The Worry of the First Branch

Wang Kongyun pinched the wisp of soul light between his fingers, muttering a rapid string of incantations.

Immediately, a sinister, bone-chilling black wind manifested, sweeping out in all directions. In the blink of an eye, it coalesced into a dark cloud teeming with the howling shrieks of resentful souls and vicious ghosts.

The sheer oppressive terror of it crashed down upon them. Zhou Chang'an and the other mortal officials felt a suffocating cold violently invading their bodies. Zhou Ping and his two companions paled slightly, hastily weaving hand seals to cast protective techniques over the officials of Qingshui County.

This was a common technique of the Soul Dao-the Ghost Wind. It was devastating to mortals. If it were allowed to seep into their bodies, it would erode their Yang energy, sever their lifespans, and condemn them to a lifetime of agonizing torment.

Wang Kongyun, however, did not spare a single glance for these mortals. His eyes burned with intense focus as he commanded the Ghost Wind, surging southward in hot pursuit.

He needed to catch that person quickly. Once he had them, he would subject them to brutal torture and refinement. He had to master this Soul Dao method! Otherwise, how would he ever break through to Foundation Establishment? How else could he escape Yang Tiancheng's suffocating leash?

Although Yang Tiancheng enslaved these Demonic Cultivators, he only forbade them from slaughtering the innocent without cause. As for the collateral deaths that occurred while hunting down culprits-as long as the slaughter was not deliberate, Yang Tiancheng did not care. But if a Demonic Cultivator dared to massacre the innocent wantonly, the lingering sword intent branded onto Wang Kongyun's flesh would have already shredded him to pieces.

This was why Wang Kongyun, despite having slaughtered hundreds of people, only targeted those entangled in the case. He had not dared to lay a finger on a single unrelated mortal.

Furthermore, Yang Tiancheng had never restricted his enslaved Demonic Cultivators from cultivating.

The stronger his enslaved hounds grew, the greater the local suppression power of the Immortals' Directorate branch. Besides, if a Demonic Cultivator stumbled upon a Fated Chance and successfully broke through to Foundation Establishment, Yang Tiancheng would simply gain another worthy opponent to hone his sword against.

As for the risk of nurturing a Demonic Cultivator only to suffer a fatal backlash? Yang Tiancheng was utterly unbothered by the thought. If he died to his own slaves, it simply meant his skills were inferior and he deserved his fate.

As a Sword Cultivator, if he let such fears cloud his Dao Heart, how could his path of the sword ever stretch toward eternity?

Cao Qianyuan watched Wang Kongyun's receding figure. Then, spiritual light surged from his fingertips. Lin Ruohe, who had been shivering in terror and desperately trying to flee, was instantly reduced to a pile of pale ash.

He did not enjoy killing, but that did not mean his hands were incapable of it.

"The true culprit has been uncovered. The rest of you are innocent," Cao Qianyuan said slowly, before his tone turned glacial and foreboding. "However, do not forget what it means to be loyal to your sovereign and the realm."

Although Zhu Zhen's death was not the work of the Zhou, Huang, or Lu families, these three clans had indeed defied imperial decrees to act as local overlords.

The Huang family's true ancestral estate only encompassed Pingyun Mountain and the three towns and twenty-seven villages they had initially claimed. In reality, however, their reach had choked out almost all trade across the four southern counties.

The Zhou family was far more restrained, yet the actions of the Zhou Clan Trading Company had still crossed the line long ago.

In truth, ninety-nine percent of cultivation clans trampled upon the mortal laws and boundaries. It was simply a tacit reality, quietly indulged by all powers beneath the heavens.

"Heed yourselves well. If you overstep the boundary by even half a step, do not blame the imperial court when its mercy runs dry!"

Since an imperial official had been murdered right here in Qingshui County, Cao Qianyuan, as a deacon of the Immortals' Directorate, naturally had to strike the fear of heaven into them to curb any further arrogance.

"In three days, a new county magistrate will arrive to assume office. Weigh your actions carefully. Beneath the gaze of the imperial court, all your petty schemes and hidden plots will find nowhere to hide. Do not invite ruin upon your own doors and reduce a century of your clan's foundation to ash."

"This Junior hears the immortal master's teachings. I will return and order the clan to properly rectify our conduct," Huang Zhengqing said, bowing deeply.

Cao Qianyuan's harsh words were primarily aimed as a beating for the Huang family. Over the recent years, they had simply grown too brazen and ostentatious.

Huang Zhengqing clearly understood the underlying meaning. He resolved to return and discuss the matter with Huang Zhengming and the other elders. They needed to rein in their mortal branches-leaving mortal affairs to mortals, and cultivator matters to cultivators.

In reality, the Huang family's massive mercantile empire had largely been built by mortal clansmen throwing their family's prestige around to violently seize lands and assets. Even within Huang Zhengqing's own direct lineage, many mortal relatives occupied numerous taverns and fertile fields across Qingshui County.

From the selfish perspective of the clan, this was not inherently wrong, but he deeply feared that continuing down this path would plant the seed of the Huang family's total annihilation.

