Chapter 54

Xiang Lishen, who had left the banquet early, listened to the reports from his subordinates. His inner garment beneath his brocade robe was silently soaked through.

“…The guards on the evening shift at Lian Yue Mountain House checked the bloodstains in the courtyard. It seems the intruder had been in the residence for at least half a day. All the books in the secret chamber were taken, and according to the inventory records, there were still 78 kinds of young immortal herb seedlings and 13 boxes of Heavenly Rank pills…”

“These are not important.”

Xiang Lishen interrupted with a stiff smile.

“Where is Xiang Lihua Lian?”

The cultivator lowered his head and answered:

“At first, we were misled by an apprentice named Sui Dan from Lian Yue Mountain House, thinking the intruder had already escaped the main residence, which delayed us by two hours. Later, we received word from our colleagues inside the residence and found that the apprentice had also disappeared. That’s when we realized we had fallen into a trap. The intruder didn’t leave without alerting the several eighth-level cultivators…”

Before he could finish, a curse seal struck the cultivator’s forehead.

In an instant, the skin where the seal was placed began to rot and spread, eventually covering his entire body and dissolving into a pool of blood.

Xiang Lishen slowly withdrew his hand.

The sky had just turned dark, a deep blue, and inside the room, a glass lamp swayed in the damp wind coming through the window. The light flickered in the eyes of everyone present.

The head of the Xiang family, sitting as calmly as the Buddha, turned to another cultivator:

“Stop wasting time with useless talk. You, tell me, where is Xiang Lihua Lian right now?”

The person trembled, struggling to maintain his composure and replied:

“She… hasn’t been caught yet, but… Xiang Yuan and Xiang Chao have arrived at the corner tower to guard the residence. Miss Lian could not have left the residence.”

“Did you identify the number of people who broke into the residence and abducted Lian? What are their cultivation levels?”

“Probably… two people, their cultivation should be at least in the sixth realm.”

Since those who fought with them were all dead, no one was sure of their exact strength.

Xiang Lishen fell silent.

This wasn’t the first time Lian had tried to escape his control, but it was the first time she had succeeded.

Back then, Xiang Lihua Lian had presented him with the formula for the Infinite Sea, claiming that it was a type of pill that, when perfected, could temporarily expand a cultivator’s Qi Sea, thereby increasing their combat strength.

However, during the research process, Xiang Lishen discovered that the drug worked better on ordinary people without cultivation than on precious cultivators.

After all, the side effects of the Infinite Sea would deplete a cultivator’s vitality. Cultivators were expensive to train and couldn’t withstand such a drain.

On the other hand, the poor in chaotic times had an endless supply of life force to expend. If he could use the Infinite Sea on them, turning these people into disposable cultivators, the Xiang family’s power would increase significantly.

But after learning of this, Lian hesitated.

She alone held the formula for the Infinite Sea, and Xiang Lishen had to keep her under control.

Her only family, Xiang Ling, had once been the perfect means of restraint.

Unfortunately—

“Continue the full-scale search.”

One of his subordinates looked up.

“Should we search the courtyard where Miss Zhongli and Young Master Jiufang are staying?”

　　琉玉瞥他一眼：“除非你能不用无量鬼火和呼名治鬼术，同时也不能露出你的妖鬼之态，这样的帮忙当然可以啊。”

ChatGPT said:

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Under the dim yellow light, the head of the family had an unreadable expression on his face.

“Do I even need to ask, you fool?”

His slightly superior superior suddenly kicked him.

“With the day of delivery to Wuliang Sea approaching, are you trying to make the Zhongli and Jiufang families suspect our Xiangli family’s capabilities?”

This person served closely by Xiangli Shen’s side and knew the family’s thoughts and plans very well.

The subordinate, reminded by his superior, broke out in a cold sweat and hastily acknowledged it.

However, what he thought was:

They hadn’t caught anyone for so long, and it’s highly likely they’ve hidden in the courtyards of those two young masters and young ladies.

They can’t search, but they must catch them. If they fail, they’ll all die.

Damned.

It’s hard to earn money and eat shit!

Xiangli Shen didn’t know what his subordinates were thinking, but even if he did, he wouldn’t care.

These idiots have no idea what’s urgent.

Of course, they needed to catch Xiangli Hualian, but those cultivators she hired with her money wouldn’t amount to much. Even if she escaped the mansion today, she couldn’t escape the heavy defenses of Taiping City.

However, the Xiangli family absolutely cannot show weakness in front of Zhongli Lingzhao and Jiufang Shaogeng.

Otherwise, they would surely use this to continue demanding other chapters of the “Xian Nong Quanshu” from the Xiangli family.

