Dragging the Chen Household into the Mess

Liu Yuanchen quickly returned to the Spirit Realm to observe what changes had occurred there.

Upon returning, he found that the spiritual energy gushing from the Spirit Spring at its center had nearly doubled.

Yet the overall concentration of spiritual energy within the Spirit Realm had not noticeably increased.

The extra spiritual energy from the spring seemed to have vanished into thin air.

Even though the Spirit Realm had not yet grown into a Blessed Land, the spatial barrier at its edges could still contain spiritual energy. It could not possibly allow it to leak away freely.

Since this spiritual energy had not leaked out, it had to remain within the Spirit Realm.

He closed his eyes and carefully sensed everything around him.

As the master of the Spirit Realm, he possessed an extremely strong perception of everything within it.

In his senses, the newly added spiritual energy was continuously merging into the Spirit Realm's spatial barrier.

Moreover, after absorbing the spiritual energy, that spatial barrier was slowly changing.

The entire Spirit Realm had originally been a perfect hemisphere, but it could no longer be considered one.

At the southernmost edge of the Spirit Realm, a section bulged out directly to the south.

The bulge was extremely small, only about half an inch.

And directly south was where that Spirit Nexus lay.

"Looks like, under the pull of the Toxic Thorn Vine, the Spirit Realm has already begun to change."

When the Fusion Secret Art was used, the Spirit Realm would deform somewhat under the pulling force.

Only after the Spirit Nexus had completely fused with the Spirit Realm and the external pulling force vanished would the entire Spirit Realm gradually return to a perfect hemispherical space.

The Spirit Nexus where the Toxic Thorn Vine was located was twenty li away from the Spirit Realm.

Of course, fusing that Spirit Nexus did not require the Spirit Realm to expand twenty li southward.

After all, there was little pattern to where Spirit Nexuses appeared along a Spirit Vein.

The distance between two Spirit Nexuses could be as little as several li. For example, at Dongyang Lake in the Liu Family Ancestral Land, the same Spirit Vein had one Spirit Nexus in Dongyang Lake and another on Eastsun Peak, less than ten li apart.

When Spirit Nexuses were far apart, a separation of several hundred li was perfectly normal.

To advance from a Spirit Realm to a Blessed Land required six Spirit Nexuses to form a Spirit Vein.

If the Spirit Realm had to expand as far as the distance between Spirit Nexuses, every Blessed Land would probably need a diameter of over a thousand li.

According to the Primer on Grotto-Heavens and Blessed Lands, once an ordinary Blessed Land took shape, its internal space generally had a diameter of only ten to fifty li. Even the largest did not exceed a hundred li.

The Spirit Realm had originally existed in an isolated pocket dimension, a tiny space containing only the Spirit Realm and nothing else.

Now, he had used the Toxic Thorn Vine to suppress another Spirit Nexus, then used the Fusion Secret Art to create a pulling force between the vine and the Spirit Realm.

This was equivalent to dragging the Spirit Nexus into the isolated pocket dimension where the Spirit Realm was located.

Within that pocket dimension, distance differed from that in the outside Great World.

In the Great World, the new Spirit Nexus was twenty li from the Spirit Realm.

But in that pocket dimension, the distance between them was only one percent of the outside distance—forty zhang.

That distance might not seem great, but the Spirit Realm was currently only a little over five zhang across.

If it expanded forty zhang southward, the entire Spirit Realm might be stretched into a noodle.

Still, as long as the Spirit Realm's spatial barrier remained intact, there was nothing strange about stretching it into a noodle.

The Primer on Grotto-Heavens and Blessed Lands recorded many such cases.

Some Earth Immortal Path cultivators had poor luck and found Spirit Nexuses too far away, causing their entire Spirit Realms to be stretched more than two hundred zhang long.

Only after fusing the Spirit Nexuses and investing many resources did they restore their Spirit Realms to normal.

Seeing that the Fusion Secret Art had already taken effect, Liu Yuanchen was in high spirits.

Though he did not know how long the Spirit Realm would take to fuse with the new Spirit Nexus, at least the first step had been taken steadily.

He had no ability to interfere with what remained.

According to the records, quite a few spiritual items could accelerate the fusion of a Spirit Realm and a Spirit Nexus.

However, every one of those spiritual items was extraordinarily expensive.

Although Liu Yuanchen could be considered relatively well-off, compared to the prices of those items, he was still utterly destitute.

Moreover, this was the resource-starved Red Wasteland, where such spiritual items were virtually impossible to find.

If he wanted to obtain them, he would have to rely on the channels of the Myriad Treasures Trading Association.

But if he placed an order through the Myriad Treasures Trading Association, his possession of a Spirit Realm would definitely be exposed.

If word got out that a Qi-Nourishing Realm cultivator could open up a Spirit Realm, countless old monsters would probably come to capture him and slice him apart for research.

There were countless paths in life; safety came first.

Being slower was no great concern. Staying alive was what mattered most.

After cultivating in the Spirit Realm for two days, Liu Yuanchen returned to Qinghe Town once more.

