The Lang Household Never Forgot a Slight: Pursuit and Flight

Just as his eldest uncle Kong Yushuo had said, the Blue Peacock perched high above the persimmon grove, a bluff created with an illusion talisman made by the patriarch, lasted less than half an hour before the Lang Household cultivators noticed something was amiss.

A wolf-fang arrow shot toward the Blue Peacock spreading its tail in the air, probing it. As though a bubble had been pricked, the Blue Peacock that had intimidated all around and flaunted its might shattered and vanished.

At the same time, the phantoms of Kong Wenxuan and the others patrolling and keeping watch outside the persimmon grove vanished like bubbles in a dream.

Seeing this, the Lang Household cultivators, who had been too frightened by the Peacock Spreads Its Tail illusion to approach, immediately realized that the Kong Household members had tricked them.

The Kong Household members were long gone from the persimmon grove. They had fled under cover of the illusion.

"Damn bastards!"

"Spineless cowards! They actually ran!"

"After them! We have to capture every last one, tear them apart, and feed them to the wolves!"

"The dignity of the Gray Wolf Lang Household will not be insulted!"

"Awoo! Awoo..."

Angry curses erupted among the Lang Household members, while howls rang out incessantly from the wolf pack under their command.

A burly man with a wolfish gaze stepped forward. He was the leader of the four Lang Household cultivators who had fought Kong Wenxuan. Clearly, he held a high standing in the Lang Household and was even stronger, having survived the slaughter within the Peacock Spreads Its Tail illusion. He looked at the now-empty persimmon grove, his eyes blood-red, and roared, his voice full of killing intent:

"We are wolves that eat flesh, wolves that repay the slightest grudge!"

"Blood feuds must be paid in blood! The defeat, deaths, injuries, and humiliation of the Lang Household's sons and daughters must be washed clean with our enemies' blood!"

"After them! Tear every enemy to pieces and devour them! We swear we won't stop until every last enemy is dead!"

At his command, the Lang Household cultivators gathered around roared, "Blood debts must be paid in blood! We swear we won't stop!"

At the same time, the wolf demons gathered around were driven into motion. Howling, they charged into the persimmon grove to track the Kong Household members.

Although Kong Wenxuan and the others had covered their retreat with an illusion, it was still only an illusion, unable to erase every trace they had left behind.

These wolf demons were Demon Beasts particularly adept at tracking prey. They followed scents and listened for sounds, and their wolf eyes could see at night, picking out many subtle traces.

In fact, the Gray Wolf Lang Household owed much of its considerable reputation in the southern mountains, whether good or bad, to the tracking and hunting prowess of these wolf demons.

Now, following the wolf demons' trail, the Lang Household cultivators set off in pursuit of Kong Wenxuan and the others.

Kong Wenxuan and the others had left only a little over half an hour ago, and because they had to cover their escape with an illusion, they could not travel at full speed. They had not fled far, less than a hundred li.

Eldest Uncle Kong Yushuo suddenly stopped and surveyed their surroundings. "Stop," he ordered gravely. "Quickly set up the formation and hide. If we really can't hide from them, we'll give those grudge-bearing wolf cubs another hard blow."

Third Aunt, Fifth Uncle, and the others were evidently prepared. They all stopped, took several formation implements made from peacock feathers from Eldest Uncle, and quickly set them up around the area.

Eldest Uncle Kong Yushuo took out the core formation disk of the Second Tier illusion formation. A blue peacock feather that seemed both illusory and real lay within it, identical to the peacock feather formed by the patriarch's Bloodline Divine Ability. He set it up in the center.

The Second Tier illusion formation was soon in place again. The air and light shimmered, forming an illusory landscape that hid Kong Wenxuan and the others completely and blended seamlessly into the surrounding mountains and woods.

With such an illusion concealing them, ordinary cultivators without special means would never discover the Kong Household members hiding there.