Once the subordinates left, a staff member next to him cautiously suggested:

“Actually… recently, reports have come in that the beggars we dispersed from our estate have disappeared without a trace, and there are frequent appearances of unfamiliar faces in Taiping City. Combined with the changes in the mansion today… the head of the family might want to inform the two esteemed persons, Zhongli and Jiufang, so that if there are any unusual movements, we can jointly be on guard…”

“Do I need to say it again?”

Xiangli Shen gave the staff member a grim smile, his dark eyes staring intensely.

“The Xiangli family cannot show weakness anymore. This small matter must be handled internally.”

“They can’t handle it themselves.

Inside the Xiangli family’s main mansion kitchen, the ground was covered with unconscious kitchen servants knocked out by Mo Lin. The kitchen was filled with the smoke of the stove, and the only conscious kitchen servant was trembling as he roasted ducks for Liuyu.

Liuyu casually picked up a piece of chestnut cake and, while eating, circled around the stove, waiting for the meal.

“Shanxiao has investigated. In this mansion, there are a total of a thousand cultivators, with fifty percent at the lower third realm, forty percent at the middle third realm, and the last ten percent mostly at the seventh realm, with only two at the eighth realm.”

Mo Lin bent down, using his long fingers to wipe the table that the servants normally used, and casually said:

“Doesn’t sound bad.”

“It’s not bad, but no matter how strong the subordinates are, if the one giving the orders at the top is too stupid, it won’t work. Xiangli Shen’s relationship with the Zhongli and Jiufang families is not as close as it seems. Moreover, since Xiangli Shen is determined to revive the Xiangli family, he won’t get too close to them, lest he eventually become a vassal.”

Mo Lin said, “You really know this person well.”

Liuyu turned her head, blinked, and smiled.

Xiangli Shen’s clan brother was the one who was personally killed by Yin Shanze when he was young. Liuyu had heard a lot about his family when she was little, so she naturally understood.

“The two esteemed persons… The roast duck is ready. Do you need anything else?”

The kitchen servant placed the sliced roast duck in front of Liuyu, his face pale with confusion.

God knows how assassins ended up in the kitchen.

Liuyu flicked her skirt, sat down, and took a piece of roast duck.

“It’s delicious.”

The crispy skin was fragrant, and the fat wasn’t greasy.

Liuyu ate two more pieces before looking at the kitchen servant and asking:

“Would you be interested in switching to our Jimo family’s kitchen? We’re short of staff, and if you join, you’ll be the head chef.”

The kitchen servant looked at Liuyu, then at Mo Lin, confused.

What… his cooking skills had attracted the Jimo family? They had come all the way at night just to poach him?

“No, no, no need. I’m doing fine here…”

His voice trailed off into a high-pitched squeal.

He clearly saw the young man sitting next to the girl using his tendrils to slip a gold coin into his pocket.

“After tonight, this will be the Jimo family’s territory.”

The purple-black tendrils quickly retracted under Mo Lin’s robe, and he said indifferently:

“You’ll need to start thinking about your next job.”

The kitchen servant hesitated for a moment but, in the end, his greed for the gold overcame his fear of the tendrils, and he gritted his teeth, saying:

“…I’ll go fry a couple of hard dishes for the young lady!”

Liuyu couldn’t help but laugh.

“What else do you want to eat?”

A strand of hair stuck to the girl’s lips, and Mo Lin reached over the table to brush it away for her.

“You’re going to face an eighth-realm cultivator head-on later. If you’re not full, it’ll affect your performance.”

Liuyu chewed as she stared at the demon in front of her.

If being hungry really affected performance, she didn’t know how many times she would have died in her previous life.

After a while, she lowered her head and replied:

“I won’t.”

“Even if I’m hungry, I can still beat the eighth and ninth realms for you to see.”

Last time when she fought against Fang Fuchang in Taiping City, Mo Lin knew that Liuyu had the strength to contend with eighth-realm cultivators.

But ninth realm… that sounded a bit exaggerated.

Liuyu focused on eating, bite by bite. Though she ate a lot, it didn’t seem rude; she was just purely efficient, and in the blink of an eye, she had finished the two dishes the kitchen servant had just brought.

It seemed like she was already accustomed to filling her stomach quickly in urgent situations.

Mo Lin watched her for a while and then asked:

“Do you really not need my help?”

Liuyu glanced at him:

“Unless you can refrain from using Wuliang Ghost Fire and the Calling Ghost Technique, and also not reveal your demon form, then sure, I’ll take your help.”

Mo Lin: “……”

The technique being too recognizable wasn’t his fault.

