Chapter 411
I've Led the Villain Astray, How Do I Fix It?
Chapter 411
As they entered the Xu family's residence, Xu Xiao, who was responsible for guarding the estate, had already sensed his son's approach.
The golden core cultivator who had been protecting the Xu family had fallen in that battle. The man, who had once stayed hidden to protect Xu Ziyan, was suffering heavy injuries, almost losing all of his cultivation.
As the head of the Xu family, Xu Xiao was naturally the focus of everyone's protection. Fortunately, he had not suffered any attacks, but with the heavy losses suffered by the Xu family this time, he was also extremely busy.
It had to be admitted that Xu Xiao was very satisfied with his son. Young, handsome, and highly skilled in cultivation, he possessed almost every shining quality that a father could hope for.
As for the somewhat bothersome younger son, Xu Xiao had never expected him to contribute much to the Xu family. A son who had been raised outside for eight years before returning to the Xu family, and lived a nonchalant life after returning, Xu Xiao did not believe that he would have any deep feelings for the Xu family.
Xu Xiao might have been a rather unscrupulous man, but in another sense, he was also quite fair.
Although he was Xu Zirong's father, Xu Zirong's current situation was hardly connected to the Xu family. Xu Xiao never believed that he had a father's responsibility, so he naturally would not demand Xu Zirong to fulfill a son's duties.
The relationship between him and Xu Zirong had always been dull. It seemed that both sides treated each other as if they did not exist. However, Xu Xiao was slightly more cunning. He was well aware of the kid's affection for his own son. If the Xu family were truly in trouble, as long as Ziyan took action, Zirong definitely would not stand by and watch.
As for the exact relationship between the two sons... Did it really matter to the head of a cultivation family?
After all, the higher the cultivation of a cultivator, the more difficult it was to leave behind descendants. With Xu Ziyan's current cultivation, even if they found him a female cultivator, it was doubtful they could have children.
Xu Xiao silently deleted the information he had discovered from his mind. As long as it was beneficial to the family's development, he would not interfere.
After advising Xu Ziyan to cultivate diligently and to be cautious on the battlefield, Xu Xiao sent him away. His son's achievements now far surpassed his own as a father, and now, during a time of war, many things were handled differently from normal times. He would not use his own experience to restrict Xu Ziyan's development.
The only thing he could do now was to protect the remaining members of the Xu family under Xu Ziyan's shelter. They were the hope of the Xu family's future, and they could not withstand another blow.
After leaving the courtyard, Xu Ziyan took Xu Zirong with him to where Big Foot Luo resided.
Before even entering, they could hear Big Foot Luo's hoarse voice seemingly yelling at someone. He peeked in slightly, only to be met with an angry face. Obviously, his master was rolling up his sleeves, preparing to pick a fight with someone. Xu Ziyan sighed in silence for a second, then decisively took a step back, trying to hide himself.
Unfortunately— He was too late!
"You traitor! Don't you dare leave!"
Sure enough, as soon as Big Foot Luo saw Xu Ziyan, he did not bother with the fight and charged straight at him.
Xu Ziyan sighed in frustration, silently lowered his head, and prepared to endure his master's scolding.
As Big Foot Luo approached, without a second word, he sprayed Xu Ziyan's face with saliva. The content of what he said was no surprise to Xu Ziyan.
The root cause of the matter was actually his devil-slaying army. In the sudden action by the devils, several cities were surrounded by the army.
Under the protection of the devil-slaying army, only the cultivators of Yunxiao City successfully made it out. Although those people also suffered heavy casualties, compared to those who were slaughtered by the devils in the cities, the performance of the devil-slaying army was already quite impressive.
Before Xu Ziyan went to the Eastern Sea, many cultivation families and small sects had begun to cultivate their own armies. Among the cities that were surrounded this time, there was one city that also had a similar army.
Unfortunately, that army was far behind the devil-slaying army in both equipment and battle experience. Moreover, since they were recently formed, they were not proficient in deploying battle formations. As a result, they were divided and slaughtered by the devils during the breakout, completely annihilated in that battle.
With such contrast, the strength of the devil-slaying army was once again highlighted, especially since they had experienced the battle, those remaining were the elites of the elite. Many sects and families set their sights on those individuals, and they were quite persuasive, one by one saying that they wanted those cultivators to become instructors for them.
Of course, Big Foot Luo refused. After the battle, there were only a little over three hundred members left in the devil-slaying army. While it might seem like a lot, borrowing a few here and there for various sects and families would ultimately leave nothing for his disciple's family.
Even if those people promised a large batch of resources to be used for forming a new devil-slaying army, who would know if the new army had no combat power at all? Even if they were armed to their teeth, they would still just be a group of recruits.
Big Foot Luo disagreed with their demands. He insisted on safeguarding that valuable piece for his disciple. Those people were unwilling to accept this and each started to complain to Cultivator Wuchen.
