301: Chapter 241 301: Chapter 241 He believed it was done by those people from yesterday, but he didn’t know which one, the message sent back to the family was that the humans on this mountain had killed it.
When the fox disappeared, the Earl, holding his magic wand, exited the cave entrance, only to find that the ground had sprouted numerous vine whips.
“Not good…” The Earl had not yet shown himself, and the illusion created by his magic wand prevented the vine whips from finding their clan members.
“Fox Demon, come out, stop playing dead, it’s not fun if you’ve really died,” the vine whips seemed to sense danger to the fox, extending their power to scout the fox’s den.
When its roots searched in front of the fox’s den, they couldn’t locate the fox’s cave, which they had tried to find before, but were repeatedly fooled by the fox’s illusions.
The illusions cast by the Earl could also not be detected, as its vine whip roots flailed chaotically across the ground.
The Earl’s clansmen were right at the cave entrance, and as the vine whips emerged, those who had encountered them before were scared and anxious, dodging incessantly as the vine whips thrashed about.
Fortunately, the vine whips couldn’t see them, and everyone breathed a sigh of relief when they saw the Earl, carrying the unconscious uncle on his back, emerge.
The Earl helped the uncle get dressed and carried him on his back.
With a wave of his hand to his clansmen, they all followed him out of the deep mountains and forests.
The uncle’s son took over carrying his father from the Earl’s back.
As a son, it was his turn to carry his father, while the Earl still needed to protect them on their descent from the mountain.
Unable to find the fox, the vine whip sensed the presence of humans but couldn’t find any.
Swinging its power in anger, the vine whip’s wild thrashing frightened the nearby trees and animals.
The Earl led his clansmen back to the stockade and used his magic wand to awaken the uncle who had been enchanted by the fox’s illusion.
“My child’s father, how do you feel?” the uncle’s wife asked with concern and worry at his side.
“What happened to me?” The uncle, having been entranced, had no memory of the events.
“Dad, you were almost bewitched by the Fox Demon, almost killed by it,” his son explained to his bewildered father.
“Fox Demon?” The uncle then remembered the beautiful girl he saw on his way down the mountain.
“Child’s father, thankfully the Earl saved you, and it’s also fortunate that the villagers saw your bundle of firewood in time.”
“My bundle of firewood came back?
What about my pheasant?”
“Yes, brother, you really need to be more careful.
I found your firewood and the rope used to tie the pheasant by the roadside, which your son recognized and hence we were able to rescue you in time.”
“Thank you, thank you so much for the villagers’ care, and thank you to the Young Clan Leader,” the uncle said gratefully, getting to his feet and bowing to the villagers.
The Earl had a responsibility to protect his people.
They possessed magic wands to protect the villagers with magic.
It was hard to imagine how other clans without magic wands managed to survive in the world.
“Haha, we are all one family, no need for such formality.
Uncle, you and your family should go home and recover from the shock.
I still have things to do, so I must leave first,” the Earl said.
After the events of these past two or three days, the Earl understood even more that effort was necessary.
Ordinary mortals would only be bullied by others.
All the mortals he had encountered had not offended anyone, had not met with heavenly calamity, but instead had suffered at the hand of man-made disasters.
This was the survival of the fittest in the Cultivation World.
Even in the ordinary Netherworld, they would be bullied, not to mention in the deep mountains and forests where they might encounter even more formidable Demonic Beasts.
Originally being half-human, half-beast, they could withstand many attacks from Demonic Beasts, but they had not expected to encounter Fox Demons and vine whips like this.
What kind of demons might they meet in the future?
They had to grow stronger physically and could not rely solely on the magic wand.
Gefengla watched the Earl’s retreating figure, only able to gaze silently; this man was always so busy, not able to exchange more than a few words with her.
This was the warrior of their stockade, the strongest among the young men.
The Earl, seeing that there was only one day left of the five-day deadline, needed to make it to Immortal Venerable City within that day.
After briefly reuniting with his family and having a full meal, he took his storage bag and left quietly on his own.
Having had the experience of being tracked before, this time, he used illusion spells from his magic wand to travel quickly, running as if he had mastered Qinggong, sprinting along mountain paths and plains like a fast horse.
