From the family treasure tree to build an eternal family

Chapter 189 Revealing the secret
"These are all the spirit stones I have. Please, sirs, spare my life..."

As Xu Xiaohou spoke, he took out a heavy bag of spirit stones from his pocket, about seventy or eighty in total, and placed it respectfully in front of him, looking at Meng Jiaojiao who was approaching step by step with a look of horror on his face.

On the surface, he appeared terrified, but in reality, he was prepared to use a high-grade golden light talisman and unleash his feather-patterned flying sword at any moment.

Meng Jiaojiao stepped forward slowly, ignoring the bag of spirit stones, and looked down at Xu Xiaohou kneeling on the ground, ready to kill him at any moment.

But then he suddenly turned to look at Huang Li: "The rogue cultivator who worked for us before is dead, and another demonic cultivator is also missing. Why don't we take him in?"

Huang Li hesitated for a moment, then stared at Xu Xiaohou with a sinister look: "Tell me, did you also kill that demonic cultivator named Sun Yan?"

what?
Xu Xiaohou first shook his head repeatedly, then nodded and said, "I don't know his name. He was a demonic cultivator at the sixth level of Qi Refining. It took me a lot of effort to kill him and steal fifty spirit stones from him."

Upon hearing Xu Xiaohou's reply, Huang Li was both angry and delighted.

What angered him was that the two loyal henchmen he had finally found were both killed by Xu Xiaohou.

Fortunately, Sun Yan was not killed by the Demon Subduing Division.

"In this case……"

Huang Li indeed had no one else available, but the person in front of her was strong, bold, reckless, and greedy, making him easy to control.

"what's your name?"

"Xu Xunxi is the sixth child in his family, so you can also call me Xu Laoliu."

Xunxi was a pseudonym Xu Xiaohou made up for himself, meaning "searching for Xiaoxi." Xieyue Mountain and Tonggu County were thousands of miles apart, so the name "Xu Laoliu" wouldn't evoke any association with him.

"Old Xu, I'll spare your life. If you work well for us, you'll be well rewarded. The condition is that you keep it a secret. Don't ask what you shouldn't ask, and don't know what you shouldn't know. You're not allowed to mention us to anyone, and you absolutely cannot let anyone know we're here."

Otherwise, I'll make sure you lose your head!

Huang Li used coercion and enticement as her usual tactics.

Xu Xiaohou repeatedly bowed in gratitude, saying, "Thank you, sir, thank you, sir..."

"Take the people and let's go."

After Huang Li finished speaking, she ignored the obsequious Xu Xiaohou and let Meng Jiaojiao leave with the girls that Xu Xiaohou had captured.

Xu Xiaohou, who remained where he was, immediately took out two spirit stones from his spirit stone bag, absorbed the spirit stones, and used his cultivation technique to dispel the spiritual poison from his body.

His plan to infiltrate the enemy was successful in its first step. The next challenge was that he needed to send the captured girls over in batches.

To approach evil, one must become evil.

Left with no other choice, he became a member of the demonic cultivator gang and their accomplice.

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 desolate countryside of Shitan County.

An abandoned post station.

Two human traffickers brought several girls to Xu Xiaohou.

Although the traffickers were puzzled as to why the people had been changed, they didn't care who the other party was as long as they received the money.

One of the girls was wailing loudly, and the traffickers had taken all her gold and silver ornaments.

Xu Xiaohou frowned, suppressing his murderous intent, and said in a low voice, "This won't do, send it back."

"Ah? My lord, why is that?"

The human traffickers didn't understand why they had to send the girl they had gone to so much trouble to kidnap back.

"Huh? I need to explain to you?"

Xu Xiaohou's voice was hoarse and cold as he pulled out a silver note from his pocket and threw it at the trafficker's face: "You'll get your money back. Follow orders."

"Yes, yes...yes."

The trafficker nodded repeatedly and picked up the banknotes. As long as there was money to be made, that was fine.

