219: Chapter 219 Sun Mao's Fall, Bloodshed, and the Resurgence of the Family!

...

Winter of the first year after Sun Yao's passing.

White Cloud Temple had its first snow of the winter. Snowflakes fluttered down, covering the mountains of Baifeng Cloud Gorge.

The entire Sect was wrapped in a layer of pure white, making it impossible to tell where the sky ended and the earth began.

Sun Chengzhu stood before the quiet room where Sun Yao had once secluded herself.

The stone door was tightly shut, and the Restriction on it had not yet been removed.

It was completely empty inside; a thin layer of dust had settled on the futon, and a faint trace of Cloud Dao spiritual opportunity still lingered in the air.

He stood there for a long time.

Snowflakes fell on his shoulders, melting into water droplets before freezing into ice again.

"Aunt Yao."

He spoke softly, his voice swallowed by the wind and snow: "Your nephew has come to visit you."

There was no response.

The quiet room remained as silent as ever.

Sun Chengzhu suddenly smiled, a hint of bitterness and self-deprecation in his expression.

"When you departed, were you also this unwilling to accept it?"

"Back then, the Grand Elder failed Core Formation because he lacked heaven and earth qi. You had heaven and earth qi, yet you still failed..."

"Sometimes your nephew wonders if it is truly because our Sun Clan's people are incompetent, or if the mandate of heaven and Luck really do not lie with our Sun Clan."

The wind and snow grew heavier.

After a self-deprecating laugh, Sun Chengzhu turned and left, his footsteps feeling heavier than when he had arrived.

...

Spring of the second year.

Sun Mao's illness fluctuated; when he was well, he could take a few steps out of bed, but when he was unwell, even speaking was a struggle.

He began to arrange his affairs, handing over the management of the Sun Clan's industries, Spiritual Veins, and estates to Sun Chengzhu one by one.

"As for the sword dao heaven and earth qi of the Guiyuan Sword Tomb, the Old Ancestor favored us once, but the heaven and earth qi ultimately belongs to the Sect."

Leaning against the headboard, Sun Mao said weakly, "If you want to use it, you must do so openly and honorably. Do not bring trouble to the Old Ancestor."

"Your nephew understands."

"With the sword dao heaven and earth qi combined with your sword dao talent, your chance of success will be higher than that of the Grand Elder and Yao'er back then."

Sun Mao looked at him: "But it is only higher, not a guaranteed success."

"You must be prepared for failure."

Sun Chengzhu fell silent for a moment, then said, "Your nephew is not afraid of failure. What I fear is not even having the courage to try."

Sun Mao was stunned for a moment, then suddenly laughed. There was comfort in that laugh, but also heartache.

"Good."

"As expected of a descendant of our Sun Clan."

"But before you enter seclusion, there is still one thing you must do."

"What is it?"

"Take over the burden of the Sun Clan completely."

"Take up the burden before you go into seclusion; do not leave behind this mess."

"If you fail, there will still be people in the Sun Clan to clean up the mess. If you don't even leave a retreat path, you are gambling with the entire Family."

"Your nephew... obeys."

...

Autumn of the third year.

Sun Mao closed his eyes on the day of the autumn equinox, passing away very peacefully.

On his deathbed, he did not leave any final words, but only silently gazed into the distance at Zixiao Peak, as if reminiscing about the Old Ancestor's appearance from his childhood.

Sun Chengzhu knelt before the bed, remaining silent for a long time.

The room was quiet, so quiet that one could hear the chirping of autumn insects outside the window.

The autumn wind poured in through the half-open window, blowing the white banners in front of the spiritual tablet, making them rustle loudly.

Thus, Sun Mao passed away.

White Cloud Temple held a grand funeral for him. This was the fourth core clansman of this generation of the Sun Clan to pass away.

Three consecutive funerals had already drained most of the Sun Clan's savings; their Spirit Stone reserves were stretched thin, and the Family's industries were constantly shrinking.

With this, all members of the second generation of the Sun Clan—Sun Lin, Sun Mao, and Sun Yao—had fallen.

The Sun Clan was also handed over to the third generation, with Sun Chengzhu taking over!

At the funeral.

Zhao Yanshan and Sun Chengzhu sat opposite each other. In the blink of an eye, things had changed and people had passed; Zhao Yanshan never expected that Sun Mao, that old fox, would actually die before him.

In truth, Sun Mao's age had not yet entered his twilight years.

It was purely caused by mental distress; otherwise, he should have been able to live for at least another eighty or ninety years. For a Foundation Establishment Cultivator to pass away before even reaching two hundred years of age was truly unexpected.

