93: Zhang family remnants

However, the expressions of the three quickly returned to normal. After all, they couldn't possibly doubt a Family they were related to by marriage based solely on Zhang Daobai's words.

"We have no remnants of any evil Cultivator families here. If Your Excellency continues to speak such nonsense, don't blame us for being impolite!"

The middle-aged man thought for a moment before giving a cold warning.

Regardless of whether the Zhang Family was an evil Cultivator Family or not, their Chen Family could not bear the accusation of harboring evil Cultivator remnants.

Therefore, the middle-aged man did not intend to admit that those Zhang Family members were within their clan grounds.

Of course, the most important factor was that Zhang Daobai and Lin Luoxue didn't seem to possess much deterrent power.

Although both were in the Purple Mansion Stage, the Chen Family had several such experts and were not afraid of Zhang Daobai's questioning at all.

Seeing the middle-aged man flatly deny it, Zhang Daobai not only didn't get angry but actually felt somewhat happy.

However, the proper procedures still had to be followed. Only after it was made clear that the Zhang Family was indeed an evil Cultivator Family—

—and if they still chose to protect them, could Zhang Daobai take action against them.

Thinking of this, Zhang Daobai discreetly glanced at the shadow retention token Lin Luoxue was holding.

As soon as he obtained the evidence, he would be able to make his move.

"The Zhang Family abducted female Cultivators to practice evil techniques. They have been designated as an evil Cultivator Family by the Demon Slaying Alliance, and everyone has the right to eliminate them!"

"We have come to exterminate the Zhang Family precisely because we accepted a mission issued by the Demon Slaying Alliance."

"If you choose to harbor these evil Cultivator remnants, you will be guilty of the same crime. You had better think carefully!"

As Zhang Daobai spoke, he threw the Jade Slip containing the Rogue Cultivator Alliance's intelligence on the Zhang Family to the middle-aged man.

The middle-aged man's expression changed upon hearing this, and he hurriedly caught the Jade Slip to examine it.

After reading the intelligence on the Zhang Family, his face became exceptionally grim.

"What's the situation?"

Seeing this, the old man beside him quickly leaned in and asked in a low voice.

The middle-aged man didn't speak; instead, he handed the Jade Slip directly to him and then took out a sound transmission talisman to call for reinforcements.

This matter was no longer something he could handle; the Clan Chief had to come in person.

Watching the middle-aged man take out the sound transmission talisman, Zhang Daobai couldn't help but feel expectant. How would this Chen Family choose?

Soon, the Chen Family Patriarch flew out with several Elders, all with very solemn expressions.

Seeing this, the old man quickly handed the Jade Slip to the Clan Chief.

*Hiss!*

After reading about the Zhang Family's deeds, the Chen Family Patriarch and the Elders couldn't help but gasp.

They hadn't expected that the Zhang Family, who were usually on good terms with them, were secretly an evil Cultivator Family practicing evil techniques.

This sent a chill down their spines, giving them the illusion of having narrowly escaped death.

Subsequently, the Chen Family Patriarch quickly consulted with several Elders via sound transmission. After all, if this matter wasn't handled properly, it would bring a crisis to the Family.

After discussing for a while, the Chen Family Patriarch stepped forward and said, "Please wait a moment longer, Fellow Daoist. We will bring out the Zhang Family remnants immediately."

That's right! The Chen Family Patriarch ultimately chose to compromise.

Since Zhang Daobai and his companion could wipe out the Zhang Family, they certainly had the strength to deal with the Chen Family.

They were just some relatives by marriage. For the safety of his own clansmen, let alone handing them over, he would have no problem killing them with his own hands.

Soon, a group of Chen clansmen flew out from Ten Thousand Peach Mountain, clutching over a dozen Zhang Family remnants.

These dozen or so Zhang Family remnants had their Spiritual Qi and mouths sealed; they could only squirm and struggle like maggots.

"Fellow Daoist, these are the remnants of the Zhang Family. May I ask how Fellow Daoist wishes to handle them?"

The Chen Family Patriarch asked in a low voice, his tone carrying a hint of fawning.

"Oh? Are you sure these are all of them?"

After glancing at these Zhang Family remnants, Zhang Daobai asked with a cold smirk on his lips.

Hearing this, the Chen Family Patriarch's expression froze, and he quickly turned to look at the people behind him.

Since these Zhang Family members had only arrived recently, he wasn't sure exactly how many had come.

