Xiuxian: I studied abroad in modern times

Chapter 570 Difficult to govern the clan, Lu clan recruits new members

Upon hearing Zheng Fa's question, the Nascent Soul cultivators of the Yunluo and Liang clans were speechless and fell into silence.

Exactly, why would the Nine Mountains Sect want them?

Zheng Fa's words, translated, mean: I'm not here to persuade you to surrender, but to give you a chance.

Pure PUA.

But it was also the truth of his words. Although the people from the Yunluo and Liang clans had strength, they were not that important to the Jiushan Sect at present.

The Nine Mountains Sect was willing to give them a chance for two reasons. On one hand, they wanted to create chaos in Haori Mountain, because a Haori Mountain in internal strife is always easier to deal with.

On the other hand, it is intended to protect Haori Mountain.

Because of Venerable Tianhe, the Xuanwei cultivators had an unforgettable experience of the power of the formation.

The same is true for Haori Mountain.

Their protective formation, called the Golden Sun Burning Heaven Formation, covers the entire Haori Mountain.

Its power and function are still not fully understood by Zheng Fa:
This grand formation has always been controlled only by the direct descendants of the Lu Clan. Perhaps Immortal Yun knows some details, but even the higher-ups of the Yun Clan have no access to it, making it a closely guarded secret of the Haori Mountain sect.

However, even the strongest protective mountain formation can be easily breached from within.

The Yunluo and Luo clans may be of little use to the Jiushan Sect, but for Haori Mountain, they could be fatal.

Everyone looked left and right, but it was Yunfan who finally understood and asked Zheng Fa, "Ancestor Shi, do you have a solution?"

“I have dealt with Zheng Fa of the Nine Mountains Sect. Although they do not kill innocent people indiscriminately, they do not take just anyone.”

Zheng Fa spoke as if it were the truth.

But the Yunluo and Liang clans didn't find it strange: Shi Nandang was almost the first person in the entire Haori Mountain to get to know Zheng Fa, and he also had the most knowledge of the Jiushan Sect within the sect.

"Besides, even if they were willing to take you in, would you be willing to be like those rogue cultivators?"

Luo Yun honestly replied, "Of course I don't want to."

Haori Mountain has always been revered by the three races. The Nascent Soul cultivators of the Yunluo and Yunluo races are used to being high above others, and they feel a sense of unease about having to start from scratch.

"So don't ask them if they're willing to take you in, but ask yourself what they want and what you can offer the Nine Mountains Sect?"

One of the Yun clan members suddenly realized: "A pledge of allegiance... The Nine Mountains Sect wants Haori Mountain?"

Yun Fan shook his head and said, "Haori Mountain is just a facade. They want spirit stones, spirit veins, people... and they also want to minimize their losses, preferably without losing a single soldier."

Most of these people who were able to cultivate to the Nascent Soul stage and take charge of their clans were not stupid. After a while, some of them said they had figured it out:

"Xianzong?"

Upon hearing these two words, the cave fell silent, as if everyone was hesitant.

The crowd exchanged glances, and one person at the table gritted his teeth and shouted, "If the Lu Clan can offer their fellow disciples to the Demon Ancestor, why can't we?"

These words finally caused most people's expressions to change slightly.

Then the man said again, "We have no choice!"

The group in the cave finally made up their minds and bowed to Zheng Fa, saying, "Ancestor Shi, can you really persuade the Nine Mountains Sect?"

"I can vouch for you."

The Yunluo and Yunluo clans exchanged glances, realizing that this Stone Ancestor had probably already colluded with the Nine Mountains Sect. In the past, they would naturally have rejected him, but now, this connection had become their lifeline!
"Please enlighten us, Ancestor Shi!"

“The Lu Clan wants a blood sacrifice, but I think the Nine Mountains Sect wants people. A shattered Haori Mountain is of no value to them,” Zheng Fa said bluntly. “Remember, you are not betraying your sect, but protecting your fellow disciples and preserving the flame of Haori Mountain.”

"Yes!"

"The treasury and the secret treasures must be carefully guarded."

"I'll understand later!"

"Do you know anything about the Golden Sun Burning Heaven Formation?"

"Ancestor Shi, please allow me to report that, apart from the direct descendants of the Lu clan, only our clan's Holy Ancestor was able to control this great formation to some extent in the past."