"You have also heard the rumors in the Sect right now."

"Some say that the Sun Clan's fate has run its course and it's time to withdraw from the core circle. Now that the second generation of the Sun Clan is entirely dead, and the fourth-generation Disciples are mediocre..."

"The only one the entire Family can rely on now is you."

"The Sun Clan, which originally had five Foundation Establishment Cultivator in one household, is left with only you in the blink of an eye. Truly, a trick of fate."

Hearing this, Sun Chengzhu sighed, but did not refute it.

He merely said calmly, "What the future holds for the Sun Clan is not for others to judge. On the day I succeed in Core Formation, everyone will shut their mouths."

Zhao Yanshan was taken aback, then smiled bitterly: "Have you decided?"

"I decided long ago, with no regrets."

...

...

After the first seven days of Sun Mao's passing, Sun Chengzhu officially succeeded as the third-generation head of the Sun Clan.

Sitting in the main seat of the Meeting Hall, he looked around at the sparse crowd of clansmen in the hall. Aside from himself, there were three others of the cheng generation, all of whom were at the Late Stage of Qi Refining.

They were old and decrepit, with no further possibility of a Breakthrough in this lifetime.

Most of the thirty-odd people of the Qi generation had Four-Element Spiritual Roots or Five-Element Spiritual Roots, with uneven cultivation bases, the highest being only at Qi Refining Perfection.

Among the children of the Yuan generation, the oldest was currently only sixteen. There were over fifty of them, but their cultivation bases were generally at the Early Stage or Middle Stage of Qi Refining.

This was the entirety of the Sun Clan's current foundation.

Out of over a hundred Cultivators, excluding the elderly, weak, sick, and disabled, there were fewer than thirty capable of fighting.

If this were in an ordinary Golden Core Sect, such a small force could not even support a third-rate Family. But here in White Cloud Temple, relying on the shade of the Old Ancestor and the tilt of resources within the Sect, they could still maintain a respectable front.

But dignity is like a layer of Face; it is easy to tear away, but hard to maintain.

At this moment, a clan elder advised, "Family Head."

"The current situation in the Sect... is quite unfavorable to our Sun Clan."

"Back then, the Grand Elder passed away, then Great-Aunt Sun Yao passed away, and now the Old Master... Three funerals in three years. What should our clan do hereafter?"

"There is also one more thing..."

Another clan elder hesitated and said, "As for several shops in White Cloud Immortal City, we were already unable to pay last month's spirit tax."

"The Spirit Stones in the clan's accounts probably won't last through these next few years."

"Family Head, how about we go up the mountain and request the Old Ancestor to step in, asking the Sect for some assets on behalf of our Sun Clan to maintain our livelihood?"

As soon as these words were spoken, the hall instantly fell silent.

Sun Chengzhu glanced at this clan elder, who was a younger cousin of the cheng generation familiar to him. But the moment these words left his mouth...

...that sentimentality came to an end right then and there.

With a thought, Sun Chengzhu instantly drew his sword and struck the man down right then and there!

Instantly, the entire hall was shocked.

Yet, not a single person dared to speak of the Old Ancestor again...

"For the decline of the Family, you actually want the Old Ancestor to step in and secure benefits for you. The Sun Clan has truly degenerated."

"Now I know why Uncle Mao died in such a suffocatingly aggrieved manner, and why Aunt Yao risked her life to break through. It is all because of you filthy parasites!"

At this moment, Sun Chengzhu was furious.

He had never expected that such an atmosphere would arise within the clan. When faced with difficulties, instead of reflecting on whether they had worked hard or finding ways to salvage the losses...

...they wanted to go up the mountain together to ask the Old Ancestor to step in and fight for benefits on their behalf!

This was truly turning heaven and earth upside down!

On this day, the Sun Clan underwent a thorough purge. To leave a path of survival for the clan, Sun Chengzhu personally executed most of the powerful clan elders of the third generation on the spot.

Along with them, over ten people from the Qi generation were also executed!

More than twenty Disciples of the fifth generation were also implicated; they were either expelled from the Family or had their cultivation bases destroyed, completely purging those parasites.

Afterward, Sun Chengzhu promoted several Disciples of the Qi generation in succession to serve as the Sun Clan's new managers, using this to sustain the Family.

With absolute iron-fisted methods, he swiftly eliminated corruption, scraping the bone to cure the poison.

Within just a few short months, the Sun Clan approached stability.

Although they had experienced the deaths of four Foundation Establishment Cultivator and a major reshuffle, they had ultimately halted the Family's decline...

...preventing it from collapsing entirely from within.

...