Cultivating a family of immortals

Three hours ago.

Xu Jingtao carried the stone pot into the house.

Xu Wanghe put down his teacup and called out with a smile:

"Jingtao, what delicious food did you make today?"

The moment Xu Jingtao saw Xu Wanghe and Xu Changle, upon hearing their words, she burst into tears, but because her back was to the door, she was not noticed by Zhao's parents.

She opened her mouth but couldn't utter a sound as she cried out:

"Master, Young Master, do not respond! My child has already been harmed by my parents and Meng Qingdeng. Their target is the Xu family. The stone pot is divided into left and right sides. I have used my spiritual energy to separate them. The side with the ginger slices contains poison pills, while the right side is unharmed. You should drink the soup and eat the meat, making sure they see it. Then, feign death to lure them out and catch them all in one fell swoop!"

Xu Wanghe and his son were only momentarily distracted before they quickly regained their composure. Xu Changle smiled and took the stone pot, placing it on the main table.

The moment she took the stone pot, Xu Jingtao slipped a note to Xu Changle, then casually wiped away her sweat and tears, exchanged a few words with a smile, and left as if bathed in a gentle breeze.

Xu Wanghe and his son remained expressionless as they chatted about trivial matters. Meanwhile, Xu Changle secretly unfolded the note, which detailed everything that had happened the previous day. He was instantly enraged, and his hands trembled slightly.

Xu Wanghe noticed this and said with a smile:

"Jingtao, this soup is delicious! Quickly, get some bowls and chopsticks and have a taste!"

Xu Changle took a deep breath and said with a smile:

"Jing... Tao's cooking skills have always been good, we're in for a treat."

After saying that, he took a bowl, chopsticks and a soup spoon from the table, lifted the stone pot, and looked at it carefully. He found that there was indeed a partition made of spiritual power in the stone pot, and there were a few slices of ginger floating on the left side.

"This is a partition formed by the [Rain Condensation Technique]..." Xu Changle thought to himself, but then pondered for a moment.

"If Jing Tao truly intended to harm us, why bother with all this pretense? Without those words, my father and I would have drunk the soup and meat ourselves..."

After thinking it over, he calmly ladled two bowls of soup and meat from the right side of the stone pot and handed them to his father.

The two drank a few mouthfuls and then ate the meat in their bowls.

It's really fragrant.

After more than two hours, the people in the courtyard finally finished their work.

Xu Wanghe had also secretly exchanged words with Xu Changle, during which he inadvertently glanced at the Zhao couple in the courtyard and indeed saw them acting suspiciously.

A moment later, while cleaning the stone pot, Xu Changle took two candied fruits from Xu Wanghe, smeared a layer of black ash on the bottom of the stone pot with the candy, and then each of them took one and put it in their mouths before walking out of the main hall together.

Standing on the steps, the two of them gently bit their tongues, and the blood, mixed with the red candied fruit and stained black by the soot at the bottom of the pot, spurted out together, pretending to be poisoned and collapsing on the steps.

A large crowd gathered around.

Xu Jingheng was the most anxious, but when he felt the pulse points of the two men, he was momentarily stunned.

Xu Changle squinted through the crowd and saw that the Zhao couple had taken advantage of the chaos to leave, but they still dared not reveal themselves, in case there was someone inside!

She could only whisper to Xu Jingheng:

"Pretend that your grandfather and I have died from poisoning, and have someone carry us back to the house. Under no circumstances should we be exposed!"

Xu Jingheng immediately understood, and then shouted at the top of his lungs:

"Father, grandfather, what's wrong?"

After saying this, he once again felt the pulses of the two men in front of everyone, immediately putting on an act, tears streaming down his face, and exclaiming:

"Father, grandfather, you... you're leaving already? Who poisoned me! Ah!"

Having said that, he suddenly stood up, his eyes bloodshot, and shouted to the already panicked Zhou Xingyao, "Mother, quickly carry Father and Grandfather into the inner room, preserve their bodies, and don't let anyone touch them! I need to investigate who poisoned them!"

