Family Cultivation: Rise of the Wilderness

Chapter 563 Ownership of the Demon Suppression Camp

"boom!"

"Kill!"

"Push it to me!"

Explosions and shouts echoed throughout the air.

Seven or eight agile figures swooped down the hillside, facing a mixed beast tide of dozens of different races of monsters. Among them was a monkey demon with black eyes and a white face, who was holding a stone the size of his head and hurling it at them.

"Get away!"

Before the stone even hit the ground, it exploded like a cannonball with a loud "boom".

The human cultivators who had only rushed halfway scattered. Some of the slower ones were grazed by fragments of stone, and even those who activated their magical shields were still violently thrown away.

"Chengxu!"

A young monk on the hillside, seeing this, had tears welling up in his eyes.

But at this moment, how could he care about one or two clansmen?

"There's a demon cultivator in the late stage of the Spirit Summoning Realm!"

"Cover-the-ground operations!"

"Cheng'an, shoot!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the four men beside Xu Chengdong knelt down, drew their bows and aimed at the beast tide below.

"call out!"

"Whoa!"

More than ten of the demonic beasts that charged up the hillside fell instantly.

Only the two high-speed dog demons seemed unaffected, braving the rain of arrows as they raced forward, their target the "Xu" banner fluttering in the wind on the hillside!

"Stop them!"

"Step aside!"

The Xu family cultivators who had charged forward earlier could no longer sit still.

Some people raised their wooden shields to block the hillside, while others swung their iron chains in an attempt to interrupt the dog demon's charge.

Just then, the monkey demon with black eyes and a white face leaped up, exposing itself to all the Xu family cultivators.

The arrows raining down from the slope immediately changed direction and struck the black-eyed monkey demon.

However, the black-eyed monkey demon was extremely agile, and its speed was even greater than that of the dog demon. It not only easily dodged the attacks, but also rushed to the hillside like a whirlwind.

In just a moment, two or three of the Xu family cultivators were thrown to the ground.

"Beast!"

Suddenly, a streak of light flashed across the sky, and a middle-aged cultivator wearing a golden crown arrived in an instant. He roared and struck down with his palm, which was as powerful as a mountain collapsing.

The monkey demon looked frightened and fled in panic.

The remaining monsters also retreated like a tide.

"Master Qiu?"

Xu Chengdong flew over with a look of delight, "Junior Chengdong greets you."

"Don't talk nonsense."

Qiu Changzhang interrupted him abruptly, then said seriously, "Lingdong and Lingbei have both fallen. Your patriarch thought that Lingnan would also fall, so he sent me to come and meet you."

After a pause, Qiu Changzhang exhaled: "The beast tide is about to reach Fish Belly Valley."

Fish Belly Valley?

Xu Chengdong's face turned pale.

Fish Belly Valley is located in the heart of Gushe Ridge, surrounded by natural barriers on its west, north, and south sides, making it easy to defend and difficult to attack.

Since the Xu family settled in Pudong, although there have been occasional clashes with surrounding cultivation forces, the flames of war have never crossed Gushe Ridge. But now, facing the beast tide, can the Xu family defend Fish Belly Valley?

Despite his doubts and anxiety, Xu Chengdong dared not delay. He left in a hurry with his clansmen without even having time to clean up the monster corpses.

The group, familiar with the terrain, soon returned to Fishbelly Valley.
But at this point, Fish Belly Valley is no longer the paradise we remember.

Looking around, the smoke of battle still lingers.

Outside the blood-stained city walls, piles of monster corpses lay like small mountains, and the air was thick with a nauseating stench of blood. Fortunately, the battle seemed to have come to an end, and there were no living monsters around.

"Cheng Dong?"

Suddenly, a joyful cry rang out.

Xu Chengdong turned around and froze instantly.

Walking towards him from afar was none other than Xu Zhilan!
Fourth Aunt, you...

"I am back!"

Xu Zhilan quickly approached, a hint of anxiety on her face: "Has the beast tide already reached Fish Belly Valley? How is the family doing?"

Xu Chengdong replied, "There are more and more demonic beasts. In particular, there are two Bone Fusion Demon Cultivators guarding the eastern part of the mountain, which was lost three days ago! Master Qiu just told me that the northern part of the mountain has also been lost, and that we should retreat directly back to Fish Belly Valley. I just got back and don't know much about the demonic beasts that have appeared here."

After saying that, Xu Chengdong's eyes involuntarily turned to the green-robed youth beside Xu Zhilan.

