Chapter 670: Gao Gao Yubai Goes Missing, Cautious and Prudent (Seeking Monthly Votes)

This man in black, with a pair of eerie red eyes, was the Brother Chiyun Demon Emperor, the hegemon of another demon territory to the east of Golden Feather Mountain.

Seeing the Brother Chiyun Demon Emperor walk in, the man in white nodded calmly toward him, then moved his spiritual light to produce a golden sphere the size of a palm.

"Hehe! If not for the help of Brother Brother Chiyun this time, it would have been difficult for me to obtain the spiritual vein of Golden Feather Mountain so easily. Since I have come here, there will certainly be no lack of cooperation with you in the future. This is the item I promised you earlier; please take it, brother!"

After the man in white finished speaking, he moved his magic power, and the golden sphere quickly flew into the hands of the Brother Chiyun Demon Emperor not far away.

Seeing the golden sphere emitting waves of spiritual light in his hand, the Brother Chiyun Demon Emperor's face immediately lit up with joy. After quickly tucking it away, he cupped his hands toward the man in white.

"Many thanks, Brother Brother Molong!"

"Sigh! Brother Brother Chiyun, you are too polite."

Facing the Brother Chiyun Demon Emperor's salute of thanks, the man in white waved his hand with a smile and continued, "Brother Brother Chiyun, you surely haven't forgotten the matter I mentioned to you last time, have you?

Now that I have successfully taken over Golden Feather Mountain, it is the perfect time for us to show our prowess. In a few years, the demon beasts from the Northern Border will also be coming over. Have you considered it yet, brother?"

Seeing the man in white staring at him with a half-smile, the Brother Chiyun Demon Emperor paused for a moment, then nodded with a smile and replied, "Hehe! Of course, I would not forget what Brother Brother Molong has said.

I have already considered this matter; let us proceed as you said last time. I have long wanted to deal with those human cultivators in the south, but that fellow Golden Feather always refused to cooperate with me all these years.

Fortunately, now that Brother Brother Molong has arrived, it has finally given me this opportunity—how could I miss it? Rest assured, brother, my Red Dragon Mountain will definitely support this southward expedition with all our might. When the time comes, we shall divide the conquered territory as we originally agreed."

"Good! Straightforward. I like your temperament, Brother Red Dragon. Then it is settled." Seeing the Red Dragon Demon Emperor agree, the man in white looked pleased and immediately stood up to praise him.

"Mm, it is settled. If there is nothing else, I will return to my Brother Chiyun Mountain to prepare for the upcoming matters. I will come to visit Brother Brother Molong again when I have time."

Seeing this, the Red Dragon Demon Emperor also nodded with a smile, then cupped his hands to take his leave and departed Golden Feather Mountain.

After the Red Dragon Demon Emperor left, the man in white turned to look at the demon kings who were still trembling as they knelt below, then spoke in a cold, commanding voice:

"Send word to the other demon kings around Golden Feather Mountain who have not yet submitted. Tell them that from now on, they are not to head south at will without my orders. Henceforth, everything must be done according to the commands issued by our Golden Feather Mountain."

"We shall strictly obey the orders of the Demon Emperor!" —— Half a year later, Qinghe County, Mount Mount Lianhua —— The Gao family.

Under the leadership of their patriarch Gao Gao Yubai, the Gao family had followed the Song family and enjoyed nearly a hundred years of stable development, with their family strength having improved significantly compared to a century ago.

Aside from Gao Gao Yubai, whose cultivation had long since broken through to the Foundation Establishment peak, in these hundred years, in addition to the increase in family cultivators, they had also cultivated another slightly younger Foundation Establishment cultivator.

Among the many Foundation Establishment families in Qinghe County, apart from the "Mount Taiyuan" Huang family which could firmly suppress them, no other family could challenge the Gao family's status as the second-largest Foundation Establishment family.

On this day, a middle-aged late-stage Qi Refining cultivator with a flustered expression suddenly appeared at the foot of Mount Mount Lianhua and hurried toward the mountain-protecting array.

The two Gao family cultivators guarding the mountain-protecting array at the gate saw the person approaching and hurriedly opened the array to let him in.

"Thirteenth Uncle, you have returned."

After entering the mountain-protecting array, the late-stage Qi Refining Gao family cultivator ignored the two people bowing to him and immediately asked, "Is the old patriarch still in seclusion in the back mountain?"

