Immortal Road.

Chapter 169: The Secret View of the Spiritual Well
In the attic, Lin Shan and more than twenty of his younger brothers were secretly gathering together to plot.

Lin Shan: "That's how it is. The Gongsun family has a great opportunity this time. I will go underground to practice for a few months to half a year. You guys will stay here temporarily."

But the younger brothers all looked worried. To be honest, without Lin Shan, a powerful figure in the Foundation Establishment Stage, they always felt that nowhere was safe. But they did not dare to stop the envoy from getting benefits.

At this time, Old Man Zhong said what everyone was worried about:
"Sir, the battle is in full swing on the front line of the Larch Mountains right now. There are too many variables in half a year. If something unexpected happens by then, and you are trapped underground."

After Old Man Zhong reminded him of this, Lin Shan also frowned. It was not like he had not considered this issue before. It was still unknown whether the three sects of the Demonic Path could hold out for another half a year, because the current situation was too similar to that of ten years ago.

The current Demonic camp is just like the Righteous camp at that time, except that the offensive and defensive positions have been reversed. If there is no external intervention, after the Purple Sky Sect gradually recovers its vitality, it is highly likely that it will lose if it defends for a long time. Now both the Righteous and Demonic camps should be waiting for reinforcements.

The Demonic Path had broken through the Luosong Mountains in half a month, and it was unknown how long the Righteous Path would take to attack this time. He had stayed in the underground spiritual vein for half a year, and by then, the outside world might have undergone unexpected changes.

If the righteous army broke through the front line and killed the Gongsun family in Shangdang County, I would be caught in a trap. I would either be destroyed along with the Gongsun family, or the Gongsun family would tie me up and surrender.
However, these are all speculations. At least for now, the demonic front can still hold on, and the Gongsun family is still relatively reliable in the eyes of Protector Yan.

If they left Gongsun Family and returned to the front line ahead of time, it would be even more dangerous. It would be better for them to stay here and wait until the situation on the front line became clear before making any plans.

But we must always be on guard against others, and some plans do need to be prepared early.

"If something serious really happens in the outside world, and the Gongsun family is wavering between the two sides and watching the fire from the other side, trying to trap us and use us as bargaining chips, we still have to be prepared to withdraw early."

The brothers below offered suggestions:
"If an accident really happens at that time, the most important thing to guard against is the Gongsun family's protective formation."

"The Gongsun family's formation consumes a huge amount of spiritual energy, and the spiritual veins are difficult to supply for the family's cultivation, so the formation is not activated all year round and will only be activated in critical moments. We can do some hidden tricks on the formation base and the center in advance."

"You also need to be familiar with the outer illusion array in advance and record the direction of travel and the pattern of changes."

"We can quietly approach some low-ranking members of the Gongsun family and learn about the daily dynamics of the Gongsun family through them."

"Don't forget to keep in touch with the front line so that you can call the police immediately if there is any disturbance."

……

The younger brothers talked at once and instantly came up with a bunch of countermeasures.

You know what, although these people’s cultivation is average, they do have a lot of ideas.

"I will go to the Gongsun family's land veins to practice in three days. I will leave these arrangements to you."

Lin Shan nodded, and this was the time when the advantage of having more people was reflected. Although these brothers were not as strong as himself, they could give him advice and help him when he was out.

He must seize as much of this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity as possible, especially the "nectar of heaven and earth" used to improve his spiritual roots, which is too important to him.

The higher the qualifications, the more time and resources you can save, which is especially critical in the later stages.

Besides, the Gongsun family has shown no signs of taking action against him at the moment, so he should just keep them here.

As for the family's Jindan ancestor, he has been in seclusion all year round and would not pay any attention to him at all. Moreover, with his current means, he may not be afraid of the Gongsun family.

At least it is safe in the short term.

What's more, as an envoy of the Demon Cult, they are all trying to curry favor with him in order to avoid corvée labor. The only thing he needs to be careful about is the infiltration of righteous monks.

He recalled the great battle between the righteous and evil forces in Luosong Mountains some time ago. Some righteous cultivators broke through and entered the heartland of the evil forces, fanning the flames and sowing discord everywhere, causing panic among the people.

Lin Shan thought about it and felt that it was still within the controllable range. Unless the front line collapsed and the righteous forces came in large numbers, the instigation of a few righteous cultivators would only be empty talk. No matter what the Gongsun family said, they would not have the courage to attack him.

Being sent to the Gongsun family was originally a way out that Protector Yan had secured for him. Compared with the current front line, the danger that the Gongsun family will face in the future is even less worth mentioning.

After everyone discussed it for a while, Old Man Zhong stepped forward and said:

"Sir, let's make two preparations. You can practice with peace of mind, and we will provide support outside."