Thus, he quickly asked the Chen Family Elder who had gone to seize the people, "Are all the Zhang Family remnants here!?"

A flash of unnaturalness crossed the Chen Elder's eyes, but it vanished quickly. He hurriedly nodded and replied, "Reporting to the Clan Chief, everyone is here."

"Are you sure?"

The Chen Family Patriarch's tone was heavy, carrying a hint of pressure as he confirmed once more.

Did he not know his own clansmen?

He had noted that Elder's slightly guilty tone and gaze.

And since Zhang Daobai had asked this, there was definitely a problem.

So the only explanation was that these guys had indeed hidden someone.

Hearing the Clan Chief's questioning again, the Elder's head lowered even further.

"Clan Chief, please listen to my explanation first!"

After lowering his head, the Elder secretly spoke to the Chen Family Patriarch via sound transmission.

Hearing the transmission, the Chen Family Patriarch's eyes flickered, and he replied discreetly, "Speak quickly!"

"Clan Chief, it's like this..."

It turned out that after receiving the Chen Family Patriarch's arrest order, the Elder had immediately led people to seize the Zhang Family remnants.

However, one of the Zhang Family members, seeing this, quickly revealed a secret: he knew the location of a Legacy Treasure Trove left behind by the Zhang Family to deal with danger.

The Zhang Family's Legacy Treasure Trove was a massive amount of resources for the Chen Family, enough to allow them to rise rapidly.

So upon hearing this, the Elder's heart was instantly moved.

Thus, the Elder agreed to make a deal with him, obtaining the location of the Zhang Family's Legacy Treasure Trove in exchange for protecting his safety.

After listening to the Elder's explanation, a flash of fervor instantly crossed the Chen Family Patriarch's eyes.

It would be a lie to say he wasn't tempted. After all, if they could obtain the Legacy Treasure Trove of a Purple Mansion Family, the Chen Family's strength could at least rise to the next level.

But his fervent heart soon cooled down, because Zhang Daobai and the others knew the number of these Zhang Family remnants.

Trying to fool them was basically impossible. If they didn't hand the person over, it would likely cause a conflict.

Therefore, this treasure was both an opportunity and a potential disaster.

After pondering for a moment, the Chen Family Patriarch decided to try anyway, so he turned to look at Zhang Daobai.

"My apologies, Fellow Daoist. I have inquired clearly about this matter; it was indeed our mistake."

Zhang Daobai raised an eyebrow, looking at the Chen Family Patriarch with a playful gaze.

Since he knew one person was missing but didn't have anyone go back to bring them out, he clearly wanted to protect that person.

"The remaining person is actually the grandson of a clan uncle of mine. Since that clan uncle has no sons, he wanted to keep him here."

"This is indeed our mistake. Fellow Daoist, do you think this would work?"

"The remaining person is actually just a peripheral member of the Zhang Family and hasn't practiced evil techniques. Thus, we are willing to pay a deposit of one hundred thousand Spirit Stones to guarantee that he will never do anything harmful in the future."

"If any problems arise, my Chen Family is willing to take full responsibility. I ask Fellow Daoist to give him a chance to reform."

The Chen Family Patriarch guaranteed with a very sincere tone, as if he were truly an Elder wanting to protect a junior.

In fact, the Chen Family Patriarch had already decided that as soon as that Zhang Family remnant revealed the location of the Treasure Trove, he would kill him immediately.

Zhang Daobai would not believe the Chen Family Patriarch's rhetoric. After all, as a Clan Chief, how could he possibly use the entire clan as a guarantee for an outsider?

Clearly, that Zhang Family remnant possessed some huge benefit that made the Chen Family Patriarch willing to take such a risk.

Interests move hearts!

One hundred thousand Spirit Stones to buy a Qi Refinement Stage Cultivator—the price was quite good.

But compared to the entire Chen Family, Zhang Daobai was not interested in just these few Spirit Stones.

"Clan Chief Chen, are you truly sure you want to harbor a remnant of the Zhang Family?" Zhang Daobai asked to confirm, his tone cold.

Seeing Zhang Daobai's aggressive pressure, the surrounding Chen Elders' eyes instantly showed a hint of anger. They wanted to say something, but were stopped by the Clan Chief's sound transmission.

"Fellow Daoist, please forgive us. That Zhang Family member is the only descendant of my clan uncle, so we had no choice but to resort to this."

