Chapter 17: The Liu Family's Employment

In a dense forest dozens of miles west of Qinghe坊 (Qinghe Ward), a group of over twenty cultivators had gathered. Leading them was an elderly cultivator in his nineties, dressed in black-and-white Daoist robes, his face etched with the wear of years and his eyebrows and beard turned snow-white.

This elder was none other than Liu Tianlong, the current patriarch of the Liu family of Mount Jingyuan in Qinghe County. With a cultivation base at the peak of the ninth layer of Qi Refinement, he had once been a renowned genius in Qinghe County, reaching the ninth layer before the age of fifty. Unfortunately, by the time he reached this stage, his family had already begun to decline, and he had failed to succeed in Foundation Establishment.

For Qi Refinement cultivators, the optimal age for Foundation Establishment is before the decline of blood vitality at age sixty. After eighty, the hope of establishing a foundation is essentially lost. At Liu Tianlong's age, unless he encountered a heaven-defying opportunity, there would be no further chance of success.

As an old-timer who had been stuck at the late stage of Qi Refinement for many years, Liu Tianlong's combat capabilities were beyond reproach. Aside from the few Foundation Establishment cultivators in Qinghe County, people like him represented the absolute pinnacle of combat strength.

As long as he did not suffer any major injuries, Liu Tianlong could maintain his peak combat power for at least another decade or so. It is only after reaching one hundred and ten years of age that a Qi Refinement cultivator's physical vitality gradually withers, causing them to lose the ability to absorb spiritual energy. At that point, they can no longer fight at will; if they force themselves to act and consume too much spiritual energy, they might suffer a drop in their cultivation realm at best, or more seriously, affect their remaining ten years of lifespan, leading to an early passing.

"Patriarch, news has arrived from the Song family. They have arrived," a burly middle-aged man beside Liu Tianlong reported the recent news.

Liu Tianlong stroked his beard and said in a heavy voice, "Notify the Wu and Du family cultivators. Prepare to depart."

The Liu family's ancestors had once produced a Foundation Establishment cultivator, making them a Foundation Establishment family in Qinghe County a hundred years ago. However, the Liu family suffered ill fortune; during the demon beast chaos a century ago, they lost their clan's only Foundation Establishment cultivator.

Although the Xiaoyao Sect provided a Foundation Establishment Pill as compensation after the war, the person chosen by the Liu family failed to succeed. Consequently, the Liu family fell into the status of a Qi Refinement family, forced to surrender part of their clan's assets in exchange for the protection of other Foundation Establishment families, becoming a vassal to the Huang family to this day.

The Liu family had planned this expedition to the Fuyun Mountain Range for many years. If all went well, they would secure an opportunity to go to the Xiaoyao Sect to exchange for a Foundation Establishment Pill. As long as someone in the Liu family successfully established a foundation, the clan's former glory as a Foundation Establishment family would be restored under his leadership, and everything in the family would change! At this thought, Liu Tianlong felt a surge of intense excitement.

Following the two elders, they flew west for hundreds of miles in a single burst. The Song family party of eight arrived in this dense forest. By now, dozens of cultivators had already gathered in the woods, including seven or eight at the late stage of Qi Refinement. They had not expected the Liu family to place such high importance on this trip to the Fuyun Mountain Range.

After meeting Liu Tianlong, the Second Elder, Song Changfeng, greeted him and led the Song family members to join the group led by the Liu family. Once everyone had assembled, they departed Qinghe County and headed north.

A total of three nearby families had been invited by the Liu family for this journey. In addition to the Song family, there were the Wu family of Longtan Mountain and the Du family of Baoshi Peak. The Wu family's strength was comparable to the Song family, led by their patriarch, Wu Xiyun. The Du family was slightly stronger, with over thirty cultivators in the clan, led by their Second Elder, Du Shaokang.

Adjacent to the north of Qinghe County lies Pingyang County, the largest county town among the four counties of Jiangling Prefecture. Within the county alone, there were seven Foundation Establishment families, and the territory and number of cultivators controlled were more than double those of Qinghe County. A hundred miles north of Pingyang County lay the Fuyun Mountain Range, which stretched for thousands of miles.

The Fuyun Mountain Range was teeming with demon beasts, making it unsuitable for ordinary mortals to live there, yet it served as a gathering place for many rogue cultivators in the nation. Many rogue cultivators from the four counties of Jiangling Prefecture enjoyed coming to the Fuyun Mountain Range to hunt demon beasts.

There were also many Foundation Establishment rogue cultivators who occupied spiritual veins here to establish cave dwellings. The Wulong River to the north of Pingyang County served as the boundary between human territory and the demon beast forces of the Northern Border.

The vast Fuyun Mountain Range attracted numerous cultivators every year to hunt demon beasts, and it also served as a buffer zone during every outbreak of the Northern Border demon beasts.

Because of this, the Xiaoyao Sect placed great importance on this region. Not only did they establish several marketplaces near the Fuyun Mountain Range to collect various resources and earn spirit stones from rogue cultivators, but they also dispatched Core Formation elders to guard the area year-round.

