Family Cultivation: I Am the Guardian Beast of the Clan

In this short period, Lin Ji and the others also noticed that something was amiss. Their expressions changed, and no one spoke. They immediately accelerated their pace.

After a brief moment, the group arrived before the spiritual mountain. Upon seeing the unharmed members of the Lin family below, Lin Ji and the others finally relaxed.

However, their open and unreserved behavior naturally caught the attention of other cultivators in the vicinity.

"Father, you've returned," at this moment, a middle-aged man in the peak Foundation Establishment Realm, along with over a dozen Foundation Establishment cultivators, flew up from below. He looked at Lin Ji with an excited expression.

However, when he saw that Lin Ji was only accompanied by Lin Zhongba and Lin Ran, his expression became slightly disappointed. He quickly concealed it.

Lin Ji naturally noticed his son's change in expression but refrained from saying anything.

"Hongtu, what's going on here?" Lin Ji looked at the occupied Hongshan with a displeased expression.

Lin Hongtu shook his head and set up a sound barrier with a casual wave of his hand before speaking, "Father, not long after you left, the area of the Rainbow Sea started rapidly expanding. More and more cultivators have been arriving from all directions to Hongshan County.

"Initially, our reputation and power of the Hongshan Lin family were enough to suppress them. But as more Foundation Establishment cultivators arrived in Hongshan County, including some in the peak Foundation Establishment Realm, the situation gradually got out of control.

"Three days ago, a group calling themselves the Eighteen Thugs of Yanyun directly attacked Hongshan with the intent of taking it for themselves. There were eighteen of them in total, three in the peak Foundation Establishment Realm, seven in the late Foundation Establishment Realm, and eight in the middle stage.

"Our Lin family couldn't match up to them, and to avoid bringing disaster to the family, Hongtu made concessions. Fortunately, our Lin family has some strength, and these guys were likely concerned about the family being pushed into a corner. They not only took over Hongshan but also gained access to some of our resources. They didn't cause much trouble."

While Lin Hongtu explained, Lin Zhongba and Lin Ran were assessing the situation of the Hongshan Lin family.

There were sixteen Foundation Establishment cultivators, but according to the information they had received, the Hongshan Lin family should only have eleven Foundation Establishment cultivators. The remaining four were most likely hired as reinforcements.

The Lin family cultivators numbered more than three thousand in total, and they had gathered at the foot of Hongshan in a relatively orderly manner.

The Lin family cultivators had naturally noticed the unusual occurrences in the sky and focused their attention here. Upon seeing Lin Ji, Lin Shimin, and Lin Qing'er, there was a stir among them.

"The family members with the potential for cultivating are mostly unharmed, but our millions of ordinary bloodline family members in Hongshan County…"

Lin Hongtu said, his expression becoming extremely grim. He didn't need to say it, and even an old man like Lin Zhongba could guess that with so many foreign cultivators coming, the nearby cities of ordinary people would naturally suffer.

At this thought, Lin Zhongba's expression also darkened. For an elderly person like him, blood ties were more important than anything. Furthermore, before leaving, the family had hinted at its intentions regarding the Hongshan Lin family. These future family members were currently suffering persecution by a group of foreign cultivators.

"How many casualties? Do you know who these people are?" Lin Zhongba's tone turned dangerous.

In the vicinity, Lin Ran, Lin Ji, and the others fell silent instantly. Having spent so much time together, they had never seen Lin Zhongba's demeanor and tone like this before. In their memory, this old man had a good temper and always carried a smile in his voice, seemingly able to tolerate everything.

Although Lin Hongtu didn't know Lin Zhongba's identity, the old man before him gave him a very dangerous feeling at this moment.

He glanced at his father and, after receiving confirmation, continued, "Preliminary estimates indicate that over the past few days, due to various accidents, 83,000 people have died in Hongshan County, and 18,300 have been disabled. The missing population is almost equivalent to those counted as deceased.

"Additionally, some family members have witnessed people descending from Hongshan every other day, and then, a few thousand family members from Hongshan County would mysteriously disappear."

As Lin Hongtu spoke, his tone was filled with suppressed anger. As the head of the Lin family, he watched everything unfold, and it was likely that in the thousand-year history of the Lin family, there had never been a more wretched family head than him.

Compared to cultivators, the ordinary people in Hongshan County were too fragile, and most cultivators did not consider them equals. Therefore, the number of deaths often exceeded the number of disabled people. Among those disabled, many were likely left behind by those with twisted minds.

"Family head, how can you just watch our own bloodline family members being killed, crippled, and humiliated without taking action?" Lin Ran, who had been listening, couldn't contain her anger and lashed out at Lin Hongtu.

"Insolence! What do you understand, you little brat? The family head is sacrificing a few to save the many. Do you know how many cultivators are involved in these actions? If he were to take action, it would be equivalent to offending over a hundred thousand cultivators in Renhuai County, just for the sake of the family's heritage. Sacrificing a few is unavoidable!"

A mid-Foundation Establishment Realm elder behind Lin Hongtu angrily scolded Lin Ran.

Lin Ran, who had a bit of a short temper, couldn't stand the other party's words.

"Sacrificing a few for the sake of the family's heritage!? Watching our own bloodline family members being killed and humiliated while doing nothing, what use is there for such a family heritage? Or is it that you yourselves have never considered the ordinary people of Hongshan County as bloodline family members?

"What family heritage? In my view, it's just an excuse made up by a group of cowards who fear death and are greedy for a peaceful life. What does it matter if we offend a hundred thousand cultivators from Renhuai County? Those who oppress my bloodline family members, I'll cripple them!

"Those who kill my bloodline family members, they'll die!"