Chapter 59: Chapter 59: The End of the Wu Family

Li Jingjing wrung her hands. She must have run over in the middle of Talisman Painting, as her hands were still dotted with Spiritual Ink. She knew her grandfather was as cunning as they come, always staying in the background when trouble arose. He had survived several autumn defenses without incident, so surely this time would be no different.

Although she kept trying to comfort herself like this, the heart in her chest was pounding, refusing to stop.

Yang Jing silently took out a Storage Bag and handed it to her.

“We encountered Demon Cultivators during this autumn defense. Everyone else died. I was the only one to survive.”

His words struck Li Jingjing like a bolt from the blue, leaving her completely numb. ’Grandfather was perfectly fine when he left, how could he suddenly be gone? He cherished his life so much, never sticking his neck out when trouble came.’

“Thank you, Brother Yang.”

Li Jingjing’s eyes reddened as she bowed deeply.

Inside the Storage Bag, she saw the Treasure Mirror, Ruyi Spirit Locking Mirror, the artifact that had made her grandfather famous. As an Independent Cultivator, even if Yang Jing had kept all the remains for himself, no one would have criticized him. In everyone’s eyes, Independent Cultivators were opportunistic, cunning, and treacherous. If one acted too nobly, they would be seen as an oddity.

“The matter with the Demon Cultivators attracted a Foundation Establishment Cultivator from the Chen Kingdom’s Royal Family. Because I earned some small merit, I pleaded with Elder Chen Xuanzhong. The direct blood relatives of the Independent Cultivators from San Yuanli who died will be able to inherit their Pioneer Orders. You won’t have to move out of San Yuanli.”

Yang Jing had done a good deed and bestowed a favor, and he stated it openly. He didn’t play the game of keeping his mouth shut and waiting for her to discover it on her own.

Li Jingjing immediately dropped to her knees, about to kowtow to Yang Jing.

But Yang Jing stopped her with his Magical Power.

“Go back and focus on your cultivation,” he said. “Don’t leave San Yuanli unless you have to. Without Brother Li, you must be strong on your own.”

After seeing Li Jingjing off, Yang Jing returned to his Cave Mansion and released the Three Capitals Blood Demon Mosquito Mother. He was afraid that if he left it in the Beast Taming Bag for too long, the Demon Mosquito would die.

When he took it out, the Three Capitals Blood Demon Mosquito Mother was on the verge of death. Wu Chunqiu must have signed an extremely harsh Beast Taming Blood Contract with it, and before dying, he had extracted its Essence Blood and Demonic Qi to extend his own life, causing it a grievous loss of Vitality.

Furthermore, a normal cultivator’s Yi Wood Divine Needle would be completely corroded by Demon Power and Demonic Qi within a few breaths after entering its body. But Yang Jing’s Yi Wood Divine Needle not only hadn’t dissipated, it was continuously siphoning its Demon Power, giving it no chance to recover by Breathing in and out of spiritual energy. It was completely unable to heal on its own.

Yang Jing took out a Blood Circulation Pill, dissolved it in a cup of Spiritual Spring Water, and, holding the Three Capitals Blood Demon Mosquito Mother’s Long Needle, inserted it into the cup.

The Three Capitals Blood Demon Mosquito Mother immediately acted like a traveler dying of thirst in the desert, sucking the entire cup of Blood Circulation Medicine Liquid dry in one go. The amount of vitality and blood an Upper Grade Blood Circulation Pill could replenish was just a drop in the bucket for it, but it still managed to restore a sliver of its ferocity.

The Demon Mosquito turned its head and tried to stab Yang Jing with its Long Needle.

Yang Jing used the Great Capturing Technique to grab the needle. He hadn’t expected that after feeding it a Blood Circulation Pill, the Three Capitals Blood Demon Mosquito Mother’s Affinity would remain unchanged at -50. This thing was far more difficult to handle than Iron Head.

Even with its Long Needle caught, the Three Capitals Blood Demon Mosquito Mother’s ferocity did not diminish, and it struggled violently.

Yang Jing didn’t indulge it. He casually took out the Bone Demon’s spine, infused it with Celestial True Yang, and aimed it at the Three Capitals Blood Demon Mosquito Mother. The Celestial True Yang, mixed with the ferocious aura from within the spine, only needed to poke the Mosquito Mother twice before it buzzed in pain and stopped moving, not daring to struggle anymore.

