Within the tavern, a few Zhan Wu Sect disciples were chatting, no one noticed the dark-skinned youth in the corner and even if they did, no one would pay attention to him.

Zi Chen sat on the side and looked out the window. He looked very relaxed, but he heard everyone"s soft conversation.

He was shocked in his heart. He thought that Zhang Shui"s dantian had been crippled was just an accident but he did not expect it to be something else. It was actually Ling Yun who did it. Faced with a wall for half a year, he dared to be bold and brazen and he is brazen enough to a.s.sa.s.sinate his fellow sect members in broad daylight. Now, it seems like Ling Yun should have a very strong backer in the Zhan Wu Sect and is not afraid of trouble at all.

Senior brother, what happened to that Zi Chen, even the Ling Wu Sect was destroyed, could it be that he"s not dead yet? A disciples asked.

The destruction of the Ling Wu Sect was something that happened almost a year ago. It caused a huge sensation and both the Zhan Wu Sect and the Black Tortoise Sect sent their experts out to investigate but after they returned, the expert did not say a single word nor divulge any important information.

However, some people knew that the Ling Wu Sect had been annihilated. From the Grand Elder to the servants, all of them had died without a single survivor.

Of course he"s dead. The senior brother said coldly.

Did he truly die? A disciple whispered.

What do you know? This senior brother refuted, Zi Chen did die but he did not die during the annihilation of the sect. He died inside the Dark Serene Forest.

The Dark Serene Forest is a danger zone. It is said that it is very scary. Why did Zi Chen go there? It was obvious that some of these disciples had some knowledge of their own and they even knew about the Dark Serene Forest.

Hmph, he escaped all the way there. This matter has already been spread throughout the Cangli City, you just didn"t know about it. This senior brother lowered his voice and said mysteriously, Let me tell you, that Zi Chen is truly extraordinary. Rumor has it that not only did he cause the Wu Zong Sect to suffer losses, even Cloud City and Heaven Killing Pavilion suffered losses.

What, how is that possible, isn"t Zi Chen a disciple of the Ling Wu Sect, how can he be related to one of the three great forces? Some disciples were confused.

The senior brother looked around him for a bit, but did not see anyone nearby. He said in a low voice, It is said that the Ling Wu Sect was annihilated by the Wu Zong Sect due to a treasure and they later pursued Zi Chen after finding out he has it. The Heaven Killing Pavilion and the people from Cloud City found out about it and sent experts into the Dark Serene Forest. It is said that among the Dark Serene Forest, there are many Demonic Beast and their strength is great so of the hundreds of expert that went in, there are less than ten who survived. Of the hundreds of experts, the weakest is in the Xiantian Realm and the strongest is rumored to be a Half-step Imperial Sky Realm expert.

Hiss!

Gasps could be heard from the surroundings. All of them widened their eyes in disbelief.

This is a secret, you"d better keep your mouths shut. This senior brother cautioned him, Zi Chen died in Dark Serene Forest, his body is not found but we can confirm that he died. Rumor has it that later on, even when the Imperial Sky Realm Experts went there but did not manage to find him. He was probably swallowed by the Demonic Beast. What a pity, a treasure that the three forces were jealous of is lost in the Dark Serene Forest just like that.

Sigh, what a pity. If I had that treasure, I would have taken it out and given it to the Wu Zong Sect for a lifetime of wealth. A disciple sighed.

Zi Chen got up paid the bill. He did not want to continue listening to the useless conversation.

Seems like this Golden Cicada is really effective. It was a good idea to change my skin tone. The three forces thought that I had died and after hiding for a while, I can go to the Cangli City. Zi Chen thought. [TN: Golden Cicada basically means a method that is used to fool others]

Even Zhang Shui did not recognize him, so Zi Chen did not need to worry about being recognized, as long as he did not make a move, he would not be exposed.

