Chapter 8: The Death of Li Xuan and His Father!

Chen Yan's eyes flashed, and his heart rate involuntarily quickened in an instant.

The red glow came from this one Red-Haired Lingzhi; the closer he got to it, the richer the red glow within the Po Sheng Realm became.

This was a Red-Haired Lingzhi—its value was nothing Purple Hazelnut Mushroom could compare to. Chen Yan had seen villagers pick one far smaller than this and sell it in Town for ten thousand yuan.

Then how much could this one fetch?

Calming himself, Chen Yan took the Fire Poker and dug open the soil beside the Red-Haired Lingzhi, uprooting it whole and putting it into his backpack.

But the moment Chen Yan picked this Red-Haired Lingzhi, the red glow within the Po Sheng Realm instantly thinned and quickly vanished.

Chen Yan's heart was complicated—Chen Yuhu hadn't been found, but Chen Yuhu's target had been found by him.

Chen Yuhu probably hadn't come to the Qingshan Inner Perimeter much; he definitely didn't dare walk toward the Depth.

Chen Yan exhaled a breath of stale air. Fortunately, finding this Red-Haired Lingzhi hadn't taken too long; he was surely walking faster than Chen Yuhu.

…………

At the same time.

"Dad, how about we go back and pick that patch of hazelnut mushrooms."

Li Xuan and his Father Li Ming were walking through the woods, each carrying a chopping Knife in hand.

These were precisely the Li Family Father and Son, Chen Yan's neighbors.

Compared to Li Ming, who was over fifty, Li Xuan, barely past twenty, was clearly more fearful of this deep, unknown stretch of forest.

It wasn't his first time here, but every time he came, he was still afraid.

At a glance, perhaps no traces of wild beasts could be seen, yet the dim depths of the foliage still gave one a chilling sensation of being watched.

Li Ming glanced at his Son, sighed, and said:

"Stay close to me, don't wander. The people of our Qingshan Town have lived under Qingshan for generations and still can't walk out of it. If we want to get out, we still have to rely on this Mountain."

Li Xuan looked around quietly and nodded.

"Our Li Family was originally a broken-down household; making it this far hasn't been easy."

As Li Ming spoke, Li Xuan gradually clenched his Fist and said earnestly:

"Dad, I will Awaken my Qi and Blood!"

"Awaken, my ass—anyone who can Awaken Qi and Blood isn't an ordinary person!" Li Ming, however, gave his Son a direct rebuke:

"You're already twenty-five; basically there's no chance of you Awakening Qi and Blood anymore. Wasted all those Red-Haired Lingzhi on Medicine Baths for you."

Li Xuan's eyes grew complicated:

"You have no hope now. Your Son is going to be born; from now on you'll still have to come pick Red-Haired Lingzhi for your Son and start the Medicine Bath early—that way the chance of Awakening Qi and Blood will be a bit greater."

Li Xuan sighed softly. Father was right.

But Qingshan truly was a man-eating ghost.

Often it took half a year before one might pick a single treasure.

Li Ming shook his head. It was all because of poverty—otherwise he wouldn't have had to take the risk. His expression softened a little as he said:

"Yesterday morning, I came to Qingshan once already. I came back empty-handed, but actually I saw a very large Red-Haired Lingzhi."

As his voice fell, Li Xuan froze on the spot, his face flushing red in an instant.

"Dad, you…!"

Li Ming, however, laughed and said:

"Yesterday morning, I came in alone, but at the very end I ran into that idiot Chen Yuhu. Even though we have our grudge, it's not like we'd fight it out on the Mountain.

The moment I met him, I happened to catch a glimpse of that Red-Haired Lingzhi—truly huge!"

Li Ming gestured with his hands—about the size of two palms. Beside him, Li Xuan swallowed, his breathing growing difficult.

A glint of shrewdness surfaced in Li Ming's eyes:

"At that moment, if Chen Yuhu had just turned his head, he would have spotted that Lingzhi too. A Lingzhi that big—if the two of us fought over it, one would die and one would be hurt.

I immediately shouted 'Wolf!' and dragged him running down the Mountain.

I originally wanted to come up yesterday afternoon, but ran into the Martial Officer from the Town's Town Martial Office."

As Li Ming spoke, the Smile at his lips grew more and more obvious:

"That fool Chen Yuhu was probably truly scared. The Chen Family is just not destined for Wealth."

"Dad, this…"

Beside him, Li Xuan grew excited all over; his earlier worry was swept clean away.

No wonder his dad was so happy yesterday, even treating people to Wine—so that was it, so that was it.