The jade slip flickered as a message from the ghost woman arrived. Liuyu opened it and glanced at the text. It seemed as though the ghost woman’s voice would explode in Liuyu’s ear from the slip itself—

Ghost Woman: [I’ve been discovered!!! That white-robed female ghost and the pretty boy found out about me, Dan Sui, and this little black-hearted lotus!]

Xiang Li Hualian, who was tied up, saw the message sent by the ghost woman and coldly said:

“Who’s the little black-hearted lotus?! This damn demon ghost really has no manners!”

Dan Sui, who was leaping across the eaves, weighed Xiang Li Hualian on his back and glanced back at the pursuers.

“Besides the Xiang Li family’s guards, those two noble families from earlier also sent over twenty people after us—Master, don’t move too much, or if you fall, I might not be able to catch you in time.”

Xiang Li Hualian was furious: “How dare you still call me Master! I worked so hard to take on an apprentice, and it turns out to be a demon ghost, so embarrassing! Don’t call me Master anymore!”

Xiang Li Hualian, who argued with anyone, turned to the ghost woman and said:

“Let me down! Otherwise, I’ll scream all the way and bring the whole Xiang Li family here! You’ll all be doomed!”

The ghost woman was confused. She had no idea why the person who had previously been desperate to escape the Xiang Li family would suddenly not believe the news of her brother’s death, even cursing her and her companions as liars.

But the ghost woman knew—

“Heh heh, go ahead, scream. Anyway, bringing them here will be a death sentence.”

As soon as she finished speaking, Xiang Li Hualian watched in disbelief as the seemingly sweet-looking girl released a swarm of dark insects.

The sky was dim, and the cultivators only felt the surging ghostly qi rush toward them. Before they could even identify what was happening, they already felt sharp pain spreading across their bodies.

One after another, the cultivators chasing them fell from the eaves, paralyzed and unconscious.

The ghost woman was about to show a proud expression, but she saw that most of the remaining pursuers seemed completely unaffected by her ghostly venom, continuing to chase them without slowing down.

The ghost woman was stunned.

With the ghostly venom she had just released, even an eighth-level cultivator should have reacted, right?

“Heh, do you think the Xiang Li family is just anyone?” Xiang Li Hualian sneered.

“These cultivators are not only guards but also trained in poison resistance. They’ve already developed immunity to toxins. Your abilities are perfectly countered by them—want to take down the Xiang Li family? It’s not that easy.”

As soon as her words fell, these middle-level cultivators all looked behind them.

Chains formed by talismans spread out like a heavenly net in the dark, immediately capturing over a hundred pursuers in its grasp.

A young woman appeared, moving among the chains, drawing out a long sword nearly her height from her back.

The entire group, including Xiang Li Hualian, was shocked. Only one cultivator who had followed Jiufang Shao Geng pointed at Chaoyuan’s figure in astonishment and then turned back to his comrades:

“Go tell the second young master, it’s—”

Before he could finish speaking, a flash of cold light passed, blood mist filled the air, and Xiang Li Hualian caught the strong scent of iron rust from the nose.

…So powerful.

One person used talismans to control the enemy, while the other used a long sword to slay.

These two could take the lives of sixth-level cultivators as easily as plucking flowers—without a doubt, their power was above seventh-level!

Xiang Li Hualian immediately thought back to the young girl who had punched her twice in the day.

Where did these people come from!?

“Chaoyuan… How did you two get here?” The ghost woman asked, surprised as she looked at the Chaoyuan siblings, “Didn’t Miss forbid you from coming?”

Chaoyuan, blood still on her face, gave the ghost woman a serious shushing gesture.

Chaoming briefly explained:

“It was an order from the clan elders, we came quietly. Is Miss safe? I saw that the second wave of pursuers is almost here, at least five hundred cultivators. How do you plan to deal with them?”

The ghost woman handed them a disguise paper.

“Miss was just in contact with me, she’s fine. As for how to deal with them—Dan Sui and I are tasked with taking this black-hearted little lotus and protecting her, trying to extract some contents from the ‘Xian Nong Quanshu.’ As for dealing with the pursuers, that’s for others.”

In the kitchen.

Liuyu chewed on a duck leg while pushing the jade slip over to Mo Lin.

“I’m a bit too busy, can you help me send the messages? Tell Lanzu it’s almost time to move.”

Mo Lin didn’t take the slip but instead took out his own and began writing.

“Lanzu isn’t at the manor. I sent him to intercept Yan Wushu.”

Liuyu blinked in surprise.

“Yan Wushu?”

