Outside the eastern mountain exit of Long Sun Mountain, between it and the Silver Sand River, lay a stretch of lowland that the Xu Clan had cultivated into broad swathes of spirit fields years ago.
This place had once been called Xu Family Bay, but it had naturally since been renamed He Family Bay, where the He Family's spirit field estate had been established.
It was precisely noon.
A withered, gaunt old man with a hunched back and a face full of wrinkles slowly approached from afar.
This old man was He Sheng in disguise.
After gaining entry into the Flesh Rebirth Art in that hidden mountain cave, he had spent less than a year of universal cultivation time to advance this secret art to the perfected realm.
He could now alter his appearance at will, control his own aura, disguise fluctuations in his magical power, and more.
"According to the memories Brother Piao left behind, the He Family had immortals and mortals living together, with status determined by bloodline.
Brother Piao came from the second branch of the He Family's main line. That branch resided on Long Sun Mountain's main peak and possessed the most distinguished bloodline.
As for this spirit field estate, those living here were almost all disciples from collateral branches beyond the fifth degree of kinship, along with spirit farmers, live-in sons-in-law, and others recruited by the He Family."
Leaning on his cane as he walked, He Sheng looked around while comparing the surroundings to Brother Piao's memories.
He planned to use the excuse of asking for water to visit the estate, listen to its idle gossip, and learn what the current situation within Long Sun Mountain was like.
Yet the moment he stepped onto a field ridge, a burst of noisy hoofbeats and wanton laughter entered his ears.
"Hyah! Hyah! Run faster, old thing!"
"Hahaha, this spirit wheat looks pretty good. If we trample it, it will make perfect snacks for the horses!"
"There's a rabbit over there. Take one of my arrows!"
He Sheng's brow faintly furrowed. Following the sounds, he saw several tall, powerful fiery steeds galloping through the spirit fields.
Several richly dressed youths sat atop the horses. Every one of them wore an unrestrained expression, utterly disregarding the people around them.
Beneath the horses' hooves lay patches upon patches of flourishing spirit rice.
Spirit rice was no ordinary crop. It was a low-grade spirit plant, the sustenance low-level cultivators at the spirit field estate relied upon for cultivation.
But now, under the trampling of the fiery steeds, the spirit rice fell in swathes, snapping apart as juices splattered everywhere, leaving a complete mess.
"Stop! You can't do this!"
An angry shout of protest rang out.
A youth in coarse hemp clothes, his complexion sallow, rushed out from the other end of the field ridge.
The youth looked no more than eleven or twelve. He was thin, but his long, narrow brows were like swords, while his clear eyes seemed to carry an edge of their own.
He gripped a spirit hoe in his hand, trying to block the fiery steeds' path.
"Whoa!"
The youth on the red horse fiercely yanked the reins. The horse reared high on its hind legs and let out a shrill neigh, its hooves nearly striking the fine-browed youth in the face.
"Where did this stray dog come from? How dare you block this young master's path?"
Looking down from above, the red-horse youth gazed at the fine-browed youth with a face full of mockery.
"Which collateral branch are you from? You've got quite the nerve!"
The fine-browed youth clutched his spirit hoe tightly and pointed at the ruined spirit wheat scattered across the ground. His voice warped slightly with agitation.
"This is the food ration for Steward Li's family, and it is also the clan levy we must hand in. How can people from the main line trample it so carelessly?
The spirit rice has not even ripened yet. If it is ruined, we'll have to compensate for it ourselves!"
"Compensate for it?"
Another youth in blue sneered, jumped down from his horse, and walked up to the fine-browed youth.
"Oh?
Not bad. At such a young age, you've already drawn Qi into your body. You can be called a Qi Refinement immortal master.
I'm so scared!"
The blue-clothed youth put on a terrified expression, drawing roaring laughter from his companions behind him.
But the next moment, he reached out and patted the other youth's cheek. The force was neither light nor heavy, but the gesture was brimming with humiliation.
"You cheap bastards from the collateral branches should already thank your ancestral graves for emitting green smoke that you even get to share our He surname.
They're only a few worthless stalks of rice. So what if we trampled them? What, do you want us to compensate you?"
"You... you've gone too far in bullying people!"
The fine-browed youth's eyes reddened. His chest heaved violently, and specks of spiritual light blossomed from the spirit hoe in his hand, as though he could no longer restrain himself from acting.
"Gone too far in bullying people?"
The red-horse youth burst into laughter as though he had heard the greatest joke in the world.
"On Long Sun Mountain, the bloodline of our main branch is heaven!
Whatever we say goes!
Forget trampling your rice—if we broke your legs today, you would still have to kneel and thank us!"
With that, his eyes turned cold as he addressed the two mid Qi Refinement guards following behind him.
"A Fu, A Lu.
This little beast dared disrespect us main-line disciples and even looked like he wanted to make a move. Teach this little beast properly what rules are!"
"Yes, Third Young Master."
The two burly men, each eight feet tall with muscles knotted all over their bodies, immediately stepped forward.
