Cultivating a family of immortals

"That year, your Wu family produced an unparalleled genius, an extremely rare single-elemental root."

"That was quite a while ago. You seemed to have been only two or three years old then?"

"But none of that matters."

"Your Wu family will prosper."

"But rise and fall are predestined."

"Who can truly say what fate is?"

The swordsman remained silent for a moment, then glanced at the snow-covered mountain.

"This scenery is the same all year round; it's really not a good sight."

………………

Mochuan River.

This river is several thousand feet wide, and for some reason, its water never freezes.

The river wasn't flowing; it was roaring and surging.

The opposite bank is nowhere in sight; when the snow falls, it is instantly swallowed by the river.

The villagers in Mohe County are used to this and believe that it is reasonable for the river to be surging and not frozen.

Xu Wanghe stood on the bank, gazing at the great river, feeling no emotion, but filled with worry.

The local militia had already built huts in the birch forest behind them, using birch wood as materials. Some of them even brought their own animal skins to put on the huts for warmth.

This place is located at the foot of Qingping Mountain, with the Mochuan River in front and Qingping Mountain behind, surrounded by a forest.

If the Zheng family wants to get to Qingping Mountain, there are only two routes they can take.

This is one.

The other option is to go directly up the mountain, but the path has been blocked by the cultivators of the Haoran Immortal Sect for many years. Unless the Chaoyang Immortal Sect wants to start a war and sends people to attack the mountain, there is absolutely no possibility of going up the mountain.

The reason why the Haoran Immortal Sect sent people to keep an eye on this place was to prevent the Zheng family from coming to gather information.

The Immortal Sect decrees that if a large number of cultivators attack, the sect may retreat immediately.

Xu Wanghe shook his head repeatedly at this.

With a large number of cultivators mobilized, how could these mortals have any chance to escape?

However, since it is an imperial edict from the Immortal Sect, we can only obey it.

Moreover, Immortal Master Lin Wan is also stationed here.

By evening, the militia had already set up their shelters.

The local militia numbered 120 and built ten shacks of three men each.

Master Lin Wan and Fang Shouzhu each lived alone in one shack, while Xu Wanghe and two members of the Xu family lived in another. One hundred and twenty people were crammed into ten shacks.

Late at night, bonfires were lit at the entrances of various shacks. Xu Wanghe, along with Xu Jinglei and Xu Jingtao, sat by the fire at the entrance of a shack, and Sun Erzhu also joined them.

Now that Sun Dazhuang has changed his name to Xu Jinglei, he is no longer a member of the Sun family, but Xu Wanghe does not adhere to this rule and still makes Xu Jinglei call Sun Erzhu "father".

Xu Jinglei was not stupid. He didn't dare to speak to Sun Erzhu in front of Xu Wanghe, and Sun Erzhu did the same.

Xu Wanghe chatted with Sun Erzhu for a few minutes, and the topic of the Zheng family came up.

"The head of the Zheng family is called Zheng Xuanzhou. He appears to be gentle and refined, but he is actually ruthless. In the past few years, during a war, his cultivation was destroyed by the Wang family's immortal master, who cut off both his legs, leaving him crippled."

Xu Wanghe pondered for a moment and said, "Since he has been deposed, why can he still be the head of the family?"

"He also has two sons. The eldest son is named Zheng Linyuan, who is a cultivator at the fourth level of Qi Refining, and the second son is named Zheng Shutong, who is a cultivator at the third level of Qi Refining. Because of these two sons, Zheng Xuanzhou is still the head of the family."

Sun Erzhu pointed to a huge rock in the woods ahead, "That's considered the territory. It was here that Zheng Xuanzhou's cultivation was crippled by the Wang family's immortal master. The Wang family didn't fare well either; the entire family attacked and was killed by the immortal master who descended from the sky..."

Xu Wanghe looked in the direction Sun Erzhu was pointing and saw a huge rock lying in the forest, with blackened, frozen scabs on it.

