Soul-Chasing Dogs pursued the two all the way. Seeing the endless stream of Magical Artifacts and Talismans coming from them, the two Yang Family outsiders pursued even more fiercely. They chased them all the way out of the Nanwu Kingdom, with plenty of gear dropping along the way...