Chapter 17:
Chu Xuan only thought about it briefly. He would not take the risk to send over a wisp of his spiritual will and leave with Zhu Qiang.
If his actions broke the rules of seclusion, his seclusion record would be reset. After staying in the courtyard for such a long time, he would then have to start from the beginning again.
After planting the soul seed seal on Zhu Qiang, Chu Xuan inquired about his purpose in coming here.
In order to inflict losses to the Chu family, the cult had to pay a higher price every time they took action. This time, they actually brought along a wisp of demonic smoke.
Demonic smoke was different from poisonous smoke and toxic fire. Once it was released, the contaminated area would be extremely difficult to restore.
The price one would need to pay to purchase it was more than ten times that of poisonous smoke and toxic fire.
Moreover, once people below the profound realm inhaled the demonic smoke, their consciousness would become chaotic and they would fall into madness.
If the demonic smoke was really released in the Chu family's territory, the servants would definitely suffer heavy casualties.
One had to know that the servants in the Chu family's territory were all handpicked and had a certain amount of talent in various fields. Moreover, their family backgrounds were clean and they were relatively loyal to the family. They were truly assets worth nurturing.
If the casualties among them were serious, it would definitely be a great loss to the family.
The demonic smoke was refined from the corpses of the demon race. It had a very strong contaminating power. Even evil cultivators did not dare to easily come into contact with the demonic smoke before they broke through to the spirit realm.
The demon race had existed for a very long time in the Southern Region.
In some ancient battlefields, there would be a small number of demon corpses left behind.
Usually, only evil cultivators would collect the demon corpses.
The cult was really acting ruthlessly this time.
Chu Xuan looked at Zhu Qiang and directly forced him to act according to his own will.
He ordered Zhu Qiang to return to the cult's base, release the poisonous smoke, and conduct a sneak attack on the experts of the cult. He tasked Zhu Qiang with killing as many as he could, and never revealing anything about the Chu family.
After giving him the order, he let Zhu Qiang leave.
Zhu Qiang was on the verge of collapse. His consciousness and thoughts were clear. The only thing he could not do was resist the will of his controller which was hidden in the darkness.
He felt terrified in his heart, but the expression on his face did not show it at all.
Everything looked normal, and there was no sign that he was being controlled.
It was over!
Zhu Qiang knew that he was going to die. The Chu family was too terrifying.
The cult's Chu County secret headquarters.
This was their third headquarters.
They would change locations every once in a while.
Besides avoiding the Chu family's detection, they also wanted to avoid Black Moon Tower.
If they stayed in one place for too long, it would be easy for Black Moon Tower to find them. They might even sell information about their secret base to the Chu family at a high price.
In order to prevent such a situation from happening, the headquarters would change locations every once in a while.
Only the leader, vice leader, and a few elders knew the location of the headquarters.
They could be trusted. It was almost guaranteed that Black Moon Tower could not spy on them.
In the cave, the cult's vice sect leader for the Qin Kingdom, Wang Tu, and the cult's protector for the Purple Moon Kingdom sat at the head of the table.
The Chu County leader and many elders sat at the table as well.
They were all waiting for the news of Zhu Qiang and Zhu Yan.
Chu Qing had been heavily injured and a third-level void realm Chu elder had fallen. They had finally enraged Chu Tianming, forcing him to leave the family territory and make a move personally.
The cult took decisive action and once again aimed to take revenge on the Chu family's territory.
It was all thanks to the Chu clan that the cult had suffered heavy losses recently.
A branch of the cult in the Purple Moon Kingdom had even been directly annihilated.
The Qin kingdom was in a situation where the four families ruled together and, under most circumstances, they were each in charge of their own territories.
However, the Purple Moon Kingdom was not like this. The Violet Moon Kingdom's royal family was extremely powerful and firmly controlled the entire kingdom so, at the first possible moment, they gathered a portion of their strength and struck out with lightning speed to annihilate a branch of the cult.
The fourth-level void realm branch leader and numerous elders were all annihilated.
It was precisely because of this that the Purple Moon Kingdom's cult protector brought along a wisp of demonic smoke in order to take revenge on the Chu family!
"Brother Wang Tu, why don't we join forces to kill that old ghost Chu Tianming?"
The Purple Moon Kingdom's cult protector asked darkly.
Wang Tu could not be bothered with him and did not reply.
If the cult had the ability to kill Chu Tianming, would they still be hiding here and there?
Chu Tianming was the patriarch of one of the three aristocratic families of the Qin Kingdom. He was a bona fide half-step unity realm cultivator and was carrying a treasured artifact with him.
Unless a powerful warrior at the unity realm made a move, who could kill him?
In the Qin Kingdom, there was only one warrior at the first level of the unity realm.
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If one wanted to kill Chu Tianming, they would need to enlist the aid of an elite warrior from the evil imperial court.
However, the evil imperial court was not without its own enemies either. An elite warrior at the unity realm could not leave easily, especially when the evil king was in closed-door cultivation.
In the end, the Qin Kingdom was still a little remote and barren. The evil imperial court would not pay much attention to it.
Had it not been so barren, the Qin Kingdom would not be so weak.
Seeing that Wang Tu did not speak, the cult protector from the Purple Moon Kingdom did not give up and said, "With the combined strength of several people, so what if he has a treasured artifact? There is still a chance to kill him!"
