Swordholder

The Sun family mansion.

After news of the unusual spiritual energy storm in the Chen family's territory spread, the Sun family immediately convened a meeting of its high-ranking members.

Just like the Lu family, the Sun family also planned to take advantage of the aristocratic family conference to slaughter the new generation of Chen family members and completely strip Chen family members of their ten years of cultivation qualifications.

After everyone finished discussing, Sun Chengzong turned to look at his son, Sun Wu.

"Wu'er, what do you think of this matter?"

"Hmph! In less than two months, I'm absolutely confident I'll break through to the Yellow Court Realm and become a Yellow Court Daoist!"

Sun Wu narrowed his eyes, his expression arrogant. "When the time comes, wiping out all that trash and useless Chen family members will be as easy as turning my hand!"

"good!"

Sun Chengzong's eyes flashed with excitement as he exclaimed, "Truly worthy of being the prodigy of the Sun family!"

Sun Wu clenched his fists tightly, his eyes surging with resentment and malice.

"How dare a lowly human brat make me lose face in public?"

"In this clan assessment competition, I will surely wash away this humiliation with his blood!"

Having said that, he was already eagerly anticipating the coming of the aristocratic families' assembly, when he could personally take Chen Yuan's head.

He had been humiliated by Chen Yuan on the streets of the county town that day and had held a grudge ever since.

"You dare accuse me of stealing my wife and cuckolding me? Chen Yuan, I'll make you pay!"

Sun Tzu roared inwardly, his eyes gleaming with elation.

……

The county seat, the Niu family mansion.

Prefect Niu Sengru was a tall and robust middle-aged man with a short beard and deep, sharp eyes.

He sat upright in the main seat, holding a celadon teacup in his left hand and gently lifting the lid with his right, brushing aside the floating tea leaves. After taking a small sip, he looked at the Prefectural Magistrate Gou Zongdao beside him and smiled calmly:

"Lord Gou, in your opinion, is this strange phenomenon at the Chen family truly caused by Chen Qingcang's breakthrough to the Purple Mansion Realm?"

Breakthrough to the Purple Mansion Realm!

This has always been a highly sensitive topic for both the government and the public.

Besides Niu Sengru and Gou Zongdao, the rest of the Niu family were also present.

Upon hearing this topic, their expressions instantly turned serious.

Gou Zongdao also narrowed his eyes slightly, pondered for a moment, and slowly spoke:

"The refined and sublimated magical power and divine soul are stored in the upper dantian (purple palace) to complete the transformation of the divine soul's origin, merge with the Great Dao, and achieve the path of refining the spirit and returning to emptiness. This is the Purple Palace Realm."

At this point, Gou Zongdao smiled faintly, "Lord Niu, the very hurdle of soul transformation and becoming one with the Dao has stumped countless cultivators in the world."

"Moreover, human cultivators face difficulties absorbing spiritual energy, are constrained by their cultivation techniques, and are also burdened by the numerous impurities in the world."

To break through to the Purple Mansion realm, one must spend endless time refining and accumulating essence.

"In my opinion, Chen Qingcang's desire to break through to the Purple Mansion realm is nothing short of a pipe dream."

Moreover, to break through to the Purple Mansion Realm, one must report to the imperial court in advance and obtain permission for advancement before engaging in seclusion for a breakthrough. How can one act recklessly on one's own?

Niu Sengru slowly narrowed his eyes. "Lord Gou is absolutely right. If it wasn't caused by Chen Qingcang's breakthrough, then there's only one possibility left..."

Their eyes met, and they uttered four words in unison:

"A divine-grade elixir!"

Upon hearing those four words, even the two high-ranking officials couldn't help but catch their breath.

Upon hearing this, the other high-ranking members of the Niu family also narrowed their eyes, and the entire room fell silent.

Each person pondered to themselves, a greedy glint flashing in their eyes.

