Chapter 227: Chapter 155: Spirit Ascension Fruit (Part 2)

Upon hearing this, Zhuang Min gradually calmed down, but his fists clenched tighter and tighter.

"Clan Leader, since we’ve been exposed, we should leave," the black-robed cultivator advised.

"Okay. I’ll listen to you, Second Uncle," Zhuang Min replied.

The ambush had failed. It could only be chalked up to fate.

Seeing Zhuang Min agree, the black-robed cultivator breathed a sigh of relief. After all, his young master had always lacked discipline and was prone to acting on hot-headed impulses. It was a good thing he was willing to listen to advice for once.

He then ordered his clansmen to dismantle the traps.

Suddenly, a chill shot up his spine!

But at that moment, the black-robed cultivator was horrified to find himself immobilized by a beam of Mirror Light.

With a sickening squelch, blood arced through the air.

A Wind Spear had pierced straight through his lower abdomen. He clearly wasn’t going to make it.

This sudden turn of events stunned everyone in the house.

"It’s you!" Zhuang Min seethed, his teeth clenched as he stared at the young man who had suddenly appeared.

It was Lü Zhong, who had feigned departure only to return. He had taken advantage of the moment they were dismantling the traps to sneak in undetected, launching a successful ambush and, in the process, confirming the power of the Qianfeng Ring.

Against an unguarded opponent, it could pierce directly through their Protective Gang Qi.

’I have to admit, ambushes are incredibly effective,’ Lü Zhong thought, having so easily dispatched a Mid-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator.

Of course, the fact that his opponent lacked any life-saving treasures might have also been a factor.

After all, based on his observations, this group didn’t seem to be from a Sect, which would explain why they couldn’t afford life-saving Spiritual Objects.

When Lü Zhong saw the young man with Early-stage Foundation Establishment Cultivation—instead of turning to flee—actually lead his subordinates in a charge, he stopped wasting time on thought.

After a brief exchange, the Qi Refining cultivators were the first to be wiped out.

He had done this intentionally, so as not to let a single person escape.

Meanwhile, Zhuang Min’s heart had turned to ice. His eyes were filled with terror, all traces of his earlier hot-blooded bravado gone.

’What a disgrace to Foundation Establishment True Cultivators,’ Lü Zhong thought with contempt.

After a bit of interrogation, he quickly learned the full story.

The Spirit Ascension Fruit.

It was a rare Spiritual Object born of heaven and earth, with a value no less than that of a Golden Core Pill. Once ripened, the fruit had the effect of cleansing one’s very marrow, significantly improving a cultivator’s aptitude for cultivation. Its appearance always triggered a bloodbath.

This time, a Spirit Ascending Fruit Tree had appeared on Iron Wall Mountain.

The Lingyue Sect had sealed off Iron Wall Mountain precisely to prevent news of it from leaking.

Zhuang Min knew about this because his father, Zhuang Xun, was a Steward in the Lingyue Sect. He happened to be involved in the operation and had leaked the information to his son.

For some reason, the Spirit Ascending Fruit Tree, which should have borne three fruits, only had two remaining. And so, Lü Zhong, who had just left the Liu Family’s territory that day, became the Zhuang Family’s prime suspect.

’And just like that, I became the main suspect?’ Lü Zhong was speechless.

And for that, Zhuang Min had set an ambush to kill and rob him.

With a sigh, he gave Zhuang Min a quick end.

Then, with a look of resignation, he departed with eighteen Storage Bags.

...

「That night, at the Louyanxi Zhuang Family estate.」

Lü Zhong had come here because, naturally, he felt he hadn’t vented enough of his anger.

He had done absolutely nothing, yet had nearly been ambushed and killed. He was still simmering with rage.

Gazing at the Grand Array that occasionally flickered before him, he couldn’t help but let out a cold sneer.

It wasn’t hard to tell that this was a Tier Two Gui Water Wood Transformation Array, a relatively advanced type of Protective Array. Some expert had clearly expended great effort to tailor its layout to the terrain. To use such an array as a clan’s Mountain-Protecting Grand Array was a grand gesture indeed; it could hold off a Golden Core Master for half a day.

He had learned from Zhuang Min that the Zhuang Family now had only one Foundation Establishment True Cultivator remaining: his father, Zhuang Xun.

In other words, the Louyanxi Zhuang Family was currently vulnerable. As long as he could get inside the Grand Array, everything within would be his for the taking.

Now, Lü Zhong was figuring out how to break the array.

There were many approaches to breaking an array.

In Lü Zhong’s understanding, an Array was simply a complex program composed of Prohibitions. Therefore, one could approach it from three angles. The first was to destroy the Array itself through brute force, which required immense power. The second was to interfere with its operations and cause it to "crash," something not even a Tier Two Array Master could do easily. The final method was to find a loophole. Due to the complexity of Array Formation, loopholes were inevitable; it was just a matter of how well hidden they were. Find a loophole, and one could easily break the Array.

