The First Venerable of All Paths

"Hiss hiss hiss!"

Inside the room, countless sword energies crisscrossed, eventually returning to the sword's core.

Fang Xuan suddenly opened his eyes, a flash of sword light in them, before returning to calm.

Fang Xuan stood up; all his injuries had been fully healed.

Moreover, he felt that the sword bone was much harder than before.

The innate sword energy it nurtured has also increased significantly compared to before.

"It will take a long time to develop a natal flying sword."

The most powerful foundation of a sword cultivator originates from a natal flying sword.

Currently, Fang Xuan is still in the stage of improving his sword bones in preparation for nurturing his natal flying sword.

Fortunately, there is enough sword energy in the innate sword box. As long as the refining is accelerated, the natal flying sword will be able to be conceived sooner or later.

At that time, his combat power will double.

"besides......."

Fang Xuan picked up the sword box and carried it on his back. Unlike before, when it felt like he was carrying a mountain, he felt much more relaxed.

"My body has gradually adapted to the weight of the sword box. Once I nurture my natal flying sword, the sword box will be just like an ordinary weapon to me."

Fang Xuan smiled slightly and pushed open the door to go out.

"Young master, you're finally awake."

Zhongye slid in and knelt down in front of Fang Xuan, grabbing Fang Xuan's leg and wailing, "You have no idea how worried I've been about you these past two days, I was just afraid that you..."

"Get up now, aren't you ashamed?"

Fang Xuan kicked Zhong Ye in an annoyed tone and said, "Where have you been these past few days? Do you think the Fang family is finished and you want to run away?"

"Young master, this old servant is innocent!"

Master Zhong held up three fingers, his face full of grievance, and said, "This old servant has been loyal to you to the core, heaven and earth can bear witness."

"Yeah?"

Fang Xuan sneered, "Where were you the night the Hundred Beasts Gang besieged the Fang family?"

Upon hearing this, Master Zhong quickly explained, "Young Master, is that what you mean? I went to fetch reinforcements."

"Where are the reinforcements?"

"Young master, have you forgotten?"

Master Zhong said matter-of-factly, "You used an array to block out Ye Family Village, so this old servant couldn't get in at all. I wandered around inside for two days before finally managing to escape."

As he spoke, Master Zhong wailed again, saying, "If only I hadn't seen you again."

"Don't be so ungrateful for your good fortune."

Fang Xuan rolled his eyes.

Grandpa Zhong is good in every way, except he's too afraid of dying.

Whenever danger arises, it runs faster than a rabbit.

Master Zhong rubbed his hands together and said, "By the way, young master, this old servant has some good news for you."

"What good news?"

Zhongye glanced around, then lowered his voice and said mysteriously, "There's been some progress on the matter you asked me to investigate."

"What's wrong?"

Fang Xuan didn't react for a moment.

"That's the origin of the Ye family villagers."

Zhongye said, "Didn't you suspect the Ye family villagers before? I just happened to send people to investigate these past two days, and sure enough, they found something unusual."

Fang Xuan's expression hardened, and he said, "Tell me in detail."

"This Ye Family Village is roughly as the old village chief described; it was indeed attacked by a beast tide."

Grandpa Zhong said, "However, that beast tide was caused by two demon kings, and Ye Family Village was affected, but..."

"However, Ye Family Village is clearly just a group of ordinary mortals. This old servant really can't understand how they escaped from the mouths of two demon kings and a group of demon beasts."

Two demon kings?

That's equivalent to two experts at the Divine Intent Realm.

"Anything else?"

Master Zhong shook his head and said, "The original Ye Family Village ruins have been occupied by a group of demonic beasts. There are quite a few of them. The people I sent did not dare to investigate further."

Fang Xuan glanced at Master Zhong and asked, "What's your opinion?"

"This old servant suspects that there is something protecting the Ye family village, allowing the villagers to live peacefully in a place inhabited by demonic beasts for generations."

Grandpa Zhong sighed and said, "It's a pity that the place has now become a den of monsters, and ordinary people don't dare to go near it."

"Then let's leave it for now."

Fang Xuan said, "We'll investigate this more thoroughly when we have the chance."

Regardless of what secrets Ye Family Village may hold, the villagers have now been settled in the back mountain and have been implanted with slave marks.

At the very least, Fang Xuan doesn't need to worry that the Ye family villagers will do him any harm.

"Young Master!"

At this moment, Fang Ren walked over.

"The Grand Elder requests that the Young Master come to the council hall to discuss something."

Fang Xuan nodded and went to the council hall with Fang Ren.

Inside the hall, all the elders of the Fang family were present.

"Greetings, Young Master!"

As soon as Fang Xuan appeared, all the elders stood up and bowed.

"Elders, please don't stand on ceremony, please be seated."

Fang Xuan sat down in the main seat and looked at Fang Shanhai on his right.

"I wonder if the Grand Elder has summoned me here for some important matter?"

Fang Shanhai glanced at Fang Xuan and said, "It seems that the young master's injuries have healed. This is truly a cause for celebration."

That's right.

The First Elder said, "We have been sending people to keep an eye on the situation in Liusha County. According to the latest news, Liusha County is under siege by a beast tide. As the largest local force, the Blood Fiend Gang has suffered heavy losses and is probably too busy to deal with our Fang family for the time being."

"Young Master, this is great news!"

The Third Elder chuckled and said, "In this way, we won't have to worry about the Blood Fiend Gang coming to our door at any time, and we can free up our energy to prepare for the upcoming Three Clans Grand Competition."

Do you know why?

Fang Xuan frowned, feeling that all of this was too much of a coincidence.

