Cultivation: Starting with Farming in the Spiritual Pivot Grotto

Chapter 55 Returning Riding a Whale, Suddenly Hearing of the Demonic Sect

Lotus Mountain, five thousand miles away from Yunfu Sect.

The Zhang family of Longhu has been operating west of Poyang Lake for over three hundred years. The previous patriarch, Zhang Xuansu, successfully established the foundation of the family, elevating the status of the Zhang family.

Zhang Xuansu's cultivation level was earned through battles at the Diaoyutai Terrace in the East China Sea, making him a formidable fighter. Furthermore...

The Zhang family is known for its honesty and kindness, good relations with its neighbors, and excellent reputation in the surrounding area.

This time, Zhang Xuansu went to Dugu City alone, leaving an elder at the tenth level of Qi Refining to guard her at home.

As dusk fell, the setting sun, like blood, dyed the lakeside waters crimson.

The Taoist master Xuantong walked slowly along the ancient mountain path, but today he had taken off his Taoist robe and put on a black robe.

Having gathered a lot of information in the surrounding area over the past few days, Zhang Xuansu has traveled to Dugu City.

With no Foundation Establishment cultivators in the clan to oversee things, this is the perfect time to take action.

The Taoist Master Xuantong stopped at the end of the ancient road, looked up at the village where the lights were just beginning to come on, and a shadow suddenly crossed his eyes.

The buildings here are built against the mountain, with continuous bluestone walls, simple and dignified. The surrounding houses are neat and orderly, and the fields are vast, presenting a peaceful and harmonious family scene.

The two members of the Zhang family guarding the gate saw a Taoist priest in black robes approaching. Seeing his ethereal air, they quickly stepped forward, cupped their hands, and asked:

"Greetings, Daoist Master. I wonder what brings you to my humble abode in this long night?"

The Taoist Master Xuandao stopped at the door and smiled slightly: "I am a wandering cultivator, passing through your esteemed estate. I found the spiritual energy here to be pure and pristine, and wish to borrow this precious place for a night of quiet cultivation. I will depart tomorrow. Is that permissible?"

Seeing that he spoke gently, the two young men lowered their guard.

"Does the Taoist priest possess a jade tablet to illuminate his person?"

"Of course it is!"

"Please wait a moment, Master, I'll go and report right away!"

……

Three days after the auction in Dugu City concluded, the hustle and bustle in the city gradually subsided.

Li Ya has not left the house for the past three days, focusing on his cultivation and nourishing his internal organs with his vital essence.

Since the wine worm entered his body, it no longer hides in the wine cavity. When Li Ya is circulating his profound energy, this little guy will sneak out and play in his dantian.

This little guy doesn't just take in and not give out. After passing through it, the wine is transformed into rich spiritual essence, which is easier to refine into Azure Mist True Qi than external spiritual energy.

According to the schedule, a cloud whale will be passing by today. Everyone has already packed up and is waiting for the cloud whale to dock.

With a melodious whale cry, the sea of ​​clouds surged in the sky.

A colossal cloud whale broke through the layers of clouds and slowly floated in the sky.

This cloud whale was smaller than the one they had come from. The four of them boarded the cloud whale, and Li Ya lost interest in sightseeing. He only wanted to get back as soon as possible. The Sumeru Stones they had obtained on this trip had all been digested by the Fangcun Snail and were just waiting to be refined into the spiritual veins and placed in the spring.

As the group was heading to their guest rooms, exclamations of surprise occasionally rang out from the crowd, mostly concerning the Zhang family's downfall and other such matters.

Li Ya's heart tightened, and he immediately asked the innkeeper's servant. The servant's answer surprised them all.

"You all still don't know?"

"The Zhang family, the Dragon and Tiger clan, west of Poyang Lake, was completely wiped out overnight; they were all brutally murdered!"

After pondering for a moment, Senior Brother Lingji asked, "Could it be the Zhang family, famous for their Dragon and Tiger Qi Absorption technique?"

"Exactly!"

"How could this be?" Xie Daoyun asked. "The Zhang family has always been known for their kindness. How could they have been wiped out? Which cultivator did they offend?"

"I wouldn't know about that!"

"I only heard from the cultivators who went to deliver the goods that none of the more than one hundred cultivators in the sect, regardless of age, escaped unscathed!"

Those who heard this gasped in shock. Even if there were grudges between powerful families and sects, they could simply settle them with a fight. In all these years, under the rule of Baiyujing, there had never been a case of wiping out an entire family.

Moreover, they are a family whose names are recorded on the Jade Register of Baiyujing.

