Misty Rain of the Old Times

As several innate assassins charged toward Chen Xuan, Wu Guangyao himself followed closely behind, wielding his golden whip.

His old age was marked by a bristling beard and wildly dancing clothes. The golden whip in his hand shone with a dazzling golden light, more radiant than the blazing sun. Everything around him was submerged in that golden light, as if it were about to illuminate the entire night sky of the capital.

In an instant, the wind and clouds surged, golden clouds appeared out of thin air and surged, the roar of a dragon shook the four directions, and a desolate and domineering aura enveloped the Wu family's main camp.

Wu Guangyao, who attacked with a golden whip, transformed into a golden dragon along with the whip itself. Its scales were menacing, and it roamed in the golden clouds, its head and tail nowhere to be seen. It was fierce and domineering, as if it wanted to tear everything apart.

Countless people in the capital witnessed this scene, and all of them showed expressions of horror, as if a dragon was truly causing havoc, their hearts trembling under that terrifying aura.

Although this attack was only aimed at Chen Xuan, its destructive power was real. The terrifying aftershocks spread, and the Wu family members around them turned into blood mist in large numbers. Those below the Innate Realm could not even withstand it for a blink of an eye, while those above the Innate Realm could resist for a moment. The buildings, which were heavy with the weight of history and vicissitudes, crumbled and spread rapidly in all directions.

The Wu family had no way out. Rather than die at the hands of Chen Xuan, it would be more dignified for the remaining members to die at the hands of Wu Guangyao. After all, this attack was not made by a true grandmaster. They did not seek to kill Chen Xuan, a powerful enemy, but even if they injured him and made him bleed, it would be a way to save face.

"Is this the Wu family's true trump card? A method sealed by a Grandmaster who exhausted all his energy and spirit. Although it wasn't the Grandmaster himself who did it, it's practically the same. Moreover, it's equivalent to the Grandmaster who left this sealing item unleashing his full power without any restraint. It's truly not to be underestimated. If another Grandmaster had faced it, he probably would have needed years to recover, if not died. It's a pity he encountered me."

Chen Xuan was a Grandmaster; even the living Wei Wuyai couldn't withstand a single strike from him, let alone Wu Guangyao, who only possessed the power of a Grandmaster.

In a flash of thought, he moved swiftly, leaping forward and grasping the blood-dripping longsword that was aimed at Wu Guangyao. The blade turned pure white once more, even more intense than the golden glow that illuminated the night.

The Dawnbreaker Blade reappeared after a short while, and countless people within a radius of dozens of miles felt as if darkness had fallen once again, plunging them into eternal night. The white blade, which seemed to tear through the darkness, flashed and disappeared in an instant. In a flash, the surging golden clouds split open, and the domineering golden dragon that had been writhing and clawing inside let out a mournful cry before being shattered!

The whole process takes only a breath.

With a flick of Chen Xuan's sleeve, the terrifying aftershocks, before they could spread and cause widespread destruction, surged into the sky like a tidal wave, distorting the night sky before vanishing without a trace in an instant.

The knife fell to the ground, but Wu Guangyao was nowhere to be seen. He had used a force that Wu Guangyao could not withstand, and after the attack, not even a trace of his body remained.

Clang, clang... Several fragments of the golden whip fell among the devastated ruins.

At the same time, Chen Xuan's blood-dripping longsword shattered into dust, completing its mission.

Chen Xuan had said that he was only targeting the Wu family, unless someone stood against him. Therefore, he limited the scope of the destruction to the Wu family's base area and did not spread it further.

His gaze swept across the ruins and wreckage, and only three or four people were still alive. Among them, three were innate masters trained by the Wu family itself, and the last one was Wu Hongliang. Only they survived to the end.

The previous battle happened too quickly. The three innate masters managed to hold on, while Chen Xuan took care of Wu Hongliang.

A flash of purple light appeared in his eyes, and he activated the Purple Mystic Illusionary Eye. The three terrified innate masters stood there like puppets, their expressions numb.

At this moment, Chen Xuan took out the death list again and threw it to Wu Hongliang, saying, "I told you to come back first. Did you remember the people on the family tree?"

"I remember," Wu Hongliang replied involuntarily, his eyes streaming with blood and tears.

Nodding, Chen Xuan added, "Alright, then cross out the names of the people who were here before."

"Yes," he obediently did as he was told, his body moving on its own.

After waiting a while, Wu Hongliang crossed out the names of the deceased and handed the family tree back to Chen Xuan. After reviewing it, Chen Xuan pondered and said, "There are still some who escaped the net, scattered in all directions. There's nothing we can do about it; after all, it's a large family with too many people, so some will inevitably go to different places."

As he spoke, Chen Xuan asked Wu Hongliang to give specific details about the missing people, and then the other three surviving innate masters filled in the gaps, including the illegitimate children, all of which were explained clearly.

After thoroughly understanding the situation, Chen Xuan waved his hand, and Wu Hongliang coughed up blood, died, and flew backward; he was no longer of any use.

He looked at the three innate masters he had controlled and asked, "Did you remember?"

"We understand," they answered in unison.

While cultivation doesn't increase intelligence or emotional intelligence, it does improve memory and thinking speed; otherwise, how could one react in a battle?
Nodding, Chen Xuan said, "In that case, the remaining fugitives on the list are yours to deal with. Go to all corners of the country, leave no one alive. Discuss yourselves where to go, and after you've taken care of your targets, commit suicide."

