Chapter 163: The Seven-Plumed Bronze Sparrow

(Due to a violent thunderstorm and a one-hour power outage, the update is a bit late.)

Xu Xuan’s batch of reinforcements soon entered Qingmu Town.

In times of war, the town was desolate and quiet. Most of the townspeople kept their doors tightly shut or hid in safe and secluded places.

Whoosh!

High in the air, cultivators flew back and forth incessantly, and the various troop deployments conveyed a tense and solemn atmosphere.

"The forces of the Dongfang family never stop harassing and attacking us. Their various tactics are endless. In the past two months, Qingmu Town has not had a single moment of peace. Although our Zhang family faction has sent reinforcements several times, the Dongfang family's forces are pressing closer step by step..." Elder Hu said with a slightly worried expression during the flight.

Standing on a flying magic artifact, Xu Xuan flew smoothly with slightly furrowed brows. Judging from the current situation, the Zhang family in Qingmu Town had always been in a suppressed and passive state.

The Dongfang family adopted strategies such as feigned attacks and harassment, keeping their moves illusory and unpredictable. The Zhang family in Qingmu Town could only defend passively and dared not dispatch a large number of cultivators to launch an active offensive, fearing that it was a trick by the Dongfang family to lure the tiger away from the mountain, allowing their true main force to seize the opportunity and slaughter their way into Qingmu Town.

"Why doesn't our Zhang family dare to take risks and launch a large-scale offensive?" Zhang Kuang asked with a depressed expression.

"It's not that we don't dare, but that we can't! For the Zhang family, Qingmu Town is simply too important. This is the foundation of our clan, occupying numerous resources, including spiritual veins, mineral deposits, and secret realms. This place continuously provides fresh blood for the family. Once this place is lost, the Zhang family will lose the qualification to contend with the Dongfang family."

Elder Hu let out a long sigh, his face carrying a trace of helplessness.

Xu Xuan fell into deep thought. Due to various reasons, the Zhang family had been extremely conservative and steady so far, placing themselves in a passive and disadvantageous position. In the short term, they might not be defeated, but if this persisted for too long, morale would plummet, and everyone would be physically and mentally exhausted; eventually, Qingmu Town would be breached.

The group passed through Qingmu Town and entered a vast expanse of towering mountains and rolling ridges in the rear. This area was wreathed in clouds and mists, shrouded by a grand formation. Cultivators occasionally drifted past in mid-air, and a large number of troops were stationed there.

Xu Xuan felt a rich wave of spiritual energy. In the peaks ahead, there was clearly a large spiritual vein, and the terrain was easy to defend and difficult to attack.

Whoosh!

A gap suddenly opened in the clouds and mist, and a dashing and elegant young man flew out—none other than the young master of the Zhang family.

"Haha, Brother Xu has finally come out of seclusion to join the battle."

Zhang Feng said with a pleasant surprise, leading a few people out from the mountain ridges to welcome them.

As it turned out, this stretch of towering mountains was "Zhang Teling," which occupied half of Qingmu Town's territory. This was the birthplace of the Zhang family.

Hundreds of years ago, the spiritual vein beneath Zhang Teling gradually awakened, and its growth continued for over a century, far surpassing any other spiritual vein in Yellow Dragon City.

During that period, the minor Zhang family ruling over Teling inadvertently discovered a secret realm left behind by an ancient sect.

At that time in Yellow Dragon City, the Dongfang family, the Xingyu Sect, and several other major factions stood in a tripartite balance, keeping each other in check. Surviving in the cracks among numerous forces, the Zhang family kept an extremely low profile. Leveraging the opportunity of the spiritual vein's awakening and the various resources within the secret realm, they grew within a mere hundred years, eventually becoming the only force capable of contending with the Dongfang family.

The heritage of the Yellow Dragon Dongfang family could be traced back a thousand years or even longer, whereas the rise of the Zhang family spanned only a few hundred years. One could easily imagine the latter's arduous management and rapid territorial expansion.

Entering the depths of Zhang Teling, a vast expanse of jade-green manors formed by pavilions and halls appeared ahead, blending into the thick fog and deep mountain peaks. Amidst their grand and magnificent scale, they exuded a sense of tranquility and remoteness.

