Chapter 42: Chapter 42: Strategic Retreat!

After Master Yun Ku left, Lin Xueying was the first to arrive upon hearing the news.

“Where is Master?” Lin Xueying looked at the empty room, puzzled.

“Master has left, and the Pill Treasure Pavilion likely won’t hold. Xueying, you should leave quickly as well. You are the most gifted in our Lin Family; the future of our family depends on you!” Lin Zhishan said calmly, tirelessly explaining.

“Senior Brother, if we can’t hold it, why aren’t you leaving?” Lin Xueying became anxious.

The most important asset of the Pill Treasure Pavilion is the alchemists; Lin Zhishan naturally understood this.

“The Pill Treasure Pavilion is a crucial site for the Lin Family, surely Foundation Establishment Cultivators will attack personally,”

“But the Pavilion’s defense array is Tier Two Middle-Grade. If I personally manage it, they won’t be able to break through in a short time.”

“This way, it can hold up a lot of manpower, easing the pressure on the family. Remember, all branches of the Lin Family are living within the family compound!”

“As long as we hold enough of them here, more of our Lin Family descendants can escape!”

“Enough, don’t persuade me anymore!” Lin Zhishan said indifferently.

Upon hearing the news, he had already resolved to die.

The Pill Treasure Pavilion is renowned; he will not allow it to end in disgrace.

Suddenly, Lin Zhishan remembered something and took out an exquisite Jade Bottle from his Storage Bag.

“This is the Foundation Establishment Pill Master gave me. I won’t be using it; take it. With your talent, you will surely reach Foundation Establishment in the future!”

“Senior Brother, take care!”

She is the legitimate daughter of the Lin Family Patriarch and the most talented of the Lin Family. If the Lin Family falls, the responsibility to rebuild will fall on her shoulders.

Lin Xueying nodded, accepted the Jade Bottle, and turned to leave.

As she left, she also changed her attire.

She exited through the back door of the Pill Treasure Pavilion and disappeared into an alley.

…

At the same time, at the Lin Family residence.

The entire Lin Family was enclosed by a golden light curtain.

This was the Clan Protection Array of the Lin Family, a Quasi-Third Tier Array—the Golden Wave Celestial Array.

This array was crafted personally by a Tier Three Array Master, capable of both attack and defense. Under normal circumstances, it could even withstand Fake Pill Cultivators.

Patriarch Wu and others were blocked outside the array.

“Brother Wu, our Wu, Lin, Sun, and Li Families have been allied for five hundred years, supporting each other. What has my Lin Family done to provoke all three families to come and question us?”

Lin Anshuo asked fiercely, with a face full of indignation.

“Hmph! What matter?”

Patriarch Wu, Wu Zongheng, sneered.

“The good deeds your Lin Family has done—did you think you could conceal it indefinitely?”

“Let me ask you, what’s the story behind the Fire Element Stone Vein to the west of the market?”

“The alliance clearly states, ’If a Spirit Ore is obtained, it shall be shared among the four families.’ Did you abide by this?”

“Your Lin Family breached the alliance first, so don’t blame us for seeking justice later!”

“Today, we will expel your Lin Family from Red Leaf Square!”

Lin Anshuo suspected the issue was indeed about the Fire Element Stone Vein.

But such matters were not initiated by them. Over hundreds of years, if the other families had encounters with Spirit Ores, Cave Mansions, or Spirit Lands,

they would first keep it for themselves, unless they couldn’t consume it all or it was discovered; only then would it be shared.

This was an unwritten understanding, the reason why the Lin Family acted in such a manner.

“Even so, it shouldn’t come to this. We are willing to hand over the vein for your three families to share. How about it?” Lin Anshuo probed, attempting to compromise.

“Too late! A family that breaches its alliance is abandoned by us. From now on, Red Leaf Square only requires three families!” Wu Zongheng decisively refused.

He then slapped his Storage Bag, and with a flash of light, a brilliant blue Talisman appeared in his hand.

“Quasi-Third Tier Forbidden-Breaking Talisman!”

Lin Anshuo’s face changed dramatically.

Initially, with the Golden Wave Celestial Array, they had some confidence in defending their territory. But now, with the Quasi-Third Tier Forbidden-Breaking Talisman present, the array’s effectiveness was nullified.

Now, they would have to confront them head-on.

Immediately, he ceased any pretenses, his Foundation Establishment Stage mana glaringly prominent.

“Foundation Establishment Stage!”

Wu Zongheng’s face turned grim.

If not counting his eldest brother, the current Foundation Establishment Cultivators of the Lin Family outnumbered those of the Wu Family.

Even now, they only slightly outnumbered them by one Foundation Establishment Cultivator, making the next stage challenging.

It was foreseeable that even if they won this battle, it would be a pyrrhic victory.

The Second Elder of the Sun Family, who had come along, felt inclined to retreat.

“Daoist Wu, since the Lin Family is willing to hand over the Fire Element Stone Vein, considering the five-hundred-year friendship among the four families, should we let them off!!”

The vein was immensely valuable, with a forty percent share compensating for the losses in Demon Beast Materials.

“Things have reached a point of no return!” Wu Zongheng said coldly.

He then unwaveringly activated the Forbidden-Breaking Talisman and hurled it toward the golden light curtain before them.

“Boom——”

In an instant, a dazzling beam of light descended from the sky, illuminating the entire night sky as if it were day.

It then struck the golden light curtain, intertwining with the white light as they rapidly consumed each other.

Soon, the curtain couldn’t hold, and shattered instantly, transforming into golden Spirit Light, scattering like a golden rain, stunningly beautiful.

“It’s broken!”

“The array is broken!”

“Charge!”

Hundreds of Cultivators surged toward the Lin Family like locusts.

The moment the curtain shattered, the commotion reverberated throughout Red Leaf Square.

Countless people turned to see the spectacle.

Zhou Xun was also walking briskly at this moment, and couldn’t help but look over.

“The Lin Family is in trouble!” He sighed.

Having settled down with a decent status, he could only abandon it now.

He then quickened his pace, heading toward the exit of Red Leaf Square.

At the same time, in the shadow of an alleyway, a woman wearing a simple blouse skirt headed swiftly towards Zhou Xun’s house on Luliu Lane.

“I just want one last look before I leave!” Lin Xueying thought.

Suddenly, the enormous commotion drew her attention.

The family’s grand array… had been breached!

She paused briefly, controlling her inner grief, tightened her clothes, and kept moving forward with her head down.

Elsewhere, Wang Erniu was holding his daughter with his left hand and pulling his wife with his right, stationed at an exit of the family compound.

Upon seeing the array breached, he immediately broke out, his face full of resolve.

Meanwhile, Wei Shangli and Wei Shangren were leading a team of cultivators tasked with intercepting fleeing Lin Family cultivators.

“Big brother, it seems the Lin Family is becoming history!” Wei Shangren said, full of glee.

Wei Shangli did not reply, gazing distantly at the location of the light pillar, his expression extremely complicated.

“Such a Foundation Establishment Race, gone just like that!”

“Big brother, let’s head to Luliu Lane next. We mustn’t let Zhou Xun escape, nor the house steward!” Wei Shangren said viciously.

“Go!” Wei Shangli did not object.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep