Attack!

Zhou Minghu sat upon his bed, slowly tallying the day's harvest.

Among his purchases were three technique techniques. Two pertained to the wind, named Summon Wind and Guide Qi. As his primary cultivation method was Mountain Clear Qi, these two would significantly enhance his offensive means.

The final technique was named Level Ground Clear Stream.

Aside from the Ghost Shadow Missing Array, this was his most expensive acquisition. He had spent a full three thousand talisman papers to purchase it from the Huang family.

Though it possessed no killing power, it was a profound and mysterious geomancy technique.

Their clan's territory sat on the border between Darong Mountain and the Zhao Kingdom. It was the site of the most tragic and brutal battles back in the day. Even after more than a hundred years of recovery, the earth veins and qi currents remained violently disordered.

Level Ground Clear Stream could gently soothe and align these earth veins. While the immediate effects were not obvious, continuous nourishment would eventually clear the blocked channels.

Once the earth veins flowed smoothly, the ambient Spiritual Qi in their territory would thicken. The soil would grow rich, and the Earth Yin Cold Spring would continuously expand.

He had also acquired two Battle Spirit Methods-one for the spear, and one for the blade.

Though called Battle Spirit Methods, they were essentially close-quarters combat techniques created by cultivators fusing mortal martial arts with Magic Power.

For cultivators in the Spirit Awakening Realm, where Spiritual Qi was agonizingly scarce, Battle Spirit Methods offered exceptional practical value.

However, once a cultivator stepped into the Qi Condensation Realm and beyond, such methods became utterly useless. Only those who walked the path of body refinement would continue to practice them.

Zhou Minghu had naturally prepared these two Battle Spirit Methods for his younger brother, ensuring the clan's younger generation possessed life-saving skills while they were still weak.

Beyond these, he had obtained the Ghost Shadow Missing Array, thirteen varieties of Spirit Awakening Realm spiritual plant seedlings, Qi-nourishing Pills, Windwalk Talismans, and Thunderfire Talismans.

Gazing at the dazzling array of supplies, a deep joy swelled in Zhou Minghu's heart. With these resources, his clan would no longer be forced into such desperate straits.

He carefully stored everything away, then called out softly toward the door. "Brother Hu."

Zhou Hu hurriedly trotted inside. "Third Young Master, what are your orders?"

"Prepare the carriages for tomorrow. I am returning to the clan," Zhou Minghu said, then paused. "It has been a long time since you last went back. Come with me and see your family."

Overjoyed, Zhou Hu beamed. He had been stationed at this market for nearly four months and deeply missed his wife and daughter.

"Thank you, Third Young Master! I will make the arrangements at once."

To ensure their safety, Zhou Minghu led the group of clan soldiers out of the market just as the sky began to lighten with dawn.

Because the market was newly established, the Huang family fiercely protected their absolute authority. They had dispatched heavy patrols of clan soldiers within a three-li radius of the market, with roaming squads sweeping the perimeter even further out.

Yet, even under such watch, Zhou Minghu spotted severed limbs and mutilated corpses strewn across the hidden gullies and dense thickets.

It was a scene of utter devastation. Blood stained the earth, and scattered grains of spiritual rice proved that ruthless murders and robberies had recently taken place.

Many Rogue Cultivators and demonic practitioners lacked cultivation resources. To survive, they would slaughter merchant caravans or annihilate local factions established by Spirit Awakening Realm cultivators.

Now, the grand opening of the Pingyun Market had drawn a swarm of these desperate Rogue Cultivators. Inside the market, they bowed their heads and acted meek. But the moment they stepped past its borders, they became bloodthirsty madmen!

As the convoy gradually pulled away from Pingyun Market, Zhou Minghu felt an increasing number of gazes locking onto them from the surrounding wilderness.

These were the concealed eyes of Rogue Cultivators and demonic practitioners, silently sizing up the convoy to gauge if they were ripe for the slaughter.

