Chapter 36 - 336: Yan Qi Wants to Bloodwash Yunzhou

Chapter 36: Chapter 336: Yan Qi Wants to Bloodwash Yunzhou

When Chu Fan returned to Yunzhou City, "Chen Qi’an" had already been buried.

The Mansion Soldiers surrounding the Lü Family had still not been withdrawn. There was still no word from the Capital City regarding the family’s fate.

Chu Fan didn’t go to the Chen Family’s estate. Instead, he changed his clothes, disguised his face slightly, and returned to the residence in the western part of the city.

The six-month deadline was drawing ever closer, and he was no longer needed in Yunzhou City.

If nothing unexpected happened, Zi Wu Gate would certainly send someone to the Chen Family within three days at most.

Chu Fan was delighted to see Red Blood Mansion make another enemy. He was even hoping that when Yan Qi learned of his son’s death, he would come to Yunzhou City for revenge and end up fighting Zi Wu Gate.

He currently lacked the power to raze Red Blood Mansion and avenge his master and seniors. Before he could seek his own revenge, causing them some trouble was a welcome development.

As for himself, he was heading toward Zao Ying Mountain.

His Cultivation had not improved significantly as of late. He was still at Tier Nineteen of the Lotus-Birth Realm, and his Spiritual Power hadn’t noticeably increased despite viewing the Ye Family’s ancestral portrait several times.

It was over three thousand li from here to Zao Ying Mountain. At Ye Xiaohan, Qi Wei, and Wang Xing’s pace, the journey would take them nearly a month.

His plan was to travel with them toward Zao Ying Mountain, giving them pointers along the way. Once they reached Danzhou City, he would have them find a place to settle in.

He would then proceed to Zao Ying Mountain alone.

He had pretty much figured out the nature of the Miaolian Celestial Stabilization Technique. Advancing one’s Cultivation Realm with this technique wasn’t just about accumulation through practice; what mattered most was opportunity.

It was just as Zhegu Slave had told him before his Chaos Body was activated: without sufficient fortune, the Chaos Body was impossible to master.

Ever since activating his Chaos Body and cultivating the Miaolian Celestial Stabilization Technique, his major breakthroughs had all been thanks to opportune moments. For instance, after the Xiezhi at Dingfeng Slope gave him the Juntian Mirror, his Cultivation leaped directly from the Fusion Realm to the Lotus-Birth Realm.

For several days after that, his progress stalled. But then, after seeing the Ye Family’s ancestral portrait for the first time, he unexpectedly broke the first seal on the Juntian Mirror. His Cultivation rocketed from Tier Three of the Lotus-Birth Realm all the way into the high teens, only slowing down again after he reached Tier Nineteen.

Of course, he also knew that even without those two strokes of luck, the progress he made through regular practice alone was no slower than that of an ordinary Cultivator.

But he didn’t have that much time to accumulate, not when the six-month deadline was looming.

Scholars have a saying: "Reading ten thousand books is not as good as traveling ten thousand li."

This saying was just as applicable in the Cultivation Realm, if not more so.

Otherwise, Cultivation Sects wouldn’t send their disciples down from the mountains to temper themselves in the mortal world.

By the time he returned to the residence, Qi Wei and Wang Xing had already followed the instructions he’d given them days ago and sold the property through a brokerage.

They had already packed their bags. As soon as Chu Fan arrived, they departed together, heading west.

"Brother Chu, where are we going?"

Ye Xiaohan didn’t ask what Chu Fan had been doing during his absence, only what their itinerary would be.

In truth, all three of them were curious about Chu Fan’s real identity. After all, when they’d found him, he had been not only unconscious but also a broken heap, every bone in his body shattered.

But they were all smart enough never to ask questions.

"I’ve arranged to meet someone at Zao Ying Mountain before the eighth day of the tenth month," Chu Fan explained, though not entirely truthfully. "There’s still plenty of time, but I’m worried we might be delayed on the road, and I don’t want to be late and break my promise."

When Ye Xiaohan heard they were going to Zao Ying Mountain, he grew excited, even though he had no idea where it was or how far the journey would be.

It was a boy’s nature, after all. He had never traveled far, and it was always good to see more of the world.

Along the way, Ye Xiaohan couldn’t help but be filled with anticipation for what lay ahead.

