Family Cultivation: My entire family are Villains

Tongling City, covering a radius of nearly fifty miles, is divided into three areas, with the Prefectural Magistrate's Office, the Prison Admin Department, and the Shengxin Residence at its most central point. Extending outward for twenty miles is the core area managed by the Rakshasa Holy Sect.

Then, the fifteen-mile inner ring area belongs to the influence of the Great Luo Sect, while the fifteen-mile outer ring area, closest to the city gates, is the territory of Tongling's nine secondary forces.

The chaos within the city continued unabated, as the blood-red vines rampaged unchecked. The ground quaked, buildings collapsed, living beings wailed, and the night sky had taken on a demonic red hue—it was unclear whether it was the reflection from those vines or stained by the blood from within the city.

Whether on the street corners or inside houses, whether ordinary citizens or martial artists possessing cultivation, as long as they were still alive, they continued to run towards the east gate in a frenzy, even if chased by the blood-red vines. Even the corpses of those killed by the vines maintained their posture of fleeing toward the east gate.

The words of Zhan Taiqing had given people hope and had an effect, yet it was extremely limited; after all, these blood-red vines were threatening enough for even Warriors of the Tenth Level of Body Opening.

Amidst the two million-plus people in Tongling City, there were at most thirty to forty thousand martial artists. How many among them could be Warriors of the Tenth Level of Body Opening?

One could say that the vast majority, when faced with the blood-red vines, only had the option of waiting to die. Those who managed to escape were merely fortunate due to the limited number of vines—it was luck and nothing more.

In the central region of the main road in the city's eastern part, some twenty-five miles away from the Prefectural Magistrate's Office, Ding Dian, leading ten thousand members of the Mansion Army, was simultaneously clearing the incessantly attacking vines and advancing towards the inner city area.

"Peng Ling, how far are we from the inner city?"

Ding Dian, after cleaving through the vines before him, turned back with a grim expression and asked.

Behind him, a burly general clad in silver armor replied with a resonant voice, "Five miles!"

"How many men and horses have we lost along the way?"

"Approximately five or six hundred!"

Hearing the numbers reported by Peng Ling, Ding Dian let out a slight sigh of relief.

These losses were still within what he could accept.

Zhan Taiqing had ordered Fan Longhe to take half of the Mansion Army to the east gate for reinforcement, while he led the other half into the city to rescue people. Both of them were eager to make amends for past faults, so as soon as Zhan Taiqing's command was given, they promptly complied.

The Mansion Army originally had thirty thousand soldiers. During the defense outside the east gate against the demons' onslaught, they had lost five or six thousand, leaving only twenty-four thousand. Although Fan Longhe was usually at odds with him, given the dire situation in Tongling and Zhan Taiqing's orders, Fan Longhe dared not act out and duly divided twelve thousand soldiers to him.

Fan Longhe didn't dare to defy Zhan Taiqing, nor did Ding Dian. After the troops were distributed, he immediately led them into the city.

He wasn't foolish. It seemed that the Blood Demon's power hadn't fully recovered yet. If he didn't hurry to enter the city and save more people, showing off his efforts in front of Zhan Taiqing, he would surely face a tragic end once the Tongling ordeal was over.

Although the blood-red vines were strong, he was after all a Great Grandmaster of the Fourth Realm. Along with nearly twelve thousand soldiers of the Mansion Army, Peng Ling, and more than ten high-level masters of the Gang Qi Realm, they covered about twenty miles in less than a quarter of an hour. They only needed to traverse another five miles to reach the inner city—that was quite fast.

As they drew closer to the inner city, they saw more and more ruins, and the wails of distress became increasingly dense from within the rubble.

"Dad, mom, where are you? I'm so scared..."

"Save my child, the vines have entangled him, please save my child, he's only five years old, I beg of you!"

"Waaaah waaaah waaaah..."

"Son, where are you? Has anyone seen my son? We got separated. Son, can you hear your father's voice? Please respond to me!"

"Brother, take the two kids and run ahead, make a dash for the east gate, and you can still survive."

...

There were tender young children crying for their lost parents amid the rubble; adults pierced by the vines, their faces filled with despair and devoid of the will to live; infants nestled in blankets whimpering and shielded by the corpses of their parents; fathers rummaging through piles of bones, searching for their lost sons...

The tragical scenes preceding the disaster were countless.

A moment ago, the Prefectural City basked in the festive atmosphere of Rakshasa Festival; now, it lay strewn with corpses, ruins everywhere, filled with cries of anguish—a veritable hell on earth...

Seeing this firsthand, Ding Dian's expression grew dark, not out of sympathy or pity—he had lived for hundreds of years and had seen far worse scenes than what was before him. It was mainly because he was considering whether or not to spend time rescuing these people.

"Commander, we should prioritize reaching the inner city first. This area still falls under the Great Luo Sect's influence; they should be the ones to rescue them. The brothers following us all hope to quickly move into the inner city to save their loved ones who are still within..."

As soon as Peng Ling finished speaking, a rising and falling chorus of voices erupted from the ranks of the army behind him.

"The Commander is right. I don't know whether my wife and kids are dead or alive in the inner city. We can't manage these people here!"

"Deputy Magistrate Ding, let's hurry into the inner city. We're only five miles away. I still have elderly parents at home, and I don't know whether they are dead or alive. At least let me find out."

"I need to save my son."

"I want to rescue my daughter."

...

Ding Dian's head was practically buzzing from the commotion, and despite his brow furrowing tightly, he forced himself to suppress the irritation in his heart and shouted, "Be assured, gentlemen, this Deputy Magistrate knows the score. Since I have promised to enter the inner city for rescue first, I will not break my word. Keep moving!"