"Mm! We haven't heard any news of the patriarch coming out of seclusion these past two days; he should still be in the back mountain. Thirteenth Uncle, has something happened? Why are you in such a hurry?"

"Sigh! There is no time to explain to you now. I must go to report this matter to the ancestor in person. You two keep a close watch on the mountain gate; you must remember, do not let any suspicious people in."

The middle-aged man gave the two a serious warning, and without waiting to see if they understood, he immediately hurried straight up the mountain.

A moment later, the middle-aged late-stage Qi Refining Gao family cultivator arrived outside the cave dwelling where Gao Gao Yubai was in seclusion and quickly cast a spell to send a sound-transmission talisman inside.

After a while, the restriction at the entrance of the cave dwelling flickered, and Gao Gao Yubai, now looking like an old man, walked out.

Gao Gao Yubai was about the same age as Song Song Qingming, and his lifespan had long since exceeded two hundred years. In recent decades, he had attempted Core Formation several times, but none had succeeded.

Having been seriously injured twice due to failed Core Formation attempts, his lifespan had also been affected, and he would likely live about ten years less than a normal Foundation Establishment cultivator.

Although Gao Gao Yubai had consumed some life-extending spiritual items after his Foundation Establishment, his remaining lifespan was at most only thirty or forty years, and he basically had no chance of breaking through to the Jin Dan realm.

However, even so, like Huang Huang Shengxin back in the day, Gao Gao Yubai had never given up on that last sliver of hope for Core Formation. All these years, he had been desperately searching for Core Formation spiritual items, attempting one last strike at the Jin Dan realm.

"It's bad, Patriarch! Something major has happened at the Liu family. Mount Mount Bailin is full of dead people. The Liu family is, I'm afraid, I'm afraid!"

"What kind of decorum is this, being so panicked when encountering a problem? Think it through before speaking slowly. What exactly happened to the Liu family? Tell me the cause and effect clearly."

Gao Gao Yubai, who had just walked out of the cave dwelling, still had a trace of displeasure on his face from being disturbed in his seclusion. After glancing at the man, he sternly reprimanded him.

Hearing Gao Gao Yubai's reprimand, the middle-aged man calmed himself slightly before continuing his reply:

"Last month, the family sent a message to the Liu family, telling them to hurry and transport this year's quota of spiritual rice to Mount Mount Lianhua. Unexpectedly, more than half a month has passed, and the Liu family has neither sent the spiritual rice nor sent a message to explain the matter to us.

The Great Elder felt something was wrong, so he sent me to Mount Mount Bailin to check the situation.

Unexpectedly, after I rushed over yesterday, I found that Mount Mount Bailin was covered in the corpses of Liu family cultivators and mortals. I estimate at least a thousand people died, and the manner of death was extremely miserable; it looked like the work of demonic cultivators.

Seeing that the situation was not right, I didn't dare to stay long and immediately ran back to report this to you."

When the middle-aged man mentioned this, he couldn't help but recall the miserable appearance of the corpses he had seen earlier, causing a look of lingering fear to appear on his face again.

"Demonic cultivators? How did you conclude it might be the work of demonic cultivators? Tell me in detail!"

Hearing that it might be the work of demonic cultivators, a look of gravity immediately appeared on Gao Gao Yubai's wrinkled face.

Hearing this, the middle-aged man hurriedly recounted in detail what he had seen at "Mount Mount Bailin" to Gao Gao Yubai with a serious expression.

The "Mount Mount Bailin" Liu family was a subordinate Qi Refining family under the Gao family that had been passed down for over a hundred years.

Because they hadn't been established for long, the Liu family had only a dozen or so cultivators in total, and fewer than ten thousand mortals. Among the dozen or so subordinate families under the Gao family, their strength was not strong; they could only be considered one of the weakest.

Such a small Qi Refining family had too little strength of its own; once they encountered a few cunning Qi Refining-stage demonic cultivators, they were likely to suffer such a devastating disaster.

Back when Song Song Qingming had just achieved Foundation Establishment, the Wu family, a Qi Refining family under the Song family, was almost schemed against by several Qi Refining-stage demonic cultivators led by those from Mount Mount Guliang. This matter had also caused quite a stir in Qinghe County at the time.

"According to what you say, it is possible that there really are demonic cultivators hiding within our Gao family's territory. I didn't expect that there would still be demonic cultivators daring to come to our Qinghe County. These demonic brats really have some nerve.

