The Ma Household Attacks the Stockade

The day of departure finally arrived, and Pei Yi and the others who were guarding the house came to see them off.

Chu Huer's face was flushed. As the leader of the team, he only needed to safely bring the younger generation to the Changyun Ma Household in the flying boat to earn a hundred Merit Points.

This was a great opportunity for Chu Huer, who was only a few years away from the optimal age for Foundation Establishment and was currently eager to accumulate Merit Points to obtain a Foundation Establishment spiritual item from the treasury.

Yuan Jin carefully examined the Six-Leaf Azure Lotus Dao Flag on the flying boat for a while before speaking, "Junior Brother Chu, be careful on the journey, and send word as soon as you arrive."

Chu Huer replied loudly, "Don't worry, Senior Brother Yuan, I will definitely hand over all the disciples to you, Senior Brother Sect Leader, safe and sound."

Yuan Jin simply nodded. Along the way to Changyun County, many of the families had come to congratulate Kang Dabao when he Foundation Establishment, so it should be safe.

Otherwise, given Sect Leader Kang Da's cautious nature, he wouldn't have only assigned Chu Huer to lead the team.

Chu Huer turned around and counted the number of people again. The Six-Leaf Azure Lotus Dao Flag fluttered in the wind, the flying boat formation rose, and they headed towards Changyun County.

As Yuan Jin had predicted, after two Foundation Establishment Chongming Sect, the Six-Leaf Azure Lotus Dao Flag carried on the flying boat became known to many people in the surrounding area.

Now, the local families with a bit of knowledge have all included Chongming Sect's name in the "Cloud Horn Prefecture Aristocratic Clan History".

It took seven generations of leaders and two hundred years for the Chongming Sect to achieve its revival. This story would easily occupy several lines in the "Chronicles of the Aristocratic Clan of the Sects in Cloud Horn Prefecture".

Although Chongming Sect only recently returned to the Foundation Establishment realm, it was already inextricably linked to the deaths of two Foundation Establishment cultivators from the Clear Cloud Alliance before Jiang Qing and Kang Dabao had even reached the Foundation Establishment Foundation Establishment.

Furthermore, both Kang Dabao and Jiang Qing were under sixty years old when they reached the Foundation Establishment, which is considered early even among the major Golden Core sects.

Therefore, when it comes to the reputation of the Chongming Sect in the outside world, it is actually not much different from those long-established major sects.

Thus, just like the story in the book "The Legend of the Cloud Horn Prefecture Sects Aristocratic Clan" that Kang Dabao read back then, when he was teaching his two disciples, Han and Duan, it was just like when they were learning their skills.

Nowadays, many families in the neighborhood, when teaching their children, will more or less mention the Chongming Sect, reminding their descendants not to offend members of a major sect unintentionally.

Thanks to this, Chu Huer's flying boat, carrying the Six-Leaf Azure Lotus Dao Flag, flew smoothly into Changyun County, where Ma Household cultivators were already waiting.

After verifying each other's identities and exchanging pleasantries, Chu Huer waited for the disciples to disembark from the flying boat and put them away before the group boarded the spirit steeds prepared by the Ma Household cultivators and set off.

The ancestral home of the Changyun Ma Household is located on the border of Changyun County, adjacent to Ding Prefecture. It is a mountainous area lacking spiritual energy and is not considered a good place.

As a result, the Ma Household has never had a period of prosperity.

At most, there are only two Foundation Establishment alive at the same time. More often than not, it's like now, with an old Foundation Establishment cultivator like Ma Wenhan holding the fort to protect their interests from being eroded too much by outsiders.

Managing a household is like rowing against the current; if you don't move forward, you fall behind.

Mi Household Stockade may not be the first vassal force that the Ma Household couldn't suppress in the past few hundred years, but it is certainly the most embarrassing one.

As a powerful Foundation Establishment sect, the Ma Household couldn't even subdue a Qi Refinement Refining bandit. Because of this, they have been ridiculed by outsiders for many years.

Chu Huer rode his spirit steed past a Ma Household spirit field, where only some Red Spirit Grain was growing, the ears of grain shriveled, clearly indicating that it was not growing well.

People often say, "Even a broken ship has three thousand nails," but even though it is Foundation Establishment sect that has been passed down for hundreds of years, even Chu Huer, a complete layman, can see that his family's farming is not as good as that of the Chongming Sect, which is managed by the Sect Leader Kang Da.

The mere sight of a spot revealing the leopard's finite form clearly demonstrates the decline of the Changyun Ma Household.

After paying his respects to the four Foundation Establishment True Cultivator charge, Chu Huer turned to the Ma Household cultivators who were welcoming guests and settled all the Double Brightness disciples in, instructing them to rest well.

