Each Has Their Own Opportunity
When Su Gan asked him a question, a hint of fear flashed in Su Anping's eyes. He composed himself before replying.
"Reporting to the Ancestor, the Yellow Essence Fungus have been stolen. Thieves have broken into the spirit field and stolen all the Yellow Essence Fungus that are over ten years old."
Just a moment ago, Su Gan was calm and composed, exuding an air of otherworldly wisdom. In an instant, his face darkened like a storm cloud, and his eyes flashed with anger.
"Two useless pieces of trash! What use are you to me!"
Suddenly, a terrifying aura erupted from Su Gan, its horrifying power sweeping towards Su Anping and Su Wenshi like a raging storm.
Neither of them dared to resist, letting the overwhelming force crash down upon them. They were swept up by this force, thrown dozens of meters, and landed directly in the stream outside the wooden house.
The two were soaked to the bone and looked quite disheveled.
After a moment, Su Gan seemed to have temporarily suppressed his anger. After frowning and thinking for a while, he spoke.
"How many cultivators practicing the Longevity Art have been captured?"
Su Anping lowered his head and reported, "Reporting to the Ancestor, we have captured over nine hundred people, all of whom are young and strong cultivators in the Late Qi Refinement."
"Hurry up, we must gather a thousand people within half a month."
"Yes, sir!"
Seeing that the patriarch was no longer speaking, Elder Su Wenshi, who had remained silent until now, asked.
"Ancestor, without the Yellow Essence Fungus, will the effect of the <Devouring Essence Array> be affected?"
Su Qian said, "The Yellow Essence Fungus is used when activating the Devouring Essence Array. There is another way to activate the Devouring Essence Array, and it is even more effective. It can not only prolong life but also allow my cultivation to advance further and break through to the Middle Golden Core Stage. However, the difficulty and risk are doubled. I have been hesitant about whether to use this method. Perhaps the theft of the Yellow Essence Fungus is a sign from heaven."
Upon hearing this, Su Anping breathed a sigh of relief. There was actually an even better method, so the Yellow Essence Fungus seemed less important. The ancestor probably wouldn't punish him.
A glint of light flashed deep in Su Wenshi's eyes.
His heart skipped a beat when he heard the phrase "his cultivation has taken another step forward."
Su Wenshi asked.
"May I ask, Ancestor, what preparations are needed to activate the <Devouring Essence Array> using the new method?"
Su Qian said, "You don't need to do anything. Just hurry up and gather a thousand people for the living sacrifice."
As soon as he finished speaking, Su Gan seemed to remember something and continued to give instructions.
"Remember to send a message to Qingyan of the Beast Taming Sect, inviting her to come to the Su Clan in twenty days to lend me a hand."
"Twenty days later!" Su Anping looked up, somewhat surprised, and asked Su Gan.
"Ancestor, isn't this too hasty?"
Su Qian said, "Time waits for no one. My health has been deteriorating lately, and I can't wait any longer."
Song Wen was somewhat surprised to see the Second Elder, Su Junhao, return. The Su Clan was still not giving up and wanted to continue investigating the group of non-family cultivators.
How could the Su Clan be so certain that the thief was hiding inside their Su Clan? Had the Su Clan discovered something?
"All Alchemist, step forward and cooperate with the Su Clan's investigation."
Su Junhao, standing in mid-air, shouted loudly.
More than eighty Alchemist, including Song Wen, came out of the house again.
This time, the Su Clan's investigation into the Alchemist was much more thorough. They not only searched the alchemist's body but also dug up the house where the Alchemist lived.
All the houses where the Alchemist lived were demolished, and the areas in front of and behind them were dug up several meters deep.
Furthermore, they conducted a detailed investigation into the whereabouts of all the Alchemist in recent days.
Fortunately, Song Wen's recent whereabouts have been investigated and confirmed by Su Huayue from the Alchemy Chamber. She can testify that Song Wen has been Alchemy for the past seven days.
