The Betrayal of the Shrike Lao Household and the Tyranny of the Cuckoo Du Household
Outside the Demon-Suppressing Pass, several days had passed since they had taken the Lang Household's territory on the collapsed Wolf Fang Mountain.
Kong Wenxuan summoned the last Peacock Feather from the Qi sea in his Dantian, the white Peacock Feather, and suspended it upside down above a piece of first-tier superior-grade Dark Iron spiritual metal. Circulating his Law Power, he formed hand seals and sent one magical restriction after another into the white Peacock Feather.
As the magical restrictions were imprinted upon it, the white Peacock Feather slowly turned, flickering with white light as it steadily devoured and refined the first-tier superior-grade Dark Iron spiritual metal below.
The metal-element substances and Metal Qi within the Dark Iron were devoured by the white Peacock Feather and refined into the materials needed to forge the White Metal Divine Sword. Meanwhile, the Spiritual Qi contained within it was refined into Law Power during the sword-forging process and flowed into Kong Wenxuan's Dantian Qi sea, expanding it, increasing his Law Power, and advancing his cultivation.
The forging of the Five Elements Divine Swords was much the same from one sword to the next. Kong Wenxuan already had the experience of forging the first four divine swords, so he was practiced in forging the last one, the White Metal Divine Sword.
He soon finished this round of forging. Kong Wenxuan looked at the piece of Dark Iron spiritual metal, which had shrunk by a size, then sensed his progress in forging the sword and refining Qi. After a quick calculation, he understood that, barring accidents, if he continued at this pace, he should be able to finish forging the White Metal Divine Sword and advance smoothly to the Qi Refining Ninth Layer in as little as a year or as long as a year and a half.
When that time came, he would have to prepare to break through to the Foundation Establishment Realm.
The struggle against demonic nature when breaking through a major realm, the embedding of stars during Foundation Establishment, and raising the Lineage's Peacock Bloodline back to the level of a Ninth-Grade True Spirit-all these were problems he would have to face and resolve.
Kong Wenxuan was turning these thoughts over in his mind when a humming suddenly came from afar, as though a colossal object were smashing through the air toward them.
On the collapsed Wolf Fang Mountain, cultivators from the Kong Household, the Lao Household, and the other parties could not help looking up. They saw a Second-Tier Feather Boat flying toward them from the Demon-Suppressing Pass, making a great commotion and radiating a formidable presence, with no intention of concealing either its presence or its approach.
Only when the Second-Tier Feather Boat came to a stop in the sky above the collapsed Wolf Fang Mountain did Kong Wenxuan see clearly that it differed greatly from the Feather Boat controlled by his own Lineage.
The Kong Household's Second-Tier Feather Boat had been forged at the height of the Lineage's power, using the bones, feathers, and plumage of a Second-Tier peacock spirit beast. Though a Feather Boat, it had inherited many of the peacock spirit beast's features and was a splendid sight, like a peacock reborn.
The incoming Feather Boat, however, was predominantly gray and white and roughly shaped like a cuckoo. It had plainly been forged from the bones and feathers of a cuckoo spirit beast. It looked unremarkable, but it was veiled in a layer of starlight that gave it an air of mystery and inscrutability.
Clearly, this Feather Boat belonged to the Cuckoo Du Household, a Ninth-Grade True Spirit Lineage in Cuckoo County.
The people who soon emerged from the Feather Boat confirmed it. Their leader was none other than Du Zhimin, the Du Household's Foundation Establishment cultivator stationed at the Demon-Suppressing Pass, followed by a group of Du Household disciples and cultivators.
For more than a year, Du Zhimin had remained at the Demon-Suppressing Pass without taking a single step outside, much less taking any action in the mountains south of the pass. Everything had borne out the patriarch's earlier conjecture: after being sent to the Demon-Suppressing Pass, Du Zhimin would surely focus on defense and launch no proactive attacks.
Yet no one had expected that Du Zhimin, who had focused on defense and remained at the Demon-Suppressing Pass with little activity for more than a year, would personally pilot the Du Household's Second-Tier Feather Boat and bring a group of its disciples to the collapsed Wolf Fang Mountain, the Lang Household's territory outside the pass.
Clearly, he had come for Wolf Fang Mountain-or, more precisely, for its resources and its Dark Iron spiritual mine.
