From the family treasure tree to build an eternal family

Chapter 236: The Disaster of Genocide
The celestial officials of Yuanli County have their celestial official tokens integrated into their divine souls, and one of them is kept in the Demon Subduing Division or the county government office.

Yuanli City.

When Cheng Xingao died, the jade tablet containing his soul, which was kept in the Demon Subduing Bureau, shattered.

Soon, Tuoba Hongyang, the director of the Demon Subduing Division, and his two deputy directors learned of the news.

Tuoba Hongyang immediately sent people to investigate.

The silent death of a Foundation Establishment Realm Immortal Official is no small matter. Especially with the Immortal Official selection imminent, such a crucial moment cannot tolerate any mistakes or hidden dangers.

Initially, the investigation yielded nothing. Cheng Xingao deliberately concealed his whereabouts; his family did not know where he had gone, and those connected to him were unaware of any recent incidents he was involved in.

Tuoba Hongyang sent more people to investigate and finally found a clue: recently someone saw a person who looked like him in Wutong County.

It is said that after he appeared in Wutong County, he flew away with a woman, which attracted the attention of some people in the vicinity.

With "Wutong County" as an important clue, it is not difficult to find that it is related to the wanted notice that has recently spread throughout Yuanli County.

This arrest warrant was issued by Jin Kuiyuan, the deputy director of the Demon Subduing Division.

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.

"Vice President Jin, what's the reason for that arrest warrant? A Qi Refining Level 3 demonic cultivator, and a reward of three He Dan pills?"

Tuoba Hongyang summoned Jin Kuiyuan and inquired about the wanted notice.

"Director, this matter should be unrelated to Cheng Xingao's death. How could someone at the third level of Qi Refining possibly harm him?"

Jin Kuiyuan changed the subject.

"Don't change the subject when we're talking about the arrest warrant."

Hearing him say this, Tuoba Hongyang felt even more suspicious.

Faced with his superior's questioning, Jin Kuiyuan had no choice but to tell the truth: "Ahem, that female cultivator at the third level of Qi Refining is not a demonic cultivator, but rather someone who offended the Chu family of Ru'an Mountain."

The niece of Chu Shuyue, the head of the Chu family, is my daughter-in-law. She came to my door asking for my help, so I gave her face.

According to her, the female cultivator was favored by the Chu family, who discovered her spiritual root and allowed her to cultivate in Ru'an Mountain. Their original intention was to have her marry into the Chu family, but she ran away the night before the wedding, causing the Chu family to lose face.

Such ungrateful behavior should be used as a warning to others, so that no other rogue cultivators who rely on the Chu family might follow suit.

"so?"

Tuoba Hongyang seemed to be deep in thought.

These cultivation families in Yuanli County had a long history of development and complex relationships, making such intermarriages common. Tuoba Hongyang was accustomed to this abuse of power for personal gain.

Not a demonic cultivator, but someone who ran away from an arranged marriage?

Is that really the case?
Tuoba Hongyang suspected that Cheng Xingao, who was investigating the matter, might have captured Du Wanyun in Wutong County and then died.

Murder?
"I will investigate this matter further. You may leave now. Just a reminder: the Chu family is involved in the death of Foundation Establishment Immortal Official Cheng Xingao. Do not get too involved with the Chu family."

Tuoba Hongyang waved his hand, signaling Jin Kuiyuan to step down.

"Yes."

Jin Kuiyuan thought to himself that he must never have any contact with the Chu family again.

Given the current state of cultivation families, if one family falls, the others will immediately sever ties. As for marriage alliances, they won't risk their families for such a trivial matter.

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 wilderness.

An inconspicuous cave.

Du Wanyun pushed aside the boulder blocking the cave entrance and walked out of the cave.

The poison pill that Cheng Xingao fed her only lasted for three days. After three days, she regained control over the spiritual energy in her dantian.

"I wonder if that Foundation Establishment cultivator is dead or alive?"

Her face darkened as she witnessed once again the cruelty and treachery of the cultivation world, and realized how insignificant she was.

When Cheng Xingao left, he said he was going to find the Chu family. He never returned.

