Southern Barbarians

Lu Yang leaped down, and the Sun-Eating Beast transformed into a small beast that jumped into Lu Yang's arms, looking warily at Lu Qingren.

"Greetings, Chieftain."

Lu Qingren, who had been watching the wary eclipse, withdrew his gaze and said, "Alright, let's go inside and talk."

Upon entering the main hall, Lu Yang discovered that there were actually four other people inside.

However, besides Lu Qingwen and Lu Xuanying, there were two other people Lu Yang did not recognize.

Lu Qingwen, needless to say, was the deputy captain of the demon-hunting team that Lu Yang had met when he first entered the Sutra Pavilion. It seems that he has been released from his ban now. As soon as Lu Yang came in, he winked at Lu Yang and looked at the Sun-Eating Beast in Lu Yang's arms with great surprise.

Lu Xuanying was also a spirit plant cultivator, belonging to the same generation as Lu Yang. However, Lu Xuanying was ten years older than Lu Yang and about the same age as Lu Xuanshan. Unfortunately, his cultivation level was lower, only at the fourth level of Qi Refining.

Just a month ago, Lu Xuanying sent a message to Lu Yang, asking him to help her cast a spell on the spirit field. That's how the two met, and they didn't want to see each other again so soon.

Seeing Lu Yang enter, Lu Xuanying nodded and smiled as a greeting.

As for the other two, Lu Yang couldn't see through their cultivation levels, but they were both higher than him. Now that Lu Qingren had gathered them together, he wondered what their purpose was.

Thinking to himself, Lu Yang stepped forward and stood beside Lu Xuanying.

"Alright, everyone's here. I've called you all here today because I have a task for you to carry out."

Task!

A family mission, especially one directly assigned like this, and even he was called upon to participate. Could it be that the clan is short of people lately?

Thinking of this, Lu Yang felt a chill run down his spine.

"Please give your instructions, clan leader."

Upon hearing the word "mission," Lu Qingwen took a serious look, bowed respectfully, and immediately spoke, with Lu Yang and the others following closely behind.

"Actually, it's not a big deal. The spirit fields in the south are ripe, and every year at this time, the southern barbarians will inevitably cause trouble. We need you to guard the spirit fields and harvest the spirit grains and herbs."

Nanman!

"I see," Lu Yang immediately understood.

In the southern lands, seven kingdoms divided the territory. Qingcang County, where the Lu family lived, belonged to the Yue Kingdom, and south of the Yue Kingdom lay the land of the Southern Barbarians.

The swampy lands are infested with insects, clams, and other poisonous creatures, creating a murky and chaotic atmosphere. The people of Yue Kingdom are unwilling to relocate there, and cultivators also find the place extremely distasteful.

However, even the harshest lands have creatures. The Southern Barbarian Lands were originally inhabited by tribes, and later, vicious criminals from various countries fled there to escape the pursuit of the government.

This applies to mortals, cultivators, and even some demonic cultivators who hide in the southern barbarian lands.

As a result, the Southern Barbarian Lands became a melting pot of all sorts of people, and gradually, they even became a force to be reckoned with. Naturally, the major powers looked down on such a vicious land, so they collectively referred to the people there as the Southern Barbarians.

Among the nine counties of Qingcang Prefecture, Canglan County borders the land of the Southern Barbarians. Logically, being close to such a desolate place, Canglan County should be poorer. However, things often turn out the opposite way. Canglan County is surrounded by the Canglan River, a river with a remarkable waterway.

The Lu family diverted water from the Canglan River and reclaimed 300 mu of spiritual land in Canglan County.

Even so, the quality of the spirit field is among the lowest of the first-tier spirit fields, but its large quantity makes it a considerable asset for the Lu family.

Moreover, nurtured by the Canglan River, in addition to the 300 acres of spiritual fields, an additional acre of medicinal herb fields has been developed.

Those who cultivate spirit grains are considered true spirit plant masters, while those who cultivate spirit herbs feel that calling themselves spirit plant masters is beneath them.

There are also many medicinal herb fields on Qingcang Mountain, but these fields are not under the jurisdiction of the Spirit Plant Hall. Instead, they are located in the Alchemy Hall and are cultivated by the alchemists themselves.

Thinking of this, Lu Yang looked at one of Lu Xuan Ying's older sisters, who had a faint medicinal fragrance emanating from her. Could she be an alchemist?

Alchemists deal with elixirs every day, and over time, they naturally develop a medicinal fragrance on their bodies. Most alchemists are proud of this and do not deliberately hide it. After all, among all the arts of cultivation, alchemy is king, and this is not just a saying.

