Chapter 346: A Little Disruption, the Founder of the Cang Family

In the blink of an eye.

A month and a half slipped by.

Deep within the City Lord's Mansion of Mountain and Sea City.

A thousand feet beneath Xiao Zhan's cultivation chamber.

A vast and sturdy underground space had been quietly excavated here.

Restrictions were cast upon the surrounding walls to prevent divine sense probing.

Because it was located deep underground, even if a Golden Core stage cultivator tried to investigate, they would simply assume their divine sense was being hindered by the dense earth.

After all, the terrain in some places was so dense that even a Golden Core cultivator could only extend their senses down about fifty to sixty feet.

Under normal circumstances, probing a thousand feet down would not be much of a problem.

At this moment, in the center of the underground plaza.

A teleportation array, similar in scale to the one beneath the Xu Residence, stood majestically.

Its foundation was solid, with runes flowing across its surface, emitting stable and profound spatial fluctuations.

Xu Mingxian, clad in a black robe and wearing a look of deep concentration, stood at the core of the array's eye.

His hands formed rapid hand seals, driving streams of pure mana into the array patterns to make the final adjustments.

Once certain there were no errors, he attempted to activate the teleportation array.

Accompanied by a low hum, the array's radiance gradually intensified, and spatial ripples began to undulate outward.

With a flash of movement, Xu Mingxian stepped into the formation.

After a burst of intense light, his figure vanished without a trace.

When he reappeared, he was already standing in the Underground Teleportation Plaza of the Xu Residence.

"It's done. I've finally completed the task Father entrusted to me."

Xu Mingxian scanned his surroundings and muttered, "To think Father began laying out plans for Greedy Wolf Prefecture so long ago. Such foresight and strategy are truly beyond ordinary reach.

"Trading the Nascent Soul Formation Karma-Binding Transaction to Ancient Nether City was likely meant to spark chaos within Greedy Wolf Prefecture.

"This will allow the Demonic Heaven Chamber of Commerce to reap the benefits from the ensuing cracks and expand further.

"However, having the Demonic Heaven Chamber of Commerce dominate Greedy Wolf Prefecture probably won't be easy.

"Not unless those two Nascent Soul cultivators die."

After pondering for a moment.

Xu Mingxian formed another hand seal, activating the teleportation array once more.

This was a safeguard he had established.

If anyone were to discover this place, activating the array without the correct hand seals would result in them being randomly teleported millions of miles away.

Not long after.

The underground teleportation array in Mountain and Sea City lit up again, and Xu Mingxian's figure resurfaced.

"Xiao Zhan, the teleportation array is now connected. From now on, if there are any urgent matters or critical intelligence, you can use this array to travel directly to our Underground Teleportation Plaza in Cloudstream City."

"Many thanks, Daoist friend."

Xiao Zhan's face lit up with joy, though he remained incredibly curious about this person's true identity.

Across the entire Northwest Region of Heavenly South, the number of individuals capable of setting up a teleportation array could be counted on one hand.

"I, Xiao, will send a message to the Revered Lord immediately!"

Upon receiving the message, Xu Chuan swiftly arrived at the underground plaza in person.

With his hands clasped behind his back, he carefully inspected the area, a look of approval washing over his face.

"Well done. With the completion of this array, our Xu family has officially planted a firm foothold in Greedy Wolf Prefecture. Intervening in their affairs will be much easier from now on,"

Xu Chuan said with a nod.

Hearing this, Xiao Zhan, who had been standing respectfully to the side, also revealed a look of shared pride.

Xu Chuan turned to look at Xiao Zhan, his gaze profound. "The time is right. You may inform them. Set the meeting place thirty miles east of Mountain and Sea City, at the Blood Wither Forest."

The Blood Wither Forest was a rather infamous region in the southern part of Greedy Wolf Prefecture.

Its trees were sparse and grotesque, and the soil and rocks were all a dark, bloody red.

Rumor had it that the ruins of an ancient battlefield lay buried beneath it. A faint blood fiend energy permeated the area year-round, throwing the local spiritual qi into disarray.

However, it also grew quite a few spirit grasses highly sought after by Blood Demon Dao cultivators.

Xiao Zhan's expression turned serious, and he immediately bowed. "Yes, Revered Lord. This subordinate will have Bloodhand notify them right away."

Xu Chuan gave a slight nod.