When he returned, Zi Chen intentionally slowed down. When the sun was about to set in the west, Zi Chen dragged a long shadow and returned to the Daling Village.

Normally, at this time, when he would return to the village, he would see a lot of people but today, the outside of the village was empty. At the same time, Zi Chen noticed that the little village had lost a bit of joy, as well as a hint of desolation.

What"s going on? Zi Chen frowned. Feeling that something was amiss, he quickened his pace.

There was still no one in the little village and the children who were originally playing here had also disappeared without a trace. Zi Chen increased his speed once again, but just as he was about to reach the entrance of Elder Zhang"s house, he heard a noise.

The voice was chaotic, as though there were many people talking there, causing Zi Chen to not be able to hear clearly.

Could it be because of Zhang Shui? Zi Chen did not dare to think further.

The him of the past, when his dantian was crippled also had the thought of wanting to die so he knew the feeling of turning from a cultivator into a mortal.

Chen Zi, Chen Zi is back!

Chen Zi, you"re finally back. Something"s happened, something"s happened.

Some villagers saw that Zi Chen had returned and walked forward. There was hope in their eyes, as if they had seen hope.

Zi Chen walked into the courtyard of Elder Zhang and discovered that there was blood stains on the ground. As expected, Zhang Shui had disappeared without a trace.

What happened? Zi Chen asked.

It"s the people from the Zhan Wu Sect, they"re here again, they"re asking for a piece of Low Grade Yuan Stone, how could take out a Yuan Stone? When Zhang Shui came out to argue with them, he was beaten up by them and almost got beaten to death. Some villagers said.

People of the Zhan Wu Sect! Zi Chen frowned.

Zhang Shui used to be a disciple of the Zhan Wu Sect but after his cultivation had been crippled, he was chased out of the sect.

Chen Zi, you have to think of a way. The people of Zhan Wu Sect said that they will come back in a few days.

They beat Zhang Shui and took away all the broken Yuan Stones that we had gathered. They said that they will come back in a few days!

Chen Zi, you have to think of a way to save us. The Yuan Vein on the mountain have already been mined for dozens of years, how can there still be a Yuan Stone left?

A hundred years ago, a Yuan Vein was found, among them were broken Yuan Stones and Low Grade Yuan Stones. It caused a huge commotion at that time. As a result, the three sects fought hard and a lot of experts died, and in the end, the Wu Zong heard the news and sent people over to excavate it.

Afterwards, when the villagers entered the mountain, they would occasionally find some broken Yuan Stones.

A hundred years ago, the Daling Village was very prosperous but after the Yuan Vein was dug out and the people of the Wu Zhong Sect left. This village was completely ruined after a few years.

The villagers were also unable to mine Yuan Stones to live so they turned and worked instead. Some of them even left the Daling Village early.

Zi Chen knew about this matter. When he first came, he was very curious and even went to the mines to look around. After searching for a while, he actually found two broken Yuan Stones but that"s all.

Zi Chen was a cultivator. After staying there for a day and searching many places, he had only found two broken Yuan Stone so making these ordinary people look for them is no use at all.

When the people of Zhan Wu Sect open their mouths to ask for a piece of Low Grade Yuan Stone, it was equivalent to asking for a hundred of them.

Zi Chen did not hear the three words Slaughter the Village but a ball of anger had already risen from the bottom of his heart.

In the Daling Village, everyone knew that Zi Chen was not ordinary and was a cultivator, but no one knew how strong he was.

It was just that at this moment, the villagers were completely scared out of their wits by the people from the Zhan Wu Sect.

Don"t worry, everyone. I will think of a way to deal with this. Zi Chen said so the villagers can calm down.

With Zi Chen"s guarantee, the villagers were much more at ease. A cultivator"s guarantee was extremely useful to the villagers.

Chen Zi, you should go and see Zhang Shui first. He hasn"t said a single word, he might have been beaten silly.