In the cultivation world, the high status of alchemists is beyond doubt.

The Southern Barbarians are not engaged in production and are accustomed to plundering. They would have to think twice before harassing those powerful forces. The Lu family is just a Foundation Establishment family. In the eyes of ordinary rogue cultivators, they may be a behemoth, but in the eyes of these vicious Southern Barbarians, they are not untouchable.

Spiritual objects are captivating. With three hundred acres of spiritual fields and one acre of medicinal herb fields, it's not surprising that they would attract any Qi Refining experts. Moreover, this isn't the first time these three hundred acres of spiritual fields have been targeted for exploitation.

Each time the competition is fierce, it comes down to who has the better skills. The Lu family has also suffered losses before; otherwise, they wouldn't have released a vicious person like Lu Qingwen.

"I see. Don't worry, Chieftain. With me here, I'll make sure those barbarians never return."

Lu Qingwen thumped his chest loudly, and Lu Yang and the others showed no fear either. The Lu family had its own pride, and as members of the Lu family, they were not afraid of some barbarians.

Lu Qingren nodded upon hearing this. "Alright, then Qingwen will lead the team. We'll depart in three days. Everyone, go back and prepare."

Watching Lu Yang and the others leave, Lu Qingren couldn't help but shake his head. Yangming County had taken up too much of the Lu family's energy, to the point that the Lu family was now short-handed. Otherwise, why would they have sent Lu Yang, who had only been promoted to Qi Refining for a year, out as well?

The Lu family occupied three counties belonging to the Fang family: Yangmu County, Yangming County, and Yanghu County.

Yangmu County is adjacent to Qingcang County, Yanghu County is the farthest away, and Yangming County is in the middle.

Now that it's confirmed there's something fishy going on in Yangming County, Lu Yang can no longer just plunder it like before, so he's switching to a more gradual approach.

Moreover, although the Fang family's target is Yangming County, the Lu family must be prepared that the Fang family's move is just a feint.

Therefore, the Lu family sent a large number of clansmen to Yangmu County to conduct business. Yangmu County is rich in timber and has some resources, so it was not a waste of effort.

While managing Yangmu County, he gradually expanded his operations towards Yangming County, putting pressure on the Fang family.

After all, the Fang family's good-for-nothings are utterly useless. They've been searching for something for three whole months without finding anything, which is making the Lu family impatient.

Furthermore, Yanghu County invested clansmen in the business, and also sent people to keep an eye on the Fang family. In total, the Lu family invested quite a lot of clansmen.

Lu Qingren, who was in charge of the deployment of the clan's personnel, naturally wanted to make the best use of everyone's talents.

Although Lu Yang's cultivation level is lower and his experience is less, he is quite talented in the field of spiritual plants, so sending him out to harvest spiritual fields is just right.

Actually, Lu Qingren was a little worried at first, after all, he was a Foundation Establishment seed, but Lu Yang brought the Sun-Eating Beast with him this time, which made Lu Qingren feel much more at ease.

With a spirit beast at the third level of Qi Refining, plus Lu Yang's good fortune, there should be no problem.

Lu Yang was unaware of Lu Qingren's thoughts. Upon returning to the courtyard, Lu Yang quickly cast a spirit plant spell on the spirit field. After all, he wouldn't be back for at least half a month, and he couldn't let the spirit field's harvest be delayed.

Fortunately, with the Four Spirits Profound Yin Formation, Lu Yang was able to cover the spirit field with a portion of the formation's power, thus avoiding the danger of the black sparrow's invasion.

Before leaving, Lu Yang took good care of himself. He should be back in half a month, so it shouldn't have a big impact on production and income.

One year's fortune.

Lu Yang unleashed his full power through the Mingwang Fist.

After three months of cultivation, with the help of the Yuan-Nourishing Pill, Lu Yang achieved minor success in the Golden Sun Opening River Technique. The spiritual energy within his dantian seed had reached thirty strands, and he only needed ten strands of spiritual energy left to break through to the fifth level of Qi Refining.

For Lu Yang now, the only way to quickly improve his strength is through body refinement.

It just so happens that my luck wasn't good enough last time, so I missed out on the Myo-o-ken (myo-o-fist) technique. Making up for it this time is a perfect ending.

With the blessing of a year's fortune, Lu Yang, who was practicing the Mingwang Fist, immediately entered a state of enlightenment. Between movements, the Mingwang glared angrily.