Even though the other party was right in front of him, he couldn't tell how powerful they were.

Xu Zhilan noticed Xu Chengdong's gaze and slowly explained, "These are distinguished guests from the Li family of Dangui Mountain, who have come to support our Xu family."

Halfway through her sentence, she suddenly noticed something in the crowd, and her expression turned grim: "Where's Chengxu?"

Chengxu

Xu Chengdong lowered his head: "It's my fault for not taking good care of him."

Xu Zhilan froze instantly, took two steps back in disbelief, and bumped into Li Xiangming.

Li Xiangming supported her back, but his gaze was fixed on the dozens of bats circling in mid-air.
-
The Xu family's residence.

In the brightly lit hall, an elderly woman with white hair, leaning on a dragon-headed cane, paced back and forth in front of the bed.

More than a dozen figures filed in from outside the door and took their seats.

Li Xiangming stepped through the gate at the last minute, but under Xu Zhilan's guidance, he sat in the first seat on the right, a tiger-shaped chair. The golden-crowned cultivator opposite him immediately gave him a friendly smile.

Li Xiangming's eyes flickered slightly. He had wondered how the Xu family could hold out for more than half a month under the siege of the beast tide. It turned out that Qiu Changzhang of the Immortal Ape Manor had helped them!
This person is quite low-key and not very famous in Pudong, but he did participate in the foundation-building ceremony held by the Li family in Changyang Valley back then.

However, as the Qin, Geng, and Liu families took the stage one after another, the atmosphere of the Foundation Building Ceremony became extremely tense.

Apart from Qingyang Daoist, all the other Foundation Establishment cultivators who attended the ceremony chose to protect themselves, and Qiu Changzhang was no exception, so he only met him once.

"Junior Li Xiangming greets Master Qiu."

Despite the slight awkwardness, Li Xiangming still took the initiative to bow.

One must always give face to a Foundation Establishment cultivator.

Of course, Li Xiangming wouldn't want to embarrass his host. He quickly turned around and cupped his hands towards the white-haired old woman at the head of the table: "I came in a hurry and didn't have time to prepare any gifts. I hope Madam Xu will forgive me."

"Hey!"

The white-haired old woman quickly waved her hand: "It is already a great gift that Deputy Chief Steward Li was able to take the time to come and fight against the demons with my Xu family. Let's not talk about those complicated formalities."

“That’s right. We have been waiting for the Li family’s reinforcements for a long time. To see Deputy Chief Steward Li is like a dry tree meeting sweet rain. It’s more joyful than receiving a hundred gifts.”

"."

As soon as Li Xiangming spoke, the hall erupted in excitement.

Several Xu family cultivators spoke up, mostly with flattering words, which gave Li Xiangming goosebumps—he never received such treatment in the Li family.

After a long while, the sounds subsided.

A steady stream of servants brought fine wines, delicacies, and magical fruits and nectars, while colorful maids with flowing sleeves danced gracefully in the hall, like butterflies fluttering around flowers.

If it weren't for the fact that the mountain of monster corpses outside Fish Belly Valley hadn't been cleared away yet, the Xu family would truly be displaying the air of a wealthy and powerful clan.

Seeing Li Xiangming so engrossed in looking at them, the white-haired old woman immediately spoke up: "These women are all of the Xu family bloodline. They are all in the prime of their youth, well-educated and reasonable. If Deputy Steward Li takes a liking to any of them, he may choose three or five to take as concubines to serve him."

"Since we are of the Xu family bloodline, I would never dare to deprive Madam Xu of her joy."

Li Xiangming raised his glass to politely decline. Unexpectedly, the white-haired old woman was quite persistent and repeatedly urged him to continue.

Especially after learning that Li Xiangming had no children, he spoke with great earnestness and concern.

Even Qiu Changzhang couldn't stand it anymore and interrupted with a cough, saying, "Deputy Steward Li's Daoist partner is a noblewoman from the Cao family of Qingliang Mountain. Keeping her in a golden house might not be a good idea."

Having three wives and four concubines is indeed rare and common in the cultivation world.

However, one must also consider the identity of the Daoist partner.

The Cao family was far more powerful than the Li family, so the daughter of the Cao family who married into the family naturally held a distinguished position.

If Li Xiangming takes Xu's daughter as a concubine without consulting the authorities, he may not be criticized by the world, but if Cao's wife is unhappy and causes trouble at home, and with her family's support, it will be a real mess.

Upon hearing this, the white-haired old woman's eyes flashed with a sharp light, and she continued to ask Li Xiangming, "I wonder if Madam Cao has any doubts about Vice Steward Li taking a concubine?"

