Chapter 326: The Substitute

"Done, job finished!"

Retracting the Mountain and River Map, Shen Yu felt excellent; hunting these old monsters was indeed the fastest way to recoup his costs, and the Great Contention Era did not seem like a bad thing for him after all.

With the Time Golden Chapter on his person, he could easily conceal himself. When the time came, he would be in the shadows, and those old monsters would be in the light.

By then, as to who was the hunter and who was the prey between him and those old monsters, it would be hard to say.

However, looking up at the sky, Shen Yu sighed with melancholy. As the Spirit Qi grew increasingly dense, more and more old monsters would awaken, their strength would recover rapidly, and they would inevitably become harder to fight.

Moreover, the piles of bones, the heroes of the Jianghu, and the common people of the world recorded in the various legends and books passed down would all become their prey.

He was only one person and could not possibly look after so many places at once. Furthermore, whether he could even win when the time came was a question.

The Great Contention Era had arrived, and chaos across the world was already imminent. It might be advantageous for him, but it was greatly disadvantageous for those ordinary people.

After a war or a famine, perhaps not even one in ten of the common people would survive, or at most, not one in a hundred.

Yet, wherever those old monsters passed, there were no living things; slaughtering cities and destroying towns were just everyday occurrences. After they rampaged, not even one in ten thousand of the common people would remain.

It looked like just a number, but in reality, it was a bloody fact. Of the billions of people, only a handful would survive.

I fear only those who hid in deep mountains and old forests, or places very hard for ordinary people to find, would be able to survive with great difficulty.

Scattered and not gathered in groups, they were not worth the old monsters taking action, nor were they worth the effort for them to search.

After the Great Contention Era passed, these people would slowly emerge from the deep mountains and old forests, gradually beginning to recuperate and multiply their descendants.

Then they would gradually begin to gather into various factions, and after the chaotic wars between the major powers, new Imperial Courts would be formed.

Waiting for the Great Contention Era to arrive again, those old monsters would re-enter the world and begin a new harvest.

Generation after generation, it was like this, never-ending. It was as if the common people multiplied and lived only to be wantonly harvested by them.

For so many years, how many people had risen up to resist, how many had sacrificed their lives, yet none could stop this torrent that seemed like an infinite cycle.

According to the records of the Shadowless Sect, although some of those old monsters had been trapped or killed, most of the original experts of past generations—those who had survived with great difficulty—would also become one of them.

Therefore, these old monsters had not decreased; instead, they seemed to have increased.

The further one looked, the more one could see that deep despair, as if one could never see hope.

The life-sacrificing efforts of people through the ages did not result in a decrease of these old monsters, but rather in watching them grow more numerous with each generation.

Even the predecessors of the Shadowless Sect who recorded these things felt that perhaps they were doing useless work.

In the face of absolute power, the so-called flaws in those old monsters were like flowers in a mirror or the moon in the water; they were completely useless.

Ordinary people facing them only had the fate of being crushed; even a sneeze from them could grind their flesh and bones to nothing.

This reality of seeing no hope was what made people most desperate.

"Someone, come quickly!" At this moment, Leng Hanye was desperately rushing toward the Leng Family, shouting loudly with a hint of panic as he ran.

Upon hearing his younger brother's shouts, the Leng Family Head, Leng Hanyue, could not care about anything else and immediately flew to meet him.

"Second Brother, didn't you leave with Master Shen? Why have you returned?"

"Leng Hanyue" grabbed his elder brother's arm, and Leng Hanye gripped him, looking him up and down, discovering that there were no wounds on his body and he was perfectly healthy.

The things his own elder brother had done made even him feel his blood boil, almost unable to restrain his killing intent. Master Shen actually didn't take action?

Could anyone survive in Shen Yu's hands?

"Second Brother, what is wrong with you? Your eyes don't seem right! This isn't right, you are actually calling me by my full name?"

Very well, thinking that because you've latched onto Shen Yu, your wings have hardened. Before, you called me elder brother, and although this brother of mine had a more straightforward temperament, he at least gave me face and had a sweet mouth when we met.

But now that you are by Shen Yu's side, you dare to call me by my name. Have you forgotten who you are? Have you forgotten that your elder brother is still the Leng Family Head?

"Master Shen, Master Shen..."

"Master Shen? What happened to Master Shen?" Seeing Leng Hanye's panicked appearance, Leng Hanyue had a bad feeling in his heart.

Could it be that Shen Yu had met with an accident, so his younger brother had returned to seek reinforcements? Elder brother, I'll call you elder brother, okay? If you know even Shen Yu can't beat them, then why the hell are you coming back?

The Leng Family wasn't that stubborn; if even Shen Yu couldn't beat them, then the Leng Family was just serving themselves up on a platter. If you come here now, wouldn't that bring danger to the Leng Family?

