Heaven rewards diligence, but there are always fairies plotting against me.

In this chaotic battle that could be described as a catastrophe, a young man dressed in ordinary gray cloth robes and wearing a bamboo hat was strolling leisurely through the war-torn Xiao family mansion.

It was Chu Chang.

He did not participate in the foolish fight among those rogue cultivators over a few low-level spirit stones.

His goal was clear: to find the core treasure of the Xiao family and to locate Xiao He.

Along the way, many bloodthirsty rogue cultivators or members of the Xiao family tried to attack him.

"Boy, leave your Qiankun bag behind!"

Two burly, rogue cultivators, wielding steel knives and with ferocious expressions, blocked Chu Chang's path.

Chu Chang didn't even pause in his steps. His eyes, hidden under his bamboo hat, narrowed slightly, and a wisp of dark golden pure yang true essence shot out like a fine needle.

Pfft! Pfft!

With two soft sounds, two rogue cultivators instantly had bloody holes running through their foreheads, and they fell to the ground with a thud, their eyes wide open, dying with their eyes still open.

Chu Chang's figure blurred, like a phantom, passing directly through their corpses and rushing towards the "Ten Thousand Herbs Garden" behind the Xiao family's mountain.

The Xiao family's ability to establish itself in Qingzhou largely depends on the several medicinal herb producing areas they control.

The Wanyao Garden is of paramount importance to the Xiao family.

At this moment, the array of the Myriad Herbs Garden had been violently broken by the rogue cultivators, and hundreds of them were frantically digging for spiritual herbs inside.

"That's a 300-year-old purple Ganoderma lucidum! Don't anyone try to take it!"

"Get lost! I'll chop you in half with one sword!"

In the garden, the rogue cultivators had gone completely mad in their pursuit of the spiritual herbs. Broken branches and leaves mingled with blood, and the soil was stained blackish-red.

Chu Chang watched coldly as his figure darted like a ghost towards a cold pool deep within the herb garden.

His divine sense was extremely sharp, and he had already sensed an unusual fluctuation of spiritual energy there.

Upon arriving at the edge of the cold pool, one sees a lotus flower, the "Ice Soul Lotus," growing on a rock in the center of the pool, its entire body crystal clear and radiating a faint chill.

This is one of the main ingredients for refining pills that allow cultivators to break through from the Foundation Condensation Realm to the Purple Mansion Realm; it's worth a fortune!

At this moment, three rogue cultivators at the mid-stage of the Foundation Condensation Realm were fiercely fighting by the cold pool, clearly all wanting to possess this rare treasure for themselves.

"Haha, since the three of you are undecided, then I shall humbly accept your offer."

Chu Chang chuckled lightly, and his figure suddenly vanished from the spot.

"Who goes there?!"

The three were shocked. Before they could react, a dark golden fist imprint descended like the sun, carrying an extremely hot temperature, instantly evaporating more than half of the water vapor in the cold pool.

boom!

The violent force of the punch sent the three men flying backward, coughing up blood, and crashing heavily into the mud.

When they struggled to lift their heads, the "Ice Soul Lotus" on the reef in the center of the cold pool had disappeared, and the figure of the gray-clothed, straw-hatted youth had long since vanished into the billowing smoke.

"Damn it! It's a peak Foundation Condensation Realm expert!"

"He's hiding his true strength! Let's go, don't provoke such a ruthless character!"

The three were horrified and, without even tending to their injuries, scrambled away from the icy pool.

Chu Chang placed the Ice Soul Lotus into a specially made jade box, tossed it into his Qiankun bag, and a slight smile appeared on his lips. This feeling of taking advantage of the chaos was indeed quite pleasant. Today, he would collect a portion of the wealth the Xiao family had amassed over centuries.

As the battle intensified, the Xiao family compound was completely transformed into a chaotic abyss.

In front of the Xiao family's scripture pavilion, thousands of independent cultivators blocked the entrance, fighting fiercely over a fragmented Yellow-rank cultivation manual.

"This copy of 'The Gale Blade Technique' is mine!"

An old rogue cultivator had just tucked the manual into his robes when a rusty longsword pierced his back.

The one who ambushed him was a young rogue cultivator who looked only sixteen or seventeen years old. His face was still immature, but his eyes were extremely vicious.