That"s right, Chen Zi, Zhang Shui is a good person. When he was in Zhan Wu Sect, he always protected the village.

Some villagers spoke out, their eyes filled with worry.

Has Chen Zi returned? Just then, Elder Zhang walked out with his bamboo stick, trembling.

Uncle, how is Zhang Shui? Zi Chen stepped forward and supported Elder Zhang as he asked.

Sigh! Elder Zhang let out a low sigh, his eyes were filled with sorrow, He does not eat or drink and he doesn"t speak either. He is taking my life!

They"re all from the Zhan Wu Sect, n.o.body has come here to collect Yuan Stones for many years. It"s obvious that they"re doing this on purpose.

In my opinion, they have come for Zhang Shui. It should be that Zhang Shui offended someone in the sect but unfortunately, he did not say anything.

The villagers all opened their mouths.

I"ll go in and take a look!

The villagers opened a path and Zi Chen walked straight in. Elder Zhang did not enter, as the two of them were both cultivators, he thought that they should have a common language.

In a small room, Zhang Shui was lying on top of a wooden bed, his face was bruised and swollen, it was obvious that he was beaten up by the Zhan Wu Sect. He stared at the ceiling blankly, not even noticing when Zi Chen entered the room.

Looking at Zhang Shui"s expression, Zi Chen was even more certain that those people from the Zhan Wu Sect were here for him. All of this is most likely because of the matters in the Spirit Medicine Garden that happened back then.

Zhang Shui! Zi Chen came in and called out in a low voice.

Zhang Shui froze for a moment, then slowly turned his head. Seeing Zi Chen"s arrival, his eyes were still lifeless.

You have to pull yourself together. There"s no obstacle that you can"t cross. Zi Chen went forward and sat on the side of the bed.

The current Zhang Shui was very haggard, his eyes lifeless. As he walked closer, Zi Chen realized that his face was as swollen as a fatty. It was obvious that Zhan Wu Sects disciples attack was very heavy and he might not even have teeth in his mouth.

Zhang Shui did not speak, his entire being was in despair. In the past, he was a high and mighty senior brother. But now, he was slapped in the face by a former junior brother. He couldn"t even be considered a cripple.

Don"t despair, things will eventually be resolved. Even if you don"t think for yourself, you have to think for your father as well. The world of cultivation is cruel.

If you think about the many experts that died back then, you still have your life, and can live a peaceful life. This can be considered as your fortune in the midst of misfortune. Zi Chen did not know how to comfort others, he was just saying whatever popped up in his head.

Zhang Shui was still as wooden as ever and didn"t show any reaction. He had already given up all hope but after hearing Zi Chen"s words, his expression of despair seemed to have fluctuated a little.

The world of cultivation is the most cruel. It"s either you or I will die, maybe today, you will stay high up in the sky but tomorrow, you might become a dead body by the road and there will be no one to bury you. You will either be torn to pieces or you will be buried in the belly of a wild beast but you were able to escape this calamity and live a life of peace and stability, which can be considered as a blessing.

Think about it, in the Spirit Medicine Garden, so many people died. Every single one of them had lives to live but in the next moment, they died. Can you not see that you are very fortunate?

Zi Chen opened his mouth, his voice gradually becoming stern.

You have a good father. You have a large group of villagers who care about you so you should cherish them well. Why can"t you look at them properly? Why must you make your father sad? Aren"t the villagers also worried about you?

When Zi Chen mentioned the Spirit Medicine Garden twice, it finally made a change in his expression. He was no longer silent but he still felt despair.

Their goal is me, if I don"t die, the villagers won"t be able to live a peaceful life. During this period of time, I have already known that there is nothing the mortals can do but right now, I don"t even have the chance to live a mortal life.

You don"t know that I am not so lucky to be alive, they deliberately left me alive to humiliate me. To be honest, compared to the other brothers and sisters, I would have rather been killed on the spot than to implicate the villagers.

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