At that very moment, on Eastchang Island, a group gathered in the front hall of the Chang Household Grounds, their faces grave as they solemnly discussed their situation.
Suddenly, a richly dressed man at late-stage Qi Refining lost control of his emotions and burst into curses. "Great-grandfather has only just died! His bones aren't even cold, and the island's five households have already joined forces to kick us while we're down. They've gone too far!"
"Exactly! They're hiding behind some mortgage agreement, when they're clearly seizing our property by trickery and force."
"They're utterly inhuman!"
His words drew agreement from those around him, and voices chimed in one after another.
While Li Ling and the others were occupied with the Immortal Abode, they had not forgotten to send Chang Hao's remains back. After the life within his true core had been extinguished, it had slowly grown into a decaying shell, little more than a heap of rotten flesh.
The Chang Household had barely buried him when more terrible news arrived. The other households on Eastchang Island had banded together to squeeze them out, while creditors holding contracts and former business partners harbored ill intentions, hoping to exploit this opportunity.
And they could do nothing about it.
"At this point, we should just hand everything over," someone said sorrowfully. "The Old Ancestor is gone. We can't protect such a vast estate on our own."
Someone agreed. "Yes. It's always been this way, throughout history."
"When the Old Ancestor was alive, he was the strongest member of our lineage. Now we have only a handful at Foundation Establishment... We simply can't hold on to it."
Others objected. "Fools! Do you think they'll spare us if we hand everything over?
"Newly rising powers have no old causes or grudges tying them down, so