Chapter 317: White Tiger Mountain and Golden Dragon Ridge, Dragon Seeker!

Ruyi County City.

Li Feiyu had been taking care of family matters for the past few days.

Lu Changsheng, meanwhile, spent his time traveling with his wife and children.

“Hmm!?”

Suddenly, Lu Changsheng felt a strange sensation.

Given his prior experience with Li Feiyu, he was certain that one of his “Avatar Talismans” had been activated.

“Who is it!? It doesn’t seem like Ping’an, Qingshan, or Qingzhu?”

Lu Changsheng was puzzled.

The sensation was very faint.

But deep down, he could tell that this talisman wasn’t being used from a distant location like Li Feiyu’s situation had been.

“Could it be that Xian’er, Ruyi, or Quanzhen are in danger?”

He furrowed his brows, guessing.

Currently, there were fourteen Lu Family disciples with talismans out in the world.

Apart from Lu Ping’an, Lu Qingshan, and Lu Qingzhu, who were away,

The other Lu Family disciples hadn’t traveled far.

They were just managing businesses and family affairs nearby.

This was why none of the Lu Family disciples had ever encountered any mishaps.

After thinking it over, Lu Changsheng exhaled and said, “Zhenzhen, something’s come up at home. I need to go back.”

“Husband, did something happen at home?”

Qu Zhenzhen asked with concern.

“It’s just a minor issue I need to handle.”

Lu Changsheng replied softly.

Hearing this, Qu Zhenzhen didn’t ask further questions.

Soon after, Lu Changsheng returned to the county city and informed Li Feiyu that something had come up, and he needed to go back.

“Changsheng, is something wrong?”

Li Feiyu immediately asked when he heard that Lu Changsheng was returning suddenly.

“Do you remember the talisman I gave you? This talisman was crafted with my own blood, so I can sense it faintly.”

“Not long ago, I sensed that a talisman had been used. It seems one of the children at home is in danger.”

Lu Changsheng said after a brief pause.

“I’ll go with you. Maybe I can help.”

Li Feiyu offered immediately.

“Haha, there’s no need to make such a fuss. It might just be some robbers.”

Lu Changsheng shook his head and chuckled.

To him, the only likely scenario was that one of his children had encountered bandits while moving around the nearby area.

But considering the talisman’s drawback of random teleportation,

If his child had been teleported to a dangerous place like Li Feiyu had, it would be troublesome.

“Don’t worry. I’ve already almost finished handling things on my end.”

Li Feiyu said.

“Alright, in that case, let’s go check it out.”

Seeing this, Lu Changsheng nodded.

Then, he set off with his wife and children back to Bihu Mountain.

Black Cloud Mountain Range.

Wujing Mine.

Here, apart from the Zhao Family disciple overseeing the place, most of the miners were mortals.

However, only skilled martial artists could work here as miners.

Otherwise, even with Artifacts, they couldn’t endure the intense labor day and night.

“Hmm?”

In a pavilion outside the mine, an old man in a purple robe seemed to sense something and quickly walked out of his room.

He immediately saw an elder with gray hair and a tall frame, who appeared to be in his fifties, descending from a flying boat.

The old man hurried forward to greet him, “Ancestor, what brings you here?”

This purple-robed elder was the ancestor of the Zhao Family from White Tiger Mountain.

“Old Ninth, what are you doing? I told you to be careful. How did that girl find out about the Spirit Stone mine so quickly!?”

The Zhao Family ancestor scolded in frustration.

This Spirit Stone mine wasn’t large, just a small vein.

If they mined it at full capacity, it would be exhausted in three to five years.

So he figured that even if Bihu Mountain found out about it after a year or two, it wouldn’t matter much.

But it had only been a few months, and they had already been discovered.

And the situation had escalated, which made him furious.

“Forgive me, Ancestor.”

The purple-robed elder quickly bowed, his face filled with bitterness as he said, “I didn’t expect that girl to be so suspicious. She used a Concealment Talisman to investigate the mine.”

“And what about the girl now? Is she cooperating?”

The Zhao Family ancestor asked coldly.

“Ancestor, the girl is stubborn. How about we use Bewitching Fragrance to throw her into the mountains?”

“This Black Cloud Mountain Range is full of demonic beasts. A little girl at the Sixth Layer of Qi Refining dying out there wouldn’t be unusual.”

“Even if Bihu Mountain suspects something, are they going to blame our family?”

“Besides, I’ve heard that Bihu Mountain is held up by Lu Changsheng and his few wives. They don’t have many capable children right now.”

“By the time Bihu Mountain sends someone, we’ll have almost finished mining this vein.”

The purple-robed elder suggested.

In his view, even though the girl was from Bihu Mountain and Lu Changsheng’s daughter,

Lu Changsheng had a hundred or two hundred children. Losing one or two wouldn’t even matter.

Was Lu Changsheng really going to make a big deal out of it and come after them?

“Lu Changsheng is very sentimental and values relationships highly.”

