Family Cultivation: I Become a Mirror-Chapter 144 - 135 Secret Forest County

Blood flowed down over the Forbidden Formation for a while, and the Lake Zhongzhou, shrouded underneath by the formation, was left a burnt wasteland. As the glorious light of the spells dissipated, a middle-aged man was seen lying with his head in his arms, shrinking in fear, trembling with his eyes closed.

The middle-aged man had a large gash across his waist oozing blood, dripping steadily. It was a long time before he opened his eyes to stare blankly around, unbelievably lifting his head.

With a wildly joyful grimace, the middle-aged man quickly attended to his wound. After rummaging through the ruins for a while, his complexion turned paler from blood loss, and he had no choice but to wrap some Talismanic Magical Instruments in his clothing before leaving. The cultivators by the shore grumbled as they took the clothing, cursing,

"Damn it, these bumpkins are more cunning than the next; if not for fearing that the bumpkins who enter the formation later won't cooperate, why would we offer any gold..."

Having said that, he threw down a bag of gold and hoisted the man onto a small boat big enough for two or three people, shouting loudly,

"Number twenty-one, pull away."

The small boat carrying a few lucky ones with severed hands and feet moved away into the distance while people on several small boats at the rear of the large boat looked on eagerly, waiting for orders from the large boat.

Li Tongya was observing the myriad expressions of life on Lake Zhongzhou. After waiting for a while, a withered old man flew over from the east on the wind, holding a Jade Ruyi in his hand—it was none other than Lu Sisi.

"Brother Tongya!"

Lu Sisi clasped his hands together and stood with Li Tongya in the air, asking doubtfully,

"The Yu Family said they would meet here on Lake Zhongzhou, but I see no Yu Family member. I watched from a distance for a while and only saw a few minor family heads waiting together in the sky. What does this mean?"

Li Tongya chuckled softly and glanced around before pointing to a large ship in the distance, saying with a laugh,

"Nothing much, just killing the chicken to scare the monkeys."

Lu Sisi stared at the large ship and suddenly appeared to understand, laughing spitefully as he replied,

"I see now! We also find these Loose Cultivators rather irritating, but there are several Qi Cultivators on the ship, and all the families do not wish to stir up trouble, which is why they have been allowed to roam freely for so long."

While the two of them were chatting, the large ship suddenly hoisted its sails and went on alert. Voices broke out from above; several figures emerged from the side of the ship, standing on air and surrounding the ship from four directions, with a black-robed middle-aged man standing directly above, hands behind his back, his aura majestic.

"Nine Qi Cultivators, the Yu Family's foundation is indeed rich."

Lu Sisi counted them and looked up at the black-robed man, saying somewhat distractedly,

"That person must be Yu Xiaogui, the current Family Head of the Yu Family, now a Foundation Establishment Cultivator. He and I achieved the Qi Cultivating Peak in the same year, and I have dealt with him before. This man is insidious and fierce, and not easy to handle."

"Oh?"

Li Tongya flew alongside him for a while, moving closer to the large ship. Lu Sisi prattled on,

"Yu Xiaogui was the leader of the Yu Family's Five Heroes back then. Later, two of the Five Heroes perished on their journeys, and the three remaining achieved the Qi Cultivating Peak. They closed off to break through, but only he survived."

Yu Xiaogui and the others stood in the air for a moment. Down below on the large ship, everyone felt endangered, caught in disarray and panic. An elderly Loose Cultivator flew up, his face looking dreadful. He clasped his hands towards Yu Xiaogui, slapping his own face twice with a placating expression, saying repeatedly,

"Ah! I have seen the Yu Family Head. We are naively unaware of the rules on the lake, and have been bothering everyone with our boat wandering on the water. I deeply apologize and am willing to compensate for the losses! Family Head Yu...."

This old man also possessed the Cultivation Level of Qi Cultivating Peak, and the True Yuan in his body was fairly clean, indicating he likely had not consumed impure Qi. However, he wasn't very skilled and was much older than Yu Xiaogui, yet he fawned over Yu Xiaogui, calling him senior.

Yu Xiaogui's face showed a friendly expression. He stepped forward, his sleeve falling to reveal a jade-like arm, and with a mere wave, the old man's head exploded like a watermelon from several meters away, without a chance to grunt before plummeting straight down, causing a commotion on the ship.

The Yu Family's Qi Cultivators swarmed forth, activating the Formation carved on the ship, which blazed with light. The surrounding area dove into a melee of Cultivators, the lake water heaved unpredictably with spare waves of spells bursting on the water's surface. The few lucky survivors who had gotten away not long ago instantly capsized in the tumultuous waves; the maimed submerged in the river without a sound, meeting their demise.