As the leader of the cultivators' alliance, Cultivator Wuchen naturally couldn't turn a blind eye. So, he symbolically talked to Big Foot Luo several times about life. Unfortunately, Big Foot Luo's unreasonableness was also well-known in the Radiant Sect. After a few fights with his own senior brothers, Cultivator Wuchen helplessly stated: His junior brother would not listen, so as his senior brother, he couldn't do much about it.╮(╯_╰)╭
Leaders of other sects: ...
And so, the situation was dragged on for nearly two months. Those people still could not dig out anyone from Big Foot Luo. What was even more unbelievable was that, to prevent them from secretly contacting the devil-slaying army, Big Foot Luo, under the pretext of recuperation, actually sent the devil-slaying army to Tian Luo Peak.
Leaders of various sects: ...
As a result, impatiently waiting for this group of devil-slaying army members, Big Foot Luo finally managed to get back his excellent disciple. Big Foot Luo was actually extremely impatient with those people's endless chatter. Unfortunately, each one of those guys was exceptionally good at talking. If he had not sent the devil-slaying army away later on, those people would probably have just camp on Tianluo Peak...
Xu Ziyan: =口= Is it really that exaggerated?
Big Foot Luo snorted, sneering, "If I hadn't guarded these treasures for you, there wouldn't be a single strand of hair left when you return!"
"Thank you, Master!" Xu Ziyan immediately expressed his gratitude.
Big Foot Luo took a deep breath, patted his disciple's shoulder, and said, "Don't be too sad. Although the devil-slaying army suffered heavy losses this time, the ones left are the best of the best. I bet those survivors will at least reach the later stages of the golden core stage in the future. For those with particularly good talent, it's not impossible to reach the nascent soul stage."
Xu Ziyan nodded. He also knew that battle was the best way to hone the cultivators' skills. After experiencing such a fierce battle, those people would definitely have breakthroughs.
He looked up at Big Foot Luo and asked, "Master, aren't you going to ask about our gains from going to the Eastern Sea this time?"
As soon as Big Foot Luo heard that, he immediately grabbed a chair, propped up his legs, and looked at Xu Ziyan with a disdainful expression, "Isn't it just some kind of treasure? What good things can there be inside? I've seen far too many things in my life. Is there anything that can surprise me?"
Xu Ziyan raised an eyebrow, and suddenly a mischievous thought arose in his heart. He said respectfully, "Actually... there really isn't much inside. But there are a few interesting trinkets. I wonder if Master would be interested in taking a look."
Big Foot Luo snorted, "Bring it out and let me have a look. Tsk tsk, trying to show off in front of your master, huh? Well, let me see what treasures you've got."
Xu Ziyan blinked and smirked, "Master, it seems a bit inconvenient here."
Big Foot Luo raised an eyebrow, "Then where do you want to go?"
Xu Ziyan faintly smiled, "Master, come with me."
Big Foot Luo could not help rolling his eyes, "You're being so mysterious! Fine, let me see what good stuff you can actually bring out!"
The master and disciple headed towards the refining hall. Xu Ziyan had a smile on his face and was playing with a palm-sized jade pendant in his hand.
Big Foot Luo had also once invested his divine consciousness in that jade pendant, but apart from its good quality, he did not see anything particularly different about it.
When the three of them arrived at the refining hall, it was bustling with activity.
Due to the progress of the war, disciples from most of the fallen sects had gathered with Tian Yu Sect and Liu Guang Sect.
In addition to the ordinary cultivators, the alchemists and craftsmen who were not affiliated with any sect also gathered in those two places.
At that moment, there was a famous independent refining master at the Liu Guang Sect's refining hall, explaining some of his techniques to the crowd.
The recent battle broke down the barriers between the refining masters, making them realize clearly that clinging to their own unique skills was no longer viable at the moment. Unless they wanted to hold onto their unique skills and die, it was best to let more people learn more techniques, so that they could refine more powerful artifacts, which could provide the cultivators fighting on the front lines with more vitality.
"The refining hall? Why are we here?" Big Foot Luo looked at Xu Ziyan in confusion. Like Xu Ziyan, he was completely clueless about refinement and alchemy.
He respected those refining and alchemy cultivators, but personally, he would go crazy in a small room all day, researching what kind of artifacts could be refined from the materials on the devils' bodies, let alone refining them in three days.
"Hehe..." Xu Ziyan wore a cunning expression of triumph.
In the entire Liu Guang Sect, only the refining hall was specially constructed with a few quiet rooms for studying devil energy, planting a small amount of devil grass underneath them. Only that special type of plant could produce devil energy. To ensure the survival of those devil grass, the cultivators of the Liu Guang Sect had spared no effort.
"Here, put this on." Xu Ziyan considerately hung the jade pendant on his master, and then, to Big Foot Luo's puzzled gaze, pushed him into the quiet room filled with devil energy.