He and Xu Mingxian concealed their tracks, silently slipping out of Mountain and Sea City, and flew straight toward the Blood Wither Forest thirty miles to the east.

Almost immediately after they left the city.

Within Mountain and Sea City, the Demonic Heaven Chamber of Commerce aptly leaked a vague piece of intelligence to the disciples of both Ancient Nether City and the Sima family.

"Targets matching the description suspected to have left the city, heading in the direction of the Blood Wither Forest."

Upon receiving the news, the disciples of both factions instantly relayed the information back to their superiors.

Having long pent up their fury, the Sima family and Ancient Nether City mobilized the moment they caught wind of it.

Both factions had brought reinforcements this time. Led by the same mid-stage Golden Core elders from before, they brought along even more elite disciples, charging murderously toward the Blood Wither Forest.

Half a day later, the Blood Wither Forest appeared in the distance.

In this region, the sky itself seemed shrouded in a thin, bloody mist.

The sparse, twisted branches of the trees were pitch-black, yet their leaves gave off an eerie, dark red sheen.

The cracked soil on the ground was a mix of dark red and brownish-black.

A faint stench of blood and decay lingered in the air. The spiritual qi here was thin and chaotic, creating an extremely uncomfortable atmosphere.

Half an incense stick of time later.

In a relatively open clearing littered with jagged red rocks, they spotted their targets—the middle-aged Xu Chuan and the elderly Xu Mingxian.

They still wore the same disguises they had used in the Bone Wasteland Mountain Range.

Currently, they were meditating and adjusting their breathing, completely alone.

"You damn thieves! So this is where you've been hiding!"

The Sima family's mid-stage Golden Core elder, a man with a fierce, fleshy face, let out a harsh shout. He and the black-veiled female elder from Ancient Nether City were the first to descend.

The disciples of both factions followed closely behind, quickly fanning out to form a loose encirclement around Xu Chuan and his companion.

A few disciples standing further back even began forming hand seals to set up formations, streams of spiritual light connecting to cast a lockdown array.

Xu Chuan slowly opened his eyes, his gaze sweeping placidly over the crowd. Feigning a trace of surprise, he asked in a low voice, "It's you? How did you find this place?"

"Hmph!"

The Sima family elder sneered, his eyes brimming with smugness and malice. "How did we find you? Go to the underworld and ask King Yama, then you'll know!

"Today, you shall pay the price for your past arrogance!"

The female elder from Ancient Nether City spoke with an icy tone, "Hand over your storage pouches and cripple your cultivation. We might just leave your corpses intact."

"Heh..."

Xu Chuan's voice suddenly turned cold. "Rushing all the way here in such a hurry... I wonder who is truly courting death! Since you've come, you can all stay forever."

Before his words even finished echoing, a profound, abyssal aura of yin-cold death energy erupted violently from his body!

In an instant, the already eerie Blood Wither Forest seemed to plunge into the frozen depths of the netherworld. The temperature plummeted, and specks of grayish-black ice crystals began drifting through the air.

At the same time.

The Yin Corpse Pouch at his waist opened on its own.

A beam of blood-red light, so thick it seemed solid, shot into the sky!

"Roar—!!!"

Accompanied by a violent, inhuman bellow.

A terrifying figure, standing nearly thirty feet tall, crashed down into the center of the clearing.

Its skin was dark red, its muscles knotted and bulging like ancient tree roots. Fangs protruded from its mouth, and its eyes glowed a deep, bloody crimson.

The blood fiend energy surrounding it was so dense it almost formed a tangible mist of blood, churning violently.

The sheer, majestic pressure radiating from it had staggeringly reached the peak third-tier.

It was on par with a Golden Core perfection cultivator!

"A... a peak third-tier Blood Corpse!"

The vicious grin on the Sima family elder's face instantly froze, twisting into boundless terror as his voice cracked.

The female elder from Ancient Nether City also shuddered from head to toe.

Beneath her black veil, her eyes were wide with unbelievable dread.

To control a refined corpse of such high caliber and ferocity, its master's cultivation and soul strength had to be far beyond that of an ordinary early-stage Golden Core cultivator!

They had picked a fight with the wrong person!

"Who... who exactly are you?! You can't possibly be just an early-stage Golden Core rogue cultivator!" the Sima family elder cried out in panic, the thought of retreating already sprouting in his mind.

