Exclusive Spoils of War

"Not good, retreat quickly!"

The burly rogue cultivator had been suppressing Xu Qianhuan and would have been able to wound or even kill him before long, but the commotion from afar told him that the situation was no longer tenable!

The Xu Family had realized that reinforcements had arrived!

If they lingered in the fight any longer, they would likely all be left behind here!

"Go!"

With extreme decisiveness, he immediately fled into the distance.

The remaining rogue cultivators also erupted with power, broke away from the skirmish, and retreated together.

"How dare you act so brazenly before my Xu Family's gates! Leave your lives behind!"

Accompanying the rapid approach of the spirit boat was a roar of tremendous volume!

The Xu Family cultivators, who had just let out a sigh of relief, then saw a palm-sized bronze mirror fly up from the spirit boat, shining its light toward the backs of the fleeing rogue cultivators.

"Swoosh!"

The bronze mirror shuddered, and a hazy, earthy-yellow beam of light erupted from it, chasing after them. The injured third-layer Qi Refining rogue cultivator was the slowest, and his chest was pierced clean through by the beam.

A bloody, mangled hole appeared; the man let out a miserable shriek, tumbled headlong, and died instantly.

The bronze mirror turned again, the earthy-yellow beam erupting once more, poised to kill the next third-layer cultivator who was now lagging at the rear.

"Hmph!"

The burly rogue cultivator looked back, his eyes flashing with cold light. He thrust his long spear, unleashing a bloody glow that blocked the beam.

The third-layer rogue cultivator escaped death by a hair's breadth, his legs trembling uncontrollably.

Glancing coldly at the arrivals on the spirit boat, the burly rogue cultivator used his mana to scoop the man up, leading the rest of the rogue cultivators into the mountains, where they vanished from sight.

"Do not pursue a desperate foe."

Xu Qianhuan stopped the Xu Family cultivators, whose morale had surged, from chasing after them, and stepped forward to meet the arrivals from the spirit boat.

The newcomer was a middle-aged male cultivator who leaped off the spirit boat. With a cultivation base at the ninth layer of Qi Refining, he frowned as he looked at the chaotic scene and ordered, "Calculate the battle losses and tally the spoils."

"Yes, Patriarch."

Responding in unison, two mid-stage Qi Refining cultivators who were in good condition and uninjured began their work.

By this time, Lin Changheng had already stepped forward to check on Master Mo and Shopkeeper Xu. Receiving a slightly haughty "I am unharmed" from Master Mo, and seeing Shopkeeper Xu looking at him with appreciative, aged eyes while muttering to himself about how he was old and no match for the younger generation...

His heart finally settled.

He then turned his gaze toward the newly arrived Xu Family Patriarch, named Xu Xuheng. Twelve years ago, Lin Changheng had seen him when he made an appearance at the Immortal Seed welcome banquet.

Back then, he had already been at the eighth layer of Qi Refining for a long time; now, his ninth-layer cultivation had only just been polished and solidified.

He was only in his early fifties and still had a chance to touch upon Foundation Establishment, though the odds were slim.

Of course, Lin Changheng could not discern the exact level of his cultivation; this information was what Xu Fugui had told him during their meal last time, and it was hardly a great secret.

Because in such Qi Refining families, unless a young genius needed to be hidden for fear of being targeted, top-tier strength had to be displayed with great fanfare to increase the clan's sense of security and cohesion.

In the distance, four more Xu Family cultivators were rapidly approaching.

By now, the tally of battle losses was complete.

"Reporting to the Patriarch, our clan sacrificed two mortal disciples, one alchemy apprentice was heavily injured, and two mid-stage Qi Refining cultivators sustained light injuries."

"Have they taken medicinal pills?"

Xu Xuheng interrupted.

"They have, and they are currently resting."

"What of the kills? How much was harvested?"

"Three third-layer Qi Refining rogue cultivators and one fourth-layer were killed. One of the third-layers was killed by the Patriarch, two were slain by the Third Elder, and another third-layer..."

The speaker paused here, clearly uncertain.

At this moment, Xu Qianyou stroked his beard, chuckled, and spoke up at the right time, "That third-layer rogue cultivator was killed by Changheng. The one killed by the Patriarch was also only wounded because Changheng assisted me."

