Gathering in Hongtian, Seeking Shelter!

Within two months, what had happened to the Fang Clan of Crane Cry Township was no longer an isolated case.

First came the Liu Household of Willow Village in Qinghe County. Of its twenty-six cultivators, only four survived a single night.

Next was the Zhao Clan of Emerald Screen Township. More than seven thousand people, mortals and cultivators alike, lived there. The entire town was burned to bare earth, and not a single person survived.

Then the Zhou Clan and Ma Clan of Mingxi County met with disaster on almost the same day.

White Cloud Temple sent an urgent message talisman every three days. Its wording changed from "Heighten your guard" to "Leaving is strictly forbidden," and finally to "Each county must protect itself. White Cloud Temple is pursuing the Devil Cultivators."

Pursuing them.

Sprawled atop the great rock on the back mountain, Shi Jian snorted a puff of white breath through his nostrils when he heard those words. They had been pursuing them for two whole months.

Five more minor Qi Refining clans had been wiped out, and White Cloud Temple had yet to catch even a shadow of the Devil Cultivators.

Either they were incompetent, or they did not care.

To a Golden Core sect, the lives of a few Qi Refining ants probably were not worth their full effort. If they died, others could simply take their places.

There were plenty of Rogue Cultivators willing to offer up Spirit Stones to buy those first-tier Spirit Veins.

They would use them as the foundations of their own lineages.

"Ancestor!"

Lord Rat darted out of the grass, followed by two slightly smaller black-furred rat demons, both lesser demons who had newly awakened their intelligence in the past two years.

"Thirty li outside the city, large groups of people are heading toward Hongtian City."

"How many?"

"Eight groups, one right after another. The closest have already reached the main road north of the city, and the farthest are still over twenty li away. I reckon they'll all arrive within a few hours."

Lord Rat raised his tail and gestured. "They're all Qi Refining cultivators leading mortals on the run, dragging their whole families along. The smaller groups have upwards of several hundred people, and the larger ones have several thousand. It's as chaotic as a market day."

Shi Jian lifted an eyelid. "Which eight clans?"

"Coming from the north are the Feng Clan of Eternal Peace Township and the Lü Clan of Bluestone Town. From the east are the Qian Clan of Stone Bridge Township and the He Clan of White Deer Town."

"From the south are the Chen Clan of Pear Blossom Hamlet and the Liu Clan of Blacksmith's Gully. There are two groups from the west, too: the Xu Clan of Falling Goose Township and the Zheng Clan of Maple Grove Town."

Lord Rat rattled them all off in one breath, then paused for air and added, "These eight are all minor clans stationed in the townships and towns under Hongtian City's jurisdiction. Their highest cultivation is only at the seventh or eighth layer of Qi Refining, not much different from Sun Bo'an."

Shi Jian said nothing, tapping the great rock twice with his claw.

Eight townships and towns, and all eight minor Qi Refining clans had fled.

That meant the panic over the Devil Cultivators had completely overwhelmed the townships and towns around Hongtian City. The defensive line had collapsed across the board...

But it also meant-

Eight inheritances, eight groups of laborers, and the savings of eight clans were being bundled up and delivered to his door.

"Go fetch Sun Bo'an."

Half a shichen later, Sun Bo'an knelt before the great rock. As he listened to Shi Jian's arrangements, the shock on his face turned to wild delight, which he then reined in and replaced with respect.

"Ancestor, you mean... take them all in?"

"Yes. But not for free."

Shi Jian rolled over, resting one leg over the other. "Go tell them the three conditions."

"First, they may enter the city, but each clan must hand over a copy of all its books, Cultivation Method Jade Slips, and spell inheritances to the Sun Clan."

"Second, each clan must first hand over sixty percent of the Spirit Stones, spirit materials, and pills they brought as a 'protection fee.' They may keep the remaining forty percent."

"Third, each clan's cultivators will be temporarily assigned to the Sun Clan's outer courtyard and follow the Sun Clan's orders. The mortals will be managed under the Sun Clan's household registry. Those who should farm will farm, and those who should have children will have children."

Sun Bo'an noted them down one by one, growing more alarmed with each condition.

This was no shelter. It was an annexation.

But he did not utter a single objection.

After being trained these past few years, he had long understood one thing: the various conditions Shi Jian laid down were never a matter for discussion. They were a notification.

"Ancestor, what if someone refuses?"

"Refuses?"

Shi Jian yawned as he lay there. "If they refuse, let them keep running. The Devil Cultivators are waiting outside. I imagine that bunch would be delighted to have a few more portions of food."

A chill ran down Sun Bo'an's back, and he nodded hurriedly. "This junior understands."

"One more thing."

"During the negotiations, don't mention that I said any of this. Just say these are the Sun Clan's rules. Anyone who enters the Sun Clan's territory must abide by them."

"You're the Sun Clan's patriarch. For something like this, it's enough for you to handle it."

Sun Bo'an took a deep breath, accepted the order, and withdrew.

The negotiations took place in the Sun Clan's council hall.

The eight clan patriarchs crowded into the hall, travel-worn. Some were covered in dust, while others still wore bloodstained bandages. Every face was ashen.

