61: Addressing hidden dangers

Hearing Chu Jingyu's words, the remaining Elders of Chen Family Village dared not raise any objections, as two fresh corpses were constantly reminding them of the consequences.

"Elders, please rise. Since Chen Family Village currently lacks a village chief, we will have to rely on all of you Elders to handle matters."

"How about we select a new village chief now, under the supervision of the main Family?" The Elder who had knelt first asked cautiously after standing up.

Chu Jingyu shook his head slightly. "This is a matter for your Chen Family Village to handle yourselves. Once a new village chief is chosen, do not forget to report it back to the main Family."

The Elder understood. "Then we shall take our leave now."

Chu Jingyu nodded, making no move to stop them.

As the Elder passed by the deceased Elder, he gently shook his head and sighed, pausing briefly before immediately walking away along the main road without further hesitation.

"This Elder and the old village chief have contributed half their lives to Chen Family Village. It wouldn't be right to leave them lying here; find some people to bury them."

Chu Jingyu spoke indifferently, causing the departing Elders to instantly stop. They turned and bowed gratefully towards Chu Jingyu, saying, "Thank you, Clan Chief of the main Family."

Chu Jingyu turned away, ignoring the Elders. Instead, he walked over to Chen Chengwen's corpse, squatted down, and pulled out the Ice Lotus that was still rooted in his palm.

Although its Aura was weak, this was merely the backlash from the sudden severing of the spiritual connection upon the Contract Master's death. With some time to recuperate, this Ice Lotus should still be able to survive.

Chu Jingyu then took a few more steps and approached the Hán Háo Strange Bird, which also had several bloody holes in its body but was still faintly breathing. He reached out, grabbed its slender neck, and lifted it up.

Chu Jingyu tightened his grip, and a "crunching" sound echoed between his fingers. This time, the body of the Hán Háo Strange Bird went completely limp.

Seeing this, the Ice Lotus in his other palm began to tremble slightly, even its branches and leaves shaking. Chu Jingyu casually tossed the Hán Háo Strange Bird onto the ground.

He then gently stroked the leaves and petals of the Ice Lotus with his finger and whispered, "Whether you live or not depends on whether you can be useful later."

Clenching the root of the Ice Lotus, Chu Jingyu returned to the valley.

The Golden Armored Jade Pupil Beast, which had been wrestling with the bone crystal, saw Chu Jingyu arrive. It abandoned the bone crystal, which was already shattered into small crystalline pieces, and excitedly ran to Chu Jingyu's side.

However, its excitement turned into vigilance upon seeing the Ice Lotus in his palm.

Chu Jingyu held the Ice Lotus and continued deeper into the valley until the surrounding bone crystal had all turned ice-blue, and a thick layer of ice covered the ground and walls, making them look like cold flowers blooming in a world of ice and snow.

Even Chu Jingyu, a Contract Master, could sense the presence of a powerful being not far away, without needing to rely on the Golden Armored Jade Pupil Beast's abilities.

Chu Jingyu stopped, daring not to proceed further. He raised his arm, displaying the Ice Lotus, and used energy to carry his voice, allowing it to travel farther.

"Source Beast Senior, this Ice Lotus should have some connection to you. The Contract Master who was contracted to it has been executed for his wickedness. This Junior has specifically come to return it."

Hearing Chu Jingyu's voice, icy dots drifted out from the depths of the valley, floating gently in the air like a river.

This river of light dots seemed to become the eyes of the Source Beast in the valley, observing Chu Jingyu and the Ice Lotus he held.

The Golden Armored Jade Pupil Beast had already shattered the ice layer on the ground. If the Source Beast deep within the valley intended to attack, it would immediately take Chu Jingyu and flee.

However, perhaps the Source Beast deep in the valley had a quiet temperament; it dispersed some light dots from the river of light, which landed on the Ice Lotus in Chu Jingyu's hand.

Visibly, the Ice Lotus's condition improved significantly. At the very least, it was no longer limp but had straightened its root, and the flower bud showed a tendency to slowly open.

