Family Cultivation: Rise of the Wilderness

Chapter 554 Xu Family
"what?"

Xu Chengdong was taken aback, and the others were even more astonished.

Xu Chengxu's face flushed red: "What are we waiting for?"

As he spoke, he headed towards Lingdong.

Xu Zhilan snapped out of her daze, grabbed his arm, and said sternly, "Are you going there to your death?"

She paused, took a deep breath, and said in a deep voice, "Everyone, come home with me."

Without delay, the group quickly headed deeper into Gushe Ridge, eventually arriving at a narrow river valley shaped like a fish's belly.

The valley entrance is flanked by sheer cliffs, and a section of mottled bluestone wall stands majestically. The massive wooden gate is covered with copper nails as thick as bowls, which gleam coldly in the twilight.

A majestic bronze tiger head hangs above the doorway, with the three powerful characters "Yu Fu Gu" engraved on the left and the two characters "Xu Jia" written in vigorous strokes on the right.

Behind the city wall, every hundred paces there was a towering arrow tower, with black-clad monks standing atop it, bow in hand, their cold gazes fixed on the valley outside.

Xu Chengdong strode forward, took out a bronze token from his pocket, and held it high above his head. A dull thud of machinery turning echoed through the valley, and the city gate slowly opened.

"Zhilan, you're finally back!"

A middle-aged man hurried forward, his brow furrowed with anxiety: "The patriarch has been waiting for a long time."

Xu Zhilan's lips were deathly pale: "Big brother, seventh brother, he..."

The man silently shook his head, then stepped aside to lead the way.

Seeing this, Xu Zhilan gritted her teeth and didn't ask any more questions, then followed him into the hall.

The hall was brightly lit, and an old woman with white hair sat at the head of the table. Below her, more than ten people sat on either side, among whom a burly man with a thick beard exuded a particularly imposing aura.

When Xu Zhilan saw him, she was clearly taken aback, and then curtsied, saying, "Zhilan greets Master Qiu."

Master Qiu smiled faintly and waved his hand: "No need for such formalities, Miss Xu."

The old woman slammed her dragon-headed cane heavily on the ground and said in a hoarse voice, "A demonic cultivator who had been fusing bones suddenly appeared in Lingdong. Seventh Brother lost his position before he could even send out a distress signal. Fortunately, the fellow Daoists from Immortal Ape Manor visited and helped my Xu family out of the predicament."

However, the beast tide still looms menacingly outside Gushe Ridge. The reason I have summoned you all is to discuss the fate of the Xu family!

Xu Zhilan was deeply shaken.

For the past two weeks, monsters have been roaming around Gushe Ridge. The Xu family has defended the strategic location, and although there have been some casualties, they are still within an acceptable range.

But now, a demonic cultivator who can fuse bones has appeared in the beast tide!

Can the Xu family still hold onto their ancestral home?
Many members of the Xu family shared this question. Among them, the middle-aged man who brought Xu Zhilan in stammered, "Patriarch, the beast tide is overwhelming. Our Xu family has only a hundred or so cultivators. How can we possibly withstand it? In Guangyang's opinion, we might as well avoid the fray for now."

"That's right!"

Immediately, someone echoed, explaining the situation: "The beast tide has swept through Pudong, unstoppable! Sects and families everywhere, including those wandering rogue cultivators, are all retreating westward. Our Xu family's defense of Gushe Valley makes us an anomaly. If we continue to stay, we'll likely end up like an egg striking a rock."

Discussions arose one after another.

The vast majority of opinions were to withdraw, with only a few scattered voices calling for the reinforcement of Fishbelly Valley's defenses.

The old woman ignored these voices, her cloudy eyes fixed on Xu Zhilan: "Fourth Sister, is that what you think too?"

The hall fell silent instantly.

All eyes were involuntarily drawn to Xu Zhilan.

Xu Zhilan smiled bitterly to herself; her opinion was completely unimportant.

All of the Xu family's past decisions rested on the shoulders of this matriarch who had been in charge of the family for over seventy years, and no one else had the right to interfere.

Is she holding a clan meeting in front of outsiders like the Immortal Ape Manor because she wants to hear that the entire Xu family has fled?
Not at all, but rather, they wanted to use the words of the crowd to demonstrate the Xu family's determination to defend to the death, in order to gain external assistance.

Knowing full well what's going on, how could I not cooperate?

After hesitating for a long time, Xu Zhilan finally said in a low voice, "My Xu family has been operating Fish Belly Valley for more than ten years and has established a solid foundation. If we leave now, where will we find a pure land? Since Master Qiu has not followed the trend, we might as well watch over each other with Immortal Ape Manor and fight against the demons together. We can discuss moving away when we have no other choice."

"well said!"

The old woman suddenly stood up, looked around, and said sternly, "My Xu family sacrificed dozens of lives on the Nanbin battlefield to obtain a spiritual pool in Yufu Valley. If we leave rashly, and the Hengyue Sect quells the demon chaos in the future, the Xu family will have made no contribution. How can we return to Yufu Valley? From this moment on, anyone who dares to suggest retreating is an unworthy descendant of my Xu family!"

