Chapter 135.1: The Massacre Tragedy
"I'm busy drawing talismans at Wuqi Mountain and can't get away. Can I trouble Fellow Daoist Zheng to run some errands for me...?" Faced with such a brutish individual, Lan Chang'an spoke directly.
He needed Zheng Centipede to regularly travel to Huanglong Immortal City on his behalf, procuring high-quality materials for him while simultaneously gathering intelligence from the frontlines.
This way, Lan Chang'an could stay behind at Wuqi Mountain in peace, gain insight into the situation, and enjoy the benefits of the beast tide.
As reward, Lan Chang'an offered second-rank talismans and hinted that there was a chance to obtain a mid-Foundation Establishment breakthrough pill through a special channel.
For Zheng Centipede's family, every additional second-rank talisman, even a low-grade one, was a rare asset.
As for the breakthrough pills, they were a luxury beyond the reach of ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivators.
"It is an honor for Zheng." Zheng Centipede stood up and bowed respectfully.
Regardless of Lan Chang'an's cultivation, reputation, or the skills and connections he possessed, Zheng Centipede both admired and feared him.
Lan Chang'an could trade on equal terms with the Zhou Family. Whereas Zheng Centipede wasn't even qualified to have a proper conversation with them.
Zheng Centipede sought Lan Chang'an for this transaction not only for the quality of his talismans but also to deepen their relationship. Lan Chang'an's proposal was akin to providing a pillow to someone about to doze off.
The two discussed further details, after which Zheng Wugong left with the spirit stones Lan Chang'an had given him.
...
In the following period, Lan Chang'an spent much time drawing talismans.
There were too many materials, so he had to select the best.
Each talisman master's daily energy was limited, and the number of talismans they could draw was fixed. This didn't include the time spent on cultivation and comprehending spells.
If one drew more than their limit, it could lead to mental exhaustion, requiring several days to recover before they could work again.
The same applied to other skills such as alchemy and artifact crafting.
This was why, during a beast tide, despite abundant materials, there often wasn't enough combat supplies to meet demand.
Lan Chang'an's cultivation of the Evergreen Technique endowed him with lengthened qi veins and strong recovery ability, giving him an advantage in this aspect, but it still had its limitations.
In the past two months, the number of cultivators coming to Little Turtle Peak to buy talismans increased sharply, and sales skyrocketed.
Most of these cultivators were from surrounding families, markets, and itinerant merchants. The talismans bought from Lan Chang'an could be sold on the front lines for a slight profit.
The first-rank puppets that were originally bundled with each set of talismans sold out ahead of schedule. Crafting puppets took more time, and Lan Chang'an was unwilling to make more.
Unknowingly, Lan Chang'an earned over ten thousand spirit stones from selling talismans during this beast tide. This doesn't even count the materials and high-quality talismans he hoarded.
"It's time to take it easy."
Lan Chang'an used the reason that his reserves were depleted to reduce the output.
In fact, there was no need for Lan Chang'an to deliberately limit the sales, as more stray demonic beasts came to wreak havoc in the rear, most of the cultivators in the surrounding area retreated back to their spiritual veins residences.
It was precisely to prepare for this very scenario that those cultivators stocked up heavily on battle resources beforehand.
The popularity of Wuqi Mountain plummeted, and they occasionally had to clear the sporadic invading beasts.
...
One day, Zheng Centipede returned from Huanglong Immortal City, bringing materials for second-rank mid and superior-grade talismans. In the past, these were normally difficult to obtain through regular channels.
He also brought relevant information from the frontlines.
"The beast tide has entered its second half, and the front line is in a stalemate. Thousands of cultivators in Huanglong Immortal City have been killed or wounded. To avoid further losses, some of the beasts are deliberately being drawn to the rear..."
"There is another matter unrelated to the beast tide."
Zheng Centipede thought for a moment and added.
"The Fox Valley near Wuqi Mountain recently suffered a mass murder. A married couple in the Foundation Establishment Realm, along with dozens of disciples including several children, were plundered, and all died tragically."
