Chapter 39: Extermination and Harvest

Chen Yuan restrained his killing intent origin and circulated his Internal Energy to suppress the boiling blood within his body.

He then stood in place, watching the scene of the Zhu Family brothers killing each other with interest.

Although Zhu Chengan was heavily injured, he was still a Martial Artist in the Foundation Establishment Realm.

Moreover, he was determined to die, attacking without any regard for defense, which instantly put Zhu Chengze in a dangerous situation.

While resisting desperately, Zhu Chengze roared at Chen Yuan, “Kill him! Kill him quickly! You said you wouldn’t kill me! You’ve broken your word!”

“I did say I wouldn’t kill you, but I never said I wouldn’t let someone else kill you.”

Chen Yuan looked at Zhu Chengze with a faint smile. “If you can kill Zhu Chengan, I will naturally keep my promise and won’t attack you again.”

Zhu Chengze’s face was filled with despair.

Even if he were a fool, he would know that he had been played by Chen Yuan!

Zhu Chengan burst into wild laughter. “After all your schemes and betraying the Zhu Family, what’s the result? You were still played for a fool!

You want to live? Wishful thinking! Today, we all die together!”

As he spoke, Zhu Chengan recklessly burned his blood and charged at Zhu Chengze.

At the moment his blood was nearly exhausted, Zhu Chengan slammed a palm directly onto Zhu Chengze’s body.

The overbearing power of the Black Fiery Cloud Palm erupted instantly, even piercing directly into the other’s chest cavity!

Zhu Chengze fell to the ground with a face full of resentment, and Zhu Chengan’s blood was also completely burned out. The two corpses collapsed to the ground together.

“Tsk tsk, I suppose this counts as ‘brothers joined at the heart.'”

Chen Yuan shook his head slightly, making sarcastic remarks.

He stepped into the Zhu Family’s backyard, which was also littered with corpses.

Zhu Chengze must have used some excuse to gather them together before beginning the slaughter.

In this world, people do not worry about scarcity, but rather about inequality.

The five tigers of the zhu family sounded impressive, but once internal gaps appeared, cracks naturally followed.

Chen Yuan searched the Zhu Family manor and easily found their treasury.

Although it was secured with several large locks, none could withstand Chen Yuan’s Azure Dragon Blood Drink; they were shattered with a single strike.

There were many treasures in the vault, but not many truly good items.

The Zhu Family’s foundation was still too shallow; there were very few martial arts-related treasures in the vault, mostly gold, silver, and jewelry.

By the looks of it, these were likely looted after exterminating small families like the Chu Family.

These things weren’t very useful to Chen Yuan; they weren’t as convenient to carry as silver notes.

So Chen Yuan only took some gold bars and silver notes, leaving behind the jewelry that was too bulky or difficult to liquidate.

After searching the vault, Chen Yuan finally found the celestial star divine box in an inconspicuous corner.

It looked like a block of iron three feet long and one foot wide, engraved with exquisite celestial patterns.

Although it was called a box, there wasn’t a single crack on it, so calling it an iron block wouldn’t be wrong.

There were many messy marks on the bottom of the box, likely left by the Chu Family’s attempts to force it open over the years.

However, the material was Cold Iron, which could only be mined from the permafrost mines of the Far North. It had excellent amplification and conduction effects for ice-attributed Internal Energy, and its texture was incredibly tough, making it a superb material for forging a Mystic Weapon.

Judging by its feel, it was almost solid inside, making it nearly impossible to chop into pieces.

Finding a bundle to carry the heavy celestial star divine box on his back, Chen Yuan searched the vault once more and actually discovered two more good items.

One was a small porcelain bottle containing Medicinal Pills, carefully placed by the Zhu Family in an exquisite sandalwood box.

On the bottom of the bottle were five small characters that read “Extreme Condensation Qi Pill,” but only one pill remained inside.

The quality of Medicinal Pills produced by Medicine King Valley was widely recognized in the Jianghu, but other top-tier forces also had their own Pill Formulas and specialized Alchemists.

This Extreme Condensation Qi Pill was specifically for Disciples of the Huangji Sect who had reached the Foundation Establishment Realm to enhance their Internal Energy and True Qi.

For a Martial Artist in the Blood Moving Realm, taking this pill could also increase the probability of a Breakthrough to the Foundation Establishment Realm.

This pill had been brought from the Huangji Sect by Zhu Chengzhong. There were originally five in the bottle; Zhu Chaofeng had taken four to enter the Foundation Establishment Realm.

Zhu Chaofeng couldn’t bear to eat this last one, wanting to save it for the fourth brother, Zhu Chengzu.

The eldest and second brothers had already entered the Foundation Establishment Realm, so taking the Extreme Condensation Qi Pill would only be the icing on the cake for them.

If the fourth brother, Zhu Chengzu, took this pill while stuck at the Bottleneck of his Breakthrough to the Foundation Establishment Realm, his chances would be higher.

However, the pill he couldn’t bear to eat had now become a bargain for Chen Yuan.

The other item was an exquisitely crafted black invitation with gold lettering.

Chen Yuan opened it and saw that it was an invitation for the upcoming Demon Sealing Conference in the Demon Sealing Valley.

Looking at the invitation, a thoughtful expression appeared in Chen Yuan’s eyes.

Demon Sealing Valley was not far from Beihai Market. South of Beihai Market was Ning Province, and Demon Sealing Valley was located at the border of Youzhou and Ning Province.

Demon Sealing Valley was a place name, but it also counted as a faction.