"How about this, Fellow Daoist? I am willing to increase the deposit to two hundred thousand! I only ask that Fellow Daoist give him a chance to correct his mistakes."

The Chen Family Patriarch, still unwilling to give up, increased the stakes and attempted to bribe Zhang Daobai.

Calling it a deposit was actually just a bribe for Zhang Daobai.

He believed that as long as someone was normal, they wouldn't be unmoved.

"So it seems you have truly chosen to harbor that Zhang Family remnant."

Seeing this, a flash of joy couldn't help but cross Zhang Daobai's eyes. As long as the evidence was in hand, he could start acting with perfect justification.

Hearing this, Lin Luoxue, who was beside him, also gripped her spirit sword in a tacit understanding, ready to strike at any moment.

Hmm?

The flash of joy in Zhang Daobai's eyes was discovered by the Chen Family Patriarch, who had been watching him.

For some reason, an ominous premonition suddenly arose in his heart, as if something bad would happen the moment he spoke again.

At this moment, the Chen Family Patriarch couldn't help but start reflecting on what details he had overlooked.

He felt that Zhang Daobai's goal wasn't that Zhang Family remnant, but some larger purpose.

Thinking of this, the Chen Family Patriarch quickly sent a sound transmission to the three people who had first come out, asking for the details of the previous situation.

The middle-aged man then repeated the previous conversation word for word.

Wait!

After listening to the middle-aged man's recount, the Chen Family Patriarch's expression suddenly changed, as if he had grasped an important clue.

"If you choose to harbor these evil Cultivator Family remnants, you will be guilty of the same crime!"

When he heard this sentence, the Chen Family Patriarch suddenly understood why Zhang Daobai repeatedly confirmed whether the Chen Family truly wanted to harbor that Zhang Family remnant.

It turned out Zhang Daobai's goal was never that Zhang Family remnant, but the Chen Family, who would be guilty of the same crime for harboring them!

After realizing this, the Chen Family Patriarch's back was instantly covered in cold sweat.

No wonder he looked down on those two hundred thousand Spirit Stones; it turned out he had his eyes on the Chen Family's entire fortune!

The Chen Family Patriarch did not doubt for a moment whether Zhang Daobai and his companion had the strength to deal with the Chen Family.

After all, being able to wipe out the Zhang Family overnight was enough to prove their strength.

Having now seen through to the truth, the Chen Family Patriarch felt as if he were standing at the gates of hell.

With just one wrong word, he would enter them completely.

"Haha! Fellow Daoist, you must be joking. The Zhang Family is an evil Cultivator Family that everyone has the right to execute. How could we possibly harbor a remnant of an evil Cultivator Family!"

The Chen Family Patriarch retorted with an air of righteousness, as if the person who just wanted to pay a security deposit to protect someone wasn't him at all.

Seeing the Chen Family Patriarch's sudden and drastic change in attitude, the surrounding members of the Chen Family stared at their chief in shock.

They had never heard that their own Clan Chief possessed such a masterful skill for changing faces.

A flash of surprise also crossed Zhang Daobai's eyes when he saw the Chen Family Patriarch suddenly go back on his word.

Without waiting for Zhang Daobai to speak further, the Chen Family Patriarch hurriedly arranged for people to drag out the last remaining Zhang Family survivor.

When the last Zhang Family remnant was dragged out, he immediately understood that his fate was sealed, and his eyes were filled with despair.

"Fellow Daoist, this is the last remnant of the Zhang Family. You can confirm it."

The Chen Family Patriarch couldn't wait to toss these hot potatoes over to Zhang Daobai.

"Didn't you say you wanted to pay a deposit to protect him?" Zhang Daobai asked, somewhat unwilling to give up.

"No! After thinking it over, I still feel that such remnants of an evil Cultivator Family truly deserve to die! It's not worth me spending Spirit Stones to protect him." The Chen Family Patriarch shook his head with a face full of disgust.

"Isn't he your tribal uncle's grandson and his only descendant?"

"It's fine! My tribal uncle is in his prime. Once I get back, I'll arrange for him to take a wife and concubines. I definitely won't let his lineage end!"

"Are you sure you don't want to think about it more?"

"What's there to think about? My Chen Family is irreconcilable with evil Cultivators!"

The Chen Family Patriarch spoke with an air of righteousness and a very firm attitude.

Seeing this, Zhang Daobai's eye corner twitched slightly. He was just one step away from success, but the other party had changed his mind.