Its Affinity still showed no change.

This made Yang Jing scratch his head. If the Demon Mosquito’s Affinity couldn’t be raised, he wouldn’t be able to form a contract with it and acquire its Talent.

His greatest fear was that the reason he couldn’t cultivate the Demon Mosquito’s Affinity was because it had already signed a Beast Taming Blood Contract, locking its Affinity permanently at -50.

’It’s not necessarily impossible.’

Seeing the Three Capitals Blood Demon Mosquito Mother had quieted down, Yang Jing returned the Bone Demon Spine to his Storage Bag, then retrieved an Iron Essence Lock Chain from his dwelling and trussed the Demon Mosquito up into a ball.

Incidentally, this Iron Essence Lock Chain was originally meant for Yinjiao; he hadn’t expected it to be useful again.

「That afternoon」 A major upheaval shook Huangyuan Marketplace. The Wu Family, a Foundation Establishment Clan, was suddenly surrounded by the Chen Family’s Flying Boats. Even after activating their Array, they didn’t last long.

All members of the Wu Family were captured; even the mortals were imprisoned. A Wu clansman in the Huangyuan Marketplace Law Enforcement Team received a tip-off in advance and tried to flee in disguise, but was still caught and brought back.

The Royal Family didn’t imprison them on the spot, but instead transported them back to Xuanjing via Flying Boats.

The Foundation Establishment Clans of Huangyuan Marketplace were all terrified. They thought the Royal Family was taking advantage of the autumn defense, a time when the clans’ forces were depleted, to make a move against them. Only after making inquiries through various channels did they learn the shocking news: the Wu Family had long ago been taken over by Demon Cultivators from the Dark Spring Demon Sect, like a cuckoo in a magpie’s nest.

For a time, every Foundation Establishment Clan felt endangered, and they all began using their own methods to verify the identities of their disciples, trying to prevent any impostors from having infiltrated their ranks.

That same day, Song Luoxi visited Yang Jing’s Cave Mansion. Seeing his deferential and overly respectful appearance, she seemed a little disappointed.

“You know,” she said, “I actually suspected you were a Demon Cultivator from the Dark Spring Demon Sect back then. To avoid having their minds thrown into chaos by summoned Celestial Demons, those Demon Cultivators often drink this Awakening Tea. First-timers, however, usually get ’tea-drunk’. It was only after seeing you in that state that I let my guard down around you.”

“My apologies for my disgraceful state back then, Elder Song.”

Yang Jing gave a bashful smile.

“You saved my life. There’s no need to call me Elder Song. Just call me Lu Xi.”

Song Luoxi said, her white-jade-like fingers caressing the teacup.

“This junior is undeserving.”

Yang Jing was filled with apprehension.

Song Luoxi looked a little more disappointed. She offered Yang Jing a few words of encouragement, left a canister of Awakening Tea leaves, and drifted away.

Yang Jing glanced at the half-full cup of tea she had left behind. Not letting it go to waste, he called Iron Head over to drink it and had it wash the teapot and cups as well. He himself sat cross-legged on the huge rock and began to absorb the Spiritual Mechanism through his breathing.

After a long while, he sighed.

“For a common man, the affection of a Celestial Maiden is not necessarily a blessing; it’s more likely a disaster. The human heart changes so easily, but then, people just say hearts are fickle. Only the Great Dao of this world is eternal and unchanging.”

For the next while, Yang Jing didn’t go out, instead diligently cultivating in his Cave Mansion. Although ordinary Independent Cultivators didn’t know about the incident in Huashan County, it couldn’t be hidden from the well-informed Foundation Establishment Clans.

Even a fool could guess that Yang Jing had struck it rich.

Relatives of the Independent Cultivators from San Yuanli came one after another, bringing gifts to ask for their loved ones’ Magical Artifacts. Yang Jing returned all of them.

These second-hand Magical Artifacts wouldn’t fetch many Spirit Stones in the Marketplace, and setting up a stall would take a lot of effort. To these Independent Cultivator families, however, they were the foundation of their livelihood. Moreover, those with less brought some Spirit Rice and Spirit Medicine, while those with more squeezed out a dozen or so Spirit Stones. They didn’t ask for anything else, showing impeccable etiquette.

After all these days, Yang Jing finally confirmed one fact: the Three Capitals Blood Demon Mosquito Mother’s Affinity was truly locked at -50.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep