4: Chapter 4: Sword Bone Shocks the Clan, Blood Light Warning

On the morning of the third day, a sudden anomaly appeared above Qingyun Peak of the Lu Family.

A strand of Sword Qi, as thin as a hair, shot straight up from the courtyard, piercing through the clouds and leaving a fleeting white mark in the sky.

At the same time, all Cultivators within a radius of several miles felt an inexplicable pressure of Sword Intent, like thorns on their backs.

The Disciples practicing swordsmanship stopped their movements.

The patrolling guards looked up.

Lu Shouxuan of the Scripture Pavilion put down the classic he was holding, his eyes flickering slightly.

Lu Changyuan stood under the corridor of the courtyard, watching Leng Feng in the yard with a calm expression.

Leng Feng stood in the center of the yard, the wooden stick having fallen to the ground at some unknown moment.

His hands trembled slightly as he desperately suppressed the power Awakening within his body.

The Sword Bone was Awakening.

The creation pill had repaired his Meridians and bones, and once the bones were restored, the talent that had been suppressed by the Seal for many years became like a flood breaking through a dam, impossible to hold back any longer.

"Do not suppress it," Lu Changyuan said, his voice calm, "Let it out."

"It will bring trouble," Leng Feng gritted his teeth, "This kind of disturbance—"

"I will handle it."

Leng Feng glanced at him, then released the will he had been forcibly suppressing.

The next moment, a pure Sword Intent erupted from the depths of his bones. Though invisible and intangible, it caused all the plants in the courtyard to bend to the sides at the same instant, as if bowing to some higher existence.

In the sky, thin clouds were sliced apart by the Sword Intent and dispersed.

The entire Qingyun Peak fell into a moment of silence.

Then, footsteps surged from all directions.

Lu Changyuan did not move; he simply stood under the corridor, waiting.

The fastest to arrive was the Grand Elder Lu Xuanming, Late Foundation Establishment Stage, the backer of his elder brother Lu Changchuan.

He landed outside the courtyard and examined Leng Feng for a moment across the courtyard wall. His eyes held unconcealable shock and greed: "This is... a natural Sword Bone?"

"Yes," Lu Changyuan admitted calmly.

"Where did this child come from?"

"He is my person."

Lu Xuanming's gaze lingered on Lu Changyuan for a moment before turning to Leng Feng, his tone becoming amiable: "Child, are you willing to join the direct line of the Lu Family's Sword Cultivators? This old man can personally guide your cultivation—"

"He has already sworn an oath to the Heavenly Dao," Lu Changyuan interrupted, his tone still calm but carrying an unquestionable certainty, "to pledge his loyalty to me."

Outside the courtyard, Lu Xuanming's expression changed slightly.

An oath to the Heavenly Dao cannot be violated or transferred.

He was silent for a moment, then finally withdrew his gaze and turned to leave, his back somewhat stiff.

Lu Changyuan watched the direction in which he left, his eyes as calm as water.

Several streaks of light soon landed outside the courtyard gate.

Those who arrived were not just the patrol deacons, but also several elders of the clan who usually couldn't be bothered to set foot in the side courtyards of Qingyun Peak.

They stood outside the courtyard without entering immediately, their gazes fixed on Leng Feng. Shock, hesitation, greed, and calculation—all sorts of emotions flashed through those eyes.

Lu Changyuan did not speak to drive them away; he merely stood under the corridor, as if drawing a line for the youth in the yard who had just awakened his Sword Bone.

The line is here.

And the person is his.

Those gazes lingered in the yard for a while, but in the end, no one crossed the threshold.

The Grand Elder had already hit a soft nail, so they were even less willing to rashly step forward at such a time.

A moment later, the streaks of light dispersed one after another, leaving only the residual ripples of Spirit power in the air that had not yet fully dissipated.

Leng Feng clenched his fists, a faint sound of swords humming still echoing between his joints. He whispered: "They all want me."

"From the moment you revealed these bones, there will always be people who want you," Lu Changyuan said in a flat tone, "So you must understand sooner than they do: standing behind whom will allow you to stay alive and utilize this talent."

Leng Feng was silent for a moment, then clasped his hands: "This subordinate understands."

It took less than half an hour for the news to reach the Family head.

The Lu Family head, Patriarch Lu Yunshen, Middle Stage Golden Core, was the undisputed highest authority of the entire Lu Family.

His method of summoning Lu Changyuan was simple: a transmission Jade Slip with three words: Come see me.

The Patriarch's study was located on the main peak of Qingyun Peak. The furnishings were simple, yet everywhere it exuded an oppressive majesty.

Lu Changyuan entered and saluted: "Father."

