140: Fourth Generation: Overlord (Thirty-Six)

Just as Xu Yuan's army pressed toward Flowing Cloud Ravine like a deathly cloud, deep within the Shen Family ancestral grounds, in a secret room filled with Spiritual Qi but an extremely oppressive atmosphere, all the core high-level members of the Shen Family gathered.

Family Head Shen Jun sat in the main seat; this Late Foundation Establishment Stage Elder no longer had his usual composure and majesty, only a look of ruin and undisguisable panic.

The Elders sitting below him also had pale faces and flickering eyes, filled with fear and unease.

"Has the news... been confirmed?"

A thin Elder asked, forcing his voice to remain steady, though he already knew the answer in his heart.

A middle-aged Cultivator responsible for intelligence, sitting at the end, swallowed hard and spoke with difficulty, his voice hoarse:

"Con... confirmed."

"Qinglan Mountain... has become a land of death. Everyone in the Xiao Family, whether Cultivator or Mortal, was slaughtered down to the last chicken and dog..."

"Old Ancestor Xiao Huan was... killed in a single strike by that Wang Yuan!"

Despite being mentally prepared, hearing this cruel confirmation with their own ears still caused a chorus of sharp intakes of breath and uncontrollable exclamations in the secret room.

"A single strike... killed Xiao Huan?!"

A hot-tempered Elder stood up abruptly, then slumped back down powerlessly, muttering in a daze: "How is it possible... that Wang Yuan is only at the Early Foundation Establishment Stage!"

"Blackwater City's formation was broken with a single word, Elder Shen Qiu was killed from a distance, and now the Xiao Family is wiped out, Xiao Huan killed in one strike..."

"This Wang Yuan simply cannot be judged by common sense!" another Elder said with a hint of despair, "We... we were wrong before! Utterly wrong!"

"What's the use of saying this now!"

A sinister-looking Elder slammed the table, his eyes bloodshot as he looked at Shen Jun in the main seat, "Family Head! Now Wang Yuan's army is heading toward our Flowing Cloud Ravine! Those fair-weather factions along the way are surrendering at the mere sight of him, without even offering a decent resistance! What... what should we do?!"

As soon as these words were spoken, everyone's gaze focused on Shen Jun.

Shen Jun's lips trembled as he looked around at these old brothers who had followed him for many years but had now lost all confidence. He also seemed to see through the walls the pavilions, spiritual fields, and mineral veins that the Shen Family had managed for hundreds of years, his heart twisting like a knife.

"Flowing Cloud Ravine... my Shen Family's Foundation of hundreds of years..."

Shen Jun's voice was hoarse, filled with endless reluctance and pain.

This was the root of the Shen Family; every inch of land was soaked with the blood and sweat of their ancestors. Giving up this place was no different from gouging out their hearts and scraping their bones.

"Family Head! We can't hesitate any longer!" the sinister Elder said urgently, "That Wang Yuan acts ruthlessly; the Xiao Family is a warning! He ordered 'no survivors,' clearly intending to leave no one alive! If we stay and defend Flowing Cloud Ravine, our end will be just like the Xiao Family's—the entire Family dead!"

"Yes, Family Head!" another person echoed, his face full of fear, "As long as the green hills remain, there is no fear of lacking firewood! As long as people are alive, there is still hope!"

"Hope? What hope can there be?" a more pessimistic Elder smiled miserably, "Even if we flee, where can we go? In this Great Shang, is there still a place for us?"

A ruthless look flashed in the sinister Elder's eyes as he lowered his voice:

"Go to the Northern Border! Seek refuge with the Heavenly Wolf Dynasty!"

As soon as the sinister Elder said this, the air in the secret room seemed to freeze.

"Shen Li! Have you gone mad?!"

An Elder with white hair and beard, who was more traditional, stood up abruptly and pointed at the sinister Elder, trembling with rage, "My Shen Family has lived in Flowing Cloud Ravine for generations; how can we join those blood-drinking Tianlang barbarians?"

"How is this any different from recognizing a thief as your father?"

"How will you have the face to meet our ancestors after death?!"

The sinister Elder, called Shen Li, did not back down, his eyes bloodshot as he retorted: "Seventh Uncle! Is face more important, or the lives of the entire Family?!"

