From the family treasure tree to build an eternal family

Chapter 111 Demon-Subduing Guard

Surrounding the Liu family's three-courtyard mansion, soldiers dressed in military uniforms, armored and carrying swords, tightly encircled it, preventing nearby residents from approaching.

"Dong dong dong..."

With a series of heavy footsteps, Xu Xiaoniu stepped over the threshold of the courtyard gate and walked out of the Liu family mansion.

His expression was grave; the scene he had just witnessed in the courtyard made him feel nauseous.

The first person to discover it was a maid in the Liu family. She got up early to empty the chamber pot for her master, and when she entered the inner courtyard, she saw blood and corpses all over the ground.

Xu Xiaoniu did not send a coroner to examine the body because it was unnecessary; the methods of the demonic cultivators were obvious and beyond their capabilities.

"Brother, what's going on?"

Xu Xiaohou had just arrived from home when he heard rumors circulating in the village that many members of the Liu family had died.

News of this tragedy has spread throughout Baihe Village.

As he spoke, he walked past the soldiers and prepared to enter the Liu family mansion to investigate. He held a position in Xu Xiaoniu's county garrison, but was merely an ordinary constable without official rank.

"You shouldn't go see it."

Xu Xiaoniu stretched out his arm to stop him: "You can't help with this."

"What, a demonic cultivator?"

Xu Xiaohou lowered his voice. He had heard from others that what else could that kind of death be but that of a demonic cultivator?
Just as the two were talking, a presence flew in from a distance.

Jing Zhuo, the head of the Demon Subduing Division of Tonggu County, is a late-stage Qi Refining cultivator.

Jing Zhuo landed in the Liu family mansion, and after thoroughly inspecting it, he came out and beckoned to Xu Xiaoniu: "County Commandant Xu, come here."

"Director Jing."

Xu Xiaoniu respectfully walked up to Jing Zhuo and bowed.

He was a military officer and county lieutenant, in charge of maintaining order in Tonggu County. Jing Zhuo was the director of the Demon Subduing Division, also responsible for protecting the safety of Tonggu County, but dealing with the likes of treacherous cultivators and demonic cultivators.

Nominally, Jing Zhuo has no jurisdiction over Xu Xiaoniu, but in reality, their responsibilities overlap and they need to cooperate with each other.

“County Commandant Xu, I remember you’re from Baihe Village, aren’t you?”

"Yes."

"Has the Liu family offended any cultivators? Their methods are unlike those of ordinary demonic cultivators; they seem more like they're seeking revenge."

Jing Zhuo made his own judgment.

Demonic practitioners operate covertly and have precise targets. The fact that they would massacre a family of over ten people, young and old, strongly suggests they are seeking revenge.

"Cultivating immortality?"

Xu Xiaoniu thought for a moment, but couldn't think of any cultivator who had a grudge against the Liu family. Zhao Shuai's feud with the Liu family and his being taken in as a disciple by an immortal happened after Xu Xiaoniu joined the army, so he didn't have a deep impression of it; he had only heard his third brother mention it many years ago.

"I will send someone to investigate in detail," he replied.

"Send more people to patrol the area. Pay attention to any family members who go missing, regardless of age or gender, or who die mysteriously."

Jing Zhuo then gave further instructions.

"Yes."

"Report any issues to the Demon Subduing Division immediately. I'll leave the rest to you."

After Jing Zhuo finished speaking, he was about to leave when he saw someone walk up to him.

"Greetings, Director Jing. My name is Xu Xiaohou."

Upon thinking of the "demonic cultivator," Xu Xiaohou couldn't resist stepping forward. He concentrated his spiritual energy in his dantian, while his internal energy surged out from his kidneys and circulated through his meridians, displaying a powerful and vigorous qi and blood.

"You're the sixth brother of County Magistrate Xu, right? I've heard of you. Your internal strength must be at the third level of the Innate Realm?"

Jing Zhuo looked Xu Xiaohou, who was quite young, up and down.

"Yes, the third level of the innate realm."

"How about becoming a demon-slaying guard under my command? If you achieve merit, you'll be well rewarded."

