73: Work hard

Thousands of Sect Enforcement Team members flew out from the cloud-breaking flying boat, surrounding the entire Tianma Town.

Seeing that the Sect army had arrived, the group of Robber Cultivators immediately panicked, scattering and fleeing like headless flies.

Among the hundreds of Robber Cultivators, only one hundred were elites trained in Formations, while the rest were small fry like the brothers Chen Shijie and Chen Shiqiang; how could they be a match for the Law Enforcement Team army?

The situation was one-sided; the Robber Cultivators were killed one after another, most knelt to surrender, and the black-clad leader at the Late Qi Refining Stage was also wounded and captured.

On the cloud-breaking flying boat.

Xiao Ran's expression was calm as she carefully observed the scene below, not letting any detail slip by.

After the situation completely calmed down, two streams of light flashed by, and two figures appeared beside her: the Foundation Establishment Cultivators Zou Ming and Xue Hu.

"Two Senior Brothers, did you discover anything unusual?" Xiao Ran asked.

Zou Ming and Xue Hu shook their heads simultaneously; they were each responsible for half of Tianma Town, using their Divine Sense to monitor for abnormal fluctuations, but they found nothing.

"Junior Sister, you should think of another way; this person is too cautious, and continuing like this is not a solution!" Zou Ming said.

Xiao Ran's brows furrowed slightly, her breathing deepened, and she could barely suppress the anger in her heart.

The cause of everything was that mysterious Foundation Establishment Cultivator; the reason the Robber Cultivators in Yongning could not be wiped out was because this person was leading them from the shadows.

In order to deal with this person, Xiao Ran had secretly invited Xue Hu back, intending to surround and kill him.

However, this mysterious Foundation Establishment Cultivator was extremely cautious, and no one knew his specific whereabouts.

Xiao Ran had arranged for her own people to infiltrate the Robber Cultivators' ranks several times, hoping to analyze the places where this person might appear based on their actions, but unfortunately, she failed every time.

The cloud-breaking flying boat had been deployed several times, and she feared the opponent had guessed her intentions, making it even harder to find him.

It was too difficult to find a Foundation Establishment Cultivator who wanted to hide their identity!

"Let's wear him down!"

"I want to see if you can keep hiding and never come out!"

Xiao Ran's eyes became fierce, and an aura of murderous intent radiated from her body.

She cupped her hands towards the two Foundation Establishment Cultivators and said politely, "I have troubled both Senior Brothers!"

"No trouble!"

"No trouble!"

Xue Hu returned the salute, "Since that is the case, I still have matters to attend to in Gumu County, so I will not stay any longer!"

After speaking, he cast an escape technique and flew away through the air.

There were also Robber Cultivators causing trouble in Gumu County, and Xue Hu had to return to hold the fort; he could not leave for too long.

Zou Ming exchanged a few polite words and also took his leave; he hadn't been interested in this matter to begin with.

"Senior Sister, everyone has been captured; we have 381 Cultivator prisoners, 77 Martial Artists, and 189 killed."

Not long after Xue Hu and Zou Ming left, a female Cultivator in white stepped forward to report.

The female Cultivator was dressed in white as snow, with a capable temperament; if Liu Xuan were here, he would recognize her at a glance—she was Yan Qingyao's fellow apprentice, Zhou Xiaozhu.

After Zhou Xiaozhu recovered from her injuries, she was immediately transferred to work under Xiao Ran, as the two had a good friendship when they were at the Sect.

"Send people to interrogate them strictly, then cripple their cultivation and send them to White Crane Lake to be slaves!" Xiao Ran ordered indifferently.

Since they chose to be Robber Cultivators, they had to pay the price; Xiao Ran did not have any sympathy, and regardless of the reason, she would not let any of them go!

"The Mayor of Tianma Town, Zhou You, wants to pay you a visit... should we see him?" Zhou Xiaozhu asked.

"No need!"

Xiao Ran waved her hand, "Take the prisoners and the captured supplies, and we will head back directly."