Patriarch Lu Yunshen sat on the main seat, examined him for a moment, and asked: "That youth with the natural Sword Bone, did you buy him at the black market?"

"Yes."

"How much did it cost?"

"One hundred Mid-Grade Spirit Stones, plus one creation pill."

There was silence in the study for a moment.

Patriarch Lu Yunshen's expression did not change much, but his finger, which had been gently tapping on the table, stopped.

"You know what a natural Sword Bone implies," he said slowly, his tone carrying something Lu Changyuan had never seen on his father's face, "How did you know that child had this Physique?"

"Luck," Lu Changyuan lied calmly, "plus a bit of discernment."

Patriarch Lu Yunshen looked at him for a long time.

Finally, he stood up, walked to the storage array on one side of the study, took out several items, and placed them before Lu Changyuan.

"One hundred thousand Low-Grade Spirit Stones," he said, placing them down one by one in a steady voice, "the Formation Plate and Formation Flags for a Tier 3 Island Protection Formation, a boundary suppression stele, a medium-sized trans-oceanic spirit boat, three foundation establishment pills, and the deployment orders for fifty elite Dao soldiers."

Lu Changyuan looked at the items on the table without speaking.

"You are going to the Star Sea to pioneer," Patriarch Lu Yunshen sat back in the main seat, his tone returning to its usual calmness, "This is the starting capital you deserve. In addition, your Cousin-Uncle Lu Tianming is stationed at Zhenhai Immortal City; go see him when you get there."

"Yes, Father."

"Also," Patriarch Lu Yunshen paused, "cultivate that child well."

Lu Changyuan saluted and exited the study.

Walking on the stone steps of Qingyun Peak, he felt the heavy weight in his Storage Pouch. His expression was calm, but something in his heart had quietly loosened.

Father is, after all, still Father.

After returning to the Immortal Cave, Lu Changyuan was in no rush to rest; instead, he laid out the newly acquired items one by one on his desk.

One hundred thousand Low-Grade Spirit Stones seemed like an astonishing amount, but when converted into the Mid-Grade Spirit Stones that could circulate in the Star Sea, it was only a little over a thousand.

Buying a ship, raising soldiers, setting up formations, supplies, gathering intelligence—none of these were small expenses.

Without this starting capital, even if he left Yunzhou with the pioneering order, it would be very difficult for him to gain a foothold on the first island.

The Tier 3 Island Protection Formation was even more of a top priority.

Before the island was taken, it was just a trump card; once the island was taken, it would be the first threshold in Lu Changyuan's hands that could truly stop a Foundation Establishment Cultivator.

As for the spirit boat and the Dao soldier deployment orders, it meant that what the Family gave this time was not just a few inanimate objects, but the qualifications for him to truly go to the Star Sea and fight for the first breath of a foothold.

When Lu Changyuan put these items back into his Storage Pouch, he already had a rough order in his mind.

How to allocate the Spirit Stones, when to activate the Formation Plate, when to take over the Dao soldiers, whom to see first when arriving at Zhenhai Immortal City, and whom to handle later—he had to plan it all out in advance.

Because the Star Sea is not Qingyun Peak; there, taking one step too slow or making one wrong calculation often costs one's life.

That night, Lu Changyuan returned to his Immortal Cave and was preparing to organize his supply list before departure when the heavenly secret jade slip in his Sea of Consciousness suddenly lit up with a blood-red light.

Not gold, but blood-red.

He had never seen a Jade Slip emit light of this color.

He immediately sank into his Sea of Consciousness and saw a line of blood-red text slowly emerging on the surface of the Jade Slip. The handwriting was clearer than usual, as if deliberately emphasizing some urgency:

[Black Wind Gorge, Tier 2 lethal formation has been set up. Those who pass will surely die. Do not take this route.]

Lu Changyuan stared at these words for a long time.

Black Wind Gorge was the most conventional route to the Endless Star Sea, and also the fastest.

Almost all pioneers leaving from Yunzhou would pass through there.

Someone had set up a lethal formation there, specifically waiting for him.

He slowly withdrew from his Sea of Consciousness, sat at his desk, and tapped his fingers gently on the table.

Who is it?

Currently, he did not have enough intelligence to judge.

But this was not important; what was important was—

A cold sneer curled the corner of his lips.

Want to intercept and kill him at Black Wind Gorge?

Then he would just take the Thunderstorm Sea area.

It would be a detour, taking a few more days, but at least he could arrive at his destination alive.

He picked up his brush, crossed out the route through Black Wind Gorge on the navigation map, marked a detour path, and casually wrote a few words beside it:

"Let's see who dies first."