The Beast Tide Looms, a Rumor Suddenly Spreads
Patriarch Kong Changgeng did not linger long in the Demon-Suppressing Pass. After meeting Du Zhimin, the Du Household Foundation Establishment cultivator stationed there, he took eldest uncle Kong Yushuo aboard the Feather Boat and continued on his way, returning to the Lineage.
Outside the Demon-Suppressing Pass this time, eldest uncle Kong Yushuo had relied on the Bloodline-Inherited Spirit Artifact, the Crimson Plume Feather Fan, to fight the Second-Tier Gray Wolf Demon Beast to the death and protect the Kong Household. Though he had gravely wounded it, his own injuries were even worse. The Second-Tier wolf demon had even bitten off one of his arms.
In eldest uncle Kong Yushuo's present condition, he was clearly unfit to continue serving at the Demon-Suppressing Pass. Thus, even though the Demon Beasts outside the pass were rioting and seemed ready to form a beast tide and attack at any moment, the patriarch still chose to take him back to the Lineage to recuperate and recover.
Kong Wenxuan and the others, however, needed to remain at the Demon-Suppressing Pass and continue their service.
After all, the situation outside the pass was perilous, and a Demon Beast tide could attack at any moment. At a time like this, the Du Household would never allow the serving parties from the various Households to retreat and flee.
The Du Household had only agreed to let eldest uncle Kong Yushuo leave because he truly was gravely injured and had little fighting strength left, the patriarch had personally come to plead his case, and the Kong Household members had brought back important intelligence.
The intelligence on a single Second-Tier Gray Wolf demon was enough to reveal much about what lay behind this Demon Beast riot.
After the patriarch left with eldest uncle Kong Yushuo, third aunt, fifth uncle, and the others stayed at the Kong Household's compound to recuperate and recover. Though their injuries were not as severe as eldest uncle's, none of them had escaped unscathed.
The situation at the Demon-Suppressing Pass was still unclear, and a great battle could erupt at any moment. Naturally, they needed to recover as quickly as possible to face the battle that might come.
Kong Wenxuan remained at the Lineage compound, standing guard while third aunt, fifth uncle, and the others went into seclusion to recover.
Eldest brother Kong Wenzhang and fourth sibling Kong Wenjun spent most of their time gathering news from all sides in the Demon-Suppressing Pass and keeping watch on the situation inside and outside it, so they could respond to any changes.
Over the following month, more and more Demon Beasts of all kinds gathered outside the Demon-Suppressing Pass. Wolf howls and tiger roars, eagle cries and crane calls rang out without cease.
Every sign made it abundantly clear that the Demon Beasts in the mountains outside the Demon-Suppressing Pass truly were going to form a beast tide and attack it.
During that time, Kong Wenxuan also went up onto the walls of the Demon-Suppressing Pass and saw the ever-growing number of Demon Beasts gathering outside. His face could not help but grow grave.
The various First-Tier Demon Beasts that continued to gather and multiply were manageable. Though numerous, and though he could not possibly stop and kill them all, they would have difficulty posing much of a threat to him.
But behind those First-Tier Demon Beasts, some Second-Tier Demon Beasts had already begun to appear.
A Second-Tier Gray Wolf Demon Beast, a Second-Tier Black Tiger Demon Beast, a Second-Tier Wind Eagle Demon Beast, and a Second-Tier Azure Python Demon Beast!
Four Second-Tier Demon Beasts had already shown themselves, and no one knew whether there were even more behind the beast tide!
Yet in the entire Demon-Suppressing Pass, the only Second-Tier Foundation Establishment cultivator known to be present was its guardian, Du Zhimin.
Even though he was a member of the Du Household and had mastered the Beast-Taming Divine Ability, with perhaps two or three Second-Tier tamed beasts under his command, he still might not be able to withstand the attacks of the ever-growing number of Second-Tier Demon Beasts!
If things continued this way, the Du Household would surely summon Foundation Establishment cultivators from the various Households in Cuckoo County behind the pass to defend the Demon-Suppressing Pass.
I just don't know whether the Demon-Suppressing Pass can hold against this beast tide. Can Cuckoo County hold?
Kong Wenxuan was uncertain for the moment and deeply uneasy.
At the same time, the excitement and pride he had felt after refining the White Metal Divine Sword and sweeping away so many First-Tier Demon Beasts vanished in an instant.
