Blood Saber Ancestor swore profusely, "You Zhao family only know how to put on a show. A few days ago, Ancestor here was fooled by your sweet talk. Today you won't be able to deceive me again. Hurry up and bring that young lad out, otherwise, don't blame Ancestor here for taking action!"
At these words, the handsome elder's complexion stiffened, and he immediately furrowed his brow tightly.
The Blood Saber Ancestor was an Innate Grandmaster, and aside from the third grand uncle, no one in the Zhao family could match him, but the third grand uncle was already ninety-five this year, and it was still unknown whether he could be a match for the Blood Saber Ancestor.
"Do we have to ask great-aunt to take action again? But she always has been indifferent to worldly matters. And Jie is still hiding with her. If..."
The handsome elder was named Zhao Xuanyi, the current Family Head of the Zhao family, and the father of Zhao Yujie.
Just as Zhao Xuanyi was in a dilemma, a figure, old and feeble, using a jade cane for support, staggered from the rear hall, appearing before everyone.
"Haha, I was just wondering who could make such a big commotion? Turns out it's you, Chang Xuedao. No wonder!"
Upon seeing the newcomer, Chang Meng immediately became much more cautious. Although he reined in some of his arrogance, he still mocked, "Old Zhao, so you're still not dead yet? But looking at you panting for breath, whether you can even draw your sword is another matter."
Unperturbed, the old man smiled and patted his cane, "The Jade Sword Young Master of the past is long dead, now there's only an old man with a solitary cane left. But I'm tired of living anyway, how about I take you with me?"
Hearing this, Chang Meng couldn't help but narrow his eyes, sitting upright and watching Zhao Zhijing with a wary expression.
Even though he was in his prime while the other was already so aged he was almost unrecognizable, no one dared to underestimate the desperate strike of an Innate Martial Sect, even if he had only a breath left in him.
"You old immortal, you dare to threaten me?" Chang Meng eyed Zhao Zhijing up and down and suddenly said viciously.
"How could that be! I just fear a lonely journey. I'm merely seeking someone pleasing to the eye to keep me company," Zhao Zhijing explained at a leisurely pace.
It was at this moment that the Taoist with a child-like face and crane hair suddenly spoke.
"Mr. Zhao has misunderstood. Mr. Chang actually means no harm. He simply saw that your family's third young master is intelligent and an excellent martial arts prospect. Overjoyed by the hunt, he has come here to voluntarily propose to take him as a disciple."
"Take as a disciple? It's more likely a lamb walking into the tiger's mouth!" Zhao Zhijing inwardly sneered repeatedly, while secretly pondering, "Why are these two so fixated on Yu Jie? Could it be that the news of Yu Jie having the Spirit Root has inadvertently leaked out?"
A family knows their own affairs best.
While it may seem he is ever-ready to take someone down with him, in reality, he was utterly incapable of doing so.
Two years ago, he had already broken his power, and all his Innate True Qi had dissipated.
But the old saying goes, a tiger, even if old, does not fall easily!
Zhao Zhijing maintained a calm expression and shook his head resolutely, refusing, "Your kindness is appreciated by the Zhao family, but our family's studies have deep roots, and our Floating Light Sword Skill combined with the Cloud Dragon Three Changes are unmatched in Ganzhou, not requiring outsiders to instruct our children and grandchildren."
After hearing this, the Blood Saber Ancestor burst into an angry laugh, "Well then, toasting you won't work, forcing you to drink a forfeit! It seems today that Ancestor here cannot refrain from taking action."
Seeing that the words had reached a deadlock, the four Zhao Family Elders and Family Head Zhao Xuanyi immediately stood up to block the other party, looking extremely serious.
The disciples of the Blood Saber Sect, likewise, showed no weakness, swiftly drawing their sabers. They only awaited Ancestor's command to strike and annihilate the Zhao family.
As a fight seemed inevitable, a hoarse old voice suddenly came from outside the door, "Who was it that said they wanted to take action in my Zhao Family's home?"