Leng Hanyue knew clearly that this World was different; at the very least, the Ancestor of their Leng Family had awakened. And the aura made one feel afraid just standing there, making one shudder with fear.

Thinking of this, Leng Hanyue gritted his teeth; this bastard was going to ruin all his plans.

Now that his plan was half-executed, the Leng Family absolutely could not make a mistake, at least not now.

The so-called Spiritual Qi Surge and the so-called Great Contention Era were things he had always known, and the Leng Family Heads of past generations had also known.

From the moment he learned of this matter, he had already been preparing, using the strength of several generations of Family Heads to fight for his own life!

He would use facts to tell these so-called old monsters that the times had changed; those old monsters could be unscrupulous, so why couldn't he!

But now, the appearance of Shen Yu and the appearance of his own useless younger brother were both going to disrupt his plans.

"It's not what happened to Master Shen, it's you!" Just as Leng Hanyue was lost in his wild thoughts, Leng Hanye raised his head and looked at him coldly.

"Did you use your own clansmen to feed others? Are you going to use the lives of the family's younger generation to exchange for your own wealth and glory? Tell me, did you?"

"Where did you hear these things?" This sudden barrage of questioning left Leng Hanyue stunned, but he immediately reacted; these were secrets, how did he know?

Could it be that what he had done had been discovered? Or was it discovered by Shen Yu?

That couldn't be; if Shen Yu had discovered it, wouldn't he have split him in two on the spot just now?

"Second Brother, no matter where you heard these things, do not believe them. These are all rumors. I, Leng Hanyue, act upright and sit straight; I have never done a single thing that goes against my conscience!"

"Is that so?" Suddenly, Shen Yu appeared between the two, just looking at the other party coldly.

"M-Master Shen! Didn't you leave?"

"Elder Brother, Leng Hanyue, what I wanted to tell you before is that your affairs have been discovered by Master Shen!"

"You, you really are my good younger brother!" If you had told me this earlier, I could have run away sooner. I've seen people who screw over their fathers, but this is the first time I've seen someone screw over their own elder brother. Don't you know that Shen Yu kills without blinking?

"Hanye, I don't know what you are talking about. I said I act upright and sit straight; what is there that cannot be known by Master Shen?"

"Leng Hanyue, you really don't see the coffin until you shed tears!" With a slight wave of his hand, nearly a hundred Vajra Iron Cages appeared densely in front of Shen Yu.

Locked inside these cages were Leng Family descendants, all of whom were Leng family members bearing the Leng family bloodline.

Some of them had been completely swallowed by the power of the bloodline, and there was no longer a shred of human reason in their eyes, while others had just begun to transform, their eyes filled with expressions of struggling back and forth between madness and unwillingness.

But without exception, anyone locked into these Vajra Iron Cages was being prepared by Leng Hanyue as snacks to be sent to the small hut, used to please that so-called Ancestor of his.

Furthermore, in the place where these people were imprisoned, Shen Yu saw piles of white bones.

Leng Hanyue must be using the fresh blood of others to feed these clansmen, using fresh blood to stimulate them to better awaken their bloodlines.

For such a long time, I truly don't know how many people have died in the Leng Family, died within that cold, underground secret chamber.

The layers upon layers of corpses accumulated inside the underground secret chamber are likely only a portion of them.

"Leng Hanyue, you say you have never done anything to trouble your conscience, then what do these count as?"

"I have also seen that secret chamber where you imprisoned them; what about the many people you killed to feed them? Is this your 'no trouble to your conscience'?"

"To think there are still so many younger generation members?" Looking at the people in the Vajra Iron Cages before him, among whom were juniors he recognized, Leng Hanye's expression grew increasingly cold, and his eyes carried a hint of hatred.

He had never even imagined that the elder brother he had always revered could actually commit such deeds.

"Leng Hanyue, do you know what you are actually doing? These are all our own clansmen! You are completely unfit to be the Family Head of the Leng Family!"

"Enough, I am unfit to be the Family Head, then are you fit?" Taking a deep breath, Leng Hanyue tore off his original disguise; things having reached this point, he had nothing left to pretend about.

The Ancestor will not abandon the Leng Family, because he needs the Leng Family's bloodline. Therefore, the Ancestor will definitely appear; he will not allow his food to be snatched away by others.

Although Shen Yu is strong, their Ancestor is an existence who has lived for who knows how many years; who knows what methods he has.

Although he was servile, at least he didn't cause the entire family to fall into endless terror. But now, you insist on pulling away this fig leaf.

You didn't want the refined control of boiling a frog in warm water, and insisted on having the Ancestor—that terrifying-beyond-belief person—appear to directly control the entire family; these people have no humanity!

"Leng Hanye, all these years, have you ever cared about the family? Have you ever contributed to the family? You only know how to close your doors and be your so-called upright official and refined scholar!"