These two guards were clearly body cultivators, and they were also mid Qi Refinement cultivators. How could the fine-browed youth possibly be their match?
Yet the fine-browed youth did not retreat. He merely said:
"You humiliate me like this today, but as long as you do not beat me to death, one day I will seek justice! I refuse to believe there is no justice in this world!"
"Justice?
On Long Sun Mountain, the justice of my He Family is bloodline!
You cheap bastard who does not even understand rank or superiority, beat him hard!"
The blue-clothed youth's face was vicious and malicious.
Slap!
A resounding slap viciously struck the youth's face, sending him flying straight into the muddy field. Blood instantly seeped from the corner of his mouth.
Pain made the youth's entire body convulse, yet he clenched his teeth tightly and did not let out a single pleading cry.
The scene before him left He Sheng staring in stunned disbelief from afar.
Although Brother Piao's memories had already told him that Brother Piao had led the He Family astray, and that those below followed the example of those above, making every clan member arrogant and domineering.
He had never imagined that such tyranny had reached such an absurd extent.
It was clearly the main-line disciples who had ridden their horses through and trampled the spirit rice, yet they acted as though it were only natural.
The fine-browed youth had only stepped forward to stop them because he feared he could not afford the clan levy, yet the main-line disciples could directly order their guards to beat him.
And in their words, they regarded only the closeness of blood ties as an absolute iron law of rank and status, utterly disregarding both kinship among their own clan and even the most basic rules of the cultivation world!
This final point was the most absurd of all, because according to He Sheng's senses, every one of these domineering youths from the main branch was a mortal!
"Using mortals to defy immortals... this is simply inviting disaster. Aren't they afraid a Great Love Immortal Venerable will emerge from their clan someday?"
He Sheng secretly shook his head.
"And besides..."
He Sheng swept his gaze around. There were quite a few low-level cultivators in this spirit field estate, yet only the fine-browed youth had stepped forward.
Even as the fine-browed youth was beaten until he vomited blood, no one came forward to offer even a word of persuasion.
"They say that those who carry firewood for the masses must not be allowed to freeze to death in wind and snow.
This youth had stepped forward to protect the estate's collective interests, yet none of the others dared stand up. They merely watched coldly.
With hearts grown this distant and cold, once news of Brother Piao's death arrived, these people would surely scatter like monkeys when the tree fell.
Some dissatisfied people might even become traitors within.
This He Family... was rotten to the core!"
From this scene, He Sheng could also tell that Long Sun Mountain should still be safe and sound for the time being, perhaps even tranquil and peaceful.
Otherwise, how could these disciples who believed their bloodlines to be so noble still have the mood to come out and "enjoy the spring"?
As He Sheng's thoughts turned, the blue-clothed youth was still shouting arrogantly, his face brimming with insolence.
"A Fu, A Lu, break this bastard's legs!"
The blood and qi of the two body-cultivator guards surged like tides. Like two human-shaped violent bears, they pounced from the left and right toward the fine-browed youth in the mud.
The fine-browed youth raised his spirit hoe to defend himself, but how could he possibly withstand them? Within two or three exchanges, the hoe broke, and he lay in the mud as enormous fists smashed toward his knees!
At the critical instant when a thousand pounds hung by a single thread, a sharp shout exploded like heavenly thunder, shaking the entire scene!
"Get lost."
A hoarse yet supremely majestic word left He Sheng's mouth.
The next second, a sudden change erupted.
The two mid Qi Refinement guards, who had been charging forward with murderous momentum, abruptly stiffened in midair as though they had slammed into an invisible wall of bronze and iron.
Immediately afterward, a terrifying suction force appeared out of nowhere. Rather than pulling them toward He Sheng, it directly crushed the blood and qi protecting their bodies!
Crack!
Crack!
Bone-cracking sounds that made teeth ache rang out one after another.
The two burly men did not even have time to scream before their entire bodies became like lumps of dough viciously kneaded by an invisible giant hand, their limbs twisting and breaking at grotesque angles.
Then, with two heavy thuds, they crashed into the spirit fields like two piles of rotten mud, their life and death unknown.
Had he used a little too much force?
He Sheng was somewhat surprised. He had not even used any spell, merely wrapped the two men in his magical power, yet he had not expected them to be so unable to take a beating.
But looking at the two piles of ruined flesh on the ground, He Sheng felt none of the discomfort one might expect after killing for the first time. Instead, a strange feeling rose within him.
This feeling carried the lofty perspective of looking down from above, mingled with the exhilaration of enforcing justice in the public interest.
As He Sheng carefully savored the feeling, the entire scene had fallen into dead silence.
The smiles of the main-line youths who had been laughing wildly moments ago froze instantly, turning into utter shock and confusion.
"A Fu? A Lu?"
The red-horse youth's voice trembled as he looked in disbelief at the two guards who usually could take on ten men apiece.
The blue-clothed youth looked around frantically, trying to find whoever had attacked. His gaze quickly locked onto He Sheng on the field ridge.
"Was it you?!
