Starting as a cowherd, he sought a way to cultivate immortality.

Above Cloud Mist Valley, four Foundation Establishment cultivators stood suspended in mid-air.

Below, a large number of cultivators from the Zhou family had rushed into Cloud Mist Valley, their shouts of battle shaking the heavens and the earth.

Various colorful magical artifacts rampaged through the area, causing cultivators to fall to the ground, their lives cut short.

"Wei An, I'm asking you one last time."

Zhou Wu Hui swept his divine sense across the blood-splattered battlefield below and looked toward Wei An, the Zhao family's retainer.

"Are you willing to abandon darkness and embrace the light, and serve my Zhou family?"

Wei An snorted coldly, swung the Heaven-Opening Axe in his hand, and slashed out a spiritual blade several feet wide, heading towards Zhou Wu Hui.

Zhou Wu Hui's expression turned cold, and a dense protective barrier of green vines formed in front of him, dissolving the spiritual blade in the middle.

The two spirit blades, now split in two, hurtled rapidly toward the distant valley wall, leaving behind a chasm with a broken mark.

"Stubborn to the end." Zhou Wu Hui narrowed his eyes.

He glanced at Zhou Hanchuan, the family head who was fighting Zhao Jingming, and secretly sent a few words to him.

……

In the initial panicked phase, the Zhao family lost many Qi Refining Realm cultivators to the Zhou family.

However, with the appearance of Zhao Jingming and Wei An, the cultivators of the Zhao family began to fight the Zhou family in a bloody battle under the command of the Zhao family members and deacons of various halls.

Several cultivators from the Zhou family rushed into the Enforcement Hall and clashed with the leaders there, immediately engaging in a fierce battle.

With a sinister grin, Zhou Rui, who was at the seventh level of Qi Refining, unleashed a burst of spiritual energy, severing a wooden pillar in the main hall.

"You're asking for it." Zhao Chenfeng's voice was filled with anger.

He raised his silver spear and, in the blink of an eye, appeared in front of Zhou Rui, thrusting the spear forward with a sudden thrust.

Zhou Rui was shocked and dodged Zhao Chenfeng's attack.

Zhao Chenfeng's eyes narrowed slightly, and his silver spear shone brightly as he swept it out, stirring up the surrounding spiritual energy.

In his haste, Zhou Rui summoned a bronze shield to meet Zhao Chenfeng's silver spear.

"puff--"

A deep dent was left on the bronze shield, and Zhou Rui was swept away, crashing into a room in the Enforcement Hall.

Just as Zhao Chenfeng was about to press his advantage, he suddenly saw another cultivator from the Zhou family at the eighth level of Qi Refining rush into the Enforcement Hall and summon a magical artifact to attack him.

He had no choice but to temporarily spare Zhou Rui, who was still lying on the ground and had not yet gotten up, and focus on dealing with the enemy with higher cultivation.

Severely injured, Zhou Rui stood up, wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, and his pale face still showed lingering fear.

Zhao Chenfeng's attack just now almost took his life.

Zhou Rui took out the spirit stone and began to restore the spiritual energy in his body.

"Um?"

He released his divine sense and looked toward a corner of the room.

Li Jing, who was hiding in the corner, changed his expression drastically, realizing that he had been cornered by Zhou Rui inside the house.

Zhou Rui sneered and pointed a finger at Li Jing's brow.

Li Jing had already held the talisman in his hand. When he saw Zhou Rui attacking him, Li Jing immediately activated the talisman, and a faint light shield formed in front of him.

Upon seeing this, Zhou Rui's lips curled into a cruel smile.

Even with a protective talisman, someone at the mere second level of Qi Refining would have no chance of surviving a single blow from me.

Zhou Rui's beam of spiritual energy easily passed through Li Jing's protective light shield and pierced straight towards Li Jing's brow.

Despite the life-or-death crisis, Li Jing remained remarkably calm.

He suddenly felt a sense of enlightenment regarding the protective mystic light described in the "Nine Revolutions Profound Origin Technique".

In an instant, the spiritual energy in Li Jing's dantian burst forth and condensed at the center of his brow, transforming into a protective mystic light.

Then, Zhou Rui's spiritual energy arrived.

"Thump!"

Li Jing felt a sharp pain between his eyebrows, his vision went black, and he collapsed to the ground.

Zhou Rui's pupils contracted slightly, and he unleashed another burst of spiritual energy towards Li Jing, who had collapsed to the ground.

However, in the next instant, the spiritual energy was intercepted and dissipated into the air.

Zhao Qingyun, dressed in a black robe, landed in front of Li Jing, his gaze towards Zhou Rui filled with undisguised contempt.

"Even at the late stage of Qi Refining, he's nothing but trash."

Upon hearing this, Zhou Rui's pale face turned completely gloomy.

……

In mid-air, Zhao Jingming and Zhou Hanchuan used all their skills and fought fiercely.

Zhao Jingming's expression grew increasingly grave as he struggled to gain the upper hand.

Zhou Hanchuan had only entered the mid-stage of Foundation Establishment a little over a decade ago, yet he was already on par with him, truly demonstrating rapid progress.

The next moment, Zhao Jingming suddenly felt a chill run through his body.

A young figure appeared ghost-like not far away and used the Zhou family's secret technique, the Withering and Flourishing Finger, on Zhao Jingming.

Zhao Jingming glared angrily and recognized the man as Zhou Qiudao, the cultivation genius of the Zhou family.