"This one won't do either, it's too thin."

Xu Xiaohou then pointed to another girl.

And so, of the four girls, two were released.

After paying off the traffickers with silver, Xu Xiaohou drove the carriage, bringing the two girls to Xieyue Mountain.

He played the jade flute, summoning Meng Jiaojiao.

"Only two?"

Meng Jiaojiao was somewhat surprised. This person spoke so confidently, saying he would do things for them, but this is all he's capable of?
"My lord, I have had a bad start. Please give me a little more time."

Xu Xiaohou made an excuse.

Meng Jiaojiao didn't say much, dropped a spirit stone, and left with the two girls.

Xu Xiaohou pretended to leave, but actually returned after going in circles, secretly following Meng Jiaojiao for a while to observe her movements.

He needed to stall for time and try to find out something from these demonic cultivators.

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.

Ten days later.

In the deep valley of Xieyue Mountain, the oriole lost its patience.

"What on earth is Xu Laoliu doing? He can bring in two or three girls in a single day. What a useless piece of trash!"

According to the original plan, they should have captured a hundred girls a few days ago, cleaned up the traces, and left.

However, due to Xu Xiaohou's delays, there are only a little over eighty girls in total so far.

"We can't wait any longer! Delay might cause problems."

The oriole made a decision.

The longer their operation lasts, the greater the risk of exposure.

Although the task assigned by Xue Yimiao has not yet been completed, it is still better than having one's identity exposed or dying here and failing the mission.

"Let's go and get rid of Xu Laoliu."

Huang Li felt uneasy thinking about the cunning Xu Laoliu, so she decided to personally lead a group to ensure Xu Laoliu's death.

Those demonic cultivators or rogue cultivators who worked for them were all doomed to die.

The outer perimeter of Xieyue Mountain.

Xu Xiaohou sent over two more girls, but found three demonic cultivators, including Huang Li, waiting for him.

He had a bad feeling, but he pretended to be calm.

"Xu Laoliu, you've done a good job these past few days. Our mission here is complete, and you don't need to come anymore."

As Huang Li spoke, she stepped forward and tossed over a bag containing twenty spirit stones: "This is a reward for you."

You don't need to come anymore?

Xu Xiaohou became wary, wondering if these people intended to kill him to silence him.

On the surface, however, he was obsequious: "Thank you, sir."

He stepped forward, bent down to pick up the spirit stone bag, and suddenly heard the sound of wind above his head. He quickly activated the superior-grade golden light talisman.

"Keng~"

Huang Li's hand was placed on Xu Xiaohou's head, but it was blocked by the protective shield of the superior golden light talisman.

"How do you possess a top-grade Golden Light Talisman?"

She was slightly surprised.

Although the price of high-grade Golden Light Talismans is not high, with the destruction of the Lan family, the number of high-grade Golden Light Talismans is decreasing, and only the remaining stock is left.

Xu Xiaohou dodged backward: "What do you mean by this, sir? I worked for you, why are you killing me?"

"Knowing of our existence, you cannot survive."

Huang Li looked at Xu Xiaohou coldly, as if he were already dead. Even with a high-grade golden light talisman, he could only prolong his life for a few more moments before falling into their clutches.

She waved her hand, signaling Meng Jiaojiao to act: "Yinling, go!"

"Yes."

Meng Jiaojiao responded and stepped forward to deal with Xu Xiaohou.

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.

Oops!

Xu Xiaohou knew he could no longer pretend. Among the three demonic cultivators present were Huang Li, at the ninth level of Qi Refining, Yin Ling, also at the ninth level of Qi Refining, and another at the eighth level of Qi Refining.

The other two Qi Refining Stage 8 cultivators should be guarding those girls.

During the ten days or so he spent in hiding, he took advantage of his identity to find out the personnel of the demonic cultivator gang.

In addition, they also noticed some special features of the silver bell.

The silver bell at the ninth level of Qi Refining was his breakthrough point.