While speaking, Zhao Sheng, carrying an urn, slowly stepped into the reception hall, followed closely by the coachman Zhao Er.
Seeing the newcomer was an old man and also one-armed, the Blood Saber Ancestor couldn't help but mock, "Where did this old cripple come from? Daring to upbraid Ancestor here. Disciples, go, show no mercy!"
"Yes, Ancestor!"
The Blood Saber disciples boomed in agreement, aware that their Ancestor was out to kill for a show of power.
Immediately a group of disciples in red, holding their sabers upside down, charged at Zhao Sheng at high speed.
"Be careful!" the Zhao Family elders cried out, ready to take action and assist.
At this moment, Zhao Sheng gave the coachman a brief glance:
"Zhao Er!"
Before his words had fully fallen, the coachman Zhao Er suddenly plunged into the crowd of Blood-clothed People. A streak of emerald-colored Innate Qi Sword burst forth from his palm, and no disciple of the Blood Saber Sect could withstand this terrifying sword attack. One by one, they were decapitated and fell into pools of blood.
"An Innate Grandmaster?!"
"The Emerald Tide Technique?!"
Chang Meng and Zhao Xuanyi both exclaimed almost simultaneously.
At this time, Chang Meng, the Blood Saber Ancestor, felt as if he had just eaten a bitter melon, his mouth awash with bitterness and his heart filled with shock. "Who on earth is this person? How can a mere attendant also be an Innate Martial Sect master?"
Zhao Zhijing looked intently at the one-armed old man a few steps away, feeling incredibly familiar with him, as if he had seen him somewhere before.
Zhao Sheng also looked back at the other man and couldn't help but feel emotional, saying, "Third brother, so many years have passed, and you've grown old too!"
"Ninth brother? You're Ninth, Zhao Zhiqin? How is it possible!" Zhao Zhijing could hardly believe his eyes.
Ninth, Zhao Zhiqin, had been missing for fifty years.
He had never imagined that the two would have the chance to see each other again.
Zhao Sheng said with an emotional expression: "Third brother, I am Zhao Zhiqin, I have truly returned."
After learning the identity of the newcomer, Zhao Xuanyi's whole body trembled, and his face instantly revealed an extremely complicated expression, "Is this... the grandfather father often mentioned?"
The other four Zhao Family Elders heard the newcomer claim to be the legendary third Innate Grandmaster of the Zhao family, Zhao Zhiqin.
Wasn't it rumored that he had long been dead?
Now the Zhao Family Elders were utterly confused and couldn't figure out the truth of the matter.
"Ninth, where have you been all these years? Why didn't you come back earlier? They've all died, our older brothers and elders, all dead! Even Chenggong and Chengli, these younger generations, are also gone. Now only I barely cling to life. You... why didn't you come back sooner!"
By the end of his talk, Zhao Zhijing couldn't help but let the old tears flow, his face full of misery and desolation.
Zhao Sheng's whole body shook violently, as he just heard a name he least wanted to hear.
Chenggong?!
His eldest son had already passed away. So he had ultimately chosen to return to the Zhao family.
An older person burying a younger one! There is no greater sorrow in this world.
Yet even more painful was the fact that, when his son passed away, he as a father hadn't only failed to see him for one last time but also didn't know when... it had happened.
Zhao Sheng was definitely not a qualified father.
He had once personally put his seven flesh and blood onto a carriage, and then watched, wide-eyed, as they each set off towards unknown horizons.
At this moment, Zhao Sheng's heart was suddenly filled with extreme bitterness; he had thought he was rational enough, but... he was wrong!
Just then, the Blood Saber Ancestor suddenly stood up and said cautiously, "Well... I have some matters to attend to, so I will take my leave first."
Noisy!
Zhao Sheng was suddenly snapped out of his thoughts by Chang Meng's interruption, and a nameless anger suddenly surged in his heart.
