Chapter 39 (Part 2)

Xu Yayin did not know Song Yuanxi very well, but she was willing to believe a fellow disciple. So she hurriedly returned home to report the situation. However, the elders at home had no reaction. They even told her not to make a fuss.

“Family Head, demons are no ordinary beings. If a demon has really slipped into Jin City, the children of my Xu family are in danger!”

Xu Yayin hurried forward and said again, “Although that fellow disciple of mine learned this information from somewhere I do not know, both his parents are Golden Core elders in Xuantian Sect, and his status is not something an ordinary disciple can compare to. I do not think he would go so far as to lie to me. Family Head…”

“Jin City is under Sifang City’s jurisdiction. It has nothing much to do with that Xuantian Sect!” Some unknown word provoked the other party, and what greeted Xu Yayin was unexpectedly a furious roar.

After Xu Tianwang finished roaring, unease rose in his heart. This child was his elder brother’s only bloodline. He had promised his elder brother that he would cherish her well.

“Yayin, Second Uncle did not mean to scold you. This matter truly is not something a child like you should get involved in. Why don’t…”

“I’ll go find the clan elder!” Xu Yayin no longer entangled herself with him and turned, intending to seek help from someone else.

Xu Tianwang reacted quickly and directly immobilized her. His face darkened somewhat. “When did you learn this trick of reporting things behind someone’s back? I certainly didn’t teach you this back then. You must have been led astray after going to Xuantian Sect.”

“Second Uncle, I didn’t!” Xu Yayin refuted him urgently.

Xu Tianwang did not listen at all and directly ordered, “Send Second Young Miss back to the side courtyard and watch her well. Without my permission, no one is allowed to undo the restriction without authorization.”

“Second Uncle, I refuse to accept this! I’m going to find the clan elder!”

“The clan elder is in seclusion. He has no time to care about those lousy little matters of yours.”

Before Xu Tianwang’s words had even faded, a deep and powerful voice suddenly rang out. It came from far away and drew near, and in the blink of an eye, the speaker appeared at the entrance to the main hall.

“Clan Elder! Second Uncle secretly tied me up!” Xu Yayin was extremely excited when she saw the newcomer.

The Xu family clan elder silently recited something and cast a thought incantation. The restraint on Xu Yayin instantly vanished. He walked slowly up to Xu Tianwang and said unhurriedly, “This old man is untalented and cannot enter death seclusion. As it happens, I have free time now and am willing to listen to a junior chatter.”

Xu Tianwang was about to speak, but the Xu family clan elder directly ignored him and looked kindly at the junior beside him.

“You are Xu Tianqin’s child, are you not? I remember that your father sent you into Xuantian Sect back then. Several decades have passed in the blink of an eye. How did you find time to return to Jin City?”

Xu Yayin was very excited. “Clan Elder, you actually still remember my father? I went out with senior brothers from the sect to carry out a mission. The mission is already complete, and since we happened to pass through Jin City, we stayed here temporarily. I wanted to come home and take a look.”

“To remember affection so, very good.” The Xu family clan elder was very gratified, then asked, “What were you arguing about earlier? And what did you want to tell me?”

“I…”

“Xu Yayin!” Xu Tianwang suddenly shouted.

The Xu family clan elder directly shot him a cold look. With a sweep of his sleeve, he brought Xu Yayin in front of him, cutting off the line of sight between the Xu family junior and Xu Tianwang.

“Do not be afraid. With this old man here, no one can do anything to you!”

Xu Yayin had not been afraid in the first place. She had set her mind on reporting this matter. Now that the Xu family clan elder was protecting her, she explained the entire matter in careful detail, even briefly mentioning Song Yuanxi’s identity in Xuantian Sect. After the Xu family clan elder heard her out, he thought for a moment, then directly called over a trusted aide and asked what the Song family was currently doing. When he learned that the Song family had already called back most of its children, voluntarily withdrawn from the competition, and begun closing up its shops, his heart suddenly sank.

This was bad!

“Quick! Hurry and summon all Xu family children outside. Unless it is a matter of utmost urgency, everyone is to return to the family immediately!”

Xu Tianwang did not take it seriously. “Clan Elder, there is no need to make such a fuss. This must be the Song family’s sinister scheme. That woman Song Dongyou was domineering and forceful in her early years, but now she’s as crafty as a rat, with one rotten idea after another. These past few decades, my Xu family’s momentum has surpassed the Song family’s. She must be holding in some wicked plan…”

“Nonsense!” the Xu family clan elder rebuked. “The Song family head is a person of strategy. How could she be so shortsighted?”

“What does Clan Elder mean by that? Song Dongyou has both courage and strategy, so that makes me, Xu Tianwang, a petty villain? Clan Elder, we’re the ones who are family. Why are you turning your elbow outward?”

