Chapter 321: Chapter 319: The Patriarch’s Remains
Celestial Phenomenon Valley, Hidden Treasure Manor.
Legend has it that a Giant Elephant Demon King once wreaked havoc in the region. Only after a powerful expert passing by slew it did Cultivators begin to appear here.
Three hundred years ago, the Luo Family’s ancestor occupied the Tier Two Spirit Vein in Celestial Phenomenon Valley and founded Hidden Treasure Manor.
Unlike other factions, Hidden Treasure Manor was centered around the Luo clansmen, who controlled the vast majority of interests in Celestial Phenomenon Valley.
However, among the Luo Family ancestor’s disciples were two Late-Stage Foundation Establishment Cultivators who were crucial to the fledgling Hidden Treasure Manor.
A portion of power was shared with these two, creating a deformed structure that was neither a clan nor a sect.
Things were fine while the Luo Family ancestor was alive, but once he passed away, the other disciples began to resent the Luo clansmen, who occupied over eighty percent of the positions of real power in Hidden Treasure Manor.
In less than thirty years, this conflict had become irreconcilable.
They split into two factions—the family faction and the master-disciple faction—viewing each other with hostility, as bitter enemies.
At the same time, the Luo clansmen were themselves divided into several branches based on the closeness of their bloodlines.
The master-disciple faction also had its own different cliques based on their respective lineages.
This severe internal strife caused Hidden Treasure Manor, which had enjoyed a brief period of glory under the leadership of the Fake Pill Cultivator who was the Luo Family ancestor, to rapidly decline.
Its sphere of influence continuously shrank until it was confined solely to Celestial Phenomenon Valley.
Ironically, this allowed it to escape the several purges conducted by the Qingfeng Sect after they entered Hejian County. Hidden Treasure Manor had tried to curry favor with the Ghost Spirit Sect but couldn’t even get a foot in the door, so naturally, it had no connection to them.
But as the Qingfeng Sect’s control over Hejian County grew stronger, all factions that existed in the form of a sect grew deeply worried.
’Everything else is negotiable. Within my territory, Cultivation Families can exist, recruit Honored Guest Elders, and develop their power.’
’A Daoist Yunyu can take on disciples and pass on their teachings; that’s also permissible.’
’As for gathering Loose Cultivators and establishing a faction, no one would pay that any mind.’
There were only two taboos. Violators were never pardoned, never forgiven. They were absolute red lines.
If a Cultivation Family absorbed an Immortal Seedling with no blood relation, the Master in charge would be subjected to Soul Search and torture. Anyone discovered to have known and not reported it would face certain death.
In severe cases, the entire clan could even be annihilated.
The other taboo was establishing a sect and founding a new lineage within the Qingfeng Sect’s territory.
On this point, the Qingfeng Sect was fanatically stubborn. A master-disciple relationship in the style of a Loose Cultivator was one thing, but to brazenly establish a sect and build a Mountain Gate was courting death.
You either had to offer up your legacy and be absorbed as a branch of the Qingfeng Sect, or you were asked to leave.
Other Core Formation Level Sects, and even Nascent Soul Major Sects, were not so domineering. They would treat those minor sects as just another ordinary faction, not giving them any special treatment.
This was a rule passed down since the Qingfeng Sect’s founding, and they certainly weren’t going to make an exception for Hejian County.
The Decree strictly forbidding Cultivation Families from absorbing non-bloodline Immortal Seedlings had already been circulated throughout the county several years ago.
According to rumors, similar restrictions on minor sects would also be issued soon.
This sent the few sects in Hejian County into a panic, desperately calling in favors and pulling strings to see if there was any way around it.
"The Qingfeng Sect hasn’t even issued a formal notice yet. Why are we losing our composure already? If you ask me, it’s still questionable whether this rule will even be enforced in Hejian."
In the main hall of Hidden Treasure Manor, several people were seated around a long table.
They sat on two opposing sides, a clear line drawn between them.
As soon as the previous speaker finished, the three people on the right showed looks of disdain and shook their heads in unison.
