Transform into ancestral tablets and create a supreme immortal clan.

Upon hearing this, Shen Mubai was somewhat surprised, not expecting it to cause trouble so quickly. He nodded solemnly.

He had anticipated that such a large-scale upgrade of the family's defenses would inevitably attract attention from the outside world.

I just didn't expect the attention to come so quickly and so directly.

"Our ancestors once said that although this formation is strong, it is not without its flaws."

Especially in first-order rune arrays, there are many nodes and natural "gaps" in the flow of spiritual energy. If someone is proficient in arrays or has special detection methods, they may be able to find a weakness by searching patiently.

However… a normal reconnaissance mission should never pinpoint the edge node with such precision.

"You mean... someone has obtained inside information? Or there's some kind of detection method we don't know about?" Shen Wenyuan frowned.

"Anything is possible." Shen Mubai looked towards the ancestral land in the north, his gaze deep.

"The other side is testing us, testing whether we have truly mastered this formation, testing the formation's reaction limits, and even more so, testing... whether we can detect their test."

"It seems that having 'rune arrays' alone is not enough," Shen Wenyuan sneered.

"We need to let these rats lurking in the shadows know that the Shen family's new teeth can not only defend themselves, but also bite!"

Shen Mubai pondered for a moment and said, "The most urgent task is to strengthen the concealment and protection of all the nodes of the rune array, especially the edges and connecting points."

Alternatively... we could proactively 'show weakness' and deliberately leave some subtle 'weaknesses' at certain peripheral nodes, setting up small arrays for reverse monitoring.

Once someone touches it, its aura and location can be instantly pinpointed, and even a portion of the rune array's power can be channeled for a precise counterattack.

Shen Wenyuan's eyes lit up: "Luring the snake out of its hole, turning the tables? Good idea! This matter needs to be reported to the clan chief and the law enforcement hall immediately, and the arrangements at all the outposts need to be coordinated."

The two quickly discussed and decided on a plan. Shen Mubai immediately used a communication jade talisman to briefly report the situation and his thoughts to the family head Shen Shichu and the ancestor Shen Xiao in Chuyun Valley.

Eastern foothills of Beipan Mountain.

This place was originally the land of the Cao family.

A middle-aged monk dressed in a moon-white robe was gazing into the distance from a mountain peak.

Behind him were several Foundation Establishment disciples of Wangyue Palace, as well as Cao Li, the head of the Cao family.

"Cao Li, it seems your hidden agents left in the clan's territory are about to be discovered."

This person is Qin Wuwang, a Golden Core cultivator from Wangyue Palace, one of the four great immortal sects of Southern Chu.

"Reporting to Senior Qin, my Cao family has been managing this place for over four hundred years, and we have many hidden forces."

With such limited manpower, the Shen family is probably willing but unable to do so.

"Very well, I shall have a good look at your skills."

Remember, the ancestral Blood Spirit Tree of the Shen family belongs to my Moon Gazing Palace.

On the northern slope, there is a valley called Chuyun Valley.

The patriarch, Shen Shichu, flew over anxiously.

He rushed all the way and, upon arriving outside Shen Xiao's cave, knelt down with a thud: "This unworthy descendant, Shen Shichu, has come to beg for forgiveness!"

Shen Xiao, who was studying the secret techniques of supernatural powers, was immediately surprised.

"What happened? Why are you so anxious?"

"Ancestor, the snake blood spirit tree that the family has carefully cultivated was broken by someone who broke the 'Minor Five Elements Mysterious Array,' causing the spirit tree's spiritual energy to leak out, and all the efforts of a hundred years were destroyed in an instant."

If this continues, the spirit tree will lose much of its spiritual power and may even wither and die.

Shen Xiao was even more puzzled upon hearing this.

He remembered that the thousand-year-old python blood spirit tree that the Shen family had carefully cultivated had already evolved and upgraded into a dragon blood spirit tree.

They are still in the Floating Firefly Realm, doing well.

Could it be that the Shen family actually possesses two spirit trees?

He hadn't really paid much attention to these things before.

Thinking of this, Shen Xiao calmly asked, "Tell me in detail, what exactly is the situation?"

