Grinding EXP From a Demon Hunting Ship-Chapter 39: Silver-Haired Beauty Luo Xiyin

Donglong Island.

Luoyue Peak.

Moonlight shimmered and stars shone brightly as the second-rank grand array, the Falling Moon Chaotic Star Array, radiated with light.

But within the Luo Family’s assembly hall, which was enveloped by the grand array and should have been a place of solemn dignity, the air was filled with a cacophony of chatter, as noisy as a common marketplace!

Luo Qing’e, dressed in a blue gown, stood with a clear conscience and a dignified air, her pretty face stern.

She cupped her hands toward the head seat in the hall and spoke again with grave formality.

"Matriarch, Luo Xin fled at the first sign of trouble, leading to the fall of Fuling Island..."

"I request this man be executed to uphold the clan’s laws!"

A middle-aged man knelt on the floor, his hands bound and his Magical Power sealed. He trembled as he spoke.

"Matriarch, Matriarch, I beg for your mercy!"

"Fuling Island was under siege for a long time. Our resources were exhausted, and no reinforcements came. I had no choice but to order a retreat..."

"I beg the Matriarch... to see the truth!"

After Luo Xin finished speaking, a group of uncles and elders from the branch families all spoke up in his defense.

"Matriarch, although Fuling Island was lost, Xin’s timely retreat meant our family’s cultivators suffered few losses. He preserved our family’s strength..."

"Xin is at the sixth level of Qi Refining. Even if he was in the wrong, why execute him for nothing? It would be better to send him to the front lines to atone for his mistakes through meritorious service."

The cultivators of the main family line, however, grew furious and started cursing.

"You bastards! To so easily abandon the family’s ancestral estate and hand it over to others—do you even deserve the Luo name?!"

The two factions argued endlessly before the throne. If the Foundation Establishment Matriarch hadn’t been watching, they might have come to blows!

The hall was in a state of chaotic uproar!

Luo Qing’e lowered her beautiful eyes, her peripheral vision sweeping over the members of the branch families. A look of disgust flashed across her face.

’Retreating without orders... how can something like this be debated for months?’

’If we don’t execute him, what are we waiting for, the New Year?’

Luo Qing’e bit her lower lip, her gaze turning to the head of the hall in utter confusion.

A hazy white mist, a restrictive spell, concealed the Foundation Establishment Matriarch’s face and figure.

’What in the world... is the Matriarch thinking?’

’Why? It’s always like this... always so hesitant to make a decision?’

...

At the head of the great hall,

Sat an elegant, silver-haired beauty who bore a sixty to seventy percent resemblance to Luo Qing’e!

She appeared to be in her late twenties, with a graceful figure, long legs, and a dress as white as snow.

This was none other than the Luo Family’s Foundation Establishment Matriarch, Luo Xiyin!

It was worth noting that Luo Xiyin’s silver hair was not a sign of old age.

Her lifespan was still plentiful.

When some cultivators achieve Foundation Establishment, the infusion of Spiritual Qi that tempers their physical body can cause changes in their hair and eye color.

This was precisely what had happened to Luo Xiyin.

And at this moment, the Foundation Establishment Matriarch—a woman who wielded immense power and whose word was law in the Luo Family—was somewhat distracted.

Luo Xiyin unconsciously lifted an index finger and twirled a lock of her long, waterfall-like hair, which shimmered with a silvery-white luster.

She stared blankly down at her clansmen in the hall, who were arguing with one another, full of hostility.

Her crystal-clear, beautiful eyes revealed a heart-wrenching sorrow as she murmured to herself.

"Why... has the family become like this?"

Luo Xiyin sighed softly, full of melancholy and disappointment.

She hadn’t done anything, really.

Yet the family’s situation worsened day by day...

But she couldn’t think of a single solution.

’If Father and my brother were still alive, they would surely know what to do...’

’But why did it have to be me who reached Foundation Establishment in the end?’

Luo Xiyin lamented.

Life was unpredictable.

Her brilliant elder brother, in whom the family had placed great hopes, whom they had nurtured with all their resources, and who had taken a Foundation Establishment Elixir, had died an early death.

