"Begin your preparation," the old man said to his son, the patriarch.

Qing Yunxiao nodded, cycled his qi, and formed several hand signs to channel it into the hidden fourth treasure. While not flashy, the treasure was so useful that he always made sure to bring it with him. This treasure took the form of ink that had etched a tattoo of a black serpent onto his back. If the patriarch opened his robes, people would see the outline of the serpent glowing blue. Its eyes were red as blood, and its mouth was always open, baring its fangs. The serpent was always slithering beneath his robe, sucking qi from the air, purifying it, and storing it for the patriarch to use in an emergency. This situation was an emergency, and so, he black serpent finally closed its mouth and began tracing an infinity symbol on his back, like a foolish snake chasing its own tail.

In an instant, a large amount of qi flooded Qing Yunxiao. His body instantly strengthened, and the chain of hand signs he made blurred faster and faster. When the sequence ended, he flooded the pavement below with his qi. At that moment, a blue pattern erupted on the pavement, tracing the ground with blue lines. It formed a complex pattern that, if seen from above, resembled an intricate yet beautiful shape of an eye.

"Starlight Dome Formation!" the patriarch shouted.

At that moment, all the flags planted along the line of the Qing clan estate began to shine with an intense blue light. The base of each flag was connected by a blue line that led to the central formation. After a few moments, each flag shot lines into the air as if they were ropes trying to catch something invisible in the sky. However, after a certain distance, these lines curved and fell on the other side, creating a crisscrossing dome around the Qing estate like a hand-braided basket, with uniform, man-sized square holes.

For a moment, that was all. Then, each of the lines began to vibrate, and the crisscrossing points emitted light, making them look like shining stars. From these bright spots, a curtain of light began to fall, connecting with each other to create a perfect dome shining with blue light.

People who lived nearby could not help but look through their windows in awe. The pale blue dome was beautiful, and the light glowing on it made it look ethereal.

"This is the Starlight Dome Formation!" a cultivator inside the Qing clan shouted, looking up with eyes shining in awe. "It's the Qing clan's prized barrier! That blue dome looks beautiful and serene, but you can hear a humming sound from it. That's because the dome is made from tiny qi strings! Anyone who forces their way inside will be diced into a thousand pieces!"

"Not yet," the patriarch suddenly said, making the people look at him in unison once again.

The man then grabbed a dagger that looked as if it were made from frozen orange fire. When he held it, an intense orange light began to emanate from it, as if a dormant treasure had been jolted awake. The patriarch pointed the dagger to the sky, and in an instant, the dagger burst into a wisp of ethereal fire. It rose slowly, like smoke, until it phased through the barrier.

"This is a one-way barrier," the grand elder began to explain. "It will harm those who want to barge inside but is harmless to those who want to flee. It's an ingenious barrier that ensures we are not like trapped birds."

Many cultivators nodded as if they had gained enlightenment, but most focused their attention on the fire that phased out from the blue dome. It settled right on top of the dome and began to spread out like a fine mist, forming an orange ring. It remained in a passive state; when attacked or ordered by the patriarch to deflect an attack or unleash a powerful fire, it would transform into a giant fire sword.

The next treasure was a silver hand mirror that emitted qi and shone with a silver hue like moonlight, making it glow ethereally. When the patriarch raised the hand mirror, a silver light illuminated everything around him. Then, he released it from his hand, and it floated in the air as if hanging by an invisible thread before shooting up out of the blue dome and hovering in the center of the ring of fire. Once it settled into position, a silver sphere of light surrounded it, making it look as if the moon had truly descended from the sky.

"Now, the last one," the patriarch said.

At his words, the grand elder and his brother took a step back as if they knew it was dangerous to be too close. Upon seeing this, all the other cultivators began to take several steps back. If those two deemed this treasure dangerous, then it would be deadly for them.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

The patriarch stood in front of a small cauldron. The moment the lines of qi formed on the ground, the cauldron began emitting a mixture of herbal aromas. It was refreshing and energizing, and tasted faintly of mint. A faint smoke was swirling atop it. The moment the patriarch put his hands on the cauldron, the white smoke intensified.

"No way!" a man from the Qing clan, merely at the second stage of the Lock Opening realm, exclaimed. "Is that truly that treasure?"

"What treasure is it? What does it do?" someone asked.