"Alright then, just beat them to death and hand them over to me."

Zhang Daobai could only sigh inwardly and speak with disappointment.

Hearing the disappointment in Zhang Daobai's tone, the Chen Family Patriarch felt incredibly lucky.

"What are you all standing there for? Do it!"

The Chen Family Patriarch quickly turned around and barked at the dumbfounded Chen Family members.

Hearing the Chief's unquestionable tone, the Chen Family members looked at each other and then raised their hands to strike the heads of the Zhang Family remnants.

With their spiritual power sealed, these slaps directly crushed the heads of the Zhang Family remnants.

After confirming that the Zhang Family remnants were completely dead, the Chen Family members sent their corpses onto the spirit boat.

"Fellow Daoist, these Zhang Family remnants are dead. Is there anything else you need our help with?"

The Chen Family Patriarch glanced at the corpses and asked Zhang Daobai with a smile.

"No more." Zhang Daobai shook his head in disappointment.

As for those Zhang Family members who had already married into the Chen Family, they were now considered Chen Family members and thus didn't count as Zhang Family remnants.

"In that case, we won't disturb you any further."

As he spoke, the Chen Family Patriarch hurriedly led his clansmen and flew back to Ten Thousand Peach Mountain.

Watching the backs of the Chen Family, Zhang Daobai shook his head in disappointment and muttered regretfully to himself, "Why couldn't you just persist a little longer?"

"Sigh, forget it."

After a sigh, Zhang Daobai called White Moon back.

He then piloted the spirit boat and headed back towards Green Wood Stream.

"Phew!"

At the summit of Ten Thousand Peach Mountain, the Chen Family Patriarch breathed a sigh of relief as if a heavy burden had been lifted after seeing the spirit boat depart.

"Clan Chief, I don't understand..."

A Chen Family Elder nearby couldn't help but want to ask why he had suddenly changed his mind.

"Idiot! You were eyeing that little bit of the Zhang Family's Legacy, but you didn't realize they were eyeing our Chen Family's assets!"

The Chen Patriarch looked at him with cold eyes and scolded him harshly.

"They wanted to move against us?"

A Chen Family Elder's eyes widened in shock upon hearing this.

"You were stuffing leverage right into their hands; of course they wanted to move."

The Chen Patriarch gave the surrounding people an annoyed look, his heart full of gloom.

"We aren't an evil Cultivator Family. Would they dare to move against us so casually?"

"If they dared to act, wouldn't they fear being held accountable by the Myriad Sword Sect?"

The location of the Chen Family's ancestral land was within the territory of the Myriad Sword Sect, a Nascent Soul-level power.

Thus, the Chen Family was considered a subsidiary force of the Myriad Sword Sect and was protected by them on the surface.

"Didn't you hear what they said earlier?"

"They came on a mission from the Demon Slaying Alliance. With the Demon Slaying Alliance behind them, even the Myriad Sword Sect is a member of that alliance."

"If we had protected that Zhang Family remnant, we would be harboring an evil Cultivator and would be guilty of the same crime!"

"Even if they moved to exterminate our clan, the Myriad Sword Sect would have no reason to seek revenge."

The Chen Patriarch explained loudly, his voice tinged with anger.

Hearing this, everyone felt a chill down their spines, suddenly realizing the dangerous position they were just in.

If the Clan Chief hadn't spotted the problem, they would probably be buried alongside the Zhang Family by now.

The Chen Patriarch continued, "And even if we did protect that Zhang Family remnant, would we really be able to get the Zhang Family's Legacy Treasure Trove?"

"It's not like he's the only one from the Zhang Family who knows about it. Since that group just wiped out the Zhang Family, do you think they know where that Legacy Treasure Trove is?"

Hearing this, everyone lowered their heads and fell silent.

Previously, the massive potential profit had blinded their reason, but after hearing the Chief's analysis,

they suddenly realized how foolish they had been, nearly dragging the entire Family down.

"Don't mention this matter again in the future. Once this storm passes, we can take over the Zhang Family's territory and still make a huge profit."

Seeing everyone's low spirits, the Chen Patriarch changed the subject to comfort them.

Although the Zhang Family had been exterminated, fixed assets like spirit fields, markets, and fisheries were still there and couldn't be moved.

Once the Chen Family swallowed these assets, they could still rise rapidly.