The young rogue cultivator drew his sword, snatched the manual, and before he could even rejoice, a huge millstone fell from above, smashing him into a bloody pulp.

Such human tragedies were playing out in every corner of the Xiao family.

The residences of the women in the Xiao family were in even greater chaos.

Some wicked and unorthodox cultivators, with lewd grins on their faces, rushed into the inner room and, ignoring the woman's cries and struggles, committed robbery.

Of course, some people also run into a brick wall.

Several rogue cultivators rushed into a boudoir with sinister smiles, attempting to assault a young woman from the Xiao family inside.

However, the girl suddenly tore off her disguise, revealing a terrifying face covered in veins and baring fangs.

"A demonic cultivator?!"

The group was terrified, but before they could escape, they were instantly enveloped by the black aura emanating from the girl. Within a few breaths, their flesh and blood were completely absorbed, leaving them as withered skeletons.

"roar!"

Not only this girl, but also a group of "blood slaves" with bloodshot eyes, withered skin, and immense strength suddenly appeared in various courtyards of the Xiao family.

These were puppets secretly made by the Xiao family using living people. They were originally intended to be given to the Blood Fiend Sect. Now that the Xiao family was about to be destroyed, Xiao Wanshan could not care about anything else and released all these trump cards.

"Ah! It's a demon! The Xiao family has indeed colluded with the demonic path!"

"Heavens! This monster's hide is harder than refined iron; my flying sword can't cut through it!"

The appearance of the blood slaves caused huge casualties to the rogue cultivators who were only concerned with looting. What was originally a one-sided looting instantly turned into a fierce tug-of-war.

…………

…………

…………

Chu Chang had already passed through the chaotic residential area and arrived at the Xiao family's forbidden area, the back mountain.

Compared to the hustle and bustle of the front mountain, this place seems a bit too quiet.

The air was thick with the stench of blood, even more pungent than the smell of the pile of corpses on the hill in front.

Chu Chang followed the scent of blood and finally stopped in front of a huge cave.

At the entrance of the cave, more than a dozen corpses of Xiao family members lay scattered about. Their deaths were extremely gruesome, as if all the blood in their bodies had been instantly drained, turning them into dried corpses.

Inside the cave, faint, beast-like growls and weak cries for help could be heard.

Chu Chang lowered his bamboo hat, concealed his aura, and drifted into the cave like a falling leaf.

The cave was extremely deep, and the surrounding stone walls were covered with strange red runes that emitted a faint yet eerie light.

At the end of the cave was a huge pool of blood, where the blood was boiling and bubbling violently.

At this moment, in the center of the blood pool, a naked man with black demonic patterns covering his skin was sitting cross-legged.

It was Xiao He!!!

At this moment, where was the elegance and glory of the former top genius of the Divine Sword Sect?

One of his arms was withered and twisted, his eyes were completely black with no whites, and his whole body exuded a nauseating aura of blood and violence.

Beside the blood pool, Xiao Wanshan, the head of the Xiao family, was frantically pushing young members of the Xiao family into the pool.

As soon as those disciples fell into the blood pool, they let out shrill screams as their bodies rapidly melted, turning into pure blood essence that merged into Xiao He's body.

"He'er! Quick! Absorb all this blood essence! As long as you break through to the Purple Mansion Realm, we can wipe out those bastards outside and revitalize the Xiao family!" Xiao Wanshan roared hysterically.

Xiao He roared in agony, the demonic markings on his face writhing: "Power... I need more power! Chu Chang... Wu Zhan... you all must die!"

"I'm afraid you won't have that chance."

A calm and indifferent voice suddenly rang out in the silent cave.

Xiao Wanshan and Xiao He were both startled and turned their heads sharply to look at the entrance of the cave.

A young man in a gray robe and straw hat slowly walked out. He stretched out his long, fair hand, took off his straw hat, and revealed a handsome but cold and ruthless face.

"Chu Chang?!"

Xiao He's eyes instantly turned bloodshot, his face contorted with overwhelming hatred: "It was you! You bastard! You ruined everything I had!"

Chu Chang looked at Xiao He, who resembled a demon in the blood pool, his eyes filled with no pity, only endless coldness: "Xiao He, those who do many evil deeds will surely perish. Today, I will use your life to pay tribute to the innocent souls you have killed."

