When the family was cultivating behind closed doors,
the outside world was already in turmoil, with continuous conflicts.
The Zhang Clan and the Li Clan, along with some marginal cultivators coveting the Zhou Clan's power, launched exploratory attacks and plundering under various banners.
Moreover, there were quite a few opportunists.
Taking advantage of the chaos, they acted recklessly, killing and robbing.
For a time, within a radius of several hundred miles, there was a tense atmosphere, with a faint scent of blood wafting in the air.
Fortunately, the Thousand Machines Market was still protected by Foundation Establishment cultivators from the Qinghua Sect, and it was not affected.
Order within the market remained stable.
Especially steady, as more and more cultivators gathered here, making it more prosperous.
That day.
In the Pill Workshop, inside the Alchemy Room.
"Collect!"
Qin Yuan cast the Pill Collection Technique, and the furnace lid gently opened.
Six light yellow Yellow Bud Pills emerged, lifted by an invisible force, and flew into a jade bottle that had been prepared long ago.
Chen Sheng reached out to take the jade bottle, unsealed it, and a strong herbal pill fragrance wafted out.
He carefully examined the pills' color and texture.
"The essence is well-contained, with few impurities, eighty percent efficacy, not bad. Yuan'Er, your control over the heat is becoming increasingly refined!"
He looked at his disciple with satisfaction, generously praising him.
Several years have passed.
Qin Yuan had reached adulthood, standing as tall as Chen Sheng, with a handsome face and gentle brows.
He resembled Qin Shuang from those years by about sixty percent.
Over the years, he diligently cultivated without pause, steadily reaching the Qi Cultivation Fifth Layer.
His alchemy skills also grew increasingly advanced.
Not long ago, he barely managed to refine Middle Grade Spirit Feeding Pills, qualifying as a Middle Grade Alchemist.
Qin Yuan showed a modest smile:
"It is all thanks to Master's years of meticulous guidance; this disciple dares not slacken in the slightest."
Just at this moment.
A familiar and crisp voice called from the back courtyard.
"Junior brother, come over, spar with me."
Upon hearing this urging voice,
Qin Yuan's heart immediately stirred, and he instinctively wanted to move his steps.
However.
Chen Sheng was right in front of him.
He could only stop moving, hesitating for a moment, and looked towards his Master in front of him.
Chen Sheng noticed his small actions and couldn't help but laugh, encouragingly patting Qin Yuan on the shoulder:
"Go ahead, have a good spar with your senior sister."
"Your senior sister has been confined to the market, and she's been itching for some action."
"Yes, Master."
Qin Yuan responded, gave a salute to his Master, then turned and quickly walked towards the back courtyard.
Chen Sheng was in a good mood. He also strolled out, leaning against a pillar, watching the courtyard "practice session" with great interest.
...
The two were in a fair duel.
Tang Xichen played by the rules, restraining her cultivation to the Qi Cultivation Fifth Layer and did not use Sword Gang.
Even so, the situation was overwhelmingly in favor of Tang Xichen, with Qin Yuan basically taking a beating.
Although his talent in magic was not weak.
But one's time is limited, and he focused more on alchemy.
Compared to Tang Xichen, who devoted herself wholeheartedly to sword refining for years, there was naturally a big difference.
It was supposed to be a competition.
But it seemed more like Qin Yuan was struggling to "survive" under Tang Xichen's stormy attacks.
After watching for a while.
Even Chen Sheng couldn't help but itch to participate.
As Qin Yuan was defeated,
Chen Sheng stepped into the arena with large strides, laughing aloud:
"Chen'Er, come, let your father also stretch his bones!"
Tang Xichen's eyes lit up:
"Please advise, father!"
...
Chen Sheng's skills in magical combat were not lacking.
He had dived into fire control and alchemy for many years, using these as a medium, he also cultivated two High Grade Fire Element Techniques.
"Fire Snake Curse" and "Melt Gold Finger"
He had mastered these techniques to the point of refinement and subtlety.
The fire serpents were elusive and entangled, the finger's force melted gold and pierced the air, with straightforward yet dynamic assault…
For a moment.
In the courtyard, tongues of fire spewed while sword Qi intertwined and interwove.
The muffled sounds of mana collisions were incessant, mesmerizing Qin Yuan, who was watching from the side.
The father and daughter exchanged blows back and forth.
In the blink of an eye, they had already clashed over a hundred times.
However.
When Tang Xichen's lips curled into a sly smile, she suddenly surged her mana.
"Sword Gang!"
A layer of transparent Sword Qi, thin as a cicada's wing and cold to the bone, instantly covered the sword's blade.
The tide of battle suddenly turned!