Changliang, go notify the family law enforcement team to go with me to Mount Mount Bailin to check the situation. The destructive power of demonic cultivators is immense; if we don't find them quickly, I fear other subordinate families will suffer."

After Gao Gao Yubai gave the middle-aged man his orders, he immediately returned to the cave dwelling to bring some spiritual items specifically for dealing with demonic cultivators, and then took five or six Gao family Qi Refining cultivators with him to rush to "Mount Mount Bailin."

After the group flew several hundred miles southeast from "Mount Mount Lianhua," they arrived beside a high mountain shrouded in clouds and mist.

Before they even ascended the mountain, the group standing on the flying boat smelled a very strong, pungent scent of blood in the wind. Two Gao family Qi Refining cultivators who hadn't been on many major battlefields were so overwhelmed by the smell that they immediately showed signs of discomfort.

Seeing this, Gao Gao Yubai raised a hand and erected a faint white light in front of him, isolating the bloody scent for those beside him, which allowed the complexions of the people on the flying boat to gradually recover.

"Be careful, there might still be demonic cultivators hiding on the mountain. You all be sharp later, have your demon-suppressing talismans ready. If you find any survivors, bring them to me immediately."

After the flying boat stopped at "Mount Mount Bailin," Gao Gao Yubai gave instructions to the few people behind him and then took two late-stage Qi Refining cultivators, including Gao Changliang, to a hall on the summit of the Liu family mountain.

After the group pushed open the doors and walked into the hall, they saw the dozen or so Liu family cultivators already lying there, and their expressions immediately turned grave.

"Patriarch, all fourteen Liu family cultivators are here. It looks like they have been dead for about ten days. After such a long time, these demonic cultivators have likely already fled Qinghe County."

An older cultivator went up to check the corpses in the hall, then stood up and explained to Gao Gao Yubai.

Ever since the Mount Funiu Mountain Song family ascended to become a Jin Dan immortal family, no demonic cultivators had dared to come out and cause trouble in Qinghe County for many years. Occasionally, one or two would attack a lone rogue cultivator, but after succeeding, they would immediately flee Qinghe County for fear of exposing their identities. Hearing the old man's analysis, Gao Gao Yubai nodded slightly and said, "To be able to silently slaughter so many Liu family cultivators right under our noses, I fear the ones who acted were not ordinary Qi Refining demonic cultivators.

Still, we cannot be too careless. If he is hiding nearby, it is truly too dangerous for us; we must find a way to flush him out."

"Foundation Establishment demonic cultivator? Would a Foundation Establishment demon lord really set his sights on a tiny Liu family? Could it be that there was something at the Liu family that attracted him?" Hearing Gao Gao Yubai say that the perpetrators might be Foundation Establishment demonic cultivators, the old man's face showed disbelief.

Gao Gao Yubai waved his hand calmly and said, "Regardless of his purpose, as long as we find him, won't we know everything?"

As soon as he finished speaking, Gao Gao Yubai moved his spiritual light, and a yellow spiritual talisman emitting golden light immediately appeared before him.

Gao Gao Yubai then quickly cast several spells with both hands, and his magic power immediately surged into the yellow spiritual talisman, causing the golden light on it to shine several times brighter, illuminating the entire hall in a golden glow.

This yellow spiritual talisman was a second-grade low-level talisman capable of tracking the demonic Qi on demonic cultivators. Under Gao Gao Yubai's control, the talisman slowly flew above the corpses in the hall, absorbing some dark black spiritual Qi from them.

Seeing that Gao Gao Yubai wanted to track the demonic cultivators' trail through the residual demonic Qi on these corpses, the other two Gao family cultivators didn't say anything more and immediately stood to the side cautiously.

As the Gao family patriarch, Gao Gao Yubai's cultivation had long since reached the peak of Foundation Establishment for many years. In Qinghe County, apart from the few Jin Dan ancestors of the Song family, he, as a veteran Foundation Establishment cultivator, could already be considered the strongest in terms of combat power among all Foundation Establishment cultivators.

As long as he didn't encounter a formidable demonic cultivator above the late Foundation Establishment stage, Gao Gao Yubai's strength was sufficient to kill the opponent. It was precisely because he had sufficient confidence in his own cultivation that Gao Gao Yubai dared to attempt to track the demonic cultivators' trail.