"Since I can't keep up the act anymore, then I'll stop pretending. Die!"

With a boom, Xu Xiaohou unleashed a burst of spiritual energy, ascending into the sky, his aura of perfected Qi cultivation clearly visible.

"Perfected Qi Refining? Just who are you?!"

Huang Li was shocked to realize that the people working for them had actually hidden their true strength.

Seeing a flying sword hurtling towards her, she swung her palm and knocked it away with a clang, while simultaneously taking out a defensive magic weapon from her storage pouch.

"What a powerful flying sword."

Her hands trembled, and her hard, iron-like nails shattered.

A two-foot-long, hexagonal, bluish-gray shield appeared in her hand.

The previous demonic cultivators suffered heavy losses, so this time Xue Yimiao sent Huang Li to lead the mission and specially gave her a high-grade defensive magic weapon: the Green Wood Armor Shield.

The feather-patterned flying sword, which had been deflected, quickly returned and flew towards the oriole's chest once more.

She held the green wooden shield in front of her.

The two-foot-long wooden shield was enough to protect half of the oriole's body and firmly block the palm-sized feather-patterned flying sword.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

The feather-patterned flying swords circled around the oriole, attacking her each time, but she blocked them with her green wooden armor shield, making a dull "thump-thump" sound.

This is a high-grade defensive magic weapon, capable of withstanding attacks from ordinary flying swords and sword energy.

"What are you standing there for? Kill him!"

Huang Li was entangled by the feather-patterned flying sword, so she sent Meng Jiaojiao and another person to deal with Xu Xiaohou. At the same time, she sent a signal to summon two other companions at the eighth level of Qi Refining.

They outnumbered Xu Xiaohou five to one and surrounded and killed him.

"Back!"

Xu Xiaohou controlled the feather-patterned flying sword to fly back and shoot towards the demonic cultivator at the eighth level of Qi Refining.

He and his feather-patterned flying sword attacked and killed the demonic cultivator at the eighth level of Qi Refining, one after the other.

Sword-wielding cultivators are often weak in close combat.

However, that person did not expect that Xu Xiaohou's close combat strength was ridiculously strong, and that Xu Xiaohou was just pretending before.

With a flurry of punches and palm strikes, he blasted the demonic cultivator at the eighth level of Qi Refining into a bloody pulp.

"Take care of one!"

Xu Xiaohou killed a demonic cultivator at the eighth level of Qi Refining, leaving four enemies remaining.

Meng Jiaojiao lunged forward and engaged Xu Xiaohou in a fierce battle.

With her Qi Refining Ninth Level body protected by spiritual energy, she unleashed streaks of sharp light from her fingertips, clashing against Xu Xiaohou's powerful fist shadows.

The invisible energy collision creates waves that spread outwards.

The feather-patterned flying swords lurked around, circling rapidly in the air and emitting a "whoosh" sound.

Suddenly, the feather-patterned flying sword flew towards Meng Jiaojiao's face.

At this moment, Meng Jiaojiao was engaged in close combat with Xu Xiaohou and was unable to withstand this flying sword.

With Xu Xiaohou's strength, an ordinary Qi Refining Level 9 cultivator wouldn't last more than a few moves.

As Meng Jiaojiao dodged, she saw the feather-patterned flying sword change angle at the crucial moment, cutting open the black cloth covering her face.

A black cloth floated down from the sky, revealing Meng Jiaojiao's delicate face and flowing long hair.

When Xu Xiaohou saw the true face of the demonic cultivator "Silver Bell," he was momentarily stunned, and a gust of sinister wind swept over him from behind.

With a tearing sound, Xu Xiaohou's clothes were ripped from behind, leaving several deep, black claw marks on his back that revealed the bone.

Fresh blood seeped out, turning a grayish-brown color due to the toxins, and the skin on his back was bubbling and corroding.

The biggest threat to him wasn't Meng Jiaojiao, but Huang Li, who possessed a top-grade defensive magic weapon and was the strongest among them!

