Chapter 3: You Have a Way to Seek Death!

Half an hour later.

Chen Zheng, carrying a gourd, walked away from Jia Zhu Fu with steps a little lighter than when he arrived.

The trip was successful.

He promised Chen Fu that he would help manage the family's merchant ships.

He also arranged to set sail together two days later, escorting a shipload of Golden Feather Grass to Ban Yue Fang Shi for sale.

In return, Chen Fu gave him a large sum of cultivation resources.

……

On the plaza of the east courtyard of Jia Zhu Fu, a young man with a resolute face and a robust build was practicing the family‑passed martial art Furious Whale Force move by move.

He was Chen Lie, the eldest son of Chen Xingye.

"Young Master."

A burly man rushed in like a gale and knelt on one knee not far from Chen Lie.

"Chen Meng, what's the matter?"

Chen Lie did not stop his movements; his voice was deep and powerful, like a low growl of a fierce tiger.

"Young Master, I just discovered that the Third Young Master has advanced 360 Qi‑Blood Pills and four barrels of Evil Shark Blood from the family treasury," Chen Meng reported.

"Advancing a year's worth of cultivation quota? It seems Father has delegated authority, stirring the third son's competitive spirit, preparing to strive hard."

Chen Lie continued to practice the forms meticulously, paying no mind to Chen Fu's affairs.

Chen Meng said, "Not so; the Third Young Master gave all the resources to Chen Zheng."

"Chen Zheng? I recall he is a collateral descendant with some talent, and back then he was on good terms with the third son," Chen Lie finally halted, looked at Chen Meng, his eyes flashing sharply: "Did you not make a mistake?"

Chen Meng nodded, "No error at all. I believe Chen Zheng has aligned himself with the Third Young Master, which is why the latter is using so many resources to win him over. Should I send someone to warn Chen Zheng?"

"It should be so."

Chen Lie gave a slight nod, confirming the speculation, and after a moment's contemplation he chuckled, "No need; just assign someone to keep an eye on Chen Zheng."

He sees through everything clearly.

Recently, Chen Xingye delegated authority to Chen Fu, clearly to test his ability.

Only Chen Fu who passes the test will have the qualification to contend with him for the Family Head Position in the future.

Of course, it is merely a qualification.

To truly become the heir to the Family Head, the most important factor is one's own martial strength.

Chen Fu, however, fails to see this, foolishly using his cultivation resources to win over Chen Zheng.

Little does he know that the more he gives to Chen Zheng, the slower Chen Fu's martial power improves, and the farther he drifts from the Family Head seat.

Moreover, no matter how many resources Chen Fu sends, Chen Zheng cannot attain the Qi climate in a short time.

Cultivating martial arts is not a task of a single day.

Even if we step back a thousand miles, even if Chen Zheng happens to breakthrough, what then?

Could anyone block even a single strike of his?

"Third son, why are you so unworthy of cultivation?" Chen Lie said, somewhat disheartened.

At the same time.

In the manor south of Jia Zhu Fu, a young man with a slightly pallid complexion, as if he had not seen sunlight for ages, sat upright on a pavilion by the lake, fishing.

He fished without bait, casting a long line into the water and using his own spirit to sense the conditions beneath.

The power of spirit is a realm that only a master of the eighth level of the Divine Valor Realm of the Mortal Body can barely reach.

He is the second son, Chen Mo.

Beside him, a servant leaned in, whispering something to Chen Mo.

Chen Mo remained expressionless, as if he hadn't heard.

Swish!

Suddenly, Chen Mo's fishing rod twitched, and a fish was pulled up to the surface.

"A mere stray fish, worthy of struggling? Without self‑awareness, it is a path to death."

A hint of displeasure flashed on Chen Mo's sickly face; with a casual finger, he pierced the head of the fish still thrashing on the hook, its body fell into the lake, splashing a small bloom of blood.

……"Much obliged, Uncle Liu."

Chen Zheng looked at the four large jars placed in his courtyard, nodded with satisfaction, and smiled to thank the elderly man who had delivered the goods.

The elder was the old servant who had previously taken him to meet Chen Fu at Jia Zhu Fu, named Liu Fu, a member of Chen Fu's maternal clan, serving as his steward.