The meritorious sects and families that settled in Puxian County generally had a spiritual land. For example, the powerful Li family of Danggui Mountain and the Geng family of Meiling were each assigned a spiritual vein. The weaker ones, such as the Immortal Ape Manor and the Xu family of Gushe Ridge, had spiritual pools and ponds.

In theory, these sacred sites are hereditary.

Because the Wuliang Sword Sect had written a promise in black and white in the Spirit Land Contract—as long as the meritorious forces were loyal to the Heng Kingdom, they could guard the area in place of the Wuliang Sword Sect for generations.

But in fact?
The Boundless Sword Sect only regards entities of the Hengyue Sect's caliber. Even major matters like the distribution of spiritual lands are handled by the Hengyue Sect. Anyone whose spiritual land has been seized and tries to seek justice from the Boundless Sword Sect is simply asking for trouble.

Will Hengyue Gate intervene?

Not anymore.

After all, in terms of legal principles, all the meritorious forces in Pu County were vassals of the Wuliang Sword Sect, and were separated from the Hengyue Sect by a great deal of paper.

If the higher-ups don't care, the so-called hereditary succession of sacred lands is a joke.

Once the Xu family withdraws from Gushe Ridge, the spirit pool in Fish Belly Valley may be occupied by outsiders.

If that's the case, the Xu family can still find a way to take it back.

However, if the beast tide cannot be eliminated and the Hengyue Sect eventually has to step in to quell the demonic calamity, then Gushe Ridge is very likely to be distributed among the forces under the Hengyue Sect.

Such phenomena of cuckoos taking over others' nests are commonplace in the cultivation world.

At that time, how could the Xu family, who were wandering outside, dare to attack the vassal of Hengyue Sect?

Seeing the old woman's resolute expression, the Xu family members below the hall exchanged bewildered glances.

For a long while, no one dared to refute it.

The old woman gradually softened her tone: "You don't need to worry too much. Although the beast tide is raging, Fish Belly Valley still has defensive formations that ordinary Bone Fusion demon cultivators would hesitate to enter. We also have the assistance of Immortal Ape Manor, so at least for now, those demon beasts outside the mountains are not a concern."

These words seemed to give everyone some confidence, and they stopped mentioning evacuation. Instead, they offered suggestions on how to reinforce Fish Belly Valley and the defenses outside the valley.

Especially the Lingdong direction, which has already been breached by demonic beasts.

As darkness fell, the old woman waved her hand to dismiss everyone, leaving only Xu Zhilan and Master Qiu behind.

The three remained silent for a full cup of tea's time before the old woman finally spoke in a low voice: "Although I have temporarily stabilized the Xu family's disciples, the number of demonic beasts outside the mountains is increasing, and they are showing signs of forming an army. The Xu family will ultimately be unable to withstand them! Master Qiu, what are your thoughts?"

Qiu Changzhang's gaze darkened slightly.

He was one of the few Foundation Establishment cultivators in Pudong, and the strength of the Immortal Ape Manor was naturally overwhelming that of the Xu family.

However, he only had about ten disciples under his command, far fewer than the Xu family's disciples.

Moreover, Immortal Ape Manor is indefensible. Once it is attacked by the beast tide, even if he fights to the death, he cannot change the fact that all his hard work will be destroyed.

Therefore, he hoped that the only remaining Xu family in the vicinity could continue to hold on.

On the one hand, as Xu Zhilan said, the Immortal Ape Manor and the Xu family can support each other and help each other; on the other hand, if the manor encounters a great disaster, its disciples can retreat to Fish Belly Valley and be protected by the formation, avoiding the suffering of displacement.

But if the demonic beasts near the Xu family gather in great numbers...
"If things are beyond our control, then we have no choice but to retreat."

Qiu Changzhang sighed softly. A sacred site is important, but it cannot compare to human life.

He knew that Old Madam Xu's impassioned speech was merely an attempt to extinguish any remaining hope among the clansmen. When faced with a life-or-death situation, the Xu family would never sit idly by and await their demise.

The old woman frowned when she saw his pessimistic attitude.

But she naturally wouldn't blame outsiders, and instead asked, "As the leading power in Pudong, doesn't the Li family have any thoughts about the beast tide?"

Qiu Changzhang shook his head: "They had this idea long ago, and even formed a force called the Demon Suppression Camp, which achieved considerable success in the Monkey Valley area. Unfortunately, they were out of luck. The Demon Suppression Camp was too conspicuous and was wiped out by the beast tide of Lingyue Peak. Now the Li family is on edge and dares not mention the beast tide again."

Silence fell once again in the hall.
No one knows the details of the Demon Suppression Camp, but the news of the Li family's crushing defeat in the face of the beast tide has already spread throughout Pudong.

That is why all the factions were so panicked and fled in haste.

At this point, does the Li family still have the ability to deal with the beast tide?
Even if they did, would they be willing to get involved in this mess?
Perhaps only Hengyue Sect can save Pudong.

The old woman could not hide her exhaustion.

Just then, Xu Zhilan suddenly interjected, "If the Li family only seeks to maintain a precarious peace, they will likely choose to protect themselves; but if they harbor ambitions to seize power in Pudong, they may not give up so easily."

(End of this chapter)