"You are noble, you are remarkable, do you know how many people you have offended? Which time was it not the family, not me, cleaning up your mess? You now have the face to accuse me!"

"You, you didn't you say you had never done anything to trouble your conscience, then what do these count as!" Being pressed by Leng Hanyue, he was instead somewhat lacking in confidence.

There was no help for it; although he was usually high-minded, he was not stupid.

Leng Hanye himself also knew that if it weren't for the family backing him, with how many people waiting to stab him in the back, he would likely have been eaten clean by those people long ago.

"What 'you' what! I have never done a single thing to trouble my conscience; these matters were all done following my own heart, I have never felt troubled!"

"Do you know what a Spiritual Qi Surge is? Do you know what the Great Contention Era is? You know nothing, yet you stand here accusing me?"

"Lord Shen, you should know, right?" Speaking to this point, Leng Hanyue even looked at Shen Yu, his eyes showing not a trace of fear, only unwillingness.

"Hanye, do you know, in the Great Contention Era, countless old monsters who have lived for who knows how many years will appear; they are powerful, they are terrifying, and they are unscrupulous, killing anyone they see."

"In front of them, whatever noble families or great sects, whatever martial arts experts, are all just food on their plates."

"They seem born for destruction, will not have any pity, and will not have the slightest hesitation when dealing a killing blow."

"In front of these people, my Leng Family is just a group of ants, not even as good as ants."

"It seems these things, our Lord Shen Yu here hasn't told you!" With a cold laugh, Leng Hanyue curled his lips in disdain.

"He won't tell you; he can barely protect himself. Each sweeps the snow from their own doorstep, who cares about the frost on another's roof? He looks arrogant and despotic now, but in reality, he won't be able to jump around for much longer."

"Lord Shen must be clear himself; once those old seniors appear, his days of being invincible will come to an end."

"He will be hunted by countless experts; they will eat his flesh and drink his blood, squeezing out his last bit of utility, and won't even let his bones go."

"Young experts like him are always the favorites of those old monsters!"

Sighing deeply, Leng Hanyue's expression was filled with desolation, like a withered old man: "Lord Shen, you should be able to understand the urgency in my heart!"

For this acting, Shen Yu would give him 9.9 points; it was a waste of talent to just be a Family Head, he should have entered officialdom; at this point, he probably wouldn't be a smaller official than Lord Chen Xing.

"Hanye, actually we are the same; the stronger the Leng Family's power, the more attention it attracts. We have no ability to protect ourselves, only to be slaughtered by others."

"But I am the Family Head; I must find a way for the family to continue existing. I want to protect the women, children, and the weak; I have no choice."

"I can only try every possible way to become strong, to become a powerhouse like them. Only then do I have the qualifications to protect you all, to protect this home."

"For the sake of the entire family being able to continue existing, for the sake of more people being able to live, what is wrong with sacrificing a few clansmen? You tell me, what is wrong with this!"

"Lord Shen, did you say I was wrong? Was I wrong? The one who is wrong is clearly this era!!"

"Indeed, this is a man-eating era, but you shouldn't slaughter others for your own selfish interests!"

"Lord Shen, you are the same as Hanye; you are both noble people who don't understand the bitterness of us commoners. Do you know how bitter I am, how difficult it is for me!"

Gasping for air helplessly, Leng Hanyue shook his head and gave a bitter smile: "I don't want to kill them, but even if I didn't kill them, they would still be killed by those old monsters!"

"But I am different from those old monsters; I will remember their sacrifices. If one day I succeed, I will protect their families well; I can give them hope!"

"Actually, this can be considered a fair trade; they paid with their own lives to protect their families, what is wrong with this?"

"Lord Shen, Hanye, you say, what is wrong with this?"

"Tsk tsk, impressive! This eloquence is something else; even I almost believed it!" Raising an eyebrow, Shen Yu realized that those who could be Family Heads were different.

They probably held meetings often and could fool the clan elders into a daze; it looked like something practiced many times over. If he didn't have this ability, could he have sat steadily as Family Head for so many years?

"Sorry, no matter how well you say it, I still have to kill you!"

"Lord Shen, wait a moment, I actually still have words to say!"

"Say what? It's to stall for time, right?" With one sentence, he directly pointed out the other's goal; Shen Yu smiled slightly at him, revealing a smile full of meaning.

"You've been rambling on and on to me here; this is to wait for that little brat in the small hut, right? No need to wait; I finished him off first, and then came to find you!"

"I had a harvest from killing that little brat in the small hut today, so my mood is a bit better. Otherwise, do you think I would be willing to listen to you say so much nonsense."

"Alright, now that I've heard your words, you should go die!"

"You, you, impossible, the Ancestor has lived for so many years, how could he be easily beheaded by you! Impossible, absolutely impossible!"