“When he established his family at Bihu Mountain, he spent thousands of Spirit Stones to bring his mortal wives and children there, even holding weddings with them.”

“Even if this girl isn’t highly valued, we should avoid letting him suspect our Zhao Family.”

The Zhao Family ancestor said calmly, his voice cold.

He wanted to keep the Spirit Stone mine, but he didn’t want to provoke Bihu Mountain if he could help it.

After all, Lu Changsheng and Lu Miaoge, the couple from Biiu Mountain, had extraordinary strength, having practiced the Dual Cultivation Method.

Plus, they had Ling Zixiao, a master of formation techniques.

“Ancestor, in that case, we can pretend to let the girl escape and have someone secretly follow her.”

“Then, when she’s on her way back to Bihu Mountain, we can disguise ourselves as bandits and kill her. Bihu Mountain wouldn’t blame us.”

The purple-robed elder continued.

At his age, after so many years in the cultivation world, he had done many such things.

In fact, most cultivators who lived to old age had some tricks up their sleeves.

“Alright, we’ll do as you say.”

The Zhao Family ancestor pondered for a moment and nodded, “I’ll take care of it myself.”

“Where is the girl now?”

He asked, ready to confirm the situation to ensure nothing went wrong.

“Ancestor, this way, please.”

The purple-robed elder replied respectfully.

Moments later.

The two arrived at a damp, dark mine.

“Where is she!? I’m asking you, where is she!?”

The purple-robed elder’s expression twisted as he stared at the puppet version of Lu Ruyi in the mine, shouting at two Zhao Family disciples.

Not only him, but the Zhao Family ancestor beside him also looked incredibly cold, his fists clenched.

Lu Ruyi had discovered the Spirit Stone mine, so she had to die!

Even if she submitted and married into their Zhao Family, her fate would still be sealed!

But now, the girl was gone, leaving behind only a puppet!?

“Ancestor, Elder, we don’t know what happened.”

The two Zhao Family disciples trembled in fear, kneeling and begging for mercy.

“How could you be so careless? Lu Changsheng is a Talisman Master. His children must have life-saving talismans. Didn’t you even search them properly!?”

The Zhao Family ancestor glared at the purple-robed elder, his voice filled with killing intent and fury.

If Lu Ruyi returned to Bihu Mountain, their Zhao Family would be in danger!

If the purple-robed elder wasn’t his brother, he would have killed him on the spot.

“Ancestor, I seized the girl’s Storage Bag and checked her thoroughly. There were no Artifacts or talismans!”

The purple-robed elder quickly explained.

Then, he turned his bloodshot eyes to the two Zhao Family disciples, demanding to know what had happened.

The two Zhao Family disciples realized the seriousness of the situation.

Finally, with tear-filled eyes, they admitted that Lu Ruyi had refused to submit, so they intended to use force to make her comply.

But suddenly, Lu Ruyi was enveloped in a layer of white light and transformed into this wooden puppet.

Faced with this situation, they hadn’t known what to do and were discussing how to explain it

When the ancestor and elder arrived.

“You worthless fools! You deserve to die!”

The Zhao Family ancestor kicked the two disciples, sending them flying.

They crashed into the mine’s stone wall, spitting blood.

Not only had they messed up,

But they hadn’t reported the problem immediately!

If he hadn’t arrived just in time, by the time the news reached them, Lu Changsheng might already be at White Tiger Mountain.

At that point, their family would be doomed!

“Ancestor, what do we do now?”

The purple-robed elder asked, his face ashen, unsure of what to do.

“What do we do? You still have the nerve to ask me that!?”

The Zhao Family ancestor roared, kicking the purple-robed elder.

Pointing at the puppet on the ground, he said, “It’s obvious that the girl used a talisman to escape, and you couldn’t even handle that! You ruined everything! Why don’t you just die!”

The Zhao Family ancestor was shaking with rage. How could someone of his age fail to search her properly and let her escape?

The purple-robed elder wanted to argue that he had searched her thoroughly.

But at this point, the truth was clear, and he knew there was no use in explaining.

He gritted his teeth and said, “Ancestor, the girl must have just left. How about I go to Bihu Mountain to apologize?”

“I’ll make it clear that you knew nothing about this and that White Tiger Mountain wasn’t involved. It was all my doing.”

The purple-robed elder suggested.

He knew this was the only way to de-escalate the situation.

“This matter isn’t that simple. There are rumors that Lu Changsheng is easygoing, but do you really think he’s easy to deal with?”

“If he were really a pushover, how did Bihu Mountain come into being? What happened to the Yu Family back then?”

“He has connections in the Azure Cloud Sect. It’s possible that he orchestrated the Yu Family’s downfall and wiped them out!”

“Now, Bihu Mountain has three Foundation Establishment cultivators and a Azure Cloud Sect Dao companion. The family is thriving, and as soon as they have one or two more Foundation Establishment cultivators, their spiritual land will be insufficient. If he sees an opportunity, do you think he’ll let it go and settle for less?”

