The Rise of a Family: Starting from Daily Intelligence - Chapter 388 (Patreon)

Chapter 388: Clan Growth, Breaking the Seal, Blood Curse

Fu Changsheng’s mind sank into the Shadow Gate mask, only to see the merit points on it had, after nine years, automatically changed to eight thousand. Clearly his subordinates had carried out quite a few missions over the years. He went to the spirit mirror, pondered for a moment, then quickly wrote a line upon it: [Exchange Drunken Dragon Pill Formula]

Buzz!

The spirit mirror trembled slightly.

Text rippled, then changed to: [Insufficient points. Drunken Dragon Pill formula requires nine thousand points.]

Short by one thousand.

That wasn’t difficult—one mission would do.

He mused a while.

Worried about his father in the Cangling Realm, he asked again, “How can I enter the Cangling Realm?”

The mirror quivered.

It seemed to wait in silence before replying: [Promote to Shadow Gate Elder to gain the right to enter other realms.]

Fu Changsheng had meant to ask what was required to advance to Elder, but he noticed his merit points had already dropped by one hundred. He immediately held back. At present he was only an outer disciple, not even inner sect; to become an Elder would take no small amount of time.

He was thinking of going to the Mission Hall to take a look.

Just then—

A sharp buzzing sounded from his waist.

Fu Changsheng instantly withdrew his mind from the Shadow Gate mask, pressed a hand seal into the message jade slip, and Gan Muwan’s voice came through: “Father.”

“The teleportation array’s construction is largely complete. If you’re free, please come to add the final stroke.”

Ever since Fu Changsheng went into seclusion and Yao Yao and the others went to Huizhou Prefecture, they had petitioned the Imperial Court to construct a teleportation array. In the blink of an eye, nine years passed, and the array was finally finished. Fu Changsheng felt a faint thrill.

This was the clan’s first teleportation array.

Travel between their two fiefs would become far easier from now on.

He stepped out of the secret room at once.

Because the teleportation array was of utmost importance, it had been sited directly within the Demon-Subduing Tower at the outset. This was the most strictly guarded place in the Yunshan Commandery fief, and the safest.

When he arrived at the Demon-Subduing Tower,

Fu Changli and the others were already waiting.

Even Fairy Tianyin was present.

However,

during the entire construction process, the Imperial Spirit Bureau’s people had guarded it zealously, not allowing anyone to set foot within, for fear of being copied. Hearing the array was now complete, Fairy Tianyin, as a formation master, wanted to see it first. If she could glean the construction principles, it would be of great benefit to the clan’s future development.

“Patriarch!”

Everyone bowed to Fu Changsheng.

They parted to open a path.

Within the second-floor hall built inside the Demon-Subduing Tower, a complex formation had already been condensed. Its radiance was still dormant, and although he wasn’t a formation master, Fu Changsheng could see at a glance that the final stroke had yet to be drawn.

At that moment,

the elder sent by the Imperial Spirit Bureau, Elder Gui, who had been sitting cross-legged within the array, saw Fu Changsheng enter. With a flick of his sleeve, a formation brush drifted toward Fu Changsheng. The brush looked ordinary, but it had been forged from the fur of a Three-Eyed Heavenly Fox; a faint aura like that of a magic treasure seeped from it.

Fu Changsheng’s heart gave a jolt.

He raised a hand to catch it.

This elder the Bureau had sent clearly had formation attainments at the fourth rank! Which meant—

to construct a cross-prefecture teleportation array not only required heritage, but at least a fourth-rank formation master.

Elder Gui pointed to the Qian position: “Patriarch Fu, drop the brush with the weight of ten thousand jun to activate the array eye. The array will be complete in the main.”

Fu Changsheng nodded slightly.

Gan Muwan, behind him, immediately had people prepare firecrackers outside.

A joyous event of this scale deserved celebration.

As Fu Changsheng’s brush tip touched the Qian position, there was a hum; the array’s runes surged and then linked head to tail into a single body, letting out a deep boom. A vast spiritual pressure washed out; everyone watched without blinking.

Yet—

in a blink,

the array’s light receded like a tide.