"Hahahaha! You?!" Xiao He laughed maniacally, the blood in the blood pool shooting into the sky, transforming into countless ferocious blood dragons that coiled around him. "I have now received the true teachings of the Holy Sect, and my breakthrough to Foundation Establishment is just around the corner! Die!"

boom!

The blood pool erupted violently, transforming into a towering wave of blood, carrying with it the cries of countless wronged souls and vengeful ghosts, sweeping towards Chu Changxi like a tidal wave!

Within the pool of blood, the viscous blood churned violently like boiling magma.

As one member of the Xiao family after another was ruthlessly thrown into it, the pungent smell of blood almost materialized, condensing into a thick layer of blood mist within the narrow space of the cave.

"Chu Chang! You persistent, scumbag!"

Xiao He sat cross-legged in the middle of the blood, his face contorted and terrifying from extreme pain and pain.

His intact right hand gripped the white skeleton beneath him tightly, black demonic patterns writhing wildly beneath his skin like vicious centipedes, even spreading to his cheeks and the corners of his eyes.

"Today, I will skin you alive as a gift to celebrate my advancement to the Purple Mansion Realm!"

boom!!!

With Xiao He's roar, a blood wave several meters high suddenly surged from the blood pool. The blood wave wriggled and deformed in mid-air, transforming into a blood-red ghost claw the size of a millstone. Accompanied by the piercing cries of wronged souls, it tore through the air and lunged straight at Chu Chang's face.

This attack already carried the pressure of the Purple Mansion Realm, and the corrosive power contained in the blood energy was enough to instantly dissolve the protective true essence of an ordinary Foundation Condensation Realm cultivator.

Chu Chang's expression remained calm and composed, neither dodging nor avoiding the attack.

He slowly raised his right hand, clenching his fist. In an instant, a surge of supremely yang and powerful golden true energy erupted from his fist, like a blazing sun rising slowly in the dark and damp cave. The dazzling golden light instantly dispelled the surrounding cold blood mist and illuminated the twisted demonic patterns on the stone walls.

"break!"

Chu Changchen shouted and threw a punch.

The golden Pure Yang Fist imprint transformed into a thick pillar of light, crashing head-on into the blood-red ghost claw.

boom! ! !

The golden light and the blood-red light collided violently in mid-air, producing a deafening roar.

The violent aftershocks transformed into rings of visible air currents, sweeping outwards in all directions.

The hard stone walls cracked under the impact of this force, and countless fragments of stone fell like rain, crashing into the blood pool and instantly corroding away without leaving a trace.

Golden pure yang essence is naturally the nemesis of these filthy and bloody things.

The seemingly imposing blood-red ghost claw, upon contact with the Pure Yang Fist Imprint, melted like ice and snow meeting boiling oil, emitting a hissing sound, and was mostly evaporated in the blink of an eye.

"How is this possible?!"

Xiao He's pupils contracted sharply.

He could sense when Chu Chang's cultivation had become so terrifying. The pure Yang True Power, so refined to the extreme, even instilled an instinctive fear in the demonic True Essence within his body.

"He'er, don't panic! Your father will buy you some time!"

Just then, a loud shout came from the side.

Xiao Wanshan, the head of the Xiao family, had arrived at the edge of the blood pool at some unknown time.

His eyes were bloodshot, his face was full of madness, and his whole body exuded the powerful aura of the peak of the Foundation Establishment Realm.

He knew in his heart that the Xiao family was already in decline, and the only way out was for Xiao He to completely absorb all the energy in the blood pool and forcefully break through to the Purple Mansion Realm!

If the Xiao family produces a demonic cultivator at the Purple Mansion Realm, and they cooperate with the patriarch, everyone who besieged the Xiao family today will die!

"Son, keep absorbing! Don't worry about him!"

Xiao Wanshan roared madly at Xiao He in the blood pool, then turned and glared at Chu Chang with a ferocious expression: "Chu Chang, you little brat, if you want to kill my son, you'll have to get past me first! Die!"

Xiao Wanshan clasped his hands together and then pushed forward forcefully.

A long, white bone spear, gleaming with a chilling green light, shot out from his sleeve. Countless ghastly green spirits swirled around its tip, and with an extremely sinister whooshing sound, it aimed directly at Chu Chang's chest.

This is the demonic magic weapon secretly passed down by the Xiao family, the Hundred Ghosts Soul-Devouring Spear!