A martial artist at the third level of the Innate Realm is stronger than an ordinary Qi Refining Level 3 cultivator. They can be useful as a Demon-Subduing Guard to help deal with demonic cultivators or tribulation cultivators.

"Thank you for your appreciation, Director Xie. I will do my best."

Xu Xiaohou took the initiative to step forward, hoping to obtain the identity of "Demon Suppression Guard" within the Demon Suppression Division.

"Now is the opportunity, so seize it."

As soon as Jing Zhuo finished speaking, he flew away.

The appearance of demonic cultivators in Tonggu County was both a good thing and a bad thing for him.

The downside is that if he fails to capture the demonic cultivator, it would be a dereliction of duty on his part.

The advantage is that if he captures a demonic cultivator, it will be credited to him. The stronger the demonic cultivator and the more casualties he causes, the greater his credit for capturing him.

With his Qi Refining Level 9 cultivation, if he makes a great contribution and with some maneuvering, he might be rewarded with a Foundation Establishment Pill by the county government.

This is the advantage of being a "celestial official".

While the chance to establish a foundation in the immortal realm is rare and hard to come by elsewhere, "immortal officials" can obtain precious resources such as foundation-establishing pills as long as they have merit and connections with higher-ups.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

"Liu Zi, what are you doing! My county garrison can't tolerate you, why do you insist on becoming a Demon-Slaying Guard?"

Xu Xiaoniu glared angrily at Xu Xiaohou.

He couldn't speak up when Jing Zhuo was present, but now it seems too late to rebuke or stop him.

The Demon-Subduing Guards deal with demonic cultivators and tribulation cultivators; can they really be safe?

Furthermore, Xu Xiaohou also carries the Xu family's secrets.

"Brother, let me explain. My skills are useless in your county camp; I only handle trivial matters. Being a Demon-Subduing Guard would be much better. Cultivators may be dangerous, but they have spirit stones."

He whispered a few words in Xu Xiaoniu's ear.

At his current age, with no outlet for his strength, it's inevitable that he'll develop other thoughts.

He vividly remembered dealing with that gang of thieves near Qingqiu Mountain ten years ago. If it weren't for the rich harvest from that incident, his family wouldn't have developed so quickly.

Seeing that his family was short of spirit stones, Xu Xiaohou came up with this idea.

"Hmph, I can't reason with you. Just wait and see how your father teaches you a lesson."

Xu Xiaoniu is a low-key and steady person, and there is absolutely no way he would go against a demonic cultivator for treasures like spirit stones.

"Go to the city and call your third and fourth brothers back. I have something to discuss with them."

"Okay." Xu Xiaohou headed to the county town.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

county seat.

The backyard of Xu Xiaogou's family.

He took a Qi and Blood Pill and practiced the Five Elements Stance Technique.

The innate stage of "Five Elements Stance Exercise" consists of ten dynamic stances, which continuously accumulate internal strength.

Once the innate triple cultivation is completed, internal energy fills the kidney palace. The circulation of internal energy can accommodate the seven main meridians and twelve branch meridians. Internal energy spreads throughout the whole body, making the body incredibly strong and the body as solid as steel.

"Hu-hu-"

Xu Xiaogou's stance movements are as fast as the wind, and the changes in stances are continuous, like a surging river.

After the tenth movement of the stake, it didn't stop, but instead, another fifteenth movement of the stake began.

This is the master-level stance training of "Five Elements Stance Training"!

Xu Xiaogou has not broken through to the Grandmaster realm, but has been stuck at the bottleneck for two years.

He had mastered the third level of the Innate Realm two years ago, but has not broken through since.

The threshold from acquired to innate is nothing compared to the difficulty of going from innate to grandmaster. Many innate level three practitioners are stuck at this bottleneck and cannot break through.

Reaching the Grandmaster level requires even greater comprehension; one's control over internal energy must reach another level.

"My father-in-law said that one can only enter the Grandmaster realm when internal energy enters the acupoints. But this step is too difficult."

He kept repeating the stance training, over and over again.

The small boost to his blood and qi from the Qi and Blood Pills is barely worth it for him now.

His internal energy flowed through his meridians, but no matter how much he practiced stance training, he could not increase his internal energy by even a fraction.