The struggle for lineage is always brutal, but at least there are traces to follow. This matter, however, seems to have no reason whatsoever.

"It was those evil cultivators who did this!"

At this moment, a curious monk spoke up from the side.

"A friend of mine sent me a message via flying sword, saying that the souls at that scene had completely dissipated, the Yin energy was dense, and the remaining aura was not from our immortal methods."

Everyone's pupils contracted sharply, and a chill ran through them.

"really?"

"I swear by the Great Way, every word I have spoken is true!"

The moment the words left his mouth, the entire room was stunned, a chill running down their spines.

"The only Foundation Establishment cultivator in the Zhang family went to Dugu City this time. The family was already empty, and just when he left the manor, the whole family was massacred. The timing was too coincidental."

"These demonic brats are so arrogant that they actually managed to infiltrate our Central Continent."

"Fellow Daoist, you may not know this, but many cultivators in our Southern Region are secretly engaged in this smuggling business."

……

Li Ya's expression remained unchanged, but his heart was already in turmoil, with countless messages intertwining and connecting in his mind.

Demonic cultivators...

The Zhang family...

Zhang Junbao...

A chilling guess gradually surfaced in my mind.

This seemingly baseless massacre was not aimed at the Zhang family at all, but at himself.

The Zhang family of Longhu were just taking the bullet for themselves.

Upon realizing this, Li Ya felt a heavy weight in his heart, so heavy that he could hardly breathe.

He had simply made up a name and impersonated Huang Dan, leading people to mistakenly believe he was from the Zhang family of Longhu.

Regardless of the circumstances, these hundred-odd cultivators died because of him, and after the initial shock, Li Ya felt a deep sense of pity.

It seems that Huang Dan of Qianjin Pavilion will also be unable to escape the clutches of the poisoner.

It's likely that the sale of that batch of ammunition attracted the attention of someone with ulterior motives.

Following these clues, they finally identified the Zhang family of Longhu.

The Demonic Sect is known for its ruthless and merciless actions; eliminating all threats is commonplace for them.

They concluded that the Zhang family was the ones who disrupted the arrangements and stole the cultivation techniques and elixirs, and to prevent further losses, they exterminated the entire family.

Li Ya thought for a moment: "This time, by spreading the true teachings so widely, it has inadvertently stirred up trouble. With so many things going on, finding me will be as difficult as climbing to heaven."

Mu Canghai, Murong Duo, Xuantong Daoist...

One name after another surfaced in his mind; this massacre of his entire family was most likely the work of one of them.

The fact that the Demonic Sect is willing to use these undercover agents suggests that the losses within are likely far greater than they imagine.

However, did Bai Yujing realize that the Demonic Sect had made such arrangements? It's astonishing that the Innate Holy Sect alone had deployed so many spies.

There are so many demonic sects in the Southern Wilderness Continent, there must be more than just this one that possesses these methods.

This list is probably just the tip of the iceberg.

Or perhaps, Baiyujing also made this arrangement in the Southern Wilderness Continent.

Li Ya felt overwhelmed with a thousand thoughts, and his mind was in complete disarray.

He unintentionally disrupted the plans of the Primordial Holy Sect, and it's possible that some spies within the sect have already set their sights on him.

We need to be more careful in our future actions and avoid leaving any loose ends.

That's right! Sword Pill!

This Chensu Tiandu Sword Pill still needs to be concealed. If someone with ulterior motives discovers its secrets, it may bring trouble upon themselves.

If they didn't find their target, the person who made the move will probably return to Sifang Town.

It seems I need to deal with Wang Wu's matter as soon as possible, focus on my cultivation within the sect, and avoid going out unless absolutely necessary.

After the group returned to their room, Li Ya sat quietly for a long time, ultimately focusing all his thoughts on the Spirit Pivot. In the end, it was still because his cultivation level was too low.

[The Spiritual Pivot will assist fellow Daoists in deduce and cultivate the Five Elements techniques.]

[Spiritual Energy Consumption: Five Dou of True Qi]

[Required spiritual items: "Golden Edge Body-Cutting Scripture", "Azure Mist Condensing Wood Nourishing Essence Technique", "Cold Stream Concealing Essence Chapter", "Small Yang Fire Cultivating Qi Record", "Pure Earth Concealing Breath Nourishing Form Method", Grade One Five Elements Spiritual Item, Ten Taels of Gourd Coins]

[Time required: 20 days]

He gritted his teeth and added ten taels of gourd money, hoping to accelerate the deduction by leveraging the divine power contained within it.