Li Xiangming frowned slightly, not expecting the Xu family to be so persistent.

Cao Yanjun never objected to him taking a concubine, but even if he wanted to, he wouldn't consider ordinary women. If the Xu family really wanted to, they should introduce their own female cultivators.

However, the Xu family did not!

The white-haired old woman presented these beautiful women only because she coveted his bloodline. After all, as long as she had a night of pleasure with him, there was a chance to give birth to a child with spiritual roots.

Such scheming naturally displeased him.

But he had come all the way to Gushe Ridge not to turn against them. He simply replied, "I came for the sake of the demon beast. If Madam Xu wishes to form a kinship ties with the Li family, she may send an envoy to Danggui Mountain to discuss it at another time."

The white-haired old woman still wanted to speak.

"Cough cough."

Xu Zhilan coughed heavily a few times beside her.

Confused!
The white-haired old woman sighed inwardly. She naturally knew that her daughter was trying to get her to the point and resolve the beast tide crisis facing the Xu family as soon as possible. However, the beast tide could only plague the Xu family for a year or two.

The Xu family, though rooted in Pudong, will endure for generations.

It's rare for a prodigy like Li Xiangming to visit the Xu family. If the Xu family doesn't seize this opportunity, will they be able to get the Li family's help again when they face another crisis in the future?
Unfortunately.
Li Xiangming's attitude was very firm; his move out of the Li family home was, in effect, a refusal.

The white-haired old woman finally calmed her distracting thoughts and slowly said, "There are about 30,000 to 40,000 demonic beasts entrenched near the Xu family, which is not considered a large number. However, there are two Bone-Merging Demonic Cultivators who are causing my Xu family a lot of headaches."

"Oh? I wonder what the backgrounds of these two Bone-Merging Demon Cultivators are?"

Li Xiangming immediately asked.

The white-haired old woman did not answer, but looked at Qiu Changzhang.

Qiu Changzhang seemed to be thinking for a moment, and then said, "One of them is a tiger demon with golden stripes and a white body, which is somewhat similar to the Golden-Winged Black-Eyed Tiger recorded in the Beast Compendium. It has a mid-stage Bone Fusion cultivation and is extremely ferocious. The other one is a bat demon that can seduce people's souls. Its cultivation is slightly inferior to that of the tiger demon, but it has the ability to fly and is more difficult to deal with."

Golden-winged Black-browed Tiger?
Li Xiangming fell into deep thought. The Li family had participated in the Nanbin battlefield and had received a monster encyclopedia from the Wuliang Sword Sect, which contained the origins of as many as a million monsters.

Among them is the Golden-Winged Black-Browed Tiger, which is extremely ferocious.

Fortunately, the demon cultivators who are accepted by human cultivators will introduce their weaknesses to some extent.

The bat monster on the other side, whose true nature is unknown, is a bit troublesome.

Li Xiangming focused his questions on the appearance and characteristics of the bat demon.

Of those present, only Qiu Changzhang had ever fought the bat demon.

Faced with a matter of great importance, the manor owner dared not conceal anything and revealed all the details.

Li Xiangming, having heard half of it, already understood: "This demon must be a Yin Sha Ghost Bat from Lingyue Peak!"

"The Yin-Ya Ghost Bat?"

Qiu Changzhang was very curious.

Li Xiangming then explained that he had fought against the Yin Sha Ghost Bat in Calabash Valley.

But once he started talking, he naturally mentioned all the bone-fusion demon cultivators, including the Centipede Poison Granny, the Black Armored Rhinoceros Demon, the Crimson Ape Demon, the Corpse Vulture, and the Golden-feathered Iron-clawed Eagle.

Everyone present was astonished to hear that Li Xiangming had fought against so many Bone-Melting Demon Cultivators and was still able to escape unscathed even after being surrounded.

"Vice President Li is very capable."

Some people may not believe it, but the Xu family members who attended the banquet were there to praise Li Xiangming, so they didn't care whether they believed it or not.

In no time, a flood of praise emerged, including terms like "young hero," "profound Taoist knowledge," "dragon-like appearance and phoenix-like demeanor," and "a prodigy of unparalleled talent."

Li Xiangming looked helpless. The Xu family didn't even have a Foundation Establishment cultivator, but their ostentatious style was no less than that of the Li family.

Fortunately, Xu Zhilan kept speaking up to help him out, and the topic of fighting the monsters was able to be brought back on track.