Li Ming looked at his Son with satisfaction and gave a faint Laughter:

"Still afraid?"

"Not anymore, Dad—hurry and take me there."

Li Ming nodded, but the next instant he suddenly froze, squinting down the Mountain.

"Careful!" he immediately Low Roared, the hand gripping the chopping Knife beginning to tremble slightly. Beside him, Li Xuan's face went a shade paler in an instant, tense and uneasy.

But then, within the layered, shadowy Tree silhouettes behind them, a figure was rushing toward them at extreme speed.

Bang bang bang!

Like a leopard, his lithe legs kicked hard against the interwoven tree trunks, hugging the mountain slope as he darted through.

For a moment, even Li Ming was wound up to the extreme, rapidly rummaging through his backpack and already taking out a piece of dried excrement, ready to smear it on his Son's face.

"Chen Yan?"

Li Xuan, however, was the first to blurt out in astonishment, looking somewhat flustered at the approaching figure:

"How… how are you this fast?"

The one who came was none other than Chen Yuhu's Son, Chen Yan. He stopped in front of Li Ming and the other, gasping for breath, a layer of sweat seeping out on his Forehead.

Just now, Chen Yan had run up to the father and Son at a speed no ordinary person could have burst out with.

Even Li Ming opened his mouth slightly—this was the mountain path up.

What did that kid from the Chen Family grow up eating?

Didn't he just recover?

Just as the Li Family father and Son were filled with doubt and suspicion in their hearts, Chen Yan, after slightly Frowning, had a trace of Disappointment Float in his eyes:

"Excuse me, have you seen my Father?"

"N-no… haven't seen him." Li Ming had been startled by the speed Chen Yan had just burst out with, and now forgot to treat Chen Yan with the Indifference befitting his status as an elder.

"Didn't see him either…" Chen Yan pressed his Mouth shut, then walked straight past Li Xuan, Shoulder brushing Shoulder, heading up the Mountain.

Instead, Li Ming's Pupils suddenly shrank, and he called out:

"Kid of the Chen Family, I thought I saw a figure over there earlier—don't know if it was your Father."

Chen Yan stopped, looked in the direction Li Ming was pointing, and also examined Li Xuan's expression—nothing unusual.

"Thanks."

Then he ran toward the direction Li Ming had pointed, his figure quickly Disappearing into the woods.

"He…"

Li Xuan gaped his Mouth wide, and now said in disbelief:

"What kind of monster is he?"

Sweat had broken out on Li Xuan's Forehead. In the past, whenever he saw Chen Yan, he couldn't even be bothered to look.

But the speed Chen Yan had just displayed was truly a bit bizarre.

The Li Family and the Chen Family had been at odds for a long time, and in the past he and Chen Yan had also had conflicts.

………

"These villagers really aren't afraid of death."

Beyond Qingshan, a rough-looking Zhong Nian Nan Zi, a full two meters tall, looked at the electric net that had been broken open with a large hole by human hands, Frowning, and spoke into the pitch-black walkie-talkie in his hand.

He wore a tight-fitting black uniform, short hair, a shallow beard on his chin, and on his right Shoulder Shoulder-strap, the two characters 【鎮武】 were embroidered in gold thread.

"That Chen… Chen Yuhu family's matter—you go handle it. His daughter has already gone to the Town Martial Bureau.

His daughter running into this kind of thing must be terrified and helpless…"

The burly man spoke, hesitated, then continued:

"This side I'll handle for you lot—your strength isn't enough."

The tall man in uniform nodded and entered Qingshan through the hole broken open in the electric net.

………

"Why did that kid of the Chen Family come…" Li Ming muttered, looking in the direction Chen Yan had left, then suddenly Laughter:

"But… they're all fools."

He hadn't actually seen Chen Yuhu—he had only noticed that the direction Chen Yan was heading was exactly where he had discovered the red-haired lingzhi yesterday, so he hurriedly called Chen Yan to stop and pointed him in another direction.

Tricked his Father yesterday, tricking the Son today—it made him feel how wonderfully strange the world was.

"Dad, the direction you just pointed him toward seems to be Ghost Pit…" At this moment, Li Xuan spoke up somewhat hesitantly.

"Ghost Pit?" Li Ming's Pupils shrank. He carefully surveyed the surroundings, then his expression turned strange. He turned around and kept walking forward:

"Remember—never go to Ghost Pit when running the mountain in the future. It's very dangerous there."

Li Ming was speaking when he suddenly felt a chill on his neck. He rubbed his own neck, looked behind him—nothing there.