"Fox Valley?"
The mention of the massacre caught Lan Chang'an's attention.
Fox Valley, about five to six hundred li from Wuqi Mountain, was a second-rank high-grade spirit vein site.
Years ago, when Lan Chang'an was surveying spirit vein sites, he had considered Fox Valley but gave up due to the high rental price. A high-grade spiritual vein would have been wasted on him.
Over the years, Fox Valley had been leased by an elderly Foundation Establishment couple from the Flame Departing Palace. This couple both had skills, being a second-rank superior-grade artifact refiner and a second-rank mid-grade musician.
"The details of the Fox Valley massacre are not well known to me. It is rumored that the perpetrators broke in from the inside and were suspected to be a small group of hidden rogue cultivators, with several Foundation Establishment cultivators involved."
Zheng Centipede explained all the information he knew.
"From the inside?"
Lan Chang'an's eyes flickered.
During the beast tide, many opportunistic rogue cultivators and insidious individuals took advantage of the chaos.
However, the situation in Fox Valley was different. The Foundation Establishment couple from the Flame Departing Palace had mid to late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivation, stronger than most loose cultivators of the same level, and were quite wealthy.
Additionally, the background of the Flame Departing Palace would deter ordinary rogue cultivators from targeting them, nor would they have the ability to infiltrate.
"By the way, is there any progress on the intelligence about 'Kong Mao'?" Lan Chang'an asked.
This was the second time Zheng Centipede was bringing back information.
"No, Kong Mao went hunting beasts a few months ago and is nowhere to be found. At least in Huanglong Immortal City, there is no new information." Zheng Centipede answered.
During the beast tide, such cases of hunters not returning were common, typically indicating no further hope for them.
"No need to focus on this person's information anymore."
Lan Chang'an sighed inwardly, having already deduced the general outline of events.
Fox Valley and Wuqi Mountain had one thing in common:
The cultivators in charge are both craftsmen and are worth a lot of money.
If one were to decide which was easier and less risky to target, it would definitely be Wuqi Mountain.
The Foundation Establishment couple in Fox Valley were stronger and had a more powerful background, being cultivators from the Flame Departing Palace.
"Kong Mao initially tried to infiltrate Wuqi Mountain but failed."
Later on, I reinforced the formations and security, which might have deterred him, causing him to shift his target."
If Lan Chang'an's speculation was correct, Fox Valley bore the calamity that was meant for Wuqi Mountain.
A year ago, when selecting the peak master, If it weren't for him merging with the second life imprint of the Nine Seal Stele, and using immortal-level spiritual sense to probe, it would have been impossible to notice that Kong Mao had hidden his cultivation.
...
After Zheng Centipede left, Lan Chang'an sent a sound transmission to Little Pill Peak, inviting Ye Fei over to inform him about the Fox Valley massacre. He did not, however, share his speculations regarding Kong Mao.
Upon hearing the news, Ye Fei felt a chill down his spine.
"Fellow Daoist Lan, it was foresight to have Fairy Shi reinforce the formation defenses a year ago," he remarked with relief.
"Fortunately, the notorious rogue cultivator group that committed this atrocity will undoubtedly be hunted down by the Flame Departing Palace. They won't dare linger nearby and will likely go into hiding for a while."
"True, but we can't let our guard down," Lan Chang'an agreed.
During the beast tide, the focus of the major powers was divided, leaving room for petty criminals to take advantage of the chaos.
...
A few days later, Wuqi Mountain faced a minor threat.
A small group of beasts had slipped through a "gap" in the front lines and launched an attack on their spirit vein site.
Leading the beast group was a six or seven zhang long, muscular, double-headed demon. One head spewed purple flames, and the other exhaled freezing gas beams.
"Double-headed demon lion! A mid-second-rank demonic beast, a top-class beast among the superior-grade bloodline," Ye Fei noted seriously from Little Pill Peak as he activated the mountain's defensive formation.
The double-headed demon lion was significantly stronger than the average mid-Foundation Establishment cultivator.
