Chapter 441: The Yu Clan

"Let's go, let's go."

Liu Qianyun hurriedly summoned the Treasure Ship, skirting the topic.

She tugged Zheng Qian's sleeve, pulling her aboard.

Only after Shen Yi and Yan Wencheng also stepped onto the Treasure Ship did she stir her qi, carrying the group vanishing suddenly into the horizon.

"..."

Shen Yi did not quite understand where the strange woman's sudden malice came from.

But he was not interested either.

Killing demons is just killing demons; don't make it so complicated.

"I'd like to ask, Executive Liu, is there any news regarding the Phoenix Demon's refined blood?" He walked over to Liu Qianyun's side.

He had gathered some items from the Spirit Cloud Cave and asked Li Xuanqing to organize them for him before leaving.

The surplus items, including that branch of Green Yang, could all be exchanged for urgently needed cultivation materials.

However, he needed to know the exact price of the Phoenix Demon's refined blood first to prepare in advance.

"..."

Liu Qianyun's face turned bitter.

Indeed, upon hearing of the Phoenix Demon's refined blood, Zheng Qian could easily link it to this mission's target.

She glanced sideways at Liu Qianyun again and quietly shook off the hand gripping her sleeve.

She continued staring silently at the horizon.

"Let's not talk about that for now."

Liu Qianyun waved her hands repeatedly, saying to Shen Yi: "There is news of a fire-attribute bird demon within the Sect. Let's go check it out first; if it suits our needs, we won't need to seek the Heavenly Sword Sect anymore."

"Thank you."

Shen Yi sensed the strange atmosphere; after nodding in agreement, he retreated back into the cabin.

Once no one else was nearby.

Liu Qianyun transmitted her voice: "My dear lady, stop throwing a tantrum. That is the Shen Zongzhu of the Nanyang Sect, acknowledged even by my father. Besides, us executives going out on a mission is perfectly reasonable; just pretend he doesn't exist, won't you?"

"Pretend he doesn't exist?"

Zheng Qian rolled her eyes, looking at her: "Fine then, I happen to be short on a fire-attribute bird's refined blood, so this time..."

Liu Qianyun pinched her waist hard, scolding: "Just keep causing trouble!"

"Hmph."

Zheng Qian finally suppressed her dissatisfaction; after all, they were still on a mission, and as the leader, this was not the time to settle scores.

The lives of these three depended on her.

Thinking of this, she ceased the voice-transmission technique, turned back, and addressed the cabin: "Whether you two are the Shen Zongzhu or disciples, since you are willing to come out with me, you must follow the rules and obey my orders."

"That's enough; the Shen Zongzhu is not some greenhorn..."

Liu Qianyun smiled and nodded toward the cabin.

"..."

Yan Wencheng observed Shen Yi's expression carefully.

For a Formation Master, mental fortitude is equally a crucial factor; one must be patient, fearless in danger, and as calm as an ancient well to outline every formation rune with the utmost stability at any time.

Facing Zheng Qian's nearly unmasked targeting words.

Shen Yi merely sat cross-legged in silence, not even lifting his eyelids a fraction.

Just based on this scene before him.

The other person could not possibly be one who only talks on paper.

It was just unknown how much hard strength he possessed.

After all, the formation disk is only so big, yet it can manifest various formation objects.

Memorizing the formation diagram does not mean one can actually set it up.

Time passed rapidly.

Rustling gales whipped around, yet could not affect the few people on the ship in the slightest.

The Clear Moon Treasure Ship took the west route this time, the exact opposite of last time, and the moisture in the air grew even more dense.

The scenery below shifted from half land and half water to nearly ninety percent being an endless Wang Yang.

Zheng Qian's expression grew even more solemn.

Going further ahead, they were almost leaving the bounds of Yu Nanhong.

"This is the place."

Liu Qianyun took out a jade slip and sensed it.

She stopped the Treasure Ship in mid-air, then handed the jade slip to Zheng Qian; under her lead, the four of them dove down together.

On the remaining land, scattered about were nearly two thousand houses; now they were empty, appearing incredibly desolate, with occasional glimpses of limbs and severed arms left behind in haste.

However, the skin on those arms bore faint scale patterns, suggesting they were not ordinary mortals.

"The Yu Clan? How long ago was this news delivered to the Sect?"

Zheng Qian held the jade slip, experienced in her movements, formed a technique, and suppressed everyone's qi completely.

"About ten-plus days ago; the other executives were mostly unwilling to come to the edge of Yu Nanhong."

After Liu Qianyun answered, she turned back to explain to Shen Yi.

