Chapter 247 - 180: Locusts Cross the Border, Not a Blade of Grass Grows

The aftershocks of the war between the two sects had finally reached Ling Province.

Looking at the intelligence Song Luyao had gathered, Song Changsheng and Song Xianyun’s expressions turned exceptionally grim.

"Because of the war, the entire North has been thrown into chaos. Some are taking advantage of the situation to stir up conflict, while some Loose Cultivators are looting and pillaging. Many clans and sects have already been annihilated. Even the Liu Clan, who once did business with our family, has been wiped out by their enemies.

Furthermore, this turmoil is continuing to spread. Spies from the Wind Language Hall in Yang Province have sent word that a band of desperate outlaws has crossed from Qing Province into Yang Province, leaving a trail of death and destruction in their wake.

The Lieyang Sect has deployed all its elite forces and has currently sealed its mountain gates, so there is no one left to keep these outlaws in check.

Now, this group is heading for Ling Province to wreak havoc."

Song Luyao laid the intelligence report from the spies before the two men and spoke calmly.

"Desperate outlaws?" Song Xianyun sounded surprised by Song Luyao’s choice of words.

Song Luyao nodded. "This group is composed of the remnants of those annihilated clans and sects. There are quite a few Foundation Establishment Cultivators among them, so they are very powerful."

At these words, the color drained from Song Changsheng’s face. He finally understood why Song Luyao had called them desperate outlaws. Their foundations had been destroyed, and they had nothing left to lose. ’What else could they be but desperate outlaws?’

"A plague of locusts that leaves nothing in its wake..." Song Xianyun sighed heavily, his heart filled with worry. "Ling Province is already barren. If we let these people come in and cause destruction, it will be a complete disaster!"

"I’m afraid they don’t just want to plunder resources. They want to steal our nest," Song Changsheng said coldly.

Song Xianyun looked at him sharply. "What you’re saying is...?"

"These people have lost their foundations in the North. If they don’t want to be reduced to being Loose Cultivators, their only option is to find a new territory. But every piece of land in the Daqi Cultivation World is already claimed. They wouldn’t dare try to pioneer the Hundred Thousand Mountains, so their only choice is to take from others.

Consider the Seven Provinces of the Southwest. Yuan and Long Provinces have the Golden Crow Sect’s Garrison Mansion. Lin Province has the Huansha Sect. Bian Province has Luoxia City. Yang Province has the Lieyang Sect. Xiang Province has the Rong Clan. Only our Ling Province has no Purple Mansion Cultivator presiding over it.

They’ll pick the softest persimmon to squeeze. If we don’t handle this correctly, their fate today will be ours tomorrow." It might have sounded like alarmism, but Song Changsheng never underestimated the evil in human nature. In his eyes, this was bound to happen.

Hearing this, Song Xianyun sighed. Based on his experience, this was a very likely scenario. ’Didn’t our own clan do the same thing back in the day?’

The only difference was that they had seized territory from Demon Beasts.

"Ling Province’s overall strength isn’t weak, but there’s no one to unify its forces. If they encounter this band of desperate outlaws, they’ll likely be defeated one by one. That would be a huge problem."

Speaking of which, the blame for this lay with the Lieyang Sect. The Seven Provinces of the Southwest were all supposed to be overseen by a Purple Mansion Influence, but because of the Lieyang Sect, Song Xianming’s efforts had ended in failure just shy of success.

Otherwise, why would the Song Clan even give these homeless dogs a second thought?

Song Changsheng nodded in agreement. "For now, everyone in Ling Province must unite as we have in the past and present a unified front to the outside world.

Besides, this could also be an opportunity for us. Although these people have lost their foundations, their accumulated resources must still be intact. And having plundered their way here, those resources have only grown.

If we can annihilate them all, it would be a considerable fortune for our clan."

"It’s a good idea, but how do we persuade the Earth Fire Sect, the Qiu Clan, and the others? We don’t have many forces to spare right now," Song Xianyun said, shaking his head.

Hearing this, a faint smile appeared on Song Changsheng’s face. "Why should we persuade them?"

"Oh?" Song Xianyun was confused, and even Song Luyao turned to look at him.

"We were able to get this information, so the Earth Fire Sect and the others must have as well. They’re the ones who should be worried, not us.

Our clan’s strength has recovered somewhat over the years, and with our Clan Protection Array being second to none in Ling Province, we’re impregnable as long as no Purple Mansion Cultivator makes a move.

In contrast, the likes of the Li and Qiu Clans have fewer than a handful of Foundation Establishment Cultivators, their arrays are merely Tier Two, and their resources are shallow. They stand no chance of fending off these desperate outlaws.

Once they realize this, they’ll naturally band together. And the only ones they can rely on will be our Song Clan, because the Earth Fire Sect has been greatly weakened in recent years and is no longer qualified to lead.

When they come begging at our door, that’s when we’ll be in a position to negotiate terms," Song Changsheng said nonchalantly.

Song Xianyun stroked his graying beard, a smile spreading across his face. "We really didn’t misjudge you," he said in approval. "We’ll do as you say and wait for them to come to us."

"However, we can’t just sit idly by in the meantime. The Moon Viewing Mountain Range is the clan’s foundational territory; we can’t afford any losses there. We need to keep a constant eye on the movements of those people and not let them run amok within our borders."

"I’ll leave that to Luyao. Send out all the spies from your Wind Language Hall," Song Xianyun said, looking at Song Luyao.

"They’ve already been sent out. But for now, those people show no intention of coming to the Moon Viewing Mountain Range. Based on their trajectory, their target is more likely the Liuyun Mountain Range."

A glint flickered in Song Changsheng’s eyes, a hint of regret in them.

If he weren’t afraid of these stray dogs ravaging Ling Province, he would have loved to just seal the mountains and watch them tear each other apart. He would have been happy to see either side win or lose.

After all, the Liuyun Mountain Range was home not only to the Earth Fire Sect and the Qiu Clan, but also to that traitor, the Li Clan. They were all enemies of the Song Clan, and Song Changsheng would be overjoyed to see them all wiped out.