Family Cultivation: Rise of the Wilderness

Chapter 280 Escape
"Guardian Zhen, the Dharma Protector's illness has flared up. What should we do now?"

Among the group of the Mang Sect, a young man with withered white hair asked a question.

Madam Zhen glanced at him, her expression somewhat hesitant.

She was so high-profile because of the Faceless Man's protection.

Now that the Faceless Man has left, whether or not to continue deeper into the Green Cloud Cave is a question.

"Capture Ouyang Zhen first," Madam Zhen said after a moment's thought.

Since we've already made enemies with the Ouyang family, capturing Ouyang Zhen would give us more leverage.

Upon receiving Madam Zhen's order, the bald-haired youth said "Oh" and took Fu An's place.

This person was also a Qi Refining Stage 9 cultivator, and his fire magic was extremely spectacular.

After a series of battles, Ouyang Zhen was already exhausted. Being abandoned by Ouyang He and losing his external support, he was mentally and physically drained. Now, facing a new enemy, he immediately collapsed like sugarcane in the wind.

Seeing this, the other water cultivators rushed to the entrance of the outer cave. The Green Cloud Cave is now a place of trouble, and even a dignified Foundation Establishment cultivator has ended up in a state of being crippled and forced to flee.

If we don't leave now before the Faceless Man returns, when will we?

The Enlightenment Spring is wonderful, but you have to be alive to get it.

"Blind Luo, are you alright?"

Meanwhile, Madam Zhen was still inquiring about Blind Luo's injuries.

Blind Luo shook his head, indicating that he still needed to adjust his breathing. Enduring the attack of a mid-Foundation Establishment cultivator was not as easy as he had imagined.

If it weren't for the leader's instructions to ensure Madam Zhen's safety at all costs, he would never have been willing to take this risk.

Seeing that Blind Luo was powerless to help, Madam Zhen had no choice but to instruct the Mang Sect disciples beside her: "Apart from Ouyang Zhen's group, do not get into conflicts with anyone else."

The Faceless Man has now left, Blind Luo and Fu An are seriously injured, and Yin Guangyang and Zhai Xian are dealing with Ouyang Zhen's remaining gang.

There were only a few people left around him; he couldn't possibly stop twenty or thirty water cultivators, could he?
After saying that, Madam Zhen seemed to have thought of something and added, "Watch out for the array master next to Ouyang Zhen. Everyone else can leave, but she must not."

"Yes!"

The remaining members of the Mang Cult widened their eyes and searched everywhere for Ding Xia's whereabouts.

No matter how hard they searched, they couldn't find Ding Xia, nor could they find Li Xiangming.

…………

"Brother Meng, your 'golden cicada shedding its shell' trick is quite impressive!"

Outside Green Cloud Cave, Li Xiangming led Pei Si and Bai Shuo carefully through the valley, trying to avoid any potential eyes and ears around them.

Hearing Pei Si's praise, Li Xiangming felt somewhat embarrassed, realizing that he had clearly made a hasty escape.

There's really no other way but to escape; these Foundation Establishment cultivators are too fierce in battle.

That faceless man has started swallowing living people whole; it's absolutely terrifying.

What if he gets angry and the three people who stayed behind are discovered... Li Xiangming felt mortified just thinking about it.

"I understand you're afraid of me, but why did you kidnap me?"

At this moment, Ding Xia, who was behind the three of them, suddenly spoke up, her tone tinged with dissatisfaction.

Pei Si turned around, looking at him with a disappointed expression, and said, "My dear aunt, we're saving your life, and you don't even know what's good for you!"

"I do not care."

Ding Xia kept muttering, "The Ouyang family still owes me a large sum of spirit stones. I worked so hard to help them break the formation, but you took me away before I even got the money. Ouyang Zhen is stingy, so he will definitely use this as an excuse to renege on the debt."

When it came to refusing to pay, Ding Xia was so anxious that she stomped her feet and cried out in a tearful voice, "It's all your fault! You have to pay me back my spirit stones!"

Li Xiangming and the other two looked at each other in bewilderment.

At Green Cloud Cave, the Mang Sect and the Ouyang family fought to the death. In particular, when the bronze bell rang, everyone was plunged into a state of chaos and suffering, with only a few people remaining conscious.