However, they were clearly overthinking things. How could Zhang Daobai possibly leave any advantages for them to take?

Once the Spiritual Veins under the spirit fields and markets were extracted, these places would quickly lose their use and become ordinary land.

On the other side, Zhang Daobai and Lin Luoxue quickly returned to Green Wood Stream on the spirit boat.

Since the corpses of the Zhang Family members had been taken away by Lin Luoxue, no one had discovered for the time being that the Zhang Family had been exterminated.

They simply assumed the Zhang Family had some major event and had called everyone back.

However, the sudden disappearance of Spiritual Qi in the market did attract quite a bit of attention.

The reason people scrambled to rent houses in the market's residential area was for the underground Spiritual Veins.

Only places with Spiritual Veins had abundant Spiritual Qi, which was more helpful for cultivation.

But today, the Spiritual Qi in the market had dropped to normal levels, just like being in the wild, leaving many people puzzled.

After Zhang Daobai and Lin Luoxue returned to Green Wood Stream, they immediately rushed to the location of the Zhang Family's spirit fields.

After first harvesting the mature Spirit Medicine and spirit plants, Zhang Daobai didn't even spare the saplings, transplanting them all into the Small World.

With the Spiritual Veins from the Zhang Family ancestral land and market, Long Glass had worked through the night to open up dozens of acres of spirit fields, which were perfect for planting these Spirit Medicines.

To increase the fertility of the spirit fields, Zhang Daobai even used the void realm suppressing pagoda to scrape three feet off the Zhang Family's spirit fields, collecting the fertile soil as well.

After the spirit fields were scavenged clean, Zhang Daobai also extracted the Spiritual Veins beneath them.

As for the fishery, Zhang Daobai directly chose to harvest all the fish.

Since he didn't know how to feed them and had no time to do so, he simply caught them all in one net to be used for spirit meals.

"Finally done!"

Zhang Daobai looked at the empty fishery and smiled with satisfaction.

"Are we going back to turn in the mission now?" Lin Luoxue asked, coming to Zhang Daobai's side.

"Yeah, let's go back to turn in the mission first, and then inquire about the battle situation in the Yinyue Mountain Range." Zhang Daobai nodded.

Soon, Zhang Daobai piloted the spirit boat away from Green Wood Stream, heading back towards Thousand Star Lake.

Meanwhile, on the Yinyue Mountain Range battlefield.

The Yinyue Mountain Range was shrouded in dark clouds year-round, so it looked very dark and oppressive.

At the junction of the Yinyue Mountain Range, hundreds and thousands of spirit boats hovered in mid-air, with tens of thousands of Cultivators gathered there.

In the sky opposite them was a strange, blood-colored cloud, revealing all sorts of chaotic negative emotions.

Beneath the blood cloud, a large number of evil Cultivators were eyeing the Demon Slaying Alliance across from them like tigers watching their prey.

Instead of fear, their eyes were filled with excitement, as if they were looking at their quarry.

Originally, the Demon Slaying Alliance planned to split their forces into several routes to attack the Yinyue Mountain Range from different directions.

But for some reason, the evil Cultivators in the Yinyue Mountain Range had actually gathered together to break through in one direction, so the Demon Slaying Alliance converged as well.

Initially, the Demon Slaying Alliance thought their troop strength was enough to surround and kill these evil Cultivators.

But they soon discovered that the number of these evil Cultivators far exceeded their imagination.

Moreover, these evil Cultivators seemed to have planned everything long ago; they had prepared over a hundred thousand Puppets alone!

Looking at the corpse puppets covering the mountains and plains, many disciples from families and Sects couldn't help but feel their legs go weak before the fight even started.

On a massive spirit boat, the leaders of the various major forces in the Demon Slaying Alliance were gathered.

"It seems those evil Cultivators from the Blood Fiend Sea and Ten Thousand Demon Cave have also intervened."

"Hmph! Just a pack of hyenas that came running at the scent of meat!"

"It seems the news has indeed leaked out."

"That thing still has half a month before it matures. I wonder how many more people it will attract?"

"Things have already come to this. Whoever dares to come, we'll fight!"

"That thing was nurtured by our people. Logically speaking, it belongs to us."

The meeting room was noisy and filled with the smell of gunpowder.

"Enough! Quiet down for a moment."

Just then, one of the three people in the top seats spoke up.

His voice wasn't loud, yet it made everyone feel subconsciously compelled to listen.