Chapter 340: Underground Cave Exposed

Qin Yuntai was a bit suspicious. The purple moon flowers were already over ten years old, and seventy *mu* of them was a significant amount. He worried about a potential diversionary tactic. They had been stationed at Qinjialing for over ten years, and just as the purple moon flowers matured enough for alchemy, a clan member discovered an ancient cultivator's cave dwelling. It seemed too coincidental. "What kind of plot could there be? It's right on our doorstep. At worst, we can activate all the restrictions, then go and come back quickly. If we report it to the family, it would take at least half a year for a response, and by then, the opportunity would be gone. It's right in front of us, and we're too scared to go? Eighth Brother, you're too cautious!"

Qin Yunhu said, clearly displeased. He was short on spirit stones, and with someone bringing them to his doorstep, he saw no reason to refuse.

After a brief consideration, Qin Yuntai agreed.

Outsiders were unaware of Qinjialing's defensive strength, so there was no reason for anyone to set a trap for them to fall into, risking self-sabotage.

Having made their decision, they immediately dispatched some personnel directly to the location of the restriction, activating all defensive measures simultaneously.

In an underground cave, Wang Mingli's brows were tightly furrowed, a yellow formation plate in his hand.

Because the underground cave was very secret and quite far from Wang Family Fort, no Foundation Establishment cultivators were stationed there. Instead, Wang Mingli, accompanied by ten clan members and five second-tier puppet beasts, guarded it.

An hour earlier, the restriction had been triggered. This had happened before, and investigations had later confirmed it was caused by demon beasts accidentally activating it. If it had been cultivators, they would have been silenced.

He sent people out to investigate but found no other cultivators or demon beasts.

Wang Mingli was conflicted and uneasy. This underground cave contained hundreds of Houttuynia cordata plants, most of which were seventy years old, along with spirit fish.

If they evacuated, the Houttuynia cordata might not survive the transplant process if damaged. If they stayed, it would be troublesome if other cultivators discovered the cave's existence.

After much deliberation, he decided to stay. Logically, if cultivators had discovered the restriction, they should have attacked it. What if it was an ancient cultivator's dwelling?

As soon as the formation was triggered, he sent people to check, but they found no other cultivators.

What he didn't know was that the Qin family disciples who discovered the restriction had low cultivation. They were worried about counterattacks from the restriction and, being underground, feared that forcibly breaking it might cause a collapse. The Qin disciples attacked the restriction once but failed to breach it, so they immediately returned to the Qin family to report to their elders.

Suddenly, the ground shook violently, and the formation plate in Wang Mingli's hand emitted a piercing shriek.

"This is bad, someone is attacking the formation! Quickly, dig up all the Houttuynia cordata."

Wang Mingli's expression changed, and he quickly gave the order.

Regardless of whether the attackers included Foundation Establishment cultivators, he had to prepare for the worst.

The ten clan members hurriedly dug up the Houttuynia cordata. In their haste, the roots of several plants broke significantly.

"Rumble!"

With a loud bang, the formation plate in Wang Mingli's hand shattered.

The formation in the underground cave was merely a first-tier high-grade formation. It wasn't that the Wang family didn't want to set up a second-tier formation; rather, they simply didn't know how to set up a second-tier formation that could isolate spiritual energy. As for defensive formations, without a Foundation Establishment cultivator present, a second-tier defensive formation would not be very effective.

"Qinglei, you two immediately return to the family and inform the family head that the underground cave has been discovered."

As he finished speaking, the rock wall not far away cracked open, and Qin Yuntai and Qin Yunhu entered, followed by over a dozen Qi Condensation cultivators.

"Oh, someone's here."

The Wang clan members had already released their puppet beasts. Upon seeing Qin Yuntai and his companion, one clan member, without hesitation, immediately controlled a puppet beast to attack the Qin family's Foundation Establishment cultivators.

Any cultivator who trespassed into the underground cave was to be killed without mercy; they had killed several cultivators before.

Wang Mingli inwardly cried out in dismay. Once the clan members started fighting, the situation would be difficult to salvage.