Except for Li Xiangming, all of these people were engaged in a fierce battle and had no time to spare.

After briefly analyzing the situation, Li Xiangming had a sudden inspiration and used the Weeping Spirit Desolate Sky Rope to steal Ding Xia away.

Besides the mountain-protecting formation, the Lesser Mysterious Yin Spirit Formation, Green Cloud Cave also has a Flying Fish Nine Cauldrons Formation between the inner and outer caves.

Although the Flying Fish Nine Cauldrons Formation does not have the widest range of protection as the Lesser Mysterious Yin Spirit Formation, nor does it possess the Lesser Mysterious Yin Spirit Formation's superb defensive power.

However, it is also a second-tier defensive formation, more than enough to block the attacks of one or two Foundation Establishment cultivators.

Therefore, once Li Xiangming takes Ding Xia away, whoever wins this fierce battle will be dumbfounded.

Pei Si and Bai Shuo also strongly agreed with Li Xiangming's approach. Currently, the Ouyang family and the Mang Sect have controlled the situation by relying on their Foundation Establishment combat power.

All the preparations made by the water repair team have become a joke, only benefiting others.

But without Ding Xia, the array master, what will become of your Ouyang family and the Mang Sect?

Even if you manage to force your way into the inner cave, it will still take some time, right?

Even a few days is enough to make the situation in Green Cloud Cave more complicated and the ownership of the Enlightenment Spring more elusive.

However, their actions clearly displeased Ding Xia, the person involved.

No one wanted to offend a young and powerful array master, so Pei Si coughed and asked, "How many spirit stones does the Ouyang family owe you?"

"Fifteen hundred yuan!"

Ding Xia gritted her teeth.

"what?"

Pei Si's eyes widened as he repeated, "1500 spirit stones?" "That's right."

Ding Xia glanced at him, then squatted down with her knees drawn up to her chest, her face full of sadness and despair.

Li Xiangming couldn't help but interject, "You formation masters make money way too easily, don't you?"

If you earn 1500 spirit stones in one trip, wouldn't you be able to afford a top-grade magic weapon after two trips?
Li Xiangming looked at the Weeping Spirit Desolate Sky Rope in his hand. If he had known that array masters could make so much money, he would have definitely learned a little bit of it.

"You know nothing!"

Ding Xia shouted, "Do you know how expensive the materials for formations are? Do you know how painful it is for us to learn formations? I even think we're not being paid enough!"

Li Xiangming was speechless. Even at its peak, the Li family had failed to cultivate a second-tier array master, so they naturally knew that this kind of thing couldn't be bought with money alone.

Scarcity increases value, and second-tier array masters hold strategic significance, capable of breaking over 90% of arrays in the cultivation world.

Therefore, Ding Xia's charging of high fees for breaking through formations is within a reasonable range.

Even so, Li Xiangming dared not respond to Ding Xia's words. After all, he was the one who brought her out. What if she tried to extort money from him?
That's 1500 spirit stones! We might as well just kill him.

Li Xiangming was determined not to speak, but Ding Xia didn't give up. She stared at Li Xiangming for a long time and quickly asked, "What's your name? What's your background?"

With Pei Si and Bai Shuo still present, Li Xiangming naturally couldn't reveal his identity. So he scratched his head and replied, "I am Meng He, an unknown rogue cultivator, not worth mentioning."

"hypocritical!"

Ding Xia curled her lips. The fact that Li Xiangming was able to take her away in front of two Foundation Establishment cultivators showed his ability. Who would believe that he was a rogue cultivator?
All three people present claimed to be independent cultivators, but she didn't believe any of them.

However, she was no novice. Since the other party was deliberately hiding something, she knew that asking would be pointless, so she kept quiet and continued on her way.

Seeing that Ding Xia's emotions had stabilized, Li Xiangming and Pei Si looked at each other and both breathed a sigh of relief.

The four quickened their pace and soon left the territory of Green Cloud Cave. Then, led by Li Xiangming, they found a secluded grove of trees to rest for the time being.

"Brother Meng seems to know the surrounding area quite well!" Pei Si said, narrowing his eyes.

"where."

Li Xiangming chuckled. He knew Pei Si was referring to something else; he wasn't asking about now, but rather about the escape from the ventilation shaft of Green Cloud Cave.

