Chapter 57

Stepping into the ancestral hall, Chen Zong acutely sensed that the atmosphere seemed a bit different.

It seemed heavier.

It seemed more urgent.

As he walked toward the courtyard, he encountered some of the clan's disciples. Their gazes first showed surprise, then great shock.

"Clan brother Chen Zong..." A voice sounded behind him as he approached a house, the tone trembling with unexpected joy and excitement.

"Clan brother Chen Zhong." Chen Zong turned back and smiled slightly.

"Clan brother, it really is you, you're still alive... That's great... You're still alive..." Chen Zhong, agitated, spoke incoherently: "The elders went into the mountains to look for you but couldn't find you. They all thought you had perished in Fulong Mountain..."

"I'm still alive." Chen Zong said with a smile and a firm tone, and Chen Zhong gradually calmed down.

"Come, let's go to the main hall to see the elders." Chen Zhong grabbed Chen Zong's sleeve and said hurriedly.

"Clan brother, no rush, I'll put my things away first." Chen Zong lifted the large bundle on his shoulder, fortunately, he hadn't lost the key to the house.

...

Walking with Chen Zhong to the main hall of the ancestral hall, Chen Zong's face turned cold and his mood heavy as Chen Zhong spoke.

He hadn't expected that after they were separated, the losses would be so severe, but perhaps it was already within expectations.

The Chen family's Iron Guards were indeed strong, and the elder stationed at the mine camp was also very powerful, but unfortunately, there were too many beast monsters, and in the end, a third-level beast monster appeared, which was even more terrifying.

However, that elder and thirty Chen family Iron Guards lost their lives, Chen Shaojie, the steward, lost an arm, and four clan disciples went missing. Currently, only he had returned, and the other three in a place like Fulong Mountain were likely to have met with misfortune.

"What about the mine now?" Chen Zong asked.

"Apparently, Iron Guards have been reassigned to guard it and continue mining iron." Chen Zhong said.

The mine was very important to the Chen family and could not be abandoned. A significant portion of it remained unmined, so it was impossible to give it up.

Entering the main hall, the gazes of those present immediately fell on Chen Zong's face, first in surprise, then with uncontainable joy that spread like wildfire from their eyes.

"Chen Zong..."

"Chen Zong, you're still alive."

"I knew you, this little guy, had great fortune and a long life."

The three elders, after a moment of shock, spoke one after another.

"Elder Wei, Elder Xing, Elder Li..." Chen Zong bowed. "I've caused you worry."

"Being able to return is the best." Elder Xing smiled broadly.

"Have you been in Fulong Mountain for over a month?" Elder Wei asked, looking intently at Chen Zong.

"Yes, I got lost in the mountains, but I was fortunate." Chen Zong smiled in response. The hardships and dangers he had faced were known only to him, but he had grown and seized opportunities, becoming even stronger. There was no need to go into detail about it.

"Being the first to survive in Fulong Mountain for over a month and come out unscathed, you are the first." Elder Li also smiled.

"Returning is good." Elder Xing sighed in relief.

"Outside the city just now, the young leader of the Fine Rain Gang and a few gang members tried to kill me, but I killed them in return. I wonder if it will cause trouble for the family." Chen Zong said.

"Fine Rain Gang... Just a small gang, daring to attack you, if you killed them, so be it. Our Chen family won't seek trouble, and they won't dare to provoke us." Elder Xing laughed coldly.

"You don't need to worry about this. Focus on your cultivation. The Fine Rain Gang is not a problem." Elder Wei also said.

Chen Zong nodded, then thought of something and spoke again: "By the way, the three elders, I encountered a very strange person in Fulong Mountain."

"How strange?" Elder Li asked with a smile.

Chen Zong then detailed the black shadow he had encountered in the cave, and saw the three elders' faces fill with gravity and shock.

"Could it be that the legend is true..." Elder Li seemed to be talking to himself.

"Chen Zong, do you know that our era is called the True Martial Era, and the previous era was called the Kingdom Era." Elder Wei said, and Chen Zong nodded.

"The Kingdom Era fell to the beast monsters, but there is a rumor that the reason the beast monsters gathered in the mountains and invaded the kingdoms was because someone was leading them, and the leader was the Black Demon Sect."

"Black Demon Sect?" Chen Zong, hearing these three words for the first time, suddenly felt a chill, as if it were a terrifying existence.

"The Black Demon Sect is the most powerful force in the entire Eastern Continent. None of the three kingdoms of the Kingdom Era could compare to it. The Black Demon Sect was determined to destroy the three kingdoms and then control the Eastern Continent."

Chen Zong was inwardly shocked.

The most powerful force in the Eastern Continent, this claim was terrifying. So, was the Black Demon Sect related to the half-human, half-snake monster he had encountered?

Could that monster be a member of the Black Demon Sect?

One question after another sprang to mind.

