Vol. 1 - Ch. 86 - Resolution

Wait! Why was there a wall?

Only then did Liu Zishan notice that the shadow he had pierced through the armor had no trace of flesh and blood on its chest. When he looked up at the shadow’s face, he was greeted with hollow, lifeless eye sockets.

Liu Zishan was stunned. He finally understood the source of the inexplicable screams of terror from his clansmen earlier. A chilling thought involuntarily surfaced in his mind:

What the hell is this thing?

At that moment, Liu Zishan lost his composure. His consciousness was plunged into darkness forever.

Under the relentless attacks of the ghosts, the Liu clan had no chance of survival.

"Clan leader, everything has been resolved."

"Mm."

After hearing the report from his clansman, Chen Changming nodded. The remaining warriors of the Liu clan were in complete disarray, and their ghostly appearance would frighten anyone who saw them. It wasn’t surprising they had been easily defeated in such a short time.

The armor that covered their bodies gave them the ability to touch physical objects, and Chen Changming quickly realized the difference. Like him, their souls were denser, and the colour of their armor was even darker, providing a stronger defense. However, their strength was still far from what they had once possessed.

They could use some of their old combat techniques, but the power of blood and qi that once fueled them had been transformed into soul power, weakening their effectiveness. On the other hand, they were much faster, and without physical bodies, they could even fly through the air.

However, they were still vulnerable. Attacks from warriors with blood and qi could shatter the armor, affecting their souls. While they could be injured, the manner in which they were harmed differed from ordinary people. Unless all their armor was destroyed, their combat power wouldn’t be greatly reduced.

With just a moment’s thought, Chen Changming could already feel the advantages this armor could bring to the clan. A fearless, ghostly force of warriors could become one of the clan’s greatest assets.

But then he noticed something peculiar: the original black armor began to fade after they had dealt with the remaining members of the Liu clan. Clearly, the armor wasn’t permanent and would eventually disappear. All of this was due to the divine power of the clan’s Divine Tree.

Chen Changming had prayed to the tree before, but at the time, it had not responded. Now, at the last moment, it had bestowed its divine power. It was obvious that this armor placed a significant burden on the tree.

Nevertheless, many of his clansmen were still elated by the outcome.

"All right, we’ll leave the rest to the others. Let’s retreat for now," Chen Changming ordered, signalling for his clansmen to depart before the armor completely faded.

Shortly after Chen Changming and his group left, Chen Xingzhen arrived with other clansmen at the Liu clan estate. Seeing no signs of life, he approached cautiously.

"Clan leader, they’re dead! All of them!"

Hearing the clansmen’s cheers, Chen Xingzhen was filled with joy. This had to be the work of their ancestors.

"Let’s go in!"

A group immediately rushed into the Liu estate. Pushing open the front door, they saw Liu Zishan and the other warriors who had fled earlier. However, they had all turned into corpses, their eyes wide with horror, as though terrified by something incomprehensible in their final moments.

Chen Xingzhen was confused but decided it wasn’t the time to dwell on the details. After carefully inspecting the bodies and confirming that all the surviving Liu warriors had been dealt with, a huge weight was lifted from his heart. With the Liu clan resolved, the Natural Blood Spring was secure, ensuring the Chen clan’s future development.

"Clan leader, over here, come take a look..."

Soon, Chen Xingzhen, Chen Tianyu, and others gathered in a courtyard.

"Clan leader, there’s so much blood rice!"

Next to the courtyard, there were several cloth bags filled with blood rice. Chen Xingzhen smiled. With this much blood rice, even if their own fields yielded little this winter, the clan wouldn’t suffer.

However, his attention was quickly drawn to a dilapidated bamboo grove in the courtyard. This was the core of the Liu clan’s estate, so why was there green bamboo planted here? Upon closer inspection, he noticed incense ash in front of the grove and dull, lifeless blood rice within it.

Chen Xingzhen’s pupils contracted. If his guess was correct, this was likely the Liu clan’s clan totem. However, unlike their own Divine Tree, this totem appeared devoid of vitality, and during the battle, it didn’t display any divine power.

Satisfied that the area was safe, Chen Xingzhen waved his hand. 

"Take everything back! Offer it as a sacrifice to the Divine Tree!"

Offering the totem as a sacrifice was naturally the best course of action.

Later, Chen Xingzhen and the others found even more valuable resources within the Liu estate: food besides blood rice, domesticated beasts, and cultivation insights from warriors at the Body Tempering and Blood Coagulation Realms. It was clear that the Liu clan, though seemingly inconspicuous in Chaotic Burial Mountain, was wealthier than both the Li and Chen clans combined.

Given the lack of manpower, Chen Xingzhen decided to station guards overnight and bring more clan members the next day to gather the spoils.

Back at the Ancestral Hall, Chen Changming and the others had already returned. By the time they arrived, their armor had completely faded and disappeared. Chen Changming silently estimated the duration of the armor—likely only a quarter of an hour. But even that brief time was enough to change the fate of the clan.

The Divine Tree had only just begun to show its power. Once it grew stronger, the time they could wear the armor would surely increase.

Upon returning to the Ancestral Hall, Chen Changming immediately bowed.

"Lord Divine Tree, clan member Chen Changming, I have successfully eradicated the remaining members of the Liu clan."

Ji Yang had expected this outcome, but hearing it directly from Chen Changming brought him relief. With the great threat of the Liu clan eliminated, the Chen clan’s development would proceed much more smoothly.

However, when Ji Yang opened his attribute screen again and saw his own vital energy, his joy dimmed slightly.

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