The Sacred Leaves Family's Wishes for Peace

Whoosh!

An arrow imbued with the energy of yin and yang soared through the sky, carrying a destructive force as it sped toward the Ascending Moon Pavilion a thousand meters away.

The arrow's power and momentum left the rogue cultivators in the marketplace trembling with fear.

"Looks like the Xia family's cultivators and clansmen are nearly wiped out," Wang Qinglin remarked as he stood atop the Ascending Moon Pavilion, his hands clasped behind his back. He gazed into the distance, watching as the combined forces of the Three Families and Six Clans broke through the Xia family's layers of mountain-protecting formations.

By now, these powerful attackers had already breached the core of the Xia family's ancestral land.

"Patriarch, should I take a team to join them?" Wang Liyuan suggested.

"Even though the Xia family is on the brink of destruction, they still have significant resources, including powerful spiritual tools and talismans.

"Additionally, the battle is happening on their home turf. Even with the combined forces, it won't be easy to completely annihilate the Xia family."

"There's no need for you to take such risks," Wang Qinglin said, waving off the suggestion.

"I've already assigned members of the family to handle it. The reason I brought you here is to show you the brutal reality of conflicts between clans.

"It's crucial for you to understand that developing a family is never easy. Everything must be approached with caution, as if walking on thin ice."

He turned to Wang Liyuan with a serious expression, emphasizing his words.

Wang Qinglin was well aware that the Upper Three Families were keeping a close watch on his grandson. If Wang Liyuan left his side, there was no guarantee that someone wouldn't take the opportunity to strike.

His elder brother's death had destabilized the Wang family, but Wang Qinglin had managed to maintain internal stability.

If Wang Liyuan were to die, the family would face a devastating talent gap among its younger generation, weakening them for years to come.

Whoosh!

As Wang Qinglin spoke, a piercing sound broke through the air, accompanied by a wave of powerful energy.

His expression changed as he swiftly pulled Wang Liyuan behind him. Channeling his spiritual energy, he manifested a blue, water-like radiance in his palm and caught the incoming arrow mid-flight.

Crack!

With a forceful squeeze, the arrow shattered in his hand.

"Who dares target my Wang family descendants?!" Wang Qinglin roared in the direction the arrow had come from. His voice, like thunder, echoed throughout Tongshan County.

The deafening roar left ordinary townsfolk scrambling to flee. Some fell to the ground, clutching their heads in agony, while others bled from their ears or fainted on the spot.

Even rogue cultivators and descendants of various clans hidden in the city were shaken to their core, some nearly collapsing to their knees from the oppressive force of Wang Qinglin's voice.

"Patriarch!" Wang Liyuan gasped after regaining his composure.

The arrow had been terrifyingly powerful, stopping just a finger's breadth from his forehead.

Had his grandfather not acted in time, it would have pierced his skull, leaving him a lifeless corpse.

"Do not fear. As long as I am here, even the strongest among the Upper Three Families cannot harm you," Wang Qinglin said reassuringly, his gaze fixed in the direction the arrow had come from.

Grasping Wang Liyuan, he leaped from the pavilion and flew toward the marketplace.

"Tch! That Wang Liyuan has an old monster protecting him!"

Yun Yanshui clicked his tongue in frustration as he observed the situation from afar.

He had intended to kill Wang Liyuan with one decisive arrow, but Wang Qinglin's overwhelming strength had thwarted his plan.

"I'll have to retreat for now and figure out a way to separate that old man from Wang Liyuan," he muttered, putting away his dark green battle bow.

With a swift movement, Yun Yanshui disappeared from the spot, leaving no trace.

Moments later, Wang Qinglin landed in the Xia family marketplace with Wang Liyuan.

With a wave of his hand, a powerful suction force pulled a rogue cultivator from a corner of the marketplace into Wang Qinglin's grasp.

Gripping the rogue by the neck, Wang Qinglin coldly demanded, "Who was here earlier?"

"It… it was one of your Wang family's rogue cultivators!" the man stammered, choking under the crushing grip.

"Lies!" Wang Qinglin roared in fury.

Spiritual energy erupted from his palm, shattering the rogue's skull into fragments. Blood and brain matter splattered onto the ground.

As Wang Qinglin released his grip, the lifeless body crumpled into the growing pool of blood.

Scanning the area, Wang Qinglin spotted another rogue cultivator trying to flee. With a flick of his hand, he captured the man and asked coldly, "Who fired that arrow?"

"Don't kill me! Please don't kill me!" the man begged, trembling in terror.

