42: The Royal Family in Danger

Liu Xuan named the three maids Lianer, Meier, and Pinger respectively.

With them for company, Liu Xuan's days became enjoyable once again.

Two months later.

The small courtyard's quiet chamber.

Four milky-white circular Formation Plates were placed at the four corners of the room, with several Spirit Stones set upon each one.

The Spiritual Qi within the room gathered toward the center, forming an area with an extremely high concentration of Spiritual Qi.

A First-Rank Medium Grade Spirit Gathering Formation, consuming one Spirit Stone every two hours, upgraded the original First-Rank Low Grade Cultivation Chamber to a First-Rank Medium Grade level.

A First-Rank Medium Grade Cultivation Chamber was perfectly sufficient for Liu Xuan to Cultivate in; although spending one Spirit Stone a day was somewhat extravagant, it was barely acceptable.

More and more Cultivators were gathering in the county town, and all Cultivation Chambers above First-Rank Low Grade had been occupied by Cultivators at the Late Qi Refining Stage, so this was all Liu Xuan could do.

Liu Xuan circulated his Cultivation Technique to polish and refine his mana, completing his mandatory daily lessons.

Suddenly!

A palpitation came from his heart, and the qi and blood throughout his body surged; he had reached the Body Refining Third Layer!

Impurities were expelled from his body, filling the room with a sour stench, which Liu Xuan casually dispersed.

"Comfortable!"

Liu Xuan felt his physical strength greatly increase, and it was as if he had shed a layer of restraint, leaving his whole body feeling light and exceptionally refreshed.

Since coming to Yongning, Liu Xuan had never been without qi and blood pills, and calculating the time, he was due for a Breakthrough.

He had originally been practicing the Sanyang Body Gathering Cultivation Technique, but he hadn't expected his Body Refining cultivation to break through first!

His Body Refining cultivation had surged ahead, surpassing his Qi Refining cultivation for the first time; sensing the state of his Dantian, Liu Xuan estimated that he would be able to break through to the Qi Refining Third Layer in less than a month.

Once his cultivation broke through to the Qi Refining Third Layer, he would be able to attempt First-Rank Medium Grade Talismans; not only would his ability to earn money increase greatly, but his status would also be significantly elevated.

While Liu Xuan lived peacefully, all of Yongning had not had a single peaceful day.

Zhao Deliang had gone too far, inciting dissatisfaction among many Cultivator Families; they dared not oppose him openly, so they sent Disciples disguised as Robber Cultivators to attack the Sect Enforcement Team from time to time, and casualties occurred every day.

Lu Family Disciples had coordinated with Robber Cultivators to carry out several major operations, causing the Sect Enforcement Team to suffer significant losses, even alarming the two Foundation Establishment Cultivators, Xue Hu and Zou Ming.

The attitude of the Chen Family, another Foundation Establishment Family in Yongning, was also incorrect; they feared that the Red Pine Sect would deal with them as well, so they cooperated on the surface but actually put in little effort.

The Chen Family had another worry.

The Red Pine Sect was a dignified Golden Core Sect, yet they were dragging their feet in responding to the betrayal of the Cultivator Families within their territory; was True Person Xiao truly failing?

Putting in effort for the Sect at this time was not only a waste of energy but also risked being devoured by those Foundation Establishment Cultivators within the Sect; only a fool would do that.

Chen Family Disciples were recalled one after another, and the Family's grand formation was fully activated, looking just as strictly defensive as the Lu Family.

Although the Sect Enforcement Team was powerful, they were struggling to contend against more than half of the Cultivators in all of Yongning.

The Enforcement Team's Cultivators were suffering losses every day, and those recruited Cultivators also put in no real effort, being very perfunctory.

The situation had not improved at all; instead, it had become even worse!

...

The county government's main hall.

Zhao Deliang put away the one hundred First-Rank Low-Grade Arrow Talismans Liu Xuan had delivered and, seeing a hint of worry in Liu Xuan's expression, said with a smile:

"Little Xuan, there is no need to worry about the situation. Support for the Sect Enforcement Team is arriving one after another; the advantage is with us, so there is nothing to fear!"

Zhao Deliang was very satisfied with Liu Xuan; the Talismans he sent allowed him to earn quite a bit, and his subordinates would occasionally send evidence of corruption from officials at various levels, which also allowed him to earn a significant amount.