Nearly a hundred first-rank mid to late-stage beasts also joined the assault on Wuqi Mountain.
Apart from the three main peaks, Wuqi Mountain had a number of loose cultivators attached to it, including the steward, Lan Lin.
These loose cultivators had set up two formation strongholds, which were also under attack by some of the demonic beasts.
Roar!
The double-headed demon lion let out a terrifying roar and actually chose to attack the defenseless Xiao Pan Peak. Most of the beast group also shifted their focus to Xiao Pan Peak.
"Fellow Daoist Lan," Ye Fei called out as he and Lan Chang'an flew into the sky for a quick discussion.
"Though no one guards Xiao Pan Peak, the formation set up by Fairy Shi is strong. It won't break easily. Let's first clean up the scattered demonic beasts in the surrounding area first," Lan Chang'an suggested.
"Agreed!"
Ye Fei, riding his light beam, began clearing the scattered beasts near Little Pill Peak.
Whizz! Hiss!
He controlled a set of needle-shaped top superior-grade magical weapons, sixteen grayish needles, that flashed through the first-rank mid to late-stage demonic beasts.
The needle-shaped tools were highly poisonous, capable of instantly killing the late-stage first-rank beasts, showcasing terrifying lethality.
"Fellow Daoist Ye, save some strength. A mid-second-rank beast poses no real threat to Wuqi Mountain," Lan Chang'an reminded.
In reality, such rear spirit vein strongholds rarely faced direct breaches by beasts. The real threat, instead, was the fellow cultivators who took advantage of the danger.
Squeak! Squeak!
A robust and agile orange-purple demon rat emerged from a cave halfway up Little Turtle Peak.
Its shadow streaked past, leaving blood splatters as it tore through the nearby first-rank scattered demonic beasts, their throats were slit and their stomachs ripped open, and those further away were impaled by earth spikes one after another.
The double-headed demon lion roared in shock, changing its direction to attack the Earth Burrowing Rat, leading the beast group.
The Earth Burrowing Rat swiftly dodged the purple flames and freezing gas beams.
Both were mid-second-rank, but in a head-on fight, the Earth Burrowing Rat was no match for the double-headed demon lion.
"Fellow Daoist Lan, let's lure the double-headed demon lion here and take it down together," Ye Fei proposed as he finished off the nearby beasts around Little Pill Peak.
By now, only about twenty to thirty scattered beasts remained on the mountain, manageable by the loose cultivators.
Boom!
The double-headed demon lion approached Little Pill Peak and suddenly fell into a poison trap.
The ground collapsed, piercing its flesh with sharp iron spikes, releasing a cloud of black poison that enveloped it.
The double-headed demon lion's high resistance to poison only slightly slowed it down as both its heads spewed purple flames and freezing gas beams.
Lan Chang'an nimbly dodged, his body shielded by a cyan-colored protective barrier.
He then summoned the supreme-grade magical weapon, the Vajra Bell.
Buzz! Boom!
A golden bell, intricately patterned, expanded to six or seven zhang and descended from the sky, pressing the demon lion's body halfway down.
As Wuqi Mountain's only mid-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator on-site, Lan Chang'an couldn't afford to slack off.
"Well done, Fellow Daoist Lan," Ye Fei praised as he maneuvered the set of needle-shaped magic weapons and took advantage of the situation to attack the soft parts of the double-headed demon lion.
The Earth Burrowing Rat burrowed underground, and cast earth-element spells.
The ground beneath the demon lion rose into steep hills, forming a dual-layer entrapment with the Vajra Bell above.
Roar!
The double-headed demon lion roared in rage, its eyes glowing red as it frantically rammed the bell above its head. The bell's light flickered erratically.
Had it not been for the Evergreen Technique's unceasing stream of mana, the demon lion might have broken free.
They only needed to wear it down for a bit longer to ensure the steady defeat of the nearly late-second-rank double-headed demon lion.
...
This chapter was twice the usual length, so I divided it into two.