Beast Attack
Jin Shilun was initially wary of the middle-aged cultivator, who was quite powerful, but after a moment he recognized him as Kuai Wu, the head of the Kuai Household, who was limping toward him, and then he breathed a sigh of relief.
The two families are on good terms now. The Kuai Household is planning to marry Kuai Wu's younger sister into the Chongming Sect so she can become his aunt. There's no reason for them to do anything detrimental to him in the market.
"Greetings, Senior Kuai." Jin Shilun greeted him politely, dismounting from the Desolate Ox and bowing.
"It's been a long time since I've seen Jin Household. I have something to ask about your family." Kuai Wu pulled Jin Shilun into his family's general store.
Now the Kuai Household only has four cultivators left, and Dantong Cliff in Tanggu County is not a peaceful place. The cultivators have to take care of their Lineage first, and they really can't afford to leave one more person to look after the business in Chongming Market.
So Kuai Wu hired an old cultivator he knew to manage the place. Since Kang Dabao hadn't asked the merchants for rent yet, the Kuai Household could still earn a few Spirit Stone a month, which was a small supplement for a small clan like theirs.
However, Kuai Wu's visit this time was not solely to check on the shop's business.
He pulled Jin Shilun into the quiet room behind the shop and asked, "Young Jin Household, let me ask you, does your master want your Martial Uncle Pei to marry Lu Yunniang from the Lu Household?"
"Huh? Where did Senior Lu get this information from?" Jin Shilun exclaimed in surprise.
"You didn't know? Phew, that's good, that's good. It must be fake news. I knew your master was kind-hearted and would never have the heart to break up a loving couple." Kuai Wu let out a long sigh, poured himself a bowl of spiritual tea, and then remembered to pour tea for Jin Shilun.
He continued, "Jin Household, you don't know, but when Brother Pei and my cousin were staying at my house, they were childhood sweethearts. If this marriage doesn't happen, they will both regret it for the rest of their lives. You must put in a good word for my little sister with your master. Once she marries into your family, she will definitely repay you."
Jin Shilun stammered a few words. He dared not interfere in the affairs of his elders. He casually replied to Kuai Wu and then left his shop, arriving at the gate of the Chongming Small Pavilion.
The young swordsman was even more cautious than when he was passing through the alley. Only after confirming that Lady Chong was not in the shop did he feel safe enough to step inside.
There was no business in the shop at the time, so Jin Shilun asked the maid who was greeting customers at the door and went to the backyard, where he found Zhou Xinran playing chess with several pretty maids.
Zhou Yixiu's precious daughter wasn't the type to patiently cultivate. Apart from having a slight interest in commerce, she was rarely seen True Cultivator in her spare time, mostly spending her time playing with others.
Therefore, although she was older than Jin Shilun, her cultivation level was only at the Third Layer of Qi Refinement, and she was almost overtaken by her two junior brothers Han Yundao and Kang Rongquan.
"Oh, my Junior Brother Jin is here! I'm not playing with you all anymore, I'm going to keep my junior brother company." Zhou Xinran clapped her hands with joy upon seeing Jin Shilun, leaving behind a group of maids and pulling him to the front hall. "Junior brother, why did you come down the mountain? Did the masters ask you to come and help? No need, no need, go back and tell the masters that I can manage here, junior brother should focus on his cultivation."
"Senior Sister, you've gone to so much trouble. I'm just here to find some useful spiritual materials to take back." Fearing Zhou Xinran ask more questions and reveal his true intentions, Jin Shilun changed the subject, continuing, "Senior Sister, do you know that Kuai Household said Master wants our Martial Uncle Pei to marry Senior Lu Yunniang from the Lu Household?"
Zhou Xinran's beautiful eyes widened in surprise, and she exclaimed, "Where did this news come from? This is just nonsense!"
Jin Shilun had just nodded, "I see," when he heard Zhou Xinran say with a smile, "It was the Lu Household head Lu Xun, who asked the matchmaker to mention to our sect leader that he wanted to marry Senior Lu Yunniang into our family. The sect leader thought that his family couldn't afford much dowry, so he didn't refuse outright."
Seeing Jin Shilun's stunned expression, Zhou Xinran continued, "I heard from my father that our sect leader is currently considering proposing He Household to Martial Uncle Pei at the He family. He and his fellow disciples have been discussing it these past few days. Martial Uncle Pei is now a late-stage cultivator and an advanced Alchemist; considering the relationship between the two families, the He Household should agree."