However, Chen Fu's maternal clan was not powerful, merely a subsidiary of the Chen family, numbering only a few dozen people, also residing on Golden Feather Island.

"I hope Young Master Chen Zheng will not disappoint the Third Young Master."

Uncle Liu gave Chen Zheng a deep look, then left the courtyard, riding away on horseback.

Chen Zheng did not take Uncle Liu's words to heart; he closed the courtyard gate, hoisted a jar that two or three people could embrace, and headed toward the storage room.

Chen Zheng's cultivation is at the fifth level of the Divine Power Realm of the Mortal Body, granting him the strength of a horse.

This horse is not ordinary but a Mysterious Yellow Fiery Horse, with boundless strength, capable of traveling thousands of li a day; a heavy cavalry charge on it can even breach city walls.

Lifting a few thousand jin of weight is naturally a breeze.

This novel you to

After making four round trips like this, Chen Zheng moved all four large jars into the storage room.

He closed the room door, and Chen Zheng proceeded to a nondescript circular object in a corner of the room for some manipulation.

A faint sound came from beneath the wall, and a hidden door leading underground opened.

Below was originally a cellar for storing food; a few years ago Chen Zheng converted it into a secret chamber, waiting for the golden finger to arrive, so he could effectively safeguard his secrets, and now it finally proved useful.

Another round of moving, Chen Zheng carried the four large jars into the dim secret chamber.

Light the oil lamp.

His face was full of anticipation; he reached out and lifted the sealed silk cloth on one of the large vats, and a strong, pungent scent of blood assaulted his nose.

The vat was filled with scarlet blood—it was the blood of an evil shark.

Evil sharks are sea monsters, massive in size, capable of smashing ships, devouring warriors whole, ferocious beyond compare, and they strike terror into many fishermen.

Nevertheless, some still risk going out to sea to catch evil sharks, because those beasts carry many treasures: their skin can be made into armor, their flesh can be used for medicine.

Even a few powerful evil sharks, if captured by a divine practitioner, can have their sharp teeth and bones refined into flying sword artifacts.

The Chen Family Fishing Team recently caught an evil shark, and in doing so injured several of its brothers.

"Sss…"

Chen Zheng stripped off his clothes and stepped into the large vat, letting the evil shark's blood engulf his body; a searing, fiery sting coursed through him, as if he were a boiled, reddened giant shrimp.

Evil shark blood is fiercely potent; otherwise it could not temper a warrior's body, and Chen Zheng had long anticipated this.

He bore the pain, closed his eyes, and sat cross‑legged in the vat; his spirit sank into the Sheep Skin Scroll deep in his mind, visualizing the Nether King picture while silently reciting the cultivation mantra of the Nether King True Body.

"The Nether King painting awakens the demonic source, one hundred and eight hidden pits lie within, the meridians receive blood along the pathways…"

Gradually, Chen Zheng felt the sting on his body lessen considerably, as if he harbored a primal intimacy and yearning for the blood.

Blood is his natural food.

He felt every pore of his body ravenously thirsty, so he opened countless "blood‑filled mouths" and greedily sucked the blood.

The evil shark's blood in the vat slowly sank, entered Chen Zheng's body through his pores, then followed the cultivation pathways into his meridians, like the sea receiving all rivers, flowing into the one hundred and eight demonic pits he visualized.

It would be more accurate to call those not demonic pits but individual purifiers.

Because once the evil shark blood reaches here, it begins to transform, becoming the purest blood essence that merges into limbs and bones, nourishing the body.

"Success!"

Chen Zheng's spirit jolted; he felt his whole body warm and soothing, as if bathing in a hot spring, while his body was being reshaped inch by inch.

The process was extremely slow, yet its effect was strikingly evident, incomparable to cultivation by ingesting pills.

If a master of the Ninth-level Spirit-Communing Realm were present and observed Chen Zheng's interior with their spirit, they would see that wherever the blood essence passed—whether flesh, bone, organs, fascia, and so on—a remarkable transformation was occurring.

Hoo!

Chen Zheng's breathing suddenly became rapid, like a great bellows being drawn, exhaling one cloud of foul air after another.

It was like a massive wave sifting, filtering out countless impurities through his breath, leaving only the most precious pure gold.

(End of chapter)