Unconsciously, he became somewhat impatient, his whole body was burning hot and he was sweating profusely, and his internal energy seemed to be out of control, impacting his meridians.

"Ok?"

He quickly mobilized a wisp of spiritual energy from his dantian, circulating it through his body, and immediately felt a refreshing coolness throughout his body.

Unable to break through to the Grandmaster level, he not only created his own physical martial arts techniques, but also occasionally practiced immortal cultivation techniques.

"Why should I be anxious? I'm only forty years old, very young. I have spiritual energy to nourish and prolong my life, I can live to at least one hundred and twenty, why would I be afraid of not being able to become a Grandmaster or break through to the Great Grandmaster?"

With this in mind, he calmed down.

The stance training movements became stable, sometimes fast, sometimes slow, sometimes gentle, sometimes rapid.

Unconsciously, he fell into a state of self-forgetfulness. He saw the surging internal energy within his body, the tendons and veins, and the acupoints that were independent yet interconnected.

The acupoints are interwoven into a network, with different acupoints interacting in various ways, resulting in endless variations.

Among the thirty-six vital acupoints, three emitted a faint light.

"Om~~"

The internal energy seemed to be under his control, rushing into these three acupoints simultaneously.

The internal energy, which had remained unchanged for a long time, finally increased again.

"call--!"

Xu Xiaogou opened his eyes: "When you're eager to break through, you get stuck and can't move forward. But when you calm down, you break through."

He walked out of the backyard and saw Xu Xiaohou.

"Third Brother, you...you've broken through?"

Xu Xiaohou knew that his third brother had been stuck at a bottleneck for a long time, and he noticed that his aura was different from usual.

"Yes. You'll have to take this step sooner or later, and you'll find my experience useful."

Xu Xiaogou intends to share his experience in breaking through.

"We'll talk about that later. My eldest brother has something to discuss with us. I already informed my fourth brother, and he went back first."

"it is good."

The two returned to the village together.

During the journey, Xu Xiaohou told Xu Xiaogou about the major events that had occurred in the Liu family, which greatly surprised him.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

The old Xu family residence, a secret room in the backyard.

Xu Fugui and his sons gathered here.

"The demonic cultivators who slaughtered the Liu family were ruthless. We don't know what kind of hatred they had. We also need to be vigilant. The county has been quite unsettled lately. In addition to the demonic cultivators, there have been cases of missing children and missing daughters."

Xu Xiaoniu solemnly reminded everyone.

This matter is extremely dangerous. The Liu family mansion is only two miles away from the Xu family. If such a disaster were to befall the Xu family, could they withstand it?
For some reason, Xu Xiaogou thought of someone, a friend who had been gone for twenty-five years.

Is the Liu family's affair related to him?
He quickly dismissed the idea; the people who slaughtered the Liu family were ruthless, unlike the methods of that simple and kind-hearted boy.

Very few people in Baihe Village knew about the Liu family and Zhao Shuai's affair.

The Liu family failed at the time, and the matter was dropped due to Liu Yaozu's death, so no one heard about it. Only Xu Xiaogou and Li Mo were present at the time and knew about the Liu family's despicable methods.

Later, Zhao Shuai was taken in as a disciple by an immortal. All that was known was that the Zhao family's land was later given to the Xu family, which made many people envious.

"There's another thing. Liu Zi joined the Demon Subduing Division and got a job as a Demon Subduing Guard."

Xu Xiaoniu glared at Xu Xiaohou and said with dissatisfaction.

"what?"

"No!"

"Liu Zi, why are you so impulsive?"

"..."

The crowd questioned and tried to persuade him.

Xu Fugui also looked dissatisfied: "Why are you acting as a demon-slaying guard? Your family needs you to teach them stance training, and you're also practicing martial arts and internal energy cultivation at the same time. Where do you find the time to do that?"

"Father, brothers, sharpening the axe won't delay the work of chopping wood. I just want to take this opportunity to earn more spirit stones. Don't worry, I definitely won't act impulsively. I'll fight if things go smoothly, and I'll run if things go wrong. Is that alright?"

Xu Xiaohou was helpless; his family were all low-key and cautious.

Where can we get resources like this?
(End of this chapter)