"Answer me, and I'll spare your life," Wang Qinglin replied.

"It… it was one of your Wang family's rogue cultivators!"

"Do you take me for a fool?"

"I'm not lying! I swear it's true!"

Sensing the icy killing intent in Wang Qinglin's gaze, the rogue cultivator turned pale, his terror so overwhelming that he soiled himself.

Recalling the earlier scene of the rogue cultivator being effortlessly killed by Wang Qinglin, with no chance to resist, the remaining rogue cultivator felt an overwhelming fear toward the old patriarch standing before him.

"Patriarch, could it really have been one of our Wang family's rogue cultivators?" Wang Liyuan asked hesitantly. Both captives had given the same answer, and the consistency was hard to ignore.

"That arrow was the work of a Qi Refining cultivator.

"As of now, I am the only one in the Wang family who has reached the Qi Refining stage.

"The rogue cultivators we've recruited were all carefully vetted by the family. There's no possibility of a Qi Refining cultivator hiding among them," Wang Qinglin said as he snapped the rogue cultivator's neck with ease, as if crushing an insect.

"Could it be someone from the Upper Three Families, secretly sent to infiltrate the ranks of our rogue cultivators?" Wang Liyuan suggested.

"It's not impossible. Send someone to investigate discreetly," Wang Qinglin said, his brows furrowing deeply.

The Upper Three Families had long sought to eliminate Wang Liyuan, so sending a Qi Refining cultivator to infiltrate the Wang family wasn't out of the question.

Tongshan County

The city was in chaos. Rogue cultivators and scions of various cultivation families fought fiercely, scrambling to seize cultivation resources.

In the midst of the carnage, many townspeople who had failed to evacuate in time were caught in the crossfire of the battles. The aftershocks of the skirmishes left countless innocents dead in the streets.

Yun Wenxuan walked through the war-torn city alongside his aunt Yun Yanshuang and uncle Yun Yantian. The sight of widespread destruction, severed limbs, and lifeless bodies scattered about left his face pale and his heart heavy.

He had often heard the elders in his family talk about how brutal the battles between cultivators could be, but he had never witnessed it himself—until now.

This firsthand experience gave him a deep understanding of how hard-won the peace his family enjoyed truly was. It also made him realize just how much bloodshed and treachery his aunt and uncle had endured to secure resources for their family.

Glancing up at their calm expressions, Yun Wenxuan saw that they seemed entirely accustomed to the carnage. He sighed inwardly, recalling his uncle Yun Yantian's words:

"Kindness is important, but don't show too much of it to outsiders."

"Perhaps Uncle Yantian's advice came from witnessing too much of this bloodshed," Yun Wenxuan thought to himself as he walked silently.

"Help… help my child, please!"

A faint cry reached Yun Wenxuan's ears. Turning toward a small alley, he saw a bloodied woman cradling an infant, crying out for help.

Without hesitation, Yun Wenxuan rushed toward her.

"Wenxuan! Don't go!" Yun Yantian shouted, noticing his nephew's movements too late.

By the time Yun Yantian's warning reached him, Yun Wenxuan was already close to the woman. Just as he reached out to help, the infant in her arms suddenly transformed into a hideous serpent.

With a gaping maw full of sharp fangs, the serpent lunged for Yun Wenxuan's neck.

The creature was incredibly fast, and it seemed certain that Yun Wenxuan would be bitten.

Slash!

Before the serpent could strike, Yun Yanshuang intervened, her sword flashing with a streak of moonlight.

The blade cleaved through the serpent in mid-air, reducing it to ashes that scattered into the wind.

"Wenxuan, are you hurt?" Yun Yanshuang asked, hurrying to her nephew's side.

"No… I'm fine. Thank you, Aunt Yanshuang. If it weren't for you…" Yun Wenxuan trailed off, his face still pale as he thought back to the harrowing moment.

Looking back toward the alley, he realized the bloodied woman was gone. All that remained was a long, shed snakeskin.

"It seems the city isn't just full of treacherous rogue cultivators. There are also demons and other malevolent entities lurking here, likely drawn by the Xia family's accumulated wealth," Yun Yantian said, his gaze fixed on the discarded snakeskin.

He turned to Yun Wenxuan with a stern expression.

"From now on, no matter what you see or hear, don't act impulsively. Understood?"

"I… I understand, Uncle Yantian," Yun Wenxuan replied, his voice tinged with guilt and fear.

"Consider this a lesson," Yun Yantian said.

"Experience is the best teacher. When you're on your own in the future, you'll need to be more cautious. Always keep your guard up."