Chapter 315

Having too high a seniority and sitting too far forward in the sedan chair is sometimes not necessarily a good thing.

People sitting in the sedan chairs behind had all witnessed Zhao Yi's madness, and Zhao Shanan, even if he noticed the clues on Zhao Yi, did not think in that extreme direction at the first moment.

Because this did not conform to common sense.

Waves have inertia.

In this wave, following the waves, killing Zhao family people first, then disguising their identities, and finally mixing into the Zhao family ancestral residence to complete the assassination of the Great Elder—this is very much in line with the experience of past waves.

The river water will not arrange for you to go straight; there will always be a foreshadowing and a process.

But this time, it changed.

When the Second Elder made his words clear and tore off the mask, Zhao Shanan was shocked and his figure retreated quickly.

But just as his toes touched the ground, he discovered that the Second Elder had appeared before him again; his figure was like a ghost, but his expression was still kind.

Zhao Shanan's figure lifted again, wanting to continue to retreat, but the Second Elder withdrew first, standing in Zhao Shanan's inevitable path of retreat in advance.

The little old man held a lantern in one hand, and pushed out with his palm in the other, just waiting for the willing to take the bait.

However, what collided with him was not Zhao Shanan the person, but a sword.

The little old man was a bit surprised.

Hiding the weapon on the body, waiting for the time to move; this sword, he was afraid that he had already thought about how to strike it when he retreated for the first time.

Compared to the sword technique, what was more exquisite was this person's state of mind.

The little old man pressed his palm down, separated his index and middle fingers, then closed them, clamping the sword edge; his gaze condensed, his momentum solidified, standing like a mountain.

Zhao Shanan did not continue to exert force along this sword; forcibly shaking the mountain would inevitably lead to his own sword being destroyed and his death.

A low shout came from his throat, his ten fingers flicked up, and Zhao Shanan made a starting gesture.

The little old man, who was already prepared, not only didn't notice the sudden advance of the sword edge at his fingertips, but instead discovered that the sword's momentum weakened extremely rapidly, and then irregular patterns appeared on the sword body; the sword body cracked, turning into sharp edges, rotating and stabbing while also rotating into a formation.

The little old man had to let go and retreat, retreating three steps in succession, each step accompanied by a wave of his palm, slapping all the sharp edges like bees before him back.

Zhao Shanan made the gesture back, the broken sword returned, and re-condensed back into a complete sword.

The little old man stroked his hand and laughed: "What a handsome sword technique."

Zhao Shanan's breathing grew heavy, his gaze solemn; don't look at how he successfully forced the opponent back earlier, but that was only his extreme maneuvering under the opponent's immense pressure.

The little old man flicked the lantern in his hand, the lantern fire turned blue, and sword qi could be faintly seen flowing.

"Youngster, eat a sword from the old man."

There was no fancy sword style; the lantern struck directly, and the light fire inside turned into rosy clouds flowing; in an instant, it seemed as if countless sword intents were running rampant.

Zhao Shanan kept waving his sword, resolving the sword intents one by one, but the other side only used a simple move, yet he had to be so complex to break it.

Every time the little old man reached the right moment, he would flick the lantern lightly; this sword intent was like it didn't cost money, scattering toward the opponent in handfuls.

Zhao Shanan was like being trapped in this infinite sword formation; if this continued, he would inevitably be exhausted to death here.

This is what is meant by a good warrior having no glorious achievements; the person just doesn't want to pay a single bit of loss, not even willing to have a bit of skin scratched.

But at the same time, Zhao Shanan felt a deep sense of confusion in his heart:

The little old man's actual age was actually much older than he looked; logically, at this age, he should have entered the stage of qi and blood decay long ago, and pursuing extreme killing in a short time was the correct choice, rather than this kind of extravagance and waste.

But regardless of what hidden secrets the Zhao family had internally, at this moment, Zhao Shanan had to break the situation first.

