Following the sound, everyone looked up to see a youth in green, his face deathly pale, seated just below the head of the family, Zhan Wuyun. He was lightly tapping the tabletop with his long, slender fingers. Occasionally, his lowered eyes would flick up, and the sharp, dazzling glint within them instantly choked off every word of accusation on everyone’s lips.

This position was one of supreme importance, yet a young man barely in his thirties occupied it with total composure, and not a single person present voiced any objection!

The green-robed youth, his expression grim, spoke in a low, even tone: “Everyone, please pay attention! This is not the time for you to assign blame, nor is it the moment for summarizing post-mortem lessons. Rather, we need everyone to pool their wisdom and figure out precisely how this situation should be resolved! Even if you curse them to death or beat them to death now, the event has already transpired. Any further rambling will serve no purpose and bring no benefit! As for the faults of those two, the Family Punishment Hall will deal with them; it is certainly not your place to comment!”

What the youth said was blunt, and his tone was exceptionally frigid, creating an immediate sense of profound unease in those listening. Yet, not a single person present dared to disagree; the moment his voice arose, everyone instantly fell silent!

The reason was simple: this person’s identity made him the most unique figure in the Zhan Family! If the Ethereal Spirit Physique represented the future hope of the entire Misty Illusion Manor, then this individual was the Zhan Family’s hope and its ultimate trump card!

This person was the true paramount figure among the younger generation of the Zhan Family!

Even his own name was self-chosen: Zhan Lunhui!

This Zhan Lunhui was only in his early thirties, yet he already possessed the cultivation level of a Fourth Level Saint, just one step shy of ascending to the Saint Sovereign ranks! He was, without a doubt, an unparalleled genius! Even more commendable was the fact that this man had never formally taken a master, yet his bizarre and eclectic knowledge had earned the admiration of the Zhan Family’s most senior Patriarchs!

In fact, a few mere sentences from Zhan Lunhui had unexpectedly allowed several veteran Zhan Family members, who had been stuck at a bottleneck for ages, to break through their limits!

Zhan Lunhui’s strength and deep foundation were thus plainly evident!

Zhan Qingfeng and Zhan Yushu, biological brothers who were nominally the first and second figures of the younger generation, often competed and vied for recognition between themselves. However, they could only look up to this cousin, who was not significantly older than them, with not the slightest hint of competitive spirit. They had long known that they were simply not on the same plane as Zhan Lunhui; there was no possibility of comparison—the gap was too vast!

“The Ethereal Spirit Physique is rumored to be the optimal body type for cultivators of Mysterious Arts since antiquity! Throughout all ages, only the progenitor of Mysterious Arts, the First Young Master of Nine Nether, possessed such an anomalous physique! And this Mo Junye is the second possessor of the Ethereal Spirit Physique to appear in the history of the Xuanxuan Continent’s Mysterious Arts!”

It was still Zhan Lunhui speaking, his voice remaining flat and utterly devoid of inflection, but everyone present held their breath, listening intently, none daring to utter a sound.

“The greatest benefit of the legendary Ethereal Spirit Physique is that there are no bottlenecks when cultivating any technique! The reason it is called Ethereal Spirit is that within the meridians of its possessor, there are no obstacles that we encounter at certain stages of cultivation—that bottleneck, the most difficult meridian channel to open in any given stage—it is completely ethereal! Entirely free of impurities blocking the way!”

“Possessors of the legendary Ethereal Spirit Physique are truly the darlings of Heaven. Once their cultivation of Profound Qi gets on track, even those so-called reincarnated Immortals carrying millennia of experience are far inferior! The effect is even more pronounced at higher levels! Most people progress slower and slower in later stages, but this is never a restriction for them. Given sufficient time, they will absolutely become terrifying existences beyond imagination. If the possessor also possesses high intelligence, their achievements will inevitably be even more astonishing!”

“And Mo Junye is exactly such a person! Given his intellect and talent, if he is afforded enough space to grow, his future might not be second to the First Young Master of Nine Nether!”

“If I were the person in charge of the Illusion Manor, and a descendant of the Zhan Family committed such an unforgivable error, I fear the entire Zhan Residence would be implicated and suffer! Even if blood flowed like rivers, it would be necessary to shock everyone into never again harboring wicked thoughts toward the possessor of the Ethereal Spirit Physique! Because this person is, in the truest sense, the future pillar of the Illusion Manor.” Following Zhan Lunhui’s speech, large beads of sweat the size of yellow gourds broke out on the foreheads of Zhan Qingfeng and Zhan Yushu, their faces instantly turning waxy yellow.

“Therefore, the Zhan Family absolutely cannot be entangled in this matter! I believe everyone understands the meaning behind my words.”