Although the counties of Qingyang, Liusha, and Liuyun are located right next to the Lost Souls Mountain Range, they rarely experience beast tides besieging them.

Not to mention, it could also inflict heavy losses on the Blood Fiend Gang.

This proves that this beast tide was quite large.

"In a way, the Blood Fiend Gang deserved it."

The elder laughed and said, "I heard that it was because the Blood Fiend Gang accidentally obtained a demon king cub that the demon king took notice of and launched the beast tide."

"I see."

Fang Xuan nodded and said, "Even so, we can't be careless."

Having failed twice in their attacks on the Fang family, the Blood Fiend Gang will certainly not give up easily.

Although the Fang family now has a Divine Realm expert in charge, their overall strength is still inferior to that of the Blood Fiend Gang.

"Young Master, rest assured, I have already sent people to keep a close eye on Liusha County."

Fang Shanhai said, "Any slightest disturbance will be reported immediately."

"That's good."

Fang Xuan looked at the Second Elder, Fang Shanhe, and asked, "I wonder how those properties we reclaimed are doing now?"

"Young Master, all businesses are operating normally."

Fang Shanhe said, "Perhaps because the competition is approaching, the Su family has calmed down. Although there are some conflicts, they are all within a controllable range."

The Fang family now boasts not only Fang Shanhai, a master of divine intent, but also Fang Xuan, who controls the magic array, unleashing unparalleled killing power.

The Su family had no choice but to accept reality and give up.

But anyone with a discerning eye knows that this is only temporary.

Su Chongming was absolutely unwilling to accept this; he was simply waiting for an opportunity to completely eliminate Fang Xuan and resolve the Fang family issue.

"Young Master, the Three Clans Grand Competition is of paramount importance; it can even be said to determine the life or death of a clan."

Fang Shanhai looked at Fang Xuan and said, "I wonder how confident you are in this competition, young master."

Fang Xuan fell silent, a rare occurrence for him.

The Three Races Grand Competition, in essence, is a contest for a secret realm.

Within this secret realm lie countless opportunities and resources.

As long as it can be controlled, individuals and families can quickly improve their strength.

However, participating in the battle for the secret realm also involves taking enormous risks.

"The battle for the secret realm requires participants to have a cultivation level no higher than the Qi Gathering Realm."

Fang Xuan said, "Whether it's the Su family or the Li family, they have been preparing for this competition for far too long. Successfully taking over the secret realm will not be an easy task."

Upon hearing this, everyone fell silent.

After all, Fang Xuan's cultivation level is currently only at the second level of the Body Refinement Realm.

Even if Fang Xuan's cultivation is strong enough to break through to the third level of the Body Refinement Realm during the competition, his chances of winning the secret realm are not high.

"If all else fails, then we'll select the elite from the clan to participate."

Fang Shanhe said in a deep voice, "Young Master must not put himself in danger."

Fang Xuan is now considered the hope of the Fang family and is regarded as a spiritual leader.

If Fang Xuan were to encounter an accident during the clan competition, the Fang family could not afford the loss.

"I support the Second Elder."

The Third Elder looked at Fang Xuan and said, "Young Master, your status is now extremely high, and you are of great significance to our Fang family. Please do not participate in this competition for the secret realm."

Many people nodded in agreement, acknowledging the Third Elder's words.

"I understand the kindness of all the elders."

Fang Xuan looked around and said with a smile, "But I would like to ask, who is more qualified than me to participate in this clan competition?"

For a moment, everyone fell silent.

"But young master, you..."

Fang Shanhe was about to speak when Fang Xuan raised his hand to interrupt him.

"Second Elder, I know what you're going to say."

Fang Xuan said, "It is precisely because I am the young master of the Fang family that I have an even greater duty to participate in this Three Clans Grand Competition."

He stood up and walked outside, his voice clearly reaching everyone's ears.

"Please rest assured, elders, this secret realm belongs solely to the Fang family!"

Looking at Fang Xuan's retreating figure, everyone's expressions were complicated, and they admired Fang Xuan even more.

"Since the young master has such confidence, then we should believe him."

The First Elder smiled and said, "Alright, now it's up to you elders to take care of the clan's affairs so that the young master can focus on his cultivation."

"yes!"

......

In the backyard.

Fang Rou rested her chin on her hands, lost in thought.

Even the koi carp playing in the lake couldn't attract her attention.

"Hmph, you brat, you haven't come to see me in so long, I'm ignoring you."

Fang Rou snorted coldly, becoming even more sullen.

"Who made our Rou'er sad? Tell me, and I'll go beat him up for you."

The familiar voice brought a smile to Fang Rou's face, but she turned her head to the side, puffed out her cheeks, and refused to look at Fang Xuan.

"She's still angry with her brother."

Fang Xuan sat down next to Fang Rou and said gently, "I'm so sorry, I've been too busy lately and haven't had a chance to spend much time with you."

"I'm not angry at all."

Fang Rou spoke softly.

"Okay, it was my fault, I was wrong."

Fang Xuan ruffled Fang Rou's hair and said, "To express my apology, let's go out and have some fun today."

"Really?"

Fang Rou was delighted, but then pouted and said, "But I'm worried that it will cause trouble for my brother."

She hadn't forgotten that it was because she insisted on going out last time that the Fang family had gotten into trouble with the Blood Fiend Gang.

"How could that be?"

Fang Xuan said, "You are my dearest sister, it's no trouble at all."

"Let's go, I'll take you to get something delicious to eat."

Without saying a word, Fang Xuan grabbed his sister's hand and left the Fang family home.