"The Twelve Sun Empire is an earth-lower tier empire. We have one Sun Collapsing cultivator and around ten Sun Refining cultivators in the entire empire. All of them come from the three prominent clans: the Hei clan, the Wu clan, and the Yang clan. The Yang clan sides with my older brother, while the Hei clan and the Wu clan support my younger brother."
Liu Xing pinched his chin. Earth-lower tier was a good tier. With that many Sun Refining cultivators and one Sun Collapsing cultivator, there was a high chance of killing all those spirit beasts. But the problem was that they were divided into two factions.
He asked Yang Liangyu how many Sun Refining cultivators sided with her older brother. The answer was five, with the other five supporting the younger brother.
"What about the Sun Collapsing cultivator?"
Yang Liangyu bit her lip. "The grand elder has already left. Truth is, he was friends with my grandfather and only loyal to the empire because of him. He promised my grandfather to protect the empire, but after my father death, the elder decided to leave. The last thing he did was send me and my grandmother away from the castle."
Liu Xing rubbed his temple. This empire was terribly unlucky. To think that their only Sun Collapsing Cultivator had left when the empire was on the brink of extinction. He sighed, realizing that the empire's only hope was for the two factions to unite and subdue the spirit beasts. An almost impossible task, considering how recent the conflict had been.
Liu Xing thought the empire's chance of survival was slim and growing slimmer by the minute. The best he could do now was communicate with both factions about the bloodline-stealing spirit beasts and hope for the best.
Yang Liangyu sighed. "In the past, my younger brother was so sweet. He always smiled and played with his wooden sword. Who would have thought greed would one day blind him and make him kill our father? Fate is cruel indeed."
"I'm sorry for your loss," Liu Xing said, suddenly remembering that this woman had lost both her father and the woman she considered her grandmother today.
"It's all right. I'm just happy to be alive," she smiled. "Without you, I would have suffered humiliation before dying a horrible death. So, thank you again."
"Where do you want to go now? I assume since your younger brother sent those three to kill you, you'd side with your older brother?"
"Indeed, I need to go to the Yang clan compound. I don't know if my older brother is still alive. The last time I saw him, they were in the midst of battle. But he's wise. If he lost, he would definitely retreat to the clan compound. In fact, there's a good chance he's already there." She paused. "While my older brother was stronger yesterday, it seems that's no longer the case today."
"All right," Liu Xing nodded. "I'll escort you there."
His goals were twofold: to escort Yang Liangyu and to meet the older brother's faction to tell them about the spirit beasts. Afterward, he'd go to the younger brother's faction. While he was sure he couldn't resolve their conflict, he could at least act as a middleman to facilitate a truce. Hopefully they will listen to him. After all, the Empire was in danger, and if they stayed busy killing each other, their Empire might be in ruins by the time their conflict was over.
"Thank you," Yang Liangyu bowed her head, and Liu Xing nodded.
***
The Yang clan compound was nearby. They only needed two hours to reach it. The compound sat on uneven terrain, as if waves were trapped underground, creating many little hills around.
When they arrived, Yang Liangyu was greeted with smiles and relieved faces. News of the emperor's death had already spread far, and they feared what might happen next.
Upon learning Liu Xing was from the Purple Moon Sect, the clan members bowed deeply to him. They offered him a spacious room and plenty of food, apologizing that the clan patriarch and elders had matters to attend to. Liu Xing made a simple inquiry to a servant bringing him food, who revealed that they had all gone to help Yang Jinyan force, the first prince. As he settled in, Liu Xing sensed a Sun Refining cultivator in the compound. When he asked about this presence, the servant explained that the cultivator was erecting a barrier around the compound and wouldn't leave until ensuring it held.
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Now, Liu Xing was sitting in the garden, his eyes fixed on the shimmering barrier in the air. He crossed his arms and felt impatient. The second reason he came here was to talk to Yang Jinyan, but when he learned that he still wasn't here, Liu Xing wondered if he should go to Yang Lihuo--Yang Liangyu's younger brother faction first.
