The Massacre

Situ You stood aboard the steadily flying large shuttle, feeling both bitter and glad. Below, heads jostled in Lixia Commandery as the crowds looked up at them, yet the sight only left him perturbed and irritable. Though this was likewise an incursion by the Tangjin Sect into Qingchi to slaughter mortals and refine magical artifacts, he was not rampantly triumphant like his elder kinsman who had invaded the Qingchi Sect decades ago. Situ You knew that this time was no transaction, but rather Qingchi Sect's own demand. This excursion was fraught with peril, which was why the sect had dispatched him, the least valued concubine-born son at the Embryonic Breathing realm. Though the Tangjin Sect sounded pleasant enough as a sect, it was in truth nothing more than the private hall of the Situ family. The higher a cultivator's cultivation, the greater the likelihood that their offspring would possess spirit apertures. In the end, sects inevitably fell under the control of a single family—much like the Chi family of Qingchi Sect or the Zhang family of Jinyu Sect. Cultivators of outside surnames who joined sects merely ended up being driven and used by others. Once the Tangjin Sect's mid Purple Palace cultivator exhausted his lifespan and died, losing their pillar, Situ You's own branch—which had intermarried with Qingchi Sect and belonged to the pro-Qingchi faction—naturally took power. His elder clan brother Situ Yi, who had slaughtered the Wan family, had met a miserable end. Seeing that had chilled Situ You to the bone, teaching him that the waters behind invading Qingchi ran extraordinarily deep; anyone entangled in it would likely come to no good end. Thus his thoughts were exceedingly tangled. Now that the Tangjin Sect had become a vassal of Qingchi Sect, the Situ family had received orders to march south and attack Qingchi's Five Commanderies. Though Situ You did not understand what madness had seized the Qingchi Sect to suddenly begin slaughtering the families under its rule, he had still submissively accepted the command and led his people south. "Utterly absurd. I am merely at Embryonic Breathing, yet they have me leading a few Qi Refinement cultivators to pillage Lixia Commandery, guarded by a Foundation Establishment clan..." Situ You's thoughts were a tangled mess, when suddenly a flash of insight struck him. He murmured: "I understand! I understand! It seems someone at Purple Palace in the Qingchi Sect truly is about to perish... Qingchi Sect is afraid..." "Brother You!" The Qi Refinement cultivator beside him called out. Only then did Situ You snap back to his senses. In haste, he brought out that blood-red saber. This saber was a Foundation Establishment-grade magical artifact, already drenched with the blood of well over a hundred thousand lives. Once this refinement was complete, it could probably hold its own against Qingchi Sect's top-ranked artifacts. "Strike!" Situ You chanted an incantation. Instantly, an immense flood of red saber light surged forth. Over a thousand streaks of blood-light weaved nimbly through the air as though possessing consciousness of their own, descending like birds toward Lixia Commandery below, each seeking out mortals to slaughter. *** "Clan Uncle!!" His expression tense, Xiao Ruyu cupped his hands toward Xiao Yongling at his side and pleaded repeatedly: "Please take action at once! There are several hundred thousand mortals in Lixia Commandery, as well as thousands of mortal scions of our Xiao family... The intruders are merely a dozen or so at Qi Refinement—how can we allow them to slaughter at will..." "Wait longer." Xiao Yongling shook his head, gazing coldly at the dozen or so Qi Refinement figures above the commandery city, and murmured in a low voice: "It is by no means so simple. Qingchi Sect's men are likely watching together from outside. They are trying to force our Xiao family's Foundation Establishment cultivators into action so they can encircle and kill us... Chi Wei does not have many years left to live. We must never ruin the Ancestor's grand scheme!" Xiao Ruyu froze, reluctant to bear it, and whispered: "Those are hundreds of thousands of mortals... For generations they have supported our Xiao family! How can we, how could we simply abandon them to Tangjin Sect to refine their artifacts!" "Do you think I don't know that?!" Xiao Yongling seemed somewhat irritable as he roared at his junior, gritting his teeth: "Yet our Xiao family has endured for over three hundred years! With great difficulty, we finally welcomed a heaven-blessed genius like Ancestor Chuting, broke the Three Families Alliance, and seized control of all of Lixia Commandery. Right now, we are a mere dozen years away from breaking away from Qingchi Sect and becoming a Purple Palace immortal clan—how can we act rashly! "Are you not afraid that Chi Wei is waiting right outside our mountain gates, waiting for us to make a careless sortie so he can capture us and force the Ancestor to intervene, ultimately ambushing and slaying the Purple Palace cultivator our Xiao family strove so hard to produce? In the end, not only will the mortals be lost, but our entire Xiao family will be annihilated alongside them!" Xiao Ruyu remained silent, saying nothing. Xiao Yongling cast a brief glance at him and said ruthlessly: "As long as Chi Wei