Family Cultivation: My entire family are Villains

If before, Hou Yuxiao had somewhat the mindset of a wallflower, ready to closely monitor the balance of the great battle of Zhaoyang and switch his stance whenever possible, or take his people and flee if the situation became irredeemable.

Now, Hou Yuxiao truly had no hope of good fortune left.

No matter what the Holy Maiden intended, her last statement was undoubtedly an ultimatum to him.

If Zhaoyang County was lost, his life would not be spared.

There was not a hint of doubt in Hou Yuxiao's mind about this. The Holy Maiden standing behind him at this moment certainly had the capability to enforce it!

Zhaoyang City… must not be lost…

As this thought flashed through Hou Yuxiao's mind, Peony, Peony Herb, and Fu Ling—the three maids—had already engaged in combat with Tong Hu and his two companions.

The Qi Juesi, meaning seven maids under the Holy Maiden each with their own strengths, including Fu Ling who had just made her move as Palm Extreme.

Peony wielded dual daggers, and the vigorous Core Essence Qi in front of her sliced out a black blade over ten meters long. With unrivaled fierceness in her attacks, she aimed for Tong Hu, the highest ranked of the three, and naturally gave it her all.

Tong Hu raised his head and glanced at the barrier over the western city. A flicker of apprehension passed through his eyes, but was quickly overwritten by an even sharper gleam. His fists gathered Core Essence Qi and created a yellow wind in front of him, clashing with the oncoming daggers and, astonishingly, the impact was even more powerful than Peony's.

Roar…

Helian Wuji let out a mighty roar, and Qi infused within the sound waves once again morphed into an invisible circular blade that spread out, its force startlingly immense.

Peony Herb, holding a dagger and moving ghost-like with agility, formed more than a hundred pointed star-like lights in the air. Concentrated Core Essence Qi at one point seemed to pierce through the air itself, resolving the invisible shockwave in an instant. Dressed in black, she moved with the grace of a dragonfly, launching attacks all around Helian Wuji.

Helian Wuji's martial arts skills were all focused in his mouth. With Peony Herb's close assault, he had no gap to breathe, let alone use Jinyu Hou. His only choice was to resist with his cultivation. Although at a disadvantage, he managed to hold on without much issue for a short duration.

Dagger Extreme Peony, Blade Extreme Peony Herb, along with Fu Ling's Spirit Snake Force, tangled in battle with Tian Linong. The six masters instantly turned the fight into one chaotic fray, with Core Essence Qi engulfing the entire eastern city, the clamor shockingly intense.

The three maids and the three Tiger List experts each made fatal moves, daring not to relax even slightly, and Hou Yuxiao, witnessing this scene, had only one thought in his mind – how to defend Zhaoyang City and save his own life.

Tong Hu and his companions definitely had backing. Glancing sideways to take a sneak peek at the Holy Maiden beside him, Hou Yuxiao could roughly guess who their backer was.

Daring to actively start a conflict between two counties and still managing to keep the flames of war so well-contained, limited only to Zhaoyang, there weren't many candidates.

Just as the County Magistrate and Deputy Magistrate of Tongling County in Yongzhou hadn't shown up because the Holy Maiden was here, the absence of any high-level officials from Wanyang County in Xuzhou besides Tong Hu was enough to indicate that there must be people from the Wanjian Holy Sect behind them!

Neither the Holy Maiden nor the opponent had stepped out, which meant they were waiting for the people below to fight it out first. Whoever came out first at this moment would be proving which side was at a disadvantage.

This was akin to the logic at a gambling table where the first to reveal their hand usually had already lost half the battle.

"Losing half doesn't mean losing entirely, but whoever comes out last will have the upper hand. So, what I need to do now is to help Fu Ling and the others win the fight below first, and ideally, force the other side to reveal their hand."

Until the last moment, Hou Yuxiao dared not speak lightly of victory or defeat, considering that one side was the Rakshasa Holy Sect and the other the Wanjian Holy Sect—both among the top ten most powerful factions in the world.

With his thoughts organized, a chill flickered through Hou Yuxiao's heart. Up to this point, the battle for Zhaoyang City had seen at least tens of thousands of civilians perish, and yet the main parties responsible for this war hadn't shown themselves.

