57: Chen family exterminated

The next day.

Liu Xuan went to the county government office and asked the county magistrate to cancel the arrest warrant for the Flower Snake Gang.

The remaining 156 members of the Flower Snake Gang were all recalled to the county town by She Xiaorong, awaiting Liu Xuan's orders.

Liu Xuan used his authority to arrange for She Xiaorong to join the Law Enforcement Team. All members of the Flower Snake Gang became unofficial personnel under the Law Enforcement Team, responsible for some intelligence work.

The entire Flower Snake Gang had their identities whitewashed. They were now under the jurisdiction of Xia He, a squad leader of the Law Enforcement Team, but in reality, they obeyed Liu Xuan alone.

It was just an ordinary Gang of Martial Artists, so Zhao Deliang didn't say much after learning about it.

"Keep an eye on that kid for me. Tell him to show some restraint. An Innate Martial Artist is not like an ordinary woman; don't let him ruin himself!" Zhao Deliang rubbed his temples and instructed Xia He, who had come to report.

"Uh... Yes!" Xia He felt a blush appear on her face. How could she keep an eye on him? Liu Xuan was simply not a normal person; his capabilities in that regard were terrifyingly strong!

She was already pregnant, and she hesitated whether to tell her Revered Master about it. In the end, she didn't say anything. If she did, she would definitely be scolded, and her Revered Master might even make her abort the child.

Liu Xuan had promised her that once the child was born, he would buy her a top-tier stage-breaking pill, so she wanted to give birth to the child...

That day, after Liu Xuan finished drawing Talismans, She Xiaorong came to report: "Young Master, your father lost money at a casino in Tianma Town and was detained by the local Gang. Their people found me and demanded that you pay the debt!"

"Looking for me to pay the debt?" Liu Xuan asked with a calm expression. "How much money do they want?"

"Two hundred Spirit Stones!" She Xiaorong replied.

"Did Liu Yi lose all of it?" Liu Xuan asked.

She Xiaorong nodded. "It is said that your father borrowed it from the casino using your identity. My people reported that it was likely the casino people who deliberately instigated it. I heard that the casino owner and your father were acting like brothers at the time."

"Don't worry about this matter. If anyone else comes to find you, just say that person has nothing to do with me and that they found the wrong person!" Liu Xuan instructed.

Tianma Town was over a hundred miles away from the county town. A small Gang there dared to come to him for money; the purpose was likely not that simple.

"Yes!" She Xiaorong acknowledged the order.

Liu Xuan didn't care. The outcome for his father, Liu Yi, would likely be miserable. She Xiaorong didn't think Liu Xuan was heartless. She knew the whole process of the incident, and since Liu Xuan didn't personally take revenge, it could already be considered merciful.

"How is the Lu Family doing?" Liu Xuan asked.

Three days ago, the Sect's newly dispatched army of three thousand arrived in the county town, led by the Foundation Establishment Cultivator Xue Hu.

Now, the Yongning county town Sect Enforcement Team army had seven thousand people, plus the three thousand local Cultivator troops, bringing the total number of the Cultivator army to ten thousand.

Elder Zou Ming ordered Zhao Deliang to take three thousand people to guard the county town, while he and Xue Hu led seven thousand troops and two second-tier cloud-breaking flying ships, heading straight for the border Spirit Stone mine.

Liu Xuan was one of the three thousand left behind, so he didn't need to follow the army to fight.

"The news has already come back. The Formation at the Spirit Stone mine was broken. The Lu Family and their vassals surrendered on the spot. The army changed direction and has already headed towards the Lu Family territory, intending to wipe out the Lu Family in one go." She Xiaorong replied.

Liu Xuan was not surprised. With an army of seven thousand dispatched, and two Foundation Establishment Cultivators leading, even if the Spirit Stone mine had a second-tier Formation guarding it, it definitely wouldn't be able to hold out. Once the Red Pine Sect went all out, the Lu Family, a mere Foundation Establishment Family, definitely couldn't stop them.

It was just that Liu Xuan didn't understand why they had dragged their feet until now when it could have been solved much earlier. Was the purpose of this army deployment really just the Lu Family?

Although the Cultivator army was powerful, their speed wasn't fast. The Lu Family would definitely be able to discover them in advance. Would they just sit and wait for death?