The branch leader in the Purple Moon Kingdom was his younger brother. Thanks to the Chu family, he had actually fallen.
He felt great hatred in his heart!
Wang Tu said coldly, "How many people would we need? Are they going to perish together with Chu Tianming?"
Ignoring the cult protector from the Purple Moon Kingdom, Wang Tu said, "Let's wait another day. If Zhu Qiang and Zhu Yan don't return, we will leave this place!"
He was worried that Black Moon Tower would have already found out about this place. Chu Tianming was currently enraged and might have really spent a large sum to purchase this information.
Once Chu Tianming attacked, it was unknown how many of the people present here would survive.
He was almost certain that Chu Tianming would try to kill him first. He was definitely the most dangerous person present.
Then, Zhu Qiang returned.
"Why are you alone?"
Wang Tu frowned.
Zhu Qiang was on the verge of breaking down in the depths of his heart. He was in utter despair, but he could not go against his controller's will.
"Sect master, Zhu Yan is hiding in the Chu family's territory. We found an important piece of information, so I came back to report it to the sect leader."
"What kind of information?"
Wang Tu did not doubt his words at all.
Zhu Qiang glanced at the cult protector from the Purple Moon Kingdom. He hesitated for a moment before approaching.
Wang Tu glanced at the protector from the Purple Moon Kingdom and thought for a moment. The other party was also a high-level member of the cult and also served the evil imperial court. It would not be a problem for him to hear this information as well.
Their common enemy was the Chu family. Since the information pertained to the Chu family, they should no doubt share it with him.
Since Zhu Qiang was acting so cautiously, it was likely that this piece of intelligence was very important. Even the other elders could not be allowed to hear it. Otherwise, it might increase the chances of it being leaked.
"Sect leader, the Chu family has been..."
Zhu Qiang approached Wang Tu and sent him a voice transmission, while acting as if he was taking out something.
"Boom!"
Suddenly, a violent gray light erupted.
Zhu Qiang made his move.
The moment he made his move, he struck with full force.
Wang Tu was caught off guard. Half of his body was shattered, and his spiritual will was shaken. He was on the verge of death.
This sudden change stunned everyone present.
Boom!
After the successful attack, Zhu Qiang's second strike struck the cult protector from the Purple Moon Kingdom.
Pfft!
The protector of the Purple Moon Kingdom could not dodge in time and was instantly heavily injured, but he did not die immediately.
"Zhu Qiang, what are you doing?"
Wang Tu's spiritual will had not yet dispersed, and he let out an angry roar!
"All of you should die!"
Zhu Qiang released the demonic smoke.
The demonic smoke billowed in the cave, and he roared, "All of you should die! I am the sect leader of the cult, and I will be immortalized eternally. I am the only one qualified to be the sect leader of the cult in the Qin Kingdom!"
He attacked crazily.
After being stunned for a moment, the others reacted.
"Zhu Qiang has gone mad!"
"Kill him quickly! He has gone mad!"
"Was he affected by the demonic smoke?"
The other cult elders attacked one after another.
However, Zhu Qiang did not care about his life at all. He only attacked and did not defend. Moreover, he targeted one person and attacked with all his might, completely ignoring the attacks of the others.
Pfft!
Another cult elder had fallen!
His face was filled with resentment. "D*mn you, Zhu Qiang! I was your lifelong friend! How dare you target me!"
Chapter 18:
Zhu Qiang was on the verge of a mental breakdown. His lifelong friend had fallen at his hands.
Thinking back to the past, they had been hunted down and done some evil things together.
Yet now, he had died by his hands!
He did not want to kill him but, for some reason, killing him brought some unknown joy to his soul!
The battle in the cave was intense, and flesh and blood could be seen flying everywhere.
Zhu Qiang was, after all, rather weak, so how could he withstand the attacks of those around him?
"I can't die like this!"
Zhu Qiang's broken body suddenly pounced on a person and hugged him tightly.
It was another elder that he was on good terms with!
Bang!
Zhu Qiang self-destructed.
His spiritual will and spiritual power exploded in unison.
The elder that he hugged immediately suffered heavy injuries and was on the verge of death!
His heart was on the verge of collapse!
D*mn it, when we were young, we did say that we were not born on the same day but wanted to die on the same day, but that was just a joke.
We did not even make an oath, so why did you take it seriously?
That son of a b*tch Zhu Qiang actually dragged me to die together with him!
The battle ended soon after.
The other cult experts all fell silent.
Vice sect leader Wang Tu had fallen, and two other elders had also fallen alongside him.
The cult protector from the Purple Moon Kingdom had also fallen in the battle.
He had been severely injured by Zhu Qiang's sneak attack. The fluctuations from all the fighting had "coincidentally" affected him.
Zhu Qiang had suddenly gone crazy. They did not know whether it was related to the demonic smoke.
However, for the safety of the cult, the protector from the Purple Moon Kingdom had no choice but to die.
"Retreat, let's change our location and report to headquarters. I'm afraid that Zhu Yan is also dead!"
The branch leader of the Chu County cult said.
The others did not have any objections and retreated from the cave one after the other.
At the same time, they felt extremely aggrieved. The cult had fallen on hard times everywhere and was suffering setbacks wherever they went. It had all started from the Chu family's purge of the cult.
Their hatred toward the Chu family had increased several-fold.
..
