Chapter 17: The Liu Family's Employment

In a dense forest a few dozen miles west of Qinghe Market, more than twenty cultivators were gathered. The leader was an elderly cultivator in his nineties, wearing a black and white Daoist robe, his face full of vicissitudes, and his eyebrows and beard were all snow-white.

This old man was the current patriarch of the Liu family of Mount Jingyuan in Qinghe County, Liu Tianlong, with a cultivation base at the peak of the ninth layer of Qi Refining. In his early years, he was also a famous genius cultivator in Qinghe County. He cultivated to the ninth layer of Qi Refining before he was fifty. It was a pity that when he cultivated to the ninth layer of Qi Refining, the family had already begun to decline and he failed to succeed in Foundation Establishment.

The best age for a Qi Refining cultivator to reach Foundation Establishment is before the age of sixty, before the energy and blood decline. After eighty, they basically lose the hope of Foundation Establishment. At Liu Tianlong's age, unless he can have a heaven-defying opportunity, otherwise he will not have another chance to succeed in Foundation Establishment.

For an old-brand cultivator like Liu Tianlong who has broken through to the late stage of Qi Refining for many years, his fighting ability is still unquestionable. In Qinghe County, except for those few Foundation Establishment cultivators, these people are the absolute top combat power.

As long as he does not suffer any major injuries, Liu Tianlong can maintain his peak combat power for at least another dozen years. After reaching the age of one hundred and ten, a Qi Refining cultivator's body will gradually decline, losing the ability to absorb spiritual energy. At that point, he can no longer act at will; if he is forced to act and consumes too much spiritual energy, he will at best drop in his cultivation realm, and at worst, it will affect his final ten years of lifespan, leading to an early death.

"Patriarch, news came from the Song family that they have arrived," a middle-aged man beside Liu Tianlong was reporting the news he had just received to him.

Liu Tianlong stroked the beard at the corner of his mouth and said in a deep voice: "Notify the cultivators of the Wu family and the Du family, prepare to set off."

The Liu family also had a Foundation Establishment cultivator in their ancestors and was also a Foundation Establishment family in Qinghe County a hundred years ago. It was just that the Liu family was unlucky. A hundred years ago, during the monster beast chaos, they lost the only Foundation Establishment cultivator in the family.

Although the Xiaoyao Sect compensated with a Foundation Establishment pill after the war, it was a pity that the person selected by the Liu family for Foundation Establishment did not succeed. The Liu family thus fell into a Qi Refining family and could only give up part of the family industry in exchange for the protection of other Foundation Establishment families, becoming a vassal family of the Huang family to this day.

This trip to the Fuyun Mountain Range, the Liu family had planned for many years. As long as it goes smoothly, they can get an opportunity to go to the Xiaoyao Sect to exchange for a Foundation Establishment pill. As long as someone in the Liu family succeeds in Foundation Establishment, they will also restore the glory of the Foundation Establishment family of that year in his hands. At that time, everything in the family will change accordingly! Thinking of this, Liu Tianlong's heart was also very excited.

Following the two elders, flying and running for hundreds of miles to the west in one breath, the Song family's group of eight arrived in this dense forest. At this time, dozens of cultivators had already gathered in this dense forest, and there were seven or eight late-stage Qi Refining cultivators. Unexpectedly, the Liu family attached such importance to this trip to the Fuyun Mountain Range.

After Second Elder Song Changfeng and Liu Tianlong met and greeted each other, he led the Song family people to join the team of cultivators led by the Liu family. After everyone gathered, they left Qinghe County and headed north.

This time the Liu family invited a total of three nearby families to participate. Besides the Song family, there were the Wu family of Mount Longtan and the Du family of Baoshi Peak. The strength of the Wu family and the Song family is about the same. The leader is the Wu family patriarch, Wu Xiyun. The Du family's strength is slightly stronger, with more than thirty cultivators in the family. This time the team leader is the Du family's Second Elder, Du Shaokang.

Adjacent to the north of Qinghe County is Pingyang County, which is the largest county among the four counties of Jiangling Prefecture. There are seven Foundation Establishment families in the county alone, and the territory and number of cultivators controlled are more than twice that of Qinghe County. Another hundred miles north of Pingyang County is the Fuyun Mountain Range, which stretches for thousands of miles.

Monster beasts are rampant in the Fuyun Mountain Range, which is not suitable for ordinary mortals to live and live here, but this is the gathering place for many rogue cultivators in the Wei State. Many rogue cultivators from the four counties of Jiangling Prefecture like to come to the Fuyun Mountain Range to hunt monster beasts.

There are also many Foundation Establishment rogue cultivators who occupy spirit veins here to open up cave dwellings. The Wulong River north of Pingyang County is also the boundary point between humans and the northern border monster beast forces.

The vast Fuyun Mountain Range attracts many cultivators to hunt monster beasts every year, and at the same time, this is also a buffer zone for every riot of monster beasts in the northern border.

Therefore, the Xiaoyao Sect also attaches great importance to this place, not only establishing several markets near the Fuyun Mountain Range to collect various resources and earn spirit stones from the hands of rogue cultivators, but also dispatching Core Formation elders from the sect to station here all year round.

