The First Venerable of All Paths

"I need a reasonable explanation!"

Fang Family Courtyard.

Fang Xuan looked at the group of old, weak, sick and disabled people in front of him, his mouth twitching, barely suppressing the urge to slap Master Zhong to death.

Even Zhan Yi thought he was seeing things and rubbed his eyes several times.

One million three hundred thousand shi (a unit of weight) were spent to buy these deformed and cracked fruits?

"Young master, you can rest assured that these slaves have clean families and no blood feuds."

Grandpa Zhong said firmly, "Besides, they all come from the same village, they have blood ties, which makes them easier to manage."

"Is this what I meant?"

Fang Xuan roared, "One million three hundred thousand gold stones, and you bought this kind of rubbish? You old bastard, did you line your own pockets?"

"I swear to God, young master!"

Without a second thought, Master Zhong raised three fingers and swore, "This old servant did everything according to your instructions. Don't let their unassuming appearance fool you; they are all elites. With a little training, they can definitely become your right-hand men, young master."

"I......"

Fang Xuan almost choked.

His entire fortune amounted to 1.7 million shi (a unit of dry measure).

This group of elderly, weak, sick and disabled people cost 1.3 million.

Although his spirit stone wasn't brought by the wind, it was the wind that blew it away.

Taking a deep breath to calm his anger, Fang Xuan said, "Immediately, right now, send them away for me."

With a mournful face, Master Zhong said, "Slave transactions have never involved returns or exchanges."

"you......"

Fang Xuan raised his hand, wishing he could slap this old scoundrel to death.

"Thump thump!"

The slaves immediately knelt on the ground, kowtowing and begging.

"Young master, please have pity on us and let us stay."

An old man at the head of the group said with a sob in his voice, "Our village was hit by a beast tide, and everyone died. We were the only ones who managed to escape."

"If you drive us away, we'll have no way to survive."

A skinny little girl cried and said, "Big brother, we will be very good and won't eat much. Besides, we are very strong and can do a lot of work. You'll see."

As she spoke, the seven or eight-year-old girl ran towards the stone table in the courtyard.

Her small, cracked hands gripped the edge of the table and lifted it up with incredible ease.

"Thump!"

A few breaths later, the little girl put down the stone table, rubbed her stomach, and said embarrassedly, "I haven't eaten for several days, otherwise I could have lasted much longer."

"Yes, yes, young master, Nannan didn't lie to you, she's very strong."

The old man pushed out another boy with a missing arm.

"And there's Gousheng. Don't let his missing hand fool you; he's still got a lot of strength."

The old man said, "Gousheng, show the young master something."

The boy named Gousheng walked towards a tree in the courtyard.

He hugged the tree with one hand and pulled it out by force.

He threw the tree at a boy who had lost a leg.

"Doggy, catch!"

"Okay!"

The lame boy pushed off the ground with one leg, leaped up, and kicked the tree trunk.

"Snap!"

A tree as thick as a thigh was kicked in two by a lame teenager.

A piece of broken wood flew towards Fang Xuan.

Before he could make a move, the blind giant in the crowd sprinted forward with all his might.

He precisely caught the broken piece of wood and casually tossed it at a woman who was coughing incessantly.

The woman was still wearing her apron and was coughing so hard she could barely breathe.

But the moment the broken log flew over, he slapped it out several times in quick succession.

The broken wood instantly shattered into pieces.

After doing all this, she patted the sawdust off her hands and continued coughing.

Judging from her manner, smashing a piece of broken wood was as easy as smashing a piece of tofu or swatting a fly.

"Young master, are you satisfied?"

The old man looked at Fang Xuan cautiously, his face full of trepidation.

Fang Xuan and Zhan Yi, however, had their mouths agape, their faces filled with disbelief.

"Young...Young Master, it seems we've...found a treasure."

Zhan Yi swallowed hard, his voice trembling.

It's more than just finding a treasure.

These villagers are simply unparalleled masters with extraordinary skills.

Despite having no fluctuations of qi or blood energy, he possessed innate divine power.

It's absolutely terrifying.

Fang Xuan glanced at Master Zhong.

Was it a coincidence, or did he just stumble upon a lucky break?

Master Zhong then spoke up, "Young Master, how was it? This old servant didn't disappoint you, did he?"

He stood tall and proud, looking smug and self-satisfied.

Fang Xuan took a deep breath and looked at the people in front of him.

An old man with a nervous expression.

The little girl was sobbing uncontrollably.

A limping boy with a missing arm and a stiff expression.

A kind-hearted blind man, a nervous woman...

Fang Xuan's expression gradually turned serious.

He looked at the white-haired old man.

"What's your name? Where are you from?"

Sensing the severity of Fang Xuan's tone, the old man trembled and immediately knelt on the ground again.

"Young master, I am Ye Fan, the village chief of Ye Family Village. Our Ye Family Village is located at the foot of the Lost Soul Mountain Range, in a very small village."

The old man named Ye Fan continued, "There are over a hundred people in the village. We risked our lives to escape because of the monster rampage."

Mountain of the Dead?

Ye Family Village?

A glint of light flashed in Fang Xuan's eyes.

"Please, young master, have pity on us and let us stay."