Du Wanyun speculated that he was already dead.

"Ah."

She gave a cold laugh, then suddenly reached out and slashed her face hard. Several streaks of bright red blood appeared instantly, flowing down her cheek.

She deliberately controlled her spiritual energy to prevent it from healing her injuries. She found several black berries in the wilderness, extracted the highly pigmented black plant juice, and rubbed it on her face.

Black fluid mixed with blood stained her skin.

"heal!"

She uses spiritual energy to heal wounds, leaving plant pigments within the skin.

"Come again!"

She felt that this was not enough to cover her face, so she cut her face again and rubbed the plant juice into it.

After repeating this several times, her pretty face became unrecognizable, as if she had been born with a black birthmark.

In cultivation techniques, there are secret methods that can change one's appearance and even alter one's physique and bone structure, but Du Wanyun is only at the third level of Qi Refining and does not know any such secret methods.

The recent series of events has deeply shocked Du Wanyun.

In the eyes of those high and mighty immortals, mortal lives are as worthless as grass, which can be taken at will.

In front of a Foundation Establishment cultivator with high cultivation level, a Qi Refining cultivator is like an ant, especially a rogue cultivator without any background.

The most terrifying of all are cultivation families!

"Father, Mother, Eldest Brother, Second Brother... how are you all?"

She didn't know if her family members were still alive.

Having experienced this dramatic change, her views on the cultivation world changed, and her temperament also changed accordingly.

“I’m still alive, so they shouldn’t kill my family. But if I get caught, my family will definitely not survive.”

Du Wanyun thought to herself. Her family was her bargaining chip; as long as she wasn't caught, her family still had value in living.

Her only advantage now is that she is still alive.

She didn't know what her special physique meant, but the Chu family went to great lengths for her, even resulting in the death of a Foundation Establishment cultivator...

"I have to live, I have to rescue my family, or... avenge them!"

The only beliefs that kept her alive were her feelings for her family and her hatred for the Chu family.

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.

a few days later.

late at night.

A corpse lay on the ground.

The person shrouded in black robes beside him possessed a profound aura and unfathomable realm; it was none other than Tuoba Hongyang, who had reached the peak of the Foundation Establishment stage!
The corpse next to Tuoba Hongyang was a member of the Chu family who had reached the late stage of Qi Refining.

"A spirit-bearing body?!"

For Tuoba Hongyang investigating Cheng Xingao's death, nothing was simpler or more convenient than searching his soul.

This member of the Chu family knew about Du Wanyun's situation.

According to the memories in his soul, the miraculous effects of the Spirit-Born Body surprised and delighted Tuoba Hongyang.

"Does such a constitution truly exist in this world? She can give birth to a child with a true spiritual root by mating with a true spiritual root, and a child with an earth spiritual root by mating with an earth spiritual root? Unbelievable!"

"No wonder the Chu family was willing to kill Cheng Xingao to keep this secret."

Tuoba Hongyang guessed that Cheng Xingao must have discovered the secret, which is why he was killed.

"Hahaha, this is an opportunity for my Tuoba family."

He laughed loudly, looking up at the sky.

For the Chu family, Du Wanyun was merely someone who could give birth to a member with a true spiritual root. But for the Tuoba family, she would undoubtedly be a member with an earth spiritual root!
"I almost missed this opportunity."

He was relieved that he had discovered it in time.

Over the past few decades, he has finally cultivated to the peak of the Foundation Establishment realm, and is now two hundred years old. In terms of talent, he is certainly far inferior to Nie Tingjun.

But does he not have the qualifications to reach the Golden Core stage?

He believed that as long as he brought Du Wanyun back to his family, this achievement would be enough to earn him a chance to advance to the Golden Core stage.

"That female cultivator is probably at the Chu family's place right now."

Tuoba Hongyang made his guess.

Cheng Xingao found Du Wanyun, but she had already died at the hands of the Chu family. As for Du Wanyun, she has most likely been taken away by the Chu family.

After some thought, just to be on the safe side, he took out a long-distance communication talisman.

This communication talisman can travel 30,000 li (approximately 15,000 kilometers) and can be used to contact Tuoba Yaowu, a Golden Core cultivator of the Tuoba family.

