Countless curses flooded Liu Ziming's mind, leaving him frozen in place.

"Ah!!!"

Before he could finish his angry tirade, a shrill, agonizing scream echoed in his mind.

Under that scream, Lord Qingshan, who had just begun to regain his strength, suddenly withered at an alarming speed. The lush green bamboo leaves fell from the branches in the blink of an eye, and the once vibrant trunk rapidly decayed.

In less than a breath, the family’s sacred totem turned into black ash. Even the few remaining inches of its original form vanished without a trace.

From the peak to the abyss in the span of a heartbeat—like a fleeting mirage.

Liu Ziming stared blankly at the scene before him. His eyes were wide, and his face was full of confusion.

Where had such a massive family totem gone?

Suddenly realizing something, he hurriedly dropped to his knees and clawed through the pile of black ashes, desperately searching for any remnants of the sacred totem.

It was the hope for the family’s prosperity! How could it have been destroyed in his hands?

Above him, Ji Yang silently cried out:

"So comfortable!"

When Liu Ziming first stepped onto the clan grounds, Ji Yang had already sensed his presence. However, when he saw that Liu Ziming didn’t immediately attack the remaining clan members, Ji Yang decided not to act hastily. Instead, he chose to observe Liu Ziming's intentions.

Every move Liu Ziming made afterward was under Ji Yang’s watchful gaze.

Especially when he took out the half piece of green bamboo. At that moment, Ji Yang understood his purpose.

Ji Yang couldn’t help but sigh inwardly. Who would have thought that such a great opportunity would deliver itself right to my door while I was sitting at home? Heaven truly doesn’t treat me poorly.

After understanding Liu Ziming’s intentions, Ji Yang became even less inclined to act immediately. Instead, he used his incense-fed locust leaves to slightly mask his aura, ensuring that Liu Ziming remained unaware.

Compared to last time, Ji Yang was now much stronger. Even if Liu Ziming placed the family totem above the Blood Spring, it would be insufficient to stop Ji Yang. So Ji Yang simply let him absorb more of the Blood Spring’s power. After all, the more the totem absorbed, the more Ji Yang would gain later.

Once the green bamboo had grown sufficiently, Ji Yang devoured it completely without hesitation.

The Blood Spring’s power that had just been absorbed was now fully converted into Ji Yang’s life force, increasing it by more than a hundred points. That was an enormous harvest!

Ji Yang devoured the fragments of the green bamboo’s consciousness one by one, turning them into nourishment for his own mind.

After consuming those memory shards, he also sensed Lord Qingshan's recollections.

Within those memories, he discovered that the Qingshan and Qingling Totems had originated from the same root—one could even say they were once a single entity.

However, Qingshan had been separated prematurely, taking its memories with it. This explained why, when Ji Yang had probed Qingling’s memories earlier, he hadn’t detected Qingshan’s existence.

Strictly speaking, the two brothers had reunited. If they knew, they would probably be happy.

“Where is it? Where is it?"

Beneath the tree, Liu Ziming frantically searched through the pile of ashes. After searching for a long while, however, he still couldn’t find any remnants of the family totem.

Realizing this, Liu Ziming collapsed to the ground, his body limp.

He had become the sinner of his clan.

When he raised his head to look at the locust tree before him, hatred and fury instantly flooded his mind.

"Damn it! You're behind this, aren't you?"

"Even if I die today, I'll chop you down!"

He would avenge his clan. He would avenge Lord Qingshan!

The curses spilling from Liu Ziming’s mouth didn’t provoke any reaction from the locust tree. Just as he was about to strike it down, several locust leaves drifted down from the branches above.

As they fell through the air, those few locust leaves suddenly froze mid-descent.

Immediately after, several humanoid silhouettes emerged from the void above. Their ethereal bodies grasped the leaves, and as they did so, their forms gradually solidified. A layer of pitch-black armor swiftly manifested on each figure.

When the figures had fully materialized, Liu Ziming found himself surrounded.

Staring at these eerie beings and the formidable aura radiating from them, the flames of anger in his eyes slowly faded, replaced by a creeping sense of fear.

…

“Where is he?”

“Where did he go?”

As the blinding light dispersed, those on the battlefield glanced around. Yet, aside from Chen Qingyu, no one else was left in sight.

The Blood Coagulation Realm warriors showed signs of shock and doubt—they hadn't seen what had just happened in the battle.

At that moment, however, Chen Tianjing and Chen Tianyu's faces lit up with joy as they shouted,

“Qingyu, well done!”

Hearing this, everyone finally understood—the masked man from before had been utterly annihilated.

No, not even ashes remained—he had completely dissolved!

Not far away, Liu Ziqi froze in disbelief. His expression was stiff, and his eyes were filled with incredulity.

He wasn't just any martial artist; he was an Innate Realm expert at the Great Completion stage, empowered by the family’s totemic force. From the moment he appeared, he had crushed countless warriors on the battlefield, standing unrivaled at the very top.

Even Xiangshui City, which their clan once revered, was no trivial opponent.

Yet now, there wasn't even a corpse left.

Had he not witnessed it with his own eyes, he would have believed that the Shi family warrior had slipped away in the chaos.

But the truth was right before him—there was no room for doubt.

How much time had passed from the moment the Shi family expert appeared to the instant he died?

The Chen family is terrifying! And that sword technique just now—what was it?

Fear churned in Liu Ziqi’s heart. Seeing that the others were still frozen in shock, he quickly shouted to his clansmen.

"Move! Follow me!"

With that, he took the lead and bolted toward the distance.

After the fall of the Shi family warrior, the situation on the battlefield plummeted. Without his help, their clan was no match for the Chen family.

Besides, their clan's other Innate Realm expert wasn't even there! If they didn't flee now, when would they?

Though they had lost the battlefield, a glimmer of hope still flickered in Liu Ziqi’s eyes.

Fortunately, he hadn’t pinned all his hopes on the Shi family warrior. After so much time had passed, Ziming should have succeeded by now.

His task was straightforward: take the remaining clansmen and rendezvous with Ziming, preserving as much of the family’s strength as possible.

Once the family totem was revived, they would be unassailable. Then, the choice to fight or flee would rest entirely in their hands.

Clinging to this thought, Liu Ziqi quickened his pace.

The other Liu clansmen, unaware of the family’s secondary plan, moved with remarkable speed upon hearing the order to retreat.

At that moment, their fighting spirit had disappeared. Even if they returned to the battlefield, they could no longer unleash their former strength.

"Tianjing, take care of Qingyu. I’ll lead the clansmen in pursuit!”

"All right! I’ll head back to the clan and request reinforcements immediately.”

Although they had successfully eliminated the strongest enemy, Chen Qingyu’s condition was grave. Despite the Divine Tree’s power and the Five Viscera Ascension Technique, he was gravely injured. Unable to move, his blood and qi were dangerously thin, leaving only the faint rhythm of his breath.

But for the clan, that was enough.

As long as he was still breathing, he could be saved!

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