The moment that Sword Gang appeared, the air around seemed to freeze for an instant.
It easily tore through the Fire Spirit Shield protecting Chen Sheng.
He could only keep dodging and retreating.
The traps Chen Sheng set up with his Fire Control Technique appeared as flimsy as paper against the indomitable Sword Gang.
The pressure surged intensely.
Sweat appeared on Chen Sheng's forehead, and he felt even more helpless.
After two hundred moves.
An incredibly tricky Sword Gang, at an almost unsolvable angle, broke through Chen Sheng's hastily formed Fire Wall defense.
It halted three inches before his throat.
Chen Sheng was utterly defeated.
He reluctantly withdrew his protective magical power, raised his hands in surrender, and shook his head in admiration:
"Stop the fight! Your Sword Gang is indeed remarkably powerful; your old father can't compete with it anymore!"
There was helplessness in his tone, but even more so pride for his daughter.
Tang Xichen sheathed her sword, a triumphant smile spreading across her heroic face, with an unusual touch of girlish playfulness:
"This minor swordsmanship of mine is all thanks to the foundation laid hand-in-hand with you, father. I've truly surpassed my teacher."
Chen Sheng nodded with a grin:
"Indeed, that's no lie."
…
Two years later.
The inner hall remained elegantly furnished, with sandalwood incense lingering in the air.
Huang Wangyou held a thin letter, her slender fingers unconsciously trembling slightly.
In a moment of distraction, the teacup slipped from her grip and shattered on the ground.
Beside her, Chen Sheng remained silent.
Not long before.
The two of them received a message—Li Huayao was killed, Zhang Yue and his wife were missing.
After a long silence.
Huang Wangyou spoke bitterly:
"That farewell that day really became a final goodbye."
The guy with bright eyes, who liked to playfully stick his tongue out during her teasing, kind-hearted and meticulous.
Dead!
She had spent over a decade bickering and learning together with Li Huayao, their friendship deep, leaving her heart filled with indescribable sorrow!
Chen Sheng, too, was deeply shocked, memories surging like a tide, he took a deep breath, ultimately letting out only a heavy sigh:
"Who could have thought the Zhou Clan could endure so silently, hidden so deeply."
When the news initially broke, Cloud Dragon District fell into chaos.
Faced with Zhang and Li families' restlessness, probing collaborations, and opportunistic attacks by other factions.
The Zhou Family's situation plunged overnight from the clouds into the abyss, forced to cut losses, retract defenses, abandoning most of their assets and strongholds.
Retreating repeatedly, clan members suffered heavy casualties, including the death of this generation's Zhou Clan patriarch.
The opponents exposed a 'weakness,' which thoroughly ignited the greed of the Zhang and Li families, numbing all onlookers.
They further encroached.
Ultimately.
All direct descendants of the Zhou Clan retreated to their ancestral land—Jade Spring Mountain, relying on the Mountain Protection Array to barely hold on, teetering precariously.
Thus, for two years, they stalemated.
The two families colluded with 'traitors' within the Zhou Clan, planning a coordinated inside-out attack to open the array.
The senior members of both families were ecstatic, considering it the final straw to break the camel's back.
Both families' ancestors personally mobilized, leading almost all combat-capable forces to gather at Jade Spring Mountain's base.
At the agreed "auspicious time."
As the grand array shield above Jade Spring Mountain flickered violently, a crack slightly over a foot wide appeared right in front of the coalition!
Victory was within reach!
However.
When they passed through the array's crack, entering the inside, the anticipated chaos wasn't there.
Inside the array, a deadly calm reigned!
Three overwhelming presences erupted.
The Zhou Clan's ancestor hadn't died; surprisingly, two Foundation Establishment Zhou Clan members were revealed!
The three combined with the array, completely annihilated the coalition.
Then split into three groups, leading Zhou Clan cultivators, to counterattack Cloud Dragon District, Zhang Clan's Celestial Cool Mountain, Li Clan's White Dragon Lake.
This time, Zhang and Li family cultivators were nearly exterminated.
Li Huayao and all his children were killed, Zhang Yue and his wife from Cloud Dragon Market were nowhere to be found.
At this moment, the situation became strikingly clear.
It was all orchestrated by the Zhou Clan ancestor!
He wasn't critically injured or deceased.
The Zhou Clan had secretly acquired a second Foundation Establishment cultivator.
The Foundation Establishment Pill in the last auction.
Had empowered the Zhou Clan with a third Foundation Establishment.
With three Foundation Establishment, feigning weakness for years.
Using numerous Zhou Clan offspring as sacrifices, setting this trap, precisely to entrap Zhang and Li families, seizing their Spirit Vein resources, and to monopolize Cloud Dragon Market.