These three, who were fighting a desperate battle—God Fist Master Tong Hu, Jinyu Hou Helian Wuji, and Guixin Sword Tian Linong—were, after all, just pawns serving others.

These Sect Members from the Holy Lands truly held themselves above all else!

Images of a white-clothed, spear-wielding youth surfaced in Hou Yuxiao's mind, hate gradually taking root in his eyes. Whether it was towards those Wanjian Holy Sect members who had yet to appear or the Rakshasa Lady by his side, a trace of loathing sprouted in his heart.

But the circumstances were beyond his control, and despite the disgust he felt for these Holy Land sect members, he still had to bow his head slightly, fearful that the Holy Maiden would detect the hatred in his eyes.

Hou Yuxiao hid the hatred in his gaze and watched the six Dan Embracing Phase experts battle below, their Core Essence Qi bursting forth over ten meters, his expression turning solemn.

Participating in such a level of combat was definitely beyond him at the moment. Charging out foolishly would be tantamount to seeking death.

He could only rely on it!

Hou Yuxiao thought to himself and quietly concentrated his consciousness, focusing his attention on the inside of his own mind, or more precisely, on the Second Rank Good and Evil Divine Lotus within his mind.

Of the Good and Evil Divine Lotus's twelve petals, still only one black and one white petal were activated, the remaining ten petals lay in utter stillness.

The chaos in Zhaoyang County hadn't completely ended yet, and all the citizens hadn't been saved. It was certain Hou Yuxiao wouldn't be able to obtain any virtue for a while.

But as for the evil deeds activating the black petal, in the past two years, Hou Yuxiao had accumulated quite a few indeed!

He had not activated the third black petal before because the prerequisite second white petal remained unlit, and after the matter of the Minor Rejuvenation Pill, Hou Yuxiao was preoccupied with planning his revenge. Now, with the attack from Xuzhou upon them, he had put this matter aside.

Lacking strength at the moment, it was time to see if the third black petal could bring him any surprises!

The first black petal granted the ability to transform, while the white petal granted the Martial Arts Minor Rejuvenation Pill. Based on these two functions, Hou Yuxiao surmised that the Divine Lotus's black and white petals probably corresponded to evil and good, respectively.

Resorting to Facial Transformation to change one's appearance without showing one's true face should certainly be considered an evil function, while the Minor Rejuvenation Pill seemed quite normal, a reward for his good deeds.

As he slowly drew upon the energy of evil deeds, the third black petal became increasingly dark and glossy, a rather malevolent aura emanating from it as the petal fully unfurled.

At the same time, Hou Yuxiao's pupils shrank sharply, a flash of black light disappearing from his eyes in an instant. Receiving the information from the third petal in his mind, he was suddenly wide-eyed and dumbfounded, shock written all over his face...

Absorption: Those he personally slayed, their cultivation would be transformed by the Lotus Platform and fed back into his own body!

Could this be... the Great Skill Absorption Technique?

After his initial shock, a thrill of ecstasy shone in Hou Yuxiao's eyes, a surge of exhilaration flooding his heart, nearly causing him to burst out in a long cry of joy.

The salted fish had turned over, turned over indeed!

What he lacked the most now was cultivation, and this third black petal had actually brought him such a heaven-defying ability...

Hou Yuxiao immediately lowered his gaze towards the three Gang Qi Realm elders of the Mountain Sword Sect beside him, a glimmer of deep light emerging in his pupils as if he had spotted some unrivaled delicacy.

Quickly regaining his composure, he raised his head to glance at the fierce battle among the six great experts outside. Focusing on Tian Linong, the corners of Hou Yuxiao's mouth lifted in a slight, cold smirk as he respectfully bowed to the Holy Maiden at his side.

"Holy Maiden, I will go assist our grandmothers in defending the city!"

After seeing the Holy Maiden nod in approval, Hou Yuxiao leaped up, taking the three Gang Qi Realm elders with him and moved a step closer to the battlefield, yet still daring not to step outside the Barrier space.

After Hou Yuxiao left, a slight unusual tinge rose in the placid eyes of the blue-clad Holy Maiden.

"That just now... was the power of Karmic Obstacles, wasn't it..."