"The person who caused trouble in public at Chunmeng Tower was that brat Chen Yuan, wasn't he?"

Niu Sengru suddenly spoke up and asked a question.

"Hmph, it's him! He's utterly audacious and ignorant of his own limitations!"

Gou Zongdao's eyes were sinister, and he said coldly, "It's a pity that we couldn't get any concrete evidence that day, and Chunmeng Tower was burned down by a fire."

Otherwise, even if he has the Princess Consort of Zhen Dong backing him up, we will definitely take this opportunity to kill him completely.

Niu Sengru smiled faintly: "It's alright, the aristocratic family assessment is just around the corner, he won't be able to cause trouble for many more days."

"Patriarch, what if he deliberately avoids battle and refuses to participate in the clan assembly?"

An elder of the Niu family pondered for a moment before asking the question.

"Hmph, he has no choice but to participate."

Niu Sengru narrowed his eyes slightly, his tone authoritative, "That brat caused a ruckus at Chunmeng Tower, slaughtering the madam, the courtesan, and many guards in the tower. Although there is no concrete evidence, it is a fact that we all know."

If I insist on tearing down this predicament and pursuing the matter to the end, the Chen family will have no peace in Tianqing County.

Everyone felt a chill run down their spines upon hearing this.

Niu Sengru's meaning couldn't be clearer.

For now, we can temporarily set aside the Spring Dream Pavilion case and not pursue it further, but the Chen family must get Chen Yuan involved and participate in the aristocratic family conference.

"That's right, we might not be able to cultivate a top-tier family!"

But if we want to destroy a powerful family, our government has plenty of ways to do so.

Gou Zongdao picked up his teacup, took a sip, and spoke in an equally cold tone.

The other high-ranking members of the Niu family all wore cold smiles.

boom!

Just then, a chilling surge of spiritual energy suddenly emanated from the backyard of the Niu family.

Niu Sengru's gaze sharpened, then he threw his head back and laughed heartily, his face beaming with joy: "Hahaha! My good son, you've finally broken through to the Yellow Court Realm!"

"Congratulations, Lord Niu, on the birth of your son who has reached the Yellow Court realm!"

Gou Zongdao looked surprised and offered his heartfelt congratulations.

The other high-ranking members of the Niu family also smiled and stepped forward to offer their congratulations.

Before long, a burly figure strode into the main hall, his body as strong as a hill, his imposing presence overwhelming.

He had two horns on his head, piercing bull eyes, and his aura was like a dragon, exuding awe-inspiring power.

The visitor was none other than Niu Huanxi, the son of Niu Sengru.

He had once opened 120 spiritual apertures in the Spiritual Aperture Realm, belonging to the 12th level of cultivation talent, making him the strongest monstrous genius in Tianqing County.

"Hmph, those courtesans and madams of Chunmeng Pavilion were pawns I spent a considerable amount of money to gather and manage, and yet they were beaten to death by that bastard Chen Yuan?"

Niu Huanxi clenched his fists, each the size of a clay pot, his tone extremely fierce.

"At this aristocratic family assessment competition, I'm determined to beat that brat Chen Yuan until he shits his pants!"

Niu Sengru and Gou Zongdao exchanged a glance, nodded slightly, and both revealed confident smiles.

With a prodigy like Niu Huanxi joining the conference, their plan is set.

--------

The entire Tianqing County is secretly preparing for the aristocratic family assessment conference two months from now.

To ensure absolute safety, the five major beast-manipulating families secretly instructed their disciples at the peak of the Dharma Body Realm to prepare numerous forbidden pills that could forcefully break through to higher realms.

Even worse, to ensure the outcome was foolproof, they secretly sent several Huangting Daoists into the Grand Tournament's secret realm as their final trump card!

In particular, the other three major human families, such as the Zhang family, the Tang family, and the Li family, have secretly switched sides and sided with the government and the beast-eating families in order to protect themselves and make amends for the trouble caused by Zhang Shan, Tang Hu and others, and to preserve their future cultivation qualifications.