Everyone looked at Elder Gui in puzzlement, thinking something had gone wrong. But Elder Gui nodded with evident satisfaction: “Not bad. The formation is done. In the next few months, once the twelve sources that activate the array are inscribed, it can be put into use.”

These minor tasks

naturally didn’t require Elder Gui’s own hand.

The other formation masters he’d brought stepped forward to busy themselves.

As for tracing these twelve sources, ordinary formation masters could recognize them at a glance, so there was no intention to avoid onlookers.

Fu Changsheng, without making a show of it, passed Elder Gui a Hundred Treasure Pouch that Gan Muwan had handed over: “Elder Gui, you’ve worked hard.”

“How many spirit stones are required for each transmission, and what needs attention in daily maintenance?”

Over the past nine years,

the clan had lived with tightened belts.

First, because the materials to build this teleportation array were paid by their clan; second, the construction of the vast Demon-Subduing City; third, the initial development costs of the fief in Huizhou Prefecture—these had nearly emptied their coffers.

The array’s cost in spirit stones was immense.

It had to be maintained properly.

Elder Gui glanced at the Hundred Treasure Pouch; seeing the Fu clan was sensible, he flicked his sleeve and a jade slip floated toward Fu Changsheng: “This is a long-distance teleportation array. Each transmission costs thirty thousand spirit stones. As for daily maintenance and the method to refine protective transmission tokens, I’ve inscribed them all in the jade slip. Read it carefully, Patriarch Fu. If anything’s unclear, you may ask.”

Clearly,

the gift had hit the mark.

Rarely did Elder Gui offer to answer personally.

Fu Changsheng passed the jade slip to Fairy Tianyin. She scanned it quickly and then gave Fu Changsheng a slight nod.

Gan Muwan, seeing this, smiled and stepped forward: “Elder Gui, we’ve set a banquet to reward you. It’s all local specialties of Jingzhou. Please do honor us.”

Elder Gui had been with the Fu clan for nine years.

When he went out for a stroll, he’d heard that the Fu clan’s spirit cuisine was the best in Jingzhou. Hearing this, his appetite stirred; he stroked his beard: “Fairy Gan, you’ve gone to such trouble.”

After the banquet,

Elder Gui left the Fu clan ahead of time.

At the same moment,

a familiar mechanical voice sounded in Fu Changsheng’s mind: “Ding.”

“Your clan has constructed a teleportation array and gained five thousand family contribution points.”

Immediately after,

the family contribution value on his panel changed to nine thousand.

As a cross-prefecture teleportation array, it was of great significance to the clan’s development, so the contribution reward was considerable.

After seeing the guests off,

Fu Changsheng summoned Gan Muwan, Fu Changli, and Fu Changli (the steward) together to the council hall.

Now, the Yunshan Commandery fief was guarded by Fu Changli with Purple Mansion strength, while Gan Muwan handled affairs.

Fu Changli, having hit a bottleneck in winemaking, had gradually come out of the cellars and taken charge of managing the younger generation’s daily matters.

Once everyone sat,

Fu Changsheng spoke plainly: “Everyone.”

“I’ve received word that the Imperial Court will soon convene a Great Family Competition. This competition concerns the quotas for entering a secret realm. Only seventh-rank and above families are eligible to enter. For our Fu clan, this is a great opportunity, so we must seize it!”

All those present were managers.

They’d heard some rumors.

But they didn’t know the specifics.

Fu Changli, impatient, said: “Patriarch, did they mention the cultivation thresholds for entry into the secret realm?”

Of the four Fu brothers back then,

the eldest, Fu Changren, had passed away in peace; only he had yet to break through to Purple Mansion.

He’d been steeped in winemaking.

His talent was average, and he hadn’t thought to go further. But when he brewed Heavenly Dragon Wine last time, the refining of Drunken Dragon Grass had conjured an unforgettable vision. He’d personally witnessed the desolate scene of his line declining with none to carry on after his death, and he’d suddenly awakened.

Before he breathed his last,

he had to raise up his descendants.

These days the clan had many Purple Mansion cultivators, and his voice had diminished. To secure a future for his offspring,

there was only one way:

advance further.

