Family Cultivation: Rise of the Wilderness

Chapter 193 Ambush and Harvest

That night.

The unnamed hillside outside Puyin Mountain appeared exceptionally quiet under the moonlight.

Is it still inside?

Ge Yi spoke in a low voice, patting a gray-clad man beside him.

The gray-clad man looked weary and nodded: "Yes, I've only gone out twice in the past few days, and I returned on time both times. There's nothing unusual."

"Thank you for your hard work. After today, the price of your goods will be increased by 10%."

Upon hearing this, the man in gray trembled and was overjoyed: "Thank you, Boss Ge."

Before long, several figures appeared silently. One of them said, "Boss Ge, we've checked the area, no problem."

"Alright! Brothers, follow me to take Zhang Zhiang's dog head."

Ge Yi laughed loudly and charged ahead of the horse towards the hillside.

There was nothing at the bottom of the hillside, but after Ge Yi threw out two barrier-breaking talismans, a hole about half a person's height suddenly appeared.

"Boss Ge, there's a formation."

"The man in gray shouted."

"Hmph, how could a mere Golden Gate Formation possibly stop me?"

After speaking, Ge Yi brandished a long spear and charged straight into the cave entrance.

With a loud "boom," plumes of smoke and dust billowed from the cave entrance, within which a faint golden light could be seen.

However, in a short while, the golden light vanished under the combined attack of Ge Yi and others.

Who dares to trespass on my cave?

Zhang Zhi'ang's angry voice came from inside the cave.

"Haha, Zhang Zhiang, today is your death day."

“Ge Yi, we have no grudge against each other, why do you want to kill me?” Zhang Zhiang’s voice became heavy.

"Does murder need a reason?"

Ge Yi laughed loudly, took out two explosive talismans from his pocket, and was about to make a move.

A glint of light flashed through the dark opening.

"Be careful."

Ge Yi's eyes were sharp. He swept his spear and knocked the hidden weapon away. He sneered, "Don't make a futile struggle. I will not leave empty-handed today."

"Returning empty-handed? I think you've returned headless!"

Just then, a cold laugh came from inside the cave, and a blade of light slashed out of the cave, as sharp as a dragon leaping into the sky.

Ge Yi dared not confront him directly, retreating repeatedly, his eyes flashing with astonishment: "Lü Mao?"

The one who unleashed the blade was none other than Lü Mao. He slowly walked out of the cave, stared at Ge Yi and his group, and said calmly, "So what if it's me?"

"Impossible, how could you be here?"

Ge Yi still didn't believe it. He carefully examined Lü Mao and then turned his gaze to the man in gray.

"Old Quan, what's going on?"

"Boss Ge, don't blame me, it's your fault for being so slow."

Old Quan's eyes were gloomy. Just two hours ago, he was captured by Lü Mao and had no choice but to agree to be an inside man in order to survive.

"Old Quan, you fucking betrayed me?"

Ge Yi's eyes were bloodshot, and his gaze toward the gray-clad man was like that of a predatory beast.

"Boss Ge, don't put it so harshly. We're all just trying to make a living in the same demon-hunting group. I'm only calling you 'Boss' out of respect. If I didn't, we'd be strangers. There's no question of betrayal."

Lao Quan's voice was indifferent, and his emotions seemed to remain unchanged.

"Damn it, that bastard is shameless."

"If it weren't for Boss Ge saving you back then, would you still be alive today?"

"That's right, treating someone who saved your life as a complete stranger is utterly despicable!"

Upon hearing Lao Quan's words, Ge Yi and his gang were all filled with indignation, gritting their teeth.

Even Lü Mao was speechless.

Although the demon-hunting team of Puyin Mountain is led by its leader, most of its members are unruly rogue cultivators.

Today, Lao Quan betrayed me without even struggling. Who knows if my companions will betray me in the future?

Thinking of this, Lü Mao had no desire to gloat; he only wanted to settle his grudges with Ge Yi.

"Enough with the nonsense, Ge Yi. You killed my brother, and today I will avenge him."

"Just you?"

Ge Yi's face flushed red with anger. He hadn't expected to fall into Lü Mao's ambush, and he certainly hadn't expected Lao Quan to betray him.

