224: Chapter 224 Twenty Years

Time flies like an arrow, and twenty years passed in the blink of an eye.

...

In a certain dark, dense forest, over a dozen Cultivators were confronting each other in two factions.

"Fellow Daoists, we spotted this place first. Do you few want to pick a fight with us because you think we are easy to bully?" a youth in his early twenties angrily rebuked the other side.

The seven companions beside him instantly exuded a chilling Killing Intent, each waiting and preparing to make a move.

"Hmph! Just because you say you came first doesn't mean you actually did. We've been eyeing this place for days, and we've long wanted to seize that century-old blood ginseng."

The middle-aged man leading the opposing group said mockingly; relying on his Ninth Layer of Qi Refining Perfection cultivation, he had looked down on them from the very beginning.

Chen Lixun's cultivation was not particularly high among his companions, but relying on his status as a member of the Chen Family, he was always surrounded and protected by everyone wherever he went.

"Brother Xun, since the other side insists on looking for trouble, our Qinghe Alliance is not afraid. At worst, we'll just fight them," a youth of a similar age to him said on Chen Lixun's right, his anger bubbling over.

"Yeah! At worst, we'll just fight and let them see how formidable the Cultivators of our Qinghe Alliance are," shouted several of the younger Cultivators, while Lu Ting, the oldest among them whose cultivation had reached the Ninth Layer of Qi Refining, remained silently quiet.

The others were merely Cultivators of unknown origin, and there was no way they would let them bully their way onto the Qinghe Alliance.

"Heh! If you want to fight, then fight. Why waste so many words, right? Hahaha!" Seeing Chen Lixun remaining silent, the opponents mocked him one after another.

It wasn't that they were unaware of the Qinghe Alliance; it was just that this was Taihe Prefecture, and they were not in territory controlled by the Chen Family. So what if they killed this group of Cultivators?

"What you said is right. Make your move when the time comes and let them witness the strength of our Qinghe Alliance," Chen Lixun said with a faint smile, his eyes holding Killing Intent.

Hearing this, the rest immediately attacked.

Lu Ting stood to the side, silently guarding Chen Lixun.

"Young Master Xun, step back first."

"There's no need to protect me. Elder Lu, you should make a move as well; otherwise, they truly won't be a match for them," Chen Lixun waved his hand and said.

Lu Ting nodded. He had once been a Loose Cultivator, but the Chen Family had shown him great kindness—not only providing him with resources to Cultivate, but also avenging his grudges.

Therefore, he was more than willing to act as a Protector for the Juniors of the Chen Family.

After receiving Chen Lixun's instruction, he immediately moved to deal with the opponent's Ninth Layer of Qi Refining Perfection. As long as he pinned this person down, no matter how strong the rest were, they wouldn't be able to stir up much trouble.

Watching them engage in battle, Chen Lixun also targeted one of the opposing Qi Refining Cultivators.

Although he was only at the Fourth Layer of Qi Refining, coming from the Chen Family, he possessed strength that surpassed even ordinary Fifth Layer opponents, not to mention he still had life-saving trump cards.

Among the eight opponents, apart from the middle-aged Cultivator who had reached the Ninth Layer of Qi Refining Perfection, three others possessed Late Qi Refining Stage strength, while the remaining four were in the Qi Refining Middle Stage.

Chen Lixun engaged one of the fifth-layer Qi Refining opponents, and the two fought fiercely.

The other battlefields were much the same.

Among the strongest Cultivators on both sides, although Lu Ting's cultivation was quite a bit inferior to that middle-aged Cultivator, thanks to his years of loyal and dedicated service to the Chen Family, he had been bestowed with numerous treasures.

He possessed two First-Grade High Grade Magical Artifacts alone, and coupled with another one he had purchased with Spirit Stones accumulated over several years, he used these three First-Grade High Grade Magical Artifacts to fight his opponent to a standstill.

On the other side, the youth who had urged Chen Lixun to make a move at the very beginning had a cultivation that reached the fifth layer of Qi Refining, and his name was Lin Qiu.