After traveling north for several days, the group entered the territory of Pingyang County. It took another ten days of travel to pass through Pingyang County and enter the Fuyun Mountain Range.

This was the first time Song Qingming had left Qinghe County to perform a mission. Along the way, he saw various cultivators—some traveling in groups like them, others moving in pairs or alone—all sharing the same destination: the Fuyun Mountain Range, a place fraught with danger yet filled with opportunity.

When Song Qingming was at Mount Lingyuan, he had often heard his Ninth Uncle, Song Changxin, recount various strange tales and oddities encountered during his cultivation days in the Purple Jade Mountains of the Fuyun Mountain Range. He had been very curious about the place, but since setting out with the group, they had been constantly on the move, leaving him no chance to observe the scenery along the way.

Half a month after entering the Fuyun Mountain Range, the group arrived at a dense forest within a mountain cove. Liu Tianlong announced that everyone would rest there for the night. Their target for this hunt was a Second-Rank, Low-Grade Silver-Armored Crab Demon located in a pool not far ahead.

According to the Liu family cultivators, this Silver-Armored Crab had only ascended to a Second-Rank demon beast a few decades ago, and its divine abilities would not be difficult to deal with.

Having traveled at high speeds all along the way, the group rarely had the chance to rest. As night fell, they lit bonfires in several circles, laughing and chatting until midnight before slowly settling down.

Early the next morning, under the leadership of the Liu family, the group arrived at the edge of a pool. The pool was only a few dozen yards in diameter, and near its center, a massive black reef protruded above the water. Several low-rank demon beasts lay upon it, leisurely basking in the rising sun.

Under the direction of several Liu family elders, the group began to set up the "Golden Net Demon-Subduing Array" in a grassy area by the pool. This Second-Rank, Low-Grade array had been purchased by the Liu family from a Jiangling Prefecture marketplace many years ago. As long as sixteen Qi Refinement cultivators activated it together, it could trap an ordinary Second-Rank, Low-Grade demon beast for a short period. This was the greatest confidence the Liu family had in targeting a Second-Rank demon beast on this trip.

Second-Rank arrays were quite complex. The Liu family had prepared thoroughly for this operation; the Liu family alone had brought two high-grade array masters. Including the two high-grade array masters from the Wu and Song families, the four of them led Song Qingming and over a dozen low-to-mid-grade array masters, working for nearly an hour to complete the deployment of this Second-Rank grand array.

This was also the first time Song Qingming had participated in setting up a Second-Rank array. Originally, his skill level as a low-grade array master was merely at the entry level, but following the four high-grade masters in this joint deployment had been immensely beneficial to him.

Although he had merely acted as an assistant during this operation, it had given him profound insights into the Way of Arrays and sparked much inspiration.

A total of over forty cultivators participated in this mission, including nine at the late stage of Qi Refinement, while the rest were all at the middle stage. Furthermore, the pool contained not only the Silver-Armored Crab but also many First-Rank demon beasts.

According to the Liu family's on-site distribution, a portion of the array masters brought along were responsible for activating the array at any time. The other cultivators, led by several late-stage Qi Refinement experts, would first slaughter the First-Rank demon beasts in the pool.

Before the battle began, everyone had to attempt to kill as many First-Rank demon beasts as possible; otherwise, when the Second-Rank demon beast emerged, too many First-Rank beasts might tie up the grand array, making it difficult for the array to fully trap the Second-Rank beast when deployed.

"Qingming and Changyun, stay behind to assist us in activating the grand array. The rest of you, follow Changfeng," the First Elder, Song Gubei, quickly made appropriate arrangements upon seeing that the Liu family cultivators had begun organizing the men to attack the pool.

The Twelfth Aunt, Song Changyun, was a low-grade array master just like Song Qingming. Although she had a cultivation of the sixth layer of Qi Refinement, she practiced a wood-attribute technique, meaning her combat abilities were mediocre, and she rarely participated in such dangerous missions.

The First Elder, Song Gubei, was the only high-grade array master in the family, so he naturally had to stay behind to help activate the grand array.

The other five members had relatively rich experience in hunting demons and fighting enemies. Under Song Changfeng's leadership, they quickly assembled at the edge of the pool.

"Kill!" At Liu Tianlong's command, the crowd charged toward the edge of the pool.

A cultivator in black was the first to launch an attack against a low-rank fish demon resting by the pool. This man was an experienced late-stage Qi Refinement cultivator from the Du family, whose cultivation had already reached the peak of the seventh layer.

With a few quick steps, he stealthily crept behind the squinting fish demon. Taking it by surprise, he swiftly released a black ring-shaped magical tool from his hand, aiming to loop it around the fish demon's neck.

The black ring suddenly expanded several times its size in mid-air, instantly catching the fish demon's neck. Sensing the abnormality around its neck, the fish demon attempted to rise, but in the next instant, it suddenly went motionless. A spray of blood erupted, and its massive fish head fell cleanly from its neck.

Watching this, Song Qingming was struck with shock. What incredible skill.

(End of Chapter)