Break through to Purple Mansion, and greater chances would open.

Having died once in an illusion,

he now wanted to live a few hundred years more.

At least to see the Fu clan become a Golden Core family.

If Foundation Establishment had a chance to enter the secret realm, that would be a heaven-defying opportunity for him.

Fu Changsheng said, “The details aren’t known yet.”

“However—”

“For the competition, according to what I’ve heard, clans must field participants at three realms: Purple Mansion, Foundation Establishment, and Qi Refining.”

At this, Fu Changli’s eyes lit. He shot a quick look at Fu Changli. If so, Third Brother had a chance.

Gan Muwan grasped Fu Changsheng’s meaning at once: “Father, you mean we should first pick candidates at each realm?”

“Exactly.”

Fu Changsheng nodded.

Better to prepare first than scramble at the last moment: “You and Fourth Sister will handle it.”

Gan Muwan could manage, but her cultivation was only Foundation Establishment, so Fu Changli needed to sit in town.

Fu Changli asked, “Patriarch, what are our selection criteria?”

“I will arrange the Purple Mansion candidate myself. As for Foundation Establishment and Qi Refining, you two decide.”

With his mind on Gloomcloud Valley, Fu Changsheng gave a few more instructions, then left Yunshan Commandery. In a deserted place, he turned his right hand and a Lightning-Summoning Talisman appeared in his palm. The azure flood dragon was ill-suited to show itself, and his own flying speed to Yinan Mountain would take time: “Let’s test how fast this Lightning-Summoning Talisman flies.”

He pressed a hand seal into it and chanted. The talisman hummed as thunder-light surged, and a raptor of lightning took shape. Fu Changsheng tapped his toes and landed on the thunderbird’s back. It screeched, spread its wings, and soared straight to the clouds. Fierce gales battered him; Fu Changsheng was startled and quickly had the bird drop lower. Even so, the wind sliced like frosty blades across his face. “This thunderbird’s speed…”

Even the azure flood dragon would be ashamed by it.

It would be a superb trump card for escape.

Once the talisman burned out, he was loath to use another.

As he traveled,

his thoughts raced.

How to maximize the Gloomcloud Valley affair?

Midway,

he exchanged for another round of intelligence.

When he reached Yinan Mountain, he immediately veered toward Gloomcloud Valley.

In the peach grove near Gloomcloud Valley,

two Foundation Establishment cultivators in Tianyin Tribe garb kept watch, one north and one south. At midnight, the northerner, Qiushang, turned into a black shadow and in a few flashes came to Yunshang’s side. “Brother Yun, drink—this is top-grade spirit wine from Tianyun Mountain. It packs a punch.”

The pair had received the chieftain’s secret order

to stake out this ghostly place of yin for nine years.

At first,

they had stayed as still as mountains.

But after nine years,

aside from nightly clangor of phantom spears and armor, Gloomcloud Valley showed no change.

Gradually,

they’d meet up at night to drink away the boredom—and indulge another pastime: “Brother Yun, that woman’s like a corpse. No fun at all to toy with. How about you hold the post here, and I go fetch a few more beauties from nearby for a bit of pleasure, eh?”

Yunshang meant to refuse.

But after so long in this accursed place, there was only so much amusement.

He gritted his teeth and warned, “Come right back. Remember, don’t leave any traces.”

“Heh, Brother Yun, you still don’t trust me?”

Qiushang was in fine spirits.

Since he’d have new playthings, the woman in the cave didn’t need to live. He flicked his forefinger; with a pop, a flame sprang out and streaked into the curled-up woman in the cave. She let out a muffled, pained sound; clearly her tongue had been cut out and she couldn’t even cry for help. Soon she turned to ash and scattered on the wind, as if she’d never existed.

Qiushang slipped off toward the southwest with practiced ease.

Ten li on lay a small village; not long ago, the Tao family’s daughter had come to the peach grove to gather honey—graceful and in the bloom of youth, ripe for the picking. Thinking of this, his excitement grew.

Suddenly,

a wave of vertigo swamped him.