As Xu Tianwang spoke, he also laid out evidence. “Song Dongyou kept saying the Heavenly Chasm protective array had abnormalities. That very day, I sent people over to investigate, and the result was that nothing was wrong at all. Since the Heavenly Chasm is unharmed, and Jin City’s city-protecting grand array is here, why should we fear a demon?”

The Xu family clan elder, however, frowned. “The Heavenly Chasm protective array changes day by day. What you checked a few days ago cannot represent that nothing is wrong today. Furthermore, did you personally go over to investigate? If you merely sent a few Qi Refining juniors, what could they find out?”

Xu Tianwang continued to insist on his own view. “If I say there’s nothing wrong, then there’s nothing wrong. How could I joke around with the entire Xu family! If the Heavenly Chasm protective array truly has abnormalities and that Song Dongyou was right, then I, I will…”

“What will you do?”

“I’ll eat this table in front of me!”

To show his determination, Xu Tianwang had simply gone all out.

Yet not long after his words fell, two Foundation Establishment Xu family juniors hurried over. They were the people who had escorted the dragon mimic into the Heavenly Chasm.

“Family Head! This is bad. We escorted the dragon mimic into the Heavenly Chasm, and on the way back, we sensed something unusual with the Life Gate, so we stayed behind to investigate. Who would have thought that cracks had appeared throughout the entire protective array?”

“Those cracks were extremely fine and were constantly concealed by the Life Gate’s vitality. If we hadn’t specifically studied arrays, we would almost have been deceived…”

The two spoke one after another. Only after finishing did they realize with a start that aside from the Family Head, the clan elder who had not appeared for many years was also in the hall. As for the Family Head’s expression, it could be called extremely ugly!

The Xu family clan elder pointed at the table before them and said, “Made from superior red sandalwood, weighing approximately three hundred jin. Do you plan to eat it all at once, or divide it into three meals a day?”

“Clan Elder…” Xu Tianwang looked embarrassed, his old face swelling red. “A slip of the tongue. It was a momentary slip of the tongue.”

“I do not think it was a slip of the tongue. Rather, you became complacent and forgot your original intention!” The Xu family clan elder put away his smile and suddenly turned cold.

Xu Tianwang immediately shivered. This clan elder was not only stronger in cultivation than he was, but also two generations higher in seniority. If discussing kinship, he even had to call him Granduncle.

“Clan Elder, my heart is wholly devoted to the Xu family. How could I possibly have any other intentions?”

To the other party, Xu Tianwang’s explanation had no credibility whatsoever. Instead, the Xu family clan elder exposed the truth with one sentence. “Ask your own conscience. Is what you are serving the entire Xu family, or your own Xu family?”

“Clan Elder, I…”

“The Canglan Realm has no shortage of geniuses. However, only those who grow up can truly bear the name of genius. Before that, everything is in vain!”

“That child is still young now, and still has to rely on the main family in everything. The Xu family should be even more cautious and tread carefully step by step.” The Xu family clan elder transmitted the last sentence directly through divine sense.

Xu Tianwang was struck as if by a deafening blow. Thinking back on his proud behavior over the past years, the more he thought about it, the colder his back became.

“Clan Elder, since there is something wrong with the Heavenly Chasm protective array, the Xu family cannot stand by and do nothing.”

Xu Tianwang quickly came back to his senses and sorted out what was urgent and important, then issued orders one after another. First, suspend the various clan competitions and quickly pass along the news of the demonic invasion, so that each major clan could prepare as soon as possible. Second, recall all Xu family children outside, and if necessary, activate the protective array at any time. Finally, shoulder the responsibility the Xu family ought to bear, join with the other clans to organize squads, and escort Jin City’s common people away safely.

The orders were issued one by one and were soon carried out by those below. Xu Tianwang was so busy his feet barely touched the ground, and he had no time at all to consider those little thoughts that had made him float earlier.

The Xu family clan elder watched the Xu family work together from top to bottom, feeling very comforted. But there was still one matter he had to mention.

“Clan Elder, if you have something to say, please speak freely.” Xu Tianwang was filled with a spirit of righteousness.

“Then I ask Family Head to personally go to the Song family, make peace with the Song family head, and discuss the matter of eliminating the demon together.”

The moment the Xu family clan elder said this, Xu Tianwang’s expression turned very subtle. Have him go apologize to Song Dongyou? This was even more painful than killing him!

“Today, for the common cause of eliminating the demon, the Xu family puts aside the private grudges between the two families and voluntarily goes to the Song family to bear the brambles and ask forgiveness. In the future, when peace and tranquility are restored to Jin City and the common people live and work in contentment, it will become a supreme tale of honor! When the time comes, who would not say that my Xu family head is brave and strategic, and dares to do what he says?”