"An expert like you definitely wouldn't be a nameless nobody in Greedy Wolf Prefecture!"

"Could it be you're from a faction outside the prefecture?"

Xu Chuan couldn't be bothered to waste breath on him. With a mere thought.

The Profound Yin Blood Corpse's crimson eyes locked onto the Ancient Nether City's female elder. It transformed into a streak of bloody light that tore through the air, lunging straight for her!

Its speed was terrifyingly fast!

Appalled, the female elder hastily summoned a shimmering bone shield to protect her front while simultaneously shooting backward, desperately trying to open up some distance.

But the Blood Corpse possessed boundless strength and moved like a phantom.

With a single swipe of its claws, the spiritual light on the bone shield flickered wildly as the artifact let out an overwhelmed groan.

The female elder felt an unstoppable, torrential force slam into her. Her qi and blood churned violently, and even her escaping light stalled.

On the other side, Xu Chuan's figure blurred.

In a flash of dark light, he blocked the path of the Sima family elder, who was also trying to flee.

He didn't resort to any flashy magical arts. He merely formed a simple hand seal, his fingers wreathed in grayish-black death energy.

Wherever the seal passed, the air froze, and all life withered.

The Sima family elder roared, summoning a flame giant axe and hacking it toward the incoming hand seal.

At the same time, the spiritual light on his Dharma robe flared brightly.

However, the moment the roaring flames collided with the grayish-black seal, they dimmed rapidly, melting away like snow under the sun.

The giant axe was knocked flying backward.

Xu Chuan's hand seal struck true, slamming into the elder's protective spiritual light with undiminished momentum.

"Pfft!"

The Sima family elder reacted as if struck by lightning. His protective aura shuddered violently before shattering into pieces.

He spat out a mouthful of blood, his eyes filling with absolute despair.

"This divine ability... its power is definitely at the great accomplishment level or higher! And this boundless mana—he's at the late-stage Golden Core, maybe even Golden Core perfection!"

'Why am I so incredibly unlucky? To think I provoked such an expert!'

"Daoist friend, spare my life! On account of my Sima family's Family Head—"

He pleaded desperately, but Xu Chuan's expression remained detached. A second hand seal had already arrived.

Meanwhile, the Profound Yin Blood Corpse had completely overwhelmed the Ancient Nether City's female elder.

The Blood Corpse's claws were impossibly sharp, laced with bone-corroding blood fiend energy and profound yin cold qi. The light screen of the female elder's protective magic treasure was obliterated, and deep gouges scarred her defensive shield.

The spiritual light of her magic treasure flickered erratically.

As for her offensive magic treasure, it was only a low-grade item. Striking the Blood Corpse's natural armor merely left shallow white marks, only serving to enrage the beast further.

In little more than a dozen exchanges.

The Blood Corpse tore through her final layer of defense with a single swipe.

Its other claw plunged directly through her heart, extinguishing her lifeforce.

The female elder let out a short, shrill shriek. Her eyes rapidly lost their luster as she died on the spot.

Seeing this, the Sima family elder was scared out of his wits. He attempted to burn his essence blood to make a desperate escape.

But how could Xu Chuan allow him to succeed? He unleashed a divine sense secret method attack that nearly shattered the man's soul.

The elder almost blacked out then and there.

Following that, Xu Chuan effortlessly crushed his dantian and seized his Golden Core.

Seeing the Profound Yin Blood Corpse leaning in to devour the female cultivator's body, Xu Chuan barked an order, "Do not eat that!"

The Blood Corpse let out a series of shrill screeches directed at Xu Chuan.

Xu Chuan's face chilled. He instantly formed a hand seal, sending an agonizing headache through the Blood Corpse, causing it to wail miserably.

"Fierce creatures are truly difficult to control. It seems I need to breakthrough my divine sense to the Nascent Soul level as quickly as possible. Only then can I perfectly command all three Demonic Dao monsters."

"Return!"

With fear written across its face and rage buried deep within its eyes, the Blood Corpse had no choice but to shrink back into the Yin Corpse Pouch.

In barely the time it took to drink half a cup of tea.

Two mid-stage Golden Core elders from top-tier factions had fallen just like that.

As for the disciples of both families who had formed the lockdown array, they had suffered a harsh backlash just moments ago when Xu Mingxian effortlessly broke their formation.