"It was merely a stroke of luck," Lin Changheng said, knowing he could not hide it, and shook his head with a faint smile.

Swish. The gazes of everyone present turned toward Lin Changheng, filled with surprise and curiosity.

It was not just because he had killed an opponent of the same rank, but because of his identity... he was an initiated alchemist!

Within the Xu Family, everyone basically knew that there had been an Immortal Seed apprentice for twelve years who had finally made the breakthrough; they had not expected him to also possess such talent for combat...

"Not bad."

Xu Xuheng looked at Lin Changheng, offered a word of praise, and then nodded at the male cultivator who had reported.

Immediately, a storage bag was handed to Lin Changheng.

"This is?"

"The clan rules reward and punish fairly: an Immortal Seed who kills an enemy alone is entitled to the spoils of war."

Xu Xuheng offered a brief explanation.

In his heart, however, he valued Lin Changheng's identity as an alchemist far more. What did it matter if one could slay an opponent of the same rank, or possessed talent in spellcasting? A mixed spiritual root limited one's potential; his achievements were destined to be limited.

The Xu Family recruited those eliminated from the Spirit Testing Assembly with such great effort and offered such generous treatment precisely to unearth talents in the hundred arts and to gamble on the probability of their offspring possessing spiritual roots.

Expecting these seedlings to become great talents was simply unrealistic...

This great battle came to an end.

The Xu Family had suffered losses, but they were not significant. On the contrary, the side of the rogue cultivators had been dealt a heavy blow.

Yet, had the Head of the Xu Family arrived even a moment later, and had Xu Qianhuan been wounded or killed, allowing the burly rogue cultivator to free up his hands, everyone present would have had no path but death.

Victory and defeat, success and failure, truly hung in the balance in the blink of an eye.

Lin Changheng realized this, and his original intention to avoid strife and conflict only grew firmer.

Then again, if only Xu Qianhuan had been killed, the loss of a top-tier combatant at the eighth level of Qi Refining would have truly been a bone-deep injury for the Xu Family.

Regrettably, there were no identifying marks on the bodies or within the storage bags of the fallen rogue cultivators.

Thus, there was no way to know where this group of rogue cultivators had come from, or why they had come.

Clutching the storage bag that had been handed to him, Lin Changheng did not open it immediately. Instead, he followed the group in silence, soon crossing the Black Water River and arriving at the clan's settlement.

This was a vast mountain estate built along the river, stretching for dozens of miles.

The mortals of the Xu Family were settled in towns within the mundane world.

The cultivators, meanwhile, were distributed across the locations where the spiritual veins were situated.

The Xu Family possessed one high-grade first-tier spiritual vein and one mid-grade one. The high-grade spiritual vein was reserved for core personnel, such as cultivators in the late stages of Qi Refining.

Clan members at the sixth level of Qi Refining could also apply for access.

The rest shared the mid-grade spiritual vein, though there were still distinctions in rank.

Mid-stage Qi Refining cultivators and guest elders resided in the main trunk area, where the spiritual energy was more concentrated, while the others established dojos along the branches.

The original group of seedlings had been arranged at a branch of the mid-grade first-tier spiritual vein along the banks of the Black Water River, known as the "Tide-Listening Dojo."

The moment the group entered the settlement, many people approached them with solemn expressions.

They asked about the situation, their voices overlapping in a cacophony of questions.

Amidst the crowd, Lin Changheng spotted a dark-skinned male cultivator grinning broadly and waving at him.

It was Xu Fugui.

He smiled and signaled back.

Seeing the group ahead surrounded by people and no one paying him any mind, he simply walked over to Xu Fugui, and the two began to chat in low voices, laughing and joking.

Suddenly, a girl who looked like a goddess drifted over from the distance.

Her dark hair cascaded like a waterfall, her eyes held the frost of brilliance, and her jade-like face was framed by crimson lips.

She wore a pale purple dress that trailed on the ground, faintly revealing skin like ice and bones like jade—what a cold and noble lady!

The people surrounding them parted to make way, their faces showing either reverence or astonishment.

"Who is that?"

Noticing the commotion, Lin Changheng turned to ask Xu Fugui.

"The daughter of the Xu Family, the direct descendant of the Clan Head, Xu Hanji."