The Fu Family Patriarch was not in the main hall at the moment but in a secluded pavilion within the fortress, holding a faintly glowing jade slip in his hand.
As the main figure of the birthday celebration, he naturally had to make his grand appearance before the guests at the last moment. Taking advantage of this brief respite, as the head of the Fu Family, he still had an urgent matter to attend to.
Besides the Fu Family Patriarch, there was also a dignified, bronze-skinned man sitting nearby, whose cultivation was at the early Core Formation stage. His waist was bulging with several leather pouches of varying sizes.
“Hmph! This isn’t the Purple Gold Kingdom. The Beast Spirit Sect actually expects us to provide manpower and resources to help them gather information and search for something! They truly treat our Fu Family as their subordinates—utterly unreasonable!” The Fu Family Patriarch suddenly slammed the table, his face dark with anger.
“Seventh Uncle, there’s no need to be angry. Does the jade slip specify what they’re looking for? If it’s something that has the Beast Spirit Sect so anxious, it must be extraordinary,” the man stroked his chin, looking rather intrigued.
“That’s what’s infuriating. On one hand, they want to use us, yet on the other, they’re being secretive. They didn’t mention what they’re searching for at all—just told us to keep an eye out for any strange occurrences in the Yuan Wu Kingdom and report them immediately.”
“Oh? So it seems the Beast Spirit Sect doesn’t want the Devil Flame Sect to know about this, which is why they approached our Fu Family and spoke so vaguely.” The man’s eyes flashed with insight as he spoke thoughtfully.
“Xiao San, you’re right. To be cautious, our Fu Family has not only curried favor with the Devil Flame Sect but also secretly built ties with the Beast Spirit Sect. However, it seems that despite our repeated overtures, the Beast Spirit Sect still doesn’t trust us much. Perhaps we should adjust our strategy—maybe the weakest of the six sects, the Ghost Spirit Sect, would be easier to befriend.” The old man stroked his beard, deep in thought.
“That might work…”
“Tsk tsk! Who would’ve thought that besides clinging to the Devil Flame Sect, the Fu Family has also been colluding with the Beast Spirit Sect? No wonder they’ve thrived so much over the past century!” Just as the man was about to speak, a strange male voice suddenly came from outside the window, laced with mockery.
“Who is it? Which esteemed senior has graced the Fu Family? Fu Tianhua failed to greet you properly—please forgive this oversight!”
The Fu Family Patriarch and the man both leaped up from their chairs as if stepping on their tails, exchanging a horrified glance before the Patriarch shouted in alarm.
Both were shocked to the core that someone had approached them without their notice!
“No need for formalities. I’ve come uninvited today.” As the voice outside the window faded, a brilliant cyan light suddenly filled the pavilion.
The Fu Family Patriarch and the man were startled and immediately retreated to opposite corners of the room, each summoning a shimmering protective barrier.
The Patriarch spat out a white flying sword that hovered before him, while the man solemnly grabbed one of the spirit beast pouches at his waist—a plain, unremarkable black one.
As the light dimmed, a young man in a cyan robe appeared in the center of the room. He looked ordinary, no older than twenty-five or twenty-six. It was none other than Han Li, who had secretly infiltrated the fortress.
Han Li stood with his hands behind his back, glancing at the wary Fu Family Patriarch and the man before speaking calmly, “Just now, I scanned the entire Fu Family Fortress with my divine sense. There are only three Core Formation cultivators here, and the two of you are the strongest. You must be the ones in charge, correct?”
His tone was utterly indifferent, revealing neither joy nor anger.
“So it’s a Nascent Soul senior! May I ask what brings you to the Fu Family? How may we serve you?”
Han Li hadn’t concealed his cultivation, so the old man could sense his unfathomable power. His face paled as he forced a smile, his heart filled with unease.
“You are the Fu Family Patriarch?” Han Li narrowed his eyes slightly, staring at the purple-robed elder in the corner.
“I dare not claim such a title before a senior. This junior is Fu Tianhua, the current head of the Fu Family.” The Patriarch replied respectfully, though his unease grew. He had a sinking feeling that this Nascent Soul cultivator’s intentions were far from benign.