He actually succeeded in breaking through to the Foundation Establishment Realm, becoming the fourth Foundation Establishment Realm cultivator in the Zhou family!

Faced with Zhou Qiudao's surging withering and flourishing finger technique, Zhao Jingming summoned his ancestral magic weapon, the Azure Sun Shield, and forcefully blocked Zhou Qiudao's secret technique.

Zhou Qiudao's attack failed, but his expression remained unchanged. He and Zhou Hanchuan began to attack Zhao Jingming from both sides.

Zhao Jingming was struggling to stay afloat, and his appearance became increasingly disheveled.

Finally, Zhao Jingming was grazed on the arm by a spiritual blade from Zhou Hanchuan, and blood stained his sleeves.

Upon witnessing Zhao Jingming's injury, Zhou Wuhui laughed loudly and said to Wei An, who was fighting him:

"It's too late to regret it now."

His response was a powerful and heavy axe blow from Wei An.

Zhao Jingming glanced at his injured arm, looked up at Zhou Hanchuan and Zhou Qiudao who were charging towards him, and shouted through gritted teeth.

"Fellow Daoist Han—"

A soft sigh rang out, and an old man with white hair flew up from the ground, instantly appearing beside Zhao Jingming. He struck out with his palm, sending Zhou Qiudao flying.

"Han Xuanyu, are you going to get involved in the affairs of the Zhou and Zhao families?"

Zhou Hanchuan's face was grim, his eyes fixed on the white-haired old man beside Zhao Jingming.

Han Xuanyu, the Grand Elder of Lingyun Sect, has a late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivation level.

"Or is this the choice made by your Lingyun Sect?"

Faced with Zhou Hanchuan's questioning, Han Xuanyu shook his head.

"This matter has nothing to do with Lingyun Sect."

"The head of the Zhao family is a close friend of mine for many years. I cannot stand by and watch him die at your hands."

Zhou Hanchuan laughed out loud in anger, then said fiercely:

"You have ruined the Zhou family's grand plans; from this day forward, you are the Zhou family's enemy, a feud to the death!"

As soon as he finished speaking, he mobilized his spiritual power and unleashed the Withered Glory Finger, which struck directly at Han Xuanyu and Zhao Jingming.

Han Xuanyu stood in the air, his robes fluttering in the wind.

He stretched out his right hand, which resembled a withered tree branch, and spiritual energy swirled and accumulated in his palm, forming a miniature mountain.

This is Han Xuanyu's signature technique – the Falling Mountain Seal.

The phrase "枯荣" refers to the rapid dissipation of the destructive force after colliding with a "mountain peak".

Upon seeing this, a flash of shock crossed Zhou Hanchuan's eyes.

Han Xuanyu truly lived up to his reputation as a late-stage Foundation Establishment expert; despite his advancing age, his cultivation remained unfathomable.

Zhou Qiudao, who had been sent flying, flew back to Zhou Hanchuan's side, his robes slightly disheveled.

Zhou Hanchuan frowned and secretly transmitted his voice to Zhou Qiudao and Zhou Wuhui, who was far away:

"With that old scoundrel Han Xuanyu around, we can't take down the Zhao family."

"Have those cultivators from other clans cover the retreat of the clan's members."

Upon hearing Zhou Hanchuan's instructions, Zhou Qiudao began to relay the clan leader's orders to the clansmen below.

Meanwhile, Zhou Wuhui, who was in the distance, was driven to distraction by Wei An.

After seeing Han Xuanyu make his move, Wei An began to swing the Heaven-Opening Axe wildly, giving Zhou Wu Hui no chance to catch his breath.

After Han Xuanyu neutralized Zhou Hanchuan's Withering and Flourishing Finger, he stood with Zhao Jingming to confront Zhou Hanchuan, showing no intention of making another move.

After hesitating for a long time, Zhao Jingming slowly spoke:

"Fellow Daoist Han, could you help me capture a Foundation Establishment cultivator from the Zhou family?"

Upon hearing this, Han Xuanyu merely glanced at Zhao Jingming without saying a word.

Zhao Jingming gave a wry smile and said to Han Xuanyu:

"It was my greed that led me astray, Fellow Daoist Han."

After Zhou Wu Hui successfully forced Wei An to retreat at the cost of self-destructing a magical artifact, the Zhou family members officially began to withdraw from Cloud Mist Valley.

Before leaving, Zhou Hanchuan glanced at Zhao Jingming and Han Xuanyu, his face full of resentment.

He had been planning to wipe out the Zhao family for many years.

Despite all the planning, no one expected Han Xuanyu to quietly arrive in Cloud Mist Valley.

"Walk!"

Zhou Hanchuan waved his hand and led Zhou Qiudao and Zhou Wuhui to meet the clan's members.

Zhao Jingming only breathed a sigh of relief after Zhou Hanchuan's figure disappeared from sight.

The Zhao family has finally survived this crisis of extermination.

Zhao Jingming probed down with his divine sense, and the scene in Cloud Mist Valley was horrific.

"Listen to my orders: do not pursue the Zhou family. Focus on repairing the Cloud Mist Array as soon as possible," Zhao Jingming said calmly above Cloud Mist Valley.

The surviving members of the Zhao family below silently sprang into action, and the entire Cloud Mist Valley was filled with an atmosphere of grief and indignation.

Not long after, Zhao Hongyue, who had come from the border between the Zhao and Zhou families, appeared in the sky above Cloud Mist Valley, her beautiful eyes filled with anger.