Cultivation System: Stronger with Age

Yan Yunfei and Yuan Butong were deeply moved by his words. A single cartload contained ten thousand portions of Nine Revolutions Qi Replenishing Soup, and there were two additional carts of medicinal herbs. In the current Great Marsh Prefecture, their total value was close to a million silver taels!

The two immediately cupped their fists. Yan Yunfei said, "With these nearly twenty thousand portions of medicinal herbs, our people will definitely be able to establish a firm foothold once we reach the border of Nanyuan Prefecture. If Elder Conical ever visits that region, please seek out our two families. Whatever your needs may be then, we will certainly offer our full support!

"Furthermore, if Elder Conical also intends to visit the Ba Mountain Secret Realm, we might encounter each other there. Should you have any instructions for us at that time, please do not hesitate to find us!"

「Two days later,」

「At the Black Tiger Gang branch,」

Zhao Renxiong, Liy Ruoqing, and Guo Yunkui, along with Second-in-Command Feng of the Feng Family, Feng Menghu—a Late Stage Fifth Layer expert—all wore extremely grim expressions.

Three hundred thousand portions of Qi Replenishing Soup ingredients and fifty stalks of Zhengyuan Grass—their value was now beyond calculation in silver taels. These supplies were intended for their clansmen and Gang Members for the latter half of the year, yet not a single herb had made it back!

The most devastating blow was that two thousand elite members from the Feng Family, the Guo Family, and the Black Tiger Gang had been nearly annihilated! Even for prominent powers like the Feng Family, Guo Family, and the Black Tiger Gang, this was a catastrophic loss, shaking the very foundations of their three organizations!

Zhao Renxiong, the Hill City Hall Master, was deeply dejected. He had just reassigned the four Grand Chief Stewards from the Black Tiger Gang's Hill City Branch to the transport convoy, only for them to be immediately wiped out. Previously, the Black Tiger Gang's three branches boasted a total of twelve Grand Chief Stewards, a testament to their formidable power. Now, only the four Grand Chief Stewards at the main headquarters remained...

Nurturing a Fourth Layer Martial Cultivator required an immense amount of resources and could take more than ten, twenty, or even thirty years. Yet now, so many had perished in an instant!

"Damn it, it's that Conical Hat Guest again!" Zhao Renxiong snarled, clenching the Demon Pearl in his hand, his facial muscles twitching.

Of course, among those present, Feng Menghu was the most grief-stricken. The Feng Family possessed only two Demon Pearls, and now they had lost a precious Demon Fox Demon Pearl. In addition, they had lost a suit of Azure Light Armor, a rare expert from their family—Feng Zhushi, an Early Stage Fifth Layer cultivator—and another seven to eight hundred of the Feng Family's most elite Martial Cultivators!

Feng Menghu ground out, "And Yan Yunfei and Yuan Butong! They are simply audacious, daring to strike against our three families!

"This time, we must join forces! Even if it means turning all of Great Marsh Hundred Cities upside down, we have to find the Conical Hat Guest, Yan Yunfei, and Yuan Butong!"

When Feng Menghu finished speaking, he noticed Zhao Renxiong, Guo Yunkui, and Liy Ruoqing remained silent, and he couldn't help but frown at the three of them.

"What? This time, countless Martial Cultivators throughout the Great Marsh Hundred Cities must be laughing at our three families, gloating over our misfortune! Are we supposed to just swallow this humiliation?"

A weary expression appeared on Liy Ruoqing's face.

"First, our elites were annihilated at the Demon Slaying Conference. Now, due to this herb transport incident, we've lost another two thousand elite members.

"I fear our three families cannot endure many more setbacks like this! My old gang leader has already instructed me to randomly apprehend two or three hundred Loose Cultivators, declare them to be Yan Yunfei and his accomplices, and then execute them publicly as a show!

"As for dispatching a large contingent to deal with the Conical Hat Guest, Yan Yunfei, and Yuan Butong...

"Firstly, don't our various enterprises require manpower for their defense?

"Secondly, the Conical Hat Guest was able to severely injure Young Master Feng and kill him within half a breath. Can we truly rely on our subordinates to capture someone like him?"

At this moment, this Late Stage Fifth Layer Hall Master of the Black Tiger Gang Great Marsh Hall felt his usual confidence falter.

Hearing this, Feng Menghu and Guo Yunkui were rendered momentarily speechless.

They suddenly realized that the Conical Hat Guest, whom they had initially dismissed as a minor nuisance, had gradually revealed a level of strength that their three families could no longer easily eliminate. He was even beyond their control!

After all, a solitary and enigmatic Fifth Layer expert like him was the most troublesome type to deal with. Their families were large, with extensive holdings and numerous concerns; how could they afford to act recklessly?

A heavy silence gradually fell within the hall. The three Fifth Layer experts were, to a man, frustrated and sullen, yet utterly helpless!

Who could have imagined that someone in Great Marsh Prefecture was capable of achieving this? Not even the Spirit Snake Gang Leader, Huang Nishang of the Huang Family, or the two Hall Masters of Yin Talisman had ever inflicted such a grievous blow upon their three families!

"Hmph! Have you all forgotten? It's less than a month until the eighth day of the ninth month!" Zhao Renxiong declared, abruptly standing up.

"So what if he's an expert close to the Late Stage Fifth Layer? If he dares to show up, he'll face a combined siege by more than ten Late Stage Fifth Layer experts from our three families, wielding over ten Demon Pearls! Could he possibly survive that? Forget being close to the Late Stage Fifth Layer; even an Early Stage Sixth Layer or a Mid-grade Sixth Layer expert, facing such an assault, would die in bitter resentment on the spot, without a doubt!"

Hearing his words, Liy Ruoqing, Guo Yunkui, and Feng Menghu all had a sudden change in expression. A murderous glint flashed in their eyes, mingled with a trace of hateful anticipation!