Stop it, Taoist, Your Fight almost Ruins the DAO!

Just as Yi Chen's anger surged, causing the hem of his Daoist robe to billow like a flag in the wind, a servant boy holding a yellow paper crane rushed in.

"Reporting to my lord, there's a secret message from Mo Yu, sent via crane. Please read it personally."

One minute later, Yi Chen's expression had returned to calm, yet it was cold and indifferent as if it were millennia-old glacial ice.

After summoning a servant boy to notify Qian Yueru to seek him at the Chen Family estate, his entire being transformed into a faint cyan streak and burst through the roof, streaking directly in the direction of the Chen Family estate.

Yi Chen had always been one to assume the worst of others, but he hadn't anticipated someone could be so vile and brutal.

Corroborating with the intelligence transmitted by Mo Yu's paper crane, he now had approximately sixty to seventy percent of the true situation outlined.

There were no others.

Inner treachery met by outer ghosts.

Humans feared the terror of ghosts; ghosts knew the venom in human hearts!

Only the Chen Family, with the power to influence the entirety of Longjiang Prefecture, could have managed such a feat.

The Huangquan Sect, Red Square, and Yin Mountain Prefecture surely had unspeakable dealings with the Chen Family.

Yi Chen felt that it was his excessively high bottom line that had led to his being played for a fool by the Chen Family.

Moonlit night, in front of the five-meter-tall vermilion gate of the Chen Family estate.

A Daoist with a stature surpassing that of a bear descended slowly, his gaze fixed quietly on the gentle glow shed by the large red lanterns in front of the mansion. With a distant grasp of his large hand, the shadow of a gigantic fist materialized above the gate.

"There are always people who do not regard the lives of others as lives!"

"There are always people who believe they can scheme everything and control everything!"

"There are always people who sit high above and don't give this poor Daoist face!"

Boom!

The five-meter-tall vermilion gate suddenly exploded, flying backward like a cannonball.

"Unfortunately, this is an illusion!"

…

…

"Father, are we not going to be discovered by the Zhen'an Division with what we're doing?"

"And that new Daoist priest doesn't seem like an easy target either."

Inside the Chen Family estate, Chen Fuyun's son Chen Daqi was frowning anxiously as he spoke to his father.

He felt that his father had gone mad, to agree to trade with those demonic cult forces.

Chen Fuyun glanced at the streak of rejuvenated black hair hanging beside his ear and, with a displeased tone, flicked the foam from his teacup cover, "Daqi, you must remain composed in the face of significant matters. How can I confidently hand over the Chen Family to you in the future if you're like this?"

"Those people are just lowly citizens, lives as cheap as weeds. Cut them down, and they'll grow back. Next year, we'll just reduce the taxes and everything will be fine."

"When I was known as the All-Encompassing Tactician, how could I not have left myself some tricks up my sleeve?"

"The sacrifices chosen this time are either tenant farmers without household registration that our family has hidden over the years, house slaves, or defenseless weaklings. These expendable wretches will have no one to avenge them if they die. We didn't touch anyone we shouldn't have."

"My Chen Family has operated in Longjiang Prefecture for many years, with students and old officials everywhere. Even if someone detects something is amiss, knowing it's the work of my Chen Family, they wouldn't dare to get involved rashly."

"The only concern for my Chen Family in Longjiang Prefecture now is that girl Qian Yueru, daughter of a True Monarch, with her noble status."

"However, even Qian Yueru, without my support, wouldn't be able to take a step in Longjiang Prefecture. If I want, I could turn her into a deaf-mute in a minute."

"As for that new little Taoist from a destitute city, huh.

He doesn't understand what power is!

A mere brute.

Everyone in Longjiang Prefecture is under my thumb.

It's been two days. What has he found out?

If he can detect anything, I'll drink from a chamber pot, take big gulps!

"

"Chen Old Dog, come out and face me!" Thunderous shouting echoed above the Chen Family estate, refusing to subside.

Chen Fuyun's previously smug expression froze instantly and turned iron blue.

Yi Chen, shrouded in faint cyan Inner Qi, didn't bother to hide his murderous intent as he strode towards the central area of the estate.

Along the way, numerous retainers with some cultivations emerged from various parts of the estate to question him or take action against him, and all were sent flying with a single slap from Yi Chen, their fates unknown.

"Fellow Daoist intrudes upon my Chen Family in the dead of night, what is your purpose? Without a reasonable explanation, you owe my Chen Family an account," Chen Fuyun said with a grim face, deciding from that day forward, no chamber pot shall exist in the entire Chen Family.

"Hand over my subordinate Mo Yu, or all of you will die," Yi Chen said coldly, not in the mood for beating around the bush.

There aren't many good people left in this world, and those who gather firewood for others should not be allowed to perish in the wind and snow. Yi Chen still harbored a sliver of hope in saving Mo Yu.

"What the devil is this 'Mo Yu'?" Chen Fuyun's face showed a trace of surprised confusion, which Yi Chen observed and deemed not feigned.

At that moment, an abrupt change occurred.

A soft laughter carried through the air.

In the center of the Chen Family estate, spanning a diameter of a kilometer, suddenly, four massive black iron pillars ascended.

Each iron pillar was etched with bizarre formation markings, and atop each pillar were the blood-colored ancient seal characters for Ghost Aura, Dark Heaven.

As soon as the pillars rose, a powerful surge of Yin Qi spread rapidly, repelling everything in the vicinity.

A semi-transparent gray shield appeared out of nowhere, enveloping the entire central area of the Chen Family estate top-down.

The woman with the umbrella chuckled as she approached from where she had risen beside the iron pillar and said, "Family Head Chen, this Mo Yu that the Taoist talked about, I've actually just met him not too long ago. Please take a look."

