Swordholder

In Tianshan County, Huaishan County, next to Wuqiao Town, there is a huge black mountain that is perpetually shrouded in an evil aura.

Today, this hilltop welcomed another uninvited guest.

"Heh, do you really think my territory is a public latrine? Any Tom, Dick, or Harry can just pop in?"

Granny Black Mountain exuded a terrifying aura, and the thick tree roots that extended from beneath her supported her body, suspending her in mid-air.

Her head was slightly lowered, her neck, covered with bark-like textures, twisted into an astonishing arc, and her full head of black hair stood up like a flying black dragon or snake, fierce and terrifying.

Beneath her, countless tree roots were deeply embedded in the earth!

Around the tree roots, countless monsters with human bodies and wolf heads stood, each wielding a long sword and with bloodshot eyes, surrounding a tall old man with white hair and beard, dressed in a plain robe.

These monsters are numerous, covering the mountains and fields, and stretch as far as the eye can see.

Grandma Black Mountain's gaze was so sinister it could drip water.

Previously, a young girl rescued more than a dozen of the lucky pigs that she was going to sacrifice to the evil god.

Although many were killed during the chase, one chubby boy was still rescued.

Immediately afterwards, Chen Guodao from the Chen family of Tianqing County came to her door and fought a battle with her, but was ultimately killed by her!

But just as they dealt with Chen Guodao, Lu Chengfeng appeared.

After finally managing to drive away the zombie Lu Chengfeng, Xu Zhihua, the Grand Chief of Tianshan County, arrived one after another.

One wave after another of people kept her from having any peace, and even rest became a luxury.

His momentum to break through to the Purple Mansion Realm was abruptly interrupted and delayed for several months, making it impossible for him to return to normal.

They all deserve to die!

She was filled with resentment, and her murderous intent was almost overflowing.

"About two months ago, you captured a young girl from a noble family and killed a middle-aged human, didn't you?"

The white-haired old man squinted, questioning in an icy tone, his eyes seemingly brimming with a raging fury that, if unleashed, would burn everything in the world.

"Oh? Hehe, that's true. That middle-aged man, it seems, was trying to save a girl named Chen Zhaoning."

Grandma Black Mountain spoke softly, a hint of mockery flashing in her eyes: "Oh, so you're also from the Chen family?"

She looked the old man up and down, her tone disdainful, "It is said that although the Chen family is the last of the four great human families in Tianqing County, their position is the most stable."

Not only because the Chen family is a renowned family of alchemists, but also because they have connections in Wangdong Prefecture... It is said that Chen Xiaoying of the Chen family is the princess consort of the Prince of Zhendong?

The white-haired old man did not respond, but his murderous aura suddenly erupted!

He strode forward, his eyes sharp as blades, and said in a deep voice, "Since you know, then I'll send you evil spirits on your way!"

Seeing this, Granny Black Mountain instantly guessed the old man's identity and sneered, "Heh, you? Chen Qingcang, even if you came in person, do you think I'd be afraid of you?"

Her face was full of disdain, but the next second, her pupils suddenly contracted... In her line of sight, Chen Qingcang slowly stepped into the air, and soon they were looking at each other at eye level.

"A True Person from the Purple Mansion?!"

Grandma Black Mountain let out an incredulous scream, her hair standing on end, filled with terror!

She knew that only experts at the Purple Mansion Realm could fly through the air!

This is especially true for wingless humans!

hum!

Before he could finish speaking, a palm strike crackling with flames was already upon him!

boom!

Grandma Black Mountain's body was instantly engulfed by flames, and intense pain swept over her entire body, causing her to scream in agony.

"Ah... Damn it! No... Impossible!!"

"Wasn't Chen Qingcang, the patriarch of the Chen family, supposed to be at the Great Perfection of the Yellow Court Realm? When did he break through to the Purple Mansion Realm?!"

She struggled frantically, her eyes filled with deep fear.

Even after Chen Zhaoning and Chen Guodao revealed the Chen family's background, she still dared to make a move, partly because she relied on the fact that this was Tianshan County, where the Chen family's influence did not extend.

