I picked up skill fragments in the demon world.

Chapter 932 Kyoto in an uproar
The Gong family, having secured their home ground, gradually gained the upper hand.

At this point in the carnage, who is right and who is wrong is no longer important; what matters most now is who will be the last one standing.

Zhang Chen watched the eight great families locked in fierce combat, a smug smile playing on his lips. He then transformed into a streak of light and vanished, no longer wanting to get involved in the events unfolding before him.

"It's a pity we didn't keep Zhang Shenqi in the Gong family." A hint of regret appeared in Zhang Chen's eyes.

As the killing gradually stopped, the heads of the eight major families escaped from the Gong family under the desperate protection of their elders. Although the Gong family had the advantage of home ground, they were not well prepared and it was unrealistic to expect them to keep the leaders of the eight major families here.

As the killing ceased, the head of the Gong family looked at the mess in the courtyard and the corpses scattered all over the ground. Especially after sweeping over the bodies of the elders of the eight major families, the head of the Gong family began to lose his composure. This was a huge disaster. To suddenly engage in a bloody battle with the seven major families was practically courting death. The Gong family would soon face a storm of retaliation from the eight major families.

"Can anyone tell me why this fighting broke out?" The head of the Gong family glanced at the wounded elders and the younger generation being bandaged in the arena, his composure crumbling.

Those Gong family disciples who started the killing were already dead. The remaining people were just people who saw their own people fighting with the seven major families and starting a bloodbath, and then they rushed to help their own people without thinking. As for why they were killing, who knows? At that point, who had the mind to care about why they were killing?

At this moment, a disciple of the Gong family said hesitantly, "I think I heard someone shouting about the Tree of Immortality...?"

"The Tree of Immortality?" The head of the Gong family was taken aback. What did the fighting have to do with the Tree of Immortality?
"The most important thing now is not to investigate the cause of this incident, but to find a way to eliminate the problems. All of this was caused by the Zhang family. If the Zhang family hadn't stirred up trouble, how could today's slaughter have occurred? Since our enmity with the Zhang family is irreconcilable, I suggest that we take this opportunity to directly storm into the Zhang family and wipe them out, then use them as a pledge of allegiance to the King. We already have a blood feud with the seven great families, and what awaits us is thunderous retaliation. Why not take this opportunity to strike at the Zhang family? They certainly haven't reacted yet. By using the Zhang family as a pledge of allegiance to the King, and relying on the King's protection, we can avoid the backlash from the other six great families!" said an elder of the Gong family.

Upon hearing this, the crowd exchanged glances. The head of the Gong family gripped the long sword at his waist: "Immediately summon all disciples of the Gong family, and with our family's sacred weapon, launch a surprise attack on the Zhang family. At this point, there's no need to distinguish right from wrong; we can only accept the situation. However, there are definitely problems within our Gong family, and quite significant ones at that. We'll deal with these internal issues after we've pacified the Zhang family and pledged allegiance to the Human King."

At the command of the Gong family patriarch, countless Gong family disciples, armed with weapons, marched into the Zhang family's old residence and, without a word, began to wreak havoc.

Some of the Gong family disciples also rushed towards the collateral branches of the Zhang family in the city, some attacking the Zhang family disciples' properties, and some even killing people directly in the street.

Zhangjia
Zhang Shenqi was tending to his wounds at home when the sound of groans filled the yard, making him feel very disturbed.

"The Gong family has gone mad! In order to cover up the news of the Longevity Tree Coffin, they actually went so far as to kill our seven families to silence us! They are truly insane!" Zhang Gaqi couldn't help but curse as he looked at his brothers' injuries.

"First they stole our Zhang family's sacred artifact, and now they're slaughtering us. We swear we won't rest until we avenge this!" An elder of the Zhang family gritted his teeth, his teeth grinding together in hatred.

“I never imagined that the loss of the Longevity Tree Coffin was actually a case of the Gong family snatching food from the tiger's mouth of the imperial court. The Gong family really has some tricks up their sleeves. There were rumors in the capital before that the Gong family’s two elders, the Black and White Elders, had stolen the Longevity Tree Coffin. I didn’t expect it to be true! We can use the Longevity Tree Coffin as bait, and today’s blood feud as a factor, to drag the other six families into a siege against the Gong family!” The Second Uncle’s eyes gleamed with a calculating light: “It’s a perfect opportunity to take back the Zhang family’s heirloom.”

“Indeed, that makes sense. Immediately summon the Zhang family disciples to prepare for battle! At the same time, quickly send invitations to the other six families, and we will arrange a time to discuss the elimination of the Gong family. The Gong family is so ruthless that they have turned their swords against their own allies. They are simply inhuman. The alliance of our eight great families must eliminate the Gong family,” Zhang Shenqi said.

As they were talking, shouts of killing suddenly rang out from outside the door. A Zhang family disciple stumbled in, his voice filled with panic: "Master, it's terrible! The Gong family has led their warriors in and slaughtered all the men, women, and children of the Zhang family!"

"What?" Zhang Shenqi was stunned for a moment upon hearing this, then his face showed shock and anger:
"The Gong family has gone too far!"