It was not because anything important had happened. He mainly wanted to come out and watch the show.

He had gone to great lengths to trick the Chen Household. If he did not enjoy the spectacle, would that not be a huge loss?

He returned to Qinghe Town without incident, only to suddenly discover that the town had become noticeably quieter.

Previously, nearly three hundred Azure Elixir Sect disciples had been stationed here. Even though most of them had to go out on patrol, disciples could often be seen coming and going.

Furthermore, after the Azure Elixir Sect sent people to guard the town, some cultivators unafraid of death had returned to Qinghe Town to do business.

The whole town had recovered perhaps ten or twenty percent of its former bustle.

But now it had become quiet again, looking almost exactly as it had before the Azure Elixir Sect stationed people here.

When he arrived at the Mission Office of the Azure Elixir Pavilion, Mo Lianshan was still there.

After cupping his hands in salute, Liu Yuanchen asked, "Elder Mo, why has Qinghe Town become so quiet?"

Mo Lianshan glanced at him. "Yuan Chen, I truly did not expect you to be so capable.

Qinghe Town has become like this largely because of you."

Liu Yuanchen was baffled. "I only wandered around outside a few times these past days. I did not do anything."

Mo Lianshan chuckled. "Do you remember killing that rogue cultivator before and sharing half the credit with Chen Changlin?"

At his words, Liu Yuanchen roughly guessed the reason.

The Blood Bat Sect must have taken action, and the fellow disciples stationed in Qinghe Town had all gone to deal with Blood Bat Sect disciples.

But how could he admit to something done behind the scenes?

"It has only been a few days, so of course I remember. But what does that have to do with Qinghe Town becoming quiet?"

He opened his innocent, bewildered eyes as though he truly did not know the connection between the two matters.

Seeing his expression, Mo Lianshan could not quite make heads or tails of it either.

"That rogue cultivator's methods were strange, and he killed quite a few of our fellow disciples, causing widespread panic.

Both Qinghe Town and Golden Ao Mountain were affected."

"After you killed that rogue cultivator, the sect widely publicized the matter to raise morale.

Perhaps because that rogue cultivator held a high position in the Demoncloud Sect, it provoked the Demoncloud Sect's retaliation.

They did not dare touch Qinghe Town. Instead, they went directly to make trouble for the Chen Household."

"In less than half a month, the Chen Household lost more than twenty clansmen, including around ten Late Qi-Nourishing Stage cultivators.

They withdrew their defenses, abandoned half their territory, and have now completely holed up at Black Sand Lake in their Ancestral Grounds."

Upon hearing this, Liu Yuanchen felt utterly refreshed, as though he had been roasted half to death beneath a blazing sun before entering an air-conditioned room and eating a huge slice of iced watermelon.

The pleasure was truly beyond words.

Among the various families, the Chen Household was considered prosperous and powerful.

For over a thousand years, they had always had backers within the Azure Elixir Sect to protect them.

Whenever the Chen Household clashed with other families, they always took every advantage.

Over the years, they had accumulated quite a few holdings.

But this was, after all, the resource-starved Red Wasteland, so the family's scale could not be too large.

The Chen Household had only a little over a hundred cultivator clansmen.

Losing more than twenty cultivator clansmen at once meant losing roughly one-fifth of their cultivators.

Even with members of the Chen Household within the sect helping them, they would need twenty or thirty years of recuperation to recover.

The more Liu Yuanchen thought about it, the more delighted he became, and joy involuntarily appeared on his face.

"Cough, cough..." Seeing this, Mo Lianshan coughed lightly. "Watch yourself.

No matter what, the Chen Household is still a subordinate force of the sect.

Their heavy losses also count as a loss to the sect's strength."

Liu Yuanchen hurriedly put on a somewhat sorrowful expression, though the delight in his eyes was impossible to conceal.

"Elder Mo, my family's Ancestral Grounds are not far from the Chen Household's territory. Have we been affected?"

Mo Lianshan shook his head. "Those rogue cultivators seem quite wary of your Liu Family.

When attacking the Chen Household, whenever they reached the border between the Liu and Chen families, they specifically asked whether a holding belonged to the Liu Family or the Chen Household.

As long as it belonged to the Liu Family, they left it completely untouched.

But if it belonged to the Chen Household, they left neither chickens nor dogs alive."

"Quite a few families border the Chen Household's territory, including the Zhang Clan, the Li Family, and another five or six families. All of them suffered collateral damage.

Only your Liu Family did not lose so much as a single hair."

Hearing this, Liu Yuanchen felt even better.

"Has Qinghe Town become so quiet because all the fellow disciples stationed here have been transferred to the Chen Household's territory?"

Mo Lianshan nodded slightly. "Yes. Half of the fellow disciples guarding Qinghe Town were transferred there.

After all, the Chen Household is also a subordinate force of the sect, and they have never been short on the spiritual items they are supposed to offer as tribute each year.

The Chen Household also sent some clansmen to Golden Ao Mountain.

Now that the Chen Household is in trouble, if the sect ignores them, people's hearts will scatter.