When more light dots surged forward, Chu Jingyu stepped back and then spoke:

"I can return this Ice Lotus to you, Senior, but you should also hand over the members of the Human Race hiding here to me."

After saying this, Chu Jingyu nervously stared at the icy river of dots in the Void Realm before him. Frankly, negotiating with a Spirit Rank Source Beast on its own territory was rather unwise.

But in order to cut the weeds and eradicate the roots, Chu Jingyu had to take a gamble. If he failed, he could only arrange for people to block the valley entrance, as he did not believe those few people could survive in this valley for long.

After a moment of silence, several ice-blue vines suddenly spread out from the depths of the valley. Hanging from the ends of the vines were several massive ice blocks, with human figures visible inside.

Two beautiful women, one dignified matron, plus two children aged eleven or twelve—the ages, numbers, and genders matched the people he was hunting.

Without needing to act himself, Chen Chengwen's Family members, who had intruded into the valley, had already been frozen into ice sculptures by the Source Beast living there.

Confirming that the people showed no signs of life, Chu Jingyu gently placed the Ice Lotus onto the ice layer before him, and then led the Golden Armored Jade Pupil Beast away from the depths of the valley.

Returning to the entrance of the residential valley, Chu Jingyu closed the large gate, then had the Golden Armored Jade Pupil Beast condense golden sand to completely seal the entrance, preventing anyone else from accidentally running inside.

After this, they could first harvest the bone crystal resources along the edge of the valley; they would be excellent whether for sale or for the Family's own use.

As for the Spirit Rank Source Beast deep in the valley, they would have to wait until someone in the Family advanced to the Spirit Rank before exploring further.

Reporting it was entirely out of the question for Chu Jingyu; if he reported it, it was estimated that all the resources in the entire valley would have nothing to do with the Chu Family.

After sealing the entrance, Chu Jingyu returned to the central hall courtyard. The corpses lying on the ground were gone, having presumably been collected by the villagers of Chen Family Village.

The carriage was also gone, meaning he would have to walk back himself. Chu Jingyu smiled helplessly, having no intention of going back to trouble the driver from Jinbao Carriage Services; after all, everything that happened here had completely exceeded the scope of his services.

Chu Jingyu picked up the corpse of the Hán Háo Strange Bird and recalled the Golden Armored Jade Pupil Beast into his Source Beast space. The Aura around his entire body retracted, and he slowly strolled along the road, resembling an Old Gentleman returning from a hunt in the mountains.

However, upon closer observation, although he looked like an old man, his pace was much faster than that of the villagers riding in carriages.

The village chief of Chenliu Village died, Chenliu Village replaced him with a new village chief, and Chenliu Village was renamed Chen Family Village.

A series of reports concerning Chenliu Village were delivered to the town, but the town chief who received the news appeared incredibly calm.

He smiled and spoke to Zhang Yu, "It seems that the Old Gentleman of the Chu Family has made his move. However, Chen Chengwen had two Intermediate Alien Tier Source Beasts, yet he was still easily cut down. Could just one trip outside the realm grant him such a massive improvement?"

Zhang Yu crossed his arms. "The Family was just established, and its Luck is at its peak. Some miraculous opportunities are only to be expected."

Tang Cheng slowly shook his head. "Then when does your Zhang Family plan to deal with Qianyu Village? A new Family has already taken action, yet your Zhang Family is still timidly shrinking back—what kind of appearance is that?"

Zhang Yu sighed. "I have relatively little say at home. Perhaps the shadow left by the Liu Family over the years is too heavy. The intention of several Elders in the Family is that they would rather forgo the land of Qianyu Village and simply maintain the status quo."

"It seems the Zhang Family truly has grown old." Tang Cheng walked out of the room with his hands behind his back. "But you are still young. Even by yourself, you should be able to deal with that village chief.

It will rain tomorrow, Guard Commander Zhang. Take the day off and get some good rest."

Zhang Yu's face was hidden beneath the doorway, and only a faint, drifting "Yes" was heard coming from inside the room.