"That snake blood spirit tree was planted by the Third Ancestor himself four hundred years ago, next to the spring of the Tongming Spirit Spring in the back mountain."

Although it is only a offspring plant differentiated from the mother plant, my Shen family has been cultivating it for more than 500 years.

The spiritual veins of Beipan Mountain are of low quality and cannot provide the spiritual energy of heaven and earth needed to nourish the spiritual tree.

The Third Ancestor then planted the seedling beside the Tongming Spiritual Spring and set up a Small Five Elements Mystery Array.

It has been carefully maintained for hundreds of years.

However, the Shen family suffered heavy losses during the battle for the Yaoshan Spirit Mine a hundred years ago.

The Bei and Cao families once invaded the ancestral land, and the Small Five Elements Mystery Array was almost broken, causing the spirit of the seedling to leak out and almost die.

After the formation was repaired, the tree rested for a hundred years, during which time it produced nothing.

Just when it seemed that the spirit tree was about to regain its former glory, it unexpectedly suffered another calamity today.

It is unknown who secretly broke the formation, and seventy percent of the spiritual energy of the spirit tree was leaked out.

The formation hasn't been fully repaired yet; if this continues, I'm afraid the Blood Serpent Spirit Tree will be lost.

Shen Xiao finally understood.

Someone is starting to target the Shen family again.

Only the Cao family could destroy a formation so precisely and without anyone noticing.

After all, only they knew the Shen family so well.

"I am aware of this matter."

You should take this "Five Elements Spirit Locking Talisman" and place it in the formation; it will surely lock in the tree's spiritual energy.

As for those petty scoundrels who acted in the shadows, I will deal with them personally!

After handing the Five Elements Spirit Locking Talisman to Shen Shichu, Shen Xiao did not set off immediately. Instead, he closed his eyes and concentrated. His vast divine sense, like an invisible tide, instantly covered the entire Northern Foothills Cloud Valley and rapidly spread outwards.

Wherever his divine sense swept, the grass, trees, insects, the flow of spiritual energy, the aura of cultivators, and even the subtle changes deep within the earth's veins were all reflected in his perception.

Soon, on the outskirts of the Shen family's ancestral land, near a seemingly ordinary mountain valley ley line node, he "saw" a trace of spiritual energy disturbance that was extremely discordant, deliberately concealed but still remaining.

The marks were cold and obscure, carrying a unique rhythm like the merging of water and moon—a characteristic of the Wangyue Palace technique.

"As expected." Shen Xiao sneered inwardly, "The Cao family invited a wolf into the house; the Wangyue Palace's reach is far too far."

He did not disturb the remaining mark, and continued to probe further with his divine sense. He quickly locked onto the direction of the eastern foot of Beipan Mountain, where several auras faintly shared the same origin as the remaining mark. One of these auras was condensed and heavy, clearly belonging to a Golden Core cultivator.

"Early stage of Golden Core... It seems these are cultivators sent by the Moon Gazing Palace to deal with the Shen family," Shen Xiao thought to himself.

"Perfect, I'll use you to test my newly comprehended 'Formless Finger of Calamity'."

This secret technique comes from the Shen family's collection of mortal martial arts, the "Formless Finger of Calamity".

After Shen Xiao used the Derivation Spirit Pearl to deduce and upgrade it, it transformed into a top-grade Xuan-level secret technique.

In the meantime, Shen Xiao consumed 10 points of life force to comprehend this secret technique and mastered it in a very short time.

He remained seated cross-legged in the cave, his right hand slowly raised and gently tapping the void.

In an instant, there were no unusual phenomena inside the cave, but two hundred miles away, on the mountain peak at the eastern foot of Beipan Mountain, Qin Wuwang, who was looking towards the direction of the Shen family's ancestral land, suddenly felt an immense sense of crisis descending upon him!

The feeling did not come from the front, nor from underground, but seemed to arise out of thin air from the void around him.

His expression changed drastically, and moonlight shone brightly around him. A moon-shaped magical artifact instantly appeared in front of him, and he shouted fiercely, "Who?!"