"Luo Gan, failure to plan is planning to fail. The restrictions on Cultivation Families have already been rolled out. Why would they spare sects like ours?"
A thin, unremarkable-looking Daoist in a gray robe, sitting on the right side of the long table, spoke up.
"Given the Qingfeng Sect’s methods, if they really make a move, it will be a catastrophe for us!"
"Senior Brother Qiao, you’re just fearmongering. There are at least ten sects of various sizes in Hejian with any sort of reputation, involving forty to fifty Foundation Establishment Cultivators. If the Qingfeng Sect tries a one-size-fits-all approach, they’ll incur public wrath."
Luo Gan, who didn’t look very old, said dismissively.
"Besides, our Luo Family is a family lineage, based on blood... If anyone should be panicking, it’s your master-disciple faction. What does this have to do with my Luo Family?"
"Once we expel your faction from Celestial Phenomenon Valley, the problem will be solved!"
"You, surnamed Luo! What do you mean by that?!"
On the right, a burly man with a fleshy face slammed the table and shot to his feet, his eyes wide with fury.
"Brother Luo, is this your opinion as well? If so, I don’t think there’s any need for our two sides to continue this discussion."
The Daoist surnamed Qiao stopped the enraged, burly man, his eyes fixed on the other Foundation Establishment Cultivator from the Luo Family across from them.
"Haha, a misunderstanding, gentlemen. My younger brother Gan is young and inexperienced; it was just a slip of the tongue... Brother Gan, apologize to our senior brothers at once!"
On the left side of the table, a middle-aged man with sharp, handsome features laughed and brushed aside his clansman’s words.
"Regarding this matter, please, my three senior brothers, speak your minds freely. Let us pool our wisdom and efforts."
"We should prepare for two possibilities. Hidden Treasure Manor has kept a low profile these years, so we probably won’t be targeted so quickly... If the Qingfeng Sect really does show leniency toward sects, that would be for the best. If not, we of the master-disciple faction would like to take our disciples and half of the treasury, and leave Hejian for another county."
The moment the Daoist surnamed Qiao finished, Luo Gan jumped up. "Aha! So that’s what you were waiting for! In the end, it’s all about the things the Ancestor left behind. If you people really had any backbone, you’d just leave right now and start your own sect!"
"The master-disciple faction also contributed greatly to the founding of Hidden Treasure Manor! What’s wrong with taking half the treasury?"
The burly, fleshy-faced man’s voice was thunderous, booming and reverberating throughout the hall.
"Senior Brother Qiao, there’s no need for this... Isn’t the solution I proposed to you last time also a viable path?"
Before Luo Ting could say more, a massive CRASH echoed from outside the main hall, followed by several more thunderous booms.
The people in the hall were stunned for a moment, then their expressions changed drastically. They rushed outside to a heart-stopping sight.
The Guardian Array set up over Celestial Phenomenon Valley had been shattered in an instant.
The curtain of light above them was broken, revealing the open sky, like a giant sack that had been slashed open.
Hidden Treasure Manor’s Guardian Array was a Tier Two Top-Grade array. With five Foundation Establishment Cultivators inside it, it should have been able to withstand any attack for at least a short while.
Luo Ting’s expression was grim. He took out the Token that symbolized his status as Manor Master, which was also the core control for the array.
It was covered in several cracks and devoid of light. The moment he infused it with Magical Power, it shattered into pieces.
"A Core Formation True Man!"
Senior Brother Qiao saw this clearly. His face instantly turned as white as a sheet as he forced the words out.
To destroy a Tier Two Top-Grade Array in an instant, without even giving them a chance to react, could only mean that the attack it had suffered far exceeded its upper limits.
Even several Perfect Foundation Establishment Cultivators attacking together couldn’t have achieved this. At the very least, they would have had some time to react.
Only a Core Formation True Man could do such a thing.
With the array broken, Hidden Treasure Manor descended into chaos. The disciples below were shouting and screaming in utter terror.
But the five Foundation Establishment Cultivators were in no mood to scold or manage them. They all felt their futures were bleak, completely at a loss for what to do.
