Chapter 23: The Fire Cloud Moves, the Forbidden Array Achieves Success

  Hu Yunmen is right, nowadays Qimen Daochang, the master of Qimen is indeed very anxious.

  A team of ascetic practitioners usually has a fixed return date, with at most one or two days' delay. However, it has been three days since the scheduled date, and there is still no news from the ascetic practitioners.

  Fifteen disciples' families have come to inquire one after another, which has put a lot of pressure on the Qi Gate dojo. Although they are all scattered households with weak forces, this is a great blow to the reputation of the Qi Gate.

  A thin and gaunt old man with white hair and beard stared at the half-kneeling gatekeeper of the Taoist temple: "How come, still no news from Song Ren and the others?"

  "Yes, Master." said the gatekeeper of the dojo respectfully.

  Qimen's master finally couldn't hold back anymore, slamming his hand on the table: "Song Ren has always been steady in handling matters, what happened this time?"

  A man in his thirties beside him hastily said, "Father, don't get angry, perhaps Song Ren is delayed due to some trivial matters, let's wait quietly for two days and there may be good news."

  Qimen sighed and said, "Hong'er, you can't always think that everything will turn out for the best. I think we really need to prepare for the worst this time. Go get me the information on the members of this retreat team... hopefully there aren't any influential family heirs among them."

  Qihong smiled and said, "Father is worrying too much. Any family with some connections would not let their children take the path of hardship. They are just some scattered households, give them some money to send them away." As he spoke, his feet did not slow down, quickly taking out a volume of book pages from the nearby bookshelf and spreading it on the case.

  Qimen's thin fingers moved slowly down from the first line, muttering to himself: "Lu Song, fourth house in the eighth alley of South City... Liu Zishan, ninth house in Xuxiang Alley of South City..."

  After spending most of his life in Lin Yuan City, the master of Qi Men knew every nook and cranny of the city's streets. He was well aware which streets were home to large families and which ones were inhabited by lone households.

  "Huh?" The host of the Qi Gate pointed at the last name, "Xu Yang, the first house in Xunan Xu Lane? Is this a member of the Xu family?"

  "Father, don't worry," Qī Hóng said as he walked over. "I'm very familiar with this Xǔ Yáng. Although he's a member of the Xǔ family, he was expelled from the family many years ago and has been ostracized by his peers. Otherwise, he wouldn't have joined our sect's ascetic team. He wasn't originally one of us, and he even paid three Wolf Coins to join the ascetic team."

  The master of the Qi Gate coughed and shouted, "Fool! If the Xu family finds out, they won't let you off easily. For a small gain, you're putting the entire Daoist community in danger!"

  Qī Hóng was startled and hastily said, "Won't happen? I heard that the young masters of the Xǔ family don't even want to see Xǔ Yáng, they can't wait for him to die. In my opinion, even if Xǔ Yáng really died, the Xǔ family won't care."

  The kneeling gatekeeper of the Taoist temple suddenly looked up and reported: "Master, I have seen Xu Yang before."

  "Have you seen Xu Yang? When?" Qi Meng hastily asked.

  The gatekeeper looked puzzled and said, "It was just four or five days ago, when the young master went to Qianbao Pavilion, he saw a legitimate son of the Xu family having an argument with a young man. The Xu family's legitimate son mentioned the two words 'Xu Yang'."

  He paused, and the guard continued: "As it happens, the name Xu Yang has been quite loud in recent days, spreading among the lower-level cultivators. He made two kinds of ordinary medicine, Stanching Powder and Revival Powder, with extremely wonderful effects, and at a price that's not expensive, many cultivators want to stock up on them."

  Qimen's father and son, who usually wouldn't pay attention to such ordinary medicine, were shocked by the news that Xu Yang from the bitter training team had returned!

  Xu Yang has returned, so his fellow cultivators should have also returned to the city by now. Why is there still no news from them?

  Qimen looked at Qi Hong, who knew the severity of the matter and immediately said: "Father, rest assured, I will send someone to Xuxiang to bring Xu Yang back for questioning!"

  The master of the Qi Gate nodded slowly, and then instructed with concern: "Be gentle when taking action, after all he is a member of the Xu family. If possible, invite him first, courtesy before force."

  "I understand." Qi Hong bowed and retreated.

  In the south of the city, in Xuxiang Alley.

  Xu Yang's upper body turned a deep red, he spat out air and opened his voice, his shoulders sank as he charged towards the huge bluestone by the wall. A grey light flashed, Xu Yang's originally fair skin suddenly transformed into a grey colour like rock.

  A dull impact sounded, the bluestone trembled, and at the location where Xuyang was hit, several fine cracks appeared. And Xuyang did not have a particularly painful feeling.

  "After five medicinal baths and five moltings, I've finally cultivated my body to this point," Xǔ Yáng revealed a satisfied smile. "Now my physical strength has reached fifty jīn, absolutely unparalleled among those of the same level! If I were to meet Xǔ Zhèng Míng again, my fist would truly be able to harm him, and not just be a mere tickle."

  In later generations, resources were scarce and Xuan energy was lacking. Although there were wonderful body-refining techniques like "Dynamic Stasis - Guiding Qi", the physical strength of even a Xuantu-level cultivator could hardly break through 40 jin. Xu Yang had come from a later generation, possessing both the exquisite body-refining methods of that era and the abundant Xuan energy resources of the Golden Age, which was why he achieved such shocking accomplishments.

  "Brother, I've mended your clothes for you." Xiaoyu hugged Xu Yang's shirt and secretly took a glance at her brother's gradually revealing muscular physique, saying timidly.