His figure rotated, Zhao Shanan no longer had the old state of the clan head, and the long sword in his hand started its momentum.

One sword scattered the moonlight, forcibly forcing back the sword intent circling around him.

Another sword, the ends of the earth became close at hand; Zhao Shanan appeared in front of the little old man.

But at this time, anyone with a discerning eye could see that Zhao Shanan was at the end of his tether after consecutive moves.

The little old man made a gesture to lift the lantern, wanting to end him in one fell swoop, but his expression suddenly stalled, and he retreated immediately.

The skin on Zhao Shanan's body curled and shrank to his chest, turning into a short sword, stabbing toward the little old man like a stream of light.

The little old man tried to catch it with his fingertips while retreating, but his fingers trembled, and while breaking and bleeding, he was actually bounced away by the sword qi on this short sword.

Although the sword momentum weakened, its force still existed, entering the little old man's chest directly.

"Puff!"

It stabbed in an inch and couldn't continue; the little old man wanted to pull this sword out, but was wary of the terrifying sword intent remaining on the sword, and finally formed a seal with both hands, sealing this short sword down, only then did this sword fall off by itself.

The little old man's face no longer showed kindness and amiability; his eyes were gloomy as he looked at the opponent who had torn off the human skin.

It was a woman.

The woman looked very young, the same age as Zhao Yi, but she had a head of white hair, covering the youth and jumpiness that should have belonged to this age.

Her eyes were not cold either, and the area around her eye sockets was stained with an indelible, bloody red.

"You are surnamed Xi. I really didn't expect that the Huaiyin Xi family still had descendants; the world thought that the Liu family Dragon King Liu Qingcheng had long ago slaughtered the entire Xi family."

"I am not surnamed Xi."

"Girl, don't be afraid; although the Liu family is still the Dragon King's gate, it is no longer what it was back then; you can generously say you are surnamed Xi."

"I am not surnamed Xi."

Fresh blood kept flowing from the woman's right hand holding the sword, gathering along the sword body to the tip before dripping onto the ground; the previous killing move seemed to have hurt the opponent, but it only made the opponent bleed a little.

And she herself, the qi in her body was already chaotic, extremely uncomfortable.

But the woman's eyes were half fear and half excitement, and red gradually covered everything.

Little old man: "Still saying you aren't surnamed Xi; this look is exactly the same as the Xi family Sword Demon recorded in the books."

The Huaiyin Xi family was once famous for being sword-obsessed; later, the entire family's inheritance seemed to have gone astray, entering into demonic obsession from obsession.

The Xi family also frequently walked the river, making a great name for themselves on the river, but not a single one achieved the Dragon King, and every person who defeated a Xi family member and broke their sword later became the Dragon King of that generation.

Therefore, the Xi family was once called the whetstone of the Dragon King.

Of course, there were also rumors that the Xi family's swords had too much demonic nature and murderous intent was hard to control, so the Heavenly Dao would arrange for the true outstanding talents of each generation to break the Xi family's swords in advance.

Not all outstanding talents of every generation could become the Dragon King, but the Dragon King was inevitably one of the outstanding talents of that generation, which turned into a probability phenomenon.

Later, the one who ended the Xi family was Liu Qingcheng.

Jianghu rumors said that this Liu family Dragon King once had a close friend who died under the sword of a Xi family member; later, after this person achieved the Dragon King, she personally went to the Huaiyin Xi family and slaughtered the entire family.

Although there were various reasons to exonerate her, such as the Xi family collectively going crazy and committing murderous sins, and the Liu family Dragon King killing the disaster in advance, it was still a bit difficult to convince the public.

Moreover, the Liu family Dragon King did quite a few similar things, and many of the enemies she walked the river with in her early years had their families and sects liquidated by her afterward, which also became a major stain on that generation of the Liu family Dragon King.