Enraged, Ge Yi didn't hesitate and charged at Lü Mao with his spear.

"Now that you've come, this will be your final resting place."

Ge Yi concentrated his anger at the tip of his spear, and as he swung the spear, it was as if the rivers and lakes were overflowing and ten thousand horses were galloping.

Faced with the raging storm, Lü Mao stood firm as a rock, calm and composed.

He held the precious sword horizontally in front of him, infusing it with his magic power, causing it to radiate bursts of sword light. Then he faced Ge Yi, the sword light and spear shadows filling the sky and illuminating the hillside with extraordinary brightness.

Ge Yi's gaze was solemn. Although they were both at the seventh level of Qi Refining, Lü Mao had never been his match, otherwise he wouldn't have gone out to work alone.

Unexpectedly, at this moment, it is evenly matched with him, on par with him.

After a few moves, Ge Yi calmed down, remembered his purpose for coming, and shouted, "Da Sha, keep an eye on Lao Quan, the rest of you rush in and kill Zhang Zhi'ang."

Ge Yi brought five people with him. Apart from Lao Quan and Da Sha, the other three looked at each other.

One of them said, "Boss Ge has treated us very well."

With that, the man rushed towards the cave.

Seeing this, the other two had no choice but to follow.

At that moment, a graceful figure flew out of the cave; it was Tang Xueyan.

Tang Xueyan's soft sword wove an invisible net, enveloping the three of them.

Upon seeing the appearance of a powerful enemy, the three were taken aback and retreated.

But then I noticed that two people had already taken up positions on either side of me.

"go to hell."

With bloodshot eyes, Lin Hao charged at one of them and began to fight.

Seeing this, Ji Shilun shook his head and laughed, "Brother Chi, this man is so reckless, has he lost his mind?"

Chi Laiyong ignored him and focused on the enemy in front of him.

He was only at the fifth level of Qi Refining, while the lowest level cultivators on the other side were at the sixth level of Qi Refining.

Therefore, he acted very cautiously.

However, Chi Laiyong also had an advantage: the copper rod in his hand was a high-grade magic weapon left behind by Chi Jingtong.

Of all those present, only Ge Yi and Tang Xueyan's magical artifacts could compare to his.

"Shi Yu, lend me a hand."

"I'm coming!" Chi Laiyong called out in a low voice and rushed forward.

Seeing this, Ji Shilun was startled and couldn't understand why Chi Laiyong was working so hard.

However, in the Mad Lion Demon Hunting Group, he only had one friend, Chi Laiyong. He looked down on everyone else, including Lü Mao. Now that Chi Laiyong was joining the fray, he couldn't just stand by and do nothing anymore.

The three cultivators from the Lion Demon Hunting Team, who were responsible for attacking the cave entrance, faced attacks from Uncle Shan and Lin Hao on their left, charges from Chi Laiyong and Ji Shilun on their right, and pressure from Tang Xueyan, who was at the seventh level of Qi Refining, in front of them. They were immediately overwhelmed and retreated step by step.

The man named Da Sha was getting anxious and wanted to go and help.

However, Lao Quan, who knew the battlefield like the back of his hand, stopped Da Sha.

Suddenly, all six members of the Lion Demon Hunting Team were in a precarious situation.
-
"Manager Li, this way."

Under the same moonlight, Li Xiangming and Wei Fei walked in a different direction.

The two arrived at a patch of wasteland. Wei Fei squatted down and groped around, fiddling with several stone balls engraved with runes.

A short while later, the sound of machines turning could be heard from deep within the grassland.

Li Xiangming looked at Wei Fei with a half-smile: "You even know this?"

Wei Fei claimed to know Ge Yi's cave dwelling, and therefore offered to lead the way.

But Li Xiangming never expected that this person knew the secrets of the cave dwelling perfectly.

“I usually listen, observe, and remember more, so I know more.”

Wei Fei lowered his head and said respectfully.

Upon hearing this, Li Xiangming gave the other person a deep look.

The cave dwelling is a cultivator's private place, a secret place.

He didn't think Ge Yi would deliberately expose it.

