Peach Blossom Island.
This island boasts beautiful scenery with vast peach blossom forests, currently in full bloom with petals falling like snow, creating a stunning sight.
Mirror Moon Lake.
This lake resembles a flat mirror, surrounded by rising spiritual mist reflecting moonlight, clearly indicating a formation.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!
On this day.
Five streaks of light descended from the sky at lightning speed, breaking into the formation.
Inside the Lu Family's mansion on Mirror Moon Lake.
Ruan Xingling's face was icy as she threw out a head, belonging to Lu Jingqing, with a hint of magical power in her voice as she announced throughout the mansion, "Lu Jingqing is dead!"
They arrived too quickly, the formation couldn't even be activated.
Ruan Xingling seemed to have a good understanding of the Lu Family's formation, charging straight towards the formation's core and beheading a Qi Refining initial stage old cultivator with a single sword!
Perhaps this Lu Family's mountain protection formation was originally from the Ruan Family...
Moreover, the Lu Family's Qi Refining late stage patriarch and four Qi Refining middle stage experts were all dead, leaving only Qi Refining initial stage cultivators who posed no threat to Fang Xi's group.
Therefore, after killing Lu Jingqing, Ruan Xingling chose to head straight for the main target!
More importantly... Feng Baimeng did not accompany them!
Perhaps she felt that Ruan Xingling alone was enough to suppress the situation, or perhaps she had other matters to attend to.
Anyway, the dirty work ahead fell to Fang Xi and the other three.
Perhaps for wandering cultivators, this wasn't dirty work but a lucrative opportunity.
After all, the spoils of killing a formidable enemy were usually claimed by the killer.
"Those with the Lu surname, kill!"
"Those who resist, kill!!"
"Those who intentionally damage property, kill!!!"
Ruan Xingling sat at the heart of the formation, exuding a murderous aura with the three words 'kill,' as if declaring a massacre.
'This is the way of the cultivation world. If you don't kill, others will kill you.'
Fang Xi held the Qinghe Sword, his expression stern, kicking open a door.
"Ah, I'll fight you to the end!"
In the room, a chubby Qi Refining initial stage youth held a talisman, instantly activating his magical power.
Several green wooden arrows shot at Fang Xi's protective barrier, causing ripples but not breaking through.
After all, he was only at the Qi Refining initial stage, while Fang Xi was at the Qi Refining middle stage, giving him the upper hand!
Gripping the Qinghe Sword, he used it as a regular sword, slashing across the cultivator's neck, sending his head flying.
A woman's scream echoed in the room.
Fang Xi furrowed his brow, seeing that it was a mortal, he couldn't be bothered with her and simply left, heading towards another location.
'This time, I'll have to show some real strength.'
'Well, let's use the true strength of martial arts... Qi Refining middle stage plus double cultivation of the body should be enough!'
Activating his true energy, his figure moved like a ghost, swiftly passing by several people.
These people looked dazed, then suddenly split neatly at the waist, falling to the ground screaming, "Ah!"
Blood mixed with peach blossoms, fluttering in the courtyard.
"Kill, protect our Lu Family!"
"Fight the enemy!"
Most foreign cultivators knelt and begged for mercy, but the remaining Lu Family members fought desperately.
After all, they knew that the Ruan Family would never let them go!
An elderly Lu Family cultivator with white hair roared, seemingly using some kind of dark magic, his aura rising to the Qi Refining middle stage, with runes shimmering in his hand.
"Little Thunder Talisman?!"
Wei Yixin screamed as she was struck by lightning, spitting blood and flying to the side.
"First, retreat and defend, wait for his secret technique to wear off!"
The old Taoist waved his dusting tool, protecting himself firmly.
At that moment, Fang Xi approached.
Grim-faced, the Lu Family elder raised his hand and released a fireball talisman.
Boom!
The fire exploded Fang Xi's protective barrier, about to hit him.
