From the family treasure tree to build an eternal family

Chapter 205 Bounty
The leader of the Demon Subduing Division was Jin Kuiyuan, one of the two deputy directors.

When he, at the eighth level of Foundation Establishment, led six Foundation Establishment Demon-Subduing Guards to Yunze Mountain, the chaos there had already ended and the dust had settled.

Jin Kuiyuan, unaware of what was happening, asked in confusion, "General Xing, didn't we agree to act together? Why didn't you wait for me?"

Although Xing Wuming killed Xue Fanyu and Xue Weiwu on the spot, according to the information from his subordinates, he did not find the other two Foundation Establishment cultivators of the Xue family, and even allowed twenty or thirty late-stage Qi Refining clansmen of the Xue family to escape.

His plan, which was originally a sure thing, was inexplicably leaked, which infuriated him.

"You're asking me? My prefectural camp mobilized so many people to guard the vicinity of Yunze Mountain without any leaks, but when you arrived, the Xue family discovered the anomaly and, ignoring my advice, risked their lives to scatter and flee."

"If it wasn't one of your people who leaked the message, who else could it be?"

Xing Wuming's words carried a questioning tone, his gaze sweeping over Jin Kuiyuan and the other six Demon-Subduing Guards.

His suspicions are quite valid.

"Passing messages secretly?"

Jin Kuiyuan frowned and his gaze swept over the six Demon-Subduing Guards.

Director Tuoba Hongyang gave them the order just before they set off.

The Xue family received the news shortly afterward?

It seems the traitor is among them.

Passing messages is simple; all it takes is a secret communication talisman. Therefore, it is not easy to find out who the "mole" is.

If this person cannot be found, the responsibility will fall on all members of the Demon Extermination Division.

"General Xing, how is the battle going?"

Jin Kuiyuan secretly hoped the situation wouldn't get too bad, otherwise they would all be punished.

"Xue Fanyu, the head of the Xue family, and Xue Weiwu, who had the highest cultivation level, were killed on the spot by me. However, the whereabouts of Xue Yimiao and Xue Wanqiao are unknown. Xue Wanqiao is a newly promoted Foundation Establishment cultivator and alchemist in the Xue family."

Xue Yimiao was in charge of training demonic cultivators in the Xue family, capturing mortals and turning them into medicinal herbs for alchemy..."

This information was obtained by Xing Wuming after searching the soul of an important late-stage Qi Refining clansman of the Xue family.

Of the four Foundation Establishment cultivators, two escaped?

Some clansmen who were in the late stage of Qi Refining also escaped.

Upon learning the result, Jin Kuiyuan pondered how to explain it to Tuoba Hongyang when he returned.

"Your Demon Suppression Division can explain to the Prefect how to arrest them. I'll arrange things at Yunze Mountain first."

After Xing Wuming finished speaking, he ignored Jin Kuiyuan and the others. After all, he wasn't Jin Kuiyuan's superior, and it wasn't his place to lecture these people.

He will definitely explain the responsibility for the escape of those Xue family members to the prefect.

Afterwards, Xing Wuming sent his county soldiers to guard Yunze Mountain and collect resources.

As a second-tier spiritual mountain, Yunze Mountain is home to countless spiritual plants. Some of these plants need to be harvested, while others are left to stand.

There are also spirit stones and elixirs left behind by the Xue family members, as well as storage pouches belonging to the late-stage Qi Refining clansmen. A large amount of resources await Xing Wuming's disposal.

These resources must not be kept by anyone; they must all be returned to the imperial court.

Xing Wuming and the county soldiers under his command who had rendered meritorious service were rewarded and rewarded as they deserved. However, the spoils of war were not theirs; these were two separate matters.

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.

"Where is Deputy General Yan? Why hasn't he arrived yet?"

Xing Wuming was standing in front of two deputy commanders of the county camp, but he did not see Yan Yijin.

He came with three deputy generals, but after the Xue family fought to the death to escape, he never saw Yan Yijin again.

"General, I did not see him."

"I haven't seen him either, and I don't know where he is."

Just then, Yan Yijin flew over in a hurry from a distance.

"General, I am late."

After he arrived, he took out several storage pouches from his body: "I was chasing after a few members of the Xue family. Two of them were too cunning and almost escaped from me. I chased them a bit too far, which is why it took me a while."

These are spoils of war; hand them over.

Xing Wuming put away his storage pouch, looked Yan Yijin up and down, and asked with a hint of doubt, "Did you see the other two Foundation Establishment cultivators from the Xue family?"

"No."

Yan Yijin shook his head.

Xing Wuming did not ask any further questions and assigned tasks to the three deputy generals.

"Deputy General Yan, you will lead your troops to guard the 800 mu of medicinal herb fields south of Yunze Mountain. Every single herb in those fields is registered. You must strictly supervise your soldiers and prevent them from stealing. Violators will be severely punished."

"Yes!"

Yan Yijin responded.

After Xing Wuming left, Yan Yijin led his soldiers to guard the herb fields of Yunze Mountain, while he was thinking about Xue Yimiao who had escaped.