Along the way, upon learning of Xu Xuan's initial victory in battle, Zhang Feng was overjoyed: "After being suppressed by the Dongfang family for a month or two, we've finally heard such heart-pleasing news. I will help you claim credit before my father."

Before long, inside a silver spiritual pagoda that stood out from the rest within the Zhang Teling manor, Xu Xuan met the head of the family, Zhang Tianlun.

Zhang Tianlun looked somewhat pale. Sitting on a straw cushion, he gave a light cough, smiled faintly, and said, "Guest Elder Xu has just emerged from seclusion and come to Qingmu Town to provide reinforcements; it has truly not been easy. Was the journey smooth? Did you encounter any enemies from the Dongfang family?"

Xu Xuan was secretly startled. Judging by the situation, the head of the Zhang family had suffered quite severe injuries.

Before he could reply, Zhang Feng eagerly chimed in, "Father, Brother Xu just arrived in Qingmu Town and scored a brilliant opening victory, slaying two Divine Connection immortals of the Dongfang family in a row, severely injuring Fan Jiugu, and jointly repelling Dongfang Lin. He was simply unstoppable—this is truly heart-pleasing news."

"Is this true?" A ripple of astonishment flashed across Zhang Tianlun's calm eyes. "As far as I know, that Fan Jiugu is a veteran tier-three Divine Connection immortal cultivator of the Dongfang family, and Dongfang Lin is a martial cultivator of the tier-four Divine Connection realm with formidable combat prowess."

Subsequently, Zhang Kuang spoke up, recounting the entire combat process.

"I never imagined that my Zhang family would repeatedly produce such stunning talents. Some time ago, Nie Han emerged out of nowhere, reversing the disadvantage at the Bohu Great Mineral Deposit to a certain extent and stabilizing our Zhang family's largest mineral resource. And today, the moment you arrived in Qingmu Town, you crushed the Dongfang family's arrogance. This can be considered a monumental contribution."

Zhang Tianlun praised him with great joy and astonishment, then said with high expectations, "Half a month ago, I fought the main force of the Dongfang family to a standstill, and both sides suffered heavy injuries; neither will go to war in the short term. The two clans each have twenty or thirty Divine Connection tier immortals in Qingmu Town, but there are no others above the seventh tier of Divine Connection. Perhaps your arrival can reverse our disadvantage in Qingmu Town."

There was a significant gap between every single tier of the nine tiers of Divine Connection. Reaching beyond the seventh tier of Divine Connection became increasingly difficult.

The cultivators above the seventh tier of Divine Connection in both clans added up to only one or two dozen. As high-end forces, deploying them across various battle zones and to garrison critical locations made their numbers extremely limited. As for those at the ninth tier of Divine Connection, looking across the entire Yellow Dragon City, they could be counted on one's fingers, standing almost at the very apex of the pyramid.

Most Divine Connection immortals had cultivations below the fourth tier, making them the backbone force in battle.

"In view of your repeated major contributions within the clan, bringing honor and pride to our family, I hereby present you with a magic treasure in my personal capacity, hoping it will help you perform at your best on the battlefield."

Zhang Tianlun reached out and slowly patted his storage bag.

A magic treasure?

Xu Xuan didn't hold much expectation for this. As an ancient body cultivator, there weren't many magic treasures that truly suited him.

Zhang Tianlun opened his palm, revealing a dark bronze peacock about the size of a palm, with seven tail feathers completely retracted together.

As soon as this item appeared, the air in the room grew restless for no apparent reason.

Xu Xuan's heartstrings twitched, and he was immediately attracted by the Seven-Feather Bronze Peacock. The inflammatory astral yuan within his body actually trembled and became slightly more active than usual.

"This Seven-Feather Bronze Peacock is a miraculous treasure of the divine ability type, at least of spirit artifact quality, and suits inflammatory fire-attribute powers. Its might is extraordinary, but for some reason, general fire-attribute immortal spells encounter no small resistance when trying to wield it. While its power is immense, the consumption is terrifyingly high, making it somewhat unsuitable. As for magical powers of other attributes, this item doesn't react to them at all. According to appraisals, this miraculous item requires an incomparably pure and supreme fire magic power to use it handy and smoothly. Unfortunately, the Zhang family lacks anyone with such innate talent. However, Guest Elder Xu, I sense that you possess a pure and archaic fire-attribute power, which immediately made me think of this item."