Zhan Lunhui snorted, his gaze sharp as lightning fixing on Zhan Qingfeng and Zhan Yushu, adding coolly: “The two of you deserve death! At the delicate moment when everything in our Zhan Family is prepared, waiting only for my strength to fully recover so we can dominate the Illusion Manor, you actually cause such a massive disturbance!”

If Jun Moxie were present, he could discern from Zhan Lunhui’s words that Zhan Lunhui must also be the reincarnation of the Spirit Seed of some master. His statement had made that abundantly clear.

“Then, how exactly should this matter be resolved?”

Zhan Wuyun adopted a deferential tone when addressing Zhan Lunhui.

“The reason everyone has been summoned is to make preemptive preparations! This entire matter must be pinned entirely on those six individuals. Regardless of whether they are alive or dead now, they must bear this responsibility! First, swiftly locate the entire families of those six people. Immediately instruct the relevant personnel to fabricate false records, stating that these six individuals harbored resentment toward the Zhan Family because their own family members had previously committed errors, leading to severe abuse and harsh punishments under the strict family rules of the Zhan Family. Every single member of their extended families must be pinned down, unified in their statements. Simultaneously, promises of benefits must be extended to their descendants; once everything settles down, they will naturally be afforded a stable life…”

“The process sounds simple, but the actual execution is extraordinarily complex! This is because their families are likely scattered across various departments within the Zhan Family; the dependents of six Venerables are no small number. Therefore, it may require every single person present to take action, and all the methods of handling must be consolidated and perfectly integrated to manufacture a concrete crime of a treacherous servant harming the master. Only this charge can completely exonerate the Zhan Family! This is the only solution! With absolutely no lingering consequences!”

“Those who achieve great things must have ruthless hearts! This may seem cruel, but this cruelty will preserve the Zhan Family!”

Zhan Lunhui stood up casually, his pale face looking exceptionally uncanny under the candlelight: “The most critical point, which must not be overlooked: you only have this half of the night. All actions must be completed before dawn! If you fail to complete them, then… we shall all commit suicide together!”

With that, Zhan Lunhui placed his hands behind his back and walked out gracefully, not looking back once.

Only when he reached the doorway did he pause briefly: “As for Qingfeng and Yushu, arrange for them to undergo the Nine Nether Soul Refining together; if they die from the suffering, consider that their punishment. If they manage to survive, then our Zhan Family will gain two more experts with boundless potential! So it is settled.”

After speaking, his figure vanished from their sight.

Zhan Qingfeng and Zhan Yushu instantly lost all color from their faces, their legs trembling like plucked pipa strings. They understood the fate that awaited them: enduring the true near-certain death of the ‘Nine Nether Soul Refining.’ Perhaps that agony would be preferable to simply dying quickly! But the destiny of these two brothers had been sealed, because Zhan Lunhui had decreed it so!

The entire Zhan Family sprang into action almost the next instant.

Everyone was working with extreme tension, scurrying about.

From the outside, the Zhan Residence appeared completely normal, unchanged from any other day, but who knew that every single person inside was running about giving their absolute best efforts?…

The Zhan Family was busy; the Miao Family was busy; Cao Guofeng and the others were busy too…

Jun Moxie, the focal point of the entire affair, paradoxically became the most idle person on this night destined for sleeplessness.

However, Young Master Jun shared one thing in common with everyone else: he, too, would be awake all night!

If someone were to check his bedchamber, they would immediately discover a pillow stuffed under the covers, while his person had long since vanished without a trace.

If the five Great Saint Sovereigns guarding the perimeter noticed, they would certainly cry out that a ghost had appeared. Under the full protection of the five of them, the person had disappeared again!

In truth, it wasn’t as dire as seeing a ghost. At this moment, Young Master Jun was inside the Hongjun Pagoda!

The Blood of Yanhuang shimmered, flying back and forth beside Jun Moxie, occasionally letting out a clear, resonant sword cry.

The one who achieved merit tonight was precisely the divine sword, the Blood of Yanhuang!

After silently summoning it, Jun Moxie had eliminated those six enemies one by one with hardly any effort. And the Blood of Yanhuang, having drunk deeply of the blood of the strong, had an increasingly sharp, aggressive murderous aura.

This sword, tempered continuously by Jun Moxie’s own divine soul, was growing increasingly spiritual, almost possessing a consciousness of its own! If previously, after absorbing human blood, it would indiscriminately absorb all the nourishment, today it was different—it emanated all the malevolent energy outward!

Now, the Blood of Yanhuang had taken form!

What it currently lacked was nothing more than endless streams of blood to irrigate it, allowing it to mature into a true, fully realized Flying Sword!

Traveling a thousand li in a single stroke, traversing the world, it would no longer be limited to operating only when being wielded!

By then, the fully grown Blood of Yanhuang would possess astonishing power on its own!

(To be continued. If you wish to know what happens next, check out more chapters, support the author, and read the legitimate version!)