22: Chapter 22 Third Life, Reborn as the Boss of the Opponent's Family (Part 9)

The letter was written in Chen Xuan's own hand, informing Chen Shi that he had made all necessary preparations and was about to enter formal seclusion to break through to the Silver Marrow Realm.

The letter also said that once he successfully achieved the breakthrough, he would personally return to Yanbei Prefecture to visit the family he had not seen for many years.

The moment Chen Shi held the letter, his heart skipped a beat, and a strong sense of unease instantly swept through his entire body.

This felt too much like he was setting up a death flag.

He knew clearly that his elder brother, Chen Xuan, possessed extraordinary talent and had carved a path from Yanbei Prefecture all the way to the threshold of being a direct disciple of the Holy Land. Beneath his feet lay the bones of countless others, and he had offended numerous competitors and enemies.

Such a crucial breakthrough in seclusion could easily lead to cultivation deviation if one were even slightly careless. How could those enemies let such an opportunity pass? They might have already laid traps.

And their Chen family was the weak point that could influence Chen Xuan.

Chen Shi made a prompt decision and began to quietly transfer the core members and assets of the family.

He even found an excuse to try and trick Yun Qingxue into taking refuge at a villa in a neighboring prefecture, but she saw through it at a glance.

She held his hand and said only one sentence: "Where you are, I am," and refused to budge.

Chen Shi had no choice but to let her be.

However, he sent away his and Yun Qingxue's children separately, having them travel to surrounding prefectures under the pretense of visiting relatives or paying respects to family friends.

Once they left, they would not return for three or five months; by then, the storm would have long since settled.

Many people in the clan thought Chen Shi had gone mad.

Eldest Young Master Chen Xuan was about to break through to the Silver Marrow Realm and become a direct disciple of the Holy Land; this was a grand, joyous occasion, yet he was so anxious as if disaster were imminent.

Facing the questioning, Chen Shi did not offer much explanation.

He did not know when it started, but he had vaguely awakened a talent that could provide warnings of impending danger.

And at this moment, that bone-chilling sense of crisis was almost drowning him.

He summoned the mother of his youngest son, who was cultivating at the Ice and Snow Holy Land, and gave her a handwritten letter along with sufficient resources, ordering her to head to Winter Province under the guise of visiting relatives.

Accompanying them were dozens of core Chen family disciples whom he had carefully selected and trusted absolutely.

In the secret room, Chen Shi looked at the weeping woman before him and whispered: "Once you reach the Ice and Snow Holy Land, settle down there first and wait until the situation becomes clear before returning. If anything unexpected happens, take these people and put down roots there; never return to Yanbei Prefecture again. Lingfeng is my most talented offspring, and the future hope of my lineage rests on him."

The woman held him and cried for a long time before finally sobbing her agreement.

All arrangements were made within half a month.

That day, the sky over Yanbei Prefecture was dyed red with blood.

Several immensely powerful auras arrived from afar, and a terrifying pressure instantly enveloped the entire Chen residence. The clan-protecting array shattered instantly like paper under the opponent's attack.

They were all dressed in black robes and wearing ghost masks, making it impossible to distinguish their specific identities.

However, it was certain they had come with malicious intent, likely aimed at his elder brother.

They had calculated the critical moment of Chen Xuan's seclusion and invaded the Chen family, intending to use the lives of the Chen family members to disturb Chen Xuan's state of mind while in seclusion.

They wanted to cause him to suffer a cultivation deviation and fail his breakthrough.

Chen Shi gripped his long sword and led the clan guards in a desperate resistance.

Amidst the slaughter, those red-eyed men in black roared about splitting up to leave the city to intercept and kill the Chen family disciples who were outside, intending to wipe out the Chen family root and branch.

However, they were sharply rebuked by the leader of the men in black. A surge of spiritual pressure swept over, killing two hot-headed fools who disobeyed orders on the spot.

"Get back! Do not create extra trouble. If you ruin the grand plan, your ten lives wouldn't be enough to pay for it!"

The voice of the leader in black was cold, without a trace of warmth.

Their mission this time was to invade the Chen family and capture Chen Xuan's closest kin to interfere with his breakthrough.

If the plan succeeded and Chen Xuan died, they would have plenty of time to slowly clear out the remnants of the Chen family.

But if the plan failed, killing one more branch disciple would leave one more trace for Chen Xuan to investigate, pointlessly leaving themselves exposed to risk.

They did not want to create side issues.

During the fighting, that sharp shout fell clearly into Chen Shi's ears.