"You have not left seclusion and stayed at home, but still managed to instigate a counterattack on the cult. You have been rewarded with ten years' worth of cultivation!"
Chu Xuan was pleasantly surprised. The soul seed seal was indeed awesome, and Zhu Qiang was also very powerful. He had actually killed some cult experts.
Boom!
A wave of power and comprehension surged into his body, and his strength started growing rapidly.
After breaking through to the void realm, the speed of Chu Xuan's cultivation had slowed down.
Even if he consumed a spiritual pill to cultivate every day, his cultivation speed still did not increase.
The higher one's cultivation level, the slower the increase in one's strength would be.
Chu Xuan estimated that, by the end of the year, he would probably only be able to advance to the eighth or ninth level of the void realm.
However, his cultivation speed would probably scare people to death if news of it were to spread out.
Despite this, Chu Xuan was not satisfied. Currently, the battle between the Chu family and the cult was becoming more and more intense, and the cult had failed several times and suffered heavy losses.
It seemed like it would only be a matter of time before they asked the elite warriors of the evil imperial court to make a move.
Therefore, he could not even delay one additional day in striving to raise his cultivation level to the emperor realm.
The reward of ten years' worth of cultivation was based on ten years of cultivation using the Great Luo Emperor scripture, rather than ten years' worth of cultivation based on Chu Xuan consuming spiritual pills.
Even so, Chu Xuan's strength finally surpassed the void realm and reached the first level of the unity realm!
After breaking through to the unity realm, his spiritual will and spiritual power would be able to merge with the void and reality, making a qualitative leap.
"I should be the number one expert of the Qin Kingdom now, right?"
Chu Xuan felt slightly more confident in his heart.
He was somewhat looking forward to the heretic cult sending people once again to ambush him.
The effect of the soul seed seal was unexpectedly great. If he could control a few void realm heretic cult elders, it would be almost enough to annihilate the heretic cult's forces in Chu County.
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In the capital of Chu County...
Chu Tianming followed Chu Yun and two other elders of the Chu family into a building with a black moon engraved on the door plaque
A middle-aged man with a smile on his face quickly walked up to him.
"Patriarch Chu, it's been a long time."
Chu Tianming's expression did not look too good. Chu Qing had been surrounded and injured by the heretic cult's experts previously. Had he not been here for the information sold by Black Moon Tower, he would have torn this person's head off.
This was not the first time Black Moon Tower had done such a thing.
They sold information, accepted assassination missions, sold treasures, and so on. The scope of Black Moon Tower's business was very wide. Sometimes, in order to increase their profit margins, it was not uncommon for them to secretly act to stir up trouble.
Black Moon Tower's black-hearted ways were famous throughout the entire Southern Region.
The prices they charged were not standardized either. Instead, the prices were decided based on the location and situation.
For example, the price for assassinating an expert at the peak of the void realm was not considered too expensive in a strong country.
However, in the Qin Kingdom, the asking price was so high that one could only feel despair!
If not for that, the cult would have long commissioned Black Moon Tower to assassinate the patriarch of the Chu family.
Of course, in order to avoid encountering such a premise, and because it was indeed necessary, the Chu family had always been a major client of Black Moon Tower.
Unless the heretic cult offered a ridiculously high price, Black Moon Tower would not accept the mission of assassinating a major client like themselves.
"Tower Lord Wan, you sent me a message saying that there is important information for the Chu family. I won't beat around the bush. Just be direct with me. How much is the price? And is the information verified?"
Entering Black Moon Tower, they arrived at the VIP room.
"Patriarch Chu, the information of our Black Moon Tower has always been trustworthy. If the information turns out to be untrue, Black Moon Tower can reimburse you three times the price of the information. This is to ensure fairness and transparency."
Wan Chang was all smiles.
The cult had actually brought the demonic smoke with them and infiltrated the Chu family to cause destruction. Such an important piece of information would definitely be sold for a good price.
Looking at the time, the cult would start to take action around now, right?
Even if Chu Tianming got his hands on the information, he might not be able to stop the tragedy from happening.
Once the cult succeeded, the Chu family's territory would be filled with the demonic smoke. If they wanted to remove the contamination of the demonic smoke, they would definitely need to look for him again to purchase treasures that could remove the effects of the demonic smoke.
Wan Chang had already prepared such a treasure to remove the effects of the demonic smoke.
He was just waiting for the right opportunity to rip off Chu Tianming, this big fat sheep of a customer.
"Give me a quote."
Chu Tianming did not dare to underestimate the importance of this information to the Chu family.
If the information had not been crucially important, Wan Chang would not have come to him personally.
Black Moon Tower was black-hearted, but their reputation was worth its weight in gold.
"One million crystals."
"Why don't you just rob me instead?"
Chu Tianming said angrily.
"It's not like that at all!"
Wan Chang said seriously, "Brother Chu, this is important information regarding the safety of your Chu family. If it was not worth this price, why would I quote this price to you? Besides, if the information is false, not only will Black Moon Tower refund you, we will also compensate you three-fold!"
Chu Tianming became serious.
"Deal!"
He took out a storage bag, put in one million crystals, and threw it over to Wan Chang.
"Tell me the information."
Wan Chang was very satisfied. The Chu family was such a generous customer. For the sake of sustainable income, as long as they did not receive a high price from the cult or their other enemies, they would not let the Chu family disappear.
Any customer who could create a sustainable stream of income for Black Moon Tower was a good customer.