After gaining a general understanding of the Xu family's current situation and the beast tide's combat strength, Li Xiangming suggested, "Gushe Ridge is surrounded by natural defenses on three sides, but the demonic beasts are adept at scaling walls and leaping across rooftops. If we stubbornly defend Gushe Ridge, we will inevitably suffer heavy casualties. Lure the beast tide to the entrance of Fish Belly Valley and then use the formation to deliver a crushing blow. This might be a good strategy. I wonder what Madam Xu thinks?"

"This"

The white-haired old woman hesitated slightly.

The strategy of consolidating forces and returning to defend Fish Belly Valley was one that the Xu family had decided on beforehand.

But that was without the Li family's assistance.

Fish Belly Valley is the core territory of the Xu family. If it is breached, the Xu family will be on the verge of destruction.

Where did she not have any concerns?
"I heard from Fourth Sister that Deputy Steward Li did not come alone?"

The white-haired old woman did not answer directly, but instead asked a different question.

Li Xiangming didn't hide anything: "Xu Si Niangzi and I arrived ahead of you. The Demon Suppression Camp is still behind us. We estimate it will take another day to reach Gu She Ridge."

Demon-Suppressing Camp?
This name is very well-known in Pudong.

Of course, it's a disgrace!

The destruction of the Demon Suppression Camp marked the Li family's first failure in resisting the beast tide.

The entire Pudong region was thrown into panic, and countless cultivators fled.

The white-haired old woman and Qiu Changzhang exchanged a glance, and Qiu Changzhang asked, "I wonder how many people are left in the Demon Suppression Camp?"

Li Xiangming sighed softly: "The Demon Suppression Camp has been severely damaged and is far from recovering its strength. Only two Foundation Establishment cultivators and one hundred and twenty Qi Refining cultivators or above remain."

One hundred and twenty cultivators?

The white-haired old woman gasped.

Despite the small number, the Xu family has mobilized fewer than sixty cultivators so far.

The Li family's "crippled" demon-suppressing camp is actually worth two Xu families.

Not to mention, the Demon Suppression Camp also has two Foundation Establishment cultivators!

"Deputy Chief Steward Li!"

The white-haired old woman immediately stood up, her tone somewhat urgent: "If the Demon Suppression Camp joins forces with the Xu family and the Immortal Ape Manor, it will be enough to annihilate the beast tide of Gushe Ridge."

Despite the appearance of tens of thousands of demonic beasts in the Gushe Ridge beast tide, the actual number of demon cultivators is no more than five hundred, and among them, more than half are low-level demons in the early stages of the Spirit Awakening realm.

The cultivators from the Demon Suppression Camp, the Xu family, and the Immortal Ape Manor were mostly at the mid-stage of Qi Refining. In terms of high-end combat power, the two Foundation Establishment cultivators from the Demon Suppression Camp, along with Qiu Changzhang, were able to steadily suppress the two Bone Fusion demon cultivators from the Gushe Ridge beast tide.

If that's the case, then the difference in quantity is no longer important.

Don't forget, human cultivators are skilled at using external objects.

Throwing down a single explosive talisman can easily kill a bunch of wild beasts, half-demons, or even lesser demons.

Annihilate the beast tide?

Seeing the excitement on the faces of the white-haired old woman and Qiu Changzhang, Li Xiangming changed his tone: "The Gushe Ridge beast tide is just one part of the Pudong beast tide army. Even if we wipe it out, who knows if other demonic beasts will come and become the second Gushe Ridge beast tide? The Demon Suppression Camp can save the Xu family once, but it can't save them a second time."

The room fell silent instantly upon hearing this.

Everyone was staring at Li Xiangming, trying to guess the meaning behind his words.

The white-haired old woman glanced at Xu Zhilan.

She knew that the Li family wouldn't support the Xu family for nothing; one of the most important conditions they mentioned was that Xu family cultivators had to join the Demon Suppression Camp.

After a long silence, the white-haired old woman slowly asked, "If the Xu family joins the Demon Suppression Camp, can the Li family ensure the safety of Gushe Ridge?"

"I think Madam Xu has misunderstood."

Li Xiangming smiled, stood up, and said seriously, "This time, it is the Demon Suppression Camp that is supporting the Xu family, not my Li family! In the future, it will also be the Demon Suppression Camp that protects the Xu family! The Demon Suppression Camp is not my Li family's Demon Suppression Camp, but the Demon Suppression Camp of Pudong. Does Madam Xu understand the meaning of this?"

(End of this chapter)