He parried the incoming blade light with his sword, his tiger's mouth numb, and his blood-drenched body paused abruptly.

So that was it. This group of people led by the leader did not look down on the Chen family as a small local aristocratic clan.

They only had eyes for the secluded Chen Xuan. The Chen family disciples he had sent away in batches had no value in their eyes and were not worth the risk of alerting their target.

Fortunately, he had bet correctly and scattered the seeds of the Chen family in advance.

Even if he died here today, the roots of the Chen family would not be severed.

This thought was like a faint glimmer of light, barely supporting his already overdrawn strength. The grief churning in his chest also subsided a bit, replaced by a sense of relief at being able to die without regrets.

But this relief lasted only for a fleeting moment.

The moment his peripheral vision swept across the courtyard, his blood turned instantly ice cold.

Yun Qingxue had fallen in a pool of blood, still clutching the broken half of a long sword in her hand, with the tip of the blade deeply embedded in the throat of a man in black.

Two enemy corpses lay beside her, but those eyes that always held a faint gentleness were closed forever.

With a "boom".

It was as if a thunderbolt had exploded in his mind; Chen Shi's heart was instantly crushed as if by an invisible hand.

All his luck, relief, and composure shattered into nothingness at this moment.

He had just been rejoicing in having secured the Chen family's path of retreat, but the person he most wanted to protect was gone.

The sentence "Where you are, I am" echoed repeatedly in his mind.

Although he had had a premonition of this scene as soon as he agreed to let Yun Qingxue stay.

But when it truly happened, that sense of powerlessness, anger, unwillingness, and the killing intent towards these people still shattered his reason.

The artistic conception of "The Desolation of Autumn" quietly reached the entry level.

But Chen Shi could not care about that at all right now. He instinctively channeled this artistic conception, roared with bloodshot eyes, and rushed over brandishing his chipped long sword.

He forgot about the disparity in cultivation, the life-and-death situation—he forgot everything.

Every strike was a desperate, suicidal tactic; he wanted to kill these people and avenge Yun Qingxue.

Even if it meant his soul would be scattered, he had to tear a piece of flesh from these animals.

But the gap in strength between the two sides was too vast; everything he did was like a moth flying into a flame.

The leader of the men in black only raised his hand, as if shooing away an ant, and a vast force crashed down. Chen Shi was blown away like a fallen leaf.

He slammed heavily into the corridor pillar of the main hall, a mouthful of blood sprayed out, and the long sword in his hand flew from his grasp.

Chen Shi lay on the ground, his consciousness clearing slightly. His bones were shattered, yet he still struggled to crawl up; he wanted to go to Yun Qingxue's side.

Even in death, they could die together.

However, he was quickly pinned to the ground and had his cultivation crippled.

One of the black-robed leaders made a move, and with a flip of his palm, everyone in the Chen residence—except for him and the couple, Patriarch Chen Lie and his wife—who was still resisting was killed.

Because these people had long since determined that only the three of them, who were directly related to Chen Xuan by blood, were the bargaining chips that could truly shake his state of mind; the others were insignificant.

They dragged Chen Shi and the other two into the devastated main hall of the Chen residence like dead dogs.

Chen Shi's consciousness had completely recovered, and he secretly hardened his heart: this matter was absolutely not over!

This life would likely end here, but when the next life came, none of these related people would be able to escape.

The leader of the men in black was preparing to use their lives to send a message and pressure the secluded Chen Xuan when he suddenly received a secret letter from the Holy Land.

After reading the letter, his face turned livid, and he cursed fiercely: "Damn it, it's still one step too late! These three need not be kept; kill them quickly and clean up the scene before retreating."

Chen Xuan had successfully broken through.

He had successfully reached the Silver Marrow Realm, and his position as a direct disciple was no longer in doubt.

They dared to stir up trouble while Chen Xuan was in seclusion, but they absolutely did not dare to keep his family members as hostages after he had successfully broken through.

Once any traces were left behind, what awaited them would be Chen Xuan's relentless pursuit and the Holy Land's punishment.

The cold blade flashed quickly across his neck, and Chen Shi's consciousness gradually blurred.

Until his death, he did not know the true identity of these men in black, only that they were enemies of his elder brother.

Yet, vaguely, he felt that this matter also involved forces around Yanbei Prefecture, and there might even be traitors within the Chen family.

These people had come too coincidentally.

Never mind, as long as his elder brother succeeded, his children would still live well.

The second before darkness completely swallowed his consciousness, a look of relief curled the corners of Chen Shi's mouth.