Chapter 158: The Plan

In a small town at the foot of Mount Longtan, it was already late at night. Pedestrians on the streets had gradually returned home, and the various shops had closed their doors and put up their shutters.

At the entrance of a pharmacy at the end of the street, a kind-looking, tall old man smiled and greeted his neighbor before closing the shop door and returning to the second floor, preparing to rest.

When he reached his room, he suddenly discovered that two people in black robes were already there.

"Didn't I tell you to keep a low profile recently? Why did you come here without even sending word? Aren't you afraid of being seen?" The tall old man was not overly surprised to see the two people suddenly appear in his room, clearly indicating that he was acquainted with them.

One of the black-robed figures said with a smile, "Second Senior Brother, you are being too nervous. The garrison commander, Wu Zitong, has already fallen under our control. Even if we were seen here, what kind of waves could they stir up? Didn't we kill a few garrison guards last time? Look at how nervous you were; didn't Wu Zitong handle it afterward?"

"Junior Brother Wu is right. We have been hiding here for several years, and those idiots in the Wu family haven't discovered a single trace, which shows how careless they are." Another black-robed figure also chimed in with a laugh.

The tall old man looked at the two and shook his head, asking, "What brings you here this time? Speak quickly. If there's nothing else, go back early to avoid causing more trouble."

Upon hearing this, the two black-robed figures' expressions instantly darkened. "Second Senior Brother, look at what you're saying. We are here helping you, aren't we? It's just a few mortals; are you trying to drive us away like this?"

"Junior Brother Liu, Senior Brother didn't mean that. I was just kindly reminding everyone for the sake of safety. If you don't like hearing it, just pretend I didn't say anything. We have been fellow disciples for so many years; we must not damage our harmony. In short, it was just me being overly cautious. You two junior brothers, don't be angry."

"I still have a little bit of the Blood Dragon Pill I refined earlier. You two take it and distribute it to the other junior brothers. You have truly been wronged during this period. The progress on the Wu family side is going quite smoothly; everyone just bear with it a little longer. I believe it won't be long before we can settle the matter here."

Seeing that the two black-robed figures were somewhat displeased, the tall old man softened his tone and hurriedly comforted them with a few words, then took out a bottle of blood-red pills, which finally restored the smiles they had when they arrived.

After much effort to send the two black-robed figures away, the Second Senior Brother's face instantly turned ferocious.

"Hmph! These idiots only know how to cause trouble; they really don't let anyone have peace. If it weren't for the fact that you are still useful, I wouldn't bother with your lives. Hehe, just wait. Once I blood-sacrifice the Wu family cultivators and successfully reach Foundation Establishment, your missions will be complete."

On Mount Longtan, in the Wu family council hall.

The Wu family Patriarch, Wu Xiyun, looked at the twenty-plus Wu family cultivators standing before him and said loudly, "What I just explained to everyone, is it clear? Eliminating demons and defending the Dao is the responsibility of every one of us who cultivates the Dao. From now on, no matter who it is, no one is allowed to leave my sight at will. Whoever is discovered to have any connection to the demonic cultivators will be executed on the spot to show our Wu family's determination to stand against them."

After Wu Xiyun finished speaking, he led all the Wu family cultivators directly to the village at the foot of the mountain where traces of demonic cultivators had been discovered. More than twenty cultivators, including the Song family Patriarch, Song Changfeng, were already waiting there.

Seeing that the Wu family cultivators had descended the mountain, Song Changfeng stepped forward alone and said to Wu Xiyun, "Patriarch Wu, since everything is ready, let us begin the operation according to the plan."

In the center of the town, an ordinary-looking Wu family cultivator was concentrating on his cultivation in a relatively spacious courtyard.

This person was the town's garrison commander, Wu Zitong. Wu Zitong was just an ordinary Wu family cultivator with very poor aptitude. He had been cultivating the Dao for more than forty years and had only just advanced to the fifth layer of Qi Refining. A cultivator like him was unlikely to reach the late stage of Qi Refining in his lifetime, which was why he had been sent down the mountain early to look after the family's mortals.

Suddenly, a series of urgent knocks on the door interrupted Wu Zitong, who was in the middle of his cultivation. A mortal martial artist called out carefully from inside, "Great Immortal Master, an old Immortal Master from the mountain has just arrived and is waiting for you in the hall."

Hearing this, Wu Zitong responded with some confusion, stopped his cultivation, rose, and walked out of his cultivation room to the outer hall.

"Fourth Elder, why did you come without notifying me? Is there something you need to instruct me about, coming to find me so late?" Upon seeing that the old man sitting in the hall was an elder of the clan, a look of surprise instantly appeared on Wu Zitong's face.

The old man smiled at him and said, "Zitong, it's been a while since I've seen you. I don't even know if you've been up the mountain to see me, so I had to run down the mountain myself to see you, old bones and all."

"Fourth Elder, please don't blame me. I am burdened with the family's heavy responsibilities, looking after the clansmen here, so it is truly inconvenient for me to get away."

"Hmm, it's right to say that. However, I didn't come to find you to joke around this time. I am here on official business to inspect the town's mountain-protecting formation. Please come with me. Since it is official business, you can also bear witness for me, so the Patriarch won't say I'm being perfunctory later."

Upon hearing that the Fourth Elder had come to inspect the mountain-protecting formation, Wu Zitong gradually let go of the worry in his heart and followed the Fourth Elder out with a smile.

As soon as the two walked out of the courtyard, two figures suddenly flew out from both sides. After a soft sound, before Wu Zitong could react, a mark was placed on his head, and then his eyes went black, and he fainted.

The Fourth Elder looked at the subdued Wu Zitong and sighed, "Lock him up first, and follow me to activate the mountain-protecting formation."

In the center of the town, after the two black-robed figures left the pharmacy and had not been on the street for long, a pale white light shield suddenly lit up above the entire town, instantly enveloping it.

Upon seeing this, the two black-robed figures instantly became somewhat nervous.

"This is... why did the mountain-protecting formation suddenly activate?"

"Don't ask me; hurry and find a place to contact Wu Zitong to see what happened." After saying this, the two flew away rapidly.

A stick of incense later, as the several mountain-protecting formations on Mount Longtan lit up one by one, the entire town became as bright as day. Under the guidance of teams of cultivators, the thousands of Wu family mortals who had just fallen asleep were quickly gathered in an open space in the east of the town, where a small, seemingly insignificant magic formation had appeared.

In a dark and damp underground secret chamber, five or six black shadows were pacing back and forth. Suddenly, the chamber door was opened from the outside, and a tall old man walked in.

"Second Senior Brother, you finally came. Wu Zitong can no longer be contacted; he has most likely been controlled. The Wu family cultivators have already started searching the town. What should we do now?" A black-robed figure who had just gone to find him saw the old man enter and asked anxiously.

"What are you panicking about! They won't be able to find this place for a while. Later, everyone follow my arrangements and retreat together. If it weren't for the fear of alerting other cultivation families, would this bunch of Wu family people dare to fight us? It's just a pity that after years of preparation, we have fallen short at the final hurdle." After the tall old man finished speaking, he looked at everyone with unwillingness and sighed.

Normal today.

(End of Chapter) ===== CHAPTER 159 =====