「Yunzhou City.」

The men from Zi Wu Gate arrived sooner than Chu Fan had anticipated. On the very night he left the city, Second Elder Nie Shiqiao of Zi Wu Gate entered Yunzhou with ten of his elite disciples.

Upon entering Yunzhou, they headed straight for the Chen Family estate.

When Chen Guanglin learned their identities, he was overjoyed and hosted them with great enthusiasm.

Especially after hearing that Chen Qi’an had been accepted as a Direct Disciple by the Great Elder, Chen Guanglin began treating the group from Zi Wu Gate as if they were Immortals to be worshipped.

He plied them with the finest food and wine, of course, and was just short of handing over his entire rear courtyard for them to live in.

In contrast to the Chen Family, which mourned in public but celebrated in private, a pall of grief hung over the Lü Family.

The fall from the heavens into the abyss had happened in the blink of an eye.

In truth, from the moment Zou Tinggui noticed the talent of Lü Yingliang’s son, Lü Yipin, and subsequently laid eyes on the stunning beauty of his daughter, Lü Yunxiu, the entire Lü Family was destined to be nothing more than pawns in another’s game.

Of course, back then, they were only pawns.

But it was the subsequent greed and treachery of Lü Yingliang and Lü Yunxiu, along with Lü Yingliang’s high-profile posturing, that truly sealed the Lü Family’s tragic fate.

The aspirations they held just days ago were like a phantom bubble, bursting at the slightest touch.

From beginning to end, what had the Lü Family gained from it all?

Even now, Lü Yingliang was still deluding himself with the fantasy that Yan Ji had escaped. He believed that once Yan Ji relayed the news to Red Blood Mansion, the Lü Family’s current crisis would be resolved with ease.

Lü Yunxiu harbored the same delusion. During their night of passion, Yan Ji had personally promised her that he would take her as his personal Maid, keep her by his side forever, and teach her the most powerful Cultivation Techniques.

’Yan Ji only lost to that Hidden Guard because he’s still young,’ she thought. ’He’s the Young Sect Leader of Red Blood Mansion! When their elite forces arrive, forget the Chen Family, forget that Guard of the Monarch’s... what would even the Celestial Qi Monarch himself amount to?’

As for Chen Qi’an’s death, she merely felt that he had been a fool who didn’t know his place. He had brought his death upon himself.

However, a world-shaking battle that occurred in Yunzhou City that very night shattered every last one of Lü Yingliang’s and Lü Yunxiu’s fantasies.

Around midnight, Yan Qi arrived in Yunzhou City, accompanied by only a single Elder.

"Fan Chu and the Chen Patriarch! Come out and offer your heads, or not so much as a chicken or dog in Yunzhou City will be left alive!"

Yan Qi hovered high in the air, his furious voice rousing the entire population of Yunzhou City from their sleep.

He did not have to wait long before Nie Shiqiao flew up to face him.

"Sect Leader Yan, to be disturbing the common folk at this late hour... isn’t that a bit inappropriate?" Nie Shiqiao said.

Nie Shiqiao’s appearance immediately sent Yan Qi’s mind racing with possibilities.

He snorted coldly. "Nie Shiqiao, does your Zi Wu Gate intend to interfere in this matter? Are you aware that my son died in Yunzhou City?"

"Sect Leader Yan, I do happen to know something about that," Nie Shiqiao replied. "How can you be unaware of your own son’s nature? He disregarded the cultivators’ pact, ran rampant in the mortal world, and even presumed to kill the Champion Scholar. His skills were inferior and he died at his opponent’s hands. He brought it on himself."

"Nie Shiqiao!" Yan Qi snarled, forcing the name through clenched teeth. "My son died in this city. I don’t care about the reason. Everyone here will be buried with him!"

Nie Shiqiao just smiled. "As long as I’m here, you won’t be able to. I am protecting Yunzhou City, and that’s final."

"You—are courting death!" Yan Qi attacked without another word.

He was truly furious. Although his son had been revived by the black-cloaked figure, Red Blood Mansion had been forced to make an unknown promise in return—a promise that might plunge their entire sect into a state of eternal damnation.

In his eyes, the people of Yunzhou City were merely ants. So what if he slaughtered them all?

He couldn’t believe that even after declaring his son had died here, Nie Shiqiao still dared to stand in his way.

When had he, Yan Qi, ever been treated with such contempt?