Logically speaking, that was a secret known only to those inside the Green Cloud Cave, but Li Xiangming knew it all.

Li Xiangming, not wanting to reveal his past as a disciple of Green Cloud Cave, changed the subject and asked, "What are your thoughts on the current situation, brothers?"

Pei Si and Bai Shuo both fell silent.

After a long pause, Pei Si finally spoke: "I've heard that the sect leader of Green Cloud Cave is also a mid-Foundation Establishment cultivator. Even if he's not as skilled as Faceless Man or Ouyang, he should still be quite capable. Since he hasn't shown up yet, I still maintain that the Enlightenment Spring is in Green Cloud Cave."

“That’s right. If he didn’t possess a priceless treasure, why would he have remained indifferent even when the sect was destroyed?” Bai Shuo shared the same view.

Li Xiangming remained silent in thought. Green Cloud Cave adopted a conservative strategy, completely retreating and ignoring the outside world, thinking that the treasure hunters outside would naturally retreat over time. Little did they know that no matter how they advanced or retreated, they could not dispel their suspicions.

If the Lesser Mysterious Yin Spirit Array were still intact, then so be it.

Now that the formation has been broken, people will continue to flock to Green Cloud Cave.

"So, in your opinion, brothers, what should we do next?"

Li Xiangming asked again.

The situation facing the three of them is very serious. If they want to compete for the Enlightenment Spring, they must first obtain accurate information, right?

However, Green Cloud Cave has done a very good job of blocking information, and even now, everyone is still just speculating.

However, to enter Green Cloud Cave for exploration, one must pass through the outer cave's Mangjiao (a type of Buddhist sect).

The Mang Sect has a faceless protector who is extremely cruel. Inside the Green Cloud Cave, there is also a Green Cloud Fairy who has never shown herself.

These two Foundation Establishment cultivators seemed to be pressing down on the three of them like two mountains, making it hard for them to breathe.

What Li Xiangming didn't reveal was that there might be another Foundation Establishment cultivator inside the Green Cloud Cave—the Fairy of Good Clouds.

Good Cloud Fairy is Green Cloud Fairy's junior sister. According to Yin Feng, the two are not on good terms, but they have begun to merge their sects. If nothing unexpected happens, Green Cloud Cave will be Green Cloud Fairy's foundation and also Good Cloud Fairy's dojo.

If Green Cloud Cave truly faces a crisis, Fairy Shanyun will definitely intervene to ensure that she has spiritual veins for future cultivation.

Li Xiangming actually hoped to see such a situation emerge, because it would clarify everyone's stance.

The problem is that neither Fairy Green Cloud nor Fairy Good Cloud shows themselves, allowing Ouyang Zhen to break through the outer cave, leaving Li Xiangming completely confused.

Li Xiangming always kept his distance from situations where the circumstances were unclear, but the one involved happened to be the Enlightenment Spring, which was of paramount importance to him.

He was unwilling to give up.

Pei Si and Bai Shuo shared the same thought: having invested so much time and even narrowly escaped death, who would willingly leave like this?

Pei Si tentatively asked, "Shall we take another look?"

Bai Shuo shook his head: "The Mang Sect is already in dire need of help. If the Enlightenment Spring really appears in the Green Cloud Cave, our wandering around will be of no use at all."

The Mang Sect mobilized a large force, including two protectors and a group of elites. If they were to obtain the Enlightenment Spring, the three of them would truly be helpless.

"If only my elder brother were here!"

Li Xiangming sighed inwardly, "If Li Xiangren were here, many things would be easily resolved."

Putting everything else aside, he could now sneak into Green Cloud Cave via the underground river and wait for the right opportunity.

But Li Xiangren wasn't there, so doing this was very risky; he still remembered the scene of being chased and killed in Green Cloud Cave.

However, Green Cloud Cave should be preoccupied with its own problems right now, as it possesses an evil green-robed figure capable of concealing magical power and divine consciousness...

After hesitating for a moment, Li Xiangming raised his head slightly, looked at Pei Si and Bai Shuo who were also deep in thought, and asked through gritted teeth, "Do you two dare to come with me into Green Cloud Cave again?"

(End of this chapter)