As one clan member made a move, the others also joined the attack.

Several spells immediately struck Qin Yuntai and Qin Yunhu. Qin Yuntai was prepared; he quickly slapped the second-tier talisman he held onto himself. With a flash of spiritual light, a thick energy barrier enveloped his entire body.

"Rumble!"

A loud explosion erupted, and the energy barrier around Qin Yuntai rippled and distorted, becoming translucent.

Seizing this opportunity, two Wang clan members each crushed an Earth Escape Talisman. Enveloped in yellow light, they vanished into the rock wall.

The attack by the Wang clan members angered Qin Yunhu. He conjured two golden flying swords and slashed them towards the Wang clan members.

Although the Wang clan members were equipped with second-tier puppet beasts, they couldn't break through the Foundation Establishment cultivators' defenses, nor could they withstand the attacks of magical artifacts themselves.

Several screams rang out, and several Wang clan members collapsed into pools of blood.

Wang Mingli's eyes turned cold. He controlled two second-tier puppet beasts to attack Qin Yuntai and his companion, and he slapped a second-tier spirit talisman onto himself, barely blocking Qin Yunhu's attack.

All of this was futile. After Qin Yuntai joined the attack, Wang Mingli's protective spiritual shield was shattered, and a flying sword severed his head, leaving blood splattered across the ground.

Except for the two who escaped, all other Wang clan members were killed.

"The spiritual energy here is so abundant; it must be a second-tier spiritual vein. I didn't expect there to be one here; we've struck it rich this time!"

Qin Yunhu's face lit up with joy, and he said, somewhat excitedly.

"Struck it rich? These people certainly aren't from a cultivation sect; they're most likely from a cultivation family. Don't forget, two of them escaped. We've stirred up trouble this time."

Qin Yuntai said, his face grim. This was underground, and finding people here was quite difficult. With Wang Mingli's obstruction, the two escapees could have gone anywhere.

"Hmph, Qinjialing is our territory. They cultivated spirit herbs and raised spirit fish on our land without notifying us. I think they deserve to die. However, this matter indeed needs to be reported to the family. We should check their storage pouches to see if we can find out their origins."

Several Qin family disciples stepped forward, searched the corpses for storage pouches, and investigated the origins of Wang Mingli and the others.

From one of the storage pouches, they found a piece of clothing with a blue lotus symbol.

"Just as I suspected. So many second-tier puppet beasts at the Qi Condensation stage. They are indeed disciples of the Azure Lotus Wang family. This is big trouble."

Qin Yuntai's face grew even uglier. The Wang family had two Core Formation cultivators backing them, and their overall strength was not much inferior to the Qin family's.

They quickly cleared the battlefield, digging up all the Houttuynia cordata and capturing all the spirit fish.

Wang Ruyan received the news more than two months later.

Wang Ruyan's face was as cold as frost, and her beautiful eyes were filled with murderous intent.

Wang Mingli was an elder, and an elder of the Wang family had died at the hands of outsiders. Furthermore, the lost Houttuynia cordata and spirit fish were worth over five thousand spirit stones in total.

"Qinglei, do you know who did this?"

Wang Qinglei nodded, gritting his teeth as he said, "The Qin family. I don't know the two leading Foundation Establishment cultivators, but I recognize one of the Qi Condensation cultivators behind them. I've seen him several times in Qinyun Market. He's a Qin family disciple; I couldn't be mistaken. Ninth Aunt, you must avenge Twelfth Uncle!"

"A life for a life, a debt for a debt. Ninth Aunt, Eighteenth Uncle and I will go eliminate the Qin family at Qinjialing."

Wang Qingshan volunteered, his face radiating murderous intent.

Wang Ruyan pondered for a moment before instructing, "It's been two months already. The Qin family disciples at Qinjialing must have reported to their main family by now. Perhaps the Qin family already knows Twelfth Uncle's identity. The Qin family's influence is deeply entrenched; we must not act impulsively. Strengthen our defenses and wait until I devise a strategy to destroy the Qin family in one fell swoop."