Chapter 157: The Demonic Cultivator Reappears

Such trivial matters occurring within the Qinghe Market were generally decided directly by the two Foundation Establishment cultivators stationed there. Judging by Lu Yuanfeng’s tone, he clearly did not wish to pursue the matter involving the Gao family, and Song Qingming did not object upon seeing this.

In the past, he had personally adjudicated several similar minor disputes at the Law Enforcement Hall, and Lu Yuanfeng had never once opposed his handling of those cases after the fact. Since this incident involved the Gao family, it was likely that Gao Jinhe had already discussed the matter with him. His goal of teaching the Jinbao Hall a lesson had already been achieved, and it was not worth offending the Gao family too deeply over such a trifle. Song Qingming did not hesitate long before nodding in agreement with Lu Yuanfeng’s opinion.

"At the time, I was also somewhat incensed that these people would commit such sordid acts in broad daylight, showing absolutely no regard for the reputation of our market. It was only to salvage a bit of face for our Qinghe Market that I meted out punishment to them. Now that I think about it, the matter was indeed handled a bit too harshly. Let us handle it according to your suggestion, Fellow Daoist Lu."

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

Over the past few years in Qinghe Market, Song Qingming would occasionally accept Lu Yuanfeng’s invitations to come and discuss the Dao with him. As both were Foundation Establishment cultivators, exchanging cultivation insights from time to time was highly beneficial to both parties’ practice.

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. Fellow Daoist Lu, please excuse me for a moment; I will go out and see."

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

"Supreme Elder, a strange event 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.

Hearing this, Song Qingming was somewhat puzzled, wondering what could have happened on Mount Funiu to make it so urgent.

Upon opening the letter and reading it, Song Qingming’s brows gradually furrowed, and the relaxed expression he had just moments ago vanished from his face.

"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 him.

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

Song Changfeng replied with a heavy expression, "News has just come in from the Wu family side again. 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 is undoubtedly a demonic cultivator. This point is basically confirmed."

"If there is indeed a demonic cultivator wreaking havoc nearby, everyone must be careful. Demonic cultivators have numerous methods and are exceptionally cunning and agile; eradicating them completely is no easy task. Let us wait until the other families arrive 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, or the future troubles will be endless."

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

The Wu family, like the Song family, was originally a vassal family of the Huang family, and Mount Longtan was not far from Mount Funiu, only less than eighty miles away.

Ever since the Song family was officially promoted 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 in the vicinity that were originally vassals of the Huang family had also been transferred to the Song family, and they had to pay tribute every year in exchange for the Song family’s protection.

The Wu family did not have many cultivators, only about twenty or so, and their ancestral land, Mount Longtan, was in a similar situation to Mount Funiu, also having tens of thousands of mortals.

More than half a month ago, in a relatively remote mortal village within the Wu family’s territory, several acquired-stage mortal martial artists suddenly went missing. The Wu family cultivators stationed there had not been able to investigate the cause. A few days ago, a Wu family elder, Wu Mengyuan, felt that the matter was suspicious and, without alerting the stationed cultivators, went to investigate in secret. As a result, he made a shocking discovery: in this relatively remote mortal village, several mortals 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 cultivator behind them; they were essentially puppets. Discovering parasitized mortals here meant that a demonic cultivator must be hiding in the vicinity.

Demonic cultivators were exceptionally ruthless and would often commit horrific acts of blood-sacrificing large numbers of cultivators and mortals. Over a hundred years ago, a Qi Refining family in Qinghe County had been infiltrated by a group of demonic cultivators who slowly controlled and parasitized many of their internal cultivators and mortals. In the end, the entire clan’s cultivators and mortals were blood-sacrificed overnight for the sake of cultivation techniques. 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 a demonic cultivator might have appeared in their territory, the Wu family Patriarch did not know how many were hiding there, and he feared that even some of his own family’s cultivators had been parasitized and controlled. Not daring to make it public, he hid it from most of the family’s cultivators and sent trusted people down the mountain overnight to seek help from the main family, the Song family. After receiving the Wu family’s plea, 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 was unlikely that a demonic cultivator above the Foundation Establishment realm would come to parasitize mortals in a small Qi Refining family like the Wu family. However, demonic cultivators had never followed any absolute rules, and it would not be strange for them to do anything, given how cunning they were. If a Foundation Establishment demonic cultivator were to truly appear in the Wu family, and they were to rush over rashly, they would definitely be alerting the enemy and throwing themselves into the tiger’s den.

After agreeing on an action plan, Song Qingming had Song Changfeng quickly issue a mobilization order to the several vassal 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. Only then did Song Qingming direct everyone to firmly blockade the entire Mount Longtan under the cover of night.