As the deputy commander of the prefectural camp, although he had made contributions in this operation, they were certainly far less than the resources that Xue Yimiao carried.

He didn't kill Xue Yimiao with swift and decisive action, but instead left her a chance to live, because he had another intention: he wanted to kill Xue Yimiao secretly and take all her resources.

After all, it was the Demon Subduing Division's mission to kill the Foundation Establishment cultivators of the Xue family. Xue Yimiao's escape and the Demon Subduing Division taking the blame were not the responsibility that could fall on Yan Yijin.

"I hope those second-tier spirit talismans from the Lan family will be useful."

At the crucial moment, Yan Yijin used the second-tier spirit talisman "Ten Thousand Mile Tracking Talisman".

The tracking talisman had locked onto Xue Yimiao, allowing him to hunt her down at any time based on the talisman's location.

"That guy's methods are indeed remarkable; I almost suffered a loss."

At the last moment, Xue Yimiao's use of the fire talisman did indeed cause Yan Yijin a lot of trouble. He was almost injured, so he simply decided to play along and let Xue Yimiao go.

However, Xue Yimiao was in extremely poor condition, suffering from the side effects of taking the Explosive Spirit Pill and injuries inflicted by Yan Yijin.

The Demon Slayers will definitely continue to hunt her down; in her current state, she won't be able to escape Yuanli County.

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.

At this time, Tuoba Hongyang was at the Demon Subduing Bureau office in Yuanli City.

He gazed towards the direction of Yunze Mountain: "Jin Kuiyuan and the others should have arrived by now."

A family that had been cultivating immortality for thousands of years was wiped out overnight because of a few words from the prefect.

It's hard to say which family will rise to prominence or which will fall next.

He wasn't surprised by this at all; such things were common in the cultivation world.

Things change every thirty years, with ups and downs being the norm.

"Nie Tingjun is making an example of someone to deter others, to intimidate those families associated with demonic cultivators."

I wonder which family he will target next?

Is the focus on rectifying the embezzlement by a few families within the forestry bureau, or the corruption by a few families within the water management bureau?

Tuoba Hongyang pondered.

Given his family background, he wasn't afraid of being targeted by Nie Tingjun.

At this moment, he received a spiritual message from Deputy Director Jin Kuiyuan.

Jin Kuiyuan told him what had happened at Yunze Mountain.

"what?!"

Tuoba Hongyang never expected that at the last moment, it would be his own subordinates who leaked the information to the Xue family, allowing the two Foundation Establishment cultivators of the Xue family to escape.

"Foolish, utterly foolish!" Prefect Nie Tingjun issued an order forbidding any leaks.

Even though Tuoba Hongyang had accepted the Xue family's second-grade spiritual pill, the Tortoise-Year Pill, and had a relationship with Fan Kongye, he still dared not reveal a single piece of information to the Xue family. Which of his Demon-Subduing Guards was so stupid as to dare to disobey Nie Tingjun?

Isn't this a slap in the face to the Prefect?

Tuoba Hongyang knew he was in trouble. The only way to atone for their crimes was to capture the Xue family members who had escaped. As for the "traitor" within his ranks, that could be investigated later; the immediate priority was to apprehend him.

At the speed of a Foundation Establishment cultivator, once they escape at full speed, it wouldn't take them more than a few hours to get out of Yuanli County.

Time was of the essence, and he had no time to waste.

"We have no choice but to issue a bounty!"

The only solution he could think of was to immediately issue a bounty for the man, mobilizing celestial officials and independent cultivators from all over the land to help find him.

He issued a bounty for the capture of Xue family members, especially Xue Yimiao and Xue Wanqiao, who were at the Foundation Establishment stage, in the name of the County Government's Demon Subduing Division.

If you can kill the two of them, or help the Demon Subduing Division kill the two of them, you can get a Foundation Establishment Pill!

Other members of the Xue family who are at the Qi Refining stage will also receive generous rewards.

This wanted notice, sent via a spirit talisman, instantly spread throughout all seventy-one counties of Yuanli Prefecture.

Not only did the county governments in various towns receive this reward notice, but some cultivation families also received the information.

For example, the Ning family of Kunxu Mountain, a Foundation Establishment cultivation family.

The bounty notice caused an instant sensation throughout Yuanli County.

The shock it caused was not only the killing of the Xue family members, but more importantly, the additional news: the Xue family of Yunze Mountain captured mortals to refine pills and massacred mortals, and was designated as a "demonic cultivation force" by the prefect and exterminated.

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.

Tonggu County Town.

A wedding is being held at a luxurious winery, which is decorated with lights and colorful decorations.

The groom at the wedding was a 90-year-old man, but he was radiant and showed no signs of aging; only a few strands of white hair at the ends of his head revealed his age.

He is Jiang Hao, the magistrate of Tonggu County!

Jiang Hao's bride was a beautiful girl named Li Shue, a rogue cultivator with four spiritual roots.

Li Shue looks to be in her early twenties, but she is actually over forty. It's just that her status as a cultivator at the third level of Qi Refining makes her look so young.

Those who could attend Jiang Hao's wedding were all wealthy and influential figures in Tonggu County.