Given the situation, unless he reached the Foundation Establishment Realm, he might not even be able to gain a firm foothold amid the turmoil, much less protect the Kong Household.
It seems I really do need to consider Foundation Establishment!
As the thought turned over in his mind, Kong Wenxuan took a Jade Slip from his Storage Bag. It recorded Foundation Establishment experience passed down through the Lineage, including not only Patriarch Kong Changgeng's experience but also that of many ancestors from the Lineage's heyday.
Most importantly, it also recorded Ancestor Jianling's experience of establishing his foundation, inlaying a star, and raising the Lineage's Peacock Bloodline to the rank of a Ninth-Grade True Spirit.
The last time the patriarch had come to rescue eldest uncle and the others, he had seen that Kong Wenxuan had successfully advanced to the Qi Refining Ninth Layer. Afterward, he had sent this Jade Slip from the Lineage for Kong Wenxuan to study the experience of Foundation Establishment and star inlaying it contained.
Over the past month or more, while standing guard for third aunt, fifth uncle, and the others as they recuperated in seclusion, Kong Wenxuan had also been studying the wealth of experience recorded in the Jade Slip.
He had already gained a basic understanding and grasp of how to establish his foundation and how to inlay a star.
After more than a month of study, he was eighty to ninety percent confident of establishing his foundation. The only thing he remained uncertain and unsure about was star inlaying-raising the Lineage's Peacock Bloodline to the rank of a Ninth-Grade True Spirit once more.
That was why he had kept hesitating, wanting to wait a little longer and study the star-inlaying experience Ancestor Jianling had left behind some more.
But now, seeing the situation outside the Demon-Suppressing Pass and the growing number of Second-Tier Demon Beasts gathering there, Kong Wenxuan began to waver. He began considering whether he should seize the time to attempt a breakthrough to the Foundation Establishment Realm and inlay a star.
Otherwise, if the situation underwent some major change later, he might no longer have the time or the strength to attempt a breakthrough to the Foundation Establishment Realm and inlay a star in peace.
Turning these thoughts over in his mind, Kong Wenxuan returned to the Lineage compound.
Over the following ten-odd days, two more Second-Tier Demon Beasts arrived outside the pass. The Du Household finally made up its mind and issued a new summons to the various servant-cultivator Lineages in Cuckoo County.
This time, it summoned not only more Qi Refinement cultivators from the servant-cultivator Lineages to serve at and defend the Demon-Suppressing Pass, but also began summoning their Foundation Establishment cultivators for the same purpose.
The Kong Household's Foundation Establishment cultivator, Patriarch Kong Changgeng, was likewise among those summoned by the Du Household this time.
But just then, a rumor suddenly began to spread widely through the Demon-Suppressing Pass.
According to the rumor, the Bloodline Divine Ability of the Cuckoo True Spirit Du Household was not the Beast-Taming Divine Ability at all, but The Cuckoo Occupies the Magpie's Nest. It could steal the bloodline power of servant-cultivator Lineages to nourish the Du Household's own bloodline, and ultimately seize complete control of those Lineages' bloodlines. This caused their cultivators to fall and undergo Demonization, becoming Demon Beasts controlled by the Du Household, thus passing for the Beast-Taming Divine Ability.
Over the past several hundred years in Cuckoo County, dozens of servant-cultivator Lineages under the Du Household had been wiped out. On the surface, all had perished because one of their cultivators had failed to break through to the Foundation Establishment Realm and fallen, becoming a Demon Beast.
In truth, however, the Du Household had been manipulating events behind the scenes, destroying those servant-cultivator Lineages and seizing their bloodlines to nourish and sustain its own Cuckoo True Spirit Bloodline. It had also turned their cultivators into Demon Beasts to strengthen its fighting power.
Besides the True Spirit Legion and the Cuckoo Dao Soldier Legion, the Cuckoo True Spirit Du Household actually had a Beast-Taming Legion under its control through The Cuckoo Occupies the Magpie's Nest Divine Ability. It had simply kept the legion hidden all this time, so no one knew about it!
Moreover, according to the rumor, the Cuckoo True Spirit Du Household had now cultivated and grown to the very limit of the Ninth-Grade True Spirit and was about to attempt a breakthrough to the rank of an Eighth-Grade True Spirit.
And once the Du Household began that attempt, it would seize the bloodline power of all the remaining servant-cultivator Lineages in Cuckoo County at once, using it to propel the Cuckoo True Spirit Star to the rank of an Eighth-Grade True Spirit!