Before he even knew what had happened, he toppled face-first.

Fu Changsheng flashed into view. A sword light fell on Qiushang’s wrist; blood flowed. After filling several bottles, Fu Changsheng stamped lightly and cracked the ground, burying the man then and there.

The target wouldn’t die at once.

But he wouldn’t live past ten days.

Fu Changsheng used the Thousand Faces Technique and took on Qiushang’s appearance, returning to the peach grove.

Seeing him back so quickly, Yunshang blinked: “Brother Qiu, what’s this?”

By years of habit,

this fellow never returned before dawn—this was most unusual.

Fu Changsheng kept a grave face: “Brother Yun, my field-armor beetle sent a message from within the valley.”

He lowered his voice for the rest.

Yunshang’s eyes lit: “Brother Qiu, is that true?”

“Of course it’s true.”

“Since so, we must report to the chieftain at once to bring troops. We can’t let the Fifth Elder succeed with his treachery.”

“Exactly!”

The two took out thousand-li messaging jade talismans, spoke quickly, and the light died down.

Yunshang gratefully clapped Fu Changsheng’s shoulder: “Brother Qiu, thank you for sharing such great credit. I, Yun, owe you. If you need anything in the future, just say the word.”

After nine years of squatting here,

he’d thought it a pointless task.

Who would have imagined a tidal wave of fortune?

He, Yun, had the chance to defy fate—this merit would surely earn a Soul-Guiding Pill, and then he’d have hope of breaking through to Purple Mansion!

The thought made him tremble with excitement.

Tianyin Tribe.

Within a secret room, the chieftain of the Tianyin Tribe snapped his eyes open like lightning and glanced at the thousand-li messaging jade at his waist—his eyes gleamed: “At last, news.”

He sent a hand seal at once.

Soon,

Yunshang’s voice came: “Chieftain, Qiushang and I discovered that the Fifth Elder and three others found a Spirit-Nurturing Stone vein in Gloomcloud Valley, but concealed it, intending to keep it for themselves. They’re at the final, most crucial step of breaking the barrier. Please send troops immediately.”

Spirit-Nurturing Stone?!

At the name,

the chieftain’s beard visibly trembled.

A vein that could nurture a postnatal spirit treasure.

That such a heaven-defying thing lay within Gloomcloud Valley—no wonder even that old Fifth had defected. “That old fox, the Great Elder, truly…”

He’d thought the man was at the end of his lifespan and had given up, but he’d been saving a final move! Luckily, he’d laid a backhand in advance,

sending Qiushang and Yunshang—skilled at intelligence—to watch Gloomcloud Valley without leaving.

The chieftain quickly took out his messaging jade and spoke. In moments, six Purple Mansion cultivators gathered: “Chieftain, you summoned us in the dead of night—is something amiss?”

“I’ll explain on the road. Go!”

Many eyes and ears about.

Though these were his confidants,

the Fifth Elder was a precedent for betrayal.

So the chieftain chose not to tell the truth, leading them at full speed toward Gloomcloud Valley.

When they were still tens of li away,

his waist buzzed urgently.

He looked down—

Elder Tianyang was sending. His expression changed. After a moment’s hesitation, he told the others, “You go on ahead to Gloomcloud Valley. No matter what the Great Elder says, seize the secret realm entrance first—move!”

At their doorstep now,

there was no need to hide.

Hearing that a secret realm lay in the valley, the others needed no urging. Before he finished, they vanished in streaks of light.

Left alone, the chieftain muttered, “Elder Tianyang hasn’t shown himself in over ten years—why appear at this critical moment…”

Though he grumbled,

the man was Golden Core.

He didn’t dare defy him. He sent a hand seal quickly. Elder Tianyang’s voice came: “Lead men to Gloomcloud Valley at once. At any cost, you must not let anyone break the valley’s barrier!”

The chieftain froze.

How did Elder Tianyang, long absent, know of a barrier in Gloomcloud Valley?

And

why not open it?

Could he be planning to swallow the spirit treasure nurtured by the Spirit-Nurturing Stone vein for himself? Yes!

That was the only possibility.

