Chapter 157: The Demonic Cultivator Reappears

Such miscellaneous matters that arise within Qinghefang are generally adjudicated directly by the two Foundation Establishment cultivators stationed there. Judging by Lu Yuanfeng's tone, he clearly did not wish to pursue the matter regarding the Gao family, and Song Qingming, seeing this, did not object.

In the past, he had personally adjudicated several similar minor disputes at the Law Enforcement Hall, and Lu Yuanfeng had never once objected to his handling of the results after the fact. This time, the matter involved the Gao family, and it was likely that Gao Jinhe had already sounded him out on the subject. His goal of teaching Jin Baotang a lesson had already been achieved, and it was not worth offending the Gao family too much over such a trivial matter. Song Qingming did not hesitate long before nodding in agreement with Lu Yuanfeng's opinion.

"At the time, I was also somewhat indignant that this group of people would commit such sordid acts in broad daylight, showing no regard for the reputation of our market. In order to salvage a bit of face for our Qinghefang, I meted out punishment to them. Now that I think about it, the matter was indeed a bit excessive. Let us handle it according to your opinion, Fellow Daoist Lu."

Seeing that Song Qingming had already agreed to the matter and said nothing more, Lu Yuanfeng nodded with satisfaction and hurriedly beckoned to a disciple waiting outside the door to bring in a pot of spirit tea.

Over the past few years in Qinghefang, Song Qingming would occasionally accept Lu Yuanfeng's invitation to come and discuss the Dao with him. As both were Foundation Establishment cultivators, exchanging insights on cultivation from time to time was highly beneficial to both their practices.

Just as the two were engrossed in their conversation, Lu Yuanfeng's disciple, who had been waiting outside, suddenly burst in.

"Master, there is someone outside named Song Qingshi who claims to be a clansman of Senior Song and has an urgent matter to report."

Upon hearing the name Song Qingshi, Song Qingming hurriedly nodded to the person who had entered and said, "He is indeed a member of my Song family. Please wait a moment, Fellow Daoist Lu; I will go out and see him first."

In a large courtyard outside Lu Yuanfeng's cave dwelling, a weary-looking Song Qingshi was waiting anxiously. As soon as he saw Song Qingming walk out, he hurriedly stepped forward to salute.

"Supreme Elder, a strange incident has occurred at home, and we do not know how to handle it. The Patriarch asks that you return immediately." After saying this, Song Qingshi handed a handwritten letter from Song Changfeng directly to Song Qingming.

Upon hearing this, Song Qingming was somewhat puzzled, wondering what could have happened on Mount Funiu that was so urgent.

Opening the letter and reading it, Song Qingming's brow gradually furrowed, and the relaxed expression he had just moments ago vanished from his face.

"Big Brother, wait for me here for a moment. I will go inside to inform Fellow Daoist Lu, and then I will return with you."

Half a day later, in the Song family's council hall on Mount Funiu, Song Qingming sat in the seat of honor, with several late-stage Qi Refining cultivators of the Song family seated below.

"Sixth Uncle, has the situation been confirmed? Are you certain that what appeared in the Wu family is a demonic cultivator?"

Song Changfeng replied with a heavy expression, "News has just come in again from the Wu family side. Several more suspicious individuals have been discovered. These people all carry a trace of eerie black Qi on their bodies, which is clearly the result of a cultivator having tampered with them. To cast spells to control ordinary mortals so brazenly—the perpetrator must undoubtedly be a demonic cultivator. This point can basically be confirmed."

"If there really are demonic cultivators causing trouble nearby, everyone must be careful. Demonic cultivators have numerous methods and are exceptionally cunning; eradicating them completely will not be an easy task. Let us wait until the other families have arrived before we act together. It is best to strike with the force of a thunderbolt before they can react; we must not give them a chance to escape, otherwise, the future troubles will be endless."

It turned out that the reason Song Changfeng was so anxious to invite Song Qingming back was precisely because the Song family had suddenly received a plea for help from the Wu family of Mount Longtan half a month ago; traces of demonic cultivators had been discovered within the Wu family's territory.

The Wu family was originally, like the Song family, an affiliated family of the Huang family, and Mount Longtan was not far from Mount Funiu, only about eighty miles away.

Since the Song family officially ascended to a Foundation Establishment family four years ago, the area northwest of Qinghe County had been placed under the Song family's jurisdiction. The Qi Refining families nearby that were originally vassals of the Huang family had also been transferred to the Song family, and they had to hand over tribute every year in exchange for the Song family's protection.

The Wu family did not have many cultivators, only twenty-something, and the situation at their ancestral land, Mount Longtan, was much the same as Mount Funiu, with several tens of thousands of mortals.

More than half a month ago, in a relatively remote mortal village within the Wu family, several acquired mortal martial artists suddenly went missing. The Wu family cultivators stationed there had not been able to figure out the reason for this. A few days ago, a Wu family elder, Wu Mengyuan, felt that something was suspicious about the matter, so without alerting the stationed cultivators, he went to investigate in secret himself. The result of this was a shocking discovery: hidden in this relatively remote mortal village were several mortals who had already been parasitized by demonic cultivators.

This terrified the Wu family. Although mortals parasitized by demonic cultivators looked no different from ordinary people on the surface, their lives were already controlled by the demonic cultivators behind them, and they were basically puppets. Discovering parasitized mortals here indicated that there must be demonic cultivators hiding nearby.

Demonic cultivators act with extreme ruthlessness, often committing horrific acts of blood-sacrificing large numbers of cultivators and mortals. More than a hundred years ago, a Qi Refining family in Qinghe County was infiltrated by a group of demonic cultivators who were not discovered in time. They slowly controlled and parasitized many of the family's cultivators and mortals, and in the end, the entire family's cultivators and mortals were blood-sacrificed by these brutal demonic cultivators overnight to fuel their cultivation arts. By the time the major Foundation Establishment families of Qinghe County arrived after the incident, the group of demonic cultivators had long since fled.

Upon learning that demonic cultivators might have appeared in their territory, the Wu family Patriarch did not know how many were hidden there, and fearing that some of his own cultivators had already been parasitized and controlled, he did not dare to make it public. He sent trusted followers down the mountain overnight to the main family, the Song family, to seek help. After receiving the Wu family's plea for help, Song Changfeng also did not dare to act rashly, which is why he sent Song Qingshi to urgently invite Song Qingming, a Foundation Establishment cultivator, back to hold the line.

Generally speaking, it is unlikely that a demonic cultivator above the Foundation Establishment stage would parasitize mortals in a small Qi Refining family like the Wu family, but demonic cultivators have never had any absolute rules for their actions. It would not be strange for them to do anything, given their extreme cunning. If a Foundation Establishment demonic cultivator were truly to appear in the Wu family, and they were to rush over rashly, they would definitely be alerting the enemy and walking straight into the tiger's den.

After agreeing on an action plan, Song Qingming had Song Changfeng quickly send out a mobilization order to the several affiliated Qi Refining families under the Song family. A day later, when everyone had gathered at Mount Funiu, the Song family had assembled forty or fifty cultivators, and only then did Song Qingming direct everyone to firmly blockade the entire Mount Longtan under the cover of night.

(End of Chapter) ===== CHAPTER 158 =====