Intimidating the Various Families

Chizhao County, Qingfeng Mountain.

Although the mountain stood only a hundred zhang high, it was ringed by several smaller hills. Its peaks were arrayed in striking formations, set against clear waters and scenic slopes where spiritual plants glimmered with mysterious light and spiritual intent. It bore quite the air of an immortal domain.

Across the mountain, countless buildings and pavilions stood in rows, with figures moving between them. Dotted around the base of Qingfeng Mountain were numerous villages, from which wisps of cooking smoke gently rose.

This was the ancestral land of the Meng family. Unlike the Zhou family, with its short history and meager numbers, the Meng family had been established for over a century. The surrounding villages were all inhabited by those surnamed Meng. The Meng mortals alone numbered over four thousand, and when combined with other surnames, the family governed a population of nearly six thousand.

This vast population yielded a significant number of cultivators. The Meng family possessed sixteen Qi Initiation cultivators. They also had two Qi Condensation cultivators: one at the sixth layer, just a single layer weaker than Huang Bailin; the other had broken through only recently, but due to a fated chance, he possessed divine physical strength, allowing him to match a cultivator at the second layer.

Yet, four figures had now appeared outside Qingfeng Mountain.

"Another chance to fill my little pets' bellies," Old Man Black Crow said with a grin, a chilling crow cry echoing from within his robes.

Huang Bailin glanced at him from the side. This Old Man Black Crow did not practice beast-taming techniques; instead, he cultivated a terrifying demonic art. Those crows were not living creatures, but the physical manifestation of his technique. They could plunder and devour the life force of living beings to advance his cultivation. It was precisely because of this that Old Man Black Crow had managed to reach the Qi Condensation realm despite his advanced age.

The only reason Old Man Black Crow had agreed to become a retainer was that the Huang family promised him ten living mortals each month for his cultivation, alongside a steady supply of Qi Condensation resources.

As for the other two, one was Huang Zhengqing, and the other was a cultivator surnamed Bai who had married into the Huang family.

This reflected the Huang family's characteristic caution. By leaving two cultivators of their own surname in the clan, along with the vitally important alchemist Huang Zhengming, they ensured the peace and security of their rear lines.

Huang Zhengqing spoke to Huang Bailin in a low voice. "Granduncle, my clan brother mentioned that the Meng family's newly ascended cultivator might have consumed a Vajra Fruit. He wants him alive so he can use him to refine Vajra Pills."

"No matter. I will capture him myself shortly," Huang Bailin replied indifferently. He then sacrificed a flying shuttle, which smashed heavily against Qingfeng Mountain's protective formation with a deafening roar.

Boom!

The grand array manifested instantly, its surface rippling violently as it erupted into a dazzling, multicolored brilliance. On the mountain, the mortals panicked in horror, fleeing frantically in all directions to save their lives.

"Who dares assault my Dao field?" a cultivator inside the array bellowed righteously. Immediately, several powerful streaks of golden light shot forth, striking toward the four intruders.

Huang Bailin's flying shuttle expanded rapidly against the wind, easily deflecting the golden light. It bounced back with a vengeance, causing the formation to rumble and shake. Boulders shattered and tumbled down the slopes, crushing numerous fleeing mortals into bloody pulp.

Old Man Black Crow narrowed his eyes slightly, then stepped forward with a sinister laugh. "When it comes to breaking arrays, this old man is quite adept."

His robes suddenly ballooned as a thick, black miasma poured out. In the blink of an eye, it transformed into countless black crows that rained down upon the formation like a torrential storm.

The radiance of the array dimmed at a visible speed, its spiritual Qi draining rapidly under the onslaught.

The other two cultivators also unleashed their respective methods, striking the formation from different directions.

Inside the array, Meng Yuancheng's face was as dark as stagnant water. He spoke urgently to Meng Zhensong, "Zhenlin and I will do everything we can to hold them off. Take the clansmen whose lineages have produced cultivators within the last three generations and flee. Remember, do not run in the same direction. Scatter as widely as possible!"

With that, Meng Yuancheng and Meng Zhenlin transformed into streaks of light and flew out of the array, confronting the Huang family group.

"Old Demon Huang! Your Huang family is so tyrannical! One day, your entire clan will be slaughtered in retribution!"

Huang Bailin laughed wildly. "Then today, I shall exterminate the Meng clan first. Let us see who else dares defy my Huang family!"

