Rebuilding the Immortal Cultivator Clan Chapter 1823 - 1380: Capture Alive (2)

This currently stands as the primary objective for the pair; consequently, all other matters can be pushed aside for the time being.

Nevertheless, such an endeavor is undoubtedly worth the effort!

The advancement in their cultivation alone is immensely gratifying, and that is without mentioning the substantial merit they have accumulated.

Engaged in casual conversation, they entered the Sun and Moon Divine Domain and quickly retreated to their individual cave mansions to begin seclusion, intending to process their recent harvest.

...

"Those cursed divines! Had they not interfered, the situation would never have spiraled to this point."

The circumstances were clearly leaning in favor of the Demonic Tao, yet things took a sudden turn for the worse. The blame lies entirely with the Divine Path, specifically with Li Chengsheng and Li Chengshuo.

Had those two not disrupted the plans, the Demonic Tao might have already seized vast territories and would not be fretting over potential vengeance from the other factions.

Yet, despite their burning hatred for the Divine Path, the demon cultivators dare not strike now. Having already alienated three major factions, provoking the Divine Path further would result in devastating losses and relentless assaults, even if the Demonic Tao managed to avoid total extinction.

"There is another force that everyone has overlooked! It is that Li family, the ones who first detected the weakness in the demonic qi! It was also due to the Li family that the two Star Lords descended, leading to the discovery of such an efficient and time-saving tactic."

"Precisely! It is that very Li family! While we cannot confront the major powers at this moment, surely we can deal with a rising Heavenly Immortal power?"

A consensus was reached swiftly; they intended to extract some initial interest from the Li family first.

Using secret techniques, they immediately contacted the demon cultivators lurking near the Li family's borders, commanding them all to strike. They wanted to teach the Li family a brutal lesson!

If the Li family could be wiped out entirely, that would be an even better outcome.

On the other side.

No member of the Li family could have anticipated that the Demonic Tao would fixate on them, as the clan had its own internal affairs to manage.

Because of various pollution crises, Shanhai State had become overwhelmed by an influx of loose cultivators. This led to widespread chaos, with ambushes and violent attacks on loose cultivators becoming a frequent occurrence.

Such instability threatened the family’s prestige and reputation, so the Li family could not remain idle. They actively deployed numerous clan members to restore peace and security to Shanhai State, unaware that a hidden threat was creeping toward them!

One afternoon, a Li family patrol was suddenly trapped by a sinister dark light. They lost their lives in an instant; even their corpses were desecrated, drained until nothing remained but shriveled husks!

Similar tragedies were unfolding in other locations as well.

Meanwhile, within the ancestral hall of Mount Wanxian, where the life tokens of every family member are stored, a sudden disturbance erupted.

The hall guardian entered only to find dozens of life tokens shattered into pieces. He realized immediately that a catastrophe had occurred!

He sent a communication talisman to Clan Leader Li Liangxiang at once, then personally moved to compile the list of names belonging to the fallen members.

"Shanhai State has been relatively peaceful lately; how could such a massive disaster happen so abruptly?" Li Liangxiang’s brow furrowed as he reviewed the report. He immediately summoned the Elders to deliberate on a solution.

At that moment, the guardian of the life tokens arrived. He transferred the names of the deceased into a jade slip, handed it to Li Liangxiang, and hurried back to his post.

He was terrified that even more family members might perish at any second!

"Elders, what are your thoughts on this situation?" Li Liangxiang asked solemnly, setting the jade slip aside.

"It must be those lawless loose cultivators. If you ask me, we ought to expel more of them," one replied.

The capacity of Shanhai State to house loose cultivators had long been a point of contention, though they had ultimately decided to admit more to increase their profits.

Now that such a heinous crime had been committed, their stance was beginning to waver.

Before a conclusion could be reached, however, another communication talisman arrived. It bore the grim news that even more clan members had suddenly fallen!

"Damn it!"

Seething with rage, Li Liangxiang crushed the jade slip in his grip and hurled it to the floor. "Regardless of who is behind this, you shall pay a heavy price for your idiocy!"

"Assemble the clansmen immediately! Form squads of a hundred, each commanded by one Human Immortal or three Individual Immortals, and patrol every inch of Shanhai State!"

However, the true trump cards remained in the shadows—Li Mingyao and Xiaoqing.

As the native deities of Shanhai State, their divine domains were rooted here. This allowed them to instantly pinpoint any disturbance and move swiftly to intercept the culprits.

The strategic shifts and movements of the Li family were quickly spotted by the lurking demon cultivators.

"Ha! Do they honestly believe that increasing their patrol numbers will save them?" a demon cultivator at the Earth Immortal Realm sneered.

To punish the Li family, the Demonic Tao had mobilized numerous practitioners from the surrounding areas, including several Earth Immortals!

As long as the Heavenly Immortals did not interfere, he felt his confidence was well-founded.

But quite unexpectedly, the situation took a different turn!

The mantis stalks the cicada, oblivious to the oriole behind it; this demon cultivator played the part of the arrogant mantis perfectly.

While he was busy attacking a group of Li family cultivators, Xiaoqing arrived on the scene in the blink of an eye.

"A demon cultivator?! You seek death!"

Xiaoqing lashed out in a fury, instantly conjuring a violent gale. The sheer tearing force of the wind created tiny fissures in the local space, trapping the demon cultivator with no hope of flight.

"Not good! It's an ambush!"

Realization dawned on the demon cultivator, but it came far too late.

With his escape routes cut off by the swirling winds, he had no choice but to fight Xiaoqing tooth and nail just to survive!

However, had his power actually reached the late-stage Earth Immortal level, he would never have been deployed to the East Continent in the first place.

Thus, the conclusion of the fight was set from the very beginning.

Despite his desperate struggles, the demon cultivator was no match for Xiaoqing. He barely managed to penetrate the first layer of the wind barrier she had manifested.

Furthermore, if Xiaoqing hadn't been holding back to keep him alive for questioning, the battle would have concluded much sooner.

Even so, the demon cultivator did not last long. Xiaoqing captured him swiftly, immediately sealing his Dantian and his sea of consciousness.

"Hmph! How dare you filthy wretches bring your chaos to the Li family's lands!" She forced a small blade of wind into the demon's body, ensuring he suffered constant agony.

Elsewhere, another demon cultivator took the bait and was taken alive by Li Mingyao.

The demons still in hiding have yet to realize that the hunters are about to become the hunted!