  "Good." Xǔ Yáng took over the clothes, put them on his body, and buttoned up one by one.

  "Who's there? Come out!" Xu Yang buttoned up his coat, let out a loud shout, his eyes gleaming like electricity as he stared straight at the rooftop.

  Lü Zhuo and Wei Haoshan, who were hiding on the rooftop, were startled and exchanged a glance. Since they had already been discovered, it would be futile to continue hiding and would only invite ridicule. The two Daoist priests were quite bold, and with two loud laughs, they flew down from the rooftop.

  "You little beast, you've made your grandfather suffer so much!"

  Lu Zhuo cursed first: "Killing five of my disciples in the Taoist temple, and treating me and Old Wei like monkeys! Now, I'd like to see where you can hide?"

  Wei Haoshan felt a bit heavy, just now when Xu Yang stared at them for an instant, Wei Haoshan seemed to have a feeling as if he was being pointed at the throat by a newly sharpened sharp sword, even his back had a chill running down his spine!

  Shaking his head, Wei Haoshan threw this ridiculous feeling behind him. No matter how sinister this kid was, he was only in the Xuantu realm, and there was a huge gap between him and the Xuanwu that could never be bridged!

  "Lao Lu, this kid is making rapid progress. I remember in the Giant Python Mountain, he was only at the initial stage of Xuan Tu, but now he has already risen to the later stage, and there are even signs of a breakthrough!" Wei Haoshan said in a deep voice.

  Lu Zuo's heart skipped a beat as he carefully examined Xu Yang's cultivation and said, "This is terrible! We can't let this kid continue to roam free. He's already reached the late stage of Xuantu in less than ten days! If we give him another year or two, I'm afraid he'll be able to challenge us head-on!"

  Xu Yang said coldly: "You overestimate yourself too much. Challenging you, why does it need a year or two? Now, it's already enough!"

  "Good kid, you're quite arrogant!" Wei Haoshan was enraged, his massive hands grasped forward, with a hint of crimson fire energy gathering on top, directly condensing into the virtual shadow of a flame giant claw!

  Even Lu Zhuo was secretly praising him on the side, Wei Haoshan had already become extremely close to Xuan Shi, if he could comprehend the wonders of Condensing Objects and Shape-shifting, making this Flame Giant Claw turn from virtual to real, then he would be promoted to a high-ranking Xuan Shi master!

  "Xiao Xuan Jin Zhen!" Xu Yang instantly activated the formation, and in an instant, a layer of invisible energy seal was generated in the courtyard!

  Wei Haoshan's Flame Giant Claw dissipated instantly, and this blow also disappeared without a trace, stunned on the spot. Lu Zhuo sensed it on the side, changing color in horror: "Old Wei, something's wrong! My Xuanli has lost its sense!"

  Wei Haoshan was no better off, and the two of them instantly turned pale. Xuanli was the pride and reliance of the Xuan Master, without Xuanli, what could be called a Xuan Master? Not much better than an ordinary Xuan disciple.

  "Ransei Gun!" Weihao Mountain refused to give up, let out a loud shout, and was about to unleash the strongest offensive mystic technique he possessed!

  "It's useless," Xǔ Yáng said calmly, "Within the range of the Small Mystic Seal Array, any mystic power cannot be deployed."

  "Lao Lu, this should be a formation," said Wei Haoshan, who had a broader perspective and a more stable mind. "Don't panic, the key to breaking the formation is likely on that kid! Even without our Xuanli, with the physical strength of the two of us, capturing that kid would still be easy!"

  Lu Zhuo responded with a sound, and he didn't dare to slack off either. He stood shoulder to shoulder with Wei Haoshan. The two great Xuan Masters were determined to capture Xu Yang, even if it meant sacrificing their dignity!

  Unfortunately, Lu Zhuo and Wei Haoshan were a bit late in their sneak attack. As soon as they landed on the rooftop, they were discovered by Xu Yang. If they had just caught a glimpse of Xu Yang's display of his Rock Body technique, shattering the bluestone, they wouldn't have been laughing.

  "Come on!" Xu Yang clenched his fists, and his entire body's bones crackled with a loud popping sound, instantly growing half a foot taller. With a single punch, he smashed towards Wei Haoshan!

  He wants to borrow two Xuan Shi to be his whetstone, to inspect the results of his cultivation of the "Rock Body".

  Wei Haoshan sneered: "You're just in time!" He also threw a punch.

  The two fists clashed, and Wei Haoshan's sneer on his face suddenly turned into horror! A severe pain spread from the fingertips to the wrist, and then to the entire arm!

  Wei Haoshan even felt that he was not colliding with a flesh-and-blood body, but rather crashing into a great mountain!

  Watching Wei Haoshan "dodge dodge dodge" hastily retreat three steps, Lu Zhuo was stunned, but saw Xu Yang with a serious face and another punch came horizontally, the fist wind was fierce and evil, and he subconsciously put up a guard.

  A loud "crack" sound, Lu Zhuo's forearm bone fractured, a miserable howl, the whole person flew backward!

  "After activating the 'Rock Body', my physical strength has increased slightly, although my punching speed has decreased a bit, but my resistance to impact has greatly improved!" Xu Yang rubbed his hands together, with an indifferent expression, and approached Lu Zhuo and Wei Haoshan who were terrified.

  Hiding at the small gate to sneak a peek, Xu Yu was even more shocked. Her brother's combat power exceeded her imagination! The usually high and mighty Xuan Shi, who stood shoulder to shoulder with him, was beaten by her brother without any chance of fighting back!