Eldest Uncle, Third Aunt, Fifth Uncle, and the others had spent many years outside Demon-Suppressing Pass, and had escaped deadly danger on numerous occasions by hiding with illusion formations like this one.

This time, they naturally followed the same prescription, using their customary method once more.

However, they had never fought the Gray Wolf Lang Household before and did not know whether the illusion formation could fool the pack of wolf demons commanded by its cultivators. They could only try it and see.

If it really could not fool the wolf demons, they would have to draw on the formation disk's power again to form the Blue Peacock and use the power of the Peacock Spreads Its Tail illusion left by the patriarch to kill another group of Lang Household cultivators and wolf demons, killing until they felt the pain, retreated, and were chilled to the bone.

Unfortunately, the formation was only Second Tier. If it merely maintained its usual illusion, with Spirit Stones to power it and Eldest Uncle and the others taking turns controlling it, it could last quite a while. But activating the Peacock Spreads Its Tail killing move caused its consumption to surge in a short time. Even with Spirit Stones to support it, Eldest Uncle, Fifth Uncle, and the others could not maintain the illusion formation's killing move for long.

Moreover, the Peacock Spreads Its Tail killing move relied entirely on the bloodline power the patriarch had left in the illusion formation: the blue peacock feather that seemed both illusory and real.

The power within it was limited, and so was the number of times it could activate the Peacock Spreads Its Tail killing move. Once the blue peacock feather's power was exhausted, the patriarch would have to recharge it. But every recharge depleted his Bloodline Divine Ability and cultivation strength, and he needed quite some time to recuperate.

Thus, unless necessary, Eldest Uncle and the others were unwilling to activate the Peacock Spreads Its Tail killing move casually.

But now, it was evidently necessary.

Once the illusion formation was set up, Kong Wenxuan and the others concealed their presence and kept quiet, waiting for the Lang Household cultivators and wolf demon pack to arrive.

Sure enough, less than half an hour later, wolf howls came from the direction they had traveled. Soon, several wolf demons ran up near the illusion formation. They stopped advancing and instead raced about the formation, baring their teeth and barking in every direction.

Clearly, these wolf demons had not discovered the concealment of the Second Tier illusion formation. But after tracking them here, they had lost Kong Wenxuan and the others' trail and scent. They could only run about and howl at their surroundings, unable to pinpoint the Kong Household members' direction or location.

The Lang Household cultivators close behind the wolf demons, however, immediately understood what had happened. The man in front changed color at once. "Be careful, everyone! The Kong Household people must have set up another illusion and hidden nearby. Attack the entire area around us and force them out!"

Before he had finished speaking, several Lang Household cultivators had already unleashed Law Artifacts and activated Law Techniques, attacking the surrounding mountain woods indiscriminately.

Seeing this, Eldest Uncle and the others knew it was impossible to fool them with the illusion formation's concealment. Without hesitation, they activated the Peacock Spreads Its Tail killing move once again.

Scree! Scree!

A series of clear peacock cries rang out. The Blue Peacock formed and manifested in midair once more, spreading its tail and bewitching minds in every direction!

"Not good! It's that Blue Peacock..."

"Watch out for the illusion!"

At the sight of the Blue Peacock reappearing, the Lang Household cultivators' expressions changed abruptly. Shouting warnings, they fled desperately backward, trying to escape the range of the Peacock Spreads Its Tail illusion.

But their efforts were doomed to fail. In the blink of an eye, the Lang Household cultivators and the wolf demons they commanded were trapped in the illusion again. With savage expressions, they began to fight and kill one another.

Yet Eldest Uncle Kong Yushuo showed no joy at the sight. He looked in the direction from which the Lang Household cultivators had come and said gravely, "Those wolf cubs have gotten smarter. They only sent a few pieces of cannon fodder. The Lang Household's main force is still behind them!"

"Quick, everyone, strike and kill these pieces of cannon fodder as fast as possible."