This person knew the location of Ge Yi's cave and even how to activate the mechanism; his cunning was no less than that of Zhang Mazi.

"You may leave now." "Yes."

Wei Fei took out an oil lamp he carried with him and went into the cave.

Before long, the inside was brightly lit.

Li Xiangming probed back and forth with his divine sense, but found no danger, so he followed him inside.

What comes into view is a rather luxurious hall.

The floor is covered with an intricately woven carpet with a variety of patterns and vibrant colors, adding warmth and life to the cold, hard stone.

Several exquisite paintings hung on the surrounding walls, and a large rosewood chair was placed at the head of the hall, highlighting the owner's status.

On the coffee table next to it was an exquisite tea set.

In the corner, there is a fireplace made of stone.

The top of the cave appears to be polished from stalactites, which shimmer under the light, like stars in the night sky.

“Ge Yi certainly knows how to enjoy himself.”

Li Xiangming smiled, his anticipation for the trip growing even stronger.

"found it!"

Wei Fei's exclamation came from ahead. Li Xiangming followed and found him standing in front of a stone gate.

"The other places are all ordinary rooms, but this place is protected by a barrier."

"Enchantment?"

After inspecting it, Li Xiangming discovered that it was just an ordinary defensive barrier, so he summoned the Weeping Spirit Desolate Sky Rope and whipped it several times.

After about fifteen minutes, the barrier dimmed.

Li Xiangming signaled to Wei Fei to deliver the final blow.

Wei Fei gritted his teeth and used all his strength to slam into the barrier.

In an instant, the barrier shattered and ceased to exist.

Seeing this, Li Xiangming felt relieved.

The hearts of people in the cultivation world are unpredictable. He had read records that some cultivators would set up seemingly ordinary barriers in their caves to attract people to break the formation. Once the barrier disappeared, it would trigger the hidden restrictions within, killing the person who broke the formation. It was extremely vicious.

However, Ge Yi was easily fooled by Zhang Mazi and betrayed by Wei Fei, so he probably didn't have the cunning to do so.

Upon entering the secret room, the first thing you see is a large bookshelf filled with many books, all related to the cultivation world, including more than ten cultivation techniques. However, they are mostly common and worthless.

What is the purpose of Ge Yi collecting so many cultivation techniques?
Could it be that he wants to establish his own cultivation family?
After casually glancing through them a few times, Li Xiangming wasn't interested; he had plenty of these things at home. He then focused his attention on the four boxes under the bookshelf.

These boxes vary in size, but the smallest is at least three feet wide and more than one foot high.

Three of the boxes were filled with various monster materials, and the other box contained mostly scattered spirit ore.

"Your team leader is really ruthless."

Li Xiangming sighed. There were no fewer than a thousand pieces of monster materials here, many of which were precious.

With Ge Yi's strength, it would be impossible for him to hunt down so many monsters.

In other words, these materials mostly belong to the demon-hunting group.

Li Xiangming guessed that Ge Yi must have taken the materials from the Demon Hunting Group and sold them to Zhang Mazi at a low price, and then Zhang Mazi returned some to him, which is how he accumulated so much.

Wei Fei was also dumbfounded when he saw these materials.

It should be noted that even an elite demon-hunting team like the Lion King only manages to hunt a dozen or so demonic beasts each time they enter the mountains.

After stripping away the skin and tendons, you might get forty or fifty valuable monster materials if you're lucky.

These materials will be collected and sold by the group leader.

The Lion Hunting Crew chose to cooperate with Zhang Mazi, and the selling price was never high. Therefore, everyone would also keep a few precious materials for themselves.

But he only kept two or three pieces for himself, and quickly sold them off.

It's utterly appalling that someone like Ge Yi would hoard thousands of materials from demonic beasts.

"Take it."

Li Xiangming randomly picked out nearly a hundred pieces of material and threw them to Wei Fei.

"Thank you for the reward, Steward Li."

Wei Fei knew this was hush money, so he quickly grabbed the materials and left the secret room.

Li Xiangming's eyes flickered as he watched Wei Fei's retreating figure.

The reason he came alone with Wei Fei was actually to get rid of this person.

