Chapter 25: The Demonic Cultivator Liang Shaotian
With the two cultivation families ceasing hostilities and making peace, the situation temporarily stabilized. However, Lan Chang'an, residing in the Mu Family, was not optimistic.
He confirmed that the Mu Family ancestor only had three to five years left to live. The Zheng Family's ceasefire might allow them to wait a few more years and outlive the Mu Patriarch. However, it was said that the Zheng Family Patriarch's lifespan was also limited to only ten or twenty years.
Lan Chang'an would often go to the mountaintops to sense the Mu Family's Old Ancestor's condition from afar. If the Mu Family Patriarch were about to die one day, he would definitely know before the Mu Family's higher-ups.
He could do this by relying on the soul imprint of his first life recorded in the Nine Seals Stele, as well as the Ancient Trees Evergreen Technique's keen sensitivity to breaths of longevity.
"huh? How come it's gone again?"
Three days later, standing on a towering peak, Lan Chang'an's expression suddenly changed.
The Mu Family Old Ancestor had returned to Moonheart Island for only three days before disappearing from Lan Chang'an's perception once more.
This was something that even an ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivator would not be able to detect.
What Lan Chang'an did not know was that on the same day, the Second Elder Mu Renlong had also vanished mysteriously from the Mu Family.
Three hundred miles away from the Mu Family's herb garden, two figures in black robes and bamboo hats, one in front and one behind, quietly departed the Mu Family's premises under the cover of night, riding spirit horses.
"Forget it, the two families have ceased hostilities anyway."
Unable to figure it out, Lan Chang'an stopped dwelling on it. Perhaps the Mu Family ancestor was concealing his aura, or he had gone out on business.
......
Lan Chang'an and the Mu Family were unaware that at this moment, the Zheng Family, three thousand miles away, was facing a catastrophic calamity!
A few hundred miles away from the Zheng Family's residence, there was an herb garden built along a river, comparable in scale to the Mu Family's.
Currently, ominous clouds shrouded the vast herb garden, with cries of anguish and screams echoing out.
"Demonic cultivator! Run quickly..."
"This person is at least at the ninth level of Qi-Refining, we cannot match him. Hurry and call for help from the Family!"
In the depths of the herb garden, a disheveled man floated in mid-air, enveloped in black aura, revealing half of his pale face.
"Sir, you should reconsider. Our Zheng Family has a Foundation Establishment Patriarch guarding it."
On the ground, a sixth layer Qi-Refining herb garden guard knelt defiantly, refusing to yield even in the face of death.
"Noisy!" The disheveled man raised his eyelids, revealing chilling black pupils.
Swish!
A sickle-shaped crimson-black beam of light swept past, slicing the herb garden guard in half at the waist.
As for the fleeing low-level Qi-Refining cultivators and ordinary servants, the disheveled man couldn't be bothered to look at them. He simply extended his pale, slender hand, plucking precious spirit herbs from afar.
After a moment, having harvested a bountiful yield, the disheveled man flew towards the direction of the Zheng Family's residence.
"Audacious! How dare you plunder the Zheng Family's herb garden!"
From the direction of the Zheng Family, two late Qi-Refining cultivators flew over, shouting furiously.
One was at the eighth layer of Qi-Refining, the other at the ninth layer.
The portly middle-aged man at the ninth layer bore a seven-tenths resemblance to the deceased Zheng Yuanhua.
He was the Zheng Family head, Zheng Yuanqing.
"Audacious? I still plan to take a look at the Zheng Family's treasure vault." The disheveled man laughed coldly, wrapping himself in black aura and leaving only an afterimage behind.
In the next moment, his pale hand whipped up a whirlwind of black blades, howling towards the two men.
"Not good! Foundation Establishment Realm!"
Zheng Yuanqing's face drained of color in shock. Without a second thought, he slapped down two superior-grade talismans and summoned two defensive artifacts, retreating while defending.
"Ah!"
A scream rang out as the eighth layer Qi-Refining elder beside him had his middle-grade defensive artifact sliced in two by the black blade, his mana force shield instantly shattering.
