In the world of cultivation, one grinds for proficiency and longevity.

"You mean, the masked man came in through the back door of the stone house and then went out through the back door?" Zhou Hao asked.

If I were to face the enemy at the front, and a late-stage Qi Refining cultivator appeared, I would definitely notice.

After thinking for a moment, Chen Changqing replied affirmatively, "That's how it should be."

The Third Elder, who rarely spoke, pondered, "Only our own people know that Ruoyun was sent here. Considering the supplies Chengjun was secretly escorting were hijacked a few days ago..."

At this point, the three senior members of the Zhou family exchanged glances and came to a terrifying but undeniable conclusion: there was a traitor in the family!

This is a heavy and terrible piece of news.

Chen Changqing felt as if the air had frozen for a moment.

Zhou Dezheng, the head of the family, had a gloomy face. He looked at Chen Changqing and asked with a forced smile, "Why didn't the masked man in the late stage of Qi Refining kill you before escaping?"

Even though I saved people, my surname isn't Zhou, so they don't believe I'm right.

Chen Changqing was displeased, but as a former high-ranking member of the gang, he understood and calmly explained, "Of course he wanted to kill me! But he also underestimated me; when he saw me about to use a hidden weapon, he didn't even bother!"

"So, he'd never witnessed the power of your 'Spiritual Power Flick' before, and was caught off guard by your attack?" Zhou Hao speculated, interjecting, "But you can only hit him once at most; you shouldn't have scared him away like that, right?"

"The Fifth Elder's analysis is correct! With my skill in launching hidden weapons, plus the help of disposable darts, I was indeed just barely able to break through the defense of an unprepared Qi Refining Stage 7 cultivator!"

Chen Changqing paused for a moment, then spoke again: "I knew I only had one chance to use my weapon, so that hidden weapon was highly poisoned!"

"Excellent!" Zhou Hao and Lian Qingrong both cast admiring glances at Chen Changqing, then looked at Zhou Dezheng. "Brother, that explains it. Changqing has repeatedly rendered outstanding service to our Zhou family, so how could there be a problem?"

"What about the deadly poison they used?"

Zhou Dezheng did not respond to Zhou Hao for the time being. Instead, he pointed to the black bloodstains on Zhou Ruoyun's clothes that Chen Changqing had previously changed out of, and spoke to Chen Changqing again:

"I just smelled it. This unknown poison wouldn't even be able to poison my daughter, and it would probably kill us old folks too. Tell me, how did you manage to inhale it?"

Before Chen Changqing could answer, Zhou Ruoyun's beautiful oval face flushed red again upon hearing this.

Old man, didn't I make myself very clear before?

"Of course, it was through oral sex!" Chen Changqing said without changing his expression. "At that time, after taking the drugs, the young lady's heartbeat still hadn't returned to normal. It was only after I used the 'Changchun Gong' to continuously treat her that she woke up."

The "Evergreen Skill" is a common technique, and it has a slight healing effect when you reach the middle stage of Qi Refining, which is no secret.

"Hmph! Since you sucked it out with your mouth, why isn't there any 'black blood' you spat out at the scene? Did you swallow it yourself?" Zhou Dezheng didn't say this aloud.

Everyone has secrets they don't want others to know. Since Chen Changqing really saved his daughter, Zhou Dezheng certainly wouldn't choose to make things difficult for him.

Only now did he realize that Chen Changqing's earlier statement that his precious and weak Demon Kiss Spider egg could not hatch was a complete lie.

The Demon Kiss Spider had already been revived by Chen Changqing using the "Eternal Spring Skill," and it must have been the Demon Kiss Spider that absorbed the toxins from his daughter's body.

Zhou Dezheng drew a conclusion.

In addition, what bothered Zhou Dezheng was that he felt the clothes the other party changed for his daughter were obviously unnecessary.

Why not just cut off the cloth stained with black blood? Why replace the whole thing?

With so many Zhou family cultivators watching outside, if word gets out, how will her daughter, a virgin, ever get married?