Meng Yuancheng roared in fury and unleashed a lethal technique toward Huang Bailin, but Old Man Black Crow intercepted him.

However, Old Man Black Crow was only at the fourth layer of Qi Condensation, and his direct combat strength was inherently weak. How could he be a match for Meng Yuancheng? Within a few exchanges, he was forced back step by step.

Yet in that briefest of moments, Huang Bailin had already appeared before Meng Zhenlin, his flying shuttle erupting with immense spiritual pressure. Meng Zhenlin's expression shifted in shock. Exerting every ounce of his strength, his fists flew out in a frantic, desperate frenzy toward Huang Bailin.

His fists carried the weight of a thousand jun. Huang Bailin felt a violent, rampaging gale rushing toward him, but he remained entirely unfazed. The flying shuttle expanded until it blotted out the sky, wrapping directly around Meng Zhenlin. No matter how much divine strength the man possessed, he could not break free from its confinement.

"As clumsy as a beast-tribe barbarian," Huang Bailin muttered. He turned around to assist Old Man Black Crow.

Meanwhile, Huang Zhengqing and his companion had already flown into Qingfeng Mountain to pull up the roots and destroy the stem. The two were like tigers among a flock of sheep, slaughtering the Meng family cultivators cleanly in moments. The surviving Meng family members knelt amidst the ruins, wailing and weeping, only for their heads to be taken by techniques raining down from above.

Hearing the agonizing shrieks from below, Meng Yuancheng's eyes nearly split from their sockets. He frantically burned his life force, erupting with even greater power. Yet Huang Bailin neutralized his strikes one by one. Even when Meng Yuancheng managed to inflict a wound, the light of the flying shuttle would shine down, causing the injuries to heal rapidly.

Conversely, the wounds on Meng Yuancheng's own body grew increasingly severe. Countless black crows swarmed him, pecking at his flesh and blood. Though he tried to defend himself, he could not manage it under Huang Bailin's relentless pressure.

Meng Yuancheng's aura grew weaker by the breath. Even swallowing healing pills proved futile.

After the time it takes to burn an incense stick, the crows had pecked away every shred of his flesh, leaving only a white skeleton that collapsed as he drew his final breath.

A dense cloud of spiritual Qi dispersed into the air, only to be eagerly absorbed by the flock of crows. This caused Old Man Black Crow's aura to strengthen slightly, and his injuries healed completely.

Huang Bailin cast a wary glance at Old Man Black Crow. With such a horrifying demonic art, it was no wonder the man had chosen to become their retainer; otherwise, he would have long been hunted down and executed by the Immortals' Directorate.

However, this was a double-edged sword. Used well, he was a blade to be discarded at any moment. Used poorly, he could easily bite the hand that fed him.

A look of pure pleasure washed over Old Man Black Crow's face, though his withered, shriveled features made it appear exceptionally grotesque.

Suddenly, countless crows erupted from his body once more, sweeping across the entirety of Qingfeng Mountain. They devoured the scattered corpses and the surviving mortals who had hidden in the corners.

A deathly silence fell over the mountain. The birds, insects, and beasts had long since fled or hidden by instinct, leaving behind nothing but broken walls, ruins, and hundreds of stark white skeletons.

The four cultivators thoroughly plundered the mountain's spiritual plants and treasures, then vanished into the distance.

As for the villages surnamed Meng scattered around the base of Qingfeng Mountain, Huang Bailin and his men did not massacre them.

First, they were a considerable distance away; even if those mortals saw the commotion, they would not know the truth of what had occurred.

Second, if they slaughtered too many lives, the imperial court would launch a thorough investigation. Although the Meng family had been wiped out, only a few hundred people had died within the estate. To the Immortals' Directorate, this was not deemed excessively severe.

The news that the Meng family had been wiped out by demonic cultivators quickly swept through the four southern counties. As the leader of the righteous path, the Huang family was naturally the first to voice their outrage. They publicly apprehended several rogue demonic cultivators and beheaded them in the city square, offering this as their formal explanation to the Immortals' Directorate.

Conflicts between immortal clans were far more brutal than those among mortals, often resulting in the total annihilation of a lineage. Therefore, as long as one did not cause a massive slaughter of mortals, provided a plausible explanation, and-most importantly-left behind no solid evidence, the Immortals' Directorate would not pursue the matter further.

Yet to the other immortal clans of the four southern counties, this was a blatant act of intimidation by the Huang family. Who among them would dare to speak out now?

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