Since Tuoba Yaowu's last visit to Yuanli County, his relationship with Tuoba Hongyang has become much closer, and the two have a communication talisman to keep in touch with each other.

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.

Jiurong City.

This is the territory of the Tuoba family.

In the last two decades, the Tuoba family has undergone tremendous changes.

There are martial arts stance training methods that can cultivate spiritual roots. As expected, the number of members of the Tuoba family who can cultivate immortality has skyrocketed.

In just over twenty years, the number of Qi Refining members in the clan has more than doubled or tripled.

Previously, out of the million inhabitants of Jiurong City, there were only over 20,000 cultivators. Now there are nearly 100,000 cultivators, and the number is rapidly increasing year by year.

Correspondingly, the price of Qi and Blood Pills has skyrocketed near Jiurong City.

In order to practice martial arts, even ordinary members of the Tuoba family tried every means to obtain Qi and Blood Pills. These ordinary medicines were surprisingly hard to come by.

As for spirit stones, they are even scarcer.

In the vast Tuoba clan, spirit stones were already scarce for those who cultivated Qi, and now they would fight over even a single spirit stone.

Resource scarcity intensifies competition.

The Tuoba clan members tried every means to compete for resources.

Currently, the Tuoba family can barely supply the needs of its members, but compared to the Tuoba family's current prosperity, such a side effect is worthwhile.

With such a large number of cultivators, their foundation is incredibly strong. From the bottom up, the number of Foundation Establishment cultivators will soon increase.

Foundation Establishment members are the backbone of a family. With more Foundation Establishment members, the Tuoba family can do even more.

At this moment, Tuoba Yaowu received a message from Tuoba Hongyang via a talisman.

"A female cultivator with a spirit-infused body has appeared in Yuanli County?"

Tuoba Yaowu had never heard of the Spirit-Born Body before, so he first went to the family library.

With the rich heritage of the Tuoba family, their collection of books was vast and numerous.

On the bookshelf dedicated to recording various physical constitutions, he found the "Spirit-Bearing Body." "There really is one."

The records of the Spirit-Born Body in the books collected by the Tuoba family contain more information than those from the Chu family.

"A spirit-bearing body cannot give birth to offspring with celestial spiritual roots, but it can give birth to offspring with terrestrial spiritual roots and true spiritual roots. In my Tuoba family, if you find a member with an terrestrial spiritual root and marry them, you can give birth to an offspring with an terrestrial spiritual root."

"A natural-born earth spirit root, he is destined to reach the Golden Core stage within our clan!"

Tuoba Yaowu thought to himself.

Even in a large cultivation family like the Tuoba family, earth spirit roots are still a rare type of spirit root.

Few of the Golden Core cultivators in their family were born with earth-elemental spiritual roots; rather, they had their spiritual roots enhanced through various means. For example, Tuoba Yaowu himself was born with mixed spiritual roots of four elements, but now he no longer possesses four-elemental spiritual roots; instead, he has true spiritual roots.

If it is a spiritual root from the family's birthplace, they will definitely devote all their resources to nurturing it into a Golden Core True Person.

Without delay, Tuoba Yaowu leaped into the air, transforming into a massive black shadow as he flew towards 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.

Late at night, near Ru'an Mountain.

Tuoba Hongyang hovered in the air, looking at the figure that was faintly visible in the darkness ahead, and respectfully bowed: "Greetings, Master Yaowu."

"You have done a great service this time. I checked the clan's library and found that there is indeed a body capable of conceiving a spirit."

"That's excellent. It's worth the trouble for Master Yaowu to travel all this way."

Tuoba Hongyang was secretly delighted. With the credit in hand, he now had the confidence to discuss the "Golden Core opportunity" with his family.

“I have already explored this Ru’an Mountain. There is one cultivator in the mid-Foundation Establishment stage, one in the early-Foundation Establishment stage, and seven or eight hundred Qi Refining cultivators, as well as tens of thousands of ordinary people. You and I will go and ambush the two of them, and we must refine their souls and seize their memories.”

