Chapter 1496 - 435: Second Uncle, Second Uncle—

The woman who merely wanted to get rid of her malicious husband now harbored a towering hatred in her heart.

It seemed that this blood debt would all be settled with the Liu Family.

Suddenly, Yun Jiumei looked up, her long phoenix eyes narrowing slightly, as if she sensed something, casting a glance in the direction where Zhou Qing was.

Zhou Qing nonchalantly withdrew his gaze and turned to look in another direction.

A man wearing a bamboo hat stood silently at the edge of the ruins, two long swords slung across his back.

His whole body trembled slightly, and although he tried to suppress it, Zhou Qing could still feel the extremely repressed killing intent.

Moreover, his figure and outline were inexplicably familiar.

Very soon, Zhou Qing seemed to realize something—Shen Liyang, the head of the third house of the Shen Family.

No, strictly speaking, Shen Liyang was already dead; the person before him was the Second Nascent Soul who inherited Shen Liyang’s memories and appearance.

Or rather, they were the same person!

Almost simultaneously, discussions erupted around the ruins.

"Heh, the Shen Family, ranked fifth in Nanhuang State, is gone just like that?"

A cultivator with a sallow complexion kicked away a fragment of the Shen Family’s emblem with a sneer, "There wasn’t a hint of warning beforehand; it’s like a dream."

His companion nervously rubbed his hands and whispered, "I heard it was the Liu Family and Yan Family working together, and even the Celestial Phoenix Palace had a hand in it... What ill fate did the Shen Family bring upon themselves?"

"I have some news..." An elderly man with a stooped back leaned in, faintly exuding the pressure of the Spirit Severing Realm: "The madman Family Head Shen Canghai escaped severely injured. If he survives..."

He suddenly fell silent, cautiously surveying the surroundings before continuing, "A late-stage Supreme Realm mad dog, now with nothing to lose, might be enough to give those families a hard time."

"As far as I know," the old man added, "the ancestors of the Shen Family and the Liu Family each possess a half-step Inscription-Level Divine Technique. The Liu Family ancestor was taking a risk because his lifespan was nearing its end..."

"You’re telling me they wiped out an entire family for half a divine technique?" A young cultivator widened his eyes in disbelief.

"Three techniques!" The hunchbacked old man raised three fingers excitedly, then cautiously lowered his voice: "Shen Hanyi had one, and even more astonishing is that Zhou Qing..."

His Adam’s apple bobbed as he spoke with difficulty: "He possesses two Inscription-Level Divine Techniques all by himself!"

"Three techniques? How can that be possible?" someone nearby scoffed, "Do you really think Inscription-Level Divine Techniques are as common as cabbages?"

"Ignorant!" a cultivator in luxurious clothing sneered, "According to reliable information, Shen Hanyi of the Shen Family indeed possessed an Inscription-Level Divine Technique, and it was stolen from the Celestial Phoenix Palace."

"Celestial Phoenix Palace? Stolen by Shen Hanyi?" Everyone gasped.

"Hush—" The lavishly dressed cultivator made a shushing gesture, "This is something we know but don’t talk about."

"The Celestial Phoenix Palace originally came to seek secret techniques, but unexpectedly, the Shen Family’s Master Qingzhou—oh, his real name is Zhou Qing—actually possesses two Inscription-Level Divine Techniques on his own!"

"What? This person has such fortune?"

"Indeed," the luxurious cultivator said, producing a bounty order from his sleeve, "The Liu Family and Yan Family have now distributed his image across the world, and merely providing a clue is worth five hundred top-grade spirit stones!"

"Heavens! One clue is worth so much?"

"Why not?" the hunchbacked old man sneered, "He’s a mid-stage Spirit Severing Realm fourth-level Array Master, and with two Inscription-Level Divine Techniques at his side, who can dare to deal with him?"

"Then... what about Shen Hanyi?" someone timidly asked.

The scene suddenly fell into dead silence.

After a long pause, the lavishly dressed cultivator solemnly said, "Dead. Vice Palace Master Bai Fengyin of the Celestial Phoenix Palace personally confirmed it and dared Zhou Qing to seek revenge against him..."

He glanced around at everyone, adding meaningfully, "Isn’t this obviously a trap?"

...

Zhou Qing quietly listened to the discussions around him, slowly closing his eyes.

During this time, he had roared, been angry, and wept.

Having gone through so much, he had become numb and learned to restrain all kinds of emotions in his heart.

Now, he was like a poisoned blade, waiting for the moment to be unsheathed.

Once everything was settled, once the Blood Phoenix Bone at the Desolate Forbidden was found, he would first hone his blade with the blood of the Liu Family.

Next was the Yan Family, and finally... the Celestial Phoenix Palace.

Everyone who directly or indirectly caused Han Yi’s death would pay the price.

From within a bamboo basket came a slight rustling sound.

Zhou Qing turned and checked the protective restrictions three times, ensuring that those resentful thoughts would not taint the little guy, then he stepped into the dense swirl of persistent emotions to search for Shen Yunzhou.

Meanwhile, in this dead-silent ruin, nobody noticed an inconspicuous gray-brown stone slowly shifting.

It cleverly used the shadows of the broken walls, moving only inches at a time to avoid detection.

For several days, this stubborn rock crawled bit by bit toward the perimeter of the Shen Family.

Each time a shadow passed by, it immediately froze, perfectly camouflaging as an ordinary piece of debris.

Finally, today, it suddenly accelerated!

The round stone body agilely tumbled amidst the rubble, rolling out of the Shen Family’s boundary and ultimately stopping in a weed-covered hollow.

"Puff—"

The stone split open with two crevices, revealing a pair of round, shifty eyes.

Soon after, the stone’s center opened into an exaggeratedly large mouth, "Wah," spitting out a figure covered in blood.

It was Shen Yunzhou!

His distinctive yellow hair was soaked in blood and dirt, clumping into dark red chunks.

Moreover, a black-and-gold dung beetle crawled out from his collar, anxiously poking at his cheek with its antennae.