Chapter 39 Storm Is Coming
Song Qingming has been feeling uneasy for the past few months because of the storage bag he picked up from Liu Tianlong. This time when he came to Qinghefang, in addition to purchasing the materials and elixirs he needed, he also wanted to inquire about Liu Tianlong's situation and see if he was really dead.
After all, he was still a young man in his early twenties, and his mentality was not as sophisticated as those of the experienced cultivators. The wealth he got inexplicably made him feel guilty from time to time. When he walked out of the Floating Cloud Mountains, he was sometimes even afraid that he was in a dream and woke up to the time when he had just left Qinghe County.
It was a pity that he still didn't get the answer he wanted from his fourth uncle. The Liu family's shop was abnormally closed again, which made him start to worry again. After having dinner in the afternoon, Song Qingming said goodbye to Song Changqiu and his wife, and left Qinghefang with some worries.
In Qinghefang, in the Lu family compound, Lu Yuanfeng looked at the communication talisman he had just received in his hand, and paced alone in the yard with a somewhat ugly face.
Lu Yuanfeng is a foundation-building cultivator stationed in Qinghefang by the Xiaoyao Sect. He has been stationed in Qinghefang for nearly 30 years. Qinghefang has always been peaceful without any major mistakes. He did not expect to receive a message of accountability from the elders of the sect's General Affairs Hall today, which really made him feel unhappy.
Lu Yuanfeng's right hand flashed with a flash of light, and he quickly cast a spell. A golden light instantly shot out of his hand and flew out of the yard. Not long after, a mature-looking cultivator in white clothes came to the yard quickly.
Seeing the person coming, Lu Yuanfeng quickly spoke:
"Wencai, I just received news from the sect's uncle Guangling that the Liu family of Jingyuan Mountain secretly mined the five-element spiritual fruit trees in the sect's territory without the sect's knowledge. You take a few people to the market to seal the Liu family's shop first, and the Liu family's cultivators will guard it first."
After listening, Yuan Wencai replied with embarrassment: "Master, the Liu family's shop in the market has been closed for almost half a month. I'm afraid the people have already withdrawn. Liu Tianlong has always been honest and upright in the past. This time he is too bold. He dared to pay attention to the five-element spiritual fruit trees. Isn't he looking for death?"
"Forget it, it seems that Liu Tianlong has thought of it a long time ago. You arrange someone to inform the Huang family about this matter and ask them to send someone to go to Jingyuan Mountain with us tomorrow." Lu Yuanfeng said with his hands behind his back and a faint face.
"Master, I wonder how the sect plans to deal with the Liu family this time. Do I need to tell my fifth junior brother about this?"
"Liu Tianlong must die. Uncle Guangling has explained in the letter that all other cultivators of the Liu family will be sent to Huoyan Mountain to mine ore for thirty years. Don't tell Huolin about it for now. The master will naturally protect those who should be protected. Jingyuan Mountain will be temporarily under the management of the sect. When the time comes, we will see if the nearby families can accept some of the mortals under the rule of the Liu family. The rest will be directly moved to Qinghefang." Lu Yuanfeng's tone was somewhat sad, and then he waved his hand to signal Yuan Wencai to retreat.
Yuan Wencai was the first disciple accepted by Lu Yuanfeng after he established his foundation. He has always been very loyal to this master and has won Lu Yuanfeng's trust. He has been stationed in Qinghefang with him for nearly thirty years.
The reason why he asked this question was entirely because of his fifth junior brother Huo Lin. His Taoist partner happened to be a female cultivator from the Liu family. The two had always been in love. This time, the Liu family was in trouble, and they were afraid that they would be implicated. Seeing that Master Lu Yuanfeng had already made up his mind, Yuan Wencai walked out with peace of mind.
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Qinghe County, Baoshifeng Du Family
In the meeting hall of the Du family, Du Shaoying, the head of the Du family, looked at the several Du family elders in front of him with a look of anger on his face.
"Shaokang, tell me, what happened to Yucheng? You all came back, why did he suddenly join Xiaoyao Sect?" Du Shaoying looked at Du Shaokang, who was a little trembling in front of him, and asked with an unhappy face.
Du Shaokang was unlucky. He was in charge of leading the team on this trip to the Floating Cloud Mountains. A cultivator of the Du family who died happened to be close to the clan leader Du Shaoying. When he came back, he was speechless when Du Shaoying asked him questions.