After offering a brief explanation, Zhang Tianlun smilingly handed the mysterious dark bronze peacock to Xu Xuan.

Showing a trace of astonishment, Xu Xuan took the Seven-Feathered Dark Bronze Peacock and immediately felt the fire-attribute astral yuan and blood within his body faintly surge as if coming to a boil.

Hum!

The surface of the Seven-Feathered Peacock bloomed with a trace of translucent, cyan-jade flame light, and an ancient, distant reverberating hum echoed through the void. The light in the room instantly flickered uncertainly, and the people present felt their heartbeats accelerate inexplicably.

"Oh, you've found a magic treasure of the divine ability type suitable for yourself so quickly? It seems this item is a miraculous artifact with an ancient heritage, requiring a certain bloodline or special power to wield it smoothly."

The voice of the remnant soul from his past life came from his mind with a hint of surprise. There weren't many things that could move him.

The various strange phenomena displayed by the dark bronze peacock in Xu Xuan's palm also startled Zhang Tianlun and the others.

"It seems this item has finally found its true master."

Zhang Tianlun sighed with emotion, his face carrying a gratified expression.

The reason he bestowed this item was, firstly, because its value far exceeded ordinary spirit artifacts by countless times, serving to demonstrate the high regard he held for Xu Xuan. Secondly, Xu Xuan indeed possessed a purer and more archaic fire power than ordinary fire-cultivators—a point that was evident the last time he used the Dragon's Wrath Breath while contending for the God-Connecting Ancient Relic.

"Thank you, Family Head, for your generous bestowal."

Xu Xuan wore a joyful expression and expressed his gratitude repeatedly. Ever since embarking on the path of an ancient body cultivator, he seemed to have encountered his first magic treasure that truly matched his own astral yuan.

The remnant soul from his past life had once said that as a body cultivator, the magic treasures they used included heavy magic treasures, as well as auxiliary and divine ability types.

This dark bronze peacock was clearly a divine ability-type magic treasure, differing greatly from ordinary flying swords and the like.

He did not stay long at the Family Head's place; Zhang Feng took Xu Xuan to tour the manor within the Great Teling.

The Great Teling was the core stronghold of the Zhang family in Qingmu Town, even more important than the Zhang residence in Yellow Dragon City, and was garrisoned by a greater number of cultivators.

Even Xu Xuan's parents were settled in the manor within the Great Teling.

That very day, Xu Xuan met his parents at the manor.

Now, separated by a year, Xu Xuan's father and mother shed tears of joy upon seeing their son.

Among them, his father's leg injury had completely recovered after using the Three-Spirit Deer Blood.

Xu Xuan felt a great sense of relief, having resolved one of his worries.

At that moment, he made up his mind even more firmly: in the battles of Qingmu Town, not only would he slay enemies and seize treasures, but he would also do his utmost to rout the Dongfang family.

After arriving at the Great Teling, Zhang Tianlun did not immediately have Xu Xuan join the battle, instead letting him first spend time refining the peacock miraculous treasure.

Having changed hands several times in Yellow Dragon City over hundreds of years, that dark bronze peacock had finally encountered a suitable master, and even Zhang Tianlun looked forward to seeing what kind of might this item would display.

In a spiritual hall secret chamber arranged by the Zhang family, Xu Xuan prepared to refine the peacock miraculous artifact.

Ordinary magic treasures required refining to unleash their true might. If left unrefined, it wasn't that they couldn't be used at all, but rather that they couldn't be wielded smoothly, and their power would be less than half.

Before refining it, he wanted to give it a try.

Xu Xuan took a deep breath, and the pure and ardent flame astral yuan within his body suddenly poured into it.

Hum-buzz~

Abruptly, the dark bronze peacock burst forth with a trace of mesmerizing colorful light, brilliant and crystalline like a piece of artistic treasure.

As Xu Xuan continuously poured in his astral yuan, the colorful, glowing peacock floated in mid-air. With a "swish," it actually unfolded one of its seven tail feathers, raising a cyan-jade flame light several feet high with a formidable aura...

(The second update might be around 10 PM.)