Furthermore, after she achieved the position of Long Wang, the time she spent suppressing the jianghu was much shorter than that of any previous Long Wang, leading some to say that she had rushed toward the position of Long Wang solely for revenge, and once her revenge was complete, her obsession dissipated and she underwent self-inflicted soldier-dissolution; others said her actions were displeasing to the Heavenly Dao, and she was punished by it.

This kind of Jianghu rumor is sometimes like a myth or legend, inevitably distorted, or even diametrically opposed to the truth.

But if Li Zhuiyuan were here and heard the little old man mention that Liu family Dragon King, he would probably immediately recall Grandmother Liu's hesitation when looking at the spirit tablet engraved with the name "Liu Qingcheng."

The woman raised the sword, and the blood stains on the sword body began to tremble slightly, connected to her heart pulse; this was the formation of unity of person and sword in the literal sense.

Before knowing the opponent was a Xi family member from that crazy demonic sword intent, the little old man would have felt this move was purely for fighting for her life, but now, the little old man knew that the opponent was mobilizing the sword nourished in her body.

It is said that every Xi family member, at the full moon, would have a sword the size of an embroidery needle pierced into their heart pulse by a family elder, nourishing the sword with the person, waiting only for the moment of death to release it and perish together with the enemy.

The little old man felt a bit lucky in his heart; if he had finished her off early, he was afraid he would have really been left with a bloody hole in his body.

He could afford to consume, but he couldn't afford to be hurt.

This time, the woman struck first, the long rainbow pouring down.

This kind of reckless fighting style was truly seeking death and releasing the sword.

The little old man leaned forward, first pushing the sword edge away with one palm, then slapping the woman with another palm.

"Bang."

The woman flew backward like a broken kite and landed.

But that sword was still held in the woman's hand; she used the sword to support herself, stood up again, ignored the fresh blood constantly flowing from the corners of her mouth, and swung the sword again.

The sword edge was pushed away by the little old man's knee, followed by a kick, kicking the woman flying again.

Repeating the cycle, after five consecutive rounds of fighting, the woman was heavily struck by the little old man every time, but every time the woman could stand up again.

The little old man just kept wounding her, but didn't follow up with a killing move; he first weakened her momentum and broke her functions, and when she died, even if that sword was released, the threat wouldn't be great.

The woman's figure swayed, her gaze full of firmness; she raised the sword and rushed over again. This time, the sword edge was downward, and the sword hilt was held in front of her chest.

It was clear that this was the final sword; if she couldn't stab the enemy, she would pierce herself.

The little old man slapped out with one palm, his momentum like a tide, blocking the sword edge.

The sword hilt in the woman's hand fell off, and the sword body pierced into her own chest—that was the sword-nourishing position!

The little old man flicked with one finger, hitting the woman's body; the woman flew backward, and the little old man also retreated quickly, pulling the longest distance at the fastest speed.

However, that final sword that should have appeared at this moment was not seen; after the woman who was bounced away landed, she immediately pulled out the sword on her chest and ran away quickly without even turning her head.

The little old man was stunned, and an extremely absurd feeling struck him.

He... was tricked?

The woman clearly had pierced her sword-nourishing position earlier, but the sword was not seen flying out, which meant there was no sword nourished in the woman's body.

"You actually... really aren't surnamed Xi."

The little old man looked at the direction the woman fled, then looked at the ancestral residence gate, and didn't choose to pursue.

Walking to that short sword, he picked it up; the short sword had been sealed by him, but he could still feel the crazy demonic sword intent inside, and this was indeed a Xi family sword.

The little old man suddenly thought of a possibility, which was that the Xi family had indeed been slaughtered by Liu Qingcheng, and that woman might have obtained the Xi family inheritance by chance.

Without a master to teach her, relying on the inheritance she picked up to practice to this point...

"Are there so many geniuses in this generation of the Jianghu?"

The little old man walked back with the short sword, walked to the ancestral residence gate, and when he wanted to push the door to enter, he discovered that this door... could no longer be pushed.

"This..."