Noise!
Zhao Sheng's clothing suddenly moved without wind, his aura as an Innate Extreme Martial Artist explosively erupted, instantly "submerging" the entire reception hall like a massive wave.
In that moment, the air seemed to solidify.
Blood Saber Ancestor, caught off guard, bulged his eyes out, seeing nothing but blood before him, with endless killing intent rushing towards him.
For a moment, he felt his limbs icy cold and stiff, a chill seeping through his neck, and he seemed to smell the scent of blood.
The next instant, Chang Meng suddenly felt dizzy, his vision elevated significantly, but it quickly fell, and finally, a headless corpse wearing a long red robe appeared in his view.
"It looks very familiar. Who is it? It seems like—"
The next moment, he suddenly plunged into boundless darkness, but just as he lost his last bit of consciousness, Chang Meng suddenly realized, "...It seems like... it's me!"
However, to everyone else, all they saw was Blood Saber Ancestor's head suddenly, without any warning, falling off his neck as soon as the noise erupted.
But there was one who witnessed the entire process of Zhao Sheng's action.
This person was the old Taoist from Chang Meng's side.
He saw an incredibly fast blue light fly out from the sleeve of the one-armed elder, passing through Blood Saber Ancestor's neck instantly, as easy as slicing a watermelon.
Besides, he didn't sense any fluctuation of spiritual energy.
However, this only made it seem even more terrifying!
"Senior, spare my life!" The old Taoist suddenly knelt down with a thud, kowtowing continuously to Zhao Sheng, begging for mercy.
The Zhao Family Elders, seeing Blood Saber Ancestor being dealt with so easily, were greatly delighted and looked at Zhao Sheng with awe and closeness.
At this moment, Zhao Sheng quickly calmed down from his anger.
His complexion was calm, as if he had just done something trivial.
In fact, this deed truly was trivial.
Over the years, Zhao Sheng had killed more than two dozen Qi Refining Immortal Cultivators, so what was an Innate Grandmaster worth mentioning.
Zhao Sheng paid no heed to the old Taoist but looked towards Zhao Zhijing.
Zhao Zhijing coughed once and said to the old Taoist, "Explain the situation clearly, and you may live. But if there's any concealment, I will make your life worse than death!"
Seeing this, the old Taoist was overjoyed, immediately spilling all the antecedents and consequences.
It turned out that three months ago, Liang Kingdom's Black Ice Platform suddenly issued a secret bounty mission. The mission was to "invite" Zhao Family's third young master, Zhao Yujie, to Qingfeng City, the capital of Liang Kingdom.
Blood Saber Ancestor Chang Meng was not only a Martial World magnate but also a gold medal client elder of the Black Ice Platform.
He, coveting the hefty bounty, had quickly taken up this task.
However, after arriving in Nanyang City, Chang Meng couldn't find Zhao Yujie's whereabouts, so he resorted to using the guise of taking in disciples to track down Zhao Yujie.
"...So we really only wanted to invite your esteemed house's third young master to make a trip to Qingfeng City; there really was no malicious intent. Please, senior, raise your esteemed hand and spare this humble one's life." The old Taoist frantically looked at Zhao Sheng after finishing his plea.
After Zhao Zhijing understood the whole situation, his expression darkened, as if he had a tough decision to make.
But Zhao Xuanyi and the four family elders suddenly revealed expressions of sudden realization.
So that was it!
"It appears that Dongling Duke's avaricious intentions haven't ceased; our Zhao family has repeatedly refused him, yet he still wishes to forcibly wed Yu Jie. Absolutely unreasonable!" an elder spoke angrily.
Yet, Zhao Xuanyi just wore a face full of bitter smiles.
Dongling Duke was a collateral member of the Liang Family, part of Liang Kingdom's imperial family, and the Liang Family was also a Foundation Establishment Cultivation Family.
The reason Dongling Duke was so persistent was probably not just to seek a son-in-law but possibly to use Jie as a breeding tool.