dies, Qingchi Sect will no longer possess the strength to surround and kill the Ancestor. All of this will be worth it... We will divide the land and stand independent. After waiting a few decades, we will seize that Milin Commandery by Lake Wangyue, and our Xiao family will lean against Lake Wangyue and Mount Dali, with nothing left to fear..." In the end, Xiao Ruyu said nothing. Together with Xiao Yongling, he looked down at the mountain slopes—a hell on earth awash in mountains of corpses and seas of blood. Though the wailing and agonized screams were shut out by the formation, Xiao Ruyu's teeth clattered as he clenched them. Only after a long while did he say sorrowfully: "I once hated the Tangjin Sect and Qingchi Sect for their vileness, but looking at our Xiao family today... we are hardly any cleaner!" Xiao Yongling jolted slightly upon hearing those words. He looked at him with a complex expression and said softly: "If you are looking for something clean, you will only find one or two if you search in storybooks. "Do not be fooled by the shining sun—between heaven and earth, there was never anything clean to begin with!" *** Li Xuanfeng walked out of his immortal cave, the Jin Geng longbow in his hand glistening under the sun. Seeing Li Xuanxuan coming forward to greet him, Li Xuanfeng laughed heartily and teased: "I was in seclusion for five years, yet Eldest Brother's cultivation hasn't fallen behind either! You're on the verge of the peak of Embryonic Breathing!" "Haha, I cannot compare to you!" Li Xuanxuan had also made rapid progress over these five years. Not only had he completed the final wheel of the six wheels of Embryonic Breathing, but he had also brought his cultivation to the peak of Embryonic Breathing—fast by any standard. "How is your archery art?" Li Xuanxuan inquired. Li Xuanfeng smilingly handed over a jade slip and said proudly: "This archery art is called Gangxian Golden Bow. It is profound and wondrous; if thoroughly mastered, one can inherit at least seventy percent of my true legacy." "Good, wonderful." Li Xuanxuan treasured the jade slip greatly as he accepted it, carefully tucking it into his robes, intending to store it in the stone chamber. With a beaming smile, he said: "Hurry and have a seat. I'll go fetch Second Uncle right away." Li Xuanfeng gave a slight nod. The mustache on his upper lip made him look considerably more mature. Taking deep gulps of tea on the stool, his heart nonetheless rose and fell in sudden agitation, seized by a touch of unease. "Strange." Setting down his teacup, the image of Jiang Yunu suddenly surfaced in Li Xuanfeng's mind. He murmured to himself: "No matter what, when I go this time, I will bring that little woman back first... It is not easy for a Qi Refinement cultivator to sire a child. If I wait until she is pregnant, who knows how long that will take? Leaving her out there day after day is no proper solution either. As for what Uncles and elder brothers will say, I will just have to explain to them." "Feng'er!" Riding the wind, Li Tongya landed before the courtyard and strode inside with a relaxed demeanor. Li Xuanfeng's eyes brightened, and he hurriedly stood up, cupping his hands: "Congratulations to Second Uncle on breaking through to the seventh layer of Qi Refinement!" Li Tongya's aura was indeed past the seventh layer of Qi Refinement, his true essence brimming and replete—evidently having broken through a year or two ago already. He gave a nod, sat down, took the teacup, and smiled: "Has your archery seen improvement now?" "Of course!" Li Xuanfeng appeared quite proud. He hefted his longbow and chuckled: "Years ago, I had merely attained the bow's sharpness, but now I have grasped the bow's intent. There is no need to nock an arrow; drawing the bow and plucking the string is enough. Shoot at a hare, and the hare drops dead of fright; shoot at a man, and the man's gall will rupture. Mortals and Embryonic Breathing cultivators go without saying, but even Qi Refinement cultivators struck by this formless, colorless arrow intent will likely tremble with dread and lose their wits for quite some time. Those weak of will would cough up blood with burning innards, unable even to ride the wind." "So wondrous?" Li Tongya found this archery art rather bizarre. Having no knowledge of bows and arrows, he could not say whether Li Xuanfeng's realm was good or bad, knowing they could only test it in actual combat in the future. Seeing Li Xuanfeng glancing around evasively, Li Tongya chuckled softly and asked: "What is it?" Li Xuanfeng shook his head, organized his thoughts, and said in a low voice: "This... this... I ask Second Uncle to forgive me... Your nephew has taken a lover in the commandery. Only her background is too humble... so I never dared bring her home. It has been over ten years now. Today, I was thinking of bringing her back, both for myself and to carry on the family lineage..." "Ah." Li Tongya took a sip of tea and replied: "It is natural for youth to yearn for love; there is no guilt in that. Find an occasion and bring her home." Li Xuanfeng was overjoyed at once and nodded repeatedly. He had originally planned to demonstrate his archery to Li Tongya and the others, but with his spirits soaring, he bid farewell to Li Tongya and rode the wind toward the commandery to fetch Jiang Yunu.