However, taking in the sight of twenty armed clan soldiers and the faint, oppressive aura radiating from the central carriage, many lurkers lost their nerve and melted back into the shadows.

Even so, there were always those who did not fear death.

A burly, heavily scarred man radiating a thick stench of blood suddenly blocked the convoy's path. "You Zhou clan whelps, leave everything in those carriages to your granddaddy!"

Behind the burly man stood an unnaturally gaunt, gloomy figure. He continuously swept his gaze over the Zhou family guards, his eyes as cold and terrifying as a venomous viper's.

A ripple of fear washed through the clan soldiers.

In a hidden grove some distance away, a hushed voice chuckled. "How did Heikuang end up running with Shetou?"

"Hahaha, who's to say? One loves to kill, the other loves to eat flesh. They make a fitting pair," laughed a benevolent-looking old man leaning on a walking stick. Yet, he casually twirled an infant's skull in his palm, and the walking stick he leaned upon was forged from a human femur!

Zhou Hu braced himself and stepped forward. "We are the convoy of the Baixi Zhou clan. I ask that you two Fellow Daoists make way."

Heikuang offered a savage grin, the scar across his face twisting like a hideous centipede. "The Zhou clan is exactly who we're robbing!"

Inside the carriage, Zhou Minghu observed the two men through the window slats, his heart sinking heavily.

Both men were infamous demonic cultivators in Qingshui County. Rumors said Heikuang cultivated a blood-fiend art and had slaughtered dozens to forge his vicious reputation. Shetou was even more depraved; he didn't just kill-he devoured the blood and flesh of his victims.

More terrifyingly, both possessed thirteen or fourteen strands of Spiritual Qi. They were at the absolute peak of the Spirit Awakening Realm, a full notch stronger than Zhou Minghu himself, not to mention their vast superiority in life-and-death combat experience.

But that was not the greatest danger. Zhou Minghu's spiritual senses detected several other malicious auras shifting restlessly within the treeline.

A bitter smile touched his lips. These vultures clearly saw his Zhou convoy as weak prey and had gathered here to carve them up.

The only blessing amidst this disaster was that these killers did not belong to a single group.

Otherwise, it wouldn't just be Heikuang and Shetou blocking the road. The others were simply watching from the dark. If the Zhou clan couldn't even dispatch these two, the hidden wolves would instantly swarm in and tear the entire convoy to shreds!

Staring at the two figures outside, Zhou Minghu's mind raced. He knew that the only way to force back the ravenous pack was to suppress these two with overwhelming, absolute terror.

A ruthless glint flashed in his eyes. He tipped his porcelain bottle, poured out four Qi-nourishing Pills, and swallowed them all at once.

Though Qi-nourishing Pills were meant for steady cultivation, overdosing on them triggered a violent surge of rampant Spiritual Qi. Zhou Minghu's body immediately bloated, his skin turning a horrific, throbbing red as if he were about to burst. But he gritted his teeth, frantically funneling every ounce of that rampaging Spiritual Qi into the small sword in his hand, causing the Magical Artifact to hum and erupt with blinding white light.

Even then, he forcefully suppressed the trembling sword and threw two more Qi-nourishing Pills into his mouth!

The deranged influx of Spiritual Qi pushed the small sword's power to a terrifying extreme!

His physical body swelled past its limits. His flesh began to crack like fragile porcelain, blood seeping out from the fissures like horrific spiderwebs. In the blink of an eye, he was drenched, turned into a terrifying figure of blood!

Pfft!

Zhou Minghu violently coughed up a mouthful of dark blood. His life aura instantly plummeted to rock bottom, but the suppressed small sword finally shot forward, exploding outward like a furious thunderbolt!

"Hahaha! Hand over the goods, little brats, and your granddaddy will spare your-" Heikuang roared with a savage grin.

The hidden Rogue Cultivators in the surroundings, noting the trembling weakness of the Zhou clan guards, had begun to inch closer.