Secondly, she learned that the strongest ancestor of the Chen family was only at the Great Perfection of the Yellow Court Realm, which is why he acted so recklessly, wanting to kill the two of them and absorb their blood and essence.

Chen Qingcang completely ignored her wails, his cultivation surged again, and the waves of energy rolled in!

Immediately afterwards, he suddenly raised his foot towards the hill below!

hum!

A gigantic, sky-covering phantom of a foot suddenly appeared!

With a devastating force, it crashed down heavily onto the mountaintop!

boom!!!

With a deafening roar, the entire Black Mountain crumbled instantly, and countless monsters with human bodies and wolf heads were crushed into bloody pulp with screams, leaving no trace of their remains.

"You killed my three sons! I will make all of you demons pay with your lives!"

Chen Qingcang roared angrily, his hands rapidly forming hand seals as he chanted incantations:

"Summoning the true fire above, gathering the crimson sun below, with crimson flames as its blade and raging fire as its reins, burning away the eight wastelands, all evil will perish!!"

As the incantation was recited, the void around him trembled violently, and clusters of crimson fireballs, each the size of a water vat, appeared out of thin air... They gathered more and more, illuminating most of the sky as if it were daytime.

Immediately afterwards, countless fireballs hummed and trembled, surging down towards the mountain below like a meteor shower!

"Boom, boom boom, boom boom boom boom..."

The entire Black Mountain trembled violently, and within just two breaths, it was completely engulfed in flames!

Under the dim moonlight, Black Mountain was engulfed in flames, and screams and the sounds of burning rose and fell incessantly.

The intense firelight illuminated Chen Qingcang's gloomy face in mid-air, making his murderous aura even more intense.

He hovered in mid-air for a quarter of an hour, and after confirming that there was no longer any sign of life below, he vanished in a flash and sped off into the distance.

······

A day later, Chen Qingcang appeared in Wuqiao Town, walking the streets of this dilapidated town.

At this moment, a middle-aged man dressed in a blue robe quickly stepped forward, leaned close to him, and whispered:

"Master, we've found out."

"After escaping from Black Mountain, Miss went to Green Mountain Village, and then left there with a few others..."

As he spoke, the middle-aged man in the blue robe quickly reported all the information he had gathered.

"Oh? A zombie? Lu Chengfeng?"

Chen Qingcang frowned slightly, quickly gleaning the key information from the numerous pieces of data, and muttered to himself:

"Could it be Lu Chengfeng, the swordsman who was famous throughout the Eastern Prefecture more than a decade ago?"

His eyes narrowed slightly, a glint of shrewdness flashing within them.

"The Swordholder?"

The middle-aged man in the blue robe repeated in a low voice, his eyes suddenly narrowing, and a look of admiration appeared on his face.

His name is Jiang Shangwu. He is a retainer of the Chen family and the master of the Chen family's War Hall.

"If it were Lu Chengfeng, the one who wields the sword, then it would be a real pity."

Jiang Shangwu sighed in a low voice, "It is said that he is one of the few people who can cultivate both the Heavenly Light Daoist Technique and the Heavenly Light Demon-Slaying Technique at the same time. Given time, he may be able to rival the Grandmaster Swordsman of yesteryear."

"Alas, it is indeed a pity. He was harmed by a demoness from the Wuxiang Sect and became a zombie."

Chen Qingcang said in a deep voice, his figure suddenly stopped, and the killing intent in his eyes surged.

"The head of the family?"

Jiang Shangwu looked puzzled, not understanding why Chen Qingcang had suddenly stopped.

"That kid took in Xiao Ning and killed the officials from Wuqiao Town, so he definitely won't stay in Qingshan Village anymore."

Chen Qingcang spoke slowly.

"That's right. When they passed through Shangang Town, they killed the local garrison commander and several guards of the Wang family. After that, they entered Huaishan County and caused a great disturbance."

"However, the Huai Shan County government suppressed the matter, fearing repercussions from Tian Shan Prefecture..."