Zhou Xingyao was stunned for a moment, and helplessly carried Xu Changle and Xu Wanghe into the inner room with her children.

Xu Jingheng stood in front of the steps, pretended to cry out in pain for a while, then closed the door of the main hall behind him. He questioned the people in the courtyard carefully, but deliberately did not keep anyone in, allowing them to come and go freely.

After the news of the father and son spread throughout the village through the people in the courtyard, Xu Jingheng and Sun Erzhu went into the inner room together.

Inside the room, Xu Wanghe and Xu Changle were already seated in chairs, and the Xu family members all breathed a sigh of relief.

After Xu Jingheng entered, Xu Changle solemnly recounted Xu Jingtao's situation to everyone.

Xu Jingheng was immediately shocked, realizing that it was no wonder Sister Jingtao hadn't let him touch the stone pot earlier!

"Now that the news of our feigned death has spread, the Zheng family will surely lead their men to attack Guanyun Village! Without Qingping Mountain as a barrier, things will be much easier."

Xu Wanghe said with a cold laugh, but his eyes were bloodshot.

"The Zhao couple, what ruthless methods they employ!"

"Grandfather, Father, what should we do now?"

Xu Jingheng's eyes were filled with ruthlessness, wishing he could rush out right now and kill the Zhao couple with a single sword strike!

Xu Changle was silent for a moment before saying:

"This matter was orchestrated by the Chaoyang Sect, which means that in addition to the two cultivators from the Zheng family, the attackers also have the Chaoyang Sect's assistance... Jingheng, I ask you, now that you are at the sixth level of Qi Refining, can you deal with those two young men from the Zheng family who are around the seventh level of Qi Refining?"

Xu Jingheng nodded emphatically:

"I possess a Heavenly Spiritual Root. Within the Xuan Yuan Sect, my senior brother taught me many Daoist techniques and incantations. I can handle any of those two Zheng family sons as ordinary cultivators. However, facing two of them, I'm afraid I cannot kill them instantly!"

Xu Changle raised an eyebrow, overjoyed. He asked this question simply to gauge Xu Jingheng's combat strength.

"What if we add Fang Shou-zuo to the mix?"

Xu Changle said with a deep look in his eyes.

Xu Jingheng's gaze sharpened, and he said, "I will kill him instantly!"

After saying this, Xu Jingheng asked worriedly, "But Father, you also said that the Chaoyang Sect will definitely send cultivators to help, and the Zheng family also has some low-level cultivators. How should we deal with these people?"

Xu Wanghe continued, "..."

"Since Chang Le can't act in the village, I'll lead the village militia to stop their lower-level cultivators. As for the higher-level Qi Refining disciples, my Xu family's collateral lineage disciples at the Nascent Soul stage will handle them. With over sixty of them, they should be caught off guard. Once Jing Heng and Shou Zhuo have killed the Zheng family members, they'll come to our aid immediately!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Xu Wanghe's eyes gleamed.

"Today's battle will also serve as a good indicator of who in the village is not contributing. Most of these collateral relatives are only sixteen or seventeen years old. Although they follow our Xu family, they are already quite mature. After this battle, we should be able to identify who is worthy of our trust!"

After this matter was settled, Sun Erzhu and Xu Jingheng went out together to gather the men, while Xu Wanghe then said to Xu Changle:

"Jing Tao is a pitiful child. Now that she's left the village, she's probably gone to the Zheng family's territory. Perhaps she's decided to die. You need to sneak out of the village and help Jing Tao survive. Also, since most of the Zheng family's forces have been mobilized, you can seize the opportunity to wipe out all the Zheng family members left behind!"

Xu Changle nodded emphatically.

Zhou Xingyao, standing beside him, said worriedly:

"The Haoran Sect's stance on this matter..."

Xu Wanghe and Xu Changle both sneered.

"They'd love for the Chaoyang Sect to wipe out my Xu family. Even if they send reinforcements, they'll definitely find an excuse not to participate! But we still have to make a show of it and send a local soldier to spread the word."