His entire body was shredded into a bloodstained mist by the black blade windstorm.
"Black Blade Windstorm! You are... Liang Shaotian?"
Zheng Yuanqing's scalp went numb, his face drained of color as he panicked. The protective barriers of the two superior-grade talismans in front of him shattered in an instant, and one of his defensive artifacts had already been destroyed.
Faced with imminent death, he was utterly despairing.
"Oh? You actually know this Liang's name?" The disheveled man unexpectedly stopped his assault, clasping his hands behind his back and looking at Zheng Yuanqing with slight surprise.
"Liang Shaotian's mighty reputation has reached even my ears." Zheng Yuanqing, having narrowly escaped death, was drenched in cold sweat.
"What is your status in the Zheng Family?" The disheveled man revealed half of his sinister face, appearing evil and unpredictable.
"I am the Zheng Family head." Zheng Yuanqing said, his body hunched over.
"Hmm, lead me to the treasure vault," the disheveled man ordered.
"What! The treasure vault... Yes, yes!"
Before the disheveled man could change his expression, Zheng Yuanqing immediately agreed and obediently led the way.
Only then did the disheveled man nod in satisfaction.
As they approached the Zheng Family's residence, a Foundation Establishment Realm magical pressure descended upon them. A scorching aura permeated the air.
"Liang Shaotian, why have you plundered my Zheng Family's herb garden and slaughtered my Zheng Family's cultivators?"
Amid the clouds, an elderly figure in a gray robe, treading on crimson clouds, angrily rebuked.
"Those were simply spoils that Liang took through his own ability! Those who get in the way naturally have to die." The disheveled man showed no concern as he formed another whirlwind of black blades in his palm.
"You've gone too far!" The Zheng Family Patriarch waved his wide sleeve, sending forth an iron fan.
With a wave of the iron fan, six blazing fan shadows split off, charging towards the disheveled man.
"Zheng Ancestor, if you can withstand ten of my strikes without dying, this Liang will immediately withdraw." The disheveled man waved his palm, and the black blade windstorm was now interwoven with arcs of lightning, crackling fiercely.
Winds and thunder intertwined, exuding a chilling demonic aura.
The six blazing fan shadows instantly shattered.
In the next moment, the disheveled man split into three, enveloping the area with rolling black winds as he descended upon the clouds, forcing the Zheng Family Patriarch to retreat continuously.
"Junior... Stop! This old man admits defeat!"
Soon, the terrified voice of the Zheng Family Patriarch rang out from amidst the clouds.
The disheveled man remained unmoved, his eyes flashing coldly as his assault grew increasingly ferocious.
"Liang Shaotian, please show mercy. It was this old man who didn't know what was good for him..." The Zheng Family Patriarch's voice grew increasingly humble and deferential.
The disheveled man finally stopped his assault, saying indifferently, "Take me to see my treasure vault."
"Yes, yes, this treasure vault has been prepared for Liang Shaotian by our Zheng Family for many years..." The Zheng Family ancestor forced a smile, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth.
Half an hour later, under the respectful escort of the Zheng Family members, the disheveled man left the Zheng Family's treasure vault.
"By the way, Liang Shaotian. The Mu Family, two to three thousand miles away from our Zheng Family, has treasure vault and herb garden reserves that slightly surpass even ours..." Before seeing him off, the Zheng Family Patriarch "kindly" reminded him.
The Zheng Family had suffered a calamity, encountering this terrifying demonic cultivator. They hoped the rival Mu Family would also taste such misfortune.
"There's no need for you to teach Liang how to do things."
The disheveled man left those cold words behind as he flew towards the distant mountains.
Until he landed in a mountain valley.
Poof!
The disheveled man spat out a mouthful of blood, collapsing to the ground with a coughing fit. His cultivation level had also plummeted back to the Qi-Refining stage.
"Cough! These precious herbs, there are too few suitable to heal my wounds..."
......
Two days later.
The Mu Family's Moonheart Island.
"Is the information reliable?"
"The demonic cultivator Liang Shaotian, who is wanted in the northern regions of the Liang Kingdom, has actually plundered the Zheng Family!"
