Chapter 18: The Sacrificial Lamb

Just over ten li (5km) from the Su Family's medicinal garden, the geomancer Guo Chudong, whom the Su Family had paid handsomely to hire, arrived with a few of his disciples. There, they met up with a group already waiting for them.

When the Lin Family's two elders saw Guo Chudong arrive, they were overjoyed.

Fourth Elder Lin Hai hurried up to him. "Fellow Daoist Guo, how did it go?"

Guo Chudong was of average height and build, with white hair and a deeply wrinkled face. He looked older than Lin Hai, though in reality he was ten years younger—just over fifty.

As a geomancer, Guo's access to cultivation resources far exceeded that of ordinary rogue cultivators.

He had already reached the ninth level of Qi Refinement.

This trip to the Su Family had been made for one reason only—to collect the resources necessary for breaking through to Foundation Establishment.

Guo Chudong said calmly, "The guardian beasts of the spiritual vein have already rioted. The number was less than I expected, but still around two to three hundred."

"There were also three late-stage Tier 1 beasts. Once they go berserk, their killing intent surges, and their power increases."

"With the Su Family's cultivators in the garden, even if they all survive, they'll have paid a steep price."

"In another hour, once the Groundrock Rats retreat underground, we can go in and clean up."

Lin Hai and Grand Elder Lin Kui beamed at the news.

Lin Kui stepped forward eagerly. "With Fellow Daoist Guo helping, even if the Su Family survives, they'll be forced out of Jiang City."

"You have our word—the Lin Family will pay your fee in full—and double it."

A trace of a smile appeared on Guo Chudong's face. "Then we wait."

The Su Family had only paid him a deposit for his geomancer services—seeking the spiritual vein and constructing a blessed land.

But not long after he was hired, the Lin Family approached him as well.

To Guo Chudong, neither the Su nor Lin families mattered much.

What mattered was that the Lin Family promised double the pay if he helped them seize the spiritual vein.

With that money… I'll finally be able to gather the ingredients for a Foundation Establishment Pill and find someone to refine it… Guo's eyes gleamed with hope.

Foundation Establishment.

He clenched his teeth. For a geomancer, forming a foundation was ten times harder than for a regular cultivator.

He had already failed twice.

One more failure—

Guo thought of his dwindling lifespan and fell silent.

The geomancer path made me… and it will be my end.

He had once been ecstatic when he opened an Ancient Jade Casket and discovered a partial geomancer inheritance.

He had embraced the path without hesitation.

Never imagining it would turn out to be a curse—blocking his path to Foundation Establishment and devouring his lifespan like a beast.

—

An hour passed.

By Guo's estimation, the Groundrock Rats should now be calming down and returning underground. The danger would be minimal.

Now was the perfect time to enter the Su Family's garden and claim it as their own.

"Let's go," Guo ordered with a low voice.

Over a hundred Lin Family cultivators charged forward with him.

Arriving outside the Su Family's medicinal garden, Guo Chudong said smugly, "During my time under the guise of dragon-seeking, I thoroughly examined the garden's defensive formations and tampered with a few key nodes."

"So we can go in directly."

He pulled out several formation flags and began casting spells, fusing them into the array.

Moments later, Guo said, "Done."

Buzz!

With a flick of his will, the grand formation opened a gap.

Guo led his disciples inside first. Lin Hai followed right behind.

Just as Lin Kui stepped forward with the rest of the Lin Family cultivators—

The formation gap suddenly snapped shut, sealing them out.

Lin Kui froze. "What… what's going on?"

"Fellow Daoist Guo? Guo Chudong?"

He shouted a few more times, but got no response.

Then suddenly—

Boom!

A tremendous surge of spiritual energy burst from the formation ahead, making Lin Kui's expression change instantly.

"Not good!"

—

Inside the array—

Guo Chudong, Lin Hai, and a few others were just stepping in when the formation suddenly closed behind them.

Guo's face paled. He sensed the formation flags he had integrated into the array were being destroyed one by one.

He had lost control of the formation.

His heart sank. "No… this is bad."

The next moment—

Third Elder Su Chang's cold, killing intent-filled voice echoed through the formation.

"Guo Chudong! My Su Family treated you well. The price we offered you was no less than that of a Foundation Establishment Pill!"

"And yet you conspired with the Lin Family, tried to seize our medicinal garden, and even triggered a Groundrock Rat riot to wipe us out."

"You've got some nerve!"

Then he turned his ire toward Lin Hai. "Lin Hai! Your Lin Family has provoked us again and again. Do you think the Su Family is easy to bully?"

"Since you've stepped in here today—don't dream of leaving!"

Boom!

As he spoke, all the formations of the medicinal garden were activated.

These weren't ordinary arrays, but top-tier Grade 1 formations laid down by the Su Family at great expense.

There were defensive, trapping, and killing arrays layered together.

Perhaps they wouldn't work against a Foundation Establishment cultivator—but against Qi Refinement stage?

They were devastating.

Sensing the sudden surge of killing intent, Guo Chudong's expression changed again.

He hastily summoned formation flags and tried to dismantle the array—

But before he could act, a vicious gale swept through the formation.

The wind carried lethal force so sharp that even Guo, at the ninth level of Qi Refinement, felt a chill down his spine.

In a panic, he threw down a defensive formation around himself.

BOOM!!

The wind struck.

His disciples and Lin Hai barely lasted a few breaths before they were ripped to shreds, reduced to mist and blood by the formation's power.

Their screams echoed in Guo's ears.

—

Inside the estate—

Su Chang, watching from within the control formation, frowned slightly as he saw Guo Chudong resist the full brunt of the array.

This one really is tough…

The two sides were now at a stalemate.

From within his hastily erected defensive formation, Guo's voice rang out.

"Fellow Daoist Su… can't we talk this out?"

"Your formation still can't kill me, and don't forget—I've left a few tricks behind in the spiritual vein."

"If you push me too far… I might not be able to destroy the vein entirely—but damaging it? That's no problem at all."

Su Chang's face changed instantly.

He had deliberately not let all the Lin Family cultivators inside—fearing exactly this kind of backup plan.

Lin Kui, after all, was also a ninth-level Qi Refinement cultivator. If he and Guo teamed up, things could easily go sideways.

But even alone, Guo Chudong was proving a challenge.

Just then, Su Yu spoke up quietly from the side, "Third Grandpa, for now, we can just trap him. Once the Clan Head arrives…"

"By then, taking him down will be simple. He'll be a sacrificial lamb, and whether he lives or dies… will be up to us."

Su Chang's eyes lit up.

Capturing a geomancer?

That would be a massive gain for the Su Family.