Ma Wenhan had already trained the Ma Household disciples a few days ago, Double Brightness disciples wouldn't have much time to rest before heading to Mi Household Stockade for the duel. The disciples had been traveling quite arduously and needed to take the time to rest and recuperate.

Ming Zhe went to great lengths to help Chu Huer arrange accommodations for his fellow disciples, which resulted in Chu Hu'er being the last one left alone.

However, being able to have a courtyard to live in by myself does bring some peace and quiet, which is a small but significant advantage.

As the moonlight shone brightly, Duan Anle, fearing that Ming Zhe would be lonely, brought Pei Que to have tea with Ming Zhe. Ye Yaoling, who lived alone, also came over with a basket of plum blossoms, unusually participating in this gathering of fellow disciples.

Du Qing lived with a senior uncle from Shandu Ridge. The latter was also Rogue Cultivator, but he was lucky enough to follow Pei Yi back to the sect from the Jiazi Xu Mountain by riding the Kui Star Flying Shuttle, and that's how he got a master.

In reality, his abilities might not be much better than Du Qing's, but he certainly has a big air about him.

Du Qing was considered a Chongming Sect, and he had never suffered such humiliation even in front of the Sect Leader Kang Da. In terms of seniority, cultivation, ability, and background, Du Qing was in no way inferior to this senior uncle.

Unfortunately, he was a generation younger than her, so he could only sulk. Hearing the commotion, he awkwardly came over.

In this way, all five juniors from the Chongming Sect who had come this time were now present.

Ming Zhe picked up a dried plum that Ye Yaoling had brought. Although it wasn't expensive, it tasted good. Ming Zhe ate several with his tea and snacks, and even he, a scion of a well-to-do Lineage, thought it was quite delicious.

In high spirits, he spoke to Du Qing, who rarely participated in gatherings of fellow disciples and was still somewhat reserved. "I heard that Senior Brother Du has taken another wife who has given birth to two sons for you. Senior Brother is truly blessed with many offspring."

Upon hearing Ming Zhe mention this matter, Du Qing showed little joy. She gave a listless smile, the sweet tea tasting bitter, and sighed softly, "I hope this time someone with Spirit Root will emerge."

Everyone laughed when they heard this. They all knew that Du Qing had taken many concubines over the years and had many children through his diligent work.

Including all the daughters who married out before, Du Qing's offspring number nearly a hundred. If you include all his grandchildren, the number becomes even more uncountable.

Unfortunately, none of these offspring possessed any Spirit Root, which greatly troubled Du Qing.

Duan Anle had spent some time with Du Qing in the caravan and had a good relationship with this junior brother who was much older than him, so he offered a few words of comfort, which made Du Qing feel much better.

After Lu Mei finished eating, everyone was about to leave, but they noticed that Ye Yaoling showed no intention of leaving.

"What, Junior Sister has taken a liking to Junior Brother Ming's spiritual tea? Junior Brother Ming, why don't you hurry up and pack some back for your Senior Sister Ye?" Pei Que was the most well-behaved person in front of his elders, but when he was with his fellow disciples in private, he was a real free spirit.

He made faces and gestures as he said this, which was quite indecent and made Ming Zhe and Ye Yaoling blush.

Duan Anle glared at him, then spoke gently to Ye Yaoling, "Junior Sister, is there anything you need?"

"Perhaps Yaoling is overthinking it. It seems that a few fellow Daoists from the Ma Household lingered outside my courtyard for a while earlier." A slight blush appeared on Ye Yaoling's face.

She was quiet and gentle. Over the years, she had either been True Cultivator under Pei Yi's care or helping her mortal relatives in Heng Mountain with tasks such as exorcising Demon Beast.

Encountering such a thing as soon as she stepped out left her somewhat bewildered.

"The Ma Household is so ill-mannered!" Ming Zhe slammed his hand on the stone table, causing the tea set on it to jump. He came from a good family and had never experienced any adversity. He had never been mistreated anywhere, so how could he tolerate the Changyun Ma Household's humiliation of their fellow disciples?

Upon realizing this, Ming Zhe's handsome face instantly flashed with anger. He was about to pick up his flying sword and go outside Ye Yaoling to see what was going on and find an explanation.

Du Qing was worldly-wise. He heard from Ye Yaoling that the Ma Household members hadn't done anything outrageous. If trouble were to break out, the Chongming Sect might not be in the right.

It was feared that Ming Zhe's instigation would also cause Duan Anle and Pei Que to lose their temper. Du Qing was about to persuade them when he saw that the two had already stopped Ming Zhe, and he was relieved.

"Alright, without knowing the whole story, don't act rashly." Duan Anle pressed Ming Zhe down onto his seat, and before the latter could say anything more, he turned to Pei Que and said:

"Junior brother, please take Junior Brother Ming back to the courtyard to rest. Junior Brother Ming's courtyard is located in the very center of our Double Brightness disciples' residence. Junior Sister Ye, please rest here as well. In case anything happens, it won't be hidden from any of us."