On the roads of the Mortal World, people only felt a gust of wind, similar to a fast horse passing by, startling the mortals.
During the night, he also camped outside, and while staying, he employed illusion spells with his magic wand, genuinely afraid of being suddenly ambushed or suspected and tracked again.
The Earl finally arrived at Immortal Venerable City by dusk the next day, and found the Holy Pavilion, entering the shop under the astonished gaze of the shopkeeper.
Someone he had sent to follow another had not only lost track of the person but had also been so frightened that they returned.
This person must possess mysterious powers.
The mysterious power was indescribable by the individual; all they said was that it wreaked havoc on civilian dwellings, then suddenly a force restored the buildings back to their original state.
This mysterious power, whose could it be?
In the person’s explanation, the shopkeeper guessed it must be that young man.
As for how the young man rested and used his mysterious power—
That was what he had been pondering over the past few days.
The shopkeeper stared motionlessly at the customer before him, taking a moment to recover before managing a forced smile, “Customer, what would you like to purchase?”
“Shopkeeper, I have come here by appointment with your boss.
Has he returned yet?”
“Yes, yes, our boss is in his room, just waiting for the guest to arrive.” The shopkeeper led the Earl to the boss’s room door and knocked.
Jiang Tang had just returned to the Su Family not long ago, bringing with him a group of women, as well as the Dugu brothers and Su Chang’an to this place.
A group of people were chatting in his room, unable to find time to retreat and cultivate within the room.
He didn’t wish to retreat so soon either; with so many people from the Su Family present, it was customary for them to cultivate together.
It wasn’t just Jiang Tang who had cultivated; the whole group he brought along had also undergone cultivation.
Through cultivation, Jiang Tang had become the one with the highest cultivation level among the group, reaching the status of Spirit Mansion.
Upon hearing the knock, he waved his hand, and the room door automatically opened.
He saw the shopkeeper and a young man he recognized standing outside.
This young man had distinct features that were impossible to forget.
Jiang Tang believed the young man must be a foreigner.
He also knew that the young man was from the Blood Clan, having once heard that members of the Blood Clan consumed humans.
Yet, from this young man, he felt no murderous aura.
Had the Blood Clan fallen into decline over the millennia?
According to the young man’s explanation, they had lived in seclusion in the Cultivation World for many thousands of years.
This outing was because someone came to their stockade to kill people.
Jiang Tang surmised that the devil was the Taoist with the Golden Core cultivation, trapped in the space within his possession.
He hadn’t killed him in an instant, but let the Artifact Spirit in the Hell Palace confine the person within, preventing him from causing harm outside.
Jiang Tang walked out of his room, and the young man came to the adjoining guest room.
As he left, the others remained in the room, aware that he had things to attend to, and thus didn’t follow him to the next room.
“Brother, what brings you to find me?”
Jiang Tang invited the young man to sit with him in the guest room, while the shopkeeper stood to the side serving tea, showing no intention to leave.
When the Earl spoke, he glanced at the shopkeeper, and Jiang Tang gestured for the shopkeeper to leave.
With some reluctance, the shopkeeper walked out and closed the door, but he stood by the entrance not wishing to go far.
Of course, his actions made it clear to Jiang Tang that the shopkeeper was the City Lord’s man.
Even though he was now on his payroll, he had been employed by someone else before.
The Earl didn’t want others to know his business, and naturally, neither did Jiang Tang want the man belonging to someone else to know, as it might bring danger to the young man.
Out of a sense of protection, he felt a certain responsibility for the safety of his customers.
Jiang Tang waved his hand, creating a barrier in the room, like putting up a soundproof wall.
“Brother, now others cannot hear our conversation.
Feel free to speak freely.
You must have some use for the storage bag.
Might I inquire what brings you to seek me out?”
From within his person, the Earl produced several storage bags he had acquired from the shop and placed them on the table, addressing Jiang Tang:
“I discovered a hidden Spirit Herb Garden in the mountains.
I can’t identify these Spirit Grasses and don’t know their uses.
I’ve brought samples for you to examine.”