Lu Chaoxi felt a little worried after he finished telling his father about the devil.
"Even though it was successfully dealt with this time, the enemy was not too powerful. He was only a Level Two devil. However, ever since the demonic uprising 15 years ago, the Feiyun State had not been peaceful. Demonic creatures roamed everywhere. There had always been rumors that claimed that the demonic cultivators back then had not been fully exterminated. It looks like that could be true."
The demonic uprising was something that even Lu Qing paid much attention to.
Lu Qing said, "Chaoxi, you have to take care of the areas surrounding the clan. You must clear any budding threats you discover as soon as possible. If you find anything that might become a large problem, you have to notify the Qingfeng Sect immediately. The clan is not as powerful as it was before. I cannot take any action. You must not hesitate if you have to ask for help from the sect."
The point of what Lu Qing had said was that it was not embarrassing to depend on others.
After he heard about the devil, Lu Qing asked again about the preparations for the Water Ghost Lake.
Lu Chaoxi became a little embarrassed when his father asked about the matter.
Lu Qing became a little impatient when he heard his eldest son hemming and hawing. "Just go straight to the point."
"Hmm… According to the information you gave us previously and the outcome of our investigations over the years, there are at least 40 Water Ghosts in the lake. Many of them have reached Level Two. It would be difficult for the clan to deal with it. Many of the clan members will die. Furthermore, there are no benefits to attacking them… It is not a spiritual land, nor are there any special resources or treasures. They would never threaten Pingyao County. It has been over 20 years since the Water Ghosts appeared there. Both us and the Zhao Clan do not wish to deal with them…"
The meaning between the lines was obvious.
Lu Qing asked, "What you mean to say is that you disregarded my words?"
Lu Chaoxi was scared. "Why would we dare to? You must have some deep meaning behind your instructions. Even though we do not know why you insist on getting the clan to attack the lake, we have made meticulous preparations over the years. Other than training during these years, I have also forged three Yang-element Lightning Amulets. It will definitely prove useful when the time comes. Seventh brother also sold his Ground Flipping Array and made some money. We purchased the mantra and the Array Base needed to set up the Red Sun Array. It should have some effect when that time comes."
What he said was the truth. Five years ago, even though the clan did not understand the reason to attack the lake, after receiving the instructions to prepare to deal with the Water Ghosts, they started making the necessary preparations.
Lu Chaoxi was a cultivator with a Lightning Spiritual Root. The technique he cultivated was the "Bright Yang Lightning Ceremony," which had a lightning element. It was a marvelous-grade technique, being both strong and overbearing. Many years ago, when Lu Qing found out the elements of Lu Chaoxi's Spiritual Roots, he spent a great deal of effort to find a suitable Lightning Elemental Technique for him.
The techniques were split into low-grade, high-grade, marvelous-grade, and superb-grade. Low-grade techniques were run-off-the-mill kinds. Many unaffiliated cultivators who did not have techniques handed down to them had to make use of low-grade techniques to get into the world of cultivation. The effects of cultivating these techniques were extremely poor and could barely be used to refine a cultivator's Qi. High-grade techniques were a little better. Most Foundation Building cultivators cultivated these techniques. A cultivator would be able to reach the Initial Enlightenment Stage even with high-grade techniques.
Back then, Lu Qing had also used high-grade techniques when he first started his cultivation.
Marvelous-grade techniques were the best techniques that an ordinary cultivator knew about. It was enough to sustain cultivators until they reached the Golden Core Stage or even the Nascent Soul Stage.
As for superb-grade techniques, even the top-notch faction that lorded over the massive Feiyun State like the Qingfeng Sect only had one. It was called the "Qinggang Sword Ceremony." Furthermore, it was only applicable to a small portion of cultivators. Only a cultivator with a Wood Spiritual Root could cultivate that technique.
Even Lu Qing did not have to rely on a technique of that grade when he made it to the Golden Core Stage.