The elders didn't know the details; thus they couldn't understand Dongling Duke's insane actions.
You must know that the descendants of cultivators do not necessarily have Spirit Roots, and most are mortals. Moreover, the rate at which Spirit Roots are born in successive generations declines swiftly.
If five consecutive generations lack Spirit Roots, it means that descendants with Spirit Roots will not be born in the future.
The Dongling Duke family is now facing such an extremely embarrassing situation.
At that moment, Zhao Zhijing had made a decision.
He began to command, "Xuan Yong, Xuanxin, the two of you take this person down and interrogate him again to see if any details were missed. Xuanhua and Xuanwei, you two take people and clean this place up."
"Yes, Great Uncle," the four Zhao family elders immediately bowed and complied.
After Zhao Zhijing finished, he turned to look at Zhao Sheng and invited, "Ninth, let's go to the inner study for a talk, shall we?"
Zhao Sheng nodded gravely.
Zhao Zhijing then looked at Zhao Xuanyi and said, "Xuanyi, come along with us! You have worked hard all these years."
...
Four hours later, when Zhao Sheng had heard all about the struggles and turmoil the Zhao family had faced over the years, he felt both sorrow and profound emotion in his heart.
For their one family, the Zhao family could indeed be said to have been severely weakened.
After Zhao Sheng's family had dispersed and fled, the then Family Head, Zhao Hexing, suddenly killed all those who were in the know, then ordered his clan to scatter and hide. Finally, he took his own life, dying a heroic death.
Just one day later, the Zhou Family indeed traced them and arrived, but all those who knew about Zhao Sheng's family fleeing had already died.
With no clues found, the Zhou Family went on a rampage, committing a massive slaughter in the Zhao family.
After the Zhou Family left, the Zhao family's Ren, Li, and Yi branches suffered horrendous casualties, and the direct lineage children were decimated.
The Zhao family was gravely weakened and had no choice but to actively retract their influence and choose to lay low while nursing their wounds.
It was not until thirty years later, when Zhao Zhijing advanced to Innate, that the Zhao family began to recover their strength.
During those decades, only Zhao Chenggong, the eldest of Zhao Sheng's seven children, returned to the Zhao family ten years later with his wife and children.
And his son was exactly Zhao Xuanyi.
When Zhao Xuanyi knelt before Zhao Sheng, Zhao Sheng was overwhelmed with mixed feelings of joy and sorrow.
His eldest son, Zhao Chenggong, had not lived to see his return and had died three years prior.
However, Zhao Chenggong was fortunate, as he at least could be buried in his ancestral land. On the other hand, Cheng Feng and Cheng Zhao, among the six, had always been missing over the years, with no word on whether they were still alive.
After recognizing his grandson, Zhao Sheng briefly recounted the various events on his side over the last few decades.
He did not clarify things very clearly, deliberately keeping some details vague.
He wasn't intentionally hiding something, but rather, was protecting the Zhao family.
Because Zhao Sheng wasn't sure whether the Zhou family had already given up on tracing their whereabouts.
This was also one of the reasons why Zhao Sheng returned to his hometown alone.
Before coming back, he had prepared himself to commit suicide at any moment.
Because the concept of time in the Cultivation World is different from that in the Mortal World.
A Foundation Establishment Cultivator could live for over two hundred years, while a False Core Master might live for five hundred years, and a Golden Core Master could rival Peng Zu, living for as much as eight hundred years.
Thus, in the mindset of a Cultivation Family, a century is not considered long.
Even though Zhao Sheng spoke ambiguously, it was already enough for Zhao Zhijing and Zhao Xuanyi.
The magnificent and mystical Cultivation World, the cultivators who flew with magic tools and cast spells, the various unheard-of Spirit Plants and medicines, and more.
All of this profoundly shocked both of them, making them even more envious of those cultivators who could live for several hundreds to thousands of years.
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