’The only ones who would dare to spy on me, and use such underhanded methods, would be the Celestial Slaughter Hall.’
’Aside from them, Su Mo couldn’t think of anyone else.’
’No one else had this kind of ability.’
「A thousand miles away.」
A man in black clothes and a tall black hat suddenly emerged from the darkness, saying in surprise, "What a terrifying person. He actually sensed my Three-Eyed Crow and even swatted it down."
"What?"
A melodious gasp of surprise came from the sky, from a woman in white clothes and a tall white hat.
The pair’s attire made them look like emissaries from Hell.
They were precisely the assassins hired by the Celestial Slaughter Hall: the Black and White Impermanence Lords.
White Impermanence asked in surprise, "I remember your Three-Eyed Crow is exceptionally good at hiding. It doesn’t emit the slightest ripple of power, does it?"
"That’s right!"
Black Impermanence nodded gravely.
This was exactly why he found Su Mo so terrifying.
After all, his Three-Eyed Crow could merge with the void itself. Hiding in the shadows to spy on others, it was incredibly difficult to detect.
Even if someone did spot it, they would just think it was an ordinary bird and wouldn’t bother swatting it down.
White Impermanence frowned. "Could it be that this Su Mo fellow is just being childishly playful? Maybe he was just swatting at birds for fun and hit your Three-Eyed Crow by a complete fluke?"
"That’s a possibility!"
Black Impermanence nodded.
Other than that explanation, he couldn’t think of any other.
Otherwise, Su Mo was simply too terrifying.
Black Impermanence said with a ferocious look, "Hmph, he dared to shatter my Three-Eyed Crow Yin Beast. I will not spare him. I’ll refine him into a Yin Puppet."
White Impermanence inquired, "Where has that guy gone now?"
"Judging by his direction, it looks like he’s headed back to Qingyang City,"
Black Impermanence replied.
White Impermanence frowned. "Qingyang City has too many people and prying eyes. It won’t be easy to make a move, and we might expose ourselves. After all, we’re considered a taboo existence in the Northern Profound Domain. Acting rashly and causing a commotion would be bad."
Black Impermanence fell silent, his thoughts hidden.
...
Soon, Su Mo returned to Qingyang City.
After several days of settling, the Spiritual Qi in Qingyang City had grown much denser, and more Spirit Beasts and Immortal Birds had been brought in.
Wisps of Immortal Qi drifted through the air, making it feel like an Immortal Realm.
At the same time, many new, unfamiliar auras had appeared in Qingyang City—they belonged to humans who had moved here from all over.
These people bore no ill will.
They were simply drawn to the dense Spiritual Qi in Qingyang City and wanted to move here.
Besides them, there were also many Demon Beasts.
WHOOSH...
The Cyan Cloud Sparrow soared over the city gates.
The Demon Bear guarding the city roared, "Flying Demon Beasts are forbidden in Qingyang City! Get your ass down here now, or I’ll tear you to shreds!"
SMACK!
The Two-headed Black Lion slapped the Demon Bear on the head and said angrily, "Are you fucking blind? Can’t you recognize that’s Elder Su’s mount?"
"Mount?"
The Demon Bear looked completely bewildered.
The Two-headed Black Lion explained, "Elder Su’s mount is a Tier Five Demon King, the Cyan Cloud Sparrow. It knows Lord Ink Flood Dragon. I saw it with my own eyes back when we attacked the Holy Spirit Manor."
"A Tier Five Demon King, the Cyan Cloud Sparrow? Tsk, tsk. Elder Su is truly impressive to be able to tame such an existence," the Demon Bear said with envy.
The Two-headed Black Lion said angrily, "The Cyan Cloud Sparrow Demon King is Elder Su’s personal Demon Pet! Where it is, Elder Su is sure to be. You were fucking shouting at Elder Su! Do you have a death wish?"
"What? Elder Su is here too?"
The Demon Bear asked in shock.
The Two-headed Black Lion said, "Of course! You just told Elder Su to ’get his ass down here’ and threatened to ’tear him to shreds’ right to his face."
