Family Cultivation: Rise of the Wilderness

Chapter 278 The Faceless Man

Li Xiangming was well aware of Pei Si's concerns.
But Ouyang He was waiting to make an example of him, and opposing him at this time would be tantamount to courting death.

For a time, silence prevailed.

Since no one dared to resist, they could only submit.

An elderly woman with white hair and her husband were singled out.

Ouyang Zhen could tell that the two were stronger than ordinary Qi Refining Level 9 cultivators, so he planned to send them as vanguards to explore the inner cave.

However, Ouyang Zhen played a trick, only allowing one of them to go in first.

Ultimately, the old man took on the task voluntarily.

Faced with oppression, the old man did not express any accusation against the injustice of fate. He merely glanced at Ouyang He in mid-air before obediently entering the tunnel leading to the inner cave.

A short while later, a muffled sound came from inside the cave.

Everyone looked surprised and suspicious, and they all extended their divine senses.

But the tunnel inside the cave seemed strange; my divine sense could only probe a short distance before it abruptly stopped.

Ouyang Zhen frowned and personally guarded the cave entrance.

However, after waiting for a long time, the old man still did not come out.

Everyone understood immediately.

The Green Cloud Cave had set up an ambush inside the tunnel, and the old man never returned after he left.

A trace of sadness flashed in the old woman's eyes.

Before Ouyang Zhen could speak, he took the initiative to enter the cave.

After a while, another muffled sound came from the cave.

Now, the white-haired old woman confessed.

Everyone gasped in shock. Green Cloud Cave clearly didn't want to abandon its inner cave and had used its trump card.

Two powerful Qi Refining Level 9 cultivators died inexplicably.

This put even Ouyang Zhen in a difficult position.

He felt no guilt or heartache over the deaths of the two old women.

But going forward means certain death, and going forward means certain death. How can he persuade everyone not to back down?
The atmosphere inside the cave became tense again. Just then, a charming and melodious voice suddenly came from outside the cave, like the soft song of a nightingale, breaking the silence: "How lively! I've come to take a look too."

Everyone's attention was instantly drawn to a beautiful woman with a graceful figure and alluring curves who swayed in with captivating charm. Every movement she made exuded a natural seduction, as if she possessed an innate power to bewitch hearts.

"Madam Zhen?"

Li Xiangming blurted out, a wary glint in his eyes.

The other cultivators also discussed among themselves: "How could the Mang Sect appear here?"

In Hao County, the Mang Sect was universally reviled.

Although they disappeared more than a decade ago, causing many people to lose their impression of the Mang religion.

But Madam Zhen made a significant contribution in this regard.

Compared to the other two little-known protectors, Madam Zhen's high-profile behavior is both laughable and absurd.

Therefore, she still enjoys considerable fame in Hao County.

Many people present recognized this ruthless demoness at a glance.

"Gentlemen, are you looking at me like that because you've taken a fancy to me and want to take me home?"

Madam Zhen covered her mouth and smiled, her laughter clear and melodious.

The cultivators present all possessed a level of composure cultivated over twenty or thirty years, or even longer. However, many of them were still stunned by Madam Zhen's natural allure. When they came to their senses, they hurriedly lowered their heads, no longer daring to look directly at her stunning face.

As a Foundation Establishment cultivator, Ouyang He was unaffected, but his expression remained gloomy.

Because Madam Zhen did not come alone; there was a person behind her wearing a human skin hood without eyes, nose, or mouth, which looked particularly eerie and made him very concerned.

Manchu protector, faceless man!

Li Xiangming immediately recognized the other person's features from Li Xiangren's description and broke out in a cold sweat.

Besides the Faceless Man, Luo the Blind, Yin Guangyang, and Fu An, the puppet of Madam Zhen, who had contact with Li Xiangming, were also among them.

There were also several unfamiliar cultivators, making a total of no less than ten people.

These ten people were undoubtedly all experts in the Mang Sect, with the lowest cultivation level being the seventh level of Qi Refining.

Why did the Mang Cult mobilize such a large force?

Could it be that he was also seeking enlightenment through the spiritual spring?

Li Xiangming's eyes flickered.