“Mm,” Mo Lin lowered his gaze and spoke lightly, “He not only has your portrait, but he’s also carrying a handkerchief embroidered with golden thread and jade. If I’m not mistaken, it’s the one you lost before.”

Liuyu furrowed her brows instinctively.

This felt odd.

“What does he mean by keeping my handkerchief? How disgusting.”

The writing on the other side paused suddenly.

Though Mo Lin said nothing, Liuyu had a feeling, and a thought flashed through her mind.

She cautiously asked:

“You… haven’t kept anything of mine, have you?”

It seemed like something he might do.

Mo Lin seemed to have no intention of continuing the topic. He put away his jade slip and said:

“Lei Yan is dead.”

Liuyu raised an eyebrow.

Lei Yan was indeed dead—he had been killed with a slap from a demon ghost’s tendrils.

The demon ghost, who had killed Lei Yan, tossed the plow aside and stretched its tendrils, cracking its neck as it said:

“Master said we can act now. Clean up this manor. Lord Zhu Lan has business, and we’ll follow the original plan. A hundred men will stay behind to guard the warehouse, and the remaining four hundred will attack the Xiang Li family.”

The demon ghosts readily agreed.

But apart from the demons and ghosts, there were also over a thousand young adults who originally lived on the estate.

These more than a thousand people watched in shock as the individuals who had been calling them brothers and sisters just yesterday suddenly transformed under the moonlight into strange-looking demons and ghosts.

Some grew limbs, others tore off their human skin, leaving only skeletons, and some sprouted four eyes, blinking and smiling at them.

“Do you want to stay on the estate, or do you want to join us in attacking the main estate?”

A tenth of the humans present fainted on the spot.

The remaining ninety percent, though still standing, were no longer able to control their minds, automatically interpreting the demons’ words as — either die here, or fight with them.

“We want to live… I have elders and children at home… Please…”

Before they could even kneel, a demon forced a plow into the hands of one of them.

The demon clearly wasn’t very sharp, misunderstanding the plea for mercy as agreement, and grinned, saying:

“Good! Damn it, I’ve never liked the Xiangli clan, their food is too little! You don’t have to rush to the front to die, we’ll lead the way, and you all go to loot the warehouse! Damn it! Take back all the food they owe us!”

Sometimes, the most effective incitement only needs the simplest words.

The people who had once feared the demons immediately swallowed at the sound of these words.

Fine! It’s just a worthless life!

Damn it!

Let’s take back all the food that Xiangli Shen owes us!

—-

In the kitchen, Liuyu finished the last bite of food.

She was a bit stuffed, but the cook’s skills were indeed good. She hadn’t eaten anything all day, and when she finally did, she ended up eating more than expected.

Molin glanced toward the corner tower.

“Two eighth-level cultivators from the Xiangli clan are already stationed at the corner tower, and there’s also a personal guard from the Zhongli family. Add Zhongli Lingzhao and Jiufang Shaogeng, both peak seventh-level cultivators, as well as a thousand cultivators from the Xiangli clan. How do you plan to make your move?”

Liuyu stretched lazily and moved about before saying:

“Even if they have a thousand cultivators, someone must be in charge. Naturally, we should go for the top three, and among them, the one who loves to control everything is our Miss Lingzhao. So, we start with her.”

When Liuyu mentioned “Miss Lingzhao,” her lips curled slightly, a tone both familiar and slightly teasing.

But it was more familiar than teasing.

Molin turned to look at Liuyu:

“Control everything? How does she control things?”

“Although Lingzhao is very powerful, I don’t know why, but she is always under a lot of pressure and tense. Therefore, she is exceptionally cautious. I’ve never seen her challenge someone out of impulse. That’s her strength and her weakness.”

“Her weakness?”

Liuyu rested her chin on her hand and smiled at him across the table:

“Even though we have five hundred demons and a preemptive advantage, in terms of overall strength, we are still no match for them. If the timing is right and they unite, facing them head-on would be very difficult.”

“But—these three things, they will never achieve them.”

At the same time.

Inside the courtyard where Zhongli Lingzhao and Jiufang Shaogeng were, the banquet had already been cleared, leaving only the faint scent of wine lingering in the air.

“—Where did this silk thread on your wrist come from?”

Jiufang Shaogeng leaned against the table, glancing at the red string on his wrist and smiling:

“The Xiangli clan has been attacked, and you still have time to care about this?”

Zhongli Lingzhao’s expression was cold:

“That’s their business. Besides, we’ve already activated the communication array, and the Shentu clan will send people to Taiping City as soon as possible. No matter what snakes or pests they are, we’ll crush them all.”

Jiufang Shaogeng propped his chin and, seeing Zhongli Lingzhao’s expression, found it amusing.