Lü Zhong couldn’t do any of those three.

After all, his knowledge of the Array Dao was entirely self-taught; he couldn’t compare to Array Masters with a solid foundation.

But that didn’t mean he was helpless against the Gui Water Wood Transformation Array.

In the Gray Mist Space, Lü Zhong could use his Divine Sense to interfere with replayed scenes. This allowed him to indirectly interact with the Control Tokens the Zhuang Family members carried. Normally, simply copying a Control Token would be useless. Array Masters weren’t idiots, after all; they wouldn’t leave such a glaring loophole. They had specifically designed a set of shifting rules to prevent this.

And what he had to do now was figure out those rules.

He would need to use the replayed scenes to accomplish this.

After some trial and error, he refined a simple Token.

He infiltrated smoothly.

...

「Zhuang Family Council Hall.」

Zhuang Xun, who had rushed back, trembled with rage as he looked down at the assembled Elders in the hall.

’A bunch of fools, experts at infighting but completely inept when facing outsiders. With a group of greedy, stupid people like this, it’s no wonder the Zhuang Family has declined, falling from a Golden Core Clan with a thousand-year legacy to its current pathetic state.’

"Speak! Who incited Min’Er!"

Zhuang Xun demanded, his voice cold as ice.

He was utterly disappointed in the Zhuang Family. He had previously considered helping them out for the sake of Min’Er succeeding as Clan Leader, but now he felt it would have been better to dissolve the clan long ago.

The Zhuang Family Elders all looked at each other, but not one of them dared to step forward and confess.

Truth be told, they had all played a part in encouraging Zhuang Min.

The loss of two Foundation Establishment True Cultivators in one fell swoop was a devastating blow to the Zhuang Family. None of them could shoulder that responsibility.

BOOM! A loud explosion suddenly echoed from outside.

"Oh no, that came from the direction of the secret vault!" one of the Elders reacted and cried out.

If there was one place in the Zhuang Family that hadn’t yet been completely hollowed out by its members, it was the secret vault.

"You bunch of fools, what are you standing around for? Follow me!"

Zhuang Xun roared.

He had returned this time not only to punish Min’Er’s killer, but also with the intention of emptying the secret vault. He couldn’t care less what miserable state the Zhuang Family would be left in afterward.

Shaken from their stupor, everyone in the hall hurried to keep up.

WHOOSH!

Suddenly, a nearly invisible Wind Spear shot toward them, whistling like a thunderclap.

Its target was none other than the man in the lead, Zhuang Xun. But as expected of a Lingyue Sect Steward with extremely rich combat experience, he reacted in an instant, immediately dodging out of the Wind Spear’s path.

In that same moment, the sound of gushing blood was heard repeatedly.

Like meat on a skewer, three of the Zhuang Family’s Qi Refining Elders were killed.

The remaining six were terrified, all their will to fight completely gone.

By this time, Lü Zhong had already engaged Zhuang Xun.

They exchanged a hundred blows with their swords, but neither could gain the upper hand.

Taking a step forward, he sent two Magic Swords flying and began forming technique mantras with both hands.

"The Late Sun Sword Skill!"

Zhuang Xun’s face fell as he called out the name of the Magic Skill the young man was casting. He had once suffered a major defeat from this very skill, and the memory was etched into his mind, so he recognized it instantly.

He thought about how he had no defensive Spiritual Artifact to protect himself, nor an offensive one to counter it.

And so, after parrying the incoming Magic Swords, he hastily retreated.

Lü Zhong was surprised. He hadn’t expected his opponent to recognize the Late Sun Sword Skill just from the hand seals. He had no choice but to switch targets, turning on the nearby Zhuang Family Elders who stood like lambs for the slaughter. In a single breath, he killed all six.

What he found strange was that not only did Zhuang Xun not try to stop him, but he actually looked delighted.

Then, Zhuang Xun sneered and flicked his wrist, producing a small golden talisman.

"That must be a Talisman Treasure, right?" Lü Zhong said with a sense of resignation.

"You’re not ignorant, I see. Correct, this is a Talisman Treasure!" Zhuang Xun formed a Technique Mantra and sneered again. "You’re the one who killed Min’Er, aren’t you? Now, die!"

BANG! The small golden talisman exploded in a ring of Spiritual Qi, and a small, illusory sword began to take form.

Feeling the aura of the Talisman Treasure rushing toward him, Lü Zhong looked back with a mocking expression. He flipped his own hand over, revealing a small green talisman—the Cyan Plate Sword Talisman Treasure.

"You have a Talisman Treasure too!"

Zhuang Xun never expected that a duel between Talisman Treasures would break out at a place like the minor Zhuang Family estate.