After coming to Yongning, Xiao Ran felt increasingly stifled; the Robber Cultivators were rampant and often able to predict her actions, which meant that local families and even the Law Enforcement Team had already been infiltrated.

She could not trust anyone now; she always felt that everyone harbored ulterior motives.

She could not trust officials like Zhou You who had been stationed in the local area for a long time, so there was no need to see him.

The Sect increased taxes, but it was not just the local families who were dissatisfied! There were countless dissatisfied people within the Sect as well, only they dared not show it.

Half of the Sect Disciples were from various families; these people were in the Sect but still enjoyed the support of their families. When their families' interests were damaged, it was effectively the same as their own interests being damaged.

The cloud-breaking flying boat started moving slowly. Xiao Ran rubbed her temples and suddenly asked Zhou Xiaozhu beside her: "How is it over in Yongning City? Has anything major happened?"

"The city is quite stable; nothing major has happened..."

Zhou Xiaozhu's expression became strange, "If we are talking about major events, the newly established Yongning Merchant Alliance counts as one."

"Yongning Merchant Alliance?"

Xiao Ran looked puzzled.

Zhou Xiaozhu explained: "The Yongning Merchant Alliance was spearheaded by a person named Liu Xuan, who is a subordinate of Zhao Deliang. He has basically brought together all the families in the vicinity of the city suburbs."

"After the Yongning City Law Enforcement Team army was transferred away, the reason the suburbs could remain so stable is because of this Yongning Merchant Alliance."

"Oh?"

Xiao Ran looked surprised!

The relationships between those families in the suburbs were complex, and their interests were intertwined; it was not that easy to truly bring them together.

"With Zhao Deliang's greedy nature, which families could be convinced?" Xiao Ran asked curiously.

"They are not convinced by Senior Brother Zhao, but by Liu Xuan!"

"This Liu Xuan is not greedy for money, only lustful. By taking in women from various families, he quickly established connections with each Family, and through his excellent reputation, he quickly gained everyone's trust."

"Liu Xuan only takes a very small portion of the profits from the Yongning Merchant Alliance; it is mainly to seek benefits for each Family, so every Family is convinced by him."

In fact, the most important point for why the various families trusted Liu Xuan was something Zhou Xiaozhu did not mention.

The women sent to Liu Xuan by the families were getting pregnant one after another, and they could participate in the affairs of the Merchant Alliance, rather than just being used as maids; this was the main reason that dispelled their concerns.

"He is a talent!"

Xiao Ran suddenly remembered that her Junior Sister, Zhang Kexin, seemed to have mentioned this person to her before—that fool who rented White Crane Lake!

At the time, she felt that Liu Xuan should not be a simple lecher; he must have had other motives.

"Junior Sister Zhang is still too young!"

She shook her head and chuckled.

County seat.

Liu Mansion.

While there was turmoil everywhere in Yongning, Liu Xuan's place was exceptionally leisurely, unaffected in the slightest.

Cultivating, Talisman Drawing, occasionally meeting with a few Clan Chiefs, and spending the rest of his time on the cultivation of the newly arrived maids.

Currently, there were twenty-five maids in the Liu Mansion; Lianer, Meier, and Pinger had long been pregnant, Wang Yuwan and Luo Ruoyan followed closely behind, and Xia He and She Xiaorong had also been pregnant for several months.

In this half-month, Liu Xuan had favored all his maids, and two more ordinary maids were confirmed to be pregnant.

Unfortunately! Bai Zhiwei, whom Liu Xuan treated with importance and favored greatly, had no news.

After half a month of hard cultivation, Liu Xuan had a distinct feeling that the probability of the maids getting pregnant had decreased slightly, though he was not sure of the specific reason.

There was no use thinking too much; Liu Xuan instructed Xia He to tell Zhao Deliang, and then he left Yongning again to return to the Sect.

Lin Xue'er and the maid Xiaolan were both about to give birth, and Liu Xuan was about to welcome his tenth child.

'If three children can achieve an achievement, ten should also be able to earn an achievement reward, right?'