"Yes," the group nodded, quickly discussed their plan, and then set off under the cover of night to various destinations.

Chen Xuan originally planned to travel all over the country himself, but since there was free labor available, there was no need to go through the trouble.

Even hypnosis can completely control a person, let alone his Purple Mystic Illusionary Eyes, which are many times more sophisticated than hypnosis. It controls the mind and consciousness, and even if someone is at the same level as Chen Xuan, they will not be able to get rid of it once they are caught, unless their cultivation level is a whole realm higher than his.

Chen Xuan left the cleanup to them, not worried that they wouldn't be able to finish. With such a big incident, the Wu and Wei families, two powerful families in a row, had no time to care about a few small fry. With their strength, they were more than capable.

With a swift movement, the death list that had followed Chen Xuan for half a night turned to ashes. From this day forward, the Wu family, one of the five great families of Jing Kingdom, could be declared expelled from the list!

The moon shone brightly in the west, and Chen Xuan stood on the ruins, looking up at the sky.

'Was the killing too excessive?' he asked himself.

But images flashed through my mind of what I'd seen in the basement: taking live infants, rendering human oil, and virgin milk...

These are probably just the small, clandestine parts of the Wu family's business!
'Compared to them, I've already been merciful. After all, I only executed the direct descendants of the Wu family. I don't seek justice or fairness, I only seek to have my conscience cleared!'

Withdrawing his gaze, Chen Xuan showed neither sorrow nor joy, and with a few steps, his figure disappeared from the spot.

Good and evil coexist in the world, light and darkness coexist, and neither can be missing.

But Chen Xuan was just a person and couldn't care less about others. Since he had encountered this situation, he would follow his heart and not care how the world judged him.

Therefore, he never said anything high-sounding, nor did he expose any ugly behavior, and he didn't even put himself under the banner of light and justice.

After all, killing is violence, and using violence to suppress violence is not a solution to the problem. It only addresses the symptoms, not the root cause, and can only temporarily suppress the growing pains that have already been discovered.

He can flip the table, but he can't lift the lid; he understands that line. There are some things he can do but can't say...

After leaving the ruins of the Wu family, Chen Xuan placed the fire copper and other items in a place only he knew about. He then reverted to his original appearance, retrieved his clothes and the stick he had brought to the capital, found an inn to stay in, and slept soundly as if nothing had happened...

The atmosphere in the entire capital was suffocating. Martial arts practitioners roamed around, along with constables, yamen runners, members of the Martial Arts Prohibition Bureau, black-clad spies, and even the army. Countless people carried torches and wandered about.

The matter was too big to be contained, and the people were in a state of panic. As a last resort, the imperial court ordered a temporary curfew, the first time in the capital in twenty years!
The capital city has a large population, and the previous commotion was so great that the public only knew that something big had happened, but they didn't actually know what had happened. That was beyond their reach, so they could only go with the flow.

Those who know even a little about the truth are terrified and trembling with fear; how could they dare to do anything?

This was destined to be a night that shocked the world and went down in history, but the truth will never be known to the world.

As dawn approached, the imperial court lifted the martial law and curfew, and countless constables and yamen runners rushed to all directions to inform people of the events of the previous night and to appease the public.

In short, it's not a big problem. Everyone should just go about their business.

To be more specific, last night a wicked master of evil arts caused havoc, resulting in the deaths of more than dozens of people. Don't be afraid, the murderer has been apprehended and brought to justice. After an overnight trial by the Dali Temple, he has been sentenced to immediate execution and will be beheaded at noon today at the Caishikou execution ground in the west of the city. If you are still worried, you are welcome to go and witness the murderer being brought to justice.

Upon learning the 'truth,' the people were immediately relieved. It turned out to be 'just a small matter.' Why did they make such a fuss last night, keeping them up all night? Is this how the imperial court collects so much tax?
This is just a popular saying; anyway, all is well in the world.

As for those who have the ability to know the truth, everyone has chosen to remain silent.

The Wu family? What Wu family? They've been doing just fine. As for where they went, they're probably visiting relatives at the end of the year.

Anyway, those at a certain level didn't mention a word about what happened last night. Instead, they actively helped with the cleanup. For example, the cracks on the street were repaired before dawn, and the destroyed Wu family headquarters was set on fire again. They claimed that the fire had accidentally occurred on a dry day, giving the people an explanation that the people had been settled and were fine.

As for the other Wu family members, the news was blocked, a gag order was issued, and some collateral Wu relatives were temporarily placed in their place. In short, the priority was to quell the situation and minimize its impact...

Inside the palace, the old emperor, who hadn't slept all night, finished reading the detailed news sent by the urgent dispatch. He rubbed his temples to rest, feeling somewhat alarmed even though he had been the emperor for many years.

"Have everything been arranged?" he asked with his eyes closed.

Elder Rong replied, "Your Majesty, everything has been arranged, and all parties are cooperating very well."

Of course they'll cooperate; they're probably terrified.

Then the old emperor asked, "...How is that person?"

"Completely unharmed," Old Master Rong certainly knew what he was asking.

Nodding, the old emperor thought to himself, "Good lad!"

Although he almost burst out laughing, when the morning bell rang, he still stood up, rubbed his face, and said with a stern expression, "Elder Rong, please go and rest first. Assistant Wang, prepare the carriage for court."

I wonder how many fewer people will be at today's court assembly... (End of Chapter)