A daily divination, from family tortoise shells to immortal clans.

Chen Qingmo barely managed to hold the Silver Edge Sword horizontally in front of his chest, attempting to block Wu Yu's attack.

"bite!!"

A clear sword rang out, and the silver sword in Chen Qingmo's chest flew out of his hand.

This strike was powerful and heavy. Although it was blocked by the Silver Edge Sword for a few breaths, it only allowed him to barely turn to the side.

After Wu Yu finished his attack, he was exhausted and Chen Qingmo kicked him, causing him to vomit blood.

His charred body was kicked and cracked in several places. Wu Yu lay on the ground, unable to move.

"hiss!"

The pain in his lower back and abdomen made Chen Qingmo gasp. A large chunk of flesh had been cut away, and he used his spiritual power to forcefully stop the bleeding.

He used his spiritual power to summon back the Silver Edge Sword and attacked Wu Yu once again.

Since Wu's magic array plate was damaged and he had no weapon, he cast several spells in front of Wu Yu to restrain the injured Chen Qingmo.

He took out a few healing pills from his storage bag, pried open Wu Yu's mouth, and fed them to him.

Chen Qingmo had already exhausted most of his spiritual power and was now struggling to deal with Wu Fa's attacks. He could only watch helplessly as Wu Yu's injuries slowly healed.

After a long stalemate, Wu Zhenxin suddenly shouted from afar:

"withdraw!"

Wu Yu had just regained his mobility when he heard the elder's signal to retreat. He glared fiercely at Chen Qingmo, then retreated with Wu Fa's help.

Chen Qingmo's spiritual energy was almost depleted, making it impossible for him to pursue.

He put a healing pill into his mouth and looked towards the elder.

Despite the injuries sustained by the elders, their spells continued to attack the retreating Wu family.

In contrast, the situation in the Wu family was much more serious; one of them had his arm severed, and the others were also seriously injured.

The trapping formation initially consumed a lot of their spiritual energy, but for the Chen family elders, this offsetting effect made it less difficult to deal with.

However, the situation was much worse for the Qing generation. Four disciples in the early stages of Qi Refining lost their hands and feet, and the rest were also seriously injured.

Chen Qingmo had some doubts since the start of the battle: the Wu family didn't have a single disciple at the early stage of Qi Refining; they were all elders at the middle stage of Qi Refining and some at the late stage.

Only he managed to seriously injure Wu Yu by surprise; the rest of the fights were evenly matched.

Why did those of their generation improve their cultivation so quickly? Was it related to the demonic path?

However, there was not a single flaw in the aura of the technique, and Chen Qingmo could not find a solution despite his deep thought.

The clan elders also noticed the strangeness he had observed, but to prevent any unforeseen complications, they did not pursue him.

Chen Kaiji arranged for those who were mostly uninjured to send the seriously injured disciples back to the mountain for treatment, while he, along with the Second Elder and the Seventh Elder, guarded the mountain gate.

Chen Qingmo returned to Mount Taixuan with the others. Although his injuries looked serious, they were not fundamentally damaged and he would recover after a period of rest.

Inside the cave, Chen Qingmo took out healing pills and the calming pill given to him by Chen Qingru.

After taking the pill, his mind became calm, and he began to practice the Spirit Wood Technique to regulate his breathing.

The Spirit Wood Technique, when cultivated to the middle stage, already possesses some healing effects; this is one of the benefits of practicing this technique.

Furthermore, with the wood-attribute spiritual energy enhancing the cultivator's vitality, Chen Qingmo's pain disappeared, and his injuries gradually recovered, albeit slowly.

Several days passed, and the Wu family did not dare to attack again, presumably because they had suffered heavy losses and had to recuperate.

Good news came from the Chen clan: the clan leader, Chen Mingzheng, who had been away for a long time, had finally returned to Mount Taixuan.

Inside the council hall, Chen Ming was sitting at the head of the table, listening to several elders recount the events that had transpired in the clan over the past year.

At first he remained relatively calm, but when he heard that the clan already had a third-grade spirit-gathering array, he burst into laughter.

But as he listened further, his smile faded and his brows furrowed.

Upon hearing that the Wu family had attacked a few days earlier, he couldn't help but stand up and shout angrily, wishing he could just go and beat them up.