As one of the earliest Disciples recruited by the Qinghe Alliance, Lin Qiu had average talent, but his background was extraordinary: his older brother, Lin Xu, was one of the inaugural Ten Heroes of the Qinghe Alliance, ranking ninth.

Those Ten Heroes possessed priority rights to obtain foundation establishment pills within the Qinghe Alliance.

Barring any accidents, his older brother had a high probability of achieving Foundation Establishment.

Over the past twenty years, the Chen Family had gained several more Foundation Establishment experts, and new Foundation Establishment Cultivators had likewise been born in the Li Family and the Liuzhou Family.

In the entirety of Qinghe County, there were currently no fewer than ten Foundation Establishment Cultivators alone.

As for one of the reasons why the Qinghe Alliance could produce so many Foundation Establishment experts, it was because the Chen Family was now capable of independently refining foundation establishment pills—a feat every Purple Mansion faction could achieve.

Driving his Flying Sword, Lin Qiu continuously bombarded his opponent, driving the opposing fifth-layer Qi Refining Cultivator into successive retreats as he proved completely unmatched.

Chen Lixun was also unleashing ferocious attacks; as long as he could slay his opponent, it would add another glimmer of hope of victory for his side. In truth, however, they only needed to stall until reinforcements from the Family arrived. Right as the battle began, he had already reported the situation here to the Family; even though this was not Qinghe County, the Family would still dispatch people.

After all, if a Purple Mansion faction could be casually provoked and have its Cultivators killed without consequence, the Chen Family would become a laughingstock throughout Taihe Prefecture and the entire Cang Prefecture.

However, since the opponents dared to attack them, there were likely powerful figures standing behind them.

On a battlefield not far from Chen Lixun, a middle-aged Cultivator from the Qinghe Alliance was fighting two Late Qi Refining Stage opponents alone. However, his strength was at best on par with just one of them, leaving him directly suppressed when facing the two simultaneously.

After a few exchanges, he sustained quite a few injuries.

Seeing this, Chen Lixun looked around and noticed that apart from himself, Lin Qiu, and Lu Ting, everyone else was having a hard time.

"You still have time to worry about others!" Feeling looked down upon, the man facing Chen Lixun suddenly flew into a rage, continuously driving his Flying Sword to attack him.

Chen Lixun's gaze turned cold. While manipulating his Flying Sword, he simultaneously took out a First-Grade High Grade Talisman, a burst talisman.

The middle-aged man was startled and hurriedly retreated to put distance between himself and Chen Lixun.

However, once activated, the Talisman's attack speed was even faster than his escape. Seeing this, the middle-aged man was filled with terror and immediately commanded his Flying Sword to block in front of him.

Yet he was ultimately just in the Qi Refining Middle Stage; facing a full-strength strike from the Ninth Layer of Qi Refining, it was simply not something he could block.

"Boom!"

The terrifying power of the burst talisman blasted the middle-aged man into pieces in a fraction of a second.

Having eliminated one opponent, Chen Lixun immediately moved to help the others.

Seeing this, the remaining opponents consciously or unconsciously widened the distance, terrified of being targeted by Chen Lixun themselves.

Seeing Chen Lixun dispatch an enemy in just a few moves, Lin Qiu also accelerated his pace to deal with his own opponent. Even if Chen Lixun hadn't relied purely on his own strength, background was still a form of strength.

In the Immortal Realm, everyone utilized their background, because those without one either died or faded into obscurity.

Unless you were a true Genius.

The middle-aged man leading the opponents felt no fear whatsoever. To him, Chen Lixun was merely a fledgling kid; his true opponent was Lu Ting before him. Originally, they had simply come here to hunt for treasures, but as it turned out, this Lu Ting carried more First-Grade High Grade Magical Artifacts than he did.

He could barely restrain the urge to quickly slaughter the person before him, seize their treasures, and flee far away. As long as he hid himself, it would be extremely difficult for the Qinghe Alliance, or even the entire Chen Family, to ever find him.