As soon as Tuoba Yaowu finished speaking, he flew towards Mount Ru'an.

Tuoba Hongyang followed closely behind, but he couldn't keep up with Yaowu Zhenren's speed.

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.

Mount Ru'an was shrouded in darkness, except for the family hall at the summit, which was brightly lit.

Chu Shuyue, Chu Luo, and several other clansmen at the ninth level of Qi Refining, who held high positions in the clan, gathered together.

So much time has passed, and not only have they failed to find Du Wanyun, they've also "accidentally" killed a Foundation Establishment Immortal Official.

This caused them a great deal of worry and distress.

After Cheng Xingao's death, Chu Shuyue immediately ordered the recall of the Chu family members who had been sent out to search for Du Wanyun.

They can't afford to cause any more trouble.

Chu Shuyue was already over two hundred years old, which is considered old age for a Foundation Establishment cultivator.

She has been exhausted lately, and in just a few days, she has suddenly developed several strands of white hair.

"I spoke to Director Jin and asked him to withdraw the arrest warrant, saying that the demonic cultivator Du Wanyun had been killed. Director Jin agreed readily, and the matter is considered closed."

What Chu Shuyue found strange was that Jin Kuiyuan seemed eager to sever ties with her.

"Master, are we not going to look for Du Wanyun then?"

"..."

Chu Shuyue was silent for a moment, then said in a deep voice, "Search, search secretly and slowly. If we can't find it now, this kind of trouble will cause big problems."

The wanted notice that has spread throughout Yuanli County has already caught the attention of Cheng Xingao, a Foundation Establishment Immortal Official. If this continues, it might cause a lot of trouble.

"Also, we need to find a way to develop a technique to prevent soul-searching, in case any clansman who knows about the Spirit-Bearing Body has their soul searched."

In order to make the clan members take it seriously, Chu Shuyue revealed the secret of Du Wanyun's spirit-bearing body.

The secret technique of "preventing soul searching" is an essential foundation for a long-established Foundation Building family. However, the Chu family did not previously have any secrets that needed to be kept widely confidential, and the family did not possess a similar secret technique.

At this moment, Chu Shuyue regretted telling her clansmen.

This secret, which could attract the covetous eyes of powerful families, should only be known to her and Chu Luo.

Secret techniques related to the soul are very precious and not easy to obtain.

Just then, Chu Shuyue sensed a hidden divine sense sweeping over her.

"Who?!"

Her expression changed drastically, and she hurriedly flew out of the family hall.

The Chu family members, unaware of what had happened, followed behind her.

Thick clouds obscured the night sky, making the night exceptionally dark. Only the summit of Mount Ru'an emitted a faint glow in the darkness.

"May I ask which senior you are? Please show yourself."

Chu Shuyue looked up at the night sky with trepidation, but could see nothing. However, she knew that there must be a highly skilled cultivator nearby.

The surroundings were eerily quiet.

The Chu family members looked around in bewilderment. Although they could not see any enemies, they felt as if they were shrouded in an invisible shadow.

"call--!"

Suddenly, a strange gust of wind howled, extinguishing the bright lights in the main hall and plunging the entire Ru'an Mountain into darkness.

The slight pressure carried in the wind made Chu Shuyue breathless, and the Qi Refining Clan members trembled with fear; that superior aura was too terrifying.

In desperation, Chu Shuyue used the auxiliary spell "Illumination," and her spiritual power unleashed a dazzling ball of light that flew into the sky.

Under the illumination, everyone saw a giant bird in the sky that blotted out the sun, with a wingspan of several tens of feet.

The illumination lasted only a moment before disappearing without a trace.

"Scattered and fled for their lives!"

Chu Luo shouted and flew to the side.

Faced with a powerful and unknown enemy, escaping in the chaos offered a sliver of hope, while staying meant certain death. Chu Luo did not share the Chu family's belief in living and dying together.

The other members of the Chu family who were at the peak of Qi Refining or at the ninth level of Qi Refining panicked and scattered and fled after Chu Luo spoke.

In just a few breaths, Chu Luo took advantage of the chaos to fly two or three miles away.