The Xu family clan elder was always skilled at flattering people. He had figured out his own family head’s little thoughts thoroughly. Xu Tianwang imagined himself being loved by all the common people of Jin City, and this love would also help the Xu family develop and grow stronger in the future. Then nothing else mattered.

“A real man knows when to bend and when to stand tall. I’m going all in!” After finishing a round of mental preparation, Xu Tianwang directly brought people and rushed to the Song family.

Song Dongyou was currently struggling over how to investigate the Heavenly Chasm when she heard a report from those below that the Xu family head had come.

When she saw Xu Tianwang, Song Dongyou immediately sneered and said, “What, that slash back then still wasn’t enough to teach you a lesson? What did you come to my Song family for this time?”

Xu Tianwang inhaled deeply, then inhaled again, trying hard to calm his emotions. Then he closed his eyes and opened them again, directly cupping his hands in salute toward the person before him. “Family Head Song, I offended you many times earlier. I hope you will be magnanimous. Today, I have personally come to apologize. I hope Family Head Song will disregard former grievances, and the Xu and Song families will advance hand in hand to eliminate the demon together.”

“Too late! This old lady doesn’t want to cooperate with you now,” Song Dongyou directly shot back.

Just as the words fell, the Song family elder who had hurried over was very enthusiastic and said bluntly that the Song family had already gathered several array masters and could go to the Heavenly Chasm to investigate at any time.

“Family Head Xu, please forgive us. My family head has been worrying over the demon these past few days and is exhausted, so her temper is slightly worse.”

“Looks to me like her temper isn’t just slightly worse. Did she eat firecrackers?” Xu Tianwang, having been snapped at, was also displeased.

However, the Xu family elder who had come with him was all smiles and began discussing with the Song family elder when the two families should set out together for the Heavenly Chasm. As for their respective family heads’ expressions, they completely ignored them.

After that breath of temper in Song Dongyou’s heart passed, she knew she had misspoken. She nodded slightly at the other party. “Eliminating demons and defending the Dao is something all major clans ought to discuss together. I ask Family Head Xu to put in the effort to gather the major clans of Jin City as quickly as possible. Also, evacuating Jin City’s common people brooks no delay.”

“I have already ordered it carried out. The Song family squads can join at any time. Now, we will first go to the Heavenly Chasm to investigate the situation.”

Neither Song Dongyou nor Xu Tianwang was someone who acted purely on impulse. Exchanging a couple verbal blows to satisfy their mouths was enough. Not one piece of proper business that needed doing would be missed.

There were not many people on the Xu family’s side skilled in arrays, and the highest among them was only a third-level array master. When they heard that there was a fourth-level array master on the Song family’s side, they could not help being shocked.

“When did the Song family surpass my Xu family in array attainments?” Xu Tianwang could not help suspecting that the Song family had secretly been developing in a wretched little corner.

Song Dongyou had no desire to expose Song Yuanruo’s identity. No matter how the various people from the Xu family probed, she dismissed them with a few words.

“What family doesn’t have a few outstanding juniors? Family Head Xu, don’t panic. Stay calm.”

The moment Song Dongyou said this, Xu Tianwang’s face darkened, and he immediately gave up on probing.

Ever since entering the Heavenly Chasm, Song Yuanruo had been entrusted with an important task: inspecting the protective array together with the Xu family’s third-level array master. This was his first time directly facing such an enormous array. The outer structure of the array alone already displayed ancient and intricate mysteries. They were formed from one seemingly simple second-level and third-level array after another, but the effect was absolutely an existence where one plus one was greater than two.

As his research deepened, Song Yuanruo became even more startled. So the profound meaning of high-level arrays was actually layer upon layer of stacking, formed by tens of thousands of low-level arrays of different kinds arranged according to certain rules.

“This section has eighteen third-level arrays as its foundation. After three layers of stacking, they form a fourth-level array, supplemented by one thousand eight hundred second-level arrays, pointing toward the Rest Gate and the Scenery Gate…”

“This section has thirty-six thousand first-level arrays as its foundation. After six layers of stacking, they form a third-level array, supplemented by four thousand six hundred fifty-three arrays of the same level, pointing toward the Death Gate and the Shock Gate…”

“This section is a fifth-level array. If dismantled, it can be separated into one hundred eighty-six thousand seven hundred fourth-level arrays. If dismantled again, it can yield one million ten thousand third-level arrays… pointing toward the Injury Gate and the Open Gate.”

Song Yuanruo was already completely fascinated by his study of the array, his entire person wholly immersed within it.

As for the Xu family’s third-level array master, he had only broken open one corner of the Heavenly Chasm protective array before he was drenched in sweat and his qi and blood churned. In the end, he had no choice but to withdraw from the grand array and regulate his breathing on the spot.

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