The elders were secretly astonished as they looked at the spiritual energy surging around him and his perfectly formed aura.

Chen Mingzheng has already reached the Great Perfection of the tenth level of Qi Refining. If he could obtain a Foundation Establishment Pill, the Chen family might be able to relive the glory of two hundred years ago.

"Uncle, how are the injured disciples doing now?"

Chen Mingzheng sat down again and asked Chen Kaiji about the situation within the clan.

"Alas, those disciples whose hands and feet were broken are too badly injured. Even if they can resolve their inner conflicts and barely break through to the fourth level of Qi Refining, they probably won't be able to make further progress in this lifetime."

The other disciples who were seriously injured and were in the early stages of Qi Refining need to recuperate for a period of time, ranging from one month to half a year.

Finally, there were those who suffered minor injuries, and after a few days of rest, they had recovered to about 70-80%.

Chen Kaiji sighed heavily, his face full of regret.

The elders, whose cultivation levels were high, have already recovered.

They felt guilty for not being able to take care of the younger disciples at the time.

The group fell silent, heads bowed, saying nothing more.

Chen Mingzheng noticed the elder's self-blame and offered words of comfort:

"Uncles, please don't be too hard on yourselves. This whole thing started because of the Wu family, and I will make them pay the price."

If those disciples no longer wish to cultivate, they should be properly placed in leisurely positions within the clan.

Spirit stones will be distributed as usual, with extra care given to their families. If their offspring possess spiritual roots, they will directly inherit the original treatment of their elders.

The remaining injured disciples were distributed spirit stones according to the severity of their injuries; since they were injured for the sake of the family, they should not be treated unfairly.

The Chen family acquired a considerable amount of spirit stones at the trade fair, so they are no longer as strapped for cash as they were a few months ago.

The elders nodded in agreement, and Chen Mingzheng made some arrangements before getting up and leaving.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

Just as Chen Qingmo's injuries had almost healed, he heard the news of the clan leader's return and that he had summoned the disciples with combat abilities to the training ground.

He looked towards the high platform of the martial arts arena, where Chen Ming was using his spiritual power to project his voice:

"You are all fine men of the Chen clan. I have heard about the clan's affairs from the elders. I apologize for being away for so long, which has caused you all to suffer."

After speaking, he paused, cupped his hands in a gesture of respect to his peers and younger generation below the stage, and then continued.

"After being away for more than a year, I have gained some knowledge. To fight against the Wu family cultivators, I will teach you a battle formation."

This formation is called the Seven Star Formation. Unlike formations that use array flags, this formation only requires one cultivator at the fifth or sixth level of Qi Refining as the main cultivator, with the remaining six cultivators as assistants. When the seven of them work together, they can unleash the power of the late stage of Qi Refining.

This formation combines offense and defense, so even those in the early Qi Refining stage won't be easily injured when facing Wu family cultivators.

Chen Mingzheng went out to gain experience and found the ruins of a small sect.

With the help of an opportunity within the ruins, he successfully broke through and obtained the Qi cultivation battle formation left behind, which he brought back.

Chen Qingmo was quite shocked after hearing this.

He had participated in setting up the clan's small Five Elements Formation, but that was a formation that required array flags.

According to Chen Mingzheng's explanation, the Seven Star Formation only requires the cultivation of the mental technique and does not need formation flags. The seven people can operate it as a whole under the control of the main formation cultivator.

The people of the tribe in the training ground listened carefully, eager to retaliate fiercely.

For Chen Mingzheng, the Seven Star Formation is not difficult to understand, but for some disciples in the clan who are in the early or middle stages of Qi Refining, this formation is still somewhat difficult.

He spent two full hours explaining the Seven Star Formation, breaking down the profound mysteries of the technique to help his people understand it step by step.

After all, we don't know when the Wu family will attack again, so it's best to save some time.

The disciples were divided into groups of six, each led by a member of the Ming generation to practice the formation.

The day after Chen Mingzheng returned, news came from the Wu family that they had sent a challenge directly to a rogue cultivator.

He boasted that he would wipe out all the cultivators of Tai Xuan Mountain in five days, displaying extreme arrogance.

The Wu family was unaware that Chen Mingzheng had returned, nor that the Chen family was practicing the Seven Star Battle Formation to deal with them.

Both sides were holding back their anger, waiting for it to explode.