Zheng Fa remembered that Yun Zhenxian also seemed to be from the Lu clan.

He wasn't in a hurry; the Lu clan's direct descendants and the Nine Mountains Sect also had them.

After everyone dispersed from Shi Nandang Cave, the sky over Haori Mountain changed.

……

Several Lu Clan disciples were escorting a group of rogue cultivators towards the back of Haori Mountain.

Those rogue monks, with iron chains around their waists, walked with numb expressions and staggering steps on the mountain path.

The faint sobs echoed through the mountains, mingling with the cold mountain winds and sounding even more desperate.

"It's much harder for us to arrest people now than before."

One of the Lu clan disciples complained in a low voice.

"Don't worry, Haori Mountain is so big, we can't catch all the people."

“Cultivators aren’t so easy to catch.”

Behind the Lu Clan disciples, the rogue cultivators looked up.

The snow on the summit of Haori Mountain shines with an eternal golden light, making it one of the most prominent features of Haori Mountain.

In the past, when they looked at this golden light, they always felt longing, envy, and anticipation.

But now, these rogue cultivators only felt that the golden light was filled with the stench of blood, making them want to vomit.

"If it weren't for the Yun and Luo clans, so many of us wouldn't have died..."

"Shut up!"

Suddenly, a leading disciple of the Lu Clan shouted.

Everyone looked up and saw a pretty figure leading a group of people blocking the mountain road; it was Luo Yun.

"Fairy Yun!"

They dared to curse behind his back, but to his face, these Lu Clan disciples all bowed and paid their respects.

Looking at the listless rogue cultivators, Luo Yun recalled the despair she felt when Gu worms crawled around her. With a wave of her hand, Luo clan disciples behind her rushed out, their hands forming hand seals, and unlocked the chains around the waists of these rogue cultivators.

"What are you doing?"

Just as a Nascent Soul cultivator from the Lu Clan was about to intervene, a chill ran down his spine. In the blink of an eye, he saw Luo Yun holding a short halberd, preparing to attack them.

"Fairy Yun! Who gave you the audacity to obstruct the actions of my Lu Clan? Do you intend to incite internal strife?"

Even though the three clans had almost completely broken off relations, the Lu clan members never expected that the Yunluo and Lu clans would actually dare to openly fight each other.

They had never suffered such injustice at Haori Mountain before!
Luo Yun sneered inwardly, "When you captured my Yun clan members before, didn't you think about internal strife?"
She also understood that the Lu Clan held a special position in Haori Mountain and never considered herself or the other two clans together. In their eyes, they were the true masters of Haori Mountain, and there were certain things that the Lu Clan could do but the Yunluo Clan could not.

But today, she's going to show them!

"By order of the Stone Ancestor, release them!"

Luo Yun's voice was cold as she stared intently at the Lu Clan disciple, somewhat expecting him to resist.

Upon hearing this, and seeing their menacing expressions, the Lu Clan disciples gritted their teeth and said, "Shi Nandang... Fine, let's go!"

They understood that they had given up on these independent cultivators.

As Luo Yun watched their departing figures, she felt nothing but a sense of vengeful pleasure.

Those rogue cultivators who had been freed from their chains collapsed to the ground, their bodies limp and powerless, yet they still kowtowed desperately, saying, "Thank you for saving us, Fairy..."

Luo Yun turned her gaze to the rogue cultivators and heard them say, "So Hao Ri Mountain has such a compassionate person as Fairy."

Luo Yun remained silent. She didn't care about these rogue cultivators. Firstly, it was to strike at the Lu Clan, and secondly, it was to preserve the strength of Haori Mountain in order to curry favor with the Nine Mountains Sect.

Looking at the overly sincere gratitude of this group of rogue cultivators, he actually felt a little embarrassed.

After seeing off the profusely thanking rogue cultivators, a Luo clan disciple behind her said, "My Haori Mountain should have been a celestial sect..."

Luo Yun remained silent, but inexplicably felt that she had gained something unexpected.

……

There is a mountain in Haori Mountain called Qianqi Peak, which has more than a hundred caves and is a treasure trove of Haori Mountain.

