Annihilate the Clan

Hiss!

The crescent-shaped cyan wind blade swept through the air like a nimble swallow, crossing a dozen zhang in a single breath before slicing across the neck of Third Brother, who stood frozen in place.

With a dull, squelching thud, Third Brother, his mind roaring and consciousness sinking into chaos, failed to make any reaction at all before his head tumbled to the ground.

His headless corpse remained standing in place, blood gushing from his neck like a fountain.

At the entrance of the main hall, Shen Changchuan's figure had appeared silently at some point.

He held the Soul-Absorbing Bell in his left hand and dragged Zhao Hangao's body in his right.

A flicker of joy flashed in his eyes as he looked at the Soul-Absorbing Bell in his hand.

This was truly a supreme weapon for magical combat.

With just a single, instantaneous strike, Third Brother, who was at the fifth level of the Qi Induction Realm, had been unable to make any reaction before being effortlessly slain by him.

Although the process consumed a rather large amount of magical power, with such a magical artifact, he feared there were few who could be his match beneath the late stage of the Qi Induction Realm!

It was simply invincible!

A satisfied Shen Changchuan tucked the Soul-Absorbing Bell back into his sleeve.

He dragged Zhao Hangao's body into the main hall, and tossed him onto the floor.

"Did you see clearly just now? The deaths of these people, and the devastation of Zhao Family Village, seem to be the work of those 'guests' you invited."

As he spoke, a faint trace of mockery curled the corners of Shen Changchuan's mouth.

"Inviting a wolf into the house and bringing disaster upon yourself—I must say, Brother Zhao, this move of yours truly leaves me in awe."

At this moment, the battle in the woods twenty miles away

had already ended half an hour ago.

Half an hour earlier, Shen Changchuan, having finished clearing the battlefield, did not immediately return to Dawan Village. Instead, he found a secluded corner nearby to meditate and recover the magical power within his body.

In order to recover his magical power as quickly as possible, Shen Changchuan had even exhausted the spiritual energy within two Spirit Stones.

He had finally recovered eighty to ninety percent of his magical power, and the mental exhaustion he had suffered was also largely restored.

His combat strength had thus been recovered as well.

At that time, Shen Changchuan had initially planned to take Zhao Hangao back to Dawan Village and extract information from him regarding the people who had ambushed him.

But he soon realized something.

During the outbreak of the battle, the Scar-Faced Man had clearly addressed the weakest one, the fourth-level Qi Induction Realm practitioner, as Fourth Brother.

With only three people, why was the youngest called Fourth Brother?

Did this not imply

that they still had an accomplice ranked third?

Thinking of this, Shen Changchuan became somewhat restless.

Heaven knows if this failed ambush, should a fish slip through the net, would it bring more trouble later on?

Moreover, although Zhao Hangao's Zhao clan of cultivators was small, they had managed Zhao Family Village for many years and surely must have accumulated some wealth.

For Shen Changchuan, who was currently penniless, it was best not to let it go to waste.

And so, Shen Changchuan took Zhao Hangao and turned back, heading in the direction of Zhao Family Village.

When they were still only a few miles away from Zhao Family Village, they saw black smoke rising from the direction of the village from afar.

Upon approaching rapidly, it was indeed discovered that more than half of Zhao Family Village had already been reduced to ruins, with flames roaring and burning high.

Considering that he would need to extract intelligence from Zhao Hangao's mind later, Shen Changchuan splashed him awake with cold water, letting him witness the scenes before his eyes with his own gaze, the better to plant a seed within the man's heart.

Afterward, with the aid of the Spirit Eye Technique, Shen Changchuan tracked the culprit's trail all the way to the main hall in the center of the village.

He happened to witness the exact moment Third Brother stabbed Zhao Jingming to death.

"Brother Zhao, as the saying goes, every debt has a debtor and every grievance has a source. That man killed your son, slaughtered a multitude of your family and kin, and ruined your village. Such a deep grudge—I can now consider myself to have avenged you."

"In return, I wish to know the identities of these people and the reason they took action against me. That is not too much to ask, is it?"