I'm going to my Junior Sister Ye's old residence. We'll be going to the battlefield in a few days, so we shouldn't cause any trouble with the Ma Household. We're guests after all; if we make a scene on their turf, it won't look good for our superiors."

Everyone knew he was right, Ming Zhe's anger subsided somewhat, and Ye Yaoling, the person involved, also offered a few words of advice, and the matter was eventually dropped.

Pei Que took Ming Zhe back to rest, Ye Yaoling stayed there. Du Qing got tired of her roommate, so she went with Duan Anle to keep her company.

When Du Qing arrived outside Ye Yaoling's courtyard, he was still somewhat uneasy.

Since he joined the Chongming Sect, he has had access to classic texts and Spirit Stone, and his cultivation, Law Artifact, and Cultivation Method are now vastly different from what they were before.

Even among the Double Brightness Caravan after Duan Anle took over, Du Qing, who was among a group of Rogue Cultivator in the mid-to-late stages of Qi Refinement, was already considered quite formidable.

However, Du Qing was still somewhat afraid of the risk of fighting with the disciples of Foundation Establishment family and causing a conflict between the two Foundation Establishment.

That's just his nature; he's both afraid that his teachers won't remember him and afraid that they will. There's nothing you can do about it; a person's background does indeed determine many things.

Compared to Du Qing, Duan Anle was much bolder.

He arrived at the courtyard first, took out his token, and passed through the gate's security measures before entering. He didn't see any outsiders along the way. This suited Du Qing's wishes, and the two of them didn't say anything more, each choosing an empty room to sleep in.

The next morning, the Double Brightness disciples received a message from Chu Huer, instructing them to follow the Ma Household's main force and depart immediately.

Meanwhile, Pei Que also learned some news from Kang Dabao and shared it with his fellow disciples who had already lined up and were ready to set off. "The Ma Household intends to form a marriage alliance with our Chongming Sect."

"Oh, so that's why Ma Household went to Senior Sister Ye's courtyard last night!" Ming Zhe recalled this, and his anger surged again. "Even so, they shouldn't have done such a rude thing."

"Did Master agree?" Duan Anle asked. Ye Yaoling looked slightly uneasy, and everyone turned to look at her. Pei Que thought for a moment, "The elders told me not to ask any more questions, so it seems that this matter is probably almost certain."

"It's pretty much a done deal," Kang Dabao said, standing on the flying boat with Jiang Qing and Chu Huer, looking at the two or three hundred members of the Ma Household gathered there.

For the sake of the hundreds of Qi Refinement in the Ma Household, Sect Leader Kang Da had already made up his mind not to refuse this marriage proposal.

Ma Wenhan doesn't have many years left to live, and by then the Ma Lineage will need to find a reliable Foundation Establishment power to serve. Since the two families are related by marriage, even if Chongming Sect doesn't have such a large appetite and can't swallow it all at once, they will still be able to get a share.

While pondering this plan, Kang Dabao didn't feel guilty. After all, to be fair, his behavior as the Sect Leader Kang Da was among the best in the martial arts world; at least he wouldn't do anything so exploitative.

Ma Wenhan was aware of all this, but he still wanted to form a marriage alliance with the Chongming Sect. After all, there was no promising successor in the clan, so he couldn't worry about what would happen after his death.

They could only adopt the same mindset as ordinary people who sell their children: they felt sorry for them, but they also hoped to find a good match.

Shan Sheng had to leave temporarily, Chu Huer, seeing that there were no outsiders present, looked towards the Ma Household's group after hearing Kang Dabao's words. Pointing to the most distinguished member of the Ma Household at the front, he said:

"Junior brother, you've heard that this Ma Yansong is the marriage prospect favored by the Ma Household patriarch, his great-grandson."

Jiang Qing glanced in the direction Chu Huer was pointing, then swept his gaze over Ma Yansong and got a general idea of what was going on.

Approaching thirty, at the Qi Refining Seventh Layer, he was good-looking, but dressed in a somewhat slicked-back manner.

At this age, his cultivation is certainly not slow, but his foundation is not solid. Most of his cultivation level is probably due to the use of elixirs, making him the type of cultivator most favored by the Demon Beast of the Cold Crow Mountain Range.

"Not good," Jiang Qing commented briefly, then added after a moment's thought, "Senior Brother Pei might not agree."

"Ha, it's not good. But marriage alliances are always based on mutual marriage. Our Chongming Sect is small in number, and the loss of any member will diminish the liveliness of the sect. I have never agreed to give my daughter here in marriage." Sect Leader Kang Da just smiled.

Chu Huer laughed along, "I'm just afraid the Ma Household won't be able to part with their daughter either."