“Good. Since you are the Patriarch, I haven’t come to the wrong place. I’ve come to collect a debt from the Fu Family, so naturally, I should inform you first.” Han Li’s lips curled into a strange smile as he looked at the old man.
“A debt? Senior must be joking. This is the first time we’ve met—perhaps there’s been some misunderstanding.” The Patriarch’s heart plummeted into an abyss at Han Li’s words.
The man beside him, who had remained silent, also turned deathly pale, his grip tightening on the spirit beast pouch.
A Nascent Soul cultivator demanding repayment of a debt? That could only spell disaster.
“Misunderstanding? Hardly. I should explain things clearly so you don’t die as wronged ghosts, but you two are already making moves. I don’t have time for idle chatter. You two can go first—I’ll send the rest of your family to join you shortly.” Han Li glanced at the man before smiling faintly.
“What? You’re going to exterminate our entire Fu Family?!” The Patriarch roared in apparent fury, but in the same instant, a yellow talisman appeared in his hand. With a flash of yellow light, he shot backward through the wall and vanished as if passing straight through it.
It was an extremely rare Earth Escape Talisman.
“Run? Where do you think you can go?” Han Li sneered but made no move to pursue the Patriarch. Instead, he flicked a finger toward the other man.
A streak of cyan light flashed and disappeared, only to reappear piercing the man’s chest in the opposite corner. His protective barrier shattered instantly, offering no resistance.
The spirit beast pouch in the man’s hand had just begun emitting a black glow when, with his death, it dimmed again. A furious roar could faintly be heard from within.
The man’s corpse collapsed to the ground, but Han Li didn’t spare it a glance. Killing an early Core Formation cultivator was child’s play to him. However, he was somewhat interested in the spirit beast pouch, so he summoned it to his hand with a wave and stored it away.
Only then did Han Li turn his gaze to the wall where the Patriarch had vanished, a cold smile playing on his lips.
With a flick of his sleeve, a white shadow shot out—a small fox appeared before him.
“You excel in earth escape techniques. Deal with the Fu Family Patriarch. Given your artifact spirit cultivation and illusion mastery, handling a mere mid-Core Formation cultivator should be effortless.” Han Li instructed the fox calmly.
“Of course, Master. Wait a moment—I’ll be back soon!” The fox’s eyes gleamed with pride before it vanished in a flash of yellow light.
Han Li then tapped one of the spirit beast pouches at his waist, releasing a torrent of three-colored Gold Devouring Beetles. They swarmed into a massive cloud above his head before splitting into dozens of smaller three-colored swords at his command.
“Go.”
At his whisper, the swords shot out through the window like a swarm.
Han Li sat cross-legged in the pavilion, activating the Great Development Art. His divine sense enveloped the entire Fu Family Fortress in an instant.
The Fu Family’s direct descendants were easy to identify—whether by their attire or the few shared cultivation techniques they practiced, all were laid bare under his divine sense. He ignored the ordinary, non-cultivating members of the Fu Family in the outer fortress, instead directing the three-colored swords to hunt down every Fu Family cultivator.
Screams and cries erupted abruptly as the stench of blood swiftly permeated the fortress.
Meanwhile, deep underground, the Fu Family Patriarch was fleeing at full speed using earth escape techniques. His only thought was to put as much distance between himself and the fortress as possible. The fate of the other disciples and juniors was something he refused to consider.
Though he hadn’t witnessed it, he could easily imagine the fate of his nephew. Even with the Fu Family’s guardian spirit beast, hoping to escape a Nascent Soul cultivator was pure delusion. If the man could buy him even a moment’s time, the Patriarch would be satisfied.
As for the rest of the Fu Family, even if he wanted to save them, he was powerless to do so. Attempting it would only get him killed, so self-preservation came first.
As long as he, the Fu Family Patriarch, survived, the Fu Family would not be truly destroyed.
After all, besides the main fortress, the Fu Family had other holdings scattered throughout the Yuan Wu Kingdom. If he could escape to one of them, the Fu Family could always rise again.
The only thing gnawing at him was how the Fu Family had provoked this unfamiliar Nascent Soul executioner, who had declared their extermination without hesitation. Though the man had spoken lightly, the Patriarch shuddered at the memory of his cold indifference.
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