"The Yu total population is not over ten thousand; they are descendants of cultivators invaded by the Water Clan. By bloodline, they are considered half-human, half-demon, yet they have always called themselves human, relying not on the Water Clan, but rather serving as vassals to the Seven Sons of Yu Nanhong."

"Due to their bloodline, let alone the Dao-Integration Realm, the highest they have ever produced is the Third Layer of Void Return."

"Thus, there is no sacred land for them to hide in; living on the fringes, seeking a path to survival, is truly pitiful."

"This time, they mobilized their entire clan's strength, offering a third-rank treasure material and several Moon Pearls as payment, which is quite generous."

Hearing this, Shen Yi glanced around.

Half-demons, in fact, he had seen some before, such as the demon horses used by the Zhen Mo Si, but he had never heard of demon-humans until now.

Of course, Shen Yi was more interested in where the demons and monsters were, and whether similar half-demons counted toward lifespan.

"Where are they hiding?" Zheng Qian held a jade slip and walked toward the riverbank.

Suddenly, a hand covered in scales emerged from the damp mud beneath their feet, trembling as it waved.

Moments later, that hand pushed aside the surrounding soil, revealing a mud-water cave large enough for only one person to pass: "Begging the Immortal... to condescend and come down to speak..."

"..."

Zheng Qian fell silent for an instant, her face showing a look of difficulty.

But she still led everyone, transforming into streams of light, and surged into that mud cave.

After passing through countless twists and turns, the view suddenly brightened; inside a hastily excavated damp cave, pale-skinned figures were densely packed together in a heap.

All were hugging their knees with their heads buried.

A rough glance revealed there were barely a thousand; accompanied by low wails, the scene appeared infinitely desolate.

Embedded in the surrounding walls were pearl-sized bright pearls emitting moonlight; all the light around came from these Moon Pearls.

"Are your brains broken?"

Zheng Qian's eyelids twitched; she was clearly surprised by such a massive loss: "You can't live on land, so return to Hongze. Even if those water creatures despise you, they wouldn't wipe out your entire clan."

The Yu clan member who had led the group in earlier knelt with a thud: "What the Immortal says is reasonable, but the ancestral teachings cannot be violated; once entering the water, we truly become demons, with no way back."

Hearing this, Yan Wencheng sighed lightly.

After all, the appearance of the Yu clan was not very honorable; perhaps they hated the Hongze water creatures even more than true human cultivators.

Even facing this situation, they merely settled for the second best, hiding in mud caves, refusing to truly retreat into the water.

In just over ten days, they were nearly exterminated.

If an official from the Qingyue Sect had been willing to arrive early, the situation might have been vastly different.

However, beings living in a Dao-Union sacred land find it very difficult to empathize with beings outside.

He raised his gaze to look at Shen Yi.

But he saw the other party taking a pearl from the wall and examining it in his hand.

"The Yu clan possesses some water creature bloodlines and has acquired similar divine abilities; they can condense moonlight into pearls. For cultivators, these count as good supplements, but they are merely half..."

Yan Wencheng swallowed the remaining word "demon": "They are quite good for a Soul Transformation cultivator, but not very useful for ascending the Palace in the Void Return Realm; they can barely be used to replenish one's aura."

"I see."

Shen Yi casually put the Moon Pearl back.

"This is our clan's ancestral treasure; please accept it with a smile, Immortal."

That Yu clan member took a piece of bright red coral from his chest, respectfully held it up, and presented it before Zheng Qian, his voice trembling: "Please, Immortal, act to subdue the demons and avenge our Ancestor Yu Zu."

The aura on that piece of coral was unusually dense; obviously, it could not be compared to the previous Green Yang Branch.

Judging solely by the value of the Dao Palace, it was at least equivalent to a Red-Eyed Profound Phoenix of the Transformation of Spirit Realm.

"Did your Ancestor die?"

Zheng Qian asked directly, somewhat rudely.

The Yu clan member's face turned slightly bitter, but he still answered honestly: "Ancestor Yu Zu is severely injured but has not yet perished."

"What happened? Tell me." Zheng Qian, feeling the dampness all over her body, forcibly suppressed her emotions and continued asking.

"Half a month ago, a group of Golden Fire Sparrows arrived and settled on a mountain nearby. We saw them but did not disturb them; we kept to ourselves and they kept to theirs. Unexpectedly, they usurped our nest and instead began to despise the fishy smell on our bodies..."

In Hongze, every piece of land is a resource that must be fought over.

"We were unwilling to leave."

"We failed in the struggle."