In the next moment, Fang Xi activated his true energy, slashing out with his sword, seemingly splitting the flames apart and poking the sword tip.
Swish!
The Qinghe Sword pierced the elder's defensive magical tool, sending it flying, then like a green rainbow piercing through the sky, it stabbed into the elder's chest.
"Kill the thief... kill the thief!"
The elder's mouth oozed blood as he muttered.
With a squelch, Fang Xi withdrew the Qinghe Sword, not even glancing at the elder's fallen body, and moved on to other Lu Family Qi Refining cultivators.
Wherever his sword shadow passed, heads flew.
This scene made the Wei Yixin couple's faces turn pale with fear.
And the old Taoist seemed to realize something, muttering, "No wonder Brother Fang was so confident. Turns out he's a body cultivator... judging by his defense, he must be at the double cultivation of the body stage, no wonder he could kill a Qi Refining fifth layer enemy before... and even dared to covet the spiritual land, truly hiding his strength!"
But Fang Xi paid no attention to these thoughts, simply picking off Lu Family cultivators one by one with his sword.
In the midst of the fluttering peach blossoms, his Qinghe Sword blade was stained with blood.
It was unknown how long he had been killing until the last cultivator knelt before him, his face full of fear, "We surrender, we surrender..."
...
Fang Xi remained silent, wiping his sword blade clean on a corpse's clothes, then standing with his sword under a peach blossom tree.
...
As the sun set, casting a warm glow over everything.
In the town on Peach Blossom Island, smoke rose from the homes of mortals.
Unbeknownst to the tens of thousands of mortals on Peach Blossom Island at that moment, the sky above their heads had changed...
...
Night fell.
Inside the Lu Family mansion's main hall on Mirror Moon Lake.
The ground was filled with countless kneeling figures, while in the center lay a Jingguan made of stacked heads.
The usually high and mighty Lu Family cultivators now had twisted faces, frozen in expressions of death.
The air was thick with the smell of blood mixed with a foul odor, yet no one dared to frown.
Ruan Xingling sat at the main seat, with spiritual wine and delicacies laid out before her.
The four from the Xuemudao sect accompanied her, while the Wei Yixin couple, looking nervously at Fang Xi, felt their breath quicken.
Hua Chanjuan tried to catch Fang Xi's eye, but seeing him ignore her, she couldn't help feeling bitter.
She then forced a smile at Fang Xi, coquettishly saying, "Brother Fang... we will be cultivating on the same island in the future, living side by side. As they say, better a close neighbor than a distant relative. Our family head isn't good with words, so if there were any offenses before, please don't take it to heart!"
She then discreetly nudged Wei Yixin, who then reluctantly bowed and apologized, "Brother Fang, I'm sorry..."
"Dear friends, please rest assured, I have never taken offense to such trivial matters." Fang Xi responded with a smile.
As long as they didn't disturb his tree planting, everything was fine. Otherwise...
After exchanging pleasantries, the old Taoist Xuemudao slowly spoke up, "Ruan Fairy... the count has been completed."
He glanced over the kneeling figures, then smiled lightly, "Twelve Lu Family Qi Refining initial stage cultivators have all been beheaded, six guest cultivators killed, and three surrendered..."
As for the Lu Family's Qi Refining middle stage cultivators, they naturally followed their patriarch Lu Jingqing.
One was killed by the Wei Yixin couple, and another reportedly almost killed the old Taoist Xuemudao before realizing the situation wasn't in his favor and fleeing.
The one Fang Xi killed was just a hired guest cultivator.
"Besides that, the spirit stones and rice in the storage room are mostly intact... especially the second-tier 'Spirit Peach Tree' in the medicinal field, thanks to Brother Fang's swift action and agile swordplay, it was unharmed."
The old Taoist Xuemudao even praised Fang Xi.
"The Spirit Peach Tree?!" Ruan Xingling's expression turned thoughtful, "Back then... when the Lu scoundrels turned on us, my father couldn't bear to destroy that Spirit Peach Tree..."