Elder Tianyang had suffered unfair treatment in youth. Later, by some chance, he soared. But because of his childhood, he felt little belonging to the tribe, and he’d stolen juniors’ fortunes more than once.

Yet he was a Golden Core True Person,

the tribe’s living town-securing treasure.

So,

everyone could only grit their teeth and endure.

The chieftain snorted, “This chance is a tidal fortune for anyone. Even if I order them to stop, I doubt anyone would listen.”

Still,

he obediently replied.

And he was on his way with men—so he wasn’t disobeying.

With that thought,

he slowed down on purpose.

If, by the time he arrived,

the barrier had opened, no one could blame him.

Meanwhile,

within Gloomcloud Valley, the mist was as dark as ink, blotting out the sky. Only the Scarlet-Flame Wolf’s den glowed with eerie red.

The Fifth Elder and the other three stood before the barrier, their eyes unable to hide excitement. Dressed in purple robes, each slit his wrist; fresh blood dripped from their fingertips into a “Blood-Devouring Channel” opened at one corner of the barrier.

Before long,

their faces turned as white as paper.

Their bodies swayed.

They hadn’t expected the final step to breaking the barrier to require essence blood as the guide.

“Second, Third, Fifth—hold on. Just a little more.” The Great Elder’s body shuddered. From his nearly dried meridians seeped thread-like essence blood to sink into the “Blood-Devouring Channel” below.

Open this barrier,

and he would have hope of forming a core. What he gave now would be repaid tenfold, a hundredfold.

The other three looked at one another,

gritted their teeth,

and kept pushing their essence blood into the channel.

They had labored nine years. With success at hand, they couldn’t fail at the final step.

However—

unseen to them, within the barrier,

as blood dripped into the soul-eating channels, it did not sink into stone crevices but turned into a hundred blood serpents, slithering toward the altar’s central “Baleful Dragon Pillar.” The pillar was wrapped in a reverse-scale pattern formed from ten thousand piled bones; above it hovered a “Yinfiend Dragon Pearl” that sealed a wisp of remnant soul.

Now,

the remnant soul, dormant for years, seemed bit by bit to awaken.

Yet

the four elders noticed nothing amiss, only grew more excited.

Just then,

their expressions changed.

Someone had broken the Wind-and-Sand Grand Array.

In a breath,

eight Purple Mansion elders of the Tianyin Tribe ghosted into the Scarlet-Flame Wolf’s den.

Seeing the barrier gate blazing with light, all eight showed excitement: “So it’s just as the chieftain said—there’s a secret realm in Gloomcloud Valley. Great Elder, you four aren’t being decent. How can you keep such heaven-sent fortune to yourselves!”

“Exactly!”

“Seventh Brother, looks like they’re just a hair short of opening the barrier. Let’s lend them a hand!”

Boom!

Eager to enter the secret realm,

none of them thought twice.

They imitated the others,

and rolling essence blood poured into the blood channels.

The Great Elder and the other three exchanged looks. From the others’ words, they likely still didn’t know about the Spirit-Nurturing Stone vein. If so, having help to open the barrier would save them effort.

Rumble!

All twelve Purple Mansion elders formed seals together and a Four Symbols Blood Array appeared overhead.

With the power pushing, the almost-open barrier rumbled outward.

But

as they beheld the eerie altar that speared the sky, their faces changed: “This…”

Meanwhile,

in the White Tiger Tribe’s council hall,

the White Chieftain sat at the head, with the tribe’s Purple Mansion elders to either side.

After more than a decade of seclusion to lick their wounds,

the White Tiger Tribe had revived. The chieftain tapped the table: “The Skywolf Chieftain has sent word—right now the Fu clan’s Yinan Mountain has only a single Purple Mansion guarding it. Destroy Yinan Mountain, and the Shi and Shangguan families, who’ve allied around the Fu clan, will collapse without a fight. What say you?”

“Chieftain, I think it feasible.”

“Indeed. I hear the Fu clan is racing to develop their fief in Wuzhou and using other manpower to build the thousand-li Demon-Subduing City. Now is the best time to strike.”