"The Zheng Family's herb garden and treasure vault were both plundered by Liang Shaotian. It's said that this fiend kills anyone he encounters."
"The Zheng Family Patriarch was injured, and one of their elders was slain by Liang Shaotian."
The several late Qi-Refining higher-ups of the Mu Family were in an uproar. This news was truly inconceivable.
"It's a pity Old Ancestor and Elder Renlong are not here. Otherwise, we could have killed our way to the Zheng Family at this moment..."
"Since Liang Shaotian did not completely destroy the Zheng Family, is there a possibility that he might come to plunder our herb garden and treasure vault?"
A gentle and graceful woman's voice came through. The speaker was none other than Mu Xiuyun, whose cultivation had reached the seventh layer of Qi-Refining.
During the previous incident where she helped fend off Pill Master Ge and protected the herb garden, the family had recorded a merit for her and rewarded her with a grade-increasing pill.
"Xiuyun, you mean Liang Shaotian dares to attack our Mu Family? Isn't he afraid of being pursued by the sect's experts?" The family head Mu Maode found it hard to believe. If it were him, after committing such an atrocity, he would definitely lay low and keep a low profile for a while.
"It's said that this person is exceptionally rampant and brutal. We cannot afford to let our guard down," one of the elders said.
"Quickly reinforce the formations and sealing arrays of the treasure vault, and transfer some of our precious resources."
"That's right, we need to notify those at the herbal garden as soon as possible..."
Before the words were finished, Mu Xiuyun had already taken flight, heading towards the herbal garden.
......
Under the veil of night, Mu Xiuyun trod upon a silver ruler as she flew towards the herbal garden, a worried expression on her face.
When she was still twenty to thirty miles away from the herb garden, Mu Xiuyun suddenly noticed a mass of ominous clouds in the distance, vaguely sensing a Foundation Establishment level pressure.
It was hovering right above the herb garden.
"No good! Lan Chang'an..." Mu Xiuyun's pretty face turned pale as she froze in mid-air, her starry eyes filled with terror and sorrow.
After a breath, she snapped out of her daze, biting her jade teeth as she changed directions, flying towards the family residence at top speed.
......
"Come out, whoever is in charge of this herb garden!"
The disheveled man floated in midair above the herb garden, his jet-black, icy gaze fixated on the residential area.
Upon arriving, there was not a single person within the herb garden. No one shouted defiance, no one fled in panic - it was deathly silent.
He immediately felt offended. The auras of living beings within the herb garden could not escape his senses.
At this moment, in the basement of the residence, Lan Chang'an was inwardly cursing his predicament. Not long ago, he had been patrolling the herb garden when he suddenly sensed an immensely powerful demonic aura rapidly approaching.
The speed was extreme, undoubtedly a Foundation Establishment expert. The sense of threat far surpassed that of the Mu Family Ancestor, it was definitely not the Zheng Family Ancestor either.
In the blink of an eye, Lan Chang'an made a decision. He ordered everyone within the herb garden to hide.
He himself hid in the basement of the residence, activating the Ancient Wood Longevity Technique to transform into a withered piece of wood, devoid of any presence.
Based on his experience, there were two possibilities:
One, the demonic Foundation Establishment expert was just passing through.
If Lan Chang'an revealed himself and tried to flee, it might arouse the other party's interest. With the other party's speed, no one in the herb garden could outrun them if given chase.
Two, he had come for the herb garden, with the intention of plundering precious spirit herbs. In that case, insignificant ants like them at the early and mid Qi-Refining stages would be spared if they simply hid, as the other party would be too lazy to hunt them down one by one.
Events proved that it was the second scenario. After arriving at the herb garden, the demonic cultivator headed straight for the herb fields, showing no intention to kill.
Just as Lan Chang'an was breathing a sigh of relief, unexpectedly, this person did not immediately search for and plunder the precious medicinal ingredients.
Instead, for some unknown reason, he felt dissatisfied and demanded that the person in charge of the herb garden show themselves.
(End of chapter)