The little old man exerted force again, but the door remained motionless.

Taking a breath, the little old man pushed the door with palm force.

"Boom!"

The little old man flew backward, landed with a "thud," and a fishy sweetness rose in his throat.

The doorplate hanging on the lantern also fell to the ground at this moment, splitting into two halves; this was an object that could mobilize the formation inside the ancestral residence.

The little old man... couldn't get in.

Because the door lock... had been changed.

The formation of his own ancestral residence naturally couldn't stump the most dazzling genius of his family in a hundred years.

Not to mention, Zhao Yi had long ago started researching his own family's formation, and even bound it into a book, giving it to someone as a gift.

Whenever there was a difficult point he couldn't handle, he would also pull that person to ponder it together, borrowing that person's brain.

At this moment, all he needed was a period of time without being disturbed.

Zhao Yi pinned his hopes on "Zhao Shanan."

A guy who dared to replace the clan head and walk the river alone must be very good at fighting.

The facts were indeed so.

When Zhao Yi finished modifying the formation, outside the door, they were actually still fighting.

For a time, even Zhao Yi didn't know whether that person was too strong, or his own family's elders were too weak.

His fingertips flicked the door bolt, letting it fall.

Zhao Yi revealed a smile.

Li's surname, it turns out secretly changing the lock is so interesting.

Zhao Yi turned around, walking through the ancestral residence alone.

The layout of the ancestral residence was exactly the same as the outer residence; the difference was that only five elders lived here.

There were no servants; it was as silent as a grave.

And the real grave was in the back garden of the ancestral residence, where flowers and plants were lush all year round, and many coffins were buried underneath.

Diagonally opposite was the ancestral residence warehouse.

Here, of course, there was no need to store any daily necessities, so that place was the Zhao family's treasury.

Zhao Yi had once reminded Li Zhuiyuan that there was an old immortal hidden in the treasury, relying on a treasure inside to continue his life.

Arriving at the main hall courtyard, five grand master chairs were placed on the steps above, with prayer mats placed below.

Three elders sat on the grand master chairs, with two empty seats remaining.

Those two empty positions were the Great Elder's and the Second Elder's.

Zhao Yi stood there, looking at these three elders sitting in their seats.

They were all wearing the Zhao family's traditional blue-leaning attire, majestic and graceful.

However, they all closed their eyes, falling into a deep sleep.

In the past, when paying respects to the ancestors, all five elders would sit there, but the only one who truly opened his eyes to hold the ceremony was the Second Elder.

That is to say, in this ancestral residence, only the Second Elder could move freely.

This didn't mean that the other elders were all dead or had some problems, but that it wasn't worth it.

When Zhao Yi first experienced such a scene, he saw through the Life-Death Gate crack that the Second Elder was full of vitality, as if living water was constantly being poured in, while the other four elders had basically exhausted their vitality, with the Great Elder being the worst among them.

Zhao Yi didn't understand what this meant at the time; later, he understood that this was squeezing out the last bit of vitality, trying to survive in the world for as long as possible.

And after their vitality was completely squeezed dry, they would be arranged into coffins, joining in another form.

If no one went to wake them up, unless these three elders woke up spontaneously, they were almost isolated from the outside world.

They didn't know that today was the day to pay respects to the ancestors; the reason they appeared here from their respective rooms was also because of the Second Elder's transportation.

Following the normal wave process, at this time, the replaced clan head should be leading the Fourth Branch, kneeling on the prayer mats, kowtowing to the elders sitting there.

It's just that their purpose in this wave was to kill the Great Elder, but the Great Elder wasn't sitting here.

Zhao Yi guessed that the Great Elder should be reaching his limit, ready to lie into the coffin at any time, and wasn't suitable to be moved out to be kowtowed to by the younger generation at this time.

At this moment, these three elders were quiet and harmless.

Unless you revealed murderous intent in front of them.

Killing intent is easy to hide, but murderous intent is very difficult.