Her gaze suddenly turned cold, "Have all the Lu Family members been killed?"
"The cultivators have been eliminated, as for the mortals, we will follow Ruan Fairy's instructions." The old Taoist Xuemudao bowed.
Killing accidentally during battle was one thing, but wanton slaughter of mortals after the fight would tarnish their reputation in Wan Dao Lake.
"All Lu Family mortals are to be confined until death!" Ruan Xingling declared coldly.
"Understood!" The old Taoist Xuemudao bowed respectfully, "There is another difficult matter. Many Lu Family members have married women from the Ruan Family, some even from the main lineage..."
He clapped his hands, and a trembling woman brought forth a baby, "This child's father is a Lu Family Qi Refining initial stage cultivator, and the mother is a descendant of the Ruan Family's main lineage, who unfortunately died in childbirth. What should we do with the child?"
"Confine..." Ruan Xingling's eyes turned deep as she fell silent.
After a long pause, a voice finally spoke up, "Let it be... send it to be raised by the mortals in the town... does the child have a name?"
"He hasn't been named yet, please bestow a name, Ruan Fairy." The old Taoist Xuemudao replied.
"Brother Fang, what do you think?" Ruan Xingling turned her gaze to Fang Xi.
"If it doesn't have a name, let's call it 'Lu Guo'." Fang Xi thought for a moment before answering.
He wasn't quite sure of this woman's attitude, so giving the child a Ruan surname might imply leniency towards the Lu Family.
"Very well!" Ruan Xingling had the wet nurse take Lu Guo away, then swiftly dealt with the surrendering guest cultivators and mortals.
In the end, the hall was empty, with only Fang Xi and the others remaining.
Ruan Xingling stood up, "My great vengeance has been avenged, thanks to everyone's help. Please accept my gratitude."
"We dare not!" Fang Xi and the others quickly declined.
"Please rest assured, I will never go back on my previous vow. I am willing to share Peach Blossom Island with all of you!" Ruan Xingling first glanced at the Wei Yixin couple, who were full of trepidation, then looked at the trembling old Taoist Xuemudao and finally paused on Fang Xi's expressionless face, giving a faint smile.
"Thank you, Island Master!" Fang Xi solemnly bowed, establishing the roles of host and guest.
"Thank you, Island Master!" The Wei Yixin couple were equally overjoyed.
Hua Chanjuan glanced at Fang Xi, fearing he might take advantage of his strong magical power to seize her Twin Peaks. She then proposed, "Ruan Fairy, we five have formed a bond of fate. I have a suggestion, why don't we form an alliance, and in the future, we can be called the 'Peach Blossom Five Immortals' or 'Peach Garden Five Virtues,' what do you think?"
"Cough..." Fang Xi's mouth twitched, almost laughing out loud. What the heck kind of nickname was that? This idol group debut would definitely flop.
This female cultivator was a naming genius!
"Inappropriate, Ruan Fairy is at the Qi Refining late stage, and is also the Island Master! With such a noble status, how can we be spoken of in the same breath?" The old Taoist Xuemudao was the first to object.
"Let's drop this matter..." Ruan Xingling seemed somewhat interested, but seeing Wei Yixin quickly apologize, the old Taoist Xuemudao and Fang Xi both objecting, she went along with it.
After chatting for a while, they each returned to their rooms.
In a large temporary room that had been cleaned, the scent of incense wafted from a purple jade censer.
Fang Xi stuck a protective talisman on the door, then sat cross-legged on a apricot-colored cushion, taking out the storage bag he had obtained today.
Ignoring the others, he pulled out the one from the Kou Family's second son and began forcibly erasing the imprints with his magical power.
Several hours later, the storage bag burst open with a bang.
Among the contents, something caught Fang Xi's eye, "It's actually this..."
(End of Chapter)