Those present had long smoldered with hatred.

The Purple Mansion elders the Fu clan slew were their blood kin.

Ten years had passed.

It was time to settle accounts.

The White Tiger Chieftain struck the board: “Good. Then let us petition the ancestors together. This campaign must be won—we cannot afford defeat!”

One more crippling blow,

and their White Tiger Tribe might never rise again.

He rose and led the elders to the back mountain. Upon the White Tiger totem pillar were inscribed the life’s learning of each generation at life’s end; a wisp of each spirit was taken into the totem. Though the people were gone, they guarded the tribe forever.

The chieftain turned his right hand.

Nine incense sticks ignited of themselves.

He bowed to the totem, then rose and spoke loud: “Forebears above, today I—”

Before he finished,

suddenly,

he sensed something.

He snapped his head up.

On the sky-piercing pillar, the totem shed bloody tears.

A low wail sounded.

He touched his brow by reflex.

At that instant,

a blood-red sigil appeared upon his forehead: “What in the—”

Before the thought finished,

his whole body froze; from all seven orifices drifted his life-soul.

Behind him, every Purple Mansion elder was the same. These life-souls, like a butterfly effect, spread across the entire tribe—in men and women, old and young, high and low. All souls drifted out and, like rivers to the sea, converged into the Yinfiend Dragon Pearl within Gloomcloud Valley.

In that moment,

the Fifth Elder finally sensed something wrong: “Retreat—now!!!”

This wasn’t a secret realm, nor a Spirit-Nurturing Stone vein. It was clearly a deception laid by someone.

What lay before them was a Blood Sacrifice Grand Array! The Fifth Elder spun to flee!

Too late.

The Baleful Dragon Pillar burst with dazzling black light.

As they ran, patches of skin flaked from their bodies and “Bone-Eroding Worms” crawled out one after another.

“Th-this…”

The Great Elder watched in terror as his vitality was stripped away at blinding speed. In an instant, he was like a centenarian; his teeth fell out, and he collapsed. His mana was gone. As his eyes closed, he saw the other elders roar and fall in turn.

In a blink,

blood flowed like rivers! After the Yinfiend Dragon Pearl devoured the last life-soul, the clouds over the valley twisted into a whirl of dragon-shaped storm. Blood rained in sheets; in midair, the raindrops froze into icicles, each engraved with the “Dark Nether Kin-Slaughter Curse.” No matter how far from the sacrificers, their kin were pierced through the sea of consciousness by the curse, turning into red-eyed parricides—wives strangled crying infants, brothers hewed off brothers’ heads, and the entire Tianyin Tribe was lost to a crimson madness.

The Fifth Elder’s great-granddaughter was cultivating a thousand li away in the royal court when a skeletal hand thrust from the void and pierced her dantian. She stared at the scales sprouting on her own palm, shattered her heart meridian with the last lucid thread of consciousness—yet her corpse, still driven by the curse, walked toward the Transmission Pavilion…

A yin wind, thick with the cloying reek of blood, coiled into a crimson tornado around the altar.

With every thousand souls it drank, the Baleful Dragon Pillar sent a muffled dragon’s roar from the depths of the valley. The White Tiger clansmen, stripped of their souls, froze in their final poses, empty sockets fixed on the altar, lips twisted into eerie smiles.

“Roar!”

Then,

a dragon’s cry shook Gloomcloud Valley.

Boom!

The entire valley collapsed with a thunderous crash. A dragon shadow of remnant soul rode the wind into the sky and vanished beyond the horizon.

“This is…”

Arriving a step late, the Tianyin Chieftain stared at the valley-turned-ruin, his face bloodless. Within the valley he could no longer sense any life-soul—meaning the Tianyin Tribe’s twelve Purple Mansion elders had perished in a single day. “Pff!”

He spat a mouthful of fresh blood.

Thanks for reading—what a brutal turn. If you’re enjoying the ride, I’d be incredibly grateful if you’d support the translation on Patreon; even a small pledge helps me keep the chapters flowing. And if you have a moment, please drop a rating or review on NovelUpdates so more readers can find this series—your feedback means a lot!

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