"The example of the Xiao Family is right before us! That brat Wang Yuan won't talk to us about morality or face! He only wants our lives!"

"Compared to the entire clan dying out, seeking refuge with Tianlang can at least ensure the Shen Family Bloodline is not extinguished!"

"Bloodline not extinguished?" another Elder in charge of Family finances gave a bitter smile, his tone full of realistic weight, "Elder Shen Li, do you know what seeking refuge with Tianlang means? Within the Heavenly Wolf Dynasty, those old Noble Families are like wolves and tigers, extremely xenophobic! How could they easily accept an outsider like us, a stray dog?"

He paused, his voice becoming even lower: "Even if we had some secret dealings with certain forces in Tianlang before, that was just an exchange of interests."

"Now that we are seeking refuge as a whole clan and have lost our Foundation, in their eyes, we are just a piece of fat meat!"

"To obtain protection and gain a foothold, it's impossible unless we spit out more than half of the Shen Family's hundreds of years of accumulation and hand over our core Artifact Refining Legacy with both hands! Even... we are very likely to become their vassals from then on!"

These words were like ice water poured over their heads, instantly sobering some Elders who had just ignited a Spark of hope for 'escape,' their faces becoming even uglier.

Cutting their own flesh and bleeding, handing over the core Legacy, living under someone else's roof, and watching their expressions... thinking about the future days made them feel despair.

"That's still better than dying right now!" Shen Li growled, looking frantic, "As long as people are alive, there's still hope! As long as we keep the core disciples and part of the Legacy, there might not be a chance to rise again in the future!"

"If everyone is dead, no matter how much wealth or how exquisite the Legacy, what use is it?! It'll all be a wedding dress for that brat Wang Yuan!"

Intense arguing broke out again in the secret room. The conservatives were heartbroken, believing it was better to be a broken jade than a whole tile; the realists pessimistically believed they would be slaughtered even if they fled; while the escape faction led by Shen Li insisted that staying alive was the first priority.

Shen Jun closed his eyes in pain. In his ears were the desperate arguments of his clansmen; in his mind were every plant and tree of Flowing Cloud Ravine, images of his ancestors starting the business through hard work, and the tragic scene when Shen Qiu was killed from a distance. Finally, everything turned into a sigh filled with immense regret.

Had he really made a mistake?

Shen Jun snapped his eyes open, a look of determination replacing his previous pain and struggle. He slowly stood up, a hint of his Late Foundation Establishment Stage pressure slightly released, suppressing all the arguments.

Everyone looked at him, waiting for the Family Head's final decision.

Shen Jun's gaze swept across every face—desperate, hopeful, or numb—and his voice was hoarse but carried an unquestionable power:

"Enough."

"Seventh Uncle, Shen Li... what you both said makes sense."

"The ancestral business cannot be easily abandoned; the clan's righteousness cannot be betrayed. How could I, Shen Jun, not know this?"

His voice carried deep fatigue and pain.

"But..."

He changed his tone, which became extremely heavy.

"Just as Shen Li said, staying alive is currently the only and most important thing for my Shen Family."

"If even the people are gone, everything is an illusion. Only by preserving the Bloodline and the Sparks of the core Legacy will the Shen Family not truly perish. In the future... perhaps in a foreign land, perhaps in an unknown future, there is still a slim hope of rising again."

He looked at the Elder in charge of finances and said solemnly: "Cutting our flesh and bleeding, living under someone else's roof, is indeed humiliating, but... it's still better than the entire Family dying out and the Legacy being severed."

"Pass down my final order!" Shen Jun's voice suddenly rose, carrying the determination of breaking the cauldrons and sinking the boats, "Activate the 'Spark' plan! All core disciples and branch elites loyal to the Family, assemble at the secret vault immediately!"

"Take all the Legacy scriptures, core resources, Spirit Stones, and precious materials that can be carried!"

"As for the rest that cannot be taken... destroy what can be destroyed; we must not let them benefit the enemy!"

"We... are abandoning Flowing Cloud Ravine!"

"Target: the Northern Border's Heavenly Wolf Dynasty!"