Two small thieves have scared her into asking the Shentu clan for help. Using a sledgehammer to kill a chicken, is that necessary?

But sending for help also wastes the manpower of the Zhongli family. Jiufang Shaogeng wouldn’t stop her, but his gaze darkened as he looked outside the heavy courtyard gates.

“No matter what kind of thieves they are, if they didn’t notify us immediately, Xiangli Shen is really too suspicious. If today is just a small matter, that’s fine, but if it’s something big, they might be at our door, and we wouldn’t even know…”

The young man’s words were suddenly interrupted by the sound of a door being barged open.

Seeing the intruder, the expressions of both of them immediately became serious.

The person who entered was supposed to be guarding the east gate—Xiangyuan, an eighth-level cultivator.

He was covered in blood, with his exposed skin showing wounds, and there were still ghostly Qi marks left by a mountain spirit’s curved blade.

He half-kneeled on the ground, saying:

“The east gate has been breached by a group of people claiming to be from Longque City, the Jimo clan. There are over two hundred of them, mostly demons, with the rest being about seven hundred commoners. The leader is at the peak of the seventh level. They successfully broke through the corner tower’s barrier through a surprise attack. The family head insisted on concealing this, but I judge that if the two of you don’t take action, the Xiangli clan will be in grave danger. Please, both of you, lend your assistance!”

A rush of Qi surged in the inner room.

“Xiangli Shen… that old fool really feared we would use this as leverage and intentionally concealed it. What an idiot…”

Jiufang Shaogeng stared at Xiangyuan below and asked:

“Are these people the same as the two who broke into the estate? More than two hundred demons, and they managed to sneak up to the Xiangli clan’s doorstep, and you can’t do anything about it. Doesn’t that sound ridiculous?”

Xiangyuan knew he was in the wrong and lowered his head, not speaking.

He thought for a moment, then said something even harder to hear:

“I’m afraid… it’s not just two hundred demons. Just now, Steward Situ Nan went to contact the estate’s overseers, but found that all the overseers had lost contact. Situ Nan suspects that most of the estate has already been infiltrated by hidden demons…”

Jiufang Shaogeng had only brought fifty cultivators on this trip, including five at the seventh level. It should have been enough for safety.

Moreover, no one would dare to touch the young master of the Jiufang family, unless they wanted to go against the entire Jiufang family.

This principle clearly applied to Zhongli Lingzhao as well.

Yet she still wore a cold expression.

“The entire village is controlled by demons and ghosts… Ha, so this is the Xiang Li family, the one that once shared the world with the Emperor and nearly took control of the royal lands!”

By the end, Zhongli Lingzhao’s tone had turned as cold as the frost of December.

Even if their safety were guaranteed, if this matter were to spread back to the Immortal Capital, they would certainly become the laughingstock of the immortal aristocracy!

Jiufang Shaogeng looked at her.

“When will the Shentushi people arrive?”

“Before dawn, probably…”

Before she could finish her sentence, a hurried maid knelt before Zhongli Lingzhao.

“Miss Lingzhao, it’s bad. All the communication arrays have failed. Someone must have tampered with the Tianyin Tower in Taiping City. The Tianyin Cloud Sea has blocked all communication arrays, and we can’t contact the Shentushi family anymore!”

Zhongli Lingzhao froze, her expression stiffening.

Far in the kitchen, Mo Lin overheard this exchange and relayed it to Liuyu.

Liuyu curled the corners of her lips.

People who are too tense and perfectionistic won’t allow any flaws in their plans.

As long as Zhongli Lingzhao lost her sense of control over the situation, it would be easy for her to fall apart mentally and lose her rationality. Even with a good hand, she would be unable to play it properly.

That was why she had sent Wu Zhi, a practitioner at the Eighth Realm, to take over the small Tianyin Tower.

Mo Lin’s gaze darkened as he looked at Liuyu, suddenly saying:

“You understand Zhongli Lingzhao quite well.”

“After being rivals for so many years, I can guess what she’s going to do with a single movement of her finger, whether she’s going to kill someone or just have a headache. There aren’t many people in the world who make me study them this thoroughly.”

Just as she was about to get up and prepare for battle, Liuyu suddenly felt something crawl under her feet, wrapping around her chair and pulling her toward the side of the demon standing opposite her.

Her vision was soon enveloped by him, and the air around her was filled with his scent.

“So, when you’re my enemy, you study me this carefully.”

His cold, stern face was now right in front of her. Liuyu blinked, hearing his teasing voice:

“If I get the chance, I’ll try it too.”

He, too, wanted to know what it felt like to be watched so seriously by her.