Ouyang Zhen also realized this immediately, and he asked cautiously, "Fellow Daoists of the Mang Sect, what brings you here?"

"It's not a matter of giving guidance. My master heard that the Enlightenment Spring is quite good, so he wanted to broaden his knowledge and ordered me to fetch it."

Madam Zhen chuckled and gave Ouyang Zhen a flirtatious wink: "I'm just following orders. If I don't do well, I'll be punished. Little Ouyang, you probably wouldn't want your sister to be punished, would you?"

Ouyang Zhen didn't reply, but his expression involuntarily turned ugly.

The Manchu religion is different from other disorganized groups.

Ordinary people may still think of the Mang Cult as a gathering place for petty thieves and rogue cultivators.

But as someone from the Ouyang family, he knew that the Mang Sect was now a well-organized, hidden sect with a constant stream of experts.

Even the Hengyue Sect sensed the threat and took the initiative to drive out the Mang Sect, preventing it from continuing to grow powerful in Hao County.

If the Mang Cult gets involved in the struggle for the Enlightenment Spring, it will undoubtedly make the current situation even more complicated.

Thinking of this, Ouyang Zhen became somewhat anxious and couldn't help but look at Ouyang He.

As if sensing his nephew's anxiety, Ouyang He frowned and pointed at Madam Zhen and the others, saying, "For the sake of the Ouyang family, please leave."

Ouyang He's voice revealed an undeniable authority.

However, Madam Zhen scoffed and then burst into laughter: "How much is the face of your Ouyang family worth?"

Faced with Madam Zhen's contempt and disdain, Ouyang He flew into a rage. A flash of green light appeared in his hand, and a three-foot-long green sword appeared in front of him. He said coldly, "You won't listen to reason, so don't blame me for bullying the weak."

"just you?"

Madam Zhen's gaze was defiant, and carried a hint of disdain.

How could Ouyang He not hold back any longer?
A surge of powerful sword energy erupted from the sword, carrying the force of wind and thunder, and attacked Madam Zhen.

Madam Zhen remained unfazed until, just as the sword energy was about to strike, a blurry giant hand suddenly appeared, grabbing the sword energy and crushing it into nothingness. Simultaneously, another large hand appeared beneath Ouyang He's feet, seemingly about to grasp him. Ouyang He was furious; he flew out of the hand's reach while chanting an incantation.

The blue light in his hand split into nine, transforming into nine sword beams that attacked the faceless man.

He could tell that the Faceless Man was also at the Foundation Establishment stage. Only by eliminating this powerful enemy could he deal with Madam Zhen.

But the Faceless Man is not someone to be trifled with.

He raised two fingers, which emitted golden light, and dozens of golden iron chains emerged from his body, knocking down the incoming blue light one by one.

Immediately, the two flew into the air and began a fierce battle.

As a cultivator trained by a powerful Golden Core clan, Ouyang He possesses a complete set of advanced sword techniques. Each of his sword moves flows smoothly like clouds and water, carrying the force of thunder and lightning, and is so powerful that it moves all who see it.

The Faceless Man's fighting methods were endless, especially in the application of magic, which was unpredictable. Faced with Ouyang He's relentless attacks, the Faceless Man not only did not fall into a disadvantageous position, but also seemed to be in complete control, switching freely between offense and defense.

The duel between the two was like a spectacular performance, a feast for the eyes and ears.

For a moment, Li Xiangming forgot his original purpose, and was filled with admiration, feeling that he had benefited greatly.

Unfortunately, neither of them are water-based cultivators.

As time went on, the two fought with real intensity and no longer restrained the power of their spells.

Although the outer cave of Green Cloud Cave was spacious, it gradually became dilapidated under the repeated bombardment of the two Foundation Establishment cultivators.

Faced with this powerful force, Li Xiangming and the other Qi Refining cultivators could only keep their nerves on edge, barely daring to breathe, constantly trying to avoid the aftershocks of the two's battle.

Despite all the precautions, two people were still affected and died in confusion.

Now Li Xiangming was also frightened, and no longer found the battles between Foundation Establishment cultivators interesting.