Since this person could betray Ge Yi, he could naturally betray himself as well.

However, looking back, the other party's performance seems to have some merit.

Since the reform of the animal trapping facility, Li Xiangming's power has been dispersed.

Therefore, he needs a more comprehensive intelligence network to deal with various conflicts.

Wei Fei, on the other hand, has the potential to become his eyes and ears.

Shaking his head, Li Xiangming continued to search the room.

While the vast amounts of monster materials and spirit ores are certainly valuable, they are not easily converted into cash and are by no means Ge Yi's main wealth.

After all, we haven't even seen the spirit stone yet.

Sure enough, after exploring, Li Xiangming found another unusual floorboard in the secret room.

Lifting up the floor revealed a coffin inside.

"It is made of elm wood."

Li Xiangming was secretly alarmed. Elm wood has the effect of nourishing the spirit and is often used for refining artifacts. Adding elm wood to wooden artifacts can effectively help cultivators refine and control them.

But he had never actually seen one made into a coffin.

This thing doesn't look like a magical artifact for fighting enemies at all. Could it be that it's used for cultivation while hiding in a coffin?
However, the value of such a large elm wood coffin is beyond doubt.

Li Xiangming rummaged through the coffin and quickly found a large cloth bag containing more than five hundred spirit stones.

In addition, there were about thirty jade boxes in the coffin, containing various pills and medicinal herbs, the total value of which exceeded that of the spirit stones in the cloth bag.

"I don't know how Ge Yi obtained this coffin. It doesn't seem to have been used much; it's become his storage cabinet. But are all demon-hunting groups this wealthy these days?"

Li Xiangming murmured to himself. Earlier, Zhao Jindou brought Lü Mao to him, saying that the Mad Lion Demon Hunting Group was in dire straits and needed to borrow pills and talismans. He had thought that the Demon Hunting Group were all poor people, but Ge Yi had broadened his horizons.

"Even if Ge Yi has a demon-hunting team, he couldn't have accumulated such a large fortune without Zhang Mazi. No wonder he wanted to keep Zhang Mazi around."

Lost in thought, Li Xiangming put the spirit stone and jade box into his storage bag.

As for the elm wood coffin and treasure chest, they cannot be stored in a storage bag and need to be moved by someone else.

After tidying up briefly, Li Xiangming searched again, but found nothing.

There were no magical artifacts or talismans in the secret room.

But that's not surprising, as these supplies for dealing with enemies should be kept in storage bags.

Just as Li Xiangming was about to leave, a soft shout caught his attention.

"Who?"

Li Xiangming's gaze was stern, and his divine sense spread out in all directions.

"Manager Li, there's someone here!"

Li Xiangming strode out of the secret room and found Wei Fei standing shakily at the corner of the passage.

"There was a room made of Ksitigarbha stone, which I didn't notice at first."

Earthly Treasury Stone?
Li Xiangming hurriedly stepped forward. This was a spiritual mineral that could block divine consciousness and was extremely valuable. How could Ge Yi bear to lay Ksitigarbha Stones in his cave?

This look was quite alarming.

The mountains here are actually all made of raw Ksitigarbha stone.

Ge Yi did not build a room using the Earthly Treasury Stone, but rather excavated a room inside the Earthly Treasury Stone mountain.

No wonder neither of them detected anything unusual here.

"Could there be a mineral vein of Earth-Gathering Stone nearby?"

Li Xiangming was overjoyed and kept rubbing the wall with his fingers.

Ge Yi is just one person, at most with a demon-hunting team. Even if there are mineral veins here, they are not of much value to him.

Because he simply has no way to access the hidden stones here.

But the Li family is different. If Li Xiangming can find the specific location of the mineral vein, he can mobilize tens of thousands of miners and make a profit in two or three months.

Whether the Li family uses these Earthly Treasure Stones for their own use or sells them, they will greatly benefit the Li family.

Just then, a wail came from the room.

"Help me! Help me!"

The people inside clearly heard the commotion and became somewhat agitated.

Li Xiangming felt the voice was familiar for some reason, so he opened the door.

The two of them froze on the spot.

(End of this chapter)