Chương 26: Blood and Iron

The young man fought back the tears burning in his eyes. Then, word by painful word, he began to recount everything that had happened, from beginning to end. As his story unfolded, the faces of the Zhang family cultivators darkened with each passing moment. Killing intent flickered openly in their eyes. The place where the Zhang family's mortals lived was called Green Bamboo Town. And the Hu family also had their own mortal town. It was called Heavenly Hu Town. The two towns lay only a few dozen miles apart.

Over the decades, the mortal populations of both towns had swelled, and their borders had expanded. As the people pushed further outward, reclaiming land and fighting for water sources, friction became inevitable. Sometimes, disputes escalated into full blown brawls with makeshift weapons. Every year, people died. In recent years, as tensions grew between the two cultivation families, the conflicts between their mortal towns had grown especially fierce. Deaths were common.

But losing more than a dozen people in a single incident, that was nearly unheard of. It started when a group of villagers from Green Bamboo Town stumbled upon an iron mine while clearing new farmland. For mortals, an iron mine was a tremendous fortune. It could be used to forge farming tools, and weapons. But, as fate would have it, villagers from Heavenly Hu Town showed up at the same time. It was an iron mine. The Hu villagers had no intention of walking away empty handed.

The two sides faced off, tension crackling like a drawn bowstring. The young man telling the story had been right there in the middle of it. Both sides sent people into the mine to investigate. But within fifteen minutes, something happened, the Hu family's people seemed to discover something inside. And without warning, they struck to kill. The Zhang villagers fought back immediately. The battle was savage and bloody.

But then, in the chaos, a cultivator at the fourth level of the Qi Refining Realm appeared from the Hu side. He slaughtered everyone with brutal, merciless efficiency. The young man survived only because his heart was naturally located on the right side of his chest, a rare twist of fate that deflected the cultivator's fatal strike. After he fell, two of his uncles from the clan died on top of him, their bodies pinning him to the ground. The Hu villagers dug a pit, threw the bodies inside, and buried them.

Then they left in a hurry. But the young man refused to die. His heart burned with rage and unwillingness. That will to live pushed his broken body beyond its limits. He clawed his way out of the grave. Clutching onto his very last breath, he dragged himself back to Green Bamboo Town. The villagers there carried him straight to Green Bamboo Mountain. Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website. That was the whole truth.

As soon as the young man finished speaking, blood burst from his mouth. His eyes, filled with regret, went dark. He was gone.

"Bury him with honor," Zhang Lixian said, his voice like ice. Everyone present was a cultivator. They could all see it clearly, the young man had been at death's door. He had burned through the last of his life force just to deliver this message. There was no saving him. No medicine could heal those wounds.

"Everyone, the details of this matter are now clear," Zhang Lixian said, his tone cutting through the silence.

"A Hu family cultivator attacked mortals. He violated the unbreakable law of the cultivation world."

"We have only one choice. Declare war on the Hu family. Make them pay. And if we can, wipe them out." Zhang Lixian's words were laced with iron resolve and a thirst for blood. A chill radiated from him, filling the air.

"Agreed. If we declare war now, even their allies won't lift a finger to help them," Zhang Chongwen said, his voice just as cold.

"An ordinary iron mine wouldn't make a Hu cultivator kill so ruthlessly," Zhang Liliang said with a slight frown.

"Could it be Mystic Iron Ore?"

"That doesn't matter," Zhang Lixian replied.

"Once we destroy the Hu family, everything will become clear." He turned his gaze to Zhang Chongwen.

"Father, stay out of this battle. Contact our allies and have them put pressure on the Hu family."

"Liliang has a point," he continued.

"This mine very well could be Mystic Iron Ore."

"After we destroy the Hu family, we'll need our allies to help share the burden," Zhang Chongwen said, understanding his son's meaning. If news of a Mystic Iron Mine got out, the Zhang family wouldn't be able to claim it all for themselves. They would have to bring in other families to spread the pressure.

"Everyone, prepare yourselves," Zhang Lixian ordered without a moment's hesitation.

"We declare war on the Hu family."

"Understood!" The eyes of every Zhang cultivator burned with killing intent. Right now, the Hu family only had four cultivators in the late stage of the Qi Refining Realm. Two at the ninth level, and two at the seventh. But of those two ninth-level cultivators, one was over seventy years old and the other nearly ninety. Their vital energy and blood were already in decline. Every major battle would drain their potential and shorten what little lifespan they had left.

Zhang Lixian, on the other hand, was in his prime, full of vigor and strength. Even if he had to face both Hu ninth level cultivators at once, he felt no fear. At Zhang Lixian's command, every cultivator stationed on outside mountains returned to the main family compound. Two hours later. The Zhang family cultivators, fully armed and ready, followed Zhang Lixian as they charged toward the iron mine. The Hu family had no idea that the Zhang family had already received word.

If that mine really was Mystic Iron Ore mine, then the Hu family would have organized their forces and set up an array formation around it. The Zhang family was mobilizing all its cultivators above the middle stage of the Qi Refining Realm. In one strike, they aimed to wipe out a significant chunk of the Hu family's strength. Fifteen minutes later, nine Zhang family cultivators arrived silently at the iron mine. Zhang Huaijin's soul was powerful. He immediately sensed the fluctuations of an array formation.

Three cultivators were inside. One at the seventh level of the Qi Refining Realm, one at the fifth, and one at the fourth. If Zhang Huaijin wasn't mistaken, that fourth level cultivator was the very one who had murdered the Zhang family's mortals. In six hours, the Hu family had already set up an array formation here. That confirmed it. This was definitely a Mystic Iron mine. Otherwise, why would that fourth level cultivator have killed so ruthlessly?

Now, Zhang Huaijin secretly hoped that this Mystic Iron Ore vein was just a micro vein. That was the only way the Zhang family could possibly get a share. If it was a small-scale iron vein, then Qi Refining Realm families like theirs wouldn't even be allowed to touch it. A Foundation Establishment family would inevitably step in.

"Kill them all." Zhang Lixian said, his eyes blazing with cold fury. With a flash from his storage pouch, the Crimson Sword floated into the air. He poured in the spiritual power of the ninth level of the Qi Refining Realm, pushing the sword to its limit. A crimson sword beam, nearly ten meters of blazing red energy, shot forward and slammed directly into the tier 1, low grade array formation that the Hu family had hastily thrown up. Boom! Crash! The remaining Zhang cultivators activated their own spirit artifacts.

Vast beams of spiritual power lit up the night sky. Eight attacks followed, striking the array formation's light barrier with overwhelming force. Crack! The next moment, the light barrier was covered in a dense web of cracks. Then it exploded violently. Keep in mind, the Zhang family had four late stage Qi Refining Realm cultivators right here. Plus another five at the middle stage. The power they unleashed together was enough to make even a beginner Foundation Establishment cultivator think twice.

Let alone a flimsy tier 1, low grade array formation. The three Hu family cultivators didn't even have time to react before their array formation shattered into fragments. The Zhang family's attack had come too fast. Too fierce. Zhang Lixian charged forward, taking the lead. The Crimson Sword in his hand erupted with blinding red light. In an instant, six dazzling sword beams materialized in the air. They shot directly toward the seventh level Hu cultivator.

The remaining two Hu cultivators turned and saw eight murderous Zhang family cultivators bearing down on them. Their faces went pale.