"Always the same! Always the same! That's Yu Xiaogui's style for you."

Lu Sisi shook his head wistfully to see Yu Xiaogui standing with his hands behind his back, appearing merely middle-aged, while he himself already had a full head of white hair, his days clearly numbered, and found himself at a loss for words.

Li Tongya stroked his chin as he watched these people, noting that they had appeared only a few zhang away from the cabin, already within the range of the cultivators' Spiritual Sense, and secretly pondered:

"The Yu Family must possess some sort of Magic Artifact that conceals their presence, with a substantial range, to be able to cover their approach and not alarm the Loose Cultivators until they are close to the boat."

Amid their conversation, the deck had turned into a bloody scene. The dinghies trailing the stern had capsized, hundreds of mortals lay sprawled on the belly of the ship, and even more people had no choice but to swim toward Lake Zhongzhou, yet without knowledge of formations, they didn't know where to land, resulting in an even bloodier and unbearable sight.

Before long, the Loose Cultivators' large vessel thunderously overturned, and a much larger and more luxurious ship slowly approached from behind Yu Xiaogui and the others. The Yu Family cultivators, still blood-stained, stepped onto the ship, and only then did Yu Xiaogui raise his head with a smile, circulating his mana, his voice spreading over the lake:

"Fellow Family Heads, please come aboard for a gathering!"

A good ten breaths passed before people began to board the ship from afar, apparently the cortege of the Yu Family, their laughter and chatter brimming with joy.

Lu Sisi and Li Tongya landed on the ship, their Spiritual Sense sweeping over everything on board, making everything crystal clear. Stone tables were already arranged in two rows on the deck, with Yu Xiaogui seated at the head of the table, pinching a wine cup and drinking.

The young master Yu Mugao hurried forward to greet them, bowing his hands toward Li Tongya and, without so much as a glance at Lu Sisi beside him, said with a smile:

"Elder Tongya, you've arrived early; I've made you wait too long!"

"Not at all, not at all. On the contrary, it's allowed Tongya to witness the Family Head's grace and style firsthand!"

Li Tongya courteously replied while Yu Xiaogui at the head of the table suddenly raised his head, placed down his wine cup, and squinted at him, pondering something unknown.

After exchanging a few pleasantries, all families had assembled. Among the Lake Families, only two had Foundation Establishment Cultivators, one being the Yu Family on the East Bank and the other the Fei Clan on the North Shore. The Li Family's position was arranged next to Yu Xiaogui, directly across from the Fei Clan, which was quite eye-catching. Li Tongya frowned and, seeing that Yu Xiaogui was staring at him, had no choice but to take his seat.

The Fei Clan's Family Head opposite, also a Foundation Establishment Cultivist, dressed in brocade clothes, looking suave and much younger than Yu Xiaogui, gave Li Tongya a slight smile. Li Tongya merely met his gaze briefly, noting the hopeful expression on his face, and gave a subtle nod, understanding each other's intentions.

Seeing that everyone at the lower seats had arrived, Yu Xiaogui nodded, stood up with a smile, and said loudly:

"Your timely arrival honors my Yu Family. Xiaogui here offers thanks to you all."

The families at the lower seats quickly stood up, protesting their unworthiness, but Yu Xiaogui waved them off, cutting off their words, and went on to say:

"Ever since the Immortal Mansion went into seclusion, Wangyue Lake has been divided in two by the Green Pond Sect and the Tang Jin Sect, with constant friction between the two. The lake has not known a single day of peace, and many families have risen and fallen in the over three hundred years since then. Everyone should be fed up with these chaotic times by now."

Lu Sisi, catching the implication, cursed inwardly:

"Every family is living well, who would want the Yu Family reemerging overhead... Yet you speak as if it's a favor."

But aloud, he respectfully responded:

"What Family Head Yu says is true!"

"Indeed."

Yu Xiaogui nodded, glanced at Li Tongya, who had been silent beside him, then turned to look at the brocade-clothed middle-aged man seemingly engrossed in his wine cup, and said with a smile:

"Fortunately, the Tang Jin Sect has retreated, and the Green Pond Sect has advanced northward, finally uniting Wangyue Lake under a single power. That tumultuous era has come to an end."

"My son has been accepted into Yuanwu Peak, so he beseeched the Peak Master of Yuanwu, who reported to the main peak, to carve out Wangyue Lake as a separate jurisdiction from Li Xia County. Establishing Twelve Towns under my Yu Family, we shall call it Secret Forest County. From now on, fellow Taoists will no longer need to travel to Lixia County to present tributes; you can submit them right here in Secret Forest County!"