Perhaps Xiao Leizhen's mind had truly gone soft, for he glared with intense malice at the Corpse Emperor, the True Man Baishui, and the True Man Hanzhe who stood beside him. Pointing a finger at the trio, he sneered, "Grandfather, it was them! It was them! Not only did they insult my Xiao family ancestors, but they also mocked the idea of allowing a bastard into the ancestral hall, and letting a woman whose purity was ruined into the Xiao family burial grounds! They even—"

Xiao Leizhen’s words were cut short. The moment Du Kate heard the word "ruined woman," he instantly entered a berserk state.

An enraged roar, like the blast of a giant ship’s whistle, erupted from Du Kate’s nostrils. He expelled two jets of white vapor, and the Floating Clouds and Flowing Water Armor rapidly enveloped his body. A streak of afterimage flashed past; Du Kate crossed over ten meters in a single stride, appearing instantly before Xiao Leizhen. A rising uppercut smashed into Xiao Leizhen’s jaw.

Xiao Leizhen screamed as he was launched over a hundred meters into the air. His jawbone and mandible were completely pulverized. His two rows of large teeth smashed against each other, shattering into fragments. Sharp shards embedded themselves into his laryngeal muscles and tongue, and blood jetted from his mouth like a fountain. Du Kate roared to the heavens, "Insult my kin, die!" Bringing his hands together, the armor on Du Kate’s arms swiftly flowed and transformed, becoming a high-energy cannon with a caliber of about fifty centimeters. A crimson beam of light erupted from the muzzle, striking directly toward Xiao Leizhen.

Gu Xiechen frowned. His body flashed suddenly, and he arrived next to Xiao Leizhen. His Flying Waterfall Sleeves stirred up a sheet of water vapor that swept away the light beam fired by Du Kate.

"Why the internal strife, why injure those of the same root? General Xiao Liefeng, Chairman Xiao Yusheng, you must discipline the young members of your Xiao family properly." Throwing the unconscious and pained Xiao Leizhen heavily onto the ground, Gu Xiechen sneered, "These three are the Corpse Emperor, Master of the Nine Nether Dao; True Man Baishui, Master of Kunlun; and True Man Hanzhe, Master of Zhongnan Mountain. Do you believe they would utter insults against your Xiao family?"

The faces of Xiao Liefeng and Xiao Yusheng instantly turned deathly pale, their complexion shifting with a whoosh. They looked at the Corpse Emperor and the others with terror. When the Corpse Emperor had acted to subdue the White Jade Witch King that day, they had hidden inside the mothership and had not witnessed the Corpse Emperor’s divine might firsthand—otherwise, Xiao Leizhen would never have made such a colossal mistake as to deploy such childish, petty ghost realm tricks right in front of the Corpse Emperor.

The Corpse Emperor pursed his thin lips coldly and smiled, "This Seat never insults people. This Seat only kills."

The faces of the Xiao family members grew even paler. Several young Xiao descendants, around the same age as Xiao Leizhen, found their legs turning to jelly and collapsed onto the ground in a sorry state. The Corpse Emperor snorted with even greater displeasure, "If not for the thread of affinity between your Xiao family and my Nine Nether Dao, if not for the sake of Senior Brother Evil Sword, all of you would be dead today!"

Gu Xiechen stepped in to smooth things over, smiling heartily as he cupped his hands toward Xiao Liefeng and Xiao Yusheng. "A misunderstanding, a misunderstanding. It was all due to Colonel Xiao Leizhen’s unclear communication—it’s all a misunderstanding. Ah well, we are all family here. Hmm… we are preparing to return to Earth now. Ms. Xiao Yiqiu’s coffin is aboard the mothership we are using. Are the promises you two once made still valid?"

Xiao Liefeng frowned and remained silent. Du Kate had audaciously knocked out Xiao Leizhen, who was his most beloved grandson next to the deceased Xiao Leiting. His impression of Du Kate had worsened considerably. Xiao Yusheng, meanwhile, struck a pose, leaning back with his hands clasped behind his back, affecting an air of deep contemplation. He neither agreed nor disagreed, deliberately maintaining a posture of deliberation, hoping Du Kate or Gu Xiechen would offer him an opening—it would be even better if Du Kate would humble himself and plead with him in front of so many people.

After a long silence, Gu Xiechen’s smile froze. A surge of anger welled up from the bottom of his heart, and he cast an unfriendly glance at Xiao Liefeng and his son.

The Corpse Emperor, True Man Baishui, and True Man Hanzhe exchanged glances, then simultaneously let out cold laughs, vanishing into three streaks of flowing light. They had no interest in managing these affairs, nor any need to intervene. In their eyes, the Xiao family didn't even qualify as ants—beings that could be crushed with a casual gesture. They didn't even have the energy to be angry with them.

However, as they departed, True Man Baishui intentionally or unintentionally reminded Poison Wolf: Poison Wolf helping the Xiao family rise to power meant they truly believed themselves to be the superiors.

Poison Wolf’s expression immediately darkened. His eyes flickered toward Xiao Liefeng and Xiao Yusheng as he mumbled vaguely to himself. Adversity reveals true strength; an ordinary man can share prosperity but not wealth? Or perhaps the Xiao family believed that the position of Chairman of the Federal Council they held, just like Qiao An back then, could allow them to contend with Poison Wolf?

Nonsense! A murderous intent surged within Poison Wolf.

But he instantly put on a benevolent smile and hurried over to the increasingly grim-faced Gu Xiechen, eagerly mediating between the two parties. Perhaps due to a shred of fear and awe toward Poison Wolf, Xiao Liefeng agreed to Gu Xiechen and Poison Wolf’s terms with a noncommittal attitude, stating that the previous agreement remained valid.

