104: Chapter 104: All arranged!

...

"Bury those who died in battle today with honor!"

"Their descendants shall receive triple resources from now on, with priority access to all types of resources and Cultivation Techniques, including the Foundation Establishment Legacy!"

Shi Jian's voice echoed across the Main Peak, carrying an unquestionable authority.

Sun Mao kowtowed heavily, his forehead hitting the blood-stained bluestone floor with a dull thud.

"Thank you for your grace, Old Ancestor!"

Then, all the surviving Sun Clan Disciples knelt and thanked him in unison:

"Thank you for your grace, Old Ancestor!"

"Thank you for your grace!!"

"Thank you for your grace!!!"

The storm subsided, the heavy rain ceased, and the air was thick with the smell of blood and burnt flesh as the Sun Clan members began to silently clear the battlefield.

...

Half a day later.

A temporary stone hall was erected in front of the ruins of the Meeting Hall.

Shi Jian transformed into the size of a normal person and lay lazily on the stone platform at the head of the hall. His thunderous eyes swept over the few people standing below, and he sighed slightly.

Sun Mao's left shoulder was wrapped in thick white cloth; his face was pale, and his aura was weak and unstable.

Although the potent poison had been suppressed by Sun Yao with Medicinal Pills, it had already seeped into his Dao foundation. For the rest of his life, his hopes of Core Formation were completely severed.

Sun Yao stood to one side, her eyes red from crying.

"Tell me, how many died?"

Sun Mao's body swayed, and he responded with a raspy voice:

"Old Ancestor, the Sun Clan... is completely ruined."

He unfurled a blood-stained bamboo scroll, his hands trembling. The characters on the scroll were soaked in blood and blurred.

"Clan Chief Sun Boan was refined into a living flesh Puppet by the villains, his Divine Soul extinguished. The five clan elders—Sun Kezheng, Sun Xing, Sun Changping, Sun Tieshan, and Sun Wanqing—all died in battle protecting the grand formation."

"Of the seven elders who rose up with the Old Ancestor back then, only Auntie Caiya remains alive today. Due to her severe injuries, her Lifespan has been greatly reduced."

Shi Jian remained silent.

Forty years ago, seven members of the Sun Clan's Third Branch conspired to rebel together. They swore an oath with him, this Black Bear, and eventually seized power over the Sun Clan.

Forty years had passed, the cycles of time had turned, and those ambitious faces from back then had ultimately fallen during this Core Formation tribulation.

The Heavenly Dao reincarnates; life and death are predestined. They died for a worthy cause...

"What about the second-generation Disciples?" Shi Jian continued to ask.

Sun Mao swallowed hard, his throat filled with bitterness: "Among the first-generation Disciples, fifteen died in this battle."

"Now, only I, Yao, and our third brother Sun Lin are left..."

"More than half of the children and youths of the cheng generation were killed or injured; only fourteen remain."

Sun Mao closed the bamboo scroll, and tears fell, dripping onto the bluestone floor.

"Old Ancestor, across three generations of our Sun Clan, there are only eighteen Cultivators left alive. The Sun Clan is finished..."

Eighteen people.

A cultivation Family that once controlled Hongtian City, had eight minor clans as vassals, and owned shops across three counties had been reduced to an empty shell overnight.

Their foundation was exhausted, and their population had dwindled.

The stone hall was deathly silent.

Elder Rat lay to one side, licking the blood off his claws.

Shi Mo stood tall outside the hall, his dark gold fur shimmering with a faint, cold light in the sun. He, too, remained silent...

Thunder Badger lay in a corner. Although his Physical Body had healed, his aura was weak as he quietly meditated to recover.

Upon hearing the casualties, Shi Jian lowered his eyes.

The Sun Clan was finished.

With only eighteen people, they couldn't even maintain the daily operations of Hongtian City, let alone mine spiritual ores, manage trade routes, or gather resources.

He was now a Golden Core Great Demon.

The resources required for the Golden Core Stage were hundreds or even thousands of times more than those of the Foundation Establishment Stage. This worn-out machine of the Sun Clan had completely broken down and could no longer provide him with any nourishment.

The Law of survival for demons was simple: plunder, parasitize, and grow.

Since the Sun Clan, his parasitic host, had withered, he had to find a new one. However, constrained by the contract signed with Sun Hangchun back then, he had to protect the Sun Clan for two hundred years...

Therefore, he still could not abandon the Sun Clan and had to keep them by his side.

White Cloud Temple was the best choice.

Daoist Yun Du needed his Golden Core combat power to share the pressure from the Fenghe Sect and various other parties, while he needed White Cloud Temple's vast territory, established trade routes, and tens of thousands of low-level Disciples to provide for him.

More importantly, a third-grade spiritual vein could accelerate his cultivation.

The vast territory would allow his kin to rest and multiply.

At the same time, it would preserve the Sun Clan's existence, and these people could be used by him to continue infiltrating White Cloud Temple and provide assistance...

Mutual benefit was the best choice!

After this great disaster, the Sun Clan would completely become a Puppet in his hands. In a way, this was actually a good thing.

In the future, he could even support others to balance the Sun Clan, thereby completely restraining them and preventing them from escaping his control.

Shi Jian regained his composure, his gaze falling on Sun Mao.

"Sun Mao, do you know that I have reached a deal with Immortal Master Daoist Yun Du?"

Sun Mao looked up, his face full of confusion.

"There are only eighteen people left in the Sun Clan. You are short-handed and can no longer remain rooted here, nor can you continue to provide sufficient resources."