Following that, they were all easily exterminated.

Xu Chuan looked expressionlessly at the devastation littered across the ground.

He collected all of their corpses.

Then, he deliberately left behind some shredded, bloodstained fragments of Dharma robes, along with lingering traces of pure blood fiend energy and profound yin death energy.

He also scattered low-tier artifact fragments belonging to Greedy Wolf Sect disciples, alongside Golden Core elder robe fragments.

Observing this, Xu Mingxian said, "Father, are you trying to provoke a conflict between these two factions and the Greedy Wolf Sect?

"But with the clues being so blatantly obvious, will they actually believe it?"

"It doesn't matter whether they believe it or not. It's more than enough to plant the seeds of hatred."

Xu Chuan chuckled lightly. "As for confronting the Greedy Wolf Sect for an explanation, do you really think they have the guts for that?"

"Someone as domineering as Qi Tianxiong certainly isn't easy to deal with," Xu Mingxian replied with an amused smile.

"Ancient Nether City already has an extra Nascent Soul cultivator. If they can rope in the other top-tier Golden Core factions and gain the backing of several Golden Core aristocratic families...

"They'd actually be able to stand toe-to-toe with the Greedy Wolf Sect.

"In fact, even if they harbor suspicions about these clues, they'll conveniently pin the blame on the Greedy Wolf Sect anyway."

"I am truly in awe of your strategic mind, Father."

"Let's go. We'll change disguises one more time and head home."

Xu Mingxian nodded.

After altering their appearances, they didn't spare another glance at the blood-soaked forest and quietly flew away.

Taking a wide detour, they maintained an inconspicuous Foundation Establishment stage flying speed as they slowly made their way back to Mountain and Sea City.

They smoothly passed the city gate inspections and vanished into the bustling crowds.

Not long after, they used the hidden teleportation array beneath the City Lord's Mansion to depart from Greedy Wolf Prefecture, with Xiao Zhan respectfully seeing them off.

Returning to the Xu Residence.

Xu Mingxian immediately went into seclusion to deduce the incomplete four-tier array, hoping to figure out the method to crack the jade box's restrictions as soon as possible.

Four months passed in a flash.

With a mind without distractions, Xu Mingxian poured all his mental energy into unraveling the incomplete four-tier array.

Meticulously unraveling the threads, he reverse-engineered the runes, using his divine sense countless times to simulate dismantling them, only to scrap his progress and start over time and time again due to minute errors.

One day, the spiritual qi that had been flowing steadily through the quiet room suddenly rippled.

Xu Mingxian had finally deduced the method to undo the restrictions on the jade box.

Without a moment's hesitation, he shifted his gaze to the jade box, formed a series of ancient hand seals, and tapped them against its surface.

The faint, seamless glow of the restriction reacted like a tranquil lake disturbed by a skipped stone, rippling outward in rings of soft halos.

Wherever the halos passed, the previously erratic runes settled down. They lit up, faded, and restructured themselves in an orderly fashion, emitting a soft hum that sounded like the final notes of a grand symphony.

A brief moment later.

All the light withdrew inward, and the restriction runes completely dimmed.

"It's done!"

Xu Mingxian's heart steadied, and the corners of his lips curled up slightly.

Taking a deep breath, he reached out and slowly lifted the lid off completely.

Lying inside the box was a white jade slip, its surface emitting a soft, translucent glow.

Just as Xu Mingxian was about to pick up the jade slip to examine it.

The slip suddenly erupted with blinding light.

An illusory yet incredibly clear and substantial figure stepped out from the radiance, hovering midair within the quiet room!

The figure was an old man dressed in a quaint Daoist robe and wearing a starry crown, his face gaunt yet distinguished.

Three long wisps of a beard draped gracefully over his chest. His eyes were as profound as an ancient well, yet they carried the gentle wisdom of someone who had seen all the vicissitudes of life.

Although he was merely a phantom, he naturally exuded the aura of one who had mastered the Great Dao.

The figure's gaze landed on Xu Mingxian, pausing slightly as if somewhat surprised.

Then, stroking his beard, he spoke. His voice was peaceful and distant, echoing directly within Xu Mingxian's sea of consciousness.

"Little friend, I do not sense the bloodline aura of my Cang family from you. You... are not a descendant of my Cang family, are you?"