Darkblood Old Devil

Fourth Sister Yang Tianxue went without saying. She had reached the Ninth Layer of Qi Refinement three and a half years ago. After several years of honing, her Spiritual Power was perfectly integrated and flawless, her spiritual platform clear and bright. She met the conditions to break through to Foundation Establishment.

Sixth Brother Yang Tiankang was the son of Fourth Uncle Yang Qiongqing. Although he had Three Spirit Roots, his father was a Tier 2 alchemist, so the resources devoted to his cultivation were surely among the greatest received by the Yang Household's Tian Generation.

That was indeed the case. Yang Tiankang had reached the Ninth Layer of Qi Refinement at nearly the same age as Yang Tianxue. The latter had Two Spirit Roots and extraordinary comprehension, which showed how much resources could influence a cultivator's Dao Path.

Twelfth Uncle Yang Qiongchuan was in his early thirties, only a few years older than Yang Tianxue. He was the son of Yang Dangkai, the household head, but father and son had vastly different personalities.

Yang Qiongchuan was bold and forthright, with a tough, unyielding character. He spoke bluntly, a far cry from the smooth and cautious dispositions of his father Yang Dangkai and his elder brother Yang Qiongqi.

Twelfth Uncle Yang Qiongchuan was a Dual Spirit Root cultivator with metal and water attributes. He cultivated the Spirit-Shattering Instruction, a dual cultivation of spell and body method that suited his personality well: sweeping and forceful, fierce and powerful.

The three spent about half a month refining the Spirit Items, then, with the Lineage's support, chose to attempt their breakthroughs at once.

Over the next two months, all three emerged from seclusion. Two had succeeded, and one had failed.

The successful two were Fourth Sister Yang Tianxue and Twelfth Uncle Yang Qiongchuan. Sixth Brother Yang Tiankang had failed. Deeply dejected, he remained dispirited for a long time and only recovered somewhat after a scolding from Fifth Granduncle Yang Dangmo.

"The Lineage has gained two Foundation Establishment cultivators, so it's stronger now. But Sixth Brother... what a pity."

Yang Tianyou sighed softly, then smiled again. Three of the Lineage's cultivators at the Great Perfection of Qi Refining had attempted to break through to Foundation Establishment, and two had succeeded. That was quite a high rate.

He was not too surprised, though. After all, the three chosen were all cultivators at the Great Perfection of Qi Refining in their prime, among the finest Ninth Layer of Qi Refinement clansmen in Wolf Pool. It was only natural that two of the three had succeeded.

As for Sixth Brother Yang Tiankang, his failure had not only left him owing the Lineage a large number of Contribution Points; he would no longer be given priority when Foundation Establishment Pills became available.

Although a second breakthrough attempt had a better chance of success after one failure, that was not guaranteed.

The Lineage valued fairness. It had given him one chance, and he had failed to seize it, so it would not give him a second.

From now on, he would either have to slowly save up Contribution Points himself to exchange for a Foundation Establishment Pill, or go out in search of fortuitous opportunities. Perhaps he might strike it rich in some ruins.

As for attempting Foundation Establishment on his own, the risk was too great. Under the immense pressure of Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi pouring into the body, the risk of death was too high without the protection of a Foundation Establishment Pill. Only small lineages without resources would take such a gamble.

There was a ninety percent chance Yang Tiankang would not choose that path. After all, he still had a Tier 2 alchemist for a father. Though he was under pressure, it was not enough to crush him.

After learning about the Lineage's situation, Yang Tianyou began looking into recent events in Dragon Valley County.

The Cold Tide had actually already begun, but Profound Ice Qi moved slowly, and crossing the vast Savage Wilderness Great Domain would take a long time—roughly three or four years.

That period gave several great frontier provinces, including Qin Province, Qing Province, and Xuan Province, time to react. It was also the time when the ill-intentioned races of the Savage Wilderness Great Domain prepared their offensive.

In their wars against the Human Race, these Foreign Races had always sent large numbers of low-tier Demon Beasts ahead to wear down the Human Race's fighting forces. Only afterward would the elites of their own races take the field.

Gathering so many low-tier Demon Beasts was naturally not something that could be done in ten days or half a month, or even half a year or a full year.

In other words, both sides were preparing during this period, locked in a peculiar tacit understanding.

But that understanding clearly could not restrain certain rule-breaking sorts, such as Devil Cultivators and Evil Cultivators.

The former were mostly ruthless, mad, and perverse, quick to kill people or slaughter entire clans.

The latter would not stir without the prospect of profit. They were cunning and greedy, but given sufficient gains, Evil Cultivators were even more dangerous than Devil Cultivators.

The various forces frantically preparing for the Cold Tide naturally needed to buy or exchange supplies, or discuss related matters with their allies. They could not avoid harassment from those two sorts.

More than five months ago, Dragon Valley County had gradually fallen into chaos. Devil Cultivators and Evil Cultivators, both notorious and unknown, had come out one after another, grinning viciously as they bit off chunks of fat from the various households and sects.

The latter naturally fought back, but they clearly could not deter the thugs, and so the situation settled into a stalemate.

By now, many cultivators without Late Qi Refinement strength did not dare leave the major towns at all, for fear of being intercepted and hunted down by Evil Devil Cultivators.

The Yang Household had extensive holdings and naturally could not hole up in Purple Moon Town. Its usual trade continued, though it doubled the number of escorts. Even so, many clansmen had been killed, and several shipments of supplies had been stolen.

In the worst incident, two of the Lineage's cultivators and five Affiliated Cultivators had died in battle. Only Fifteenth Brother Yang Tianwang had fought his way out, but he too had suffered grave injuries, even losing an arm.

That shipment of supplies was no exception; the Devil Cultivators had seized it.

Reading this, Yang Tianyou's eyes turned icy, and killing intent surged uncontrollably in his heart.

"Darkblood Old Devil..."

Of all the Yang Household's younger generation, Yang Tianwang was naturally the one closest to Yang Tianyou.

They were close in age and had hit it off since childhood. They were even closer than Yang Tianwang was to his own two brothers.

Without the slightest hesitation, Yang Tianyou put away the two intelligence reports in his hands and brought Fengling to Wolf Pool.

In the northwestern corner of Wolf Pool stood a large, azure hall. It housed the Yang Household's office for issuing combat missions.

When he entered the hall, Fifth Uncle Yang Qionggao was on duty. He was a short but very solidly built, burly middle-aged man, and the son of Fifth Granduncle Yang Dangmo.

"Greetings, Fifth Uncle!"

Yang Tianyou greeted him. Yang Qionggao glanced at him, saw his impassive expression and the killing intent surging in his eyes, and, after a moment's thought, nodded in understanding.

"You're here because of that Darkblood Old Devil, aren't you?"

"Yes. He killed my clansmen and wounded my Fifteenth Brother. How could I leave such a grievous wrong unavenged?"

"Are you confident?"

"Yes!"

"Good, then go. Show them the might of our Yang Household and let those demons and monsters see what happens when they provoke us!"

Yang Qionggao tossed him a scroll containing intelligence on Darkblood Old Devil, including his movements over the past half month.

"I obey, Uncle!"

Yang Tianyou cupped his fists, then turned and left.

Behind him, Yang Qionggao's thick fists clenched again and again before he finally lowered them. The Lineage had assigned him to guard Wolf Pool, and he could not leave his post without orders. Otherwise, he would have taken the mission himself long ago.

After all, Yang Tianwang was the son of his own younger brother, Yang Qiongshan—his own nephew. Now he had returned gravely wounded, his Dao Path severed. How could Yang Qionggao not hate the man responsible?