What did you do, old thing? Do you know that our He Family's second branch shares the same ancestry and the same branch head as the number one cultivator of the Silver Sand River?"
On He Sheng's wrinkled old face, his pair of eyes shone frighteningly bright, like cold stars in the dark of night.
"Paltry mortals dare call their bloodlines noble and trample their own kin?" He Sheng's voice was calm, yet every word struck like a hammer. "In my eyes, you are not even worth as much as the spirit rice beneath your feet."
"You... you dare lay hands on us? The clan head... the clan head will never let you off!"
The blue-clothed youth shouted fiercely despite his inner weakness, attempting to invoke the Lineage's name.
"The clan head?" A mocking curve touched He Sheng's lips. "How convenient. This old man came precisely to find your clan head."
With that, he swept his sleeve.
The moisture in the air immediately gathered into several pale-blue ropes, wrapping the youths with perfect precision until they resembled rice dumplings.
They wanted to struggle and call for help, but discovered that even their tongues had been sealed by spiritual power. They could only make muffled whimpering sounds, their eyes filled with terror.
After dealing with these nuisances, He Sheng turned around and let his gaze fall upon the fine-browed youth still lying in the mud.
At that moment, the youth's eyes were wide as he stared blankly at the scene before him, clearly not yet recovered from the sudden upheaval.
He Sheng raised one hand slightly, and a gentle current of magical power lifted the youth, allowing him to float steadily in the air before lightly setting him down on the field ridge.
"Thank you, Senior, for saving my life."
The youth clutched his chest and struggled to cup his hands in salute. His eyes held both gratitude and a trace of vigilance.
He Sheng said nothing. He merely took two pills glowing with a faint azure radiance from his robes and flicked them into the youth's mouth.
The pills melted as soon as they entered his mouth. A cool current instantly traveled through his entire body, and the youth's pale complexion visibly regained color while the external injuries on his body rapidly healed.
While the youth adjusted his breathing, He Sheng seemingly casually extended a finger and gently pressed it against the youth's wrist pulse.
A thread of minute spiritual power entered his body.
The next moment, a flicker of astonishment suddenly passed through He Sheng's calm, ancient-well-like eyes.
"Three mid-grade spiritual roots of metal, earth, and water?
And the metal spiritual root's affinity is close to high-grade?!"
Such aptitude could not compare to Brother Piao's, but within the He Family, he was absolutely a rare and exceptional seedling. Properly nurtured, he might even achieve Foundation Establishment in the future.
"No wonder the He Family had become a Foundation Establishment family nearly twenty years ago, yet no second Foundation Establishment cultivator had appeared.
To treat even such an excellent seedling this way, truly..."
He Sheng shook his head. He had grown somewhat numb to just how "rotten" the He Family was.
Just as he was about to withdraw his hand, a sword cry suddenly rang in his ear, coming from inside the boy's body.
"This is... some kind of special constitution?!"
He looked at the youth before him, whose brows were like swords and whose gaze was stubborn, and thought to himself:
Could he truly be material for a Great Love Immortal Venerable or a Battle Emperor?
Could it be that with this small intervention, I spared the He Family the calamity of extermination that would have come a hundred years later?
He Sheng inwardly laughed at himself and opened his mouth to ask the fine-browed youth's name.
But before the words could leave his mouth, a long, heavy toll of a bell suddenly rang out from Long Sun Mountain!
He Sheng's movements involuntarily paused.
Immediately afterward.
Dong!
Dong!
The bell tolled without end, ringing seven times in one breath!
He Sheng's expression instantly became grave.
In the He Family's rules, the bell tolls signified different warnings.
Three tolls meant an alert.
Five tolls meant an external enemy invasion.
Seven tolls meant a heaven-shaking upheaval had occurred within the clan. All disciples of the main branch had to return to the mountain at once, though it had not yet reached the desperate point of life or death.
If there were nine tolls... that would mean a calamity capable of exterminating the clan, the time to destroy the mountain gate themselves.
"Seven bell tolls?" He Sheng frowned tightly.
"Could that sword-bearing youth have come knocking at their door?"
"No. If he had truly acted, the He Family's meager foundation would have long since been slaughtered through. It should have been nine tolls."
"Or perhaps... something major had happened within the clan?"
He Sheng's gaze flickered as he swiftly weighed the pros and cons.
"Since something has happened within the clan, this is the perfect opportunity for me to sneak into Long Sun Mountain and investigate the news."
With a thought, He Sheng immediately grabbed the several main-branch dandies who had been tied up like rice dumplings and were still struggling desperately in one hand. With the other, he reached through the air and drew the fine-browed youth over to his side.
"Do you dare accompany this old man to Long Sun Mountain's main peak?"
The fine-browed youth pondered for a moment, then said cautiously,
"If Senior is not an enemy of my He Family, this junior is willing to accompany Senior."
He Sheng burst into laughter at this, greatly pleased by the fine-browed youth's temperament.
The next moment, his figure turned into a streak of water-blue light, wrapping around the group as he headed deeper into Long Sun Mountain.
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