For several eons, most of Haori Mountain's treasures have been stored here. This Thousand Peaks is naturally an important place in Haori Mountain. In the early years, it was entirely controlled by the Lu Clan's confidants. Later, the Yunluo Clan rose to power, but most of the warehouses were still in the hands of the Lu Clan, and the peak masters were all from the Lu Clan.

"Where is Lu Xun?!"

A soft shout came from the top of Qianqi Peak.

"Who's making such a racket here!"

A middle-aged man from the Lu clan leaped into the air; he was Lu Xun, the peak master of Qianqi Peak. As soon as he looked up, he saw Yun Fan standing in the air, looking down at him from above.

"Yunfan, what brings you to trespass on my Thousand Peaks and make such a racket?"

"By order of the Stone Ancestor, I hereby assume the position of Peak Master of Thousand Peaks, effective immediately!" Yun Fan declared loudly.

"Shi Nandang? What a joke!" Lu Xun sneered. "When did he become the one to decide the position of the Thousand Peaks Master?"

"In the past, when I called him Ancestor Stone, did he really think he was my Haori Ancestor?"

"Even if he were not yet a Dao Fruit cultivator, he would have no right to appoint the master of Thousand Peaks!"

Yun Fan narrowed his eyes and said coldly, "So you're disobeying the Stone Ancestor's orders?"

"What a joke! He's just a corpse-dissolving expert. Why should I listen to him?" Lu Xun said coldly.

Yunfan was not surprised.

Not to mention the crucial position of the Thousand Peaks Master, the potential profits within it are beyond the imagination of outsiders.

Lu Xun also underwent corpse liberation, and it seems that he was dissatisfied with Shi Zu. For both public and private reasons, he would not give up the position of peak master.

"Then please forgive my rudeness, junior disciple."

"You? You're stuck in the Yang Shen stage, unable to undergo corpse dissolution." Lu Xun seemed to want to laugh at the same time, but was also angry. "Where did you get the courage to say the word 'rude' in front of me?"

Yunfan gave a cold laugh, with purple clouds rolling behind him, obscuring the golden light from the top of Haori Mountain.

"Corpse Dissolution!" Lu Xun's expression suddenly changed, and he shouted, "When did you break through?"

"Thanks to Ancestor Shi for his guidance." Yun Fan smiled gently, his voice sounding even more ethereal amidst the clouds. "Of course, you don't have that opportunity."

……

"Shi Nandang has gone mad!"

Inside Shi Nandang's master's cave, the Lu clan's Nascent Soul cultivators gathered together, all with angry expressions.

"Not only did they obstruct our Blood Sacrifice Gu God, but they also tried to seize our position as the Peak Master of Thousand Peaks! How dare they!"

"Then we'll have to ask how Seventh Grand Uncle taught his disciples!"

Shi Nandang's master's face darkened, but he could not refute it.

"Alright, this is not the time for mutual attacks. Given the current situation of our Lu clan, we cannot afford to continue fighting amongst ourselves."

An old man said in a cold voice.

"Yes, Great Elder!"

The speaker was the highest-ranking Corpse Master in the Lu Clan, and also the current Grand Elder. His words silenced the other members' arguments, and they simply said:

"But what should we do now?"

"Yes, the Yunluo and Yunluo clans only listen to Shi Nandang now, and he's getting in their way everywhere!"

"Our Lu clan doesn't even have enough cultivation resources right now!"

Master Shi Nandang gritted his teeth and said simply, "If you want me to speak, I might as well activate the great formation and eliminate Shi Nandang directly!"

“No, the great formation concerns the Holy Ancestor’s legacy.” The Lu Clan’s Grand Elder shook his head and said, “Moreover, we still have to deal with the Nine Mountains Sect.”

"So we're just going to let Shi Nandang humiliate my Lu clan like this?"

"It's alright. They seem to be wary of the great formation and dare not push too far," the Lu Clan's Grand Elder said in a deep voice. "Once we obtain the Holy Ancestor's legacy..."

Although some people were still unwilling, the Grand Elder's authority made the others obey him.

"How many people died in the clan last time?"

“Quite a few.” Master Shi Nandang’s expression twisted, as if he was heartbroken. “More than fifty Nascent Soul cultivators have died, and even seven Deity Transformation cultivators have died. The rest of the disciples have died even more… and thirty percent of them are of the Holy Ancestor’s bloodline.”

