Family Cultivation: My entire family are Villains

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"This ancient grudge is not so easily stated with the perspective of us later generations; clearly, it was turmoil within the Buddhist Sect back in the day, with the Chan Sect seeking outside aid to beef up their forces, and the Brahman Sect's departure out of dissatisfaction seems perfectly reasonable."

However, when compared to the Chan Sect, the Brahman Sect's teachings indeed carry more negative energy, and they are also suspected of misleading their followers. So even though they occupied Yongzhou and established it as a Holy Land, they were thereafter branded with the label of the Demon Path, which was a gain accompanied by loss!

Though the Chan Sect emerged victorious, it also gained a reputation for colluding with outsiders, despised by the people of The World. Zhao Yulong, the foreign aid they brought in those years, has now completely taken over, not only ruling over Jizhou but also constantly suppressing others, so they are indeed reaping what they sowed."

Hou Yuduan sighed, when suddenly, outside came a thunderous sound of gongs, drums, and firecrackers. All five of them immediately took on a serious expression, stood up, and looked towards the door.

"The drum sounds once, the Rakshasa Festival begins!"

Every year on the thirtieth of July, the Respected Rakshasa God will descend to the mortal realm to rescue a portion of the followers, which is the origin of the Rakshasa Festival.

In order to welcome the Respected God, people must sound the drum thrice at the late You Hour, the end of the Xu Hour, and the late hour of Hai—these three specific times.

Having grown up in Zhaoyang since childhood, the five siblings were not celebrating the Rakshasa Festival for the first time and naturally knew all about these customs.

A sharp gleam rose in Hou Yuxiao's eyes; the Rakshasa Festival he had been planning for several months, had now truly begun with the first drumbeat.

The drum signals the late You Hour!

Hou Yuxiao looked outside the main hall and saw that the sky had indeed completely darkened, and his expression immediately became stern. He first turned to look at Hou Yujie.

"Fourth Elder, what's the word from Gui Yutang?"

"With the sound of the first drum, we begin assembling the troops; we have to report to the Prefectural Magistrate's Office by the very latest the hour of You. Tonight is of great importance; Fan Longhe made it clear that any family that fails to arrive before the hour of You will be seen as conspiring against the Holy Church and will be dealt with immediately after the Rakshasa Festival!"

Hou Yujie stood up to respond, having been the one who went with Old Fifth to Shengxin Residence a few days prior when Fan Longhe was discussing strategies for the Rakshasa Festival with the nine foremost powers of the county.

After listening, Hou Yuxiao turned his gaze towards Second Elder Hou Yucheng.

Understanding what was expected of him, Hou Yucheng stepped forward with a salute: "I've already gathered our clan's two thousand troops, with 740 Martial Artists above the fifth level of body refinement, all nearby."

Hou Yuxiao pondered for a moment before instructing: "Tonight, Martial Artists below the fifth level of body refinement won't be much use, have them all stay in the mansion on standby. Second Elder, you take those 740 Hou Clan Martial Artists and go find Gui Yutang."

"The Mansion Army and the troops from all nine families will, unless something unexpected happens, definitely be deployed to Shili Slope later. You just follow behind Gui Yutang, and remember, the priority is to protect yourselves! Your primary goal is to preserve your own safety, not to engage in battle. If anything happens, I will immediately inform you, and if I'm unable to get the message through, Second Elder, you'll have to judge the situation for yourself. In any case, remember these five words: presence without exertion."

"Yucheng acknowledges the order!"

Hou Yuxiao could almost be certain — these five words he pronounced were not only for his own clan; tonight, the other eight prominent families in the county surely shared the same sentiment. After all, with thirty thousand Mansion Army troops from Fan Longhe's Prefectural Magistrate's Office at the forefront, the warriors from their nine families would certainly not be keen to exert themselves.

But if they could anticipate this, wouldn't the Prefectural Magistrate's Office also consider it?

"If the Prefectural Magistrate's Office forces you into action, you should see who the target is. If it's the demons, you can specifically aim towards the area where I am located. Just remember to maintain the formation and not to get disordered; otherwise, it is all too easy to be mistakenly killed by the demons. Do you understand?"

This was Hou Clan's greatest guarantee for preserving their strength tonight. With Fan Longhe leading the Mansion Army and the warriors from their nine families, they would be facing the Qinglong Association or rather the demons behind it. As long as the Hou Clan's warriors stayed together, even amid chaos, Hou Yuxiao would be able to figure out a way out.

And perhaps, even turn the tables on the battlefield...

A hint of cold light flashed in Hou Yuxiao's eyes as he turned his attention back to Hou Yuduan.

Hou Yuduan nodded slightly, pulled out a bag from behind, and placed it in front of everyone before slowly opening it.

A bright bronze light emanated from the bag. When everyone took a closer look, it revealed a collection of tokens of the same size and color.

These tokens were roughly the size of a palm, made of wood with brass edging; on the front, the words "Azure Dragon" were inscribed, which were the Qinglong Tokens that Gao Cheng had personally designed.

Hou Yuxiao picked up a token, channeled True Qi into it, felt a foreign aura within, and immediately looked at Hou Yuduan, asking, "Did Maiden Hong tamper with this batch of tokens?"

Aside from the five experts and a few others privy to the inside information, most Martial Artists tonight were drawn by the allure of the Azure Dragon Token. Thus, Hou Yuxiao had charged Gao Cheng with the early preparation of one hundred Azure Dragon Tokens.

Unexpectedly, just yesterday, Yang Xin, an underling of Maiden Hong, had come looking for him, suggesting that the crafting of the Azure Dragon Tokens should be left to them. After they were finished, Maiden Hong personally delivered them to Hou Yuduan.

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