"According to our information, two elders of the cult have sneaked into the Chu family's territory carrying demonic smoke, and they are preparing to unleash it on the population!"
Wan Chang said seriously.
"That's it?"
Chu Tianming was furious. What kind of important information was this?
What did they take the Chu family's territory for? A sieve that anyone could enter and leave as they wished?
"Of course, it's more than that."
Wan Chang had expected such a reaction, and he narrowed his eyes as he said, "I naturally know that the Chu family's territory is heavily guarded. Under normal circumstances, it's naturally impossible for them to sneak in."
"This time, the cult has obtained two void-level treasured clothes, and those below the third level of the void realm will be unable to sense their. Even those at the peak of the void realm are unable to sense their presence beyond a certain range."
"The Chu family's ancestral residence is naturally safe, but the remaining large estate..."
Chu Tianming's expression turned grim.
Chapter 19:
The expressions of the other two elders of the Chu family changed drastically. One of them left immediately without waiting for instructions from Chu Tianming.
He sent a message while rushing back to the Chu family!
Chu Tianming cupped his hands and said, "Goodbye!"
"Brother Chu, don't worry too much even if you can't stop them in time. Our Black Moon Tower has countless treasures, and we can always help you recoup your losses."
Wan Chang said with a smile as he sent Chu Tianming off.
"This must be Chu Yun. As expected of the current genius of the Chu family. In a short period of time, she has already broken through to the second level of the profound realm."
As he said this, he took out a bracelet.
"Come over, dear niece. This is a gift for a major customer like the Chu family. You can keep it."
That bracelet was a low-grade spirit artifact. It was a mass-produced product of Black Moon Tower, and it was specially used as gifts for major customers.
Its quality was naturally rather ordinary.
Although it was a low-grade spirit artifact, its true power was a grade higher than ordinary low-grade spirit artifacts.
Chu Yun did not like it, but she still reached out to take it.
Since she did not need it, she could give it to one of the servants.
The Chu family had many such low-grade spirit artifacts of similar grade. They were all gifts given to the Chu family after completing transactions with Black Moon Tower!
Chu Tianming's face was dark and baleful the entire time. The void-level treasured clothes the cultists were using had definitely been sold to them by Black Moon Tower.
Unfortunately, the Chu family was not strong enough to make an enemy of Black Moon Tower. Otherwise, they would have killed this b*stard!
They were actually pandering to both sides!
"Brother Chu, I'll be awaiting your next visit."
Wan Chang was in a good mood.
Chu Tianming snorted and quickly returned to the ancestral residence of the Chu family.
He naturally knew what Wan Chang meant. If he rushed back now, it would definitely be too late.
This b*stard, he had timed it too precisely.
He would sell the information and, later, also sell them treasures that could dispel the demonic smoke.
If he waited until he received news that the Chu family's territory had been contaminated by the demonic smoke, he would not have been able to sell information, and would thus lose out on a portion of the potential profits.
This black-hearted Wan Chang!
Chu Tianming cursed in his heart.
..
Chu Xuan was puzzled. Was something big about to happen in the Chu family's territory?
All of a sudden, the defenses of the Chu family's territory had been beefed up again. More than ten void realm elders were dispatched to the borders of the territory to patrol.
Even the head butler personally held a detection-type spirit artifact in his hand and began to patrol the entire territory.
Could it be that the evil imperial court had sent over an expert?
Chu Xuan immediately felt pressured. Even if the evil imperial court sent someone this time, that person would likely only be at the unity realm, so he was not afraid at all.
However, once the battle actually started, would he not be exposed?
Moreover, if the evil imperial court's expert was defeated, there would soon be even more powerful experts coming over to attack.
If that was really the case, how would he be able to safely stay in seclusion?
The servant also realized what was happening, so Chu Xuan could only raise his level of vigilance.
Chu Yun had returned.
"Thirteenth brother, come back to the ancestral residence with me. I'll plead on your behalf to grandfather."
The first thing Chu Yun did was to ask Chu Xuan to return to the ancestral residence.
"I'm fine here and living comfortably. I'm not going back."
Chu Xuan refused.
He was not going back to see Chu Tianming's ugly mug.
He would just stay in the courtyard and slowly became stronger, not taking a single step out.
"The ancestral grounds aren't safe."
Chu Yun said anxiously.
"How can the ancestral grounds not be safe? You're worrying too much."
In the entire Chu family, there was no place safer than here.
"The cult is taking action. It's really dangerous."
When Chu Yun informed him about the information obtained from Black Moon Tower, Chu Xuan's expression immediately turned strange.
Calculating the time, if he had not killed the two cultists, by the time Chu Tianming obtained the information, the Chu family territory would already be filled with demonic smoke.
Black Moon Tower was truly black-hearted. They had sold soon-to-be useless information to them, and would then sell the necessary treasures to dispel the demonic smoke.
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No wonder the Chu family was so nervous. Even the head butler was personally acting.
"Even the head butler has come out. The cult won't be able to infiltrate our territory."
Chu Xuan put on a look of great confidence in the Chu family's strength.
"Then I'll stay here with thirteenth brother."
When Chu Yun saw him acting like this, she changed her tune and decided to stay here with him.
Chu Xuan knew that she was still worried about him. As long as she stayed here, the head butler would definitely prioritize protecting this place.
His heart was filled with warmth.
