Raise a sword!

"Raising a Sword!", a sweet and delightful novel released in late October, is available to read now!

The sect made considerable preparations to sever the Chen family's foundation.

Upon entering Jinchuan City, Jiang Peng saw Elder Wang Biao leading a hunched old woman, wandering around the city.

Upon meeting Jiang Peng, after exchanging greetings, Elder Wang Biao said, "This is the blind old woman, who has the ability to find people by bloodline... With her help, none of the Chen family members in the city will be able to escape."

"Fellow Daoist flatters me," the blind old woman replied politely. "My evil bloodline-finding technique is most convenient for wiping out entire clans. Unfortunately, I've been all alone for many years. I often want to find an unfortunate aristocratic family to wipe out to relieve my boredom, but I have no help."

"This time, at the invitation of your clan, I have finally found a place to use my skills to destroy the famous Chen family."

Jiang Peng forced herself to keep a calm expression.

With just a few words, Jiang Peng realized that the old woman in front of him was probably another evil cultivator who had come from some unknown corner of the world.

When a sect gets ruthless, it really does... disregard trivialities.

"Junior Brother Jiang is late. All the Foundation Establishment cultivators left behind by the Chen clan in Jinchuan City have been killed... Junior Sister Wei is finishing up at the palace. Junior Brother, you can go and help her."

Jiang Peng immediately agreed.

After saying goodbye to Wang Biao and the blind old woman, they arrived at the palace without any obstacles.

As soon as Jiang Peng entered the main hall, she saw a middle-aged man in a brocade robe sitting under the dragon throne with disheveled hair.

And on the dragon throne was Wei Zhilan.

"Big or small?" Wei Zhilan's face was full of enthusiasm.

The middle-aged man's face was filled with despair.

"big."

"Wrong, it's 'small'! You've lost again, your palace is mine now."

"Now I'm betting my magnificent palace on your Chen family's treasure trove."

The middle-aged man just stood there, his pupils unfocused, in a daze, without saying a word.

Wei Zhilan raised her eyebrows, intending to press the matter further, but just then she saw Jiang Peng appear.

"Junior Brother Jiang? Your timing is perfect. I have just ascended the throne; how about I appoint you as the Grand Preceptor of the State of Wei?"

Jiang Peng ignored Wei Zhilan's wicked sense of humor and went straight to the dragon throne, looking at the person sitting on the ground.

"This is?"

"Chen Shijian, head of the Chen family and ruler of the Chen state, is now my prisoner."

"The Chen family's treasure vault is located beneath this palace, but to open it, we need this person's help... Unfortunately, he's a stubborn man and has refused to help despite our efforts."

"However, I admire his integrity and am willing to let him off the hook."

These words were deliberately said to Chen Shijian, but Chen Shijian remained unmoved.

Wei Zhilan frowned.

"The Chen family's power is waning. At this very moment, your two Golden Core ancestors are probably being besieged and their deaths are imminent."

"The Chen family's accumulated wealth over hundreds of years will never fall into your hands," Chen Shijian said firmly.

Wei Zhilan was about to say a few more words of persuasion.

Suddenly, Chen Shijian raised his hand and slapped himself on the forehead, spitting out blood and collapsing to the ground.

By the time Wei Zhilan realized what was happening and tried to stop her, it was too late.

"Dead?" Wei Zhilan was still somewhat incredulous. "If this person was so resolute, why didn't he commit suicide when I arrived, but only thought of taking his own life after playing dice for so long?"

"He must be feeling humiliated," Jiang Peng guessed. "You usurper, calling yourself 'I' in front of the rightful owner and even wanting to appoint me as the Imperial Advisor... To be honest, if it were me, I might have committed suicide out of shame and indignation."

Wei Zhilan smiled noncommittally, rose from the dragon throne and said, "If he's dead, he's dead. It was impossible to spare his life anyway... Imperial Preceptor, come with me to see the Chen family's treasury."

As she spoke, Wei Zhilan dragged Chen Shijian toward the rear hall of the palace.

"Don't mention the title of Imperial Advisor anymore." Jiang Peng followed behind Wei Zhilan with a speechless expression.

They arrived at the outside of the Chen family's treasure vault.

Wei Zhilan took out the jade seal of the Chen Kingdom and, using some unknown means, extracted the essence blood from Chen Shijian's heart meridian, then fiddled with the restrictions on the treasure vault door.

A moment later, the treasure vault opened.

Jiang Peng couldn't help but cast a questioning glance at Wei Zhilan.

"Chen Shijian is tough, but that doesn't mean all the Chen family members are tough," Wei Zhilan said with a smile.

"You already knew how to open the treasure vault?"

"uh-huh."

Wei Zhilan stopped in her tracks, looked at Jiang Peng, and then casually threw Chen Shijian's body on the ground.

"This person is orchestrating events in Jinchuan City. The deaths of Foundation Establishment cultivators in the sect over the past three years are mostly due to his schemes... Junior Brother Jiang, don't be fooled by my intention to kill him. The way I tormented him before killing him is not the behavior of a righteous sect."

"If your friend died because of this person, would you take revenge without hesitation?"

Jiang Peng's expression froze.

Wei Zhilan had a smile on her lips, but in Jiang Peng's eyes, it looked like a forced smile.

"It's merciful of me to allow him to commit suicide... Let's go and see what treasures are in the Chen family's treasury. We're in a good position to take advantage of this and fill our own pockets first."

...

Late at night, in the main hall of the Jinchuan City Imperial Palace.

Several Foundation Establishment elders of the Cangshan Sect gathered here.

"The Chen family has a total of 387 Qi Refining disciples. Most of them are in the city, and their cultivation has been crippled one by one. The five Foundation Establishment cultivators who stayed behind in Jinchuan City have also been executed."

Wang Biao was checking the Chen family genealogy.

"There were still a few who slipped through the net, but it's insignificant."

"We were originally going to rely on you all to stay in Chen Kingdom for a while to finish up, but just now the sect leader sent a message summoning us back to the sect... Two Golden Core cultivators of the Chen family have fallen. Because of this, the Dragon and Snake Temple has ordered the sect to close its mountain for ten years."

"It's a pity that the sect can't even touch the vast plains in northern Chen Kingdom, the territory that we finally managed to conquer."

Wei Zhilan scoffed upon hearing this.

"The sects have all schemed against the True Lord, but they're only sealing off the mountain for ten years. They should be secretly happy about it."

Wang Biao did not refute this.

"In short, the war against the Chen clan has come to an end. You have all worked hard. When you return to the clan, the sect leader will reward you according to your merits."

...

After leaving the palace, Jiang Peng had no intention of staying in Jinchuan City for long.

However, not long after he and Sun Yinxi left the city, they saw a middle-aged Taoist priest appear on the main road ahead.

"It's that Taoist priest I saw at Liu's birthday banquet, from the Dragon and Snake Temple," Sun Yinxi whispered a reminder.

Jiang Peng also recognized the person.

"So it's Fellow Daoists Jiang and Sun." Daoist Zhang bowed to Jiang Peng and Sun, "This humble Daoist greets you both."

"Master Zhang," Jiang Peng and Sun Yinxi greeted him.

Zhang the Taoist priest had no intention of obstructing them, so he quickly passed by Jiang Peng and his companion.

But at that moment, he suddenly stopped in his tracks.

"Now that we've met, please pass on a message to your sect leader."

"The Cangshan Sect is not allowed to touch the territory of the Chen Kingdom, and your sect must hand over all the property left by the Chen family."

The Taoist priest Zhang smiled.

"Remember to ask Fellow Daoist Chu Chun'an for me: despite all his scheming, did he ever foresee this ending?"