A moment later, Gao Gao Yubai, who was patiently operating the yellow spiritual talisman in mid-air, suddenly opened his eyes with a look of surprise.

"So close? Could this demon lord really still be hiding on the mountain!"

"Bad! Liangshan, quickly send a signal to the people outside and have everyone gather here." After Gao Gao Yubai muttered this to himself, he immediately gave an anxious order to Gao Liangshan, who was standing to the side.

Seeing this, Guliangshan hurriedly went outside the hall, took out a low-grade low-level spiritual talisman, and released a huge fireball into the sky, beginning to summon the other cultivators who were scattered across "Mount Mount Bailin" searching for survivors.

Not long after, the few Gao family cultivators who had come together hurried to gather in the hall. Seeing that everyone before him was safe and sound, Gao Gao Yubai felt a sudden sense of relief.

Just as he wanted to continue casting spells to control the talisman in his hand to find the demonic cultivator's hiding place, a gust of eerie wind suddenly blew from outside the hall, followed by a cloud of red snow that suddenly appeared at the entrance, transforming into a man in black with an evil smile.

"Everyone, are you looking for me?"

"It's a demonic cultivator! Quickly form a formation to face the enemy." Seeing the man in black before them, the Gao family cultivators in the hall were shocked and hurriedly took out their magic tools, forming a combat formation.

Gao Gao Yubai, standing in front of the group, swept a calm gaze over the opponent, then produced a cyan flying sword and a red spiritual talisman in his hands.

"To actually dare to deliver yourself to our doorstep and appear before me—it seems you won't be leaving today!"

After Gao Gao Yubai finished speaking, he attached the spiritual talisman to the flying sword. The cyan flying sword immediately erupted with waves of red firelight, instantly unleashing a powerful pressure of magic power, and he slashed quickly toward the man in black.

"Hehe! You said it well; I did indeed deliver myself to your doorstep."

Facing Gao Gao Yubai's aggressive sword strike, the man in black, who wore a mocking expression toward the group, unhurriedly released a cloud of blood mist around himself, and then his entire person vanished from where he stood.

A moment later, to Gao Gao Yubai's shock, the man in black suddenly appeared at his side, and the blood mist around the man in black transformed into a violent gale that quickly swirled, engulfing Gao Gao Yubai and the others into the blood light. —— Two days later, atop the Song family's Mount Funiu Mountain, in the Meeting Immortal Pavilion.

Song Song Qingyu sat alone on the pavilion, sipping the spiritual tea at her side while admiring the beautiful scenery of Mount Funiu Mountain from afar.

Before long, a handsome young Song family cultivator walked up from downstairs and came quietly behind Song Song Qingyu.

"Grand-Aunt! Sixteenth Grand-Uncle has arrived; he has an urgent matter to see you about downstairs!"

"Mm! Go and have him come up quickly." After Song Song Qingyu nodded slightly, she put down the teacup in her hand, turned, and sat down on a chair in the middle of the pavilion.

Before long, the young cultivator who had just gone down led Song Song Yuanfang, whose face looked slightly unsightly, up to the pavilion.

Seeing the anxiety on Song Song Yuanfang's face, Song Song Qingyu did not ask him first, but instead, with a smile, gave instructions to Song Chen Xuanfeng, who was to the side:

"Chen Xuanfeng, you go back first and cultivate well, and prepare for the upcoming Foundation Establishment matters. Once Ancestor Huang Siyuan brings back the Foundation Establishment Pill from the East Sea, you will also need to prepare to go into seclusion for Foundation Establishment immediately.

You don't need to guard the Meeting Immortal Pavilion during this time; Song Yuanfang will arrange for others to take your place."

"Many thanks to Grand-Aunt and Sixteenth Grand-Uncle for your support. Chen Xuanfeng will take his leave now!"

Hearing the news that the family was about to support his Foundation Establishment, Song Chen Xuanfeng, who had already reached the ninth layer of Qi Refining, looked pleased and hurriedly bowed heavily to the two family elders, Song Song Qingyu and Song Song Yuanfang.

After Song Chen Xuanfeng left, Song Song Qingyu turned calmly toward Song Song Yuanfang at her side.

"Grand-Aunt, something has happened at the Gao family!"

