48: Chapter 48 Uprooting

Seven days, Chen Yuanji uprooted seven strongholds. Starting from Qingshi Town, he moved north like a sharp blade, precisely slicing into the Tiandao Sect's defense network on the border of the Zhongyuan Region. Every stronghold left the same traces: all Tiandao Sect Disciples were killed, letters and ledgers were taken, and the manors remained intact.

The seventh stronghold was a mine located in the foothills of the Cangmang Mountains. The Tiandao Sect mined Essence Crystal Ore here to refine Medicinal Pills and weapons. There were over two hundred miners in the mine, all civilians captured by the Tiandao Sect, working every day in the dark mineshafts and being whipped by overseers for the slightest mistake. When Chen Yuanji arrived, it was night; the mine was brightly lit, the overseers were drinking and playing cards, while the miners huddled in crude shacks, trembling as they listened to the sounds outside.

He spent half an hour dealing with all the overseers: two in the Faxiang Realm Early Stage, five in the Shentong Realm, and over thirty in the Guiyuan Realm. Even when the two Faxiang Realm Early Stage overseers joined forces, they lasted less than the time it takes to drink a cup of tea. With his Gang Energy Peak Protective Aura, their attacks couldn't even leave a mark, while Chen Yuanji's Crushing Fist could shatter their Yuan Power shields with a single blow.

"You... who exactly are you?" The last Faxiang Realm overseer lay on the ground, his chest caved in, blood gushing from his mouth.

"Chen Yuanji!"

The overseer's pupils dilated suddenly and then froze forever. Chen Yuanji walked into the miners' shack; it was pitch black inside, and the miners were huddled together, not even daring to breathe.

"The Tiandao Sect overseers are all dead." His voice wasn't loud, but it reached everyone's ears clearly. "You are free. Those who want to go home, head south from here; across the Cangmang Mountains is Great Yan. Those who don't want to go home can go to the Imperial Capital of Great Yan; there is work there."

There was a long silence in the shack, and then an aged voice spoke, "Benefactor, what is your name?"

"Chen Yuanji."

"Chen Yuanji..." the old man repeated. "This old man will remember. You saved my life; I will repay you even if I have to be a beast of burden in the next life."

Chen Yuanji didn't answer and turned to walk out of the shack. He unlocked the chains at the mine entrance and released the miners; over two hundred miners knelt on the ground and kowtowed to him. He didn't look back, mounted his Wuzhui Horse, and disappeared into the night. Behind him, the miners' cries and laughter intertwined, drifting away in the night wind.

The fourteenth stronghold was a manor located on the plains at the border of Great Yan and Great Chu. The manor was larger than the previous ones, covering dozens of acres with high walls and deep courtyards, heavily guarded. Intelligence said it was garrisoned by three in the Faxiang Realm Middle Stage, one in the Faxiang Realm Late Stage, and dozens in the Shentong Realm and Guiyuan Realm. This was the strongest stronghold on the border and the command center for the Tiandao Sect in the southeastern Zhongyuan Region.

Chen Yuanji arrived at noon. He didn't wait for nightfall but rode directly to the manor gates. When the two guards at the gate saw someone riding up and were about to challenge him, Chen Yuanji had already leapt from his horse, striking both their chests with his palms. Protective Aura surged through them, instantly shattering their hearts, and their bodies collapsed. The alarm in the manor sounded, and dozens of Tiandao Sect Disciples poured out from everywhere, swords drawn and Yuan Power surging. Three Faxiang Realm Middle Stage experts rushed out from the main hall, surrounding Chen Yuanji.

"Chen Yuanji, you've got some nerve coming here to seek your death!" the leader sneered.

Chen Yuanji didn't waste words and threw a right punch. White Protective Aura condensed into a Fist-aura, heading straight for the man's face. The man's expression changed, and he crossed his hands, forming a light shield of Yuan Power in front of him. The Fist-aura struck the shield, which shattered, and the man was sent flying, crashing through the wall of the main hall and into the room. The other two attacked simultaneously from the left and right, their long swords wrapped in sharp sword light, piercing toward Chen Yuanji's throat and heart. Chen Yuanji dodged to the side, reached out his left hand to catch the blade of the person on the left with his fingers, and threw a right punch into the chest of the person on the right.

"Crack!" The blade was crushed, fragments flying everywhere. The chest of the person on the right caved in, blood spraying from his mouth as he twitched twice on the ground and stopped moving. The webbing of the left person's thumb split, his face turned pale, and he turned to run. Chen Yuanji caught up in one step and slapped the top of his head, and the body fell. A roar came from the main hall as the Faxiang Realm Middle Stage expert who had been knocked away crawled out of the rubble, covered in blood, his eyes full of madness.

"Chen Yuanji, I want you dead!" He pulled a black bead from his robe and crushed it. The bead exploded, and a cloud of black mist surged out, transforming into a giant Black Python that opened its maw to bite Chen Yuanji.

"A Summoned Beast?" Chen Yuanji frowned slightly. The Black Python was a Tier 3 Yao Beast, equivalent to the Peak of the Human Race's Shentong Realm. A cloud of black poisonous mist sprayed from its mouth, and as the mist spread, the bluestone slabs on the ground were corroded into pits. Chen Yuanji held his breath, his figure flashed, and he appeared above the Black Python's head. He threw a right punch, the Crushing Fist carrying Protective Aura, striking the python's head.

" Bang!" The python's head exploded, black blood splattering everywhere. Its body rolled on the ground a few times and stopped moving.

The Faxiang Realm Middle Stage Tiandao Sect Disciple slumped on the ground, his eyes full of terror as he looked at Chen Yuanji. "You... you're not human..."

Chen Yuanji didn't answer and crushed his skull with a palm strike. The remaining Tiandao Sect Disciples in the manor scattered and fled in all directions. Chen Yuanji didn't pursue them; his target wasn't these small fry but the core of the stronghold—the letters and ledgers. He found a metal box in a hidden compartment in the main hall, filled with letters and ledgers. He skimmed through them; most were about the Tiandao Sect's deployments in the Zhongyuan Region, and a few mentioned the movements of the Jiang Clan and the Seven Ancient Clans.

One of the letters caught his attention. It was written by the Tiandao Sect Grand Elder, Sikong Sheng, to the Jiang Clan Clan Chief. The content was very short—"I have already found a way to break the Seal inside Chen Yuanji's body. There is no need for the Jiang Clan's direct Bloodline; only his blood is required. After capturing him, I will personally undo the Seal and extract the power within him. Once successful, the Jiang Clan can take a thirty percent share." Chen Yuanji folded the letter and tucked it into his robe.

"No need for the Jiang Clan's direct Bloodline, only my blood," he murmured. "Sikong Sheng, what do you want to do with my blood?" He didn't know, but he knew at least one thing: the Tiandao Sect wouldn't kill him because they needed his blood, which made him safer yet also more endangered.

When he walked out of the manor, the sky had already darkened. The Wuzhui Horse was still waiting at the gate, letting out a snort upon seeing its master. Chen Yuanji mounted the horse and headed south. Behind him, the manor fell into a deathly silence, and in the distance, a few escaped Tiandao Sect Disciples disappeared into the night; they would bring the news back to the Tiandao Sect headquarters.

Chen Yuanji knew that from today on, the Tiandao Sect would send stronger people to hunt him down, but he didn't care. With his Gang Energy Peak, Half-Step Divine Realm, and the assistance of the martial gods heart and ancient jade, he was confident in facing any opponent below the Void-Piercing Realm.

"Next one!" He patted the Wuzhui Horse's neck, and the horse neighed, its four hooves flying as it galloped toward the north.