Lin Shan nodded.

"Old man Zhong will be in charge from now on. You can gather information around the Gongsun family. Don't be too blatant, just hint at it indirectly. As for setting up a covert move in the Gongsun family's formation, I will let the Black Skull Demon Lord assist you."

Lin Shan handed the skull pendant to Old Man Zhong. The Black Skull Demon Lord was a master of formations after all. When he returned from the depths of the earth and the outside world changed, he might have to pass the Gongsun family's protective formation.

The Black Skeleton Demon Lord, a mere skeleton, naturally cannot travel in the Gongsun family alone. He needs a group of Qi training subordinates to cover him. With their advance arrangements and support, he will probably have a chance to escape unscathed.

Everyone said yes. They were all originally independent cultivators from the East China Sea. Later, they had experienced ten years of war between good and evil. They were all experienced, and Lin Shan was very confident in them.

……

The next day, as soon as Lin Shan walked out of the attic, he found several Foundation Establishment cultivators "playing chess" in the pavilion not far from the door. It seemed that they were afraid that his place was too deserted, so they came here specially to add some popularity.

Lin Shan walked over calmly. Several foundation-building cultivators from the Gongsun family in the pavilion stood up and quickly invited him to sit down with them to play chess and drink tea.

At this time, a group of men walked out of the attic and planned to take a look around. Immediately outside the yard, members of the Gongsun family came to greet them.

The two sides mingled together, talking and laughing.

Lin Shan glanced over there, slowly placed the chess piece on the chessboard, and asked the foundation-building cultivator from the Gongsun family next to him.

"Why should the nobles be so enthusiastic? Our subordinates should just let them go out and take a breath of fresh air. It is a waste of manpower to deliberately entertain them."

The cultivators of the Gongsun family hurriedly said that it was okay, but they said that some formations within the family had been out of order for a long time and were being rectified, some places were ancestral cemeteries that should not be disturbed, and some places were holding some ferocious spirit beasts.

Therefore, it is best for all distinguished guests of the Demonic Path to be accompanied by someone when they go out, to avoid accidentally entering some places and causing unnecessary misunderstandings.

This argument is well-reasoned and convincing. It is indeed inconvenient for guests to barge into the host's house.
But the real situation is certainly not just that. Yesterday, the righteous messenger ordered the setting up of a teleportation formation. This made quite a noise, and they were afraid of being discovered by the people of the Demon Cult. As a last resort, they hurriedly sent in more people to try to cover it up.

Of course Lin Shan didn’t know this, and he nodded after listening.

"In that case, I'll trouble you all to take care of me. My subordinates are used to being casual and unrestrained. If they cause any trouble, please bear with me."

Everyone laughed and said how dare they.

For the next two days, Lin Shan did not wander around, but stayed in the courtyard of the pavilion to play chess as invited. His subordinates also followed the rules and did not overstep the mark.

That night, in the pavilion, Lin Shan and his younger brothers conspired for the last time.

"Tomorrow I will enter the Gongsun family's spiritual vein to practice, which may last from several months to half a year. You can choose the opportunity to deal with it on your own during this time."

In the past two days, his men also heard some rumors that one-third of the Gongsun family's Qi training members were taken away. It was unknown what they were doing and they had lost contact with the outside world.

After analyzing for a long time, everyone still had no idea and had to proceed according to the original plan.

The Black Skull Demon Lord specially refined a pair of conch magic tools and brought one to him. He said that this was a disposable magic tool that could communicate over a long distance for the duration of an incense stick. The message was extremely secret and would not be intercepted. It could be used to communicate between the two sides at critical moments.

……

The next day, Lin Shan, under the guidance of the cultivators sent by the Gongsun family, came to the depths of the family's forbidden area.

At this time, there have been four young men and women in the Foundation Establishment Stage waiting here for a long time. I think they are the younger generation of the family who are going to the Spiritual Vein Tide with Lin Shan this time.

Second Elder Gong Sun Lu came forward to greet him: "Fellow Daoist Lin is finally here. How have you been resting these days?"

Lin Shan responded casually: "Thank you for your hospitality, nobleman. Everything is fine."

At the same time, he looked at the four young men and women in the Foundation Establishment Stage and found that they were all in the early stage of Foundation Establishment, but some of them had just entered this stage, while some were already stuck at the edge of the bottleneck at the peak of the early stage.

One of the young men in white seemed vaguely familiar, and Lin Shan recognized him after looking at him carefully for a moment.

"You are Gongsun Yu?"

The four young men who had established their foundation were originally paying attention to Lin Shan. When they heard him call Gongsun Yu, the other three turned to look at the young man in white.