After Song Song Yuanfang said this with a grave expression, he took a letter from his person and handed it to Song Song Qingyu, then continued to explain:

"This was just delivered by Gao Gao Changjin in person. A few days ago, demonic cultivators appeared within the Gao family's territory and wiped out one of their subordinate families. Gao Gao Yubai went to investigate the matter and ended up going missing; he hasn't returned to this day."

That day, Gao Gao Yubai went to "Mount Mount Bailin" to investigate the matter of the Liu family being wiped out by demonic cultivators, but he ended up going missing as if he had vanished, and not a single person returned.

Although the essence blood of Gao Gao Yubai and the others left on the Gao family genealogy had not disappeared, indicating that they were certainly still alive, the fact that they had not returned made the Gao family people realize that the situation was not right.

The next day, they sent two more groups to "Mount Mount Bailin" to search for Gao Gao Yubai, but the people sent also vanished like stones into the sea without a trace of news, and no one ever returned. Only then did the Gao family confirm that Gao Gao Yubai and the others had likely met with disaster.

Discovering that their patriarch had suddenly gone missing while investigating demonic cultivators, "Mount Mount Lianhua" fell into chaos. Gao Gao Changjin, another Foundation Establishment cultivator of the Gao family who was stationed at Qinghe Market, learned of this and hurriedly ran to Mount Funiu Mountain to seek help.

Song Song Yuanfang, who received him, was also shocked to learn of this. He was very clear about Gao Gao Yubai's cultivation and strength; the demonic cultivator capable of trapping him would certainly not be any ordinary character.

Unable to make a decision on this matter himself, he could only run to the mountain top to inform Song Song Qingyu of the matter.

After hearing Song Song Yuanfang explain the ins and outs of the matter, Song Song Qingyu lowered her head and pondered for a while before asking softly, "Even Gao Gao Yubai has gone missing? It seems the demonic cultivators who came this time are not simple. Song Yuanfang, what do you think of this matter?"

Song Song Yuanfang nodded with a grave expression and said, "According to Gao Gao Changjin, the soul lamp Gao Gao Yubai left in the family has not gone out, so it can be concluded that he should still be alive.

However, Gao Gao Yubai is a peak Foundation Establishment cultivator and an old fellow with many years of combat experience. With his strength, he would certainly not be trapped so easily. The opponent's strength should also be no weaker than his.

From what we know now, it is highly likely that Gao Gao Yubai was trapped by multiple Foundation Establishment demonic cultivators working together using an array. Or perhaps it is possible that it wasn't a Foundation Establishment demonic cultivator who came, but a Jin Dan demon lord who deliberately trapped him while waiting for us to send reinforcements.

Ancestor, you must not go alone. It is better to wait for Ancestor Huang Siyuan to return and take more people to act together; that would be safer."

"A Jin Dan demon lord? That would be a bit troublesome. You are right; we cannot act rashly. However, this matter involves demonic cultivators, so we cannot ignore it after all.

Song Yuanfang, you go and dismiss Gao Gao Changjin first. Tell him that we will immediately arrange to send people to support them, and tell them to strengthen their guard after they return so they don't let the demonic cultivators take advantage of any loopholes."

After Song Song Qingyu finished speaking, she did not rush to rescue Gao Gao Yubai immediately, but instead took out a red sound-transmission spiritual talisman.

After hesitating slightly for a moment, Song Song Qingyu cast a spell with a firm gaze, sending it into mid-air. Soon, this spiritual talisman transformed into a streak of light and flew directly away from Mount Funiu Mountain.

This red sound-transmission spiritual talisman had just flown about a few dozen miles outside "Mount Funiu Mountain" when, passing by a high mountain, it was suddenly swallowed whole by a giant black bird flying from the other side.

After this giant black bird ate the sound-transmission talisman that had just flown by, it circled the sky nearby a few times before slowly landing on the nearest high mountain.

In front of a blue stone on this mountain, a woman in purple was already waiting. Seeing the giant black bird return, a look of satisfaction immediately appeared on her face.

The giant black bird that came to the side of the woman in purple let out a harsh screech, spat out the red sound-transmission talisman it had just swallowed, and then a flash of black light on its body transformed it into a mass of black mist that coiled around the woman in purple.

"Hehe! These Song family people are indeed a bit too cautious!"

After picking up the red sound-transmission talisman hovering in mid-air and taking a look, the woman in purple let out a light laugh, and then her figure changed and quickly vanished from where she stood. (End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 671 =====