He looked around, quickly determined the direction, and quietly moved toward an unnamed cave entrance.

Just then, Pei Si appeared out of nowhere, silently approached Li Xiangming, grabbed his forearm, and said urgently, "Brother Meng, you can't leave Brother Bai and me behind!"

Li Xiangming glanced at Pei Si and Bai Shuo behind him and felt a pang of pain in his teeth.

Why are these two people coming to him instead of joining up with their allies?

Does he seem reliable?

Li Xiangming looked troubled: "Brothers, I'm also in a precarious situation, barely able to save myself."

Although he said that, Li Xiangming was worried that their actions would attract attention, so he did not refuse their request to follow.

Soon, the three of them approached an inconspicuous hole.

Seeing that Li Xiangming's goal was clear, Pei Si couldn't help but ask, "Brother Meng, do you perhaps know where these cave entrances lead to?"

"No, it's always good to find a place to hide."

Li Xiangming casually replied that he certainly knew what those holes were for.

When Green Cloud Cave was first built, in order to make efficient use of the space, the disciples' cave dwellings were built on the cave wall.

As Green Cloud Cave grew, the disciples built more and more cave dwellings, eventually forming the hundreds of cave entrances we see today.

These caves are the true dwellings of the Green Cloud Cave disciples.

The previous actions of the crowd in smashing and damaging the main hall and surrounding facilities of the Green Cloud Cave sect were all in vain.

The truly valuable items had long been moved to the safer inner cave.

Instead of pointless destruction, it's better to search these caves; you might even find some valuables.

But these caves are not easy to enter.

Regardless of their cultivation level, cultivators always take their cave dwellings very seriously.

The disciples of Green Cloud Cave were no exception.

Most of the cave entrances do not lead to a solitary stone house, but rather to a complex maze.

If it were just a maze, that would be fine.

Many disciples would also set up layers of traps inside, their ingenuity was appalling.

Even worse, some would set up smoke bombs to lure outsiders into a fake cave, then trigger a mechanism that would kill them both.

This is why Ouyang Zhen and the others were dumbfounded when they saw these hundreds of holes.

Although they did not know the composition of these caves.

However, the rumors in the cultivation world are as vast as the ocean, and no one dares to easily set foot in anything that cannot be explored with divine sense.

After all, you only have one life.

Li Xiangming, who was familiar with Green Cloud Cave, was naturally not afraid.

These hundreds of cave entrances are not all the disciples' dwellings.

A few also serve as ventilation openings.

However, the exits of these ventilation shafts are still located around Green Cloud Cave.

Once Green Cloud Cave is surrounded, it will be essentially useless for escaping.

But now, not only has Ouyang Zhen's trump card been revealed, but the entire Mang Cult has also made its appearance.

The entire outer cave of Green Cloud Cave was in chaos, with magical energy fluctuations everywhere.

In a scene filled with mixed magical forces, the effectiveness of divine sense will be greatly reduced.

The fact that everyone was drawn to the battle between the two Foundation Establishment cultivators provided cover for Li Xiangming's actions.

Without hesitation, he crawled into the ventilation shaft he had previously selected.

However, he did not leave immediately. The fact that the Ouyang family and the Mang Sect were fighting so fiercely likely indicated that the secret of the Enlightenment Spring was about to be revealed.

Both sides had Foundation Establishment cultivators, and they fought tooth and nail for the Enlightenment Spring.

But no one knew that Li Xiangming also had a Foundation Establishment cultivator by his side.

Although Li Xiangren's whereabouts are currently unknown, Li Xiangming has full confidence in his elder brother.

Li Xiangren will definitely contact him whenever he has the chance.

If he could obtain firsthand information about the Enlightenment Spring, he might be able to join forces with Li Xiangren to seize this opportunity from the Ouyang family and the Mang Sect.

Although Pei Si and Bai Shuo did not understand Li Xiangming's intentions, it was good for them to hide for a while. The two followed closely behind Li Xiangming and observed the battle between the Faceless Man and Ouyang He in the cave.

"This protector of the Mang Sect is truly formidable."

　Two chapters, 6k each. It should also be released tomorrow in two 6k chapters.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)