This Dao Ancestor is too young.

Zhang Yuanzhu lowered his gaze, looking at the broken longsword in his hand.

Ultimately, it was just an ordinary longsword, unable to withstand the intensity of battles between cultivators.

He casually tossed aside the sword hilt, raised his hand, gripped the Black Blood Shield tightly with his five fingers, and pulled it in front of him.

"Come on, let's continue!"

The boy laughed loudly and charged out.

He raised one arm, and the shield in his palm rapidly expanded, truly like a mound of earth appearing and pressing down horizontally.

Domineering and forceful!

The head of the Shang family looked solemnly at the magical weapon that was hurtling towards him.

He had no magical artifacts, or rather, his only magical artifact was given to his son.

Call ~

Forcibly suppressing the turbulent emotions in his heart, he held the knife in one hand and slashed upwards.

He raised one arm and formed an ancient hand seal.

Earth Spike Technique!

Earth spikes appeared, rapidly rising to three zhang in the blink of an eye, and pressed against the shield.

Rumble~

The streets shook and dust billowed amidst the deafening roar, obscuring the view of all living things.

Many observers, who were secretly watching, stared intently at the smoke and dust, waiting for the battle situation to become clear.

After an unknown amount of time, the dust settled, revealing the scene after the fierce battle.

The burly middle-aged man was kneeling on the ground, his shoulders pressed down by a fair hand, struggling desperately but unable to stand up.

"The Shang family head has been defeated!"

"The head of the family has been reduced to such a sorry state; things have really gotten out of hand today."

"With the death of the eldest son of the Shang family and the Shang family head in such a sorry state, the other powerful members of the Shang family will certainly not let this go."

The people around them discussed the matter, their gazes unconsciously shifting between the two.

Zhang Yuanzhu, with the black blood shield above his head, ignored the commotion and looked down at the middle-aged man with a cold gaze.

Then he looked up at the Shang family manor, and powerful auras rose up and rapidly approached.

These auras, if they were weak, would only be at the Qi Condensation Realm; if they were strong, they would have already surpassed the middle-aged man beneath his palm.

"I won!"

"Ahem~, you won, but so what?"

The head of the Shang family coughed up a few drops of blood, struggled to lift his head, looked up at the young man, and uttered each word slowly and deliberately:

"The Shang family has been established in Jiaoyuan City for nearly a century. They have their own methods to repel powerful enemies, but you..."

"He's far from being a formidable enemy; he's merely a child with some talent!"

"Hehe~"

Zhang Yuanzhu sneered, offering no response or direct attack on the middle-aged man, choosing instead to flee. He simply stood quietly amidst the ruins, waiting.

In less than six breaths, figures rushed out of the Shang family manor and arrived opposite the boy.

There were burly men, beautiful women, and an old man with a hunched back and few teeth left... a total of five people.

They stared coldly at the boy in the cotton-padded coat, a chilling murderous intent filling the street.

The atmosphere was subdued, the space oppressive, and all the noise subsided into silence.

Zhang Yuanzhu slowly pressed down with his palm.

Click~

The crisp sound of an arm breaking, accompanied by a muffled groan, was particularly clear here.

"Boy, are you openly provoking the Shang family?"

The hunched old man stepped forward, not even glancing at the head of the Shang family, his cloudy eyes fixed on the young man.

Zhang Yuanzhu tilted his head slightly, glanced at the old man, and chuckled softly.

"It's just collecting some interest; compared to what you've done to mortals in Green Snake Village, it's nothing."

The old man looked deeply at the boy before slowly speaking:

What do you want?

The old man was shrewd; since the other party neither chose to kill the Shang family head in the street nor to flee directly, he must have something to ask for.

Zhang Yuanzhu lightly tapped his fingertip, and wisps of ethereal blue energy seeped into the severed arm of the Shang family head:

"To exchange the life of one person for the lives of all the disaster victims in the city."

His voice was calm, ignoring the astonished faces and the stunned onlookers:

"Rice, cotton clothing, hot water, and shelter from the wind and snow—I urge the Shang family to use all their strength to help the people survive this heavy snowfall."

This was the solution he had come up with, a choice made out of desperation. Ultimately, his strength was insufficient to completely destroy the Shang family, so he could only resort to this compromise.

The old man remained silent, his gaze sweeping over the crowd before settling on the kneeling head of the Shang family, and finally landing on the young man in the cotton-padded coat:

"Fool!"

Only a fool would act this way, disregarding profit and scripture, and putting himself in danger for some insignificant matter.

Zhang Yuanzhu's expression remained unchanged, as if he hadn't heard the old man's muttered curses, and he was simply waiting for the other party to make a decision.

The black blood shield above his head trembled incessantly, as if it could self-destruct at any moment, buying him a chance to escape.

The two sides faced off, and as time ticked by, the atmosphere grew increasingly tense.

"If you do not make a choice within three breaths, I will decide for you."

Zhang Yuanzhu clenched his fists and suddenly exerted force.

stab~

An arm was ripped off and thrown onto the snow.

The head of the Shang family let out a wail, his body convulsing. The resolve in his eyes faded considerably, and he looked at the old man. His mouth opened, and he spoke in a trembling voice:

"Father...save me!"

If one could live, why would one want to die?

The surge of blood energy I felt earlier has long since dissipated due to the intense pain.

The old man sighed softly:

"Sigh, on behalf of the Shang family, I agree!"

"After you five have made a vow, I will release this person."

The boy placed his palm on the middle-aged man's neck and made a request.

The oath of the Dao is a vow made to the Dao; if one violates it, Heaven and Earth will despise him.

Even demonic cultivators would not easily break the oath they have made.

Upon hearing this, the five members of the Shang family exchanged glances, their eyes filled with resentment.

Our family has never been forced into such a situation before.

At this moment, the old man spoke first:

"Shang Yuansi, I hereby swear to provide food and shelter from the snow for the disaster victims and beggars in Jiao Yuan City, so that they may survive the heavy snow. May the Great Dao bear witness to this!"

As the old man spoke, the four powerful members of the Shang family behind him had no choice but to swear an oath.

At that moment, an invisible wave descended from the sky, encircling Zhang Yuanzhu and the five members of the Shang family, before slowly disappearing.

At this moment, the boy raised the hand from the neck of the Shang family head, touched his chest, grasped a dusty gray bag, and stepped back.

The middle-aged man staggered to his feet, glared resentfully at the boy, picked up the arm from the ground, and ran forward quickly.

"Father, everyone, act quickly and kill this son!"

There was no response, no action, only pairs of helpless eyes.

The beautiful woman looked at the Shang family head who had come to her side and whispered:

"Brother Lei, calm down. We didn't have a chance to make a move."

The young man's figure was constantly blocked by the Shang family head, and coupled with his extremely fast escape speed, he had no chance at all.

Shang Yuansi took out a talisman from his bosom and stuck it directly on the broken arm of the Shang family head.

A flash of blue light appeared, and the crimson color stopped.

Only then did the old man speak:

"Go back and tell me everything that has happened during this time."

"It's my father."

The middle-aged man, clutching his severed arm, looked bitter as he turned and walked towards the manor.

The five powerful members of the Shang family followed closely behind and gradually disappeared from sight.

The once-silent streets became bustling again, and the battles taking place here spread to all the factions within the city at lightning speed.