If the fields of all four counties fell into their hands, did these lands belong to the mortal subjects of the imperial court, or did they belong entirely to the Huang surname?

Beside him, Zhou Ping also bowed respectfully. "This Junior shall engrave the immortal master's warning into his heart. We will absolutely not overstep."

The Zhou family's situation was vastly cleaner than the Huang family's. This was primarily because the Zhou clan's population was still sparse; their legacy only spanned a mere twenty to thirty years, so they had not yet rotted into the parasitic scheming seen in the Huang family. Furthermore, the Zhou family had not even finished reclaiming and tilling the wild lands within their own territory, leaving them with no need to greedily encroach upon others.

After today's reckoning, the Huang family would undoubtedly pull back their claws.

Cao Qianyuan nodded slightly. "Enough, you are all dismissed. The tens of thousands of commoners in Qingshui County still rely on your governance. Do not let the people drown in suffering."

"We respectfully obey your command, Lord."

Led by Zhou Chang'an, the officials bowed low in a grand salute. By the time they straightened their backs, Cao Qianyuan had vanished into thin air.

With the calamity dispersing like fleeting clouds, the officials' moods drastically lifted, and they immediately began to flatter one another. They praised Zhou Chang'an for his unwavering righteousness and clear vision, and they lauded Huang Yuancheng as a capable, responsible pillar of Qingshui County...

Meanwhile, the charred remains of Lin Ruohe and his son, alongside Lu Ling's corpse, lay abandoned on the cold ground. If anyone spoke of them at all, it was only to righteously spit on their names and curse their treachery. Lu Ling's fate, however, did draw a few quiet sighs of pity.

As for the remaining thirteen members of Lin Ruohe's household, Cao Qianyuan had condemned them to death by a thousand cuts as a grisly warning to the masses.

Zhou Chang'an's wife, Madam Lin, wept in agonizing grief over the tragic execution of her father, brother, and maternal clan, but she understood the grim reality of the world. She knew that Lin Ruohe and the others had dug their own graves. Her heart merely bled for the innocent young children dragged down with them.

County Vice Magistrate's Residence

"Chang'an," Zhou Ping advised, "the new county magistrate will arrive in just a few days. You must tread carefully in all matters. Use stillness to answer the myriad changes."

"Your nephew understands," Zhou Chang'an replied softly, his heart deeply moved by Zhou Ping's personal intervention to protect him today.

"You must also be highly vigilant with your meals and drinks from now on. I am leaving Zhou Jiu and Zhou Liu here with you; otherwise, my mind won't be at ease," Zhou Ping continued, fussing over him like a true elder. "These are Clarity Spirit Pills and Baixi Brew. Since I am not by your side to help regulate your body's vital energies, you must nurture your health well. When you return home for the new year, your uncle will personally wash your marrow and cleanse your constitution."

Sitting obediently off to the side, Zhou Chengqian gazed at Zhou Ping with absolute reverence.

The three generations-uncle, nephew, and grandnephew-conversed warmly. Before long, the topic shifted to the younger generation's stubborn refusal to settle down and start families, leaving Zhou Chengqian blushing a furious red.

In high spirits, Zhou Ping suddenly said, "Chengzhen is still so frail and young. Enduring a bumpy carriage ride all the way back to the estate would be hard on him. Since I'll be heading back soon anyway, I might as well carry him back myself."

Joy lit up Zhou Chang'an's face, and he immediately ordered the servants to bring little Zhou Chengzhen over.

Holding the one-year-old toddler in his arms, Zhou Ping reflexively sent a wisp of spiritual sense to test the child's aptitude. He froze for a fraction of a second, then broke into a broad smile. "Chang'an, Chengzhen possesses a Fated Chance."

Zhou Ping gazed warmly at the innocent, wide-eyed Zhou Chengzhen. Even though the boy's spiritual light measured a mere one inch and eight fen, Zhou Ping felt an immense, overwhelming relief, occasionally teasing the giggling child.

After all, this was a child born with a Fated Chance from Zhou Hong's lineage through purely normal mortal means-not a half-demon bloodline anomaly like Zhou Qianling.

Zhou Chang'an was instantly swept up in wild ecstasy. Beside him, Zhou Chengqian was equally overjoyed, though a fleeting shadow of dejection flickered in the depths of his eyes.

Among the six branches of their family, only their branch and his youngest uncle's branch still lacked a cultivator.

However, his youngest uncle was the patriarch's biological son. Even if he wasn't a cultivator himself, it was highly likely that his future descendants would possess a Fated Chance.

Meanwhile, his own father had already sired over a dozen children, yet not a single one possessed the spiritual roots for cultivation. Could it be that their First Branch was truly destined to never produce a cultivator?

Although they were all one bloodline, there was an inevitable distinction between close and distant relations. If they continued to lack a cultivator to anchor them, even if the First Branch survived, their standing would inevitably fall far behind the other five lineages.

Meanwhile, deep within the southern borders of Qingshui County, Wang Kongyun rode his swirling Ghost Wind, eyes locked in rabid pursuit of a streak of fleeing spiritual light.

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