Not only did they completely sever all business ties with the Chen family, but they also secretly compensated Chunmenglou with a large amount of cultivation resources, which is how Niu Sengru and others temporarily refrained from pursuing the matter.

Unfortunately, Zhang Shan, Tang Hu, and Li Shouren have vanished without a trace, and there is nowhere to apprehend them.

Otherwise, given the current stance of the three families, they would surely put aside their own kinship and personally offer up the heads of the three to show their loyalty!

Thus, the original situation of five major beast-eating families versus four major human families was completely reversed, and it became eight families joining forces to besiege the Chen family!

Undercurrents are swirling in Tianqing County, and the atmosphere is eerie and oppressive!

Many members of the Chen family sensed something was wrong and felt a sense of foreboding.

"This is terrible! The Li, Tang, and Zhang families are now avoiding us like the plague, treating us like mortal enemies!"

"I've heard that at this gathering of aristocratic families, the government intends to exterminate all members of the Chen family, leaving no room for leniency!"

"They intend to completely sever our Chen family's right to cultivate for the next ten years!"

"How could this be? In previous years, the aristocratic family gatherings at least had some limits, even though cultivation resources were restricted everywhere."

At least we can still refine and sell pills, and grow spirit rice to keep the family afloat!

"What other reason could there be? It's nothing more than their fear of the young master's monstrous talent, wanting to nip this prodigy in the bud before he fully rises to prominence!"

"Damn it! What are we going to do?"

……

The Chen family was filled with anxiety, and rumors were circulating everywhere.

Those young members who had signed up to participate in the clan tournament were particularly uneasy, feeling as if they were on a death list, their hearts filled with despair.

Normally, the children of the beast-taming families are naturally far stronger than humans. Now, with the opponent outnumbering them and having many powerful individuals, it is already an eight-to-one crushing situation!

The entire Chen family estate at Wuzhifeng seemed to be shrouded in a thick layer of gloom.

Those young members of the Chen family who were to participate in the war were even more demoralized, as if they were waiting to die.

············

Inside a hidden palace on Chenjia Thumb Peak.

At this moment, a group of core young members of the Chen family are gathered here, including Chen Jianming, Chen Jianchu, Li Wei, and others.

In addition, there are Zhang Shan, Tang Hu, and Li Shouren, who are hiding here to escape the pursuit of the Zhang, Tang, and Li families.

"Brother Wei, you are the young master's confidant, we all trust you."

Chen Jianming looked at Li Wei with a solemn expression, "Now the Chen family is being targeted by forces from all sides. At the Grand Family Conference, we, the participating members, are very likely to be slaughtered."

It's not that we're afraid of death, but if we all perish, our family will lose its right to cultivate for the next ten years.

Unable to cultivate normally for a full decade, the family's foundation will only continue to decline, with unimaginable consequences.

At this point, everyone's eyes were filled with grief, indignation, and resentment.

However, the current situation is dire, and with their strength, they are powerless to reverse the defeat. They can only passively wait for death, feeling extremely frustrated.

"So, besides burying ourselves in rigorous training, we also need to find other ways to increase our chances of survival?"

Li Wei stroked his chin, narrowed his eyes, and pondered.

"Could Viagra possibly be the solution?"

When Chen Jianchu saw that Li Wei had seen through everyone's thoughts, he immediately grabbed Li Wei's arm excitedly, his eyes filled with fervent desire.

Li Wei felt a chill run down his spine from his gaze and quickly broke free, chuckling, "I do have a solution, but let's see if it works."

"Viagra, tell me quickly!"

Everyone turned to look at Li Wei, their eyes filled with anticipation.

Even Zhang Shan and his two companions looked curious and listened intently.

The current situation is extremely dire for the Chen family.

They couldn't think of any other way to increase everyone's chances of survival.