Chapter 268: Mountain Seclusion
Chapter 268: Mountain Seclusion
"How can the Ten Thousand Flowers and Thousand Illusions Array be active again?"
A Core Formation True Man, enveloped in white light, stared at the sky above Hundred Flowers Mountain, which was once again covered in a sea of petals, his eyes filled with astonishment.
The array had clearly been slowing down earlier, how could it suddenly regain its power?
"Oh no... The Crane Sovereign?!"
The Core Formation True Man was in a hurry.
He was the Second Supreme Elder of the Crane Sect, a Mid-stage Core Formation cultivator, with the Dao name Flying Crane True Man.
He naturally knew the importance of that Third Rank Superior Crane Sovereign in the Supreme Elder's heart.
If it weren't for the fact that Mu Wanlv's side was too strong, requiring the Supreme Elder to personally take action, he would never have sent the Crane Sovereign to infiltrate Hundred Flowers Mountain.
But now...
It seemed that the Crane Sovereign had failed? Just as the Flying Crane True Man was hesitating, the sea of petals parted, revealing a path made of colorful flowers.
An elderly man with a weathered face and white hair stood proudly on the colorful flower path, holding a crane head in his hand.
"Mu Wanlong?!"
The Flying Crane True Man was shocked: "Late-stage Core Formation? How is that possible?"
"Crane Sect, you dare to secretly send a spirit crane to infiltrate our Mu family and kill our Core Formation Elder... Our Mu family must publicize this matter!"
Fang Xing let out a cold snort.
In the righteous path, one must maintain a good reputation.
Therefore, the Core Formation cultivators who came had to hide their identities, and even if their identities were guessed, they definitely couldn't admit it.
After the Mu family's destruction, only demon cultivators or disaster cultivators could be blamed.
The Crane Sect was only reluctantly taking over the Mu family.
Of course, now that things had gone wrong...
This Third Rank Superior unusual spirit crane was the biggest evidence, and the Crane Sect couldn't deny it.
Even if the Heaven-Earth Sect secretly supported the Crane Sect, they had to give the Mu family an explanation for this matter.
The Flying Crane True Man didn't say much more. Now, the Crane Sect and the Mu family were locked in an irreconcilable feud.
Unless he immediately led his men into the array and turned Mu Wanlong into ashes, along with destroying all the evidence, there was nothing else to say!
However... He was only a Mid-stage Core Formation cultivator, and even among the nearby Core Formation True Men, he was the one with the highest cultivation.
On the other side was the former stronghold of a Nascent Soul family, guarded by a quasi-fourth-rank array, and led by a Late-stage Core Formation cultivator!
'In this situation... Only the Supreme Elder, along with the family's old ancestors, and the Fourth Rank Pulse-Breaking Array, could possibly take them down...'
'But the key Late-stage Core Formation cultivators have already gone to ambush Mu Wanlv...'
'We originally thought that there was an insider, the Crane Sovereign, and us... to deal with Mu Wanqing, just a Core Formation True Man, it was supposed to be a sure thing, but we never expected that the heavily injured Mu Wanlong was just pretending to be weak...'
The Flying Crane True Man was extremely unwilling, but in the end, he waved his hand and said, "Let's go!"
He took the lead in retreating, as he needed to return to the sect and prepare for many things.
For example... reporting the Mu family's grievances to the sect!
The Five Elements Son of the Heaven-Earth Sect would have to come up with a solution.
The Five Elements Son was the recently selected Nascent Soul seed of the Heaven-Earth Sect, a half-step Golden Core cultivator, and was considered the hope of the next generation after the Primordial Chaos Seed's demise.
The top ten righteous and demonic sects, as Nascent Soul sects, would naturally not put all their eggs in one basket.
Apart from the Nascent Soul seeds, there were also backup candidates.
Although the Five Elements Son was slightly inferior to the Primordial Chaos Seed, he was still a suitable choice.
The demonic sects also selected new Nascent Soul seeds.
However, their vital energy was greatly damaged, and they lacked the necessary Core Formation spirit treasures, making them less secure despite their sect's foundation.
This was why they launched this grand frontier expansion battle!
The Flying Crane True Man transformed into an ethereal light and left, and the other Core Formation True Men exchanged glances and retreated one after another.
"Elder..."
Seeing this, the False Core Formation True Man who had attacked Mu Wanlan earlier flew into the air, looking helpless: "Are we just going to let them go?"
"Cough, cough..."
Fang Xing suddenly coughed, wiping his mouth with a handkerchief, revealing a bright red stain.
"I used a forbidden technique to suppress my injuries and advance my cultivation... Now, I'm already at my limit. If I don't take action, it's fine, but if I do, I might just pass away..."
In truth, he was just too lazy to deal with the Mu family's enemies, so he just drove them away as a gesture.
"Elder, you are now the pillar of the family. What should we do?"
The False Core Formation True Man's face was filled with fear.
"Cough, cough... Wan Zhang..."
Fang Xing coughed again, and his aura quickly weakened: "Now that Wan Qing is dead, the family has suffered heavy losses... Everything is up to you now. There are three things the Mu family must do!"
"Please instruct us, Elder." Mu Wan Zhang's eyes were determined.
He was a loyal cultivator to the Mu family, having proven himself through great trials.
"First, immediately notify the family. It might be too late, but we must try to rescue them and bring them back to the family."
Fang Xing said, "Second, report to the sect. This spirit crane's corpse is the best evidence."
"Third, the Mu family will go into mountain seclusion!"