Chu Yun had gone out to train for a few months and had just returned. At this time, she had already broken through to the second level of the profound realm. It could be seen that she possessed superior innate talent, and that she was one of the best among the younger generation of the Chu family.
No wonder Chu Tianming doted on this girl so much.
"Thirteenth brother, is this the cat you raised?"
Chu Yun picked up the silly and adorable-looking Heavenly Spirit Cat and asked happily.
"Right, I was bored and raised it to relieve my boredom."
The Heavenly Spirit Cat's strength had progressed rapidly, and was now comparable to a third-level void realm martial artist.
The Chu family was relaxed on the outside, but tense on the inside. They were trying to bait the two elders and get them to reveal themselves so that they could rid themselves of this threat to the family.
If they did not kill them today, they would have to worry about them tomorrow; that the other party would sneak in and unleash the demonic smoke.
However, half a month passed.
Everything remained peaceful.
Even the cult experts of Chu County had gone somewhat silent and, when they encountered the experts of the Chu family, they fled at the first possible moment, and they were no longer as fierce and stubborn as before.
Chu Yun also stayed in the small courtyard for half a month.
Chu Xuan secretly placed some cultivation methods and secret techniques around the house. He lied that they had been left behind by his father, Chu Qiuluo.
Chu Yun spent most of her time flipping through these cultivation methods and secret techniques. In just half a month's time, she was already on the verge of breaking through to the third level of the profound realm.
Chu Xuan also included the profound realm and spirit realm chapters of the Great Luo Emperor scripture that he had comprehended. Chu Yun was overjoyed when she discovered them and did her best to cultivate the Great Luo Emperor scripture.
Chu Qiuluo could be considered a legend of the Chu family. Chu Yun did not doubt that these were left behind by him.
After a few more days, Chu Yun was about to break through to the third level of the profound realm.
As such, she could only return to the ancestral residence.
Chu Tianming was pleasantly surprised. He praised Chu Yun and scolded Chu Xuan a few more times. He had embarrassed the Chu family and his precious third son, Chu Qiuluo.
The cult had not made any movements. It was impossible for them to be on guard the entire time.
Therefore, after some investigation, they found traces of the demonic smoke at a location where a big battle had taken place.
It seemed that the cult was experiencing an internal conflict?
Chu Tianming was stunned when he heard the news.
Would the cult also have internal conflict?
It had always been the case of the strong rising to the top. The loser would fall, and the winner would rise. There had never been such an internal conflict recorded in the history of the cult before.
Since the demonic smoke had already been released elsewhere, it was naturally impossible for it to appear in the Chu family's territory to wreak havoc.
This meant that the Black Moon Tower's information this time was wrong!
Chu Tianming was overjoyed and immediately set off for Black Moon Tower.
"Brother Wan, this is the first time Black Moon Tower's information has failed me."
Chu Tianming sat in the VIP room with a wide smile on his face.
Black-hearted man, you cheated me of one million crystals. Now, not only are you going to spit it all out, you are also going to compensate me three-fold.
Let me see if you are still full of yourself!
Wan Chang's face was dark. How could the intelligence be wrong?
What were those heretic b*stards doing?
Black Moon Tower's intelligence was wrong, so they had to compensate the buyer three-fold. As the tower lord, this meant that he was not capable enough, and also meant that he had failed in his duties.
If it was taken seriously, he would be reprimanded by the higher-ups, and perhaps even part of his benefits would be deducted.
"The intelligence can't be wrong. It's just that the cult was waylaid by an accident along the way."
"Brother Wan, Black Moon Tower has always valued its reputation. Surely you must be aware of the consequences of providing false intelligence?"
Chu Tianming picked up his tea and sipped it slowly.
Wan Chang did not want to compensate him. Once such a transaction was recorded, it would be a stain on his record in managing Black Moon Tower branch in Chu County's capital.
It would become evidence of his lack of ability.
In the future, when he was promoted to a higher position, it would be a weak point that could be targeted by his competitors.
However, the reputation of Black Moon Tower could not be allowed to suffer either.
This was the root problem.
If his actions damaged the reputation of Black Moon Tower, he would be punished even more severely.
Chapter 20:
In order to ensure that the reputation of Black Moon Tower was not damaged, Black Moon Tower had even killed people to silence them.
However, Wan Chang's strength and status were insufficient to pull this off.
If the other party had been a small figure at the mortal realm, it would have been feasible for him to do so. but Chu Tianming was the patriarch of the Chu family.
Disregarding his identity, just his strength alone was not something Wan Chang could deal with.
If he asked the experts of Black Moon Tower for help, would it not be equivalent to telling the higher-ups of Black Moon Tower that what he did caused the reputation of Black Moon Tower to be damaged, which resulted in him asking their experts to kill Chu Tianming to silence him?
He could neither compensate them nor allow the reputation of Black Moon Tower to be damaged.
As such, he could only offer to exchange information.
"Brother Chu, there is an important piece of information regarding the cult. One million spirit crystals isn't too expensive, right?" Chu Tianming replied with a smile, "One million isn't a small amount. Is the information on the cult worth one million?"
Wan Chang cursed in his heart. They were actually extorting money from him.
"How about this? I'll give you a free service. Once the evil imperial court makes any unusual movements toward the Qin Kingdom or the Chu family, I'll inform brother Chu immediately. I won't delay the information. How about it?"