As Sun Erzhu spoke, he suddenly lowered his voice and said, "Patriarch, if the Zheng family really sends people tonight, we are not afraid, after all, we still have Master Lin and that new Master. But if the Chaoyang Immortal Sect sends people, Patriarch, you should hide in the forest and not go out."

Xu Wanghe asked curiously, "What about the local militia?"

"Naturally, whoever runs the slowest will die," Sun Erzhu said with great experience.

Xu Wanghe chuckled.

It feels somewhat unreal.

"Logically speaking, even if a fight were to break out, wouldn't it be better for the immortal masters to take the lead?" Xu Wanghe remarked.

Sun Erzhu remained silent.

Looking at Sun Erzhu's expression, Xu Wanghe was surprised. After lowering his eyes and thinking for a moment, he finally understood.

"Immortal masters are precious; if they had to intervene every time such a thing happened, countless people would perish. We mortals are different; if we die, we die..."

Sun Erzhu spoke, but there was not a trace of reluctance in his eyes.

"But before we die, we'll take the Zheng family's descendants with us!"

Xu Wanghe naturally understood the meaning of the phrase "blood feud".

He stood up, patted Sun Erzhu on the shoulder, then picked up Xu Jingtao and walked towards Fang Shouzhuo.

"Jing Tao, how about the patriarch takes you to consult with the immortal master about your cultivation?"

"Okay, sure," Xu Jingtao said crisply.

Only Sun Erzhu and his son Xu Jinglei remained at the place.

"Dad..." Xu Jinglei called out in a simple and honest voice.

The two understood that this was the head of the family giving them a chance to speak.

This is the first time Xu Jinglei has called someone "Dad" since he changed his name and joined the Xu family.

Sun Erzhu sat down beside him with satisfaction and reached out to stroke Xu Jinglei's head.

"Is cultivation difficult?"

"It's not hard work, Father. The Patriarch has been so good to me and Jingtao. He said we weren't allowed to eat the flesh of the Mountain-Splitting Beast until we had cultivated properly, but he sent someone to deliver it to us that very night..."

Xu Jinglei talked on and on, like a student returning home from studying away from home, telling his father about the interesting things he had encountered.

Sun Erzhu listened the whole time, but when Xu Jinglei talked about the difficulties he encountered in his cultivation, he couldn't understand some of it, but he still pretended to listen.

"Father," Xu Jinglei suddenly stopped, his tone becoming dejected, "I don't want to cultivate immortality, I want to go home. You can't sleep well at night without me massaging your legs."

Sun Erzhu, who was about to fly into a rage, paused upon hearing this, then patted his head and said:

"Don't talk nonsense. A chance to become an immortal is rare. Since you have this opportunity, you should cultivate diligently and become as ethereal as Master Wu in the future, able to slay that ferocious beast with a wave of your hand. Then your father will be proud."

Hearing the earnest expectation in his voice, Xu Jinglei could only nod heavily.

"Also, if a celestial master makes a move tonight, don't think that just because you've cultivated, you can take action. You still need to hide."

Xu Jinglei chuckled sheepishly, "Father, the patriarch has already told Jingtao and me to just hide behind the adults and keep an eye on things."

That would be best.

Late at night, the Mochuan River roared and throbbed, and even in the forest, hundreds of feet away, the sound of the flowing water could be faintly heard.

Xu Wanghe sat in the shack, his gaze fixed on the huge rock in front of him.

Xu Jinglei and Xu Jingtao were asleep, their heads resting on his lap.

Just then, a light suddenly appeared behind the boulder.

Countless torches appeared from afar as they drew near.

With a whoosh, Fang Shouzhuo and Lin Wan leaped to the front of Xu Wanghe's shack.

"They've arrived as expected."

Behind the boulder, a group of people pushed a wheelbarrow over it.

A middle-aged man dressed in silk clothing sat on the cart.

Hundreds of villagers were gathered on both sides.

Xu Wanghe walked out of the shack, his gaze fixed intently on the person on the cart.

Behind him, more than a hundred local soldiers had gathered.

In an instant, swords were drawn, and under the bright moonlight in the night sky, a blur of light and shadow appeared.