Zhou Yixiu, a doting father, couldn't keep many secrets from Zhou Xinran. Fortunately, Zhou Xinran was quick-witted and knew what to ask and what not to ask, and what to say and what not to say.
She usually liked to tell her junior brothers some unimportant but rather private little things, which not only earned her a small group of fans but also made her position among the younger generation even more unshakable.
"Oh, if it's the He Household, then that's really impressive." Jin Shilun thought of Lu Xun, who was learning skills in the He Household's caravan. The Lu Household was a laborer, and the He Household was a business owner; there was no need to compare them.
Besides, Senior Lu Yunniang isn't exactly beautiful either, so let's not upset our Martial Uncle Pei.
The two siblings were chatting happily, completely unaware that in the path Jin Shilun had passed earlier, a small group of fierce-looking martial arts practitioners, their bodies radiating Blood Qi, were staring at Chongming Market with menacing expressions.
"Cloud Horn Prefecture is really peaceful. A small sect with hardly any Late Qi Refinement dares to open a market." The leading female cultivator in the tiger-patterned coat sneered and asked the short, thin cultivator beside her, "Is everything ready?"
"Senior sister, we're new here, so let's be careful. Are we going to start by disrupting the local power's market right away? If things get too out of hand, I'm afraid..." The short, thin cultivator was interrupted by the tiger-coated female cultivator's gaze before he could finish speaking.
"What are you afraid of? The older you get, the more cowardly you become. If we don't make some noise, how will we get the Spirit Stone?" The female cultivator in the tiger-coat cursed fiercely. The short, thin cultivator lowered his head, no longer arguing, and could only reply, "We're ready. Junior Brother Qian is just waiting for us to send the message. The nine hundred First Tier Demon Beast that Master lured Huiyi. This market's First-Tier Supreme-Grade array alone is far from enough to stop them."
"Good, Junior Brother Qian is the most reliable! Learn from him!" The female cultivator in the tiger-coat revealed a hint of excitement in her eyes, and turned to the three people beside her, instructing them. "Listen carefully, after this market is breached by the beast horde, none of us are allowed to go inside to search for spiritual materials and resources. Continue to command the Demon Beast to hunt down the cultivators here, and strive to leave no one alive."
"Yes!" the three replied in a deep voice. The female cultivator in the tiger-patterned coat made a hand gesture, and the short, thin cultivator released a black-feathered, Yellow-Beaked Ink Owl from his sleeve, which then soared into the sky.
Then, a series of clear and loud whistling sounds rang out in the air. A few breaths later, countless trees in the forest opposite the market were broken by the galloping beasts, and the dust kicked up seemed to cover the entire forest.
The sound of the Demon Beast's hooves pounding the ground was as fierce as a mountain torrent and as loud as thunder, attracting the attention of all the cultivators in the market's formation.
"Bang!" Before the cultivators had much time to react, the first Red-Maned Mountain Boar in the herd had arrived, and it crashed into the protective array of Chongming Market.
After the tremendous roar, the protective array remained unmoved.
The Red-Maned Mountain Boar felt a splitting headache; the skin on its head had torn open, revealing the white skull underneath.
However, the fact that one Red-Maned Mountain Boar couldn't break through the array's protective barrier didn't mean that a whole herd couldn't. As the vanguard of the beast horde, they had already swarmed in, and the once incredibly tough array's protective barrier began to flicker with spiritual patterns after only a few breaths.
With a deafening roar, Zhou Xinran, her face pale, pulled Jin Shilun out from the group of silent cultivators. Holding an array flag, she moved her hands in a continuous stream of spiritual light, releasing most of the spiritual lightning contained within the array. The resulting explosions killed or injured many of the Red-Maned Mountain Boar closest to the array, and the air was filled with the aroma of meat.
The cultivators inside the formation also swallowed hard, not because they were greedy, but because they were frightened by the scene outside.
At this moment, there were hundreds of various Demon Beast surrounding the formation. These Demon Beast may not be very intelligent, but they are by no means stupid.
Zhou Xinran's spiritual lightning strike truly stunned them, and for a moment they dared not make a move.
Zhou Xinran suppressed the excruciating pain emanating from her meridians after overdrawing her spiritual energy, glanced at the panicked cultivators, and was at a loss as to what to do next.
"Will the division commanders be able to come? And if they do, will it be of any use?"
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(Sorry I was held up by something today, it's a bit late)