After everyone walked north for a few days, they entered the territory of Pingyang County, and walked for nearly ten more days before crossing Pingyang County and entering the Fuyun Mountain Range.

This is also the first time Song Qingming has left Qinghe County to perform a mission. The cultivators seen along the way, whether they are traveling in groups like them, or acting alone in twos or threes, all have the same destination: the Fuyun Mountain Range, which is full of crises and full of opportunities everywhere.

When Song Qingming was at Mount Lingyuan, he often heard Uncle Nine, Song Changxin, talk about the various strange things he encountered when he was cultivating in Ziyu Mountain in the Fuyun Mountain Range, and he was also very curious about this place. It was just that since he set off with everyone this time, he had been rushing on the road without stopping, and had no chance to pay attention to the various scenery along the way.

Half a month after entering the Fuyun Mountain Range, everyone arrived in a dense forest in a mountain bay. Liu Tianlong announced that everyone would rest on the spot for one night. The target of this hunt was in a water pool not far ahead, which was a second-tier low-quality silver-armored crab monster.

According to the Liu family cultivators, this silver-armored crab had only advanced to a second-tier monster beast for a few decades, and its magic powers were not difficult to deal with.

Rushing on the road like a lightning bolt, it was rare for everyone to rest for one night. At night, everyone lit a bonfire and formed several circles, laughing and talking, and it was not until midnight that they slowly rested.

Early the next morning, under the leadership of the Liu family, everyone came to the edge of a water pool. This water pool was only a few dozen zhang in circumference. Near the center, there was a huge black reef protruding above the water surface, on which lay a few low-tier monster beasts, leisurely basking in the newly risen sun.

Under the command of several elders of the Liu family, everyone began to set up the "Gold Net Monster-Binding Formation" in a patch of grass by the water pool. This second-tier low-quality formation was purchased by the Liu family from the Jiangling Prefecture market many years ago. As long as sixteen Qi Refining cultivators activate it together, they can trap ordinary second-tier low-quality monster beasts in a short time. This is also the greatest confidence of the Liu family in daring to target second-tier monster beasts on this trip.

Second-tier formations are relatively complex. The Liu family was also very well prepared for this operation. The Liu family alone sent two top-grade formation masters, plus two top-grade formation masters from the Wu and Song families. The four of them led more than a dozen low-to-mid-tier formation masters including Song Qingming, and it took nearly an hour to set up this second-tier great formation.

Song Qingming was also participating in setting up a second-tier formation for the first time. Originally, his formation level as a low-tier formation master was only at the introductory level. This time, following the four top-grade formation masters to set up the formation together, he benefited a lot.

Although he was only helping out in this formation-setting operation, it gave him a lot of insights into the path of formations at this moment and inspired a lot of inspiration.

There were more than forty cultivators participating in this mission, among whom nine were late-stage Qi Refining cultivators, and the others were all mid-stage Qi Refining cultivators. And there were not only this second-tier silver-armored crab monster in this water pool, but also many first-tier monster beasts.

According to the allocation on the spot by the Liu family, a part of the formation masters brought were responsible for activating the formation at any time, and other cultivators, under the leadership of several late-stage Qi Refining cultivators, first strangled the first-tier monster beasts in the pool.

Before the war, everyone must try their best to kill the first-tier monster beasts first, otherwise when the second-tier monster beasts come out, too many first-tier monster beasts will hold back the great formation, and it will be difficult to fully trap the second-tier monster beasts when the formation is deployed.

"Qingming and Changyun stay behind to cooperate with us to activate the great formation, others follow Changfeng to act." Great Elder Song Gubai saw that the Liu family cultivators had already begun to organize manpower to attack the water pool and quickly made proper arrangements.

Twelfth Aunt Song Changyun, like Song Qingming, is also a low-tier formation master. Although she has a sixth-layer Qi Refining cultivation base, she cultivates wood-attribute cultivation techniques, her fighting magic powers are average, and she rarely participates in such dangerous missions.

Great Elder Song Gubai is the only top-grade formation master in the family, so naturally he has to stay behind to help activate the great formation.

The other five people have relatively rich experience in hunting monsters and fighting enemies, and under the leadership of Song Changfeng, they quickly gathered at the edge of the water pool.

"Kill!" Under the order of Liu Tianlong, everyone quickly killed toward the edge of the water pool.

A black-clothed cultivator took the lead in attacking a low-tier fish monster resting by the water pool. This person is an old-brand late-stage Qi Refining cultivator of the Du family, and his cultivation has reached the peak of the seventh layer of Qi Refining.

Seeing him take a few quick steps, carefully touching behind the fish monster with squinting eyes, catching it off guard, he quickly sacrificed a black ring magic tool in his hand and put it toward the fish monster's neck.

The black ring suddenly became several times larger in the air and instantly got stuck on the fish monster's neck. The fish monster felt the abnormality on its neck and was about to get up, but in the next moment it suddenly became motionless. A burst of blood rain drifted out, and the huge fish head fell from its neck.

After watching this, Song Qingming was shocked. It was truly a powerful method.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 18 =====