Upon hearing this, even the elder of the Lu clan was enraged: "Shi Nandang deserves to die!"

The direct descendants of the Lu Clan are different from the bloodline of the Lu Clan's Holy Ancestor.

For example, Shi Nandang, if things go smoothly, could actually advance to become a direct descendant of the Lu Clan.

However, he could never be of the Holy Ancestor's bloodline, and it is precisely for this reason that the Holy Ancestor's bloodline is still much more prestigious among the Lu Clan.

Especially now, when they need the bloodline of the Holy Ancestor to find the lost treasure.

"Our Lu Clan is now severely weakened. Even without Shi Nandang, it would be difficult to suppress the Yunluo and Lu Clans." After thinking for a long time, the Lu Clan's Grand Elder said decisively, "We can't wait any longer."

Master Shi Nandang said with difficulty, "But... we don't have enough manpower right now. Many of the disciples we selected have died in the mouths of the Gu worms."

"...We will select replacements from within the clan!" The Lu Clan's Grand Elder seemed to have made up his mind. "This time, we only need the bloodline of the Holy Ancestor!"

"Yes!"

……

Lu Yan followed his sister as they sped along the main peak of Haori Mountain.

His sister was still reminding him, "This is a great opportunity for you. I told you to find more resources and cultivate diligently before, all for this moment!"

"What chance?"

"Lu Yan" pressed on.

"The chance to obtain the Holy Ancestor's legacy!" His stepsister turned to look at him, her expression excited. "Originally, the clan was unwilling to let a Golden Core cultivator like you enter the Nine Luminaries Heaven, but unexpectedly, they are now short-handed."

When this was mentioned, the joy on "Lu Yan's" sister's face faded considerably, and her expression became somewhat unpleasant.

Lu Yan lowered his head, thinking to himself that the sect had already thought of this matter.

He looked ahead, feeling uneasy, wondering if there were other people in the sect impersonating members of the Lu clan.

In this way, if he is exposed, it will not implicate the other disciples of Jiushan.

Lu Yan could only pretend he had no help and had to be careful in everything he did. Fortunately, he knew that his family had been settled long ago. His real older sister had become Huang Taishang's disciple—this was one of the benefits of the Intelligence Division. Family members of Intelligence Division disciples could enter the four major academies with lower admission scores.

Moreover, the sect leader is also at Haori Mountain, in an even more dangerous and conspicuous position than himself.

He secretly turned around and glanced at the three palaces, then turned back and followed Sister Lu Yan forward.

"Where are we going?"

"Yuanzun Peak".

Lu Yan was shocked. He had been collecting intelligence on Haori Mountain for a long time and had also heard of Yuanzun Peak.

Yuanzun Peak is the most special mountain in Haori Mountain. Legend has it that it is the place where Haori's first ancestor attained enlightenment and the origin of the Haori Mountain sect.

That place is also one of the Lu Clan's secret locations, which others cannot enter—not because they dare not enter, but because they simply do not know where Yuanzun Peak is.

Seeing his curious expression, Sister Lu Yan didn't say anything, but simply led him, flying along the curve of the mountain ridge.

The two finally stood at the highest point of Haori Mountain's main peak.

All around, everything was covered in white snow, and there was almost nothing else to be seen.

"Yuanzun Peak..."

"Wait."

From all directions, many members of the Lu Clan gathered together. The Lu Clan's Grand Elder appeared before them at some unknown time. He glanced around at the crowd and said in a deep voice:

"My Lu clan has reached the point of extinction!"

"..."

"You were chosen, the purest bloodline of the Holy Ancestor. The life of the Lu Clan is your life, the death of the Lu Clan is your death, and you will not survive either." The Lu Clan's Grand Elder's voice was gloomy. "Remember, apart from the people around you, no one on Haori Mountain, not even the direct disciples of my Lu Clan, can be trusted! The secrets within Yuanzun Peak must not be revealed to outsiders, even if it means death!"

"Yes!"

The Lu Clan's Grand Elder glanced at the crowd, his gaze landing on "Lu Yan," whose aura was pure and whose face was resolute. His expression softened slightly—he had originally thought that the hastily selected clansmen were all good-for-nothings, but he hadn't expected that there were some promising talents among them.

(End of this chapter)