The benevolent-looking old man took a slow step forward on his bone crutch, while an effeminate scholar casually strolled out from the trees.

But at that precise moment, an apocalyptic aura erupted from the central carriage, followed immediately by a blazing streak of white light!

The sheer terror of the strike instantly shattered the courage of the Rogue Cultivators. Those further away turned and fled in absolute panic, while those closer desperately activated their defensive arts.

Having danced on the edge of a blade for years, both Heikuang and Shetou possessed near-instinctive reactions to lethal danger.

Heikuang roared furiously, a thick, bloody glow erupting around his body as he raised his heavy steel blade to block. Beside him, Shetou's body suddenly went limp, his flesh turning entirely boneless yet incredibly tough, coiling defensively upon itself like a massive, yielding serpent.

But the white light was as swift and merciless as heavenly tribulation. It tore effortlessly through the blood glow and pierced straight through Heikuang's head. Instantly, bone and brain matter exploded outward, showering the earth in a gruesome mist of red and white!

Without losing a sliver of momentum, the white light shot toward Shetou. The moment it struck, it was halted for a fraction of a breath by the bizarre, yielding flesh. But it was only a fraction. The white light easily bored through him. A single, blood-curdling scream tore through the air, and then dead silence fell.

Yet the white light wasn't finished. It swept outward, bearing down upon the distant Rogue Cultivators with lethal intent, scaring them out of their wits.

"A Qi Condensation cultivator! There's a Qi Condensation cultivator in the Zhou carriage!"

It was no wonder the Rogue Cultivators jumped to such a conclusion. Most had never laid eyes on a true Magical Artifact in their miserable lives, but they deeply understood the ungodly terror of a Qi Condensation master. Even if some suspected it was merely a powerful treasure, absolutely no one dared to gamble their lives to find out!

In the blink of an eye, the surrounding demonic cultivators and bandits scattered to the winds.

Trembling with awe and fear, Zhou Hu approached the carriage. "Third Young Master..."

From within the carriage came a muffled, breathless voice, forced out of a blood-filled throat with agonizing effort.

"Home!"

Zhou Hu's expression shifted drastically. He whipped his head around and barked at the stunned clan soldiers, "The Young Master has slain the enemy! Why are you standing there? Clean up the battlefield!"

As he shouted, he discreetly slipped a small bottle of healing pills through the carriage window.

Inside the shadowed cabin, the small sword had returned, dropping lifelessly. It was covered in a dense web of cracks, looking as though a single breath would shatter it entirely.

Zhou Minghu sat completely bathed in his own blood. He was clutching a shield, pressing its edge deathly hard against his chest-the pain being the only thing giving him the final ounce of strength to spit out that single word.

His consciousness was already fading into a dark blur. Reaching out with a trembling, blood-soaked hand, he grabbed the bottle of medicine, crushed it open, and swallowed the pills mixed with his own blood. Then, he collapsed into utter unconsciousness.

Standing nearest to the carriage, Zhou Hu naturally heard the weak clattering of the bottle. His heart burned with agonizing anxiety. But he knew, with chilling clarity, that this was not the time to enter the carriage and care for him. He could not allow a single outsider to witness the Young Master's absolute vulnerability, lest the surviving wolves return to finish the job.

Smelling the heavy, iron stench of blood seeping from the wooden panels, his heart felt as if it were being twisted by knives. He could only pray in silence.

"Third Young Master, you must hold on."

Only after they had cleared this perilous stretch of road would he dare board the carriage to tend to him.

Under Zhou Hu's strict commands, the clan soldiers moved unhurriedly, methodically stripping the two corpses of valuables. Only after the battlefield was completely clean did the convoy resume its journey.

Meanwhile, the Rogue Cultivators who had fled earlier remained paralyzed by lingering terror. They only dared to watch the Zhou clan's convoy from a great distance, not taking a single step closer.

88.181.249.5

ns88.181.249.5da2