The techniques that the Lu Clan possessed at the moment were not the worst. They had five foundational techniques that covered all five elements of Spiritual Roots. Of those five, three of them were high-grade, and one was marvelous-grade. Only the Metal Elemental Technique was a little weaker, being low-grade. The Bright Yang Lightning Ceremony was a technique that could only be cultivated by someone with a Lightning Spiritual Root and was thus not basic. They could ignore that for now.
Lu Chaoxi was an Amulet Craftsman and could create a few amulets on his own. He could create a Yang-element Lightning Amulet with his Bright Yang Lightning Ceremony. He could cause great damage to spirit-like demonic creatures with his Lightning Elemental Techniques that have been infused with the power of the yang element. The amulets were indeed powerful weapons that could be used to deal with the Water Ghosts.
Lu Qing felt that three Level Two Yang-element Lightning Amulets were not enough. However, he could not blame Lu Chaoxi for not trying. Lu Chaoxi had to recuperate and train during these five years. It was already good enough that he managed to find time to make three Yang-element Lightning Amulets.
Lu Chaohe had also paid the price for exchanging his Ground Flipping Array with the Red Sun Array. Lu Chaohe cultivated Earth Elemental Techniques and was naturally more suited to control earth-element arrays. However, to complement his father's plan, he sold the Array Base of his Ground Flipping Array and got the Red Sun Array.
The Red Sun Array was both yang and fire elements and had a restraining effect on spirit-like monsters.
The extent of the preparation was decent. However, Lu Qing judged that it would be troublesome if they went for the Water Ghosts just like that. They already had a good chance of victory, but they would also incur a huge loss.
He thought for a moment and then said, "The preparations are not enough. Prepare a few more Level Two Yang-element Lightning Amulets in the next five years. It's best if you can get ten of them. It will also be good if you can obtain another yang-element magic equipment, one that has a restraining effect on Water Ghosts."
Lu Chaoxi first acknowledged his father's orders and then could not help but ask, "Father, those items are already extremely expensive. A Level Two yang-element magic equipment would require several hundred Spirit Stones. Ten Level Two Yang-element Lightning Amulets would cost about 1,500 Spirit Stones. In addition to the Red Sun Array, the clan would have to produce 3,000 Spirit Stones to exterminate that bunch of Water Ghosts. To deal with those Water Ghosts that are not worth much…"
He asked the question in the end.
From his perspective, the clan would only gain several hundred to a thousand Spirit Stones by killing the Water Ghosts. The materials they could obtain from the Water Ghosts were only worth that much.
However, the clan had to prepare 3,000 Spirit Stones worth of equipment and mobilize almost all of the cultivators. There might even be countless deaths. It would be a huge loss if they attacked the Water Ghosts.
Lu Qing decided to reveal a little bit of the information to his eldest son. "This matter has to do with whether or not you can advance to the Initial Enlightenment Stage. Just follow my instructions and prepare well. The better prepared the clan is to deal with the Water Ghosts, the fewer people would die when that time comes. Remember that."
Lu Chaoxi's heart tremendously shook when he heard those words.
"It had something to do with my advancement to the Initial Enlightenment Stage? Could there be… Could there be a treasure that could help break through to the Initial Enlightenment Stage there?" he thought.
He understood the reason now.
An item like that would be worth 30,000 to 50,000 Spirit Stones!
"You must not announce it to the world!"
"I understand," Lu Chaoxi quickly said.
Not only was the path of cultivation romantic, but also it was merciless. Countless average cultivators paved the path of cultivation with their bones for a powerful cultivator to achieve success.
An Initial Enlightenment cultivator was already regarded as a top-notch cultivator in the Feiyun State. Countless people who were stuck before the hurdle would find any way to snatch this treasure away and seize the chance to advance to the Initial Enlightenment Stage. Even cultivators who had already reached the Initial Enlightenment Stage would fight with one another for their friends, family, and descendants.
If this news were to spread and reach the public, the area around Yuyan Mountain and Pingyao County would encounter massive bloodshed. All of the cultivators from the Feiyun State would take action after they hearing this news.
The Lu Clan could not withstand this crisis. Even more so, they could not protect the treasure under such a circumstance.
The best way to deal with the situation was to obtain the treasure secretly and then internalize it as soon as possible.