He felt something was off in his heart, always sensing someone was staring at him.

"Uncle, I haven't gone far yet."

A cold, clear voice rang out. Li Ming and his Son were suddenly Stun, and followed the voice, looking to the right.

They saw Chen Yan, who had originally left, now hanging by one hand from the trunk of a large Tree, a pair of Pupils gazing at them eerily.

"You!"

Li Xuan's face instantly went white. Chen Yan had clearly left—how did he suddenly Appear there?

Their father-and-Son conversation—he must have heard it.

"Uncle, if I go to Ghost Pit, I'll die, right?"

Chen Yan let go with one hand, dropped down, and walked toward Li Ming and his Son, his Mu Guang turning Indifference.

"Kid of the Chen Family…" Li Ming gripped the chopping Knife in his hand tightly, his Mu Guang turning Shade and cold:

"Get lost. I haven't seen your Father!"

Having said that, Li Ming pulled Li Xuan and turned to walk forward.

Chen Yan's eyes narrowed. He followed closely, only to see Li Ming suddenly turn around, the chopping Knife in his hand aimed at Chen Yan:

"I told you to get lost—did you hear me? I haven't seen your Father. I'll say it one more time!"

Li Ming would absolutely not let Chen Yan keep following, because just ahead was where he had discovered that red-haired lingzhi.

"Chen Yan, on Qingshan, a human life isn't worth much. Don't force our hand!"

Li Xuan also aimed his chopping Knife at Chen Yan. Though his body was still trembling, his eyes had turned fierce and vicious.

Chen Yan halted, the Cold Light in his eyes growing even icier.

Neighbors in ordinary days—even if relations were bad, they still saw each other whenever they lowered or raised their heads.

But here, they first told him to go to Ghost Pit, and now they were showing killing intent toward him.

The more they said they hadn't seen Chen Yuhu, the less Chen Yan believed them.

Chen Yan gripped the Stone in his hand tightly. With his Father at stake, he couldn't just let it go.

If he wanted the Li Xuan father and Son to tell the truth now, he had to strike first and take away their ability to fight.

His strength had surged these past few days — a stone he threw with force could shatter a man's thigh on the spot.

Chen Yan aimed at Li Ming's arm; even if he missed, it didn't matter — there were plenty of stones left in his bag.

But at that very instant, Chen Yan's pupils suddenly contracted and his whole body went rigid.

"I told you to get lost — did you hear me?!"

Li Ming bellowed again, killing intent thick in his eyes:

"Get lost!"

The shout rang through Shanlin, yet Chen Yan walked away without so much as a backward glance.

"Coward!"

Li Ming gave a Cold Snort, and his Son Li Xuan beside him also let out a contemptuous snort.

Just a moment ago, he had truly thought Chen Yan was about to fight them.

Li Ming was still smirking when he reached up to feel the top of his head — it seemed some liquid had dripped onto it.

He looked up, and his Pupils shrank sharply.

He saw a massive cyan snake head gazing down at him from above, a Crimson forked tongue dripping liquid..

"Ah!!!"

A heartrending scream suddenly rang out from ahead.

"Save me!!!"

It was Li Ming's voice; along with his shriek, terrifying crashing sounds mixed with scraping noises exploded in an instant.

Chen Yan fled down the Mountain as if his life depended on it — he had turned and left precisely because he had spotted that giant snake.

What on earth was that?

Chen Yan's face went slightly Paleness — that giant snake was fully Thirty meters long, and its head was even larger than a bull's.

Boom!

A violent crash sounded behind Chen Yan, and he snapped his head around.

A giant snake covered all over in cyan Scales was threading through the trees, its body smashing them apart as it swayed.

Clutched in the snake's Mouth was a mangled corpse — by the clothing, clearly Li Xuan, already dead.

And in that very instant, Chen Yan's eyes met the Crimson pair of that giant snake.

What kind of snake eyes were those?

Crimson, beautiful, like glass — deep within its Pupil sat an intricate ring-shaped pattern, and an ancient feeling welling up from the depths of one's bloodline rushed at him.

His Consciousness World suddenly began to tremble.

In the endless Darkness of the Universe, Yellow rays of light surged endlessly from a source-less place like river waves; the light kept gathering before the Po Saint Holy Tree, yet seemed blocked by an invisible barrier, forever stopping three chi away from the Po Saint Holy Tree.

【Prompt: Array Energy absorption detected. The Po Saint Holy Tree cannot absorb it — the Po Saint Holy Tree must be upgraded to Level Four.】