The Zhao Family ancestor grew more agitated as he spoke, fear growing in his heart.

He hadn’t expected such a small matter to be botched so badly.

Regret filled his heart. If he had known, he would have come clean about the Spirit Stone mine.

Given Bihu Mountain’s current situation, their family could have at least gotten a share.

“Ancestor, what should we do then?”

The purple-robed elder asked, his face filled with despair.

He understood that Lu Changsheng, who had risen from a mere son-in-law to his current position, was no simple character.

Establishing a family and becoming an elder of a region required a good reputation.

“Back in the day, White Tiger Mountain and Golden Dragon Ridge were close. This Spirit Stone mine may be small, but if we offer it to them, we might be able to get Golden Dragon Ridge to help.”

“After all, Bihu Mountain is flourishing, and Golden Dragon Ridge wouldn’t want to see our family fall.”

The Zhao Family ancestor said grimly.

The first ancestors of Golden Dragon Ridge and White Tiger Mountain were sworn brothers.

So the two families had always looked out for each other, maintaining a close relationship.

But a hundred years ago, the two ancestors had a major falling out, severing ties, and their relationship had since become distant.

Later, the ancestor of Golden Dragon Ridge broke through to the False Core stage!

From then on, Golden Dragon Ridge had a False Core ancestor, and the family prospered.

Meanwhile, White Tiger Mountain gradually declined, with only one Foundation Establishment cultivator and an old, Second-Tier spirit beast left to guard the family.

“Golden Dragon Ridge…”

The purple-robed elder’s face showed concern.

Although the two families had once been close, that bond had weakened over time.

In fact, if it weren’t for their old ties and concerns about their reputation, White Tiger Mountain might have already fallen to Golden Dragon Ridge.

But now, their Zhao Family had no other option but to seek help from Golden Dragon Ridge.

While White Tiger Mountain still had other allies and friendly families,

These families clearly wouldn’t want to offend Bihu Mountain.

“But before that, you should immediately head to the area around Bihu Mountain and see if you can intercept the girl.”

“Then send people to Hongye Valley Marketplace, Qingzhu Mountain, and Hundred Bird Lake to intercept her as well. If, as you say, the girl has no Communication Talisman, she can’t send a message to Bihu Mountain for help, so we still have a chance!”

The Zhao Family ancestor continued.

“Yes, Ancestor, I’ll go right away!”

The purple-robed elder replied, seeing a glimmer of hope.

In a desolate wilderness.

“This talisman Father gave us is truly extraordinary.”

After a dizzying experience, Lu Ruyi slowly regained her senses, feeling a bit incredulous.

She had been bound, with her spiritual energy sealed, unable to move.

But she had still managed to activate the talisman with her mind.

“Where am I?”

Lu Ruyi looked around, seeing nothing but wilderness, unsure of her location.

“I should have used the talisman Father gave me to escape immediately.”

“If I had the Ironfeather Eagle and a map, I’d know where I am and could quickly return home to tell Father everything.”

She bit her lip, regretting how she had handled the situation.

She had completely forgotten about the Substitute Life Charm Father had given her and hadn’t escaped right away.

Now her Storage Bag and Spirit Pet Bag had been taken, making it difficult to return to Bihu Mountain.

“Father always said that traveling is dangerous and that any cultivator you meet could be a bandit.”

“And in this place, there might be demonic beasts around. It would be very dangerous if I ran into one.”

Lu Ruyi began to calmly think about how she could safely return home.

She had no Artifacts, no talismans.

With only the Sixth Layer of Qi Refining and a few basic techniques, her combat power was at the bottom of her level.

Bihu Mountain.

After returning home, Lu Changsheng immediately sent his son Lu Yun to check on the Lu Family disciples currently out in the world to see which one had encountered danger.

Lu Yun didn’t know about Lu Ruyi’s situation, but he didn’t ask any questions and immediately went to verify it as his father had instructed.

Lu Changsheng then waited for news at home.

[Congratulations to the host’s offspring for giving birth to 200 descendants. You have earned one lottery draw.]

At that moment, a system notification sounded in Lu Changsheng’s mind.

“Two hundred.”

Lu Changsheng raised an eyebrow.

His two hundredth child was about to be born.

But he hadn’t expected his grandchildren to surpass him.

“This is what it means to have strength in numbers.”

Lu Changsheng sighed softly, muttering to himself.

He could vaguely sense that this grandson had a Spirit Root.

But the Spirit Root seemed to be of a lower grade, making it almost insignificant for someone like him with a Top-Tier Spirit Root.

“System, draw the lottery.”

Lu Changsheng thought silently.

The lottery wheel immediately appeared, spinning with golden light.

[Ding! Congratulations to the host for obtaining the Second-Tier Dragon-Seeking Technique!]

[The reward has been added to the system space. The host can check it at any time.]

A light cluster resembling a dragon vein emerged from the big wheel as the system’s voice echoed.