The woman with the umbrella drew a circle in the void, and suddenly, a ghost mirror formed from black ghostly qi appeared in mid-air.

Beneath the ground in front of the Chen Family estate, a strange blood pool was bubbling with blood bubbles.

One by one, the expressionless populace lined up, walking toward the guillotine.

A tall minotaur-like demon appeared to have noticed the woman's spell. It grinned, raised a ghostly cleaver, and slashed the throat of an elderly servant in front of it. Blood gushed out instantly, cascading down into the blood pool below.

After the throat-slitting bloodletting, the minotaur-like demon ruthlessly grabbed an iron hook hanging from the rock wall, caught the old servant by the leg, and hung him upside down on the hook like hanging pigs and dogs, allowing blood from the throat to trickle down, apparently so the blood would drain cleaner that way.

Above the blood pool, countless corpses were hanging like cured sausages, creating a terrifying scene.

Yi Chen keenly spotted Mo Yu in the middle to the back of the line heading towards the guillotine.

The ghost mirror conjured in mid-air suddenly vanished.

The woman with the umbrella clapped her hands, and four tall 'shadows' closed in from all around.

One of them was enveloped in ghostly qi, a face like a vengeful Asura.

One of them was shrouded in ghostly qi, a face like a demonic Rakshasa.

One was surrounded by a dense deathly qi, extremely tall and muscular, with unknown silver claws on his hands. His muscles bulged and two elongated blood fangs protruded at the corners of his mouth.

Another was lean and frail, staggering as he walked, coughing with each step, like a consumptive ghost, yet his presence was the most terrifying.

An overwhelming malice roared towards Yi Chen like a tide.

Above all was the woman's malice, so thick it was as if Yi Chen had slaughtered her entire family.

"What a coincidence, not a day passes since Madame handed the formation flag over to me, and you, the Taoist, come stumbling in."

"Taoist, you're now surrounded by the five of us. Death awaits you!"

"Under the constraining space of the Ghostly Qi Deathly Sky array, which rejects all qi that isn't of yin ghosts, you might find even killing yourself is an impossible feat. If you don't believe me, try and see if your Pure Yang Taoist arts aren't severely weakened?"

Seeing the array successfully trapping Yi Chen, the woman couldn't help but revel in great joy, speaking spitefully.

If it weren't for this Taoist's lack of martial integrity, disrupting her plans, would things have led to this stage today?

This opportunity was meant to be her chance to show off her skills among the three sects. Instead, not only did she not get to show a good face - she ended up putting her own backside on display after losing Madame's mount. She couldn't help but resent Yi Chen for this.

The Ghostly Qi Deathly Sky array, a precious treasure from Madame Butterfly's collection.

It could confine a space, repelling any non-yin ghost qi within, and also absorb all the qi fluctuations inside the shield, preventing any from spreading out.

Simply put, it's a comprehensive array that traps enemies, adds buffs, applies debuffs, and conceals qi.

Four thick iron pillars plunged deeply into the ground, endlessly swallowing and drawing in the Earth's qi for replenishment. The pillars flickered with faint light, powered by elemental stones embedded in them to provide energy for the array's central system.

In an instant, the deadly trap was set.

The five top Qi Refinement Realm experts launched an attack on Yi Chen under the array's amplification, bringing along a confused Chen Family ancestor.

Facing such a peril, Yi Chen's face showed no panic. Instead, a fierce smile appeared.

Heavens, this array repels mystical Taoist practices, how fearsome.

Fortunately, I'm somewhat versed in hand-to-hand combat.

Yi Chen's entire culmination of Pure Yang, which had penetrated heaven and earth, was based entirely on the cultivation of his robust physique. What a laugh, the premise of repelling mystical Taoist practices is that he would have to know them.

Strictly speaking, he had developed a school of Pure Yang martial arts with the highest of ambitions to unprecedented levels, achieving a might akin to magical arts.

With his own efforts and just a little insignificant help from Deep Red, on the path where mighty power returns to oneself, he walked further than anyone else in this world.

"You bunch of trash that managed to surround me, do you want to gauge my weight?"

"What a joke."

"Come on, then, come and kill me!"

"I just want to kill you lot, or be killed by you, there's no need for courtesy."

Yi Chen felt the opportunity had come to break through to the ninth level of True Pure Yang Skill.

He had struggled until now and accumulated 656 Deep Red Points, but needed 1600 to advance to the ninth level of True Pure Yang Skill.

He thought he would still need a long time to accumulate enough, but he hadn't expected such good luck to come his way now.

Yi Chen's eyes shone viciously as he watched the approaching ghostly evil beings as if they were nothing more than pigs and dogs.

These were not enemies; these were the foundation of his ascension.

Thank you, Mother Nature, for your generous gift!

All my life, I have accumulated virtue and acted with kindness, adhering to the path of benevolence and righteousness. All of this, I truly deserve.

Yi Chen grinned with a fierce and crazed laughter, his demeanor unhinged.

"Come on, come and kill me!"

"True Yang Overpowering Might!"

"Soul Ignition Technique, ten years!"

He shouted within his heart. Since killing the Tree Granny and adding the three Origin Points he had accumulated over the eight days of traveling, they all went into his physical attributes.

Suddenly, Yi Chen's Taoist robe could no longer withstand the transformation. It burst apart, turning into pieces of cloth that slowly fluttered down, his back muscles viciously forming the character for 'virtue'.

An exceedingly ferocious aura burst forth from him. Sensing this momentum, the woman and her companions' expressions changed drastically.

"Damn it, this aura..."

"Taoist, you're actually a True Person Realm expert?"