Meanwhile, she, who had grown up sheltered under the wings of her father and brother, had relied on a spare Foundation Establishment Spiritual Object.

Through a stroke of luck, she had succeeded in her advancement and dramatically became the Luo Family’s Foundation Establishment Matriarch.

However, her temperament was not suited to being the family’s leader. 𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞

Compared to giving orders in the assembly hall and leading the family, she much preferred to cultivate quietly in her abode, or to draw talismans and hone her skills.

Luo Xiyin had a great talent for talisman crafting. After reaching Foundation Establishment, she had even become the first second-rank, mid-grade Talisman Master the Luo Family had seen in several hundred years!

If she were a Loose Cultivator, with her talisman skills and her quiet, trouble-averse nature, she probably could have lived a very comfortable life.

But...

for a large family plagued by internal strife and external threats, one that had long-standing problems and was in dire need of radical reform,

a reclusive matriarch with a "lie flat" mentality was nothing short of a disaster!

In the decades since Luo Xiyin had taken charge,

the Luo Family’s development had stagnated. They made no external expansions, merely resting on their laurels and living off their inheritance.

The conflict between the main and branch family lines had also gradually intensified, causing the Luo Family’s efficiency to decline and a sense of decay to set in.

In recent years, after the outbreak of war with the Shu Family,

this vibrant and ambitious challenger had made life even more difficult for the Luo Family.

...

Meanwhile, the argument in the hall grew increasingly aggressive!

Watching these clansmen argue with each other and demand a decision from her, Luo Xiyin felt an inexplicable wave of exhaustion, and even fear, wash over her.

’I’m really... terrible at handling things like this.’

"Enough!"

Luo Xiyin shouted, her Foundation Establishment-level pressure sweeping through the hall and silencing all dissent!

"Matriarch, calm your anger..."

Everyone in the hall dropped to their knees in unison, and silence fell.

But Luo Xiyin knew very well that this was only temporary.

The Luo Family was a major clan with a history of over three hundred years. As generations passed, the blood ties between the various lines grew distant, and discord began to fester in the shadows.

Even if the Foundation Establishment Matriarch suppressed them with her authority, it wouldn’t be long before their old ways resurfaced and they resumed their power struggles.

"Sigh..." Luo Xiyin sighed. After her brief outburst, her timidness returned.

"As for Luo Xin, have him thrown in the dungeons for now. His final punishment... will be discussed next time!"

Then, with a flick of her sleeve, Luo Xiyin rode the wind and vanished from the hall, almost as if she were fleeing in defeat.

She needed to return to her cultivation abode and draw a few talismans to calm her mind...

Down below in the hall,

’Discussed next time again!’

Luo Qing’e bit her red lip, her face a mask of indignation.

With the Foundation Establishment Matriarch being so passive, even with her intelligence, there was nothing someone of her status and position could do to remedy the Luo Family’s situation.

...

The Harbor.

"Haaa..." Luo Qing’e let out a long, frustrated sigh as she strolled along the shore, gazing at the distant horizon.

She could feel it—the Luo Family seemed to be on a downward slide, where nothing was going right...

"So... is there any good news at all?" A weary look appeared on Luo Qing’e’s pretty face.

Suddenly, the long, drawn-out blast of a ship’s horn sounded!

Out on the sea, two spirit ships flying the Luo Family’s banner sailed toward the harbor, one after the other.

Luo Qing’e looked up in surprise and peered into the distance.

"Is that the Flying Serpent? Why is it returning so soon?"

"And that other spirit ship is...?"

THWANG!

A rope snapped taut before going slack!

A swift and dashing figure landed gracefully on the docks.

"Luo, are you... here specifically to celebrate our triumphant return?" Su Ye chuckled.

"Mr. Su... A triumphant return?" Luo Qing’e looked puzzled.

"A triumphant return indeed!" Su Ye declared. "The Flying Serpent has returned from sea, having foiled the Shu Family’s plot and captured an enemy ship!"

"Huh?!"

Luo Qing’e was in a daze.

As she gazed at Su Ye’s handsome face, illuminated by the setting sun, she felt a slight flutter in her heart.