Shi Jian's voice was gentle, like an elder advising a young junior:

"Now that the Sun Clan's elite are all lost, what you need is long-term rest and recovery, and I need more resources to sustain my cultivation."

"Old Ancestor..."

Sun Mao's lips moved, but he couldn't say a single word of rebuttal.

He knew that what the Old Ancestor said was the truth.

The Sun Clan no longer had the ability to provide resources for the Old Ancestor. Simultaneously, they lacked manpower; a crippled Sun Clan needed time and a stable space to recover...

"I have already reached a decision with Immortal Master Daoist Yun Du."

Shi Jian stood up, thunderous light flickering and crackling around him:

"As of today, the entire Sun Clan will merge into White Cloud Temple as an independent branch, preserving the Sun Clan's Legacy and name."

"Hongtian City will be handed over to other Cultivators to manage."

"And you eighteen will follow me to the Yunjian Mountain Range, where White Cloud Temple is located, to establish a new home."

Sun Mao froze on the spot.

Sun Yao also looked up sharply, her eyes full of shock.

Merge into White Cloud Temple?

This meant that the Sun Clan would completely lose its status as an independent Family and become a vassal of the Sect, even though the Sun Clan would still exist.

But they would no longer be fully independent. This did not violate the oath Shi Jian had made back then.

He had ensured the Sun Clan's existence for 200 years. As long as the Sun Clan did not perish, losing sovereignty did not count as breaking the oath...

"Are you unwilling?"

Shi Jian sighed. He hadn't pushed things to the absolute limit. Although they would become part of a Sect, realistically speaking, this was indeed the Sun Clan's best choice.

It could be considered a fair return for the sacrifices the Sun Clan members made while protecting him.

Moreover, for the Sun Clan, this might not necessarily be a bad thing. If the Sun Clan gradually grew stronger, they could even replace White Cloud Temple...

Sun Mao seemed to understand the implications, but he still gave a tragic laugh and knelt on both knees.

"Mao accepts the Old Ancestor's decree."

He had no choice.

Without the Old Ancestor's protection, these eighteen Sun Clan members would likely have been carved up by others long ago. The Old Ancestor's willingness to take them to White Cloud Temple was already a great blessing.

He only hated his own incompetence for being unable to protect his ancestors' Legacy.

Shi Jian looked at Sun Mao kneeling at his feet, his heart devoid of any emotion.

He didn't need Sun Mao's gratitude.

He was taking these eighteen Sun Clan members with him merely to fulfill the Heavenly Dao blood oath he had sworn years ago, which required him to protect the Sun Clan lineage.

As long as the Sun Clan did not perish, his Dao Heart would not be damaged.

As for whether the Sun Clan was an independent Family or a vassal of White Cloud Temple, the Heavenly Dao didn't care, and he cared even less. His own interests were what mattered most!

"Go and pack your things."

"We set out in three days."

Shi Jian waved his hand. Sun Mao and Sun Yao supported each other as they stumbled out. Only Shi Jian and several great demons remained in the stone hall.

Elder Rat walked over from the side and landed steadily at Shi Jian's feet.

"Old Ancestor, are we really going to White Cloud Temple to be a Guest Elder for that ox-nosed old Daoist?"

A cunning light flickered in Elder Rat's narrow eyes, his words carrying a hidden meaning.

"Be a Guest Elder?"

Shi Jian sneered: "Daoist Yun Du just wants to tie me to him so we can block the Fenghe Sect's revenge together and use that to gain benefits."

"In that case, I will use his shell to hatch my own eggs."

"White Cloud Temple's foundation is much deeper than this tiny Hongtian City. Once we go there, your cultivation resources will also double."

"Our kin will be able to thrive and multiply much better..."

Shi Jian turned to look at Shi Mo, Shi Pan, and Thunder Badger in the corner.

"Shi Mo, your Physical Body is powerful, and you contributed greatly to protecting the formation this time."

"Once we reach White Cloud Temple, I will ask Daoist Yun Du for a Spiritual Vein peak to build a cultivation site for you, helping you complete your Dark Gold Lineage."

"Yes, Old Ancestor."

Shi Mo gave a low roar and thumped his chest heavily in response.

"Shi Pan, you did well in protecting Sun Yao. Your Way of Earth is becoming increasingly stable. Once we are settled, the Panshi Lineage will also be completed."

Shi Pan nodded simply.

"Thunder Badger, your killing power is the greatest."

Shi Jian flicked his finger, and a strand of the Way of Thunder's Origin, emitting a thick aura of destruction, instantly poured into Thunder Badger's body:

"This lightning will help stabilize your Dao foundation. Once we reach White Cloud Mountain, you shall serve under my command from now on."

"Thank you for your guidance, Old Ancestor!"

Thunder Badger's eyes were full of fanaticism as he bowed in submission.

"As for you, Elder Rat."

Shi Jian's gaze fell upon the Blood Rat: "Don't take all your descendants to White Cloud Temple. Leave half in Hongtian City and continue to spread them throughout the Nine Counties of Baiyun Prefecture."

"The intelligence network must not be broken. I will also set aside a territory for you when the time comes."

Elder Rat grinned, revealing sharp white teeth: "Rest assured, Old Ancestor, I understand."

"The entire Baiyun Prefecture will be under the secret surveillance of my eyes and ears!"

Shi Jian nodded in satisfaction and finally looked toward the north.

That was the direction of White Cloud Temple.

With his Golden Core formed, he was finally no longer cannon fodder in this Xuanling Continent, but a chess player with a certain degree of power.