Five days later.

Liu Xuan heard an unexpected piece of news from She Xiaorong and Xia He.

The Lu Family surrendered, and the Chen Family had been exterminated!

The entire Chen Family was wiped out. The Old Ancestor at the Mid-stage Foundation Establishment self-detonated and died. Hundreds of Qi Refining clan members and hundreds of vassals, over a thousand Cultivators in total, were all annihilated!

"How was the Chen Family the one exterminated?" Liu Xuan was shocked.

She Xiaorong also looked confused. "I heard that after the Lu Family surrendered, they reported many illegal activities of the Chen Family, so the Enforcement Army stopped by the Chen Family on the way. After a great battle, the Chen Family was destroyed!"

A thoughtful look appeared on Xia He's face. "The Sect's target was likely the Chen Family from the very beginning. All previous actions might have been to numb them."

By now, the Sect's true purpose was clear. The Lu Family was just a smokescreen, and the Spirit Stone mine might also have been a smokescreen. This was a setup for the Chen Family.

It was just that Liu Xuan couldn't understand why the Sect would go to such great lengths to deal with one Chen Family.

Yongning was in chaos, and taxes would decrease in the future. In the short term, they could profit, but in the long run, it would definitely be a loss.

Both the Lu Family and the Chen Family were vassals of the Red Pine Sect, paying a large amount of taxes every year. If they wiped out such a Chen Family, how would the other Foundation Establishment Families in the territory feel?

Once the situation lost control, all the Cultivation Families in the territory would resist together, and the status of the Red Pine Sect might even be shaken.

'It seems that the rumor of True Person Xiao's deadline approaching is not a rumor, otherwise he wouldn't do such a thing that destroys his own Foundation!'

...

Chen Family territory.

White Crane Lake.

The entire White Crane Lake was shaped like a white crane spreading its wings, hence the name.

At the bottom of White Crane Lake was a tier 2 medium grade Spiritual Vein. With the lake as the center, the surrounding several miles were all spirit fields, originally planted with various spirit plants, but now most of them had been destroyed by the war.

Two second-tier cloud-breaking flying ships hovered over White Crane Lake. Zou Ming, Xue Hu, Wang Qiao, and Lu Pingan, the four Foundation Establishment Cultivators, gathered together, listening to their subordinates report on the gains from the Chen Family.

As a Foundation Establishment Family that had operated in Yongning for over a hundred years, the supplies, Spirit Stones, and spirit materials stored in their warehouse were extremely abundant.

"Senior Brother Wang, the various materials seized from the Chen Family total 98,000 Spirit Stones. This is the ledger, take a look." Zou Ming flicked his sleeve, and a booklet flew out, hovering in front of Wang Qiao.

"I won't look at it. Give it to Junior Sister Xiao instead!" Wang Qiao took the booklet, didn't open it, and passed it to a beautiful woman beside him.

The woman was stunning, wearing a crimson magic robe, with a noble temperament. Her name was Xiao Ran. She only had Qi Refining Perfection cultivation, but Wang Qiao called her Junior Sister because she was the granddaughter of True Person Xiao.

Xiao Ran didn't stand on ceremony either. She took the ledger and flipped through it carefully, saying, "Although the Chen Family is destroyed, the affairs of Yongning are not over yet!"

"Fellow Senior Brothers, Yongning cannot fall into chaos. The task of pacifying the various families and cracking down on troublemakers will have to trouble you all!"

"Also!" Xiao Ran looked at Lu Pingan. "Patriarch Lu, the matter of mining the Spirit Stone mine needs to be put on the agenda. Ensure that it is all mined within five years!"

The border Spirit Stone mine was not just a smokescreen; a Spirit Stone mine had indeed been discovered, and the reserves were not low, at least 100,000 Spirit Stones.

Spirit Stones could not be mined violently, otherwise, the Spirit Stones would be easily damaged; they could only be dug out bit by bit with human labor.

This Spirit Stone mine was relatively scattered and buried deep. It was not easy to finish mining it in five years.

"As you command!" Lu Pingan bowed and said.

No matter how difficult it was, it had to be done. The Lu Family knew True Person Xiao's purpose. If they didn't do it well, their fate would not be any better than the Chen Family's.