Although Pei Wanchang and Jiang Hao did not have a very good relationship, he still came to offer his congratulations on such a great day.

Xu Xiaoniu, the head of the Demon Subduing Division, was also present.

Jiang Hao's wife, Lü Jinlan, had already passed away; she was killed by the Pei family during the operation targeting the Lü family. At the time, Lü Jinlan was already quite old and wouldn't live for many more years, yet Jiang Hao still tacitly allowed the Pei family to kill her.

In short, Jiang Hao did not spare anyone from the Lü family at that time, except for his own children.

Jiang Hao wanted to develop his family, but his Jiang family had just been established and had too few members, and the cultivators only had one son and one daughter.

He had long considered remarrying, but as a celestial official magistrate with three true spiritual roots, it was not worth it to marry an ordinary woman. He had to marry a female rogue cultivator with spiritual roots.

Female independent cultivators are few in number, and once they appear, they are highly sought after by various cultivation families.

Jiang Hao finally met Li Shue, and after some interaction, he managed to reach an agreement with her based on his own merits.

Despite his humble family background, Jiang Hao's family owns the first-tier spiritual land of Cangwu Mountain, and he is the head of the family. He has also achieved the perfection of Qi Refining and has a glimmer of hope for Foundation Establishment.

Li Shue wanted to marry him, and she held a high position in the family.

Given their circumstances—one possessing a three-element true spiritual root and the other a four-element mixed spiritual root—the probability of their offspring having spiritual roots is very high.

Jiang Hao, beaming, toasted the guests with Li Shue. He was delighted to have married a young and beautiful female cultivator at such a young age; he needed to make the most of the next few years and have children while he was still young.

Despite being ninety years old, he is not considered old for a Qi Refining cultivator and can still have children.

Everyone present offered their congratulations.

The only one who looked unhappy and displeased was his daughter, Jiang Ting.

Jiang Ting's original name was Lü Xuanting, but she changed her surname. She used to be very favored in the Lü family and had feelings for them.

On the contrary, her twin brother Jiang Chen had no feelings for the Lü family.

The wedding banquet was halfway through.

The officials on duty at the county office rushed over, bringing a messenger talisman: "Your Excellency, there is an urgent message from the prefectural office!"

"Oh?"

Although Jiang Hao was unhappy that someone had interrupted his wedding banquet, it was an urgent message from the county government, so he dared not delay and quickly checked the communication talisman.

After checking, he exclaimed in surprise, "A bounty for Foundation Establishment Pills?!"

He is currently at the peak of Qi Refining, but he is stuck at the bottleneck because he does not have a Foundation Establishment Pill.

At the age of ninety, this is his last chance to break through to the Foundation Establishment stage.

Once he is over a hundred years old, the possibility of him breaking through to the Foundation Establishment stage will decrease year by year, becoming lower and lower.

"It's nothing serious, let's continue, let's continue..."

Jiang Hao continued with the wedding banquet, but his mind was clearly not on it.

After the wedding banquet ended hastily, Jiang Hao summoned the other three celestial officials who had attended. Fortunately, all three were present, which saved him the trouble.

"County Magistrate Pei, and Director Xu, the three of you come with me. I have something important to tell you."

He led the three of them to a room.

"The urgent message just received from the Demon Subduing Division of the Prefectural Government has instructed me to spread it throughout the entire county, so that at least all the celestial officials and rogue cultivators must know. I'm informing you first, and then I'll post notices and notify the whole county."

The county government's Demon-Slaying Division said, "The Xue family of Yunze Mountain..."

Jiang Hao's knowledge of the Xue family of Yunze Mountain was limited to rumors; he knew very little.

Xu Xiaoniu was shocked when he heard this news, as it was extremely important to the Xu family!
Others may not know, but he knows very well what the Xue family has been doing behind the scenes.

All the negative news about the Xue family was fabricated by Xu Fugui.

"The county government's Demon Subduing Division has instructed us to search diligently, and even providing a single clue will earn us merit. The incident just happened recently, and the Xue family members are secretly escaping. We should act swiftly and try our luck; perhaps we'll find a great opportunity."

Who wouldn't yearn for the Foundation Establishment Pill?

Even if we can't capture those two Foundation Establishment members of the Xue family, we'll still be rewarded if we discover any Qi Refining late-stage members of the Xue family.

Jiang Hao was at the peak of Qi Refining, and so was Pei Wanchang.

They all desperately need a Foundation Establishment Pill to try and break through to the Foundation Establishment Realm. Once they achieve Foundation Establishment, their status will undergo a dramatic change, akin to a fish leaping over the dragon gate, defying the heavens and changing their fate.

Xu Xiaoniu, however, had different ideas.

Upon hearing the news, he quickly bid farewell and returned to Baihe Mountain, eager to tell his family the good news of the Xue family's demise.

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.

Baihe Mountain.

Xu Xiaoniu flew back at high speed.

"Father, Sixth Son!"

He was first discovered by Xu Xiaohou, who was at the Foundation Establishment stage.

"Brother, what's wrong? Why are you in such a hurry?"

Xu Xiaohou was puzzled.

(End of this chapter)