Still, this gave him time to think, to weigh his choices and calm himself. Nearby, a pond full of koi fish caught his attention. Liu Xing grabbed a handful of rice and began tossing it into the pond one grain at a time. As he observed the swimming fish, he tried to sense the qi around him. The Yang clan was large. Many houses filled the compound, and from above, it would look like a small town, with roads connecting everything, several bridges crossing small rivers, and hundreds of houses. Each almost resembled a tiny castle, with shining wood, colorful gardens, and sturdy pillars.
The clan was also full of cultivators. There were several dozen Lock Opening cultivators, as well as some Core Splitting cultivators.
Feeling all this qi, he almost thought that perhaps if this clan cooperated, they could kill at least one spirit beast with snake limbs, but he soon dismissed the thought. The spirit beasts worked in tandem, and most of the Lock Opening cultivators would have no means to wound them. Even Liu Xing had difficulty inflicting damage, and he was quite strong.
As he threw rice to the koi pond, he inhaled and exhaled deeply and rhythmically, trying to diffuse the anxiety slowly eating at his heart. Aside from those spirit beasts, his brain occasionally reminded him that he was in the middle of a race, and he feared falling behind, especially after consuming all the Diamond Pills he had.
Right now, he only had the Flute of Serenity, Red Lotus Staff, Ethereal Pearl, and Thunderstrike Gauntlets.
"Calm down," Liu Xing muttered. "There's no use in being anxious."
There was a moment when he thought he could calm himself by cultivating and absorbing the bullets he got from killing Wei Gang, but he decided against it. While this place looked secure, it didn't feel safe enough, and he decided just to think while observing swimming fish.
After several hours standing in front of the pond to rearrange his thoughts, he finally succeeded in setting his priorities.
The most important thing he needed to do was deal with those sixteen spirit beasts. He felt responsible for it and wanted them to be subjugated. After that, he could go on his merry way to gather more treasures.
But he gave himself a time limit. He had three days to try to unite the two factions—at least in a truce—to subdue the beasts. If the three-day limit expired and he was stuck in a situation where he couldn't do anything, then he would leave. He would travel to a nearby country, contact his sect, and form several subjugation teams there. He would then persuade them to come to this empire and deal with those spirit beasts as fast as they could.
He nodded, feeling better now that he had a backup plan. Now he just had to do everything he could in this empire. After all, while his backup plan was to leave this empire, he didn't want it to be razed to the ground by those spirit beasts.
The sun was directly overhead when he heard a commotion outside. Several people were shouting, "Young master is coming soon!" and some anxious cries were heard, "The enemy has come!".
After hearing the shouts, Liu Xing ran outside. He saw several servants moving around, as well as mothers carrying their children, as if they had spotted a tornado in the distance and needed to hurry home to barricade themselves.
Liu Xing stopped a man wearing maroon clothes, a cultivator at the Lock Opening realm's first stage. His maroon clothes were dirty, his black hair disheveled, and his hands covered in mud. He was a servant, and Liu Xing remembered seeing this man building a pond in a nearby public garden.
"What's happening?" Liu Xing asked.
"An order from Elder Yang Zhaoyan. He said that everyone below the Lock Opening realm's fifth stage needs to evacuate to our shelter. You're our esteemed guest Liu Xing, right? Do you want me to guide you to the shelter?"
Liu Xing assumed that Yang Zhaoyan was the Sun Refining cultivator who remained in this sect. Since he had ordered everyone weak to go to the shelters, there must be a chance of an enemy attack. Had Yang Lihuo decided to eradicate his own sect to prevent retaliation from his brother?
"Esteemed guest?" the servant asked again.
"No, you go ahead. I want to see what this is all about."
He decided to activate his Lightning Cloak and run as fast as possible. Soon, he arrived at the gates of the Yang clan compound. In front of the gate stood several dozen cultivators, arranged neatly in five rows of six people each. The men wore red robes with golden embroidery, most carrying swords on their backs, though some wielded spears, and one even hefted a large double-edged axe. The women donned yellow and red robes, and while some carried swords, most were unarmed.