"Ultimately, the three kingdoms fell, but their desperate counterattack also inflicted heavy losses on the Black Demon Sect and the beast monster army. In the end, it is said that the remaining warriors of the three kingdoms united to repel the Black Demon Sect, forcing it to retreat into the Hundred Beast Mountain. The remaining beast monsters were gradually cleared out. To resist the invasion of the beast monsters, martial cities were built by the survivors, and martial arts techniques were passed down, allowing more people to cultivate and become martial artists, symbolizing the arrival of the True Martial Era."

Chen Zong was enlightened. This content was not fully recorded in the books he had read before, especially regarding the Black Demon Sect.

"Are the people of the Black Demon Sect all monsters?" Chen Zong asked.

"We don't know much about the Black Demon Sect, after all, it has been silent for hundreds of years. We only know that the martial artists of the Black Demon Sect are called demon martial artists, and their overall strength is often greater than that of martial artists of the same cultivation. They can also use a technique called demon transformation, which turns them into half-human, half-beast monsters, making them even more terrifying." Elder Wei concluded.

"So, the half-human, half-snake monster I encountered is indeed a demon martial artist of the Black Demon Sect." Chen Zong felt an inexplicable heaviness in his heart.

"I remember, Shaojie said that on the night the beast monsters attacked the camp, a mysterious black shadow infiltrated the camp and was discovered and hit as it left. Could it be the demon martial artist Chen Zong encountered?" Elder Xing's brows relaxed, and he exclaimed.

"Regardless, this information is very important and must be immediately reported to the family, and then by the family to other families, to be on guard." Elder Wei said: "Chen Zong, you should keep this to yourself for now, don't spread it to avoid unnecessary panic."

"Yes." Chen Zong nodded.

The three elders had important matters to attend to, so Chen Zong took his leave, returned to his room, and took out some herbs and beast monster materials and three foundation-building martial arts from his bundle. He then returned to the main area and entered the martial arts library.

The clan hall did not have the three foundation-building martial arts, so Chen Zong received five hundred contribution points for contributing them. He then went to the mission room. The mission to guard the mine was interrupted, so he couldn't earn contribution points, but he wouldn't be punished either. However, for the missions involving the herbs and beast monster materials, after submitting the items, his contribution points increased sharply.

In the end, Chen Zong received over a thousand more contribution points, bringing his total to over two thousand.

He didn't need cultivation techniques.

He didn't need intermediate or higher-grade sword techniques for now.

He still had some cultivation pills, so he didn't need them for now.

He would save these contribution points for now.

"I wonder if the clan hall has the three medicinal formulas needed for the Body Tempering Technique." With this question in mind, Chen Zong went to the pill room, feeling confident with over two thousand contribution points.

Unfortunately, the inventory of medicinal herbs in the pill room was not abundant. Even the herbs needed for the first formula, the Ice Fire Quenching Ointment, could only be partially gathered.

"Body Tempering Technique cultivation requires the corresponding medicinal formulas, otherwise, the results are minimal."

"I need to gather all the herbs listed in the formula and also need a relatively good environment to boil the ointment."

"The time has come."

Chen Zong picked up his sword and walked back to the main hall.

At least one person, either an elder or a steward, would always be present in the main hall.

Chen Zong applied to challenge Chen He, the second-ranked elite, and Chen Xia, the first-ranked elite. Chen Xia's courtyard was once where Chen Chuyun lived, and it was also where he trained the four essentials of sword techniques. After Chen Chuyun left, Chen Zong had the idea of moving back in, and today, he would finally realize it.

This kind of challenge was not a game. It required an application, and the clan hall would arrange it, with a steward or elder overseeing it to prevent cheating.

As for challenging Chen He, it was purely a form of retaliation.

He couldn't just let Chen He cause trouble for him repeatedly without doing anything.

"The challenge requires notifying the person being challenged first, and then you will be informed of the challenge time." The steward was friendly: "If the person you challenge is away, you can choose to challenge someone else or move into the courtyard of the person being challenged, but you won't enjoy the benefits of an elite disciple. When the person being challenged returns and you defeat them, the resources will be provided."

"I understand, thank you, steward." Chen Zong bowed and took his leave.

Looking at the sky, it was still some time before evening. He might as well visit the Dingtian Pavilion.

"Before going to the Dingtian Pavilion, I'll take all the jade coins and herbs with me." Chen Zong returned to his room, stored the black iron plate, took the treasure-grade short sword, and left the clan hall with his bundle.

According to Elder Wei, the Dingtian Pavilion was spread across all martial cities, so its influence must be very powerful. However, the Dingtian Pavilion did not seek dominance but only engaged in trade, so he might be able to find the various herbs needed for the Body Tempering Technique's medicinal formulas there.

"I can also see if there are any treasures in the Dingtian Pavilion that can help Father recover his Blood Qi cultivation." Chen Zong thought, his eyes shining and his heart burning with enthusiasm.

When he heard Elder Wei's words, Chen Zong realized that restoring Father's cultivation was even more difficult than he had imagined. With his current abilities, he might indeed be able to do it in the future, but Father's declining Blood Qi and worsening health made it imperative to act sooner rather than later.

The Dingtian Pavilion was now a glimmer of hope.