Old man Ye Fan said, "If it really doesn't work, leave these children here and we'll leave. We won't cause you any trouble, young master."

As he spoke, he greeted some elderly villagers with hidden ailments, preparing to take them away.

"Mother, Second Uncle, Grandpa, I don't want you to leave."

The little girl named Nannan had red eyes and then knelt down in front of Fang Xuan.

"Young man, please have pity on us and let us stay. I'm kowtowing to you."

Fang Xuan helped Nannan up and looked at Ye Fan.

"I can keep you here."

Fang Xuan said, "However, I have one condition."

"As long as the young master doesn't kick us out and gives us something to eat, we'll agree to anything, even ten or a hundred, let alone one."

The villagers of Yejiacun nodded repeatedly.

"I need you to sign a contract."

Fang Xuan said, "Once this contract is signed, your lives will be in my hands. If I die, you will die too."

"Are you willing?"

The villagers of Yejiacun exchanged glances and nodded repeatedly.

The honest-looking blind man scratched his head and said, "Young master, we are just country folk, we can't write."

"There's no need for that."

Fang Xuan said, "This life-and-death contract is a bloodline imprint, which only needs to be sealed within your bodies."

"No need to write anything."

The blind man immediately beamed with joy.

"But this life-or-death contract requires your active cooperation."

Fang Xuan said seriously, "If you resist, you will lose your life immediately."

"that......"

The little girl raised her hand and asked timidly, "Big brother, can I get food after I sign this?"

As she spoke, her stomach began to rumble.

Then she lowered her head shyly.

The same applies to the other villagers.

"sure."

Fang Xuan smiled and said, "Since everyone is willing, let's take turns."

"Me first, me first."

"Young master, please choose me first."

"I'm the village chief, and the oldest, so of course I go first."

The villagers began to scramble for it.

This bizarre scene made Fang Xuan extremely uncomfortable.

"Stop fighting over it."

At this moment, Master Zhong spoke up.

He coughed lightly and said, "Line up from childhood to adulthood. Young Master will plant a mark on each of you. Don't resist, or you'll lose your lives. Don't blame Master Zhong for not warning you."

The youngest girl asked nervously, "Big brother, what should I do?"

"Just close your eyes."

"oh."

The little girl obediently closed her eyes.

then.

Fang Xuan closed his eyes, and in his sea of ​​consciousness, inherited memories flashed rapidly.

Finally, a secret technique came to mind.

The Seal of Life and Death!

This is a secret technique created by the Soul Dream Empress, one of the nine empresses.

This secret technique, activated only by the power of the soul, can plant a mark in another person's body.

This seal connects the bloodline and soul of the person being treated, establishing a spiritual link with the caster.

Once this Life and Death Slave Mark is implanted, Fang Xuan only needs a single thought to decide the life and death of the Ye family villagers.

Furthermore, as Fang Xuan's cultivation level increases, the connection between them deepens, and they can even sense each other's emotional fluctuations and control each other's thoughts and will.

The Life and Death Slave Seal is not difficult to execute. With a thought, Fang Xuan transformed a wisp of his soul into a mark and shot it into Nannan's brow.

"That's fine."

Having successfully planted the mark, Fang Xuan suddenly had a feeling.

He could cut off all of Nannan's chances of survival if he wanted to.

Nannan opened her eyes and touched her brow.

"It feels... numb, but it's quite comfortable."

The little girl smiled happily and said, "Thank you, big brother."

Fang Xuan nodded and looked at the one-armed boy.

The other person nodded and closed their eyes.

Then there was the lame boy.

A mute woman.

A deaf young man.

A blind man.

A woman with a cough.

Finally, there's the village chief, Ye Fan.

As the village chief, Fang Xuan deliberately strengthened the connection between their souls, both to allow him to restrain the villagers and as a precaution.

Of course, during this period, a few villagers, whether due to resistance or other reasons, failed to plant the seal and died on the spot.

This scene made Nannan cry bitterly.

The other villagers also sighed repeatedly, deeply saddened.

"alright."

Fang Xuan said, "The contract is complete. From now on, you are my people, Fang Xuan's people."

"I, Ye Fan, along with all the people of Ye Family Village, swear to follow the young master to the death, even at the cost of fire and water!"

"We swear to follow our young master to the death!"

Ye Fan said, "Young Master, could you give us some time to bury these villagers?"

"Can."

Fang Xuan said, "Zhan Yi, take them there and bury them in the back mountain. Also, designate a piece of land in the back mountain as their future living quarters. No one is allowed to enter or leave without my order."

"It's the young master!"

After Zhan Yi took everyone away, Fang Xuan looked at Zhong Ye.

"Come with me."

"Yes, young master."

Zhongye hurriedly followed after him like a lackey.

"Tell me about it."

Inside the room, Fang Xuan stared blankly at Master Zhong.

"Young master, what do you want this old servant to say?"

Zhongye didn't dare look at Fang Xuan, feeling somewhat guilty.

What do you think?

Fang Xuan slammed his hand on the table and said in a deep voice, "Say what you know, otherwise..."

"thump!"

Master Zhong was so frightened that he knelt on the ground, crying out, "Young master, this old servant is guilty! Please, young master, have mercy on this old servant for the sake of my unwavering loyalty!"