Du Yucheng was a younger generation that the family did not pay much attention to. Du Shaokang originally thought that he was dead after being dragged into the pond. It was not until he came back that Du Shaokang found out that the soul mark he left on the family tree was still lit. He was a little happy to know that he was still alive.
Until today, when he heard the news from the Du family cultivators in Xiaoyao Sect that Du Yucheng had joined Xiaoyao Sect and became an inner sect disciple, Du Shaokang was shocked on the spot. He really didn't know whether Du Yucheng was crazy or the person who recruited him from Xiaoyao Sect was crazy.
In a large sect like Xiaoyao Sect, recruiting disciples has always been strict. Generally, cultivators of civilian origin who join the sect have to start as humble outer sect errand disciples. Such disciples are recruited one or two hundred people every year, and the competition is very fierce.
Only those who have a backer in the sect, or are recommended by the major vassal immortal cultivation families, can directly become inner disciples, but the requirements are relatively high. They must be cultivators with more than three spiritual roots, or people with very talented immortal cultivation skills. Otherwise, they will become outer disciples, which is not as comfortable as cultivating in the family.
Du Yucheng's spiritual roots are not very talented, and he does not have any particularly powerful immortal cultivation skills. It is unknown what Xiaoyao Sect sees in him. Du Shaokang thought hard for a long time, but still did not understand. Facing Du Shaoying's questioning at this moment, he could only shrink his head and was speechless.
Although the Du family gained a lot from the trip to the Floating Cloud Mountains, the sudden loss of two cultivators had a great impact on the family. The Du family did not have many cultivators to begin with, and they suddenly lost two young cultivators. It was no wonder that the clan leader Du Shaoying was so angry.
Although they knew that Du Yucheng had joined the Xiaoyao Sect, they did not know the details. Du Yucheng was now an inner disciple of the Xiaoyao Sect and had a chance to build a foundation. His status had changed dramatically, and the people of the Du family did not know how to face him in the future.
At the Liu family in Jingyuan Mountain, Liu Tianlong sat on the bed, and several elders of the Liu family sat in front of the bed. Everyone looked a little panicked.
In a few months, although Liu Tianlong's injuries had recovered a lot, his face was always a little broken. After this trip to the Floating Cloud Mountains, it seemed that his blood and energy had been drained, and he instantly became an old man who was about to die.
Liu Tianlong coughed lightly, sat up straight, and asked a Liu family elder beside him in a low voice: "Tianquan, have all the people in the market been arranged to withdraw?"
"Don't worry, clan leader, the shops in Qinghefang have been closed. Meng Cheng and his men have withdrawn ten days ago, leaving only mortals to guard the shops," Liu Tianquan quickly replied to the respected clan leader.
Liu Tianlong has been the head of the Liu family for nearly forty years. When he took over as the clan leader, the Liu family was still in decline. The various forces near the Liu family were eyeing this once foundation-building family. Liu Tianlong relied on his extraordinary courage to quickly stabilize the family's defeat and let the Liu family slowly recover a lot of vitality. Over the years, he has always been deeply loved by the clan members.
Liu Tianlong nodded and said, "A few days ago, Meng Chen sent a message from Xiaoyao Sect that someone presented a water spirit fruit tree to Xiaoyao Sect and became an inner disciple of Xiaoyao Sect. It should be the pearl we found this time. I'm afraid our trip to Floating Cloud Mountains has been exposed."
"Could it be the people who were dragged into the pool by the black-feathered python that day? That person is really lucky. Not only did he not die, but he also found the location of the water spirit fruit tree. Alas..." Another elder of the Liu family sighed and said.
Liu Tianlong thought for a while and said, "It should be. I later sent people to check the people who were swept into the pond that day. There were three people in total. Wu Ziyuan of the Wu family had died in the pond. Song Qingming of the Song family also came back a month later. Only Du Yucheng of the Du family disappeared and has not returned until now. It should be this person who went to Xiaoyao Sect. My storage bag must have fallen into his hands, which made him guess the location of the water spirit fruit tree."
"Damn Du family, I didn't expect that our Liu family worked hard for decades, but in the end they got the advantage. If we had known this, we might as well have directly presented this water spirit fruit tree to Xiaoyao Sect." The more the elder of the Liu family spoke, the redder his eyes became. He hated the Du family in his bones.
Liu Tianlong smiled bitterly, "It's not entirely our own fault that we failed today. It's up to man to plan and God to dispose. It's also because our Liu family is unlucky. I have let Meng Xin leave Jingyuan Mountain. The family can't drag her down. She can only rely on herself in the future."