If it weren't for the fact that he didn't have a daughter, he would have liked to be Liu Xuan's father-in-law just like Lin Tianyue.

"Many thanks for your guidance, Uncle Zhao!"

Liu Xuan did not know why Zhao Deliang was not panicked at all, but he did not ask further.

If even Zhao Deliang wasn't panicked, it was meaningless for him to worry about extraneous matters.

Returning to his small courtyard, the maids Lianer, Meier, and Pinger came up to serve him.

The three women were all pregnant, and Liu Xuan planned to take another trip to the Spring Breeze Pavilion when he had time to buy a few more maids.

"Young Master, a person claiming to be Wang Xiaokang came to visit earlier. Seeing you were not here, he left an invitation and departed."

Lianer presented a red invitation to Liu Xuan with both hands.

"Wang Xiaokang!"

Liu Xuan remembered; back during the Outer Sect Disciple assessment, it was he who had accompanied him to the Dual Cultivation Hall.

Liu Xuan opened the invitation and took a look; it was simply an invitation for him to be a guest at his home.

The Wang Family, where Wang Xiaokang belonged, was a Yongning Qi Refining Family; Liu Xuan remembered that Wang Xiaokang's father was also a constable in Yongning County.

After pondering for a moment, Liu Xuan decided to go.

It would be good to make contact with local families; he could obtain information from different perspectives, making it easier for him to analyze the situation.

Although he could not change the overall situation, being able to know more would make it easier to make the best choices.

...

Western suburbs of Yongning.

The Wang Family Manor.

Seeing his son return alone, Wang Xiaokang's father asked in disappointment: "He didn't agree?"

"Sigh!"

"That's true; the other party is a dignified Inner Sect Disciple and also a patrol envoy; it's understandable if he doesn't dwell on old friendships!"

Wang Weifeng sighed in disappointment.

"That's not it!"

"Liu Xuan wasn't there, so I gave the invitation to his maid; I don't know if he will come or not."

Wang Xiaokang didn't harbor much hope either; the two of them actually didn't have much of a relationship, just that of fellow students at the Dao Academy.

When he saw the information about the patrol envoy Liu Xuan in the Family's intelligence, he had once doubted it was true.

If he had also joined the Sect back then, the two of them, sharing the same plight, might have become good friends.

Thinking of this, Wang Xiaokang glanced at his father, harboring a trace of resentment; back then, for the sake of his younger brother who had better talent, his father had been unwilling to spend money to buy him a spot as an Outer Sect Disciple.

"What about Yan Qingyao? You didn't see her either?" Wang Weifeng asked.

Two Inner Sect Disciples had appeared among his son's Dao Academy classmates; if he had known, he should have let his son join the Sect back then.

If Wang Xiaokang had joined the Sect back then and maintained a relationship with Liu Xuan and Yan Qingyao, the Family's current minor difficulties could be easily solved.

"Yan Qingyao went out; I couldn't find her."

Wang Xiaokang had even less hope regarding Yan Qingyao; they had barely spoken to each other.

"Sigh!"

Wang Weifeng sighed again.

Their Wang Family was just an ordinary Qi Refining Family; the grandfather with the highest cultivation was at the Qi Refining Seventh Layer, but he was already over a hundred years old and had been injured in his early years, so he could only barely exert the strength of a Late Stage Qi Refining Cultivator.

The Wang Family's main industry was a First-Rank Medium Grade Spiritual Vein, which had been converted into a pasture where they raised a herd of Single-Horned Savage Cattle.

The Single-Horned Savage Cattle were First-Rank Low Grade Spirit Beasts; the single horn on their heads could be used in medicine, and their hides could be used for Artifact Refining. Their flesh was also highly nourishing.

By relying on raising Single-Horned Savage Cattle, the Wang Family had prospered, and their clansmen had infiltrated the county government, controlling some power.

But all of this was about to be gone, because their Wang Family's former backer was the Lu Family!

Although they had immediately severed ties after the incident, it was still inevitable that they would be implicated.

After the Enforcement Team came to Yongning, they had been on pins and needles every day, not daring to have even the slightest act of overstepping.

Just a few days ago, their informant at the county government received news that a patrol envoy had already targeted them.