It was said that a thousand years ago, an ancient demon escaped its seal at the site of the Demon Sealing Valley and wreaked havoc.

At that time, there was a powerful expert known as the San Jue Venerable, whose cultivation combined Dao, Buddhism, and Demon paths, and he stepped in to suppress the demon.

However, that ancient demon was extremely powerful; it could only be suppressed and could not be completely slain.

Thus, the San Jue Venerable transformed his own body into a Formation, hoping to use the power of time to suppress and wear it down.

But as time passed, the Formation would suffer from the impact of Devilish Qi and become damaged.

The San Jue Venerable had his three Disciples station themselves around the Demon Sealing Valley to reinforce the Formation every ten years.

Those three Disciples didn’t have the same talent as the San Jue Venerable and couldn’t practice all three paths; each only inherited one of the San Jue Venerable’s ultimate techniques.

As centuries passed, the demon’s strength proved unexpected, and it still hadn’t been completely killed.

Moreover, every ten years, the Formation would loosen slightly, and the demon’s power would leak out.

Beneath the Demon Sealing Valley happened to be an ancient battlefield where countless beings were buried.

The leaking power of the demon caused mutations in the ancient battlefield, turning the buried corpses into Corpse Monsters that attacked the Formation.

Initially, the three Disciples were able to repair the Formation and slay those Corpse Monsters.

But as the three Disciples aged and their blood withered, their descendants grew weaker than their ancestors, finding themselves increasingly overwhelmed.

In desperation, the three Disciples had to convene the Demon Sealing Conference, seeking help from surrounding forces to suppress the Corpse Monsters while they focused on reinforcing the Formation.

Once the demon escaped, the surrounding forces would also suffer, so upon receiving invitations, they all came to help.

After slaying the Corpse Monsters, the surrounding forces discovered that they left behind Spirit Pills containing Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi upon death.

As long as the Devilish Qi on the Spirit Pill was purified using Internal Energy or True Qi, one could directly refine the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi within to strengthen their Internal Energy and physique.

Consequently, the Jianghu forces that had originally come to help out of obligation became much more motivated.

After that Demon Sealing Conference, the three Disciples also lost their lives reinforcing the Formation, leaving their descendants to continue guarding the Demon Sealing Valley, known as the Three Demon Clans.

Since then, the decennial Demon Sealing Conference has become a tradition.

Surrounding Jianghu forces and some expert Loose Cultivators are invited to help suppress the Devilish Qi riots, while the Three Demon Clans are responsible for reinforcing the Formation.

The Spirit Pills obtained from slaying the Corpse Monsters belong to these people, with both sides getting what they need.

In the border area between Ning Province and Youzhou, the reputation of the Three Demon Clans is quite good.

After all, their ancestors sacrificed themselves to suppress the demon and can be considered heroic figures.

While the Three Demon Clans are a faction, not a single clansman has ever left the Demon Sealing Valley to participate in Jianghu disputes.

Coupled with the fact that the Three Demon Clans are still guarding the Demon Sealing Valley to suppress the demon, it’s not surprising they have such a good reputation.

When Chen Yuan had previously asked Wenrou for Jianghu news, she mentioned that the Demon Sealing Conference was about to be held, and it seems the time is indeed approaching.

Moreover, the scale of this Demon Sealing Conference is quite large; even rising forces like the Zhu Family have received invitations.

Chen Yuan had never participated in the Demon Sealing Conference in the original plot, but he knew the storyline.

The Demon Sealing Conference isn’t that simple, nor are the Three Demon Clans.

This Demon Sealing Conference is still somewhat dangerous, so Chen Yuan’s initial plan didn’t involve attending it.

Since he had killed people from the Murong Clan and seized the seven killing stele, he certainly couldn’t stay in Youzhou.

Chen Yuan’s original plan was to go to Ning Province and use a suitable plot point to join the Ning Province Town Martial Hall.

Ning Province is a major province, three times the size of Youzhou, but it is a place of mixed dragons and snakes, somewhat chaotic.

Yet, Ning Province also offers many Opportunities and Cultivation Techniques from the original plot that can be seized.

The Town Martial Hall is the largest force in Ning Province, but its internal affairs are even more complex, with various factions intertwined, making it very suitable for Chen Yuan to hide his identity.

Now that he has successfully obtained the “Inner Landscape Divine Art,” as long as he can fully control the Blood Fiend Force of the seven killing stele, his combat power will surely skyrocket.

Having obtained the invitation by chance, he could now take a detour to try his luck at the Demon Sealing Conference.

It is dangerous, but wealth is sought amidst danger; the greater the risk, the greater the Opportunity.

Tucking away the invitation and confirming there were no other treasures in the vault, Chen Yuan found a large chest, packed the heads of Zhu Chaofeng and his three sons inside, and headed straight down the mountain.

The people of Gushan City had also heard the sounds of slaughter from the Zhu Family, but they only dared to cautiously come and investigate the next morning.

As a result, they saw the main gates of the Zhu Family manor wide open, with gruesome corpses lying inside.

Everyone in Gushan City was in disbelief.

The Zhu Family, which had only recently dominated Gushan City and was at the peak of its power, had been exterminated by a single person?

Amidst their fear, everyone also felt a sense of satisfaction.

The Zhu Family had acted ruthlessly and overbearingly, and the people had long been dissatisfied.

At the same time, everyone sighed in their hearts; indeed, one shouldn’t push things too far, or things will turn against them, and retribution will eventually come.

The Zhu Family simply didn’t understand the principle of leaving a way out for others, and by pushing things to the extreme, they met this end today.