Although Song Wen was not in the Alchemy Chamber the night Su Wei and Su Gu were killed.
However, Song Wen meditated and regulated his breathing at his residence to restore his spiritual and mental energy, temporarily covering up the truth. As everyone knows, Alchemy consumes a lot of spiritual and mental energy, especially mental energy, which can only be slowly restored through meditation or rest.
That night, Song Wen wasn't the only Alchemist resting in the room; more than half of the Alchemist were resting there, and the Su Clan couldn't possibly imprison all of them.
Song Wen believed that the Su Clan would conduct a thorough investigation into the theft of Yellow Essence Fungus for a long time.
But as dawn broke, the Su Clan suddenly went quiet and stopped investigating, at least not openly. This made the investigation that had been carried out so extensively the night before seem like a farce.
The dozen or so non-family Rogue Cultivator who had been imprisoned were also released. Apart from some minor injuries, they were otherwise unharmed.
The Su Clan issued a notice: everything from last night ends here. The Su Clan will compensate for all losses caused last night. The Su Clan earnestly requests that all non-family cultivators, setting aside past grievances, continue to serve the Su Clan wholeheartedly.
This left all the non-family cultivators somewhat bewildered, wondering what the Su Clan was up to.
Song Wen vaguely sensed that something important was about to happen to the Su Clan, and that this was the reason they were using this method to appease the group of non-family cultivators so that the Su Clan could get through this smoothly.
As he expected, things quickly went as planned, and Song Wen soon discovered the clues.
Today, as arranged by Su Huayue, Song Wen took a day off, and he spent the day meditating and cultivating in his newly arranged house.
It wasn't until evening that Song Wen left the house and headed towards the dining hall.
In the canteen, he encountered Duan Jie, Qi Xiong, and others once again.
"Today, I expressed my desire to leave the Su Clan to Deacon Su Huayue," said the female cultivator named Gao Yan.
"I've also resigned," Duan Jie said.
Of the seven people sitting at the table, five said they would resign that day. Only Song Wen and Qi Xiong did not resign.
To avoid appearing eccentric, Song Wen echoed.
"Did you all go to resign today? Last night, you gave this old man quite a fright. I also wanted to resign, but I'm off today and haven't had a chance yet. Did Steward Su approve your resignations?"
Gao Yan shook her head and replied, "We haven't agreed yet. Deacon Su assured us that what happened last night wouldn't happen again, and he even gave us a raise to stay on."
"The more this happens, the more uneasy I feel. I have a feeling that something big is about to happen to the Su Clan. There are only two days left until the end of the month. After I receive my monthly salary, I will leave regardless of whether the Su Clan agrees or not."
Gao Yan's expression as she spoke showed considerable worry.
Her words were echoed by the others, who all said they would leave with her after receiving their monthly salaries in two days.
"Qi Xiong, aren't you coming with us?" Duan Jie asked.
Qi Xiong hesitated, speaking haltingly.
"I... I won't leave. Today, Deacon Su has already bestowed the Realm-Breaking Pill upon me. I promised her that I will stay in the Su Clan and serve the Su Clan for the next five years."
Seeing that Qi Xiong said this, the others stopped trying to persuade him.
Everyone has their own choices, and whatever the outcome, good or bad, everyone must bear the consequences themselves.
"Then I wish Alchemist a successful breakthrough to his bottleneck and to become a Late Qi Refinement cultivator."
Several people offered their congratulations to Qi Xiong, which solidified his resolve after a period of hesitation.
The people in front of me, although we've known each other for several years, can be considered good friends.
But each has its own path and its own fortuitous opportunity.
My fortuitous opportunity lies with the Su Clan, so I should seize it. There's no need to get involved with Duan Jie and the others.
Perhaps, when they meet again in a few years, he will have become a second-level Alchemy master, while Duan Jie and the others will still be wasting their Qi Refining Stage.