Shen Changchuan said in a haunting voice.

However, Zhao Hangao did not respond.

At this moment, Zhao Hangao stared blankly at Zhao Jingming's corpse not far away.

His eyes were devoid of spirit, and he knelt halfway beside Zhao Jingming's body, the scenes of the village littered with corpses constantly flashing through his mind, while he muttered "sinful, it is all sinful" and similar words under his breath.

In this moment, the man seemed to have turned into a sixty-year-old man in his twilight years, on the verge of dying of old age.

It was as if the final breath he had been holding onto had completely dissipated.

Shen Changchuan glanced at him.

He did not speak again to provoke him.

This was a good thing for Shen Changchuan.

In this way, with his psychological defenses collapsed, it seemed that after returning, he should be able to dig up even more information.

This was quite fine.

Zhao Hangao's dantian had already been crippled, and he could no longer stir up any trouble; Shen Changchuan no longer paid him any heed, leaving him where he was.

He walked out of the village's main hall, his figure leaping lightly into the air to stand at the highest point.

Facing the raging fire in the village before him and the deathly silent forests in every direction, he shouted aloud:

"I am Shen Changchuan, the Immortal Master guarding Dawan Village. The bandits who attacked this village have all been executed. Villagers of this place, return quickly to handle the aftermath of the village!"

With the aid of his magic power, Shen Changchuan's voice rang through the forests, echoing over the vast valley.

Shen Changchuan shouted it three times in succession.

However, clearly, having endured such a terrifying disaster, few of those who had luckily survived dared to step forward.

Fortunately, just as Shen Changchuan was becoming somewhat impatient, a few people finally emerged from the forest one after another, and following that, more and more people came out.

With sobbing cries, they began to clean up the devastated Zhao Family Village.

Subsequently, Shen Changchuan selected a new acting village head from among the first few who had emerged that day.

He instructed them to temporarily handle the affairs of Zhao Family Village, to stabilize the situation for the time being.

At the same time, He also sent people to Dawan Village to deliver a message, asking his grandfather Han Qinhu to bring some men over here.

Having endured this catastrophe, Zhao Family Village had suffered heavy losses, and that Third Brother had been extremely ruthless in his actions, killing everyone who shared a direct bloodline with the Zhao family, the minor cultivation clan of Zhao Family Village.

It could be said that they had been wiped out.

As a result, Zhao Family Village was now effectively ownerless.

After all, there were two mu of spirit fields, and since they had been delivered right to his doorstep, Shen Changchuan naturally had no intention of letting them go.

Having Han Qinhu bring men over

was clearly intended to establish actual control over this place.

"Since Zhao Hangao dared to plot against me, and I have successfully countered him, these assets should rightfully be my spoils of war!"

Although Zhao Hangao was not yet dead, Shen Changchuan felt no qualms about occupying the two mu of spirit fields in Zhao Family Village.

Who told Zhao Hangao to collude with outsiders to kill him?

The assassination attempt failed, and instead, he was countered;

everything on his person naturally became his spoils.

"However, outsiders must not know the truth of this matter."

"To prevent rumors from spreading, I must use facts to silence the wagging tongues!"

A flash of light crossed Shen Changchuan's eyes.

He remembered the three corpses inside his Storage Bag.

At first, he had placed those three bodies into his Storage Bag just in case.

If Zhao Hangao refused to talk, he could have used the appearance of those three men to trace their origins.

But now, there was clearly a better use for them!

Immediately, Shen Changchuan issued another order, instructing his subordinates to send word to the cultivators in charge of the six villages under the banner of Dawan Village, telling them to come to Zhao Family Village as quickly as possible.

The corpses of the enemies who had ambushed him, the tragic state of Zhao Family Village, the killer, and the truth would all be laid out before the others.

"With both human and physical evidence present,"

"while some might still harbor doubts, it won't be a major issue; most people will accept this outcome."

"And my acquisition of these two mu of spirit fields won't face any significant opposition."

Shen Changchuan pondered to himself.