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Chapter 1075: Chapter 1006: Uncomfortable_2
The cultivators erupted into a melee, with their targets being the Spiritual Objects in each other’s hands, aiming to claim them for themselves, not for the sake of training.
Naturally, no cultivator was willing to actively provoke the Zhang Family cultivators, but they wanted to participate and actively challenge and attack certain cultivators.
Unfortunately, those cultivators would rather switch positions than engage in combat with them.
However, as the battle progressed, the power of the Zhang Family became impossible to ignore.
It was unknown which cultivator suggested it, but through Soul Voice Transmission, everyone quickly came to a consensus to stop fighting their opponents.
Instead, they collectively attacked the Zhang Family cultivators, planning to drive them out of the battlefield, for surely they couldn’t just watch the Zhang Family cultivators benefit like opportunists, could they?
It must be said, the Zhang Family cultivators had made some progress, but not much.
After being besieged by a large number of cultivators, their formation soon fell into disarray, many became panicked, fearing they might die there.
Although they were still barely holding on, if it weren’t for other cultivators holding back, who knows how many Zhang Family cultivators would have turned into lost souls by now!
Fortunately, with everyone’s united effort, they finally managed to drive the Zhang Family cultivators out, allowing them to partake in the final contention with peace of mind.
This melee was just the beginning, and in the upcoming mountains, battles could erupt anywhere, anytime, affecting most cultivators.
Also, after this battle, the Zhang Family cultivators became even more disliked.
Openly, naturally no cultivator dared to lay hands on them, but in secret, there were far fewer scruples.
Thus, in the subsequent period, the casualties in the Zhang Family surged rapidly, with dozens of Lianxu Cultivators and hundreds of Divine Transformation clan members perishing in just a few days!
This data enraged those few hidden Integration cultivators, some angry at their juniors for not fighting back, and others furious at the audacity of other cultivators.
"After the great battle ends, we definitely need to find a few disobedient ’chickens’ to intimidate other forces!"
"You’re right!" This proposal received a lot of agreement.
So, someone immediately took out a mysterious Southern Compass Plate! This is a very powerful eighth-rank Magical Treasure, which, with just a drop of the victim’s blood, can identify the killer.
If it were not for the future of the clan, the Zhang Family would never agree to let this Magical Treasure leave their territory.
Indeed, it works wonderfully, but it’s rather troublesome since it can only track one killer at a time and also consumes a lot of Spirit Stones.
"Eh?"
When it was the turn of the Integration cultivator in charge of activating the plate, the sound immediately drew everyone else’s attention.
"What’s wrong?"
"There are three clan members whose killers cannot be found, and they were three clan members who perished at the same time," he said gravely.
This indicates that these three clan members were killed by the same cultivator at the same time, and more importantly, that cultivator actually has a means to shield against the eighth-rank Southern Compass Plate!
After this incident, there were several more instances of the Southern Compass Plate malfunctioning.
"It seems, the forces in the mountains still have many secrets hidden."
A certain Integration cultivator sneered, saying, "It looks like this time we really need to launch a massive slaughter! We must intimidate these forces, otherwise, they will become increasingly overbearing!"
"That’s not acceptable!"
Another shook their head and said, "We have just settled in the mountains and have not yet fully understood the specific situation. We should not eradicate too many forces all at once, as it would cause widespread panic, which is detrimental to our family’s control and rule over the mountains."
"Are you suggesting we give up on avenging some of our clan members?" the murderous Integration cultivator asked, glaring at him with an unpleasant expression.
"I never said that!"
If he had not realized this trap and inadvertently admitted it, even as an Integration cultivator, he would have faced some trouble.
"My point is to take it slowly, not to eradicate too many forces at once to avoid causing large-scale chaos and resistance from some forces."
The two Integration cultivators suggested two different approaches, and after everyone’s choice, the prudent method gained more agreement.
——
"Uncle, are you alright?"
In a corner of the mountains, several Li family cultivators were hiding.
Initially, they did not grasp the changing situation clearly and suffered losses before they reacted and gradually found some clansmen. Then, they huddled together for warmth.
"It’s alright, how are you all doing?"
"We have always been moving together, so no cultivator dares to attack us for now."
A clansman with a worried expression asked: "But what should we do next?"
"Our strength is not strong enough, but we have a good number of people. I think we should stick together to minimize casualties."
"Uncle is right! I agree!"
Among these dozen or so people, there were no Lianxu Cultivators, and their Divine Transformation had just reached halfway. Their strength was indeed not strong enough. To survive, they either had to find the family elders or bolster their own might.
However, improving one’s Cultivation in a short period of time was unrealistic, so their only option was to unite.
They would try to find as many clansmen as possible to join them, pooling everyone’s strength to ensure their own safety and also possibly to strike against other cultivators.
While the clansmen were making their choices, Li Zhirui and Xiaoqing had restored all their Mana.
"Jiu, let’s get out of here quickly." Xiaoqing said somewhat impatiently.
"No rush, let’s first take stock of what we’ve gained so far."
Li Zhirui thought for a moment and then gave Xiaoqing a definitive answer, "It’s best you don’t show yourself until the Zhang Family makes a move."
"Why?"
No sooner had Xiaoqing spoken than he realized the reason.
The three Zhang Family cultivators, the ones who had ambushed Xiaoqing, were killed by him.
That is to say, Xiaoqing was implicated in the deaths of Zhang Family cultivators, and Li Zhirui did not have the ability to erase this. He could only hide in a space and shield against all means of detection.
"But hiding in space isn’t a solution forever!" With Xiaoqing’s temperament, how could he possibly be willing to stay in a space for a lengthy period?
"Hide for a while longer, and let’s evaluate the situation later." That was all Li Zhirui could offer to console him.
"Alright."
Li Zhirui took out all his gains and started to organize them. 𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙥𝒖𝒃.𝒄𝒐𝒎
"Jiu, you actually found so many Spiritual Objects?!" Xiaoqing, seeing the pile of Jade Boxes that looked like a small hill, shouted in surprise.
"I occupied two unsearched Spirit Mountains in the heartland of the Devil Race and found quite a few treasures."
Li Zhirui briefly recounted his experience, making Xiaoqing extremely envious.
He thought that he should have rushed there too, then he might not have ended up in such a situation with few Spiritual Objects collected and stuck in the space, uncertain of how long he would be there.
During the entire period of the cultivator melee, Li Zhirui and Xiaoqing hid in the space, thus they weren’t quite aware of the external situation until a day or two after the melee had ended, they realized that the great battle was over.
Afterwards, Li Zhirui alone returned to the Nine Bend Gorge at his fastest speed.
"Ancestor Rui, are you alright?"
The Li family cultivators did not see Li Zhirui return for a long time, and many already feared the worst. Fortunately, he returned safely in the end.
"I sustained some minor injuries, found a place to heal, so I came back a bit later and made you all worry." Li Zhirui lied to cover up the truth.
"What’s the situation now?"
"A couple of days ago, the Zhang Family took action! With a thundering force, they wiped out several powers and instantly ended the cultivator melee. Everyone is preparing to return to the clan base at the mountain gate."
Li Zhirui nodded, thinking to himself: It’s only been a little over a month, and the Zhang Family has ended the melee? Was it because the training went well, or was there another reason?
"Dragon Carp, have you tallied the casualties of our family?"
Upon hearing this question, Dragon Carp’s expression turned grave, stating: "The family has suffered casualties of up to three thousand people, including over a hundred Divine Transformation cultivators who fell..."
Hearing the numbers reported by Dragon Carp, even though Li Zhirui was prepared, it still saddened his heart.