Taking advantage of Meng Jiaojiao's distraction of Xu Xiaohou, Huang Li launched a sneak attack and succeeded.

"hiss--"

Xu Xiaohou gasped, a burning, bone-chilling pain shooting through his back. He used his powerful spiritual energy to withstand the spiritual poison and turned to fight Huang Li.

However, Huang Li's superior magic weapon, the "Green Wood Armor Shield," is very powerful. She alone can fight Xu Xiaohou to a standstill, with neither side gaining the upper hand.

The feather-patterned flying sword circled around Xu Xiaohou, constantly looking for an opportunity to attack Huang Li.

The green wooden shield in Huangli's hand was indestructible.

Xu Xiaohou possesses the aura of a martial arts grandmaster, while Huang Li's poisonous Yuan Sha Gong is equally adept at close combat.

The two were locked in a stalemate, neither able to gain the upper hand.

Just then, two more demonic cultivators at the eighth level of Qi Refining flew over from a distance.

Four against one, Xu Xiaohou is in grave danger!

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.

"Silver Bell, what are you standing there for!"

The oriole scolded.

From the beginning until now, Yinling has been very passive, and now she is just watching from the sidelines without taking the opportunity to join the battle.

"Silver bell!"

This shout came from Xu Xiaohou: "I know you are different from them, different!"
You are not a demonic cultivator, nor a demon who treats human life as worthless. Now the opportunity is in front of you. Kill them and report what you know to the Demon Subduing Division!

The imperial court will intervene and wipe out the demonic cultivators' forces; you will be free.

Based on his observations over this period of time, Yinling is different from other demonic cultivators.

Compared to the emotionless gazes of the other demonic cultivators, Yinling showed sympathy, pity, and heartache for the girls when they were alone.

Xu Xiaohou even witnessed Yinling deliberately letting two girls go on one occasion.

That was a feeling of compassion arising from a conscience that had not yet been extinguished.

He didn't know the origins of these demonic cultivators or their backgrounds, but he could tell that Silver Bell was special.

He subtly inquired about the titles Silver Bell and Oriole from Silver Bell, but Silver Bell remained silent when he tried to learn more.

Xu Xiaohou's words left Meng Jiaojiao stunned.

She's been discovered?!

In fact, she had already noticed that something was wrong with Xu Xiaohou. Not only did Xu Xiaohou only bring two girls each time, but he also deliberately delayed and always pretended to casually inquire about their situation.

She guessed that Xu Xiaohou had come with a purpose, and the moment Xu Xiaohou revealed his strength proved her guess.

Without a doubt, Xu Xiaohou is a good person who came to eradicate the demonic cultivators.

This is also why Meng Jiaojiao was unwilling to help him deal with him.

Xu Xiaohou showed mercy and spared Meng Jiaojiao, causing the feather-patterned flying sword to deviate by a few inches; otherwise, the flying sword would have slashed across Meng Jiaojiao's throat.

Now, it's time for Meng Jiaojiao to repay the favor.

Suddenly, she made her move, not at Xu Xiaohou, but at her two companions who had come to her aid at the eighth level of Qi Refining.

"Silver Bell, are you crazy?!"

Because the incident happened so suddenly, one of his companions, who was at the eighth level of Qi Refining, was unable to dodge in time and suffered severe injuries.

Huang Li had no idea what had happened to her, so how could she have been turned by someone of unknown origin?
"Silver Bell, how dare you disobey our lord?! Have you forgotten why we live?!"

Huang Li was completely brainwashed, and only Xue Yimiao's orders were on her mind.

Meng Jiaojiao remained silent. She felt no affection for the Xue family, only disgust. She felt no affection for her brainwashed companions either, seeing them only as terrifying demons with countless bloodstains on their hands.

Her defection at the last minute, despite being a Qi Refining Level 9 cultivator, greatly reduced the pressure on Xu Xiaohou.

(End of this chapter)