The Yu clan member fell silent; the reason for their unwillingness to leave was actually very simple.

This is the edge of Yu Nanhong, where the Seven Sons of Yu Nanhong protect the human race.

If they went further out, it would be hard to encounter a top-tier great power willing to lend them a hand; if they were unlucky and met some evil demons or heretics, it was not impossible for them to be imprisoned as slaves, condensing Moon Pearls for them for eternity.

That would be a terrifying thing, even worse than the extermination of a clan.

"What cultivation realm are the demons and monsters?" Shen Yi glanced sideways; this was what concerned him most.

The Yu clan member paused, unsure whether to answer.

After all, he could clearly see whose cultivation was the highest and who was the leader; he had heard that the Xian Sect places extreme importance on rules regarding seniority and hierarchy.

"If I tell you to speak, then speak!" Liu Qianyun glared over.

"..." Zheng Qian helplessly glanced to the side.

"There are four Golden Fire Sparrows in total; the one with the highest cultivation is at the fourth layer of the Void Return Realm; the others, who are slightly younger, I am not entirely clear on... because before they even had time to act, we were already retreating step by step."

The Yu clan member hurriedly continued speaking.

"Alright, I understand." Zheng Qian nodded, just about to begin issuing orders, when suddenly her eyebrows furrowed slightly.

She saw Shen Yi slowly extend both hands, from which threads of golden silk carrying black mist emerged.

This kid is actually starting to act on his own?

"This is..."

Yan Wencheng froze for a moment, then watched as those golden threads fell to the ground and transformed into formation talismans; he couldn't help but exclaim: "Setting up a formation?!"

Hearing this, Zheng Qian finally realized that this Void Return Realm first-layer cultivator was actually a formation master as well.

It was just unknown how much skill he actually possessed.

"No array items needed... use the soul to guide the five viscera..."

Yan Wencheng instinctively bit his finger. He suddenly remembered Tong Xin Chuan's words that day. Not used to array items? It turned out the Nanyang Sect actually hid such divine methods within!

Immediately after, he watched Shen Yi lay down a single lotus petal bit by bit.

The Five Elements Precious Lotus Great Array?

Just as Yan Wencheng was puzzled, he saw the thread at Shen Yi's fingertip turn into black mist-covered black hair.

Each time a part was laid, the God-Forging Heavenly Silk would change its affinity.

The breath of True Yang, the breath of Yearly Wood, the breath of Jin Lei...

The opponent forcibly used five utterly different spiritual roots to form this Five Elements Precious Lotus Great Array without using any array items!

Yan Wencheng had completely fallen into a daze.

It wasn't because possessing five spiritual roots was impressive, but that someone could actually achieve Soul Transformation with such mixed spiritual roots?!

Is this how everyone in the Nanyang Sect cultivates?

There was another question.

Why set up a trapping array here? Aren't we here to subdue demons? Why trap this entire Yu family?

Many pale-skinned demon people felt the subtle changes around them. They all raised their heads in fear, some at a loss, not knowing where they had angered the Xian Sect cultivators.

"..."

Shen Yi retracted the God-Forging Heavenly Silk.

With the soul strength after breaking through to Killed Fanxu, at least within the distance of this area, he could maintain the array's activation while moving freely.

As for why it was a trapping array.

It was because he didn't know any Killed Fanxu realm defensive arrays, so he simply used this one; the effect wasn't much different.

Trapping them is the same as protecting them.

He was still quite interested in these Moon Pearls.

Zheng Qian waited quietly until he finished laying the Great Array, then prepared to act. Such an act of disobeying orders and striking out on one's own was a major taboo when venturing out.

But after glancing at the stiff shock on Yan Wencheng's face,

she found herself unable to say anything.

Compared to Liu Qianyun, an outsider, although she didn't understand arrays either, she at least had a general idea of Junior Brother Yan's level.

The method that could make the other person look like this must be astonishing.

She had misjudged him before.

"Since you have such skill, I'll leave these people to you. Wait here; we will go subdue the demons." Zheng Qian exhaled, then led Liu Qianyun and the other two toward the outside of the mud cave.

However, as soon as they appeared on the ground, she turned back and saw Shen Yi following closely behind.

She stared silently at him: "..."

"Get on with your business; no need to mind me." Shen Yi simply nodded slightly.

He knew these people were experienced; in others' eyes, he was a troublemaker.

But he couldn't tell anyone about the panel and lifespan matter.

Besides, putting other things aside, when it came to killing demons, he was quite skilled and shouldn't cause any trouble.

(End of this chapter)