Vol. 1 - Chapter 168 - Happy New Year!

“Thanks for your hard work, Uncle.”

Inside the Xie residence, Xie Hongyuan spoke politely after receiving the news, but her expression soon twisted with doubt.

Given the Chen clan’s current strength, those cultivation resources should’ve held considerable value. Yet she hadn’t expected the Chen clan to simply hand them over without a fight.

Could it be that the power of their ancestral totem had dwindled? Or perhaps they had something else in mind—maybe even intended to seek help from the Zhou clan to recover what was taken?

She couldn’t make sense of it.

From her perspective, even with the disparity in strength, the Chen clan still had the Divine Tree and outnumbered their opponents. Even if they couldn’t win outright, they would hardly give up so easily—they would likely fight back with everything they had.

In that case, with the two innate-realm enemies appearing, the Chen clan wouldn’t have stood a chance. That would’ve been the perfect moment for her uncle to step in and offer aid.

Even if they failed to reclaim the stolen resources, just saving the Chen clan’s lives would’ve earned their eternal gratitude. And that goodwill would make the Blood Rice negotiations far easier in the future.

But Chen Tianjing and the others had surrendered everything without resistance, shattering the strategy she’d laid out.

Still, she wasn’t ready to abandon the plan. Since the Shi clan had sent the Mei Shan brothers, they clearly didn’t want to be implicated. That secrecy could be used against them.

If that was the case, then she would bring the truth into the open and see how the Chen clan responded.

Realistically, the Chen clan stood no chance against the Shi clan. That left them with only two options: appeal to the Zhou clan for help or grit their teeth and swallow the humiliation.

If their patriarch had any sense, he’d never choose the first option. There was no solid evidence, and the chances of convincing the Zhou clan to act were slim—best not to waste that card on something this minor.

If they chose the second path, then the relationship between the Chen and Shi clans would be doomed to deteriorate. That would give her clan the perfect opportunity to extend a helping hand. Over time, the Chen clan’s Blood Rice resources would naturally begin leaning in their favor.

And even if things didn’t unfold that way, simply relaying this information would still earn the Xie clan plenty of favor with the Chens.

No matter how she looked at it, there was no downside.

Her thoughts concluded, Xie Hongyuan pursed her lips and blew a sharp, clear whistle.

The sound rang through the air, and soon a small, strange-looking bird appeared at her window.

...

Two days later.

“Clan Leader, a bird just dropped this.”

Chen Xingzhen furrowed his brow, then took the message from his clansman’s hands.

He broke the seal and scanned its contents. As he read, his expression gradually darkened.

Just as he was about to question the circumstances, a call rang out from outside.

“Uncle Tianjing and the others have returned!”

At that, Chen Xingzhen tucked the letter away and strode out without hesitation.

It wasn’t just Chen Tianjing’s group that had returned—Chen Qingyu and several other clansmen who’d gone to intercept the Mei Shan brothers were with them.

After defeating the enemy, Qingyu’s group hadn’t rushed back. Instead, they’d followed the path and caught up to Chen Tianjing and his men, who were riding hard for home.

They had two reasons for doing so—first, to let them know that the stolen items had been successfully recovered. Second, to guard against any further ambushes.

Fortunately, the rest of the journey had gone smoothly. No other enemies appeared.

After two full days of travel without rest, the group finally returned home.

“Clan Leader.”

“I already know what happened. Were any of our people hurt?”

When told that only a few had suffered injuries from using the Five Viscera Ascension Technique, Chen Xingzhen gave a brief nod. He quickly instructed them to go to the ancestral hall and seek healing from the Divine Tree.

Before long, the core members of the clan had assembled inside the ancestral hall.

Even though the entire mission had been broadcast through the clan’s spiritual light curtain, Chen Tianjing still gave a detailed recounting.

Most of what he said matched their earlier expectations. The only surprise had been the sudden appearance of two innate-realm warriors.

“I think they were tailing us since Yong’an City,” Chen Tianyu offered thoughtfully. “We just didn’t notice.”

Chen Tianjing gave a slight nod—he’d been considering the same possibility.

But Chen Xingzhen shook his head and cut in.

“No. It was the Shi clan.”

He held up the letter he had just received and passed it around.

When they read what was written, both men’s expressions darkened with fury.

“So it was the Shi clan behind all this? Bastards!”

“Good thing Qingyu arrived when she did, or the loss would’ve been devastating.”

Off to the side, Chen Qingyu shook her head.

“Those two were both innate-realm cultivators. They also had a strange divine stone. I couldn’t have defeated them on my own. This time, we were lucky the Divine Tree and the ancestors intervened.”

At the mention of the ancestors and the Divine Tree, Chen Tianjing and the others looked enlightened.

Though they had never witnessed the deceased clan elders in action, everyone in the clan knew that their spirits lingered in the shadows, ready to protect the clan.

What surprised them was just how powerful those ancestors had become—strong enough to eliminate two innate-realm warriors.

Even though Chen Tianjing’s group hadn’t seen it for themselves, several other blood condensation realm warriors who had accompanied Qingyu had. Among them was Chen Tianlu.

Remembering what he’d seen over the past two days, Chen Tianlu’s expression glowed with awe.

Two innate-realm martial artists had been powerless against the attacks of the deceased. If it hadn’t been for the divine stone they used, they wouldn’t have escaped at all.

He used to wonder what would happen to him after death.

Now? He couldn’t wait. He wanted to become one of the clan’s ghost soldiers as soon as possible.

After all, the elders often said that a soul body had no upper limit to growth, nor any bottlenecks like the living. For someone with weak talent like him, that was a dream come true.

Even if he had decades, he still might never break into the innate realm.

But as a spirit? Maybe it would only take a year or two.

Who cared about a physical body? There were many ways to protect the clan. Even lingering as a vengeful spirit could be noble in its own way.

Of course, thoughts like that shouldn’t be shared with the others.

“Ahem.”

Noticing a few of the younger clan members drifting into a daze, Chen Xingzhen cleared his throat and pulled them back to reality.

Then, in a calm but firm voice, he said, "If these two were indeed the work of the Shillin clan, then this divine stone was probably an effect of the Shillin clan's totem power”

Chen Qingyu and Chen Tianlu exchanged slight nods. All of them had witnessed the might of that Divine Stone—its power was not to be underestimated.

Had it not been the clan’s elders who endured its impact, they might not have had any means of countering it at all.

Still, clan totems often bore the weight of a clan’s faith and aspirations. It wasn’t unusual for them to manifest extraordinary powers.

What the clan needed to consider now was how best to respond.

Hello readers!

Read up to 12 advance chapters by joining us on Patreon! Support us and read ahead

[Join Patreon]

Enjoying the story? Help more readers discover it by leaving a rating and reviews on NovelUpdate!

Every review counts.

[Rate on NovelUpdate]

Thanks for your support and happy reading!