Gu Xiechen turned back with a light laugh, exchanging a cryptic glance with Du Kanhua.

Du Kanhua leaned carelessly against Little Daoist Zhang, slowly puffing on a cigar, his deep gaze fixed intently on Xiao Liefeng and his son.

Two days later, Chairman Xiao Yusheng of the Federal Council and his entourage, having concluded their inspection of Paradise Star, returned to Earth under the escort of the Federal Thirteen Star Domain Garrison Commander, Federal General Du Kate. Chairman Poison Wolf of the Federal Military Department remained on Paradise Star to oversee the detailed arrangements for the overall relocation of the Earth Federation. Queen Yafike Fuya Ming, serving as a Senior Consultant specially appointed by the Earth Federation Government, actively participated in the initial construction of the Paradise Star defense system. The fifty super-motherships brought back by Gu Xiechen were disassembled one by one under Fuya Ming’s direction.

A small interlude during this process was the sudden onset of cerebral hemorrhage and paralysis in the Director of the Federal Academy of Sciences and several high-ranking Vice Directors. The military industrial research system directly under the Federal Military Department took complete control of the Federal Academy of Sciences, dismantling the entrenched conservative elements within the academy system, along with the researchers from Hadu Defense Company.

Xiao Yusheng made an appearance at the Federal Council Headquarters, announcing the decision to migrate the entire population to Paradise Star. Immediately afterward, he vanished, never to be seen again. Meanwhile, at the Xiao family’s ancestral residence—a town in the southeastern part of the ancient Huaguo region, preserved in the style of an ancient Jiangnan water town and designated as a protected cultural site by the Federation—the ceremony for Du Kate’s return to the Xiao family and the ritual for Xiao Yiqiu’s interment in the ancestral grave were proceeding slowly and arduously, like an old ox pulling a broken cart.

As Gu Xiechen and his group arrived at the Xiao ancestral home, they were met with cold stares and unwelcome treatment. Every person in the town was surnamed Xiao, and all were related to the Xiao family to some degree. The atmosphere in the entire town was like an ancient graveyard on an autumn night—chilling, suffocating, and bone-piercing. Gu Xiechen's party was utterly isolated.

In a side courtyard of the Xiao ancestral home, within the main hall facing due north, Xiao Yiqiu’s coffin was surrounded by an abundance of pine and cypress. The courtyard was strewn with paper money. Dressed in full Daoist robes, holding peach-wood swords and jingling bronze bells, Daoist Master Zhengyi and Little Daoist Zhang danced within the courtyard, treading the Yu steps, channeling qi, and murmuring Daoist scriptures for salvation.

If the cultivators in the Daoist world were to witness such a salvation ceremony being performed by the beloved disciples of the Masters of Kunlun and Zhongnan Mountain, it would surely shock a great many of them to death.

At the entrance of the hall stood a large basin made of pure gold, inside which a fierce flame burned. Dressed in mourning clothes, Gu Xiechen and Siren squatted on either side of the basin, slowly tossing paper money into the flames. Gu Xiechen rolled his eyes, contemplating matters, while Siren mumbled curses under his breath, "Vagrant ghosts, scram, or I’ll make sure you can’t even be ghosts anymore. Auntie Xiao Yiqiu, hurry up and collect the money… Uh, Boss, can souls even spend money?"

Raising his hand, Gu Xiechen sharply slapped Siren’s head and muttered weakly, "Tradition. This is an ancient Huaguo tradition. Auntie was Huaguo, so we do everything according to tradition."

Turning his head to look at Daoist Master Zhengyi and Little Daoist Zhang who were dancing in the courtyard, and then at Siren squatting opposite him, Gu Xiechen couldn't help but chuckle, "This setup is a bit excessive. But that’s fine. It shows our sincerity. Hmm… Little Zhang, can you stop reciting the same scripture over and over?"

Little Daoist Zhang rolled his eyes resentfully at Gu Xiechen. While he was a Daoist, he was a cultivator practicing the art of longevity, not a professional Maoshan Daoist specializing in soul salvation or demon/ghost capture. The only salvation scripture he knew was one he had learned out of curiosity while carousing with a few drinking buddies. Given his status, why would he bother learning such crude, superficial tricks?

Daoist Master Zhengyi, who was also dancing energetically, suddenly stopped his Yu steps. He brazenly pulled a wine gourd from his sleeve, took a few swigs of old liquor, and naturally offered the gourd to Little Daoist Zhang, "Aged Erguotou, want some? Ah, leaving Master behind, the world feels so much wider."

Looking at Daoist Master Zhengyi’s bright, sharp eyes, Little Daoist Zhang asked in surprise, "The Kunlun rules are strict; you are forbidden from drinking!"

Daoist Master Zhengyi nonchalantly stuffed the wine gourd back into his sleeve. "Master doesn't know, so I haven't broken any rules." Wiping the last traces of wine from the corner of his mouth, he energetically resumed his dancing.

Gu Xiechen and Little Daoist Zhang both smiled. It seemed this Daoist Master Zhengyi was also an interesting friend worth knowing. The excuse, "If Master doesn't know, I haven't broken the rules," was quite noteworthy.

Siren, rolling his eyes, sneakily cast sidelong glances toward the Xiao family servants tasked with replacing the incense and candles inside the mourning hall. All the servants sent in were young, beautiful, and graceful maidens. Although their faces were set in grim expressions, their delicate figures were emphasized by the coarse hemp mourning clothes. These similarly clad girls possessed a strange allure set off by the white linen. Siren’s gaze lingered unmovingly on their chests and hips, nearly drooling.