Zhao Yi had no murderous intent.

His gaze was clear, and in his eyes, there was only loyalty to the Zhao family.

Admiring the ancestors, upholding the ancestral teachings.

Back in Nantong, when kowtowing to the spirit tablets, the ancestors manifested, and the divination was great.

When the ancestors were all on his side, no one in the entire Zhao family had the qualifications to question his attitude toward the Zhao family.

So, how could there be murderous intent? He was just cleaning the house.

Zhao Yi placed both hands in his sleeves, and when he pulled them out again, his ten fingers were clamped with dense silver needles.

He walked behind the Fifth Elder and pierced the silver needles into the Fifth Elder's head one by one.

After the piercing was completed, Zhao Yi stood behind the Fourth Elder and followed the same pattern.

Next was the Third Elder.

The scene looked very permeable; this behavior was clearly abusing the old.

Zhao Yi remained very calm, his hands didn't even shake, indifferent as if he were applying makeup for the three elders.

After experiencing the Black Leather Book secret art last time, Zhao Yi was deeply shocked.

In his eyes, that secret art was almost the ultimate sublimation of all puppetry; unfortunately, it belonged to the taboo.

Zhao Yi couldn't learn and use that, but this didn't prevent him from pondering it cognitively, raising his puppetry to a new level.

Done.

Zhao Yi looked at the three elders who were covered in needles, his gaze soft.

He guessed that the reason the Second Elder didn't need to sleep might be related to his choice; most likely, the Second Elder would not have the qualifications to lie into a coffin and continue to survive in the world in the future.

But the problem appeared: where did that vitality that was constantly pouring into the Second Elder's body come from?

Zhao Yi had a vague guess in his heart.

Leaving this courtyard, Zhao Yi walked to the front of the warehouse.

Two rows of stone lions were placed at the entrance of the warehouse.

Zhao Yi crossed his hands and kept forming seals; the eyes of the stone lions flickered alternately, accompanied by white air waves spraying out from both sides; the restriction was temporarily lifted, and the gate of the warehouse was also opened.

Even so, one still had to keep walking according to a specific orientation when entering; there were too many formation restrictions inside, and it was impossible to close them all at once.

The internal space of the warehouse was much larger than it looked from the outside; when Zhao Yi walked, he could see many good things piled up.

If Li's surname came in, he would probably be so happy that he would clap his hands and jump up, right?

Although Zhao Yi tried very hard, he couldn't imagine the scene of Li's surname doing this kind of action.

But this didn't affect Zhao Yi from revealing a smile at the corners of his mouth first.

He could now sense the Second Branch's sedan chair, still parked at that fork in the road.

This meant that Li's surname was helping him block people.

To say he wasn't moved would be a lie.

He knew very well that with Li's surname's personality, being able to make such a choice must have past feelings involved.

When a person is willing to give you what they lack, the weight seems even heavier.

Before that, the best situation Zhao Yi thought of was... Li's surname would stand by and watch.

Actually, normally speaking, Li's surname should help that group of people, rushing up like a tide, opening the Zhao family ancestral residence, and seizing greater benefits in the chaos.

"Li's surname, you say if I don't repay you, will it aggravate your illness?"

Pausing,

Zhao Yi also said in his heart:

"I really want to see your expression after your deduction fails and you are let down."

Walking to the deepest part of the warehouse, what was presented before Zhao Yi was a long ice platform, and a lamp was placed on the ice platform.

This lamp was the lamp lit by the ancestor Zhao Wuyang when he walked the river back then.

In the Zhao family, this lamp not only possessed the highest spiritual attribute, but because its causality was most deeply bound with the ancestor, it was also stained with a mysterious aura.

The value of an object, besides looking at its material and forging, also depends on who has used it.

While Zhao Yi stared at this lamp, a human face began to gradually reflect on the surface of the ice layer.

Although this face was covered in frost, it still retained a freshness. ===== CHAPTER 316 =====