21: Chapter 21 Chen Family Meeting

The Chen Clan of Qingxi, in the Council Hall.

The atmosphere was chilling, like ten-thousand-year-old ice in a cellar.

At the head of the table, Chen Xiao's expression was calm as water, but his eyes, usually as still as an ancient well, were now surging with a gloom capable of swallowing everything.

Below, kneeling were three trembling Household Servants; they were the only survivors.

Their once-decent Chen family garments were now tattered, mixed with dried blood, black sludge, and a stubborn, nauseating stench that persisted despite multiple washings.

The smell, like a livestock shed that had been rotting for ten days mixed with some pungent herbal odor, permeated the solemn Council Hall, silently recounting the unimaginable horror they had experienced.

Before them, on a wooden board covered with a white cloth, lay a broken corpse.

No, it couldn't even be called a corpse.

It was a pile of flesh forcibly pieced together, yet one could vaguely identify the deceased's identity from the tattered silk dharma robe.

Chen Ping.

The nephew of Chen family head Chen Xiao, a genuine and promising Mid-Stage Qi Refining Immortal Master.

He was dead.

Dead at the hands of a group they called "hillbillies" and "mud-legged peasants."

"Say it again."

Chen Xiao's voice was very soft, yet it felt like an invisible heavy hammer slamming into the hearts of the three Household Servants.

"How... were you defeated?"

The lead Household Servant, the one with the lightest injuries, suppressed his fear, his voice trembling uncontrollably: "Family Head... Elders... We... the moment we entered the forest, we were ambushed..."

He began to describe it incoherently.

From the most primitive spike pits to the dense volley of bamboo spears that blocked all paths of retreat.

These, the cultivators of the Chen family could understand; they were just the methods of common hunters, unworthy of mention.

But the subsequent description became bizarre, even absurd.

"...Then, it started 'raining feces' from the sky! It was all filth, the stench was overwhelming, blinding everyone, and even the Spiritual Energy Shield raised by Steward Ping was covered in it!"

"What?" An elder with a fiery temper slammed the table and shouted angrily, "Nonsense! How could mere filth hinder the circulation of spiritual energy? Do you take me for a three-year-old child!"

"It's true! Absolutely true!" The Household Servant was terrified out of his wits and kowtowed repeatedly, "That stuff was so smelly, Steward Ping... Steward Ping couldn't maintain his technique..."

Another Household Servant, who had lost an eye, took over, his voice filled with a crying tone and endless lingering fear: "Then they rushed out! A group of people... no, a group of lunatics! They weren't afraid of death, really not afraid of death!"

"Steward Ping used a Fireball Spell and clearly burned one to death, but they didn't even blink! Steward Ping used his Flying Sword and sliced off a person's head with one strike, blood... blood sprayed high, but the rest of them charged even more crazily!"

"They were just like... like endless leeks in a field; you cut one batch, and another pops up!"

The third Household Servant, who had lost an arm, had unfocused eyes, as if caught in a nightmare: "Shields... shields like door planks... Steward Ping's spells were actually... actually blocked by those broken wooden shields! Several people were pushing from behind the shields, just like iron turtles!"

"There were also people specifically throwing lime and itching powder at Steward Ping's face... As soon as Steward Ping closed his eyes, they swarmed him... hacking with knives, biting with teeth, crushing with their bodies..."

His voice grew lower and lower, eventually turning into a suppressed sob.

"Steward Ping... was... was literally crushed to death by them..."

The Council Hall fell into a deathly silence.

You could hear a pin drop.

All the Chen family elders, these cultivators who had seen all kinds of storms, had expressions of disbelief written on their faces.

Ambushing with traps?

Understandable.

Outnumbering the opponent?

Human nature.

But using filth to break spells?

Using mundane iron and wooden shields to resist spells?

Fearless of death, and killing them was useless?

In the end, like a pack of wild dogs, biting and crushing a Mid-Stage Qi Refining Immortal Master to death?

This was no longer war, not even a fight.

This was a blasphemy.

It was the most naked and cruel trampling on the identity of a cultivator!

"Heretical paths!"

Finally, the hot-tempered elder broke the silence again, his face turning the color of liver, his beard and hair standing on end.

"This must be some kind of evil art! Either raised puppets or a lost demonic technique! A group of mortals could never do such a thing!"

Another elder, who looked quite shrewd and thin, also frowned deeply and pondered: "Indeed. Ordinary mortals, upon seeing us Immortal Masters cast spells, would already be wetting themselves in fear. But they, not only were they not afraid, but they appeared crazed, with only greed and excitement in their eyes... This is not normal."

He looked at Chen Xiao at the head of the table and bowed: "Family Head, this matter is full of strangeness. In my opinion, there must be a mastermind behind that group! It is very likely an evil cultivator who controls puppets or practices some demonic secret art!"

This explanation was immediately accepted by everyone.

Yes, it must be so.

How could a group of mortals without spiritual roots kill an Immortal Master?

They must be "crazed private soldiers" controlled by someone, some kind of tool, some kind of weapon.

Only this could explain why they weren't afraid of death.

Only this could maintain their final dignity as a cultivation family.

Chen Xiao did not speak.