"I’m done for! I’m done for!"
The Demon Bear trembled. "Elder Su was the one who cut off my left leg! If he holds this against me and cuts off my right one to make me symmetrical, what am I going to do?"
With that, the Demon Bear’s legs kicked out, and he collapsed to the ground in a dead faint.
Meanwhile, Su Mo had already returned to the Xiao Family estate.
"Honey, you’re back!"
Xiao Qingxue greeted him enthusiastically.
Su Mo swept Xiao Qingxue into his arms. "My dear, come on, give me a kiss."
Xiao Qingxue closed her eyes.
Just as Su Mo was about to lean in, a questioning voice came from the side. "Young Master, are you two making babies?"
"You little brat! Who let you in here?"
Su Mo spun around angrily.
He thought it was Xiao Dong, but it turned out to be an eight-year-old girl.
"WAAAH!"
The little girl burst into tears on the spot.
Su Mo tried to console her, "Don’t cry, don’t cry. Big bro will give you a Spirit Fruit. Be a good girl now. Whose kid is this? Someone come get her!"
Just then, Xiao Dong came running over with an apologetic smile. "Young Master, please don’t be angry. This is my little sister, Xiao Wan. I’ll take her away right now."
"I knew it was you!"
Su Mo was speechless.
Soon, the news of Su Mo’s return had alerted everyone in the Xiao Family.
「In the main hall.」
Su Mo asked, "While I was away, did anyone come looking for trouble?"
"A few did, but we sent them packing,"
Xiao Lang said.
Su Mo frowned. "Why didn’t you just kill them?"
Xiao Lang shook his head. "The Patriarch said that our Xiao Alliance was just established and has a weak foundation. It isn’t wise to make too many enemies, so he let them go."
"Next time, beat them to death. The more you indulge them, the more they’ll bully you, thinking you’re a pushover," Su Mo said coldly.
Xiao Zhan said, "By now, the experts of the Eighteen Kingdoms have all heard of your deeds and know of our Xiao Alliance’s existence. No one should dare to cause trouble."
Su Mo nodded and continued to ask, "How is the cultivation of the clan’s disciples coming along?"
Xiao Zhan said excitedly, "The disciples have all made great progress! Xiao Lang and Xiao Lin are already at Martial Master Great Perfection. Their combat power is absurdly high; they can defeat opponents across a major realm. If we sent them out, every one of them would be a genius famous throughout the Northern Profound Domain."
"Besides that, we’ve also selected some outstanding disciples from the Eighteen Kingdoms, had them change their surnames, and allowed them to join as external members, becoming a part of our Xiao Family."
"That’s a good idea!"
Su Mo said with praise.
To become powerful, you need people.
The Xiao Family only had a few hundred members before, with maybe a hundred or so young disciples. With just those people, it would be difficult to grow strong in a short period of time.
Absorbing other geniuses into the Xiao Family as external members was the perfect way to make up for their lack of numbers.
Xiao Zhan continued, "I also gave a special order for the able-bodied adults of the clan to hurry up and have children—the more the better. In a few years, our Xiao Family’s population could double."
"Ahem, ahem. That’s not something you can rush, is it?"
Su Mo coughed awkwardly.
’Who forces their own clan members to have babies?’ he thought.
Xiao Zhan chuckled. "Our family used to be poor with few resources, so we didn’t dare have many children. Now, we have all the resources we could ask for, so they can have as many as they want. I even set up a special reward for having children."
The Grand Elder added, "Now, in our family, having children means getting resources, which means getting stronger."
Hearing this, Su Mo was utterly speechless.
’Get stronger by having babies?’
’How absurd!’
Speaking of resources, Su Mo flipped his hand, producing a Storage Ring. "These are some resources I brought back from my trip to the Holy Spirit Manor. Take them and let the clan members use them for their cultivation."
"Resources? Let me see!"
The Second Elder took the Storage Ring, and after a glance, he leaped to his feet, shouting repeatedly, "Holy shit! Holy shit! Holy shit!"