He was in the wrong. Even if Chu Tianming demanded a lot, Wan Chang could only endure
it.
Chu Tianming cursed in his heart. Wan Chang was a b*stard. If he was not in the wrong this time, would he even tell him if the evil imperial court made any strange movements?
At that point, when the Chu family did not have time or opportunity to ask for help, in order not to suffer total destruction at the hands of the evil imperial court, would they not have to pay a huge price to request Black Moon Tower to protect them?
What a black-hearted guy!
"Alright, let's do it this way for the sake of our long-term relationship with brother Wan."
It was the Chu family's own fault for not being strong enough.
Every year, they would pay a certain amount to request that Black Moon Tower keep an eye on the evil imperial court's movements. If Wan Chang, this black-hearted person, really delayed the news, the Chu family would definitely face a great disaster.
Of course, Black Moon Tower's intelligence gathering capabilities were not omnipotent.
The Chu family had always been on guard against the possibility of being totally wiped out.
The direct descendants were not all gathered in the family's territory, but had spread themselves out.
It was all for the sake of preserving the inheritance of the Chu family in case they suffered a destructive blow.
"The first vice sect leader and two protectors of the heretic cult have already arrived at Chu County."
Wan Chang said with a smile, "Brother Chu, this piece of information is worth a million crystals, right?"
Chu Tianming's expression froze. The first vice sect leader of the heretic cult in the Qin Kingdom was the second strongest person in the heretic cult. His strength was at the peak of the eighth level of the void realm, and he was about to break through to the ninth level of the void realm.
Not to mention that those who could become protectors were all at the seventh level of the void realm.
"Where are his exact whereabouts?"
If the first vice sect leader of the heretic cult acted wantonly in Chu County, it would surely result in great losses for the Chu family.
"That is another piece of information altogether."
Wan Chang chuckled and said.
Chu Tianming sneered. "Just this piece of information about him coming to Chu County isn't worth a million crystals. Although the Black Moon Tower's information is slightly faster, I can guarantee that, in less than a day, my Chu family will be able to receive news of the other party coming to Chu County."
After all, Chu County was under the control of the Chu family. After operating for so many years, their intelligence gathering ability was naturally not bad.
"Alright, this is their current hiding place."
Wan Chang took out a piece of paper and placed it on the table.
Chu Tianming picked it up and took a look, "Thank you, brother Wan."
He immediately left Black Moon Tower.
He was going to kill the first vice sect leader and the two protectors!
In a small farmhouse less than 300 li away from the Chu family's territory, the first vice sect leader of the cult in the Qin Kingdom, Zhang Kui, sat on a chair with a cold expression on his face.
Dong Qian, the cult's branch master in Chu County, lowered his head and said, "Vice sect leader, we don't know the reason behind why Zhu Qiang suddenly went crazy."
"We suspect that it has something to do with the protector of the Purple Moon Kingdom, but we don't understand the intention behind his actions."
"What about Zhu Yan? Is she dead or alive? If she's dead, who killed her?"
Zhang Kui asked with a grim expression.
"I don't know."
Dong Qian had a helpless expression on his face. Ever since the Chu family's sudden attack, the heretic cult had suffered calamity after calamity, and many elders had fallen in battle.
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Even if they cultivated evil techniques and had the support of the evil imperial court, the number of void realm experts were limited.
This time, the heretic cult could have been said to have suffered great losses.
In the entire Chu County branch, there were only four void realm experts left.
This included himself, the branch leader, who was at the third level of the void realm.
The Chu family was detestable!
Zhang Kui's expression was extremely unsightly. Other than that particular time a thousand years ago, the heretic cult had never suffered such a great loss.
The Chu County branch was almost half-crippled.
Not to mention that, throughout the entire Qin Kingdom, the heretic cult had lost one-fifth of its original strength.
"How did the Chu family find out where the evil cult was hiding?"
They had obtained a secret technique from a mystic realm, which could hide the aura of their evil cultivation methods. This helped the heretic cult members hide in plain sight.
After many years of planning, their spies had infiltrated the Qin, Purple Moon Kingdom, and Great Zhou kingdoms. They just needed to develop and grow their strength and influence gradually. In the end, they would have become influential characters in those countries.
They would then wait for an opportunity to suddenly rebel and wrest control of the three countries under the banner of the evil imperial court.
As long as they took control of the three countries, the other surrounding strong countries would realize that they had already been brought under the banner of the evil imperial court. With the attitude of those strong countries, they would definitely not go to war with the evil imperial court over this barren region.
Once the plan was successful, they would definitely be able to become high-ranking officials of the evil imperial court and receive the attention of the evil king.
They would also become important figures in the court.
Thanks to their great contributions in securing the three countries, they would no doubt receive bountiful rewards. At that time, they could move to the evil imperial court and leave this barren region.
When they arrived at the evil imperial court, not only would they be rewarded, but the cultivation resources and methods there meant that they would inevitably reach the unity realm.
However, who would have thought that their painstaking plans, which had been laid out over the course of many years, would be unraveled just like that by the Chu family.
The heretic cult suffered heavy losses in an instant, and the spies that had been lurking in the three countries had almost been completely wiped out!
How hateful!
"I wonder, could it be related to the information provided by Black Moon Tower?"
Dong Qian said in a low voice.