The second eldest, Gongsun Lu, was also confused. When he saw the young man called "Gongsun Yu" also had a puzzled look on his face, he asked Lin Shan, "Does Fellow Daoist Lin know him?"

Lin Shan also had some emotion: "I met him once in Yichuan more than ten years ago."

When he went to Yichuan for the first time from Bianliang, he was invited by disciples from aristocratic families such as Gongsun Yu to have a drink and chat in a pavilion on the mountain. He benefited a lot from it at that time, and he also had a good impression of the disciples from the immortal families.

Now that he saw Gongsun Yu again, he had just broken through to the foundation-building stage, which made him feel emotional and as if he was in another world.

Gongsun Yu himself looked hesitant. He was the eldest son of the Gongsun family. Relying on his status as the second generation of immortals, he made many friends with people of the same path since he was young. He was well-known in the aristocratic family circle for his generosity and wide social circle.

At that time, Lin Shan was just a small casual cultivator in the middle stage of Qi training, so he would not deliberately take it to heart.

Now in front of him was a demon cult envoy in the middle stage of foundation building, so it was naturally difficult for him to connect the matter with the past. However, thinking of the secret instructions from the elders a few days ago, he could only nod and smile in response.

A flash of worry flashed across the eyes of the second eldest brother Gongsun Lu. The fact that they were secretly contacting the righteous path was known to everyone in the family, in addition to the cultivators above the Foundation Establishment stage, one-third of the family members in the Qi Condensation stage also knew about it.

However, the Qi training clan members had already been assigned to set up a long-distance teleportation formation, so there was no need to worry about leaks. I just didn't know how close Gongsun Yu was to this magic envoy, so I just hoped he wouldn't ruin the Gongsun family's plans.

The group of six went deep into the forbidden area at the back of the mountain and entered a cave on the mountainside where hot winds were surging.

This cave leads directly underground. Walking along the winding path, the road is paved with luminous stones all around, and there are flat steps underfoot. Naturally, the Gongsun family is very concerned about their own land veins.

Lin Shan secretly observed his surroundings along the way while keeping an eye on the five people from the Gongsun family around him.

Gongsun Lu walked at the front of the team to lead the way, and Gongsun Yu followed closely behind him. The two of them had their backs to the back and seemed to be communicating with their spiritual consciousness. The other three just followed behind Lin Shan silently.

Going more than twenty miles underground, the temperature around them gradually increased, the passage became narrower, and gusts of hot air mixed with rich spiritual energy gushed out.

The entrance in front suddenly opened up, revealing an underground hall three meters in radius.

Twelve bronze pillars were inserted around the hall, buried in the ground from top to bottom. There were densely packed tadpole-sized characters engraved on the pillars, and it seemed that they were used to seal something.

There are also two stone rhinos lying on the field. Although they look like stone bodies, the wrinkles on them make them look like living creatures. Both the front and hind limbs have three toes, they have big heads, round ears, thick necks, long lips, and sharp horns on their foreheads and noses.

Lin Shan could sense a dangerous aura from it, and he didn't know whether it was a puppet or a monster.

There were circles of light spreading above the head of the hall, and underground there were intricate grooves. Bundles of forbidden formations were keeping them running, regulating the lifeline of the Gongsun family's practice.

The second eldest brother Gongsun Lu took out a magic plate and muttered a few words. Five doors appeared in front of the hall, one of which was pitch black and still led to the underground.

"I will take you here. You can each go in and go about ten miles deeper, and you will reach the secret room of the Spirit Well. This time, you must seize the opportunity to practice closely along the spiritual veins. Use the nectar of heaven and earth to improve your aptitude or comprehend spells."

The first half should be said to take care of Lin Shan, and the second half is said to the four younger members of the clan.

I think the caves that are closer to the underground and closer to the spiritual veins are usually not open to the public. This group of people in the foundation-building stage probably didn't have the qualifications to practice in seclusion in the past. This time they were allowed to enter, which should be the result of compromise among the tribe.

Lin Shan and the other four people each chose a portal and strode in.

After they left, the five portals disappeared in an instant.

The second eldest brother Gongsun Lu was the only one left in the underground hall. He stood there thinking for a moment with a slightly frown on his face. Two rays of light hit the two stone rhinos next to him.

The stone rhino didn't move at all, but its eyes flashed red for a moment before returning to calm.

Gongsun Lu then turned around and returned the same way. Before leaving, he activated the formations in the underground hall. These formations were rooted in the underground spiritual veins and had a constant supply of spiritual energy. They slowly opened up pieces of light curtains to seal off the place.

……

In the main hall, all the elders gathered together.

Gongsun Lu had returned and sat in the first seat, and the woman in the bamboo hat also sat beside him.

"How is the Second Elder? Has the Demon Cult's messenger discovered anything?"