His fingers slowly slid over the cold rosewood armrest.

No one noticed that there were already five deep finger marks on the armrest, which was harder than refined iron.

Evil cultivator?

Puppets?

These explanations were too pale.

In his mind, the images described by the survivors echoed repeatedly: that "door-plank shield" that could resist a Fireball Spell, those lunatics who precisely threw "biological weapons," that madman who used his body to hug Chen Ping's leg...

This didn't look like controlled puppets.

Puppets don't have such flexible tactics, nor that kind of... fanaticism that comes from the bones.

That was a pure, undisguised greed that boiled for "loot."

It was as if Chen Ping wasn't a living person, but a... walking treasure chest.

This thought made Chen Xiao's heart sink to the bottom.

He had an intuition that what he was facing might be an unprecedented enemy that could not be measured by common sense.

He slowly raised his eyes, his gaze sweeping over everyone in the hall.

He saw anger, humiliation, and also... a trace of fear hidden beneath the anger.

Cannot wait any longer.

Regardless of what the other party is, the dignity of the Chen family cannot be provoked.

Within a hundred miles of Qingxi, there can only be one Chen family.

"Pass on my order."

Chen Xiao's voice finally sounded again, cold and resolute, without a trace of emotion.

"First, blockade all markets leading to the back mountain area, cutting off all sources of pills, talismans, and materials for those heretical creatures. I want to see how long they can last without external supply."

"Second, designate that mountain forest as a family forbidden area. Send out secret sentries to monitor day and night, observe only, do not act. I want to know their every move, what they eat, what they drink, and how they replenish their manpower."

"Third..."

He paused, a flash of chilling killing intent in his eyes.

"Gather all cultivators in the family who are at the Mid-Stage Qi Refining or above, as well as the formation masters of the clan-protecting array. I will personally deduce a set of battle tactics, a set... specifically designed to crush turtle shells."

"Family Head, no!" The thin elder hurriedly advised, "The enemy's true strength is unknown; sending out the whole clan now is too risky! Economic blockade and surveillance are already foolproof strategies, why rush?"

Chen Xiao glanced at him coldly.

That glance was like a cold wind from the Nine Netherworlds passing by.

"I am not going now."

His voice was terrifyingly calm.

"I just want to make them understand one thing."

"In the face of absolute power, all conspiracies and tricks, all heretical paths, are nothing but... worthless dogs."

"When they think they have succeeded and are reveling in their dog kennel, I will personally crush their turtle shells, along with their ridiculous ancestral hall, and the mastermind hiding behind them... into powder."

As his voice fell, the temperature in the Council Hall seemed to drop by another three degrees.

All the elders were silent as cicadas, not daring to say another word.

They knew that the Family Head was truly enraged.

A bloody storm sweeping through Qingxi was already brewing quietly.

Meanwhile, deep in the mountain forest considered a forbidden area by the Chen family, in front of that dilapidated ancestral hall, there was a scene of boisterous celebration.

The players were surrounding a pile of freshly obtained loot, excitedly "rolling" for distribution.

[Green Edge Sword (Magic Tool)]: Standard Flying Sword for cultivators in the Qi Refinement Stage, sharp, containing a trace of Geng Metal Qi.

[Fire Control Technique (Fragment)]: Introductory basic fire-type spell, can be practiced up to the third level of Qi Refining.

[Storage Bag]: A space that can store miscellaneous items.

"Holy crap! A cultivation technique dropped! Although it's a fragment, this is our first real immortal technique!"

"Flying Sword! The Flying Sword is mine! I'm the main tank; even if I didn't contribute much, I still put in the effort!"

"Bullshit! I was the one who broke the defense with that slash; I'm the main DPS! 'Demolition Office Director', say something fair!"

"Demolition Office Director" was holding the storage bag, studying how to open it, and didn't even look up when he heard this: "Stop arguing! Old rules, DKP (Dragon Kill Points) speaks! The one with the highest contribution takes it first!"

On a distant hillside, Lu Bei's spirit body quietly watched all this.

He could clearly feel that with Chen Ping's death, a pure energy mixed with fear and unwillingness was absorbed by the spirit tablet, his spirit body becoming more solid, even vaguely sensing the free-roaming spiritual energy between heaven and earth.

And the ecstatic, excited "incense" from the players below was like the finest tonic, nourishing his weak soul power as never before.

[System Prompt: Absorbed soul power of Mid-Stage Qi Refining cultivator 'Chen Ping', family fortune increased, unlocked new feature — Family Scripture Pavilion (Basic)!]

[Family Scripture Pavilion (Basic): Can imprint captured or exchanged cultivation techniques for family members to learn by consuming contribution points.]

[《Fire Control Technique (Fragment)》 has been automatically collected.]

The curve of Lu Bei's mouth grew deeper.

Chen family's internal meeting?

Economic blockade?

Deducing battle tactics?

He didn't care.

He only knew that the leeks had been planted and the fertilizer was ready.

What he needed to do next was to wait for them... to grow strong, and then harvest them batch by batch.

His gaze crossed over the reveling players and cast towards the direction of the Chen Clan Manor in Qingxi, as if penetrating the barriers of space.

"Who's next?"