"Black Moon Tower is not omnipotent. Moreover, given the style of Black Moon Tower, how could they sell such information so easily for the sake of unknown benefits?"
Zhang Kui's face was gloomy and cold. From his investigation, the Chu family had not bought any important information from Black Moon Tower recently.
How could Black Moon Tower sell such important information at a low price?
The Chu family's actions could be detected by tracing the movements of their resources in a given period of time.
Zhang Kui would have never imagined that the trigger for this entire debacle was just because a pawn of the cult had wanted to take credit and control Chu Xuan.
"Get ready. Follow me over to the Chu family's territory tonight!"
"Cult master, there are many strong experts in the Chu family's territory. What if..."
Dong Qian had a worried expression on his face as he said those words.
"Old ghost Chu Tianming has already left the family territory. If I want to charge into the Chu family territory, so what? Since I dare to go, I naturally have the confidence to leave in one piece."
Zhang Kui stood up, and the aura on his body exploded forth.
"Sect leader, you... you broke through?"
Dong Qian's face displayed a shocked expression.
Ninth-level void realm experts were considered to be the strongest experts in the Qin Kingdom If Zhang Kui had broken through, then the Qin Kingdom's heretic cult would have two ninth-level void realm experts!
No matter how strong Chu Tianming was, he still had not broken through to the unity realm, so Zhang Kui might be able to contend with him head-on.
The only thing that Zhang Kui was lacking was a treasured artifact.
"Tonight, you'll follow me to challenge the Chu family."
Zhang Kui took out a black bead and tossed it over to Dong Qian.
"This... this is a spatial escape bead?"
Dong Qian was pleasantly surprised.
The spatial escape bead was sold at a price of one million spirit crystals at Black Moon Tower and, just like its name, it was a spirit artifact used to escape.
If one encountered a crisis, they could activate the escape bead and instantly escape a hundred li away. With the escape bead, even if they were besieged by the elders of the Chu family, as long as they were not killed instantly, they would be able to make their escape.
Previously, when they had surrounded Chu Qing, he had seized the opportunity and activated an escape bead. Otherwise, they would have captured or killed him!
Chapter 21:
After Zhang Kui had broken through, he was brimming with confidence.
Even if the Chu family's territory was a dragon's lair or tiger's den, he still wanted to venture forth.
So what if they possessed the family's treasured artifact?
He could use the spatial escape bead to escape.
As long as he was successful in his incursion into the Chu family's territory and managed to escape unscathed, he would definitely be able to apply a great deal of pressure on the Chu family.
As a result, the cult would face less pressure in Chu County.
In order to avoid a recurrence of his surprise attack, the Chu family would definitely gather their experts and return to defend their family's territory as well as some important location.
Chu Tianming would be restrained from leaving the Chu family's territory even more.
The Chu family had to pay the price for sabotaging the cult's years of planning and preparation.
When the evil imperial court was free to deal with them, they would definitely destroy the Chu family!
Were it not for this incident, the first target of the evil imperial court would have been the Qin royal family instead. However, thanks to this incident, their first target had shifted to the Chu family.
Zhang Kui and Dong Qian headed to the Chu family's territory.
Black Moon Tower's intelligence had proven to be wrong, so the Chu family's defenses were slightly relaxed. The head butler had also returned to the ancestral residence.
Occasionally, there would be void realm elders patrolling the territory.
Chu Yun was in seclusion in the ancestral residence, while Chu Xuan was staring at the spirit cultivating diagram and practicing the hundred tempering divine technique.
His spiritual will was now comparable to a sixth-level unity realm martial artist.
The Heavenly Spirit Cat was lying on the wall, taking a nap.
The spirit devouring flower was swaying its flowers and leaves around, looking rather bored.
Outside the Chu family's territory, two figures arrived silently.
After observing for a while, they found the direction in which it was easiest to break into the Chu family's territory, after which Zhang Kui and Dong Qian sneaked in silently.
Although they were intruding into the Chu family's territory, it was different from sneaking in.
Before he could enter the family's ancestral grounds, he would be stopped by the experts of the Chu family.
Zhang Kui's goal was not only to break into the Chu family's ancestral grounds, but also to break into the Chu family's ancestral residence.
Of course, the Chu family's ancestral residence was not easy to break into. There was no need to truly break into it. He only needed to break into the core area of the ancestral grounds to achieve his objective.
The ancestral residence was located at the core of the Chu family's ancestral grounds.
If someone broke into the core area of the Chu family's ancestral grounds, even if they did not break into the ancestral residence itself, it would be enough to inflict great pressure on the Chu family.
Zhang Kui was very confident!
After easily entering the Chu family's territory, Zhang Kui strolled about leisurely, not at all looking like he had broken into a dragon's lair or tiger's den at all.
On the other hand, Dong Qian's strength was relatively weak, so his expression was slightly nervous as he looked around vigilantly.
"There's no need to be so nervous. So what if you're discovered?"
Zhang Kui said proudly, "If we come across ordinary elders of the Chu family, we'll kill every single person we see. So what if we directly kill our way into the Chu family's ancestral residence?"
"F*ck!" Dong Qian cursed in his heart. You're f*cking strong, so you're naturally not afraid, but I don't have your ability."
If he were to be surrounded and attacked by several elders at the third level of the void realm or above, he was afraid that he would be beaten to death before he could even use the spatial escape bead!
Even if he successfully activated the spatial escape bead, he would still suffer heavy injuries.
