The Patriarch's Weakness and the Erection of the Remaining County Boundary Steles
Kong Wenxuan watched the Second Elder's departing figure. Although the Second Elder forced himself to stand up straight and appeared strong and capable, Kong Wenxuan could still see the weakness in him.
He then glanced at the clan chief, Kong Changgeng, who was standing to the side. Kong Changgeng's brows were furrowed, and his face betrayed his exhaustion and worry. He immediately said:
"Clan leader, don't worry. Foundation Establishment cultivators have a lifespan of over three hundred years. The Second Elder is not even a hundred years old yet. Even if her cultivation cannot advance any further, she still has more than two hundred years of lifespan left."
"With over two hundred years of time, our Kong Household has even advanced to become an ' Eighth-Grade True Spirit ' Lineage. We should definitely have a way to purchase the elixir to treat the Second Elder's injuries."
Upon hearing Kong Wenxuan's words, clan chief Kong Changgeng took a deep breath and slowly exhaled. He quickly concealed the worry and exhaustion on his face, turned to Kong Wenxuan, and smiled, saying, "I'm sorry, Wenxuan, I've shown you my weakness."
"Over the past three years, although the Lineage's expansion in Peacock County has progressed relatively smoothly, the deaths and injuries of family members have continued unabated."
"Before this, the number of our Lineage members who died or were injured in the war of expansion had reached sixteen. I watched each of them grow up, watched them awaken their bloodline, and watched them grow step by step. I can call each of them by name and know their backgrounds."
"And this time, the Peacock County Seat under construction has been breached. Even the second brother is so badly injured; who knows how many more Lineage members will perish in the attacks of those Third Tier Flame Sparrow... Alas..."
The clan chief sighed and couldn't continue.
Upon hearing this, Kong Wenxuan frowned slightly. He walked out of the house and looked at the ruins of the half-city outside. He saw some members of the clan and cultivators from three servant Lineage cleaning up the ruins in various parts of the city. Every now and then, they would carry out a corpse or half a corpse from the ruins. Among them were members of the Kong Household family and cultivators from the servant Lineage.
When the Third Tier Flame Sparrow Demon Beast attacked, all the mercenary cultivators in the city scattered and fled in advance. However, the cultivators from the three servant cultivator Lineage, Yan Household, Ma Household, and Yun Household, did not flee. Instead, they stayed in the half-built Peacock County Seat, just like the Kong Household disciples.
Although they ultimately couldn't offer any real help, their loyalty and sincerity are undoubtedly commendable.
Kong Wenxuan looked at the corpses being carried out. Although it was night, the sky was full of stars, casting a large amount of starlight. Among them, the "Peacock True Spirit Star" shone the brightest in the sky above the county town, casting the brightest starlight.
With Kong Wenxuan's Foundation Establishment Realm cultivation and Spiritual Consciousness probing, he was naturally able to examine the condition of the corpses that had been carried out.
Although he has spent most of his time in seclusion cultivating and improving his cultivation through sword rituals over the years, unlike the clan leader who is familiar with every member of the clan and knows their names, cultivation, and growth experiences.
However, since they were all from the same Lineage, Kong Wenxuan had a general impression of their faces, even if he wasn't familiar with them.
Seeing these familiar clansmen, once vibrant lives, now reduced to mutilated corpses, he felt a sudden heaviness and unease in his heart.
After a long pause, Kong Wenxuan took a deep breath and turned to the clan chief, asking, "Clan chief, have the remaining seven ' County Boundary Stele ' been completed?"
In a county, eight "County Boundary Stele" can be erected at the border, located in eight directions. Together with "True Spirit Star" and "Magistrate's Official Seal", they can be activated at critical moments to cover the entire county with a "Boundary Stele Barrier", greatly enhancing the county's defense and the combat power of the True Spirit Lineage cultivators in the county.
Kong Wenxuan originally planned to wait until his Lineage had fully developed the area within a thousand miles of "Peacock County" before erecting eight "County Boundary Stele" to protect the eight directions of "Peacock County".
However, the attack by the Third Tier Flame Sparrow Demon Beast on the under-construction Peacock County Seat, which caused such serious casualties and losses, made him change his mind and decide to first erect all eight "County Boundary Stele" to cover and protect the thousand-mile radius of Peacock County.
Although it's true that unless the Du Household produces another Third Tier Cuckoo Demon Race, they probably won't be able to enslave or control Third Tier Demon Beast again in the short term, and there shouldn't be any more Third Tier Demon Beast attacking "Peacock County Seat".
But it's better to be safe than sorry, so let's first erect all the "County Boundary Stele" and strengthen the defenses of "Peacock County" before making any further decisions.
Upon hearing his words, the clan chief immediately understood his meaning and replied, "They're all finished. The final, eighth ' County Boundary Stele ' for the northwest border was completed last month."
"Alright!" Kong Wenxuan nodded directly and said, "Give me the remaining County Boundary Stele, and I'll go and erect County Boundary Stele in the other seven directions as well."
Upon hearing this, the clan chief immediately said, "I will go with you and protect you."
Kong Wenxuan shook his head and said, "The Lineage has just suffered a heavy blow, with many dead and wounded. The clansmen need you to oversee and manage things. I can take care of the rest of the County Boundary Stele myself."
"But..." The clan leader was still somewhat worried.
Kong Wenxuan replied, "I will contact Brother Wenzhang and go with him to erect the Boundary Stele. I will ask him to protect me."
"That will work!" Upon hearing this, the clan chief finally nodded in agreement, and then took out a Storage Bag and handed it over.
Kong Wenxuan took the Storage Bag and probed it with his Spiritual Consciousness. Sure enough, he saw seven "County Boundary Stele" placed inside.
These "County Boundary Stele" are very similar to the "County Boundary Stele" previously erected on the border thousands of miles to the south. One side is engraved with images of the stars, the Golden Crow, Vermilion Bird vermilion bird, the Extended Net Moon Deer, the Bifang, and the Five-Colored Peacock. The other side is engraved with the topography of Peacock County and the story of the Kong Household's pioneering and establishment of Peacock County and the erection of these "County Boundary Stele".
However, the numbers engraved on the top of the several "County Boundary Stele" are different, with some being "West 2", "North 3", "East 4", "Southwest 5", "Northwest 6", "Northeast 7", and "Southeast 8".
Because this place is located in the Vermilion Bird Southern Region Kingdom and is under the Vermilion Bird Royal Court, the south is the most important direction. That's why the "County Boundary Stele" erected a thousand miles to the south was engraved with the words "Nan Yi" (South First), indicating that it was the most important and that it was the first "County Boundary Stele" of Peacock County, with the markers arranged downwards in order.
After Kong Wenxuan checked that the remaining seven "County Boundary Stele" were in good condition, he contacted his elder brother Kong Wenzhang, who was out inspecting various locations to prevent attacks from other directions, via a "communication Jade Slip." They agreed to meet at the border a thousand miles to the west.
The remaining seven "County Boundary Stele" could not be erected arbitrarily. They had to be erected in sequence according to the orientation and numbers carved on the County Boundary Stele to create a complete "Boundary Stele Barrier enclosure."
Now that the "South One County Boundary Stele" has been erected, the next one he needs to erect is the "West Two County Boundary Stele," which is ranked second. So he arranged to meet his elder brother at the western boundary line.