Their eyes were filled with the lingering terror of those who had survived a calamity.

Sun Bo'an sat high in the main seat, with six cultivators standing at his sides. They were the last presentable show of strength the Sun Clan could muster at the moment.

He laid the three conditions on the table.

The hall fell silent for three breaths.

Then it erupted.

"Sixty percent? Sun Bo'an, you devour people without spitting out their bones!" Feng Shoude, the Feng Clan's patriarch, was the first to jump to his feet. He was at the eighth layer of Qi Refining, the highest cultivation among them, and had the fiercest temper.

"Our Feng Clan has built up its fortune over three generations, and you open your mouth and demand sixty percent?"

"You even want us to hand over our Cultivation Method inheritance? You're trying to tear out our Feng Clan's roots!"

The patriarchs of the Lü Clan, the Qian Clan, and several others joined the shouting, their indignation rising.

Sun Bo'an picked up his teacup and took a sip, unhurried.

Only after they had shouted their fill did he set the cup on the table. His voice was not loud, but the hall fell silent in an instant.

"Everyone, I advise you to think one thing through."

"You came to seek shelter, not to visit as guests."

"The Sun Clan holds Hongtian City, with a Spirit Vein, city walls, and a Foundation Establishment Ancestor standing guard. None of those things came for free."

He swept his gaze over the crowd. "You were chased by Devil Cultivators outside like homeless dogs. Now you've run onto my Sun Clan's territory, asking for food, lodging, and protection. Why should you get them for nothing?"

Feng Shoude's face flushed red. "But your conditions are far too..."

"You think the price is too high?"

Sun Bo'an rose, walked to the entrance of the hall, and pushed open the doors. Pointing at the pitch-black night outside, he said, "There's the door. You can leave whenever you like."

"The Devil Cultivators outside don't charge a thing. They'll kill you without troubling you with a burial. What a bargain."

Feng Shoude's words caught in his throat. His lips trembled for a long while, but in the end, not another word came out.

In a seat to the east, an old man with white hair and a white beard slowly spoke. He was Chen Wangshan, patriarch of the Chen Clan of Pear Blossom Hamlet, a seventh-layer Qi Refining cultivator over seventy years old.

"Patriarch Sun, I am willing to transcribe a copy of my clan's inheritance and offer it to the superior clan. That the superior clan is willing to shelter us is already a blessing."

Sun Bo'an regarded him more highly. This old fellow knows how to handle himself!

"Rest assured, Elder Chen. My clan keeps its word."

Once that precedent had been set, however unwilling the other clans were, they could not hold back the tide. To save their lives, they could only agree one after another.

"My Liu Clan is willing."

With the Liu Clan following suit, the He Clan, Xu Clan, and Zheng Clan also stated their positions in succession.

Chen Wangshan sighed and nodded as well.

Feng Shoude gritted his teeth, trembling all over as he stared fixedly at Sun Bo'an for a full ten breaths.

At last, he dropped into his seat and said sullenly:

"My Feng Clan is also willing to hand over a copy of our inheritance."

That night, Sun Bo'an brought the results of the negotiations to the back mountain.

Shi Jian looked through the list of Cultivation Method Jade Slips handed over by the eight clans and was quite satisfied.

The inheritances of eight Qi Refining lineages were nothing particularly fine, but they made up for it in variety. Gathered together, the bits and pieces were quite valuable.

Some specialized in water-element spells, some were skilled at drawing a few first-tier talismans, some studied artifact refinement, and one clan even specialized in the Earth Escape Technique.

They were varied but lacked depth, yet pieced together, they precisely made up for the shortcomings in the Sun Clan's inheritance.

"Well done." Shi Jian offered a rare word of praise.

Sun Bo'an was pleasantly surprised. "It was all thanks to your guidance, Ancestor."

"Don't rush to flatter me."

Shi Jian closed the list, the smile fading from his face. "Of these eight clans, that old fellow Feng Shoude is the only one who isn't being honest. Keep a close eye on him."

"Yes."

After Sun Bo'an withdrew, Lord Rat emerged from a crack in the great rock beneath Shi Jian.

"Ancestor, there's something this little one doesn't know whether he should say."

"Cut the crap."

"My offspring found traces in the Land God Temple thirty li outside the city." Lord Rat lowered his voice. "The smell of blood was very strong. There was enough blood for at least several hundred people."

"But that place is more than seventy li from the nearest township or town that was slaughtered."

Shi Jian's eyes snapped open.

Traces of a blood sacrifice from seventy li away had appeared at a place only thirty li from Hongtian City.

What did that mean?

The Devil Cultivators were drawing closer.

And they were not merely passing through. They had settled in.

"Keep that Land God Temple under constant watch. Report back immediately at the slightest sign of movement."

"Yes, Ancestor."

Lord Rat acknowledged the order and vanished into the night in a flash.

Shi Jian slowly rose, spreading his four limbs. His sharp claws sank into the great rock, leaving eight deep gouges, as a savage presence seethed around him.

Come on.

It had been a long time since he had eaten a great tonic!