"The Shrike Lao Household respectfully welcomes Senior Du and our fellow Daoists of the Du Household!"
While the cultivators of the various parties were still wondering what was happening, the cultivators of the Shrike Lao Household had already come out together to greet Du Zhimin and the Du Household disciples aboard the Feather Boat, bowing respectfully and calling out their welcome.
"Very good!" Du Zhimin, standing at the head of the group aboard the Feather Boat, looked down at the Lao Household members who had come to greet him and called out in praise, "Lao Zerui, has your Lao Household truly decided to offer the Dark Iron vein in Wolf Fang Mountain to our Du Household?"
Lao Zerui was the leader of the Shrike Lao Household, a burly man built like a butcher. Now, however, his face was full of obsequiousness as he bowed respectfully to Du Zhimin aboard the Feather Boat. "That is right. This Dark Iron vein has already been damaged. Only by moving it into the Du Household's Cuckoo Secret Realm is there any chance of bringing it back to life."
"Therefore, our Shrike Lao Household is willing to offer this Dark Iron vein to the Du Household!"
Seeing this, everyone finally understood that they had once again been sold out by the Shrike Lao Household. Behind the backs of the various Lineages and factions that had joined forces with it, the Shrike Lao Household had contacted the Cuckoo True Spirit Du Household and offered it the shattered, damaged Dark Iron vein in Wolf Fang Mountain.
Clearly, it was just as had been said before: "They gathered for profit, and for profit they scattered."
Because the Gray Wolf Lang Household had destroyed Wolf Fang Mountain and its members had fled, the various factions that had besieged its territory had, for the most part, failed to achieve their goals. They had neither cut the grass and pulled up the roots nor obtained the resources and benefits they had expected.
For that reason, several wild Lineages and factions outside the pass had previously tried to join forces and shift the blame onto the Kong Household, intending to seize its interests to make up for their losses. Only after Kong Wenxuan intimidated them with a Sword Qi Thunderclap did they disperse.
And now, it seemed, the Shrike Lao Household was plainly also dissatisfied with what it had gained from the siege of the Lang Household's territory. So it had simply betrayed the various Lineages and factions that had joined forces with it, choosing to sell the shattered Dark Iron vein in Wolf Fang Mountain directly to the strongest nearby Ninth-Grade True Spirit Lineage, the Cuckoo Du Household.
This naturally caused great dissatisfaction among the various Lineages and factions that had joined the Shrike Lao Household in taking the Gray Wolf Lang Household's territory.
"Lao Zerui! We all took Wolf Fang Mountain together. What gives you the right to sell it?"
"Did you ask what we thought?"
"We don't agree!"
At once, the wild Lineages and factions outside the pass that had cooperated with the Shrike Lao Household angrily cursed its members, refusing to let the shattered Dark Iron vein be offered to the Du Household.
After all, although the Dark Iron vein had been damaged and shattered by the Lang Household, causing a great deal of its Metal Qi and Spiritual Qi to leak away, and although it was steadily declining and would be reduced entirely to ordinary iron within a few months-
Those few months would still be enough for them to mine a large quantity of Dark Iron spiritual metal from the damaged, shattered vein. Even if its quality was somewhat poorer and its grade somewhat lower, it was better than gaining nothing after spending so much effort taking the Lang Household's territory.
The cultivators of the Shrike Lao Household paid no attention to their partner Lineages' and factions' curses and objections, however. They merely attended to the Du Household cultivators respectfully, knowing that the Du Household would deal with the opposition.
"Hmph!" Sure enough, a cold snort came from the Du Household's Feather Boat in the sky. It was their leader, the Foundation Establishment cultivator Du Zhimin. He immediately brought the power of his Spiritual Consciousness down upon the cultivators who were cursing and objecting, suppressing them as he said in a deep voice, "You Lineages and cultivators who refuse to submit to the sovereign's rule, hold your tongues. Under these heavens, what land, resources, or spiritual things do not belong to the Golden Crow Imperial Dynasty? What does not belong to the True Spirit Lineages?"
"My Du Household is a Ninth-Grade True Spirit Lineage of the Golden Crow Imperial Dynasty. It is only right and proper that we take this damaged Dark Iron vein!"
"If you continue to make a racket, do not blame me, the guardian of the pass, for sending troops to raze your Lineages and factions."