No matter which Core Formation True Man had arrived, barging in by shattering the array without a word already made their attitude clear.
Before a Core Formation True Man, Hidden Treasure Manor’s meager strength was truly like an ant trying to shake a great tree.
"Where is the Core Formation True Man? Surely they didn’t just break our array and leave?"
Luo Gan looked around and asked, mustering his courage.
"Could it be a senior expert who is merely toying with the mortal world, teaching us a lesson on a whim? Or perhaps the Core Formation True Man is still in the valley, and we just can’t sense them..."
Senior Brother Qiao frowned. In this situation, everyone felt utterly powerless.
"First, let’s restore order in the valley. If an outsider saw this chaos, they’d think Hidden Treasure Manor was about to be wiped out and everyone was fleeing for their lives," Luo Ting said coldly, then flew toward the nearest hall to scold and restrain the disciples who were running around like headless chickens.
Senior Brother Qiao’s old face flushed. The disciples below were in such an uproar, and it was no secret that some from the master-disciple faction were fanning the flames.
The master-disciple faction’s desire to split off was an open secret.
Some disciples actually thought the Grand Array had been broken because the negotiations had failed, and were using this opportunity to cause a stir and create panic.
...
"This is where you discovered Ancestor Qingfeng’s remains?"
Following Tie Changsheng’s directions, Bai Zichen arrived at Celestial Fragrance Valley, only to find it completely enveloped in an array.
He had the most detailed map of factions in Hejian County, provided by his subordinates, and knew from a glance that a sect called Hidden Treasure Manor was located here.
"That’s right, this is the place... When I was young, the back of the valley hadn’t yet been enclosed by Hidden Treasure Manor, so I could come and go freely."
Tie Changsheng confirmed with a glance.
’Establishing a sect here... back in Black Mountain, they’d have been wiped out ten times over by now... But since it was Senior Brother Wei who set the plan to deal with them slowly, it wouldn’t be right to punish them without a warning first.’
Bai Zichen looked at the array below, and with a casual wave of the Moon Xuan Sword in his hand, he tore the array apart as if it were a piece of paper.
Immediately, the Sword Light shifted, carrying Tie Changsheng to the back of Celestial Fragrance Valley.
The view was one of jagged rocks and withered trees dotted with old crows. Their arrival startled a massive flock of birds into the sky.
Bai Zichen released his Divine Sense. A moment later, he found something. Carrying Tie Changsheng, he took a single step, crossing a hundred zhang to appear before a stone cliff.
He pushed aside overgrown weeds as tall as several men. A skeleton of White Bones was leaning against the stone wall, one hand propping it up from the ground, the other slightly raised.
The White Bone skull was tilted up, twisted at an unnatural angle, facing north in the direction of the Qingfeng Sect.
"Disciple pays his respects to Ancestor Qingfeng."
Bai Zichen bowed three times to the White Bones. Just as he was about to step forward and collect the remains, a thought struck him.
He crouched down and felt Ancestor Qingfeng’s forearm bone.
Brushing away a thick layer of dust, he saw the bone was covered in spiderweb-like cracks.
It wasn’t just the arm; the leg bones, sternum, and even the skull were covered in a dense network of cracks.
It didn’t look like damage from an external blow, but rather something that had spread from the inside out.
At the same time, the bones had a dark gray hue, as if all the essence within them had drained away—a phenomenon that should never occur in the remains of a Core Formation True Man.
"The Pink Crystal Shattering Jade Technique!"
Bai Zichen blurted out, his heart pounding in shock.
This was the exact irreversible aftereffect caused by activating the Pink Crystal Shattering Jade Technique beyond its time limit.
The formidable physical body created by the Five Crystal Glaze Body, when pushed to unleash terrifying, instantaneous power through self-destruction, suffered equally astonishing devastation.
"What kind of opponent did Ancestor Qingfeng face that required him to activate the Pink Crystal Shattering Jade Technique and sustain it for over a hundred breaths!"
Bai Zichen fell into deep thought, recalling the records in the Transmission Hall about the Sect’s main adversaries during its founding years.