How could he not treat his precious life carefully?
Dong Qian felt slightly uneasy in his heart, as he had a feeling that something would happen on this trip.
When he passed by a courtyard not far away, Zhang Kui suddenly stopped in his tracks.
"Is that where Chu Qiuluo's son lives?"
It was no secret that Chu Qiuluo's son had been expelled from the ancestral residence by Chu Tianming.
Before the spies inside the Chu family had been cleaned up, the cult had already obtained this information.
"It should be."
As the branch leader of the cult in Chu County, Dong Qian naturally possessed information regarding Chu Xuan.
The cult would not pay too much attention to the direct descendants of the Chu family who were below the profound realm.
Unless of course one happened to be Chu Qiuluo's son.
After all, Chu Qiuluo's strength had at one time suppressed the entire Qin Kingdom!
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He was the most talented person in the history of the Chu family.
Zhang Kui thought to himself.
"Chu Qiuluo... although his son is a little useless, he is still Chu Qiuluo's son. If we control him, we might be able to gain something."
"Sect leader, you mean to recruit him into our cult?" Dong Qian asked
No one knew if Chu Qiuluo and his wife were dead, since there had been no news about them since they went missing.
Before they went missing, it was rumored that Chu Qiuluo was already at the ninth level of the void realm, and that he was even about to break through to the unity realm.
If he had not gone missing, the Chu family might already have a unity realm expert guarding it now.
The strength of the Chu family might have even surpassed the Qin family.
"There are two options. First, control Chu Qiuluo's son and help him break through to the profound realm. After that, we'll let him return to the Chu family's ancestral residence and become a chess piece for our cult."
"Second, we can recruit him into our cult and teach him the evil techniques. He'll become our cult's murder weapon."
As Zhang Kui spoke, his eyes flashed with wisdom.
"Chu Qiuluo's son cultivating evil techniques and becoming an evil cultivator. If he kills others wantonly, I'd like to see how the Chu family will deal with him."
The more Zhang Kui thought about it, the more tempted he was by the plan. He continued, "If that old ghost Chu Tianming kills Chu Qiuluo's son with his own hands, I want to see how Chu Qiuluo will deal with him if he comes back one day."
"Moreover, if Chu Qiuluo's son is in our cult, when and if Chu Qiuluo comes back one day, I'll let this son of his meet him and see if Chu Qiuluo will kill him or not."
The more he spoke, the more excited Zhang Kui became. He said, "It just so happens that we can apply for an evil heart pill from the evil imperial court and mess up his mind, turning him into a loyal supporter and proponent of our evil techniques."
Dong Qian said worriedly, "Sect leader, what if Chu Qiuluo is not dead and, seeing that his son has been forced into the cult, goes crazy and exterminates our cult?"
"What are you afraid of? At worst, we can just run away!"
Zhang Kui sneered and said, "Can he kill his own son? If he really kills his son, seeing that the one who caused his son to be captured and forced into the cult is none other than the old ghost Chu Tianming, what do you think Chu Qiuluo will do?"
"Heh, were it not for old ghost Chu Tianming expelling Chu Qiuluo's son, how would our cult even have the chance to make a move? I'd like to see how Chu Qiuluo treats the Chu family when he finds out!"
Dong Qian thought about it and agreed. No matter how he looked at it, the cult would not suffer any losses.
"Let's go and capture Chu Qiuluo's son. I want to take Chu Qiuluo's son away in front of the Chu family and anger old ghost Chu Tianming to death!"
Zhang Kui sneered and headed straight for the small courtyard.
Dong Qian followed closely behind.
Chu Xuan sighed.
Is everyone from the heretic cult crazy?
They kept sneaking into the territory, but if they wanted to cause trouble, then they should go cause trouble.
Why did they always have to target him before they went over to cause trouble?
If these two people went to cause trouble, Chu Xuan would still have not left the courtyard, so he naturally would not have been able to make a move to stop them.
However, these two people just had to target him!
They were courting death!
Zhang Kui's strength was at the initial stage of the ninth level of the void realm, which was naturally nothing to the current Chu Xuan.
However, it had only been a short while, and the strength of the invaders had soared once again. Would it be the evil imperial court's unity stage powerhouse that attacked the next time?
Chu Xuan felt pressured.
He had to live in seclusion for at least a year, so he had to try his best not to kill these two people.
The soul seed seal was about to come in handy again.
Zhang Kui and Dong Qian entered the courtyard and saw Chu Xuan. Without saying anything, Zhang Kui directly made a move.
As soon as he made his move, the surrounding environment changed. Flames surged, huge trees towered into the sky, and stone boulders rolled around. Huge waves surged up into the sky, and sharp blades swept across the landscape.
Not good!
Zhang Kui was horrified. Evil energy surged through his body, and he was just about to activate the bead and escape.
However, a huge palm swept over, and illusion and reality fused together with heaven and earth to form a seal!
No matter how hard Zhang Kui struggled, he was still held tightly within the palm. The bones in his body emitted cracking sounds, and a sense of life-and-death crisis filled his heart!
Unity realm!
There was a unity realm expert in the Chu family! Who was it?
Zhang Kui was overwhelmed with shock. He tried to activate the spatial escape bead in a hurry, but the spiritual energy in his body had been sealed and his spiritual will was suppressed. He did not even have the slightest chance of escaping.
He felt despair!