Kang Dabao waved his hand and said, "It's alright. I only said to let the Ma Household members show their skills before we talk about anything else. Let's see if their Lineage members will put in the effort this time."

Both families had made preparations in advance, so the teams assembled quickly, and the two flying boats arrived outside Mi Household Stockade in no time.

The Mi Household had already known that Chongming Sect was coming, but the fact that the Changyun Ma Household was also involved annoyed them.

"Four Foundation Establishment? Two hundred Qi Refinement from the Ma Household, surnamed Mi, these are different from what you said before, aren't they?" A Toothless Old Man gave the Mi Household's leader a sinister look, making the latter break out in a cold sweat.

"The price offered by you seniors has not been Mi Household Stockade in the slightest. If we were to break the contract at the last minute, and if the news spreads among my family members who are still away, you seniors might lose a lot of business in the future."

Mi Household Da Dang sighed softly, his tone calm. He also made a living on the edge, and since he dared to invite Foundation Establishment to help him, he wouldn't be intimidated by the Toothless Old Man's few words.

"What a junior." The bald-browed old man, the most famous of the three, sneered. He was the senior Feng who had raised the price at the last minute. He was the most famous rogue Rogue Cultivator in Changyun County and the one most easily manipulated by the Mi Household's words.

After all, a good reputation can be a great help in earning resources for cultivation, and it would be a real pity to lose it.

Thinking of this, the bald-browed old man glanced sideways at the Mi Household's head, a fierce glint suddenly flashing in his eyes, and he thought to himself, "What a pity."

If this fellow hadn't made any preparations outside, the three of us could simply kill him, then activate the formation and divide up all the treasures of the Mi Household Stockade Village with the outsiders.

Why bother risking your life fighting for him?

"Anyway, all this guy surnamed Mi wants is for us to help guard the formation for a month. He doesn't need to risk his life, right? I imagine that of the four Foundation Establishment on the other side, there are two old and two young. The old ones are weak and the young ones are immature. There isn't even a mid-stage cultivator among them."

"Even if their Cultivation Method are better and their Spirit Artifact are better, with the help of Second Tier formation, surely we can hold out for at least a month?" The only old woman among the three Foundation Establishment Rogue Cultivator advised.

Upon closer examination, the other two realized that it made sense. Of the three, only the Toothless Old Man was an early-stage cultivator; the other two were mid-stage cultivators.

The two Ice Leaf cultivators opposite them were indeed somewhat intimidating. How many of these Rogue Cultivators had reached the Foundation Establishment stage hadn't risen from the ashes of countless battles? Who would be easily intimidated?

The three of them had just finished discussing their plan when Ma Wenhan, who was outside the formation, began to lead the Ma Household members into action.

Ma Wenhan usually appears timid and hesitant, but once on the battlefield, he becomes decisive and efficient. He doesn't utter a single unnecessary word, and with a Spirit Artifact- grade purple copper bell in his hand, he suddenly spews out a breath of golden energy from his withered chest and slams it onto the purple copper bell.

The bell rang loudly, and upon hearing it, the Ma Household disciples felt their Qi and Blood boil and their spiritual energy surge. They each summoned their Law Artifact and talismans and hurled them at the array light barrier of the Mi Household Stockade.

Although there was no clear strategy, their morale was certainly high.

The Sect Leader Kang Da, could tell that Ma Wenhan had very little experience in commanding battles. He wondered what Ma Wenhan had accomplished in nearly two hundred years of leadership.

Turning his head, he looked at the purple bronze bell in Ma Wenhan's hand with some envy. This Spirit Artifact could boost the morale of hundreds of cultivators present, and it was much more powerful than the White Bear Fang Banner that he usually used.

But his thought was interrupted by a burst of witch fire that erupted from the Mi Household Stockade.

As a Foundation Establishment True Cultivator the main formation, Ma Wenhan was always on guard. He had previously studied the formation used by the rebels from Mi Household Stockade in detail and prepared countermeasures for each one.

However, this kind of witch fire was unheard of before. Ma Wenhan was surprised, but she didn't hesitate. She summoned a magic fan, and a strong wind instantly rose, stirring up a large cloud of dust that covered the witch fire.

As the wind died down and the fire ignited, the group of Ma Household members at the front were scalded by the witch fire. Their screams filled the air. Although their clothes and flesh were not burned, they only struggled for a few breaths before they stopped breathing.

The scene was truly terrifying; even Ma Wenhan showed surprise on her face.

Seeing this, Sect Leader Kang Da frowned, thinking to himself, "It will be difficult to take this stronghold quickly."

(Lao Bai had some things to do on Monday, so I'm updating early tonight. If I still have time to update after work on Monday, I'll post another chapter.)

Thanks to Dao Keming and fellow reader 1302171621473241 for the monthly tickets.

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