Jiang Shangwu narrowed his eyes, his tone tinged with surprise, and continued, "It seems that Xu Zhihua, Liu Qingyuan, Liu Zongyuan and the others want to capture them first and then report to their superiors to claim credit."

Upon hearing this, Chen Qingcang stepped forward again.

Jiang Shangwu looked in the direction he was heading and asked in confusion:

"Master, where are we going? Logically, we should be heading to Huai Shan County or the edge of Tian Qing Prefecture as soon as possible to meet Miss."

Chen Qingcang said calmly, "That girl Xiao Ning is probably taking them back to the Chen family."

"What?"

Jiang Shangwu's expression changed slightly, somewhat surprised.

"We'll clean up their mess first, doing it so that neither Tianshan County nor Tianqing County can find out anything."

Chen Qingcang's eyes sharpened, his tone icy, "First, take out the garrison commander of Wuqiao!"

"Hmph, how dare they kidnap my granddaughter, Chen Qingcang, to be a sacrifice to an evil god? I will grind them to dust!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Chen Qingcang, exuding a murderous aura, strode towards the Wuqiao Town government office.

Jiang Shangwu clicked his tongue, not daring to delay for even a moment, and quickly followed behind.

Half an hour later, the government office of Wuqiao Town was covered in blood.

······

Chen Yuan never imagined that the Black Mountain Granny, who had a grudge against him, Chen Zhaoning, and Li Wei, would be killed by Chen Qingcang, the head of the Chen family!

Meanwhile, the Wuqiao Town law enforcement officers and garrison commanders, who had a grudge against him, were also cleanly and efficiently eliminated!

But at this moment, he had no time to care about any of that; only an indescribable sadness overwhelmed him.

He carried Lu Chengfeng's shriveled corpse on his back, rode a big black horse, and chased after them for a long time before finally spotting Chen Zhaoning and the other two.

Seeing Chen Yuan return safely, Chen Zhaoning, carrying Nuomi on her back, finally smiled on her usually cold face.

She feigned anger, her tone carrying a hint of threat: "Kid, you're smart enough not to break your promise."

If you dare not come, I will definitely not let you off the hook...

But before she could finish speaking, her smile froze on her face, her gaze fixed on Chen Yuan's shoulder...

The drooping, withered head, like a dried corpse, made her voice tremble uncontrollably.

"This...this is..."

The ominous premonition in her heart instantly came true. She subconsciously wanted to cover Nuomi's eyes, but it was too late.

Nuomi was already weeping uncontrollably, letting out heart-wrenching cries of grief:

"Waaaaah... Daddy..."

She cried as she broke free from Chen Zhaoning's embrace and staggered toward Chen Yuan.

Chen Yuan immediately dismounted, knelt on one knee, and tightly embraced Nuomi, who had rushed towards him, his voice trembling with suppressed emotion:

"I'm sorry... Nuomi... I'm sorry..."

"Brother Yuan is useless... He couldn't bring your father back intact..."

"I'm sorry... I'm so sorry..."

He lowered his head, his eyes bloodshot, and large tears rolled down his cheeks again, like a torrential rain hitting Nuomi's hair.

"Waaah... Daddy..."

Nuomi's gaze fell on the withered, skeletal head on Chen Yuan's shoulder, and her cries grew more piercing as her small body trembled incessantly.

Chen Zhaoning and Li Wei's expressions changed drastically, and their eyes instantly turned red.

They rushed forward and gently embraced Chen Yuan and Nuomi, wanting to offer them some comfort.

They didn't know what to say for a moment, so they could only hold the two of them tightly and silently accompany them in their grief.

Suddenly, Chen Yuan noticed that Nuomi in his arms was trembling violently, and even her breathing became weak.

"Glutinous rice...glutinous rice!"

Chen Yuan exclaimed in surprise and quickly cupped Nuomi's cheeks, but the skin his fingertips touched was so cold that he couldn't help but shiver.

Not only that, Nuomi's whole body convulsed, her eyes rolled back, and her short hair stood on end as if it had exploded.

"What...is going on?!"

Chen Yuan panicked completely, his heart tightened, and his voice was full of anxiety and fear.