"Do you remember the treasure scramble around fifty years ago, from the Serpent Trench? At that time, we were competing with the Jin clan to retrieve a single treasure that suddenly appeared. I thought no one got it, but that's it!"

"What effect can it conjure?"

"I don't know, but it must be strong!"

As the murmuring intensified, people began pointing to the smoke billowing from the cauldron. They noticed the smoke was moving unnaturally, swirling and twisting like a living thing. It grew bigger and thicker, emitting a strong presence, as if they were standing before something prominent that was about to emerge.

"Look at that!" someone shouted, pointing at a certain spot.

It was the tip of the billowing smoke. Rising to the sky, the tip began to take shape. First, a pattern like scales emerged. Then, two glowing green eyes formed within it, creating the vague head of a serpent. However, as time passed, it turned into something more. Instead of a snake, it was a dragon. Its two green eyes shone with intensity. Its mouth was closed, its expression one of disdain and arrogance, as if it were above everything in this world. After the head fully formed, its long body became more defined, and four legs emerged. Soon, it phased out through the dome, and it was as if the long, thin dragon had suddenly hit a growth spurt. Its head became so large it could easily swallow a horse, and its movement created a silent rumble in the air, as if the dragon were truly alive. It began to circle the dome from top to bottom, creating a giant spiral. Once it covered the dome, it roared. The roar was loud, terrifying, yet also reassuring. It was as if the dragon had claimed the dome as its own, and anyone or anything that threatened it would be destroyed.

"Holy shit! This is awesome!" a cultivator exclaimed.

"This Smoke Dragon is strong! I can't fathom what power it has. Perhaps this dragon is as powerful as a Core Splitting cultivator, maybe even a Sun Refining one!"

"This is overkill! Even if Liu Xing is strong, there's no way he can get through this overpowered defense! He will be humiliated, and our Qing clan's name will travel far and wide as one who could stand against a great sect."

In the front, the patriarch was pouring so much qi into the formations and the cauldron that he began glowing blue. To his side, his brother wore a smug smile, as if he too was convinced that nothing could penetrate their defense.

"Father," said Qing Haoran, "are you strong enough to break this defense?"

His tone was surprisingly soft, indicating he wanted an honest answer, but Qing Jianqing knew his son. It was a sarcastic remark intended to mock him. The old man looked up at the dome, the fire sword that was currently in the form of a ring, the mirror, and the dragon. This was indeed a formidable defense. He might be able to do something against one of them. Though he was currently in the Core Splitting realm, he had just broken through, and his core was not yet stable. However, even if it were stable, at most he could handle two of these defenses, and it would require all his power, leaving him half-dead.

"I cannot," the old man finally said.

His youngest son snorted. "Let's see Liu Xing's expression when he realizes he cannot break our defense too."

"I hope you're right," the old man nodded. He was the one who had advocated for going all out, but it stemmed from his desire to ensure his clan's safety. Even so, perhaps his sons were right. Perhaps it was a tad overkill.

The sun continued to dip below the horizon, and murmurs of confidence began to spread. Both of his sons began to discuss how they would handle the disgraced duo of a daughter and her son. The old man was the one who had advocated for finally letting them into the Qing clan. Since he had finally broken through to the Core Splitting realm, he was the de facto strongest on the island. The agreement between them and the Jin clan regarding that special kid was, from the very start, one that both clans intended to exploit. It was merely a matter of time before conflict erupted over the child. The old man was merely hastening the time.

The sun finally submerged in the west. The bright orange light was still visible on the horizon, but it was shrinking. As shadows began to cover the world, the Qing clan held its breath. Some were excited to watch the amazing barrier and its layers of defense in action. Some looked smug, saying that not even a god could penetrate it. Some were apprehensive about the situation. A certain gardener was hunkered down in his room, lying beneath his bed, sweat dripping from his body and his teeth chattering with fear.

When the last light from the sun was gone and the world turned dark, a single silhouette suddenly emerged from the shadows. He was floating in the sky on what appeared to be a shield. The moment he appeared, the smoke dragon looked up and roared, the fire ring began to spin faster and faster, until finally it turned into a giant fire sword hovering the sky capable of splitting a mansion into two, and the mirror surrounded by white light began to shine brighter. It was positioned right below the fire sword.

Upon seeing the dot in the sky, the people of the Qing clan pointed to it.

Liu Xing had arrived.

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