Seeing the servants rush in, Zhang Qishan's eyes flashed with anger. Ignoring his wounds, he said to everyone, "Everyone, come with me to meet the enemy!"

"kill!"

Shouts of killing rose from all sides as the Gong family committed murder, arson, and massacre at the Zhang family's residence. No one, regardless of age, gender, or servants, was spared; anyone caught in the act was immediately attacked with a butcher's knife.

"Your Gong family is going too far! All Zhang family disciples, follow me to fight the Gong family!" Zhang Shenqi arrived at the front yard, looked at the Gong family warriors slaughtering indiscriminately, roared, and charged forward. The Zhang family, as one of the eight great families, naturally had a strong foundation, and its family had many warriors guarding the house. At this moment, they all took out their weapons and charged forward, and for a moment, the shouts of battle from the entire Zhang family reached the sky.

In a corner of the Zhang family compound, Zhang Chen, invisible, stood under a large tree and quietly watched the carnage unfold before him: "The Gong family truly lives up to its reputation as one of the eight great families. They are indeed decisive. Once they realized there was no room for maneuver, they immediately and mercilessly struck, leaving no room for retreat."

This is the way a large family behaves. Once they confirm that the other party is an opponent, they don't care about any other considerations. They simply use the full power of the clan to crush the opponent.

"Although the Zhang family has suffered a calamity, its foundation is deep, and it will not truly perish; at most, some will die. If the Zhang family suffers heavy losses, all the blame will fall on Zhang Shenqi, forcing him to resign. That will be my opportunity to take control of the Zhang family. As for the Gong family, the seeds of suspicion have already been sown by the Longevity Tree; now we just wait for them to take root and sprout. There must be spies of the court within the eight great families. Once the target is confirmed, hehe, the court will then annihilate the Gong family." Zhang Chen's lips curled into a satisfied smile, and he strode towards the Zhang family's backyard. Now was the perfect time for him to seize the Hell Path.

He went to great lengths to lure the Gong family to fight the Zhang family, wasn't it all for the sake of the Hell Path?
Only by seizing the Hell Path can Zhang Chen have the opportunity to obtain greater reincarnation authority and find the old friends marked by the reincarnation mark.

Zhang Chen walked all the way to the backyard, staring at the top of the ancestral hall. He knew that if he took away the Hell Path, it would definitely cause a commotion, but with the Gong family's restraint, he could suppress the commotion to the minimum.

Zhang Chen stared at the sky above the Zhang family ancestral hall for a long time. The next moment, the measuring ruler in his sleeve slid out, and then a torrent of innate energy poured into the measuring ruler. Then, the markings on the measuring ruler flickered. Zhang Chen drew the measuring ruler in his hand across the void, and a dark spatial passage appeared out of thin air, attracting the attention of many people.

Zhang Chen stepped into the spatial passage, and the passage closed the next moment.

"Someone has invaded the Zhang family's secret realm!" An elder of the Zhang family shouted in a panic as he looked at the vanished spatial passage, "Quickly, go and ask the patriarch to use his supernatural powers to open the spatial secret realm."

Only the patriarch can open the Zhang family's secret realm, leaving the elder standing helplessly at the point where the spatial passage disappeared.

"The patriarch is entangled with the Gong family. We should kill them first. Opening the spatial secret realm requires a sacrificial ceremony, but there's no time to hold one now." Zhang Gaqi chimed in, shouting as he fought the Gong family's experts.

The Gong family's killing spree was too ferocious. They had already broken into the backyard and threatened the safety of the inner courtyard. Everyone was busy with the rescue, so they had no time to care about the secret space.

The battle between the Zhang and Gong families was so fierce that the shouts of battle shook half of the capital.

The inner palace
As the current emperor was reviewing documents, he suddenly heard shouts of battle coming from afar. He frowned and asked, "Why are there shouts of battle in the capital? Who is waging war in the capital? Could it be that the eight great families have rebelled?"

Even with the composure of a human king, the sudden sound of battle cries from within the capital was enough to send shivers down one's spine.

You should know that since the founding of the Great Victory Dynasty, apart from the major battles that would take place during the change of the throne, who in the capital would dare to use force on ordinary days?

"Men, quickly find out what happened and immediately mobilize the army outside the city to protect the emperor!" King Dasheng shouted.

Before he could finish speaking, a series of footsteps approached from outside the door. The newcomer knelt down and addressed the Great Victory King: "Your Majesty, spies from the eight great families have reported that today, the eight families clashed at the Gong family over the Longevity Tree. Countless members of the eight families were killed or wounded. The evidence against the Gong family for stealing the Longevity Tree is irrefutable. Because the eight great families accidentally discovered the tree's whereabouts, they sought to silence them, leading to the fierce battle. In desperation, the Gong family led several thousand of their elite troops directly into the Zhang family, intending to slaughter the entire direct line of the Zhang family."

"What?" The Great Victory King was stunned upon hearing this, his voice filled with shock: "The Tree of Immortality is indeed within the Gong family's possession?"

The Tree of Immortality was too important for him to even bother asking about the infighting among the eight major families.

(End of this chapter)