But those rogue cultivators seem to have gone mad, and their attacks are especially fierce.

The sect's disciples do not dare show themselves easily. They are only staying at Black Sand Lake, helping the Chen Household defend their Ancestral Grounds."

"I heard Chen Changshan is as anxious as an ant on a hot pan.

These past few days, he has been lobbying the various elders, asking the sect to issue another recruitment order to rescue the Chen Household.

I heard the upper ranks are also considering another recruitment order, lest the Chen Household be exterminated and leave a major gap in the eastern defensive line of the sect's territory.

The sect's upper ranks are probably discussing right now whether to issue that recruitment order."

At this time, in the sect's council hall, the seven great elders, the hall masters and deputy hall masters of every hall, and the elders holding idle posts had all gathered together.

Sect Master Qingyang Adept sat high in the seat of honor and asked, "The Chen Household has suffered attacks from rogue cultivators and has lost most of its territory in barely ten days.

Qinghe Town has already sent people to support them, but they still cannot drive back the rogue cultivators.

Furthermore, several families adjacent to the Chen Household have also been attacked.

A few elders have requested that we issue another recruitment order, summon sect disciples, and drive back the rogue cultivators. What are your thoughts?"

Ye Lingshuang, who had always been as cold as frost, was the first to speak. "Sect Master, although the Chen Household is merely a subordinate family, its location is extremely important.

Once the Chen Household is destroyed, the rogue cultivators can take Black Sand Lake as a matter of course.

They can then use it as a foothold and station heavy forces there.

At that point, the rogue cultivator army can travel along the Black Sand River and penetrate deep into the sect's interior.

Even Azure Elixir City in the sect's heartland may fall under threat.

If it reaches that stage, continuing to defend Golden Ao Mountain and Qinghe Town will be meaningless.

What the sect must consider will be how to hold the sect gates."

Ye Lingshuang was one of the Chen Household's backers. Now that something had happened to the Chen Household, she naturally had to step forward and speak for them.

After all, an elder with real authority could not simply rely on a title. She also needed people beneath her to support her.

If she became a commander without soldiers and no one carried out her orders, she would be no different from an elder holding an idle post.

And the Chen Household was precisely Ye Lingshuang's staunch supporter.

As the leader of a small interest group, if she wanted those under her to support her, she had to shield them from wind and rain.

Otherwise, who would be willing to follow her orders?

After Ye Lingshuang spoke, the other elders all communicated with one another through voice transmission, but not one of them voiced opposition.

Although her words were somewhat exaggerated, if the Chen Household were breached, the sect's interior would absolutely be threatened.

Next, several elders holding idle posts came forward to speak, all voicing support for Ye Lingshuang and hoping the sect would issue another recruitment order.

The proposal had explicit supporters but no opposition, so it naturally passed.

Seeing that no one objected, the sect master said, "Since none of you object, we will issue another recruitment order.

Hall Master Qin, how many disciples remain in the Guard Hall?"

A burly middle-aged man rose and replied, "In answer to the sect master, although the Guard Hall has the most disciples of all the halls, after several recruitment orders, few remain. We now have only a little over three hundred Qi-Nourishing Realm disciples.

These are all elites, each capable of forming formations against enemies.

Five or six Qi-Nourishing Realm disciples can form a formation and contend against an Early Sea of Qi Realm cultivator.

When we counterattack the Demoncloud Sect in the future, we will need them to fight bloody battles. We absolutely cannot afford to lose them now.

Supporting the Chen Household is not a distant expedition, so the disciples do not need much combat experience.

In this subordinate's view, we should transfer some disciples from the various halls and recruit some cultivators from the families."

Hearing this, the sect master nodded slightly.

The disciples specially trained by the Guard Hall were all seeds for the Sea of Qi Realm, and each was exceptionally strong.

Sending them out now would be like eating seed grain as food. No one could bear it.

"I believe Hall Master Qin's words are reasonable. The Guard Hall's Sea of Qi Realm seeds cannot be moved about casually.

We will transfer some disciples from the various halls and recruit cultivators from the subordinate families.

Relying on Black Sand Lake's defensive formation, it should not be difficult to block the rogue cultivators' attack."

At this moment, an elder holding an idle post from the Elixir Hall stepped forward to speak.

"Sect Master, issuing the summons this time was not only for the sect's benefit, but also to protect the Chen Household.

"During the previous summonses, quite a few disciples from every hall went into battle.

"Yet not a single Chen Household disciple within the sect went.

"Now that the Chen Family Ancestral Grounds had been attacked, if the Chen Household disciples in the sect still refused to fight, wouldn't that be rather indefensible?"

Upon hearing this, the other elders also spoke up in agreement.

For the Chen Household's sake, they had dragged disciples from every hall into this.

By all reason and sentiment, the Chen Household disciples had to take part as well.

Wanted to stand safely on dry land and watch the spectacle? No chance!

Ye Lingshuang spoke directly as well. "For this summons, all Chen Household disciples who have joined the sect will fall within its scope."

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