However, considering that Chen Changqing had a fairly good reputation in matters of love and sex, he did not suspect that the man had any improper thoughts.

Finally, Zhou Dezheng smiled and replied, "Changqing, you did a great job. When we return to the family, I will not treat you unfairly."

Why do I feel like I'm being watched by a fox?

Those who can become heads of families are indeed not simple!

"The young lady has always been good to me, it's only right." Chen Changqing finally breathed a sigh of relief.

"Elders, who do you think wants to harm Ruoyun? What is their motive?"

After a moment, Zhou Dezheng spoke again.

"We've been keeping an eye on those two old men from the Ye family; it shouldn't be them... However, their purpose probably isn't just to demoralize us!"

Zhou Qingrong seemed to be implying something, "Killing Ruoyun would make us fight the Ye family to the death? Who would benefit the most?"

"Does Third Brother suspect the Duan and Ning families?"

"I'm just guessing."

"Let's go back first. Once we catch the traitor, everything will come to light."

So the group returned to the Zhou family home.

Zhou Dezheng arrived with his men, but the Ye family's senior management had already retreated.

After all, the late stage of Qi Refining is not easy to cultivate, and without an absolute exchange of benefits, one will not easily risk one's life.

In this struggle between the Ye and Zhou families, although the Zhou family managed to preserve the spirit mine, they suffered heavy losses due to the presence of spies, and even the eldest daughter of the Zhou family almost lost her life.

According to statistics, twenty-six early-stage Qi Refining cultivators from the Zhou family died, along with seven intermediate-stage cultivators; dozens more were injured to varying degrees.

And the other side's losses are less than half of what we've suffered!

Fortunately, the latest news came that Zhou Guang not only led his men to find the stolen supplies, but also used a large number of talismans in his possession to kill and injure many Ye family cultivators.

This allowed the Zhou family to regain some face.

Cuiya Lake.

At the Zhou family's merit-based reward ceremony.

Zhou Dezheng and the others had grim expressions, especially Zhou Hao, whose eyes seemed to wish he could kill his way into the Ye family right now and even the score!

The most glorious one was undoubtedly Zhou Guang, who retrieved the supplies. When the reward was distributed, he was not only given a large number of spirit stones, but also a Limit Breaking Pill.

The Breakthrough Pill is an upgraded version of the Barrier Breakthrough Pill, which can increase the probability of a mid-stage Qi Refining cultivator advancing to the late stage by 10% to 20%.

Liu Feifei, standing next to Zhou Guang, was also riding high. Now that she had opened a talisman shop, her talisman skills had improved significantly, and she had become Zhou Guang's right-hand woman. She was deeply favored by her husband, naturally making the other two wives look down on her.

It's quite rare for a concubine to dominate the wife.

In the crowd, Liu Feifei occasionally glanced at Chen Changqing, her gaze filled with gratitude, but more so with a sense of boasting.

It seems that, despite both being from the same background as guest elders, she, a woman, was able to thrive and hold a high position in the large family.

Zhou Guang followed Liu Feifei's gaze and saw Chen Changqing, his eyes filled with hostility.

Upon seeing Zhou Ruoyun beside Chen Changqing, her expression turned even colder.

...When it was Li Erniu's turn, he was given the surname "Zhou" and rewarded with a large amount of cultivation materials.

"I never expected that someone would push me and I would accidentally save someone. And this is what I get in return... Good thing my leg fell like this, good thing it fell like this."

Zhou Erniu was secretly delighted. Being a member of the Zhou family, he felt it was a great honor to be granted the surname.

In fact, the Zhou family would truly incorporate any promising young immortals like Li Erniu who married into the family, as long as they were loyal and had decent cultivation.

Moreover, the clan is currently facing a severe shortage of mid-level cultivators, and Erniu has finally shed blood for the Zhou family, so this is a perfect opportunity to take advantage of the situation.

……

"Chen Changqing, you saved my daughter, that's good. What reward do you want?"

After the commendation ceremony, Zhou Dezheng privately approached Chen Changqing.