Chapter 23: Three Clans Gone
"Three cultivation clans wiped out in two months?"
Li Su's voice reverberated within the Li Residence.
"Yes, Senior Brother Li. It's been a while since something like this happened. It occurred in Wuguo, and these three clans were affiliated with our Feixian Sect. Investigating the matter falls under our sect's responsibility. However, we are currently short on manpower, so the sect leader wishes to request a favor from you to go there," explained the Feixian Sect disciple.
Li Su quickly understood the situation.
Within the past two months, three cultivation clans in Wuguo had been completely eradicated!
The annihilation of three clans was a grave matter within Wuguo's cultivation world.
These clans boasted a considerable number of cultivators. Even the smallest clan had four members, while the most prosperous one spanned three generations with six cultivators.
Naturally, the Feixian Sect couldn't overlook this matter.
If trouble arose within the sect's territory and they failed to respond, it would tarnish their reputation.
However, the Feixian Sect was currently heavily occupied with mobilizing for the spirit stone mine and lacked the resources to spare for an investigation. Yet, leaving the matter unattended was unacceptable. Sending a cultivator in the Qi refining stage would be insufficient.
At the very least, a cultivator in the Foundation Building stage, or even further advanced, would be more suitable.
Thus, the sect leader wanted Li Su to assess the situation, which also demonstrated the Feixian Sect's stance.
"As for the investigation, once we have resolved the matter with the spirit stone mine, the sect will naturally dispatch personnel to investigate. It won't demand too much of your time, Senior Brother," added the Feixian Sect disciple.
The sect leader didn't expect Li Su to solve the case immediately. Unraveling such matters could take a significant amount of time.
"Very well, I will go," Li Su agreed.
This matter held little significance to him.
After accepting the task, Li Su made arrangements at home.
He had no concerns about his family's safety. He had recently reinforced the protective array, and even a cultivator in the later stages of Foundation Building would find it challenging to breach it in the short term.
Ning Xiaoyu also possessed a communication stone left by Li Su, ensuring that his temporary absence wouldn't pose any problems.
In the realm of array formations, Li Su's progress was remarkable. After all, mastery of array formations had nothing to do with innate talent. What mattered most was comprehension.
And when it came to comprehension... Li Su happened to excel!
"It's Senior Li!"
"Senior Li must be here on behalf of the Feixian Sect."
At a cultivation clan's ancestral land, several cultivators were taken aback when they saw Li Su.
Li Su noticed that there were quite a few cultivators present. Upon receiving news of this clan's destruction, several cultivation clans from Wuguo had dispatched their own representatives to investigate.
Li Su was dressed in the attire of a Feixian Sect disciple.
These cultivators understood that Li Su, this time, represented the Feixian Sect and had come to assess the situation.
Some of them were independent cultivators who had encountered Li Su on Xianjue Ridge.
–
"Tell me what happened," Li Su said as he descended, addressing the cultivators present.
"Senior Li, it's like this..." began a seemingly experienced cultivator.
Li Su listened silently.
He had already visited the other two annihilated cultivation clans. The cultivators from both clans were missing, and no bodies were found.
Even the ordinary members of the clans, including descendants, maids, and servants, were all killed.
Interestingly, there was not much loss in terms of wealth.
However, there were a few fortunate survivors in the two cultivation clans. During the incident, one of the maids was carrying sweet potatoes and was preparing to wash them by the well. Sensing danger, she jumped into the well.
But she didn't witness much. She only saw the moon suddenly disappear, and the cultivators of the clan sensed something was wrong and flew out, only to be attacked and knocked down.
Terrified, she quickly jumped into the well and survived by drinking water and hiding the sweet potatoes she was supposed to wash for over a month until Li Su found her.
Fortunately, the well wasn't deep, and the weather had been warm lately. Otherwise, the maid wouldn't have survived.
This cultivation clan had no survivors. All the ordinary members were killed, and the cultivators were missing.
"Huang Lao was a cultivator in the late-stage of Qi refining. The ease with which the enemy wiped out the Huang Clan and the scarcity of battle traces indicate that the fight ended quickly, and the opponent is at least a Foundation Building cultivator," the cultivator explained the situation.
"I wonder who did this. It's truly a demonic act," someone remarked.
"Yes, it has instilled fear in people," another added.
"The enemy must have taken advantage of the three major sects' focus on the spirit stone mine and their inability to intervene at this time," another cultivator speculated.
...
The surrounding cultivators expressed their concerns one after another.
Worry was evident on their faces.
With three cultivation clans being annihilated consecutively, no one knew if their own clan would be the next.
Li Su moved around within the ancestral land of this cultivation clan.
–
While other cultivators remained clueless, Li Su had already pinpointed a suspect.
Qi refining stage cultivators couldn't have wiped out these three cultivation clans.
Each clan had cultivators in the late stage of Qi refining, and their family members were also formidable.
It would require a group of Qi refining stage cultivators to accomplish such an act.
Yet, if a group were responsible, there would be more evident signs of battle.
According to the maid who survived, even a single strike from the Qi refining stage cultivators would have been fatal.
Thus, it had to be a Foundation Building stage cultivator at the very least.
Narrowing it down to Foundation Building stage cultivators simplified the search.
The three major sects still had a considerable number of Foundation Building stage cultivators, likely surpassing a hundred in total.
However, most of them resided within the sects.
Independent cultivators with a Foundation Building stage were scarce, and when considering the entire territory of the three secular nations, they numbered only in the single digits.
Of course, there was a possibility that an outsider Foundation Building stage cultivator was involved.
Nevertheless...
Li Su had already identified the culprit.
A cultivator with the surname Bai!
Although lacking evidence, Li Su felt 99% certain that this person was responsible.
For Li Su, evidence held little importance. In his mind, the case... was already closed!