"Hu~~"

He was still shaken, and turned to look at the summit of Ru'an Mountain. The sudden burst of energy had terrified him.

"That's the ninth level of Foundation Establishment, the peak of Foundation Establishment, or even... a Golden Core cultivator?"

He was only at the second level of Foundation Establishment, and the gap in their cultivation levels was too great for him to judge the strength of his enemies.

He didn't know who had suddenly attacked, but he couldn't stay in Ru'an Mountain any longer, so he hid elsewhere and observed how things would develop.

Before Chu Luo had flown far, a slight sonic boom suddenly came from behind him.

He remained vigilant, his divine sense covering his entire body, allowing him to detect the sneak attack in time.

"Whoosh~~"

With a wave of his hand, a sky-blue cloak, about ten feet long, appeared behind him. It was his mid-grade defensive magical artifact: the Xunyun Cloak.

"call out!"

A tiny, inconspicuous wooden splinter, about a foot long, flew toward Chu Luo.

He waved his cloak, which swelled to three zhang in length and width in the wind, completely covering him.

puff~~
With a slight click, a hole appeared in Xunyun's cloak.

Chu Luo looked down at his dantian in disbelief: it was shattered.

The dantian and spiritual platform of a Foundation Establishment cultivator are not as fragile as the dantian and qi sea of ​​a Qi Refining cultivator, and cannot be easily destroyed.

Only when the difference in strength between realms is too great will the dantian be destroyed.

His enemy shattered his mid-grade defensive magical artifact and destroyed his dantian.

Unable to maintain his flight, Chu Luo plummeted toward the ground.

The enemy who destroyed his dantian has not yet shown up.

"Heh, so you want to search my soul?"

Chu Luo gave a bitter laugh. The difference in strength between him and his opponent was too great; the reason he was still alive was definitely because the opponent wanted to search his soul.

"Although I'm not particularly loyal to the Chu family, you think you can search my soul? Dream on!"

He raised his hand and poured the liquid down his head.

"slow!"

A loud shout rang out, and someone approached from afar.

Chu Luo recognized the man; it was Tuoba Hongyang, the head of the Demon Subduing Division!
He didn't give Tuoba Hongyang a chance to search his soul, shattering the sea of ​​his soul with a single palm strike, annihilating both his soul and spirit.

Tuoba Hongyang was a step too late.

"Oh, what a pity."

He shook his head helplessly. With his strength, he was capable of killing Chu Luo instantly, but stopping Chu Luo at the critical moment of his suicide was not so easy.

Chu Luo reacted faster than he expected, so he missed.

The reason why Tuoba Hongyang invited Tuoba Yaowu was because he was worried that he would not be able to get the information he wanted from the two Foundation Establishment Immortals of the Chu family.

"Master Yaowu should succeed."

he thought.

The divine sense that Chu Shuyue just discovered was actually his divine sense, not Tuoba Yaowu's.

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 summit of Ru'an Mountain.

Beside Tuoba Yaowu lay several corpses, including Chu Shuyue, the head of the Chu family.

Chu Shuyue was just as wary as Chu Luo, but unfortunately, she was facing a Golden Core cultivator and couldn't escape the fate of having her soul searched.

Besides Chu Shuyue, several other Qi Refining stage clansmen were also subjected to soul-searching by Tuoba Yaowu.

"Hmm, that spirit-bearing body isn't in Ru'an Mountain?!"

Tuoba Yaowu was refining his divine soul when he saw Tuoba Hongyang standing respectfully to the side.

“Master Yaowu, that person reacted quickly, and I was unable to search his soul.”

Tuoba Hongyang said apologetically.

"It's alright, I learned everything from the soul of the Chu family patriarch. Your celestial official of the Demon Subduing Division was indeed killed by the Chu family, but the Chu family couldn't find the spirit body named Du Wanyun."

Du Wanyun's family is currently being held in Ru'an Mountain.

Is Du Wanyun not here?
Tuoba Hongyang was surprised; this was all for nothing.

They've never even met Du Wanyun, where are they supposed to find her?
"Summon all the Qi Refining members of the Chu family."

Tuoba Yaowu gave the order.

(End of this chapter)