"What? Has it come to this?" Mu Wan Zhang was stunned, muttering to himself.
"The Mu family, despite its decline, still maintained the facade of a leading Core Formation Sect.
In the outside world, they continued to hold stakes in various shops, spirit herb gardens, and mines.
Even when other Core Formation families sought profits, they would involve the Mu family, as they were considered the leaders in their circle. Even after their decline, they were still regarded as the second or third in command.
However, the decision to seal off the mountain was entirely different. It meant completely abandoning all external interests and solely guarding the ancestral land of Hundred Flowers Mountain.
This was undoubtedly a painful decision, as the resources of Hundred Flowers Mountain were insufficient to support such a large number of family cultivators.
Either most of them had to be dismissed, or the family's foundation had to be utilized.
If this continued, the Mu family would undoubtedly decline within a century.
Unless, during the mountain's seclusion, a heavenly opportunity arose, allowing for the cultivation of new Core Formation True Men.
But this was almost impossible.
When cultivation sects choose to seal off their mountains, it's often a case of drinking poison to quench thirst, slowly leading to their demise.
Those who manage to rise from the ashes are rare, one-in-a-thousand-year occurrences, which is why the news spreads far and wide."
Of course, for Fang Xing, the best outcome is for the Mu family to slowly perish. As long as he can occupy the Fourth Rank Cave Mansion, the rest are the Mu family's interests, not his.
Naturally, he can abandon them without hesitation.
This is not just cutting off one's arm but chopping off the entire body, leaving only the head.
"This decision should still wait for the Patriarch's return... However, temporarily sealing off the mountain and activating the Mountain Protection Array at full power is feasible..."
Mu Wanzhang said, "I leave it to the Elder's discretion..."
Currently, within the Mu family's mountain, only Mu Wanlong remains as a Core Formation True Man.
Moreover, he is the former Patriarch! Although there were some blemishes during his later rule due to his fear of death, his actions today have proven everything.
"Wanzhang, today, I used a forbidden technique, which caused my original injury to worsen. I can no longer sustain it, and I must return to closed-door cultivation... The family is now in your hands."
Fang Xing waved his hand and transformed into a stream of light, flying back to his cave mansion.
Before leaving, he didn't forget to toss the Array Core Token to Mu Wanzhang and took away the inner core of the crane.
This was a Third Rank Superior Demon Beast's inner core, worth quite a few spirit stones.
...
Inside the cave mansion, a stream of light appeared, revealing Fang Xing's figure.
He toyed with a white inner core in his hand and suddenly pondered, "Hmm... After today's battle, Mu Wanlong must enter closed-door cultivation... He's at the brink of death, so hopefully, no one will bother me again."
"Besides, after today's battle... with injuries upon injuries, the soul lamp must become dimmer..."
He had no intention of targeting the Mu Family Ancestral Hall, as it was heavily guarded and full of trouble.
"The simplest thing is to further torment Mu Wanlong and worsen his injuries..."
Fang Xing pinched a spell and used the Earth-Traveling Technique, arriving in a secret underground chamber beneath the cave mansion.
Strange black-robed, masked figures stood in the corners of the chamber, guarding a comatose elder in the middle.
It was the 'Five Chaos Demons' and the real 'Mu Wanlong'!
"To torment him further without killing him is truly a test of my skills..."
Fang Xing muttered.
...
Several days later.
Mu Wanzhang stood in the ancestral hall, next to the Patriarch's seat, his face filled with despair.
Before the Mu family's expedition, they had already transferred many cultivators.
Of course, they still had many elite members left, including several False Core Formation True Men.
But after that night of Mu Wanlan's betrayal, not only did Mu Wanqing lose his life, but several False Core Formation True Men were also killed by the Third Rank Superior spirit crane, their deaths too gruesome to witness.
Now, only one False Core Formation True Man remained in the family, and they had no choice but to promote Foundation Establishment Late-stage cultivators to participate in the ancestral hall's affairs.
"About the Patriarch..."
Mu Wanzhang's voice was hoarse, like a dying man chasing after his last breath.
"The Long family replied that they found the remnants of the Jade Palace near Celestial Cloud Mountain... There's no news of the Patriarch and the others..."
A Foundation Establishment Late-stage cultivator's eyes turned red.
After all, they were from the same family, and his great-grandfather was among those who had gone on the expedition.
"How ruthless, the Crane Sect!"
Mu Wanzhang cursed, and then a Foundation Establishment cultivator entered, holding a message talisman.
"A response from the Heaven-Earth Sect?"
Mu Wanzhang quickly took it and scanned it with his divine consciousness, immediately cursing, "Shameless! Utterly shameless! What nonsense about the stolen Crane Control Talisman? That bald-headed beast... Isn't it just the White Crane Sect Supreme Elder's soulbound spirit beast? Since when are soulbound spirit beasts controlled by soul-bound talismans?"
The Heaven-Earth Sect's response was blatantly biased.
The Crane Sect provided an excuse, and the Heaven-Earth Sect immediately believed it!
This coordination made Mu Wanzhang's heart turn cold, "The Mu family... It's over... This time, we have no choice but to seal off the mountain!"
He didn't even dare to leave the Hundred Flowers Mountain area, fearing sudden death.
"Forget it... Pass down the order, the Mu family will seal off the mountain for a hundred years!"
Mu Wanzhang made the decision with a clenched jaw.
Although this meant completely abandoning the outside world and losing the prestige of a Core Formation family, it would ultimately preserve the family, even if only for a hundred years...
Two chapters for today.
(End of Chapter)
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