The elders of the clan have now been tied up on the righteous boat. They are all terrified, fearing that the three evil sects will know about their rebellion, just like thieves with a guilty conscience.

Gongsun Lu pressed his hands, looking mature and steady.

“No, I have already sent the five of them into an underground cave deep in the spiritual vein, and locked the exit with a formation.

The demon cult messenger cannot touch him now. We all have the means of soul lamps and soul tablets in our family, and it is impossible for the disciples of the big sect not to have them. If he has any misfortune in our Gongsun family, the Black Lotus Cult will notice something wrong and cause trouble. Now we can just trap him here.

He can cultivate peacefully in there, and it will save trouble for everyone."

Gongsun Lu stroked his beard while the elders below nodded continuously.

“The Righteous Alliance will launch a general offensive in less than two months. We will wait until the situation on the front lines becomes clear before raising the banner of rebellion.

Let the envoy of the Demon Cult stay underground for now, and send as many people as possible to monitor and guide his subordinates. Do not expose any special actions. After all, they have to report the intelligence of the Gongsun family to the Demon Cult headquarters once every half a month, so we cannot offend them for the time being.

After the matter is accomplished, these people, together with the demon cult messengers, will be our token of allegiance to the righteous path!"

While making arrangements, Gongsun Lu looked at the woman in the bamboo hat next to him.

Fairy Qi nodded slightly, without raising any doubts about the Second Elder's arrangement. Anyway, she didn't expect the Gongsun family, a bunch of fence-sitters, to defect immediately. She had already anticipated their mentality of watching the fire from the other side of the river. It was enough for her to help the righteous path build the teleportation array.

By that time, the curtain will be raised on the front line, and teams of righteous monks will airdrop into the rear hinterland, casting their nets everywhere and making them bloom in all directions. There is no need to worry about not being able to accomplish great things.

The elders below put aside their worries and resumed their conversation. As they talked, they began to discuss the spiritual vein tide again.

Unlike Lin Shan who just learned about it upon arrival, the Gongsun family had been preparing for this for a long time, which was why they had the confidence to let Lin Shan go.

You are a demon cult messenger and you are powerful, but opportunities are fought for by different means. If you are left empty-handed down there, you can only blame yourself for your incompetence, and I don't think you can blame us.

"Why don't we guess who is the biggest beneficiary of this spiritual vein tide?"

"good."

"Okay~"

“That’s not a good guess.”

One of the old men with a red beard laughed heartily:
"Haha, it must be my son Gongsun Yu. In fact, I have already given him the magic weapon "Juyuan Pearl" that has been passed down from generation to generation in my lineage. By then, at least 50% of the nectar of heaven and earth generated by the intersection of the earth veins will be sucked away!"

When everyone heard this, they jumped up like cats whose tails were stepped on, and cursed the red-bearded old man for being shameless. However, the latter was complacent and secretly praised himself for his foresight.

Who would have thought that another burly old man on the field would sneer:
"Do you think you are the only family with heirlooms? I have already given the core array plate and auxiliary materials of the "Geomagnetic Drainage Array" to my niece. I believe that 50% of the spiritual energy of this spiritual vein tide will be taken away by her!"

The elders from other branches were wavering, looking at the two people and not knowing who to scold. Although the remaining branches had also prepared some means, they pale in comparison with those two.

But fortunately, no matter how bad the situation is, there are always the messengers of the Demon Cult to support us, so I feel a little better.

The woman in the bamboo hat at the head was drinking tea quietly, watching the elders bickering with each other. She was quite envious of the lively and bustling family of the Gongsun family.

It seemed as if he recalled that his family had once lived in the imperial capital of Bianliang, and that it was also the famous and prosperous "Duke Qi's Mansion". At that time, he also had a genius brother who the whole family was proud of. For a moment, his thoughts drifted away.
The second eldest Gongsun Lu beside him laughed. No matter which branch of the Gongsun family became stronger, it would enhance the power of the family. The reason why he was appointed by the Jindan Patriarch as the current decision-maker of the family was because he clearly distinguished between public and private affairs and always considered the family.

Although the spiritual vein tide was interfered with by the messenger of the Demon Cult this time, the clan has been preparing for this for more than half a year. Does this kid really think he can get much benefit?

……

And in the forbidden area in the back mountain of the Gongsun family, deep in the spiritual veins dozens of miles underground.

Lin Shan sat cross-legged in a secret room that was ten feet in diameter, looking at a three-foot-wide deep well in front of him. He leaned over to see the white mist rising from the bottom of the well, which was connected to an unknown huge space. A thick and winding white dragon was looming in the well, but only the tip of the iceberg could be seen. The surging spiritual energy was like a surging tide.

He calmed himself down and took out his innate spiritual treasure.

(End of this chapter)