Fantasy: Immortality Begins with Absorbing Demons

Chapter 626 Main Branch and Sub-Branches

The medicinal herbs in the medicine packet were specially prepared and collected by Hu Ping based on Zhong Yunxiu's injuries.

However, due to the current shortage of supplies at the base, medicinal herbs are even scarcer.

Apart from a few auxiliary herbs, most of them were found and gathered by Han Yi and Xiao Yue in the mountains.

When the Nine Turns Sect members arrived at the Dark Valley, they retreated in such a hurry that they failed to bring most of their resources, such as medicinal herbs.

Fortunately, the Black Miasma Mountains are sparsely populated and undeveloped, making them a natural treasure trove. Medicinal herbs that are rare and expensive outside are abundant here.

Xiaoyue was completely at ease, as if he were back home. He would bring a large group of followers with him every day, coming and going freely, and no one could stop him.

Han Yi himself possessed the Pure Lotus Body, making him unafraid of miasma. He seized the opportunity to acquire a considerable amount of resources, which slightly filled the gap in the warehouse.

"Master, if there's nothing else, I'll be going now." Han Yi glanced at Zhong Yunxiu, sensing that her injuries had improved considerably, and then took his leave.

The mother and daughter were clearly having a private conversation, and I was just standing there disturbing them; it wasn't appropriate for me to be standing there.

"No rush, please sit down first," Zhong Yunxiu said, trying to persuade her to stay.

"?"

Although he didn't know her intentions, Han Yi still obediently sat down.

"Master, what's wrong? Qu Qiao and Yao Hui still have things to do outside, and there are still many troublesome matters to deal with."

He had seriously offended the government troops this time, so naturally he moved his entire family away, leaving them no wealth. He took everything he could from Qiyun Mountain, mainly various swords, armor, bows, and crossbows—enough weapons to arm an entire army.

Of course, he also welcomes anyone who is willing to follow him.

Once inside the Black Miasma Mountain, regardless of whether they were traitors or not, a pack of wolves led by Xiaoyue kept a close watch on the surroundings day and night, preventing any news from getting out.

However, this matter was far too dangerous, except for Tao Yaohui, Xu Chui, and the other disciples who were completely loyal to Han Yi.

No one else wanted to come to this godforsaken place, Black Miasma Mountain, risking being infected by miasma, offending the government troops, and losing their heads—just asking for trouble.

He had thought these people were the limit, but to his surprise, Qu Qiao, one of the three hall masters under his command, was willing to bring Xuanwu Hall and his family members.

Having more people is always a good thing. So, Han Yi continued to assign Qu Qiao to be in charge of the security and protection around the camp in Moyou Valley.

However, since Qu Qiao was new to the area, he needed to seek Qu Qiao's opinion when dealing with matters concerning the old man of Jiuqumen.

"I won't take up much of your time, I just want to ask you a few things," Zhong Yunxiu said with a smile. "Xiao Yi, what's the current situation in the city? And what has become of the various branches of my Jingtian Manor?"

"The situation within the city is fine; the city's military is suppressing the situation, and everything is as usual," Han Yi replied fluently. "Speaking of other branches..."

He hesitated for a moment, seemingly considering whether or not to speak.

After all, judging from the secret letter Hu Ping sent him, apart from the Nine Turns Sect, the other branches did not fare well.

“Go ahead and say it. I have my expectations,” Zhong Yunxiu sighed.

"...Okay...Let's put it this way, currently, there are several people we know of with confirmed information." Han Yi paused, "As for the sect leader Zong Wu of Yangzhi Sect, there's no need to say more. When the tree falls, the confusion dissipates. After his death, Yangzhi Sect was quickly caught up by Chi Hu Qu Huan and completely wiped out."

Aside from Yangzhiyuan, Qian Shuo of the Chongyin lineage and Jiang Yucheng of the Fuguang lineage were sown apart by Xuehu Huang Chengyu through a scheme, causing them to kill each other, and then Huang Chengyu reaped the benefits.

Then there was Lian Jin Daoist of the Arc Shadow lineage. He was quick to seize the opportunity and was the first among all the lineages of Jingtian to leave. Unfortunately, he was also targeted by the strongest of the Five Tigers, Jin Hu, Fang Huan Dao, and was the first to be wiped out.

Finally, there's Gongsun, the leader of the Piaoxue lineage. Their lineage is weaker than ours, but that's a good thing. Qinghu Youshang originally intended to take down both my Jiuqu Sect and the Piaoxue Sect. However, Youshang was killed by me, and with us taking the fall, Leader Gongsun has now fled with her men, her whereabouts unknown.

In closing, Han Yi added one more sentence.

"Oh, right, there's also Zhang Ruoning from the Mingfeng lineage. She didn't die, but to survive, she sold herself to the government army. I heard she signed an extremely harsh contract with Youhu Li Ran to save her life." After Han Yi finished speaking, the room fell silent.

After a long while, Zhong Yunxiu finally processed the information: "So, the once mighty Jingtian Seven Academies are gone—four dead, one surrendered, one fled, and one escaped? The Jingtian Seven Academies are just like that?!"

"..." Han Yi sighed, "What Master said... is right... The information I have at hand... is just like this..."

"..." Zhong Yunxiu was silent for a while, then smiled bitterly, a trace of reminiscence flashing in her eyes, "Back then, how prestigious our Jingtian Manor was, one of the five major powers in Yunzhou, and our seven academy leaders were also respected by outsiders as outstanding talents of Jingtian. We had people and money, a truly wonderful situation. Who could have imagined it would turn out like this..."

She let out a long sigh, clearly feeling resentful.

"Things have come to this...we...can only accept reality..." Han Yi comforted him.

"I understand, but I'm just unwilling to accept it," Zhong Yunxiu said with a bitter smile. "I always had a chance to salvage the situation, but... Zhao Ziyang... sigh..."

Han Yi remained silent for a moment, then asked, "Master, speaking of Zhao Ziyang, there's something I don't understand. Now that Jing Tian Manor is in this state... why is he still showing no reaction?"

"Him... I don't know what he's thinking..." Zhong Yunxiu shook her head. "When Zhao Ziyang first became the head of the manor, he worked diligently and made great strides. Under his leadership, Jingtian Manor, while not at its peak, was still quite successful... But later..."

"And then? What happened?" Han Yi pressed.

Zhong Yunxiu was silent for a while, as if recalling: "Later, he was like a different person. He was always running around and spending a lot of money, trying to find the lost general outline of Jingtianzhuang and reassemble the Seven Transformations of Heavenly Evolution True Skill... Later, when he did not get the general outline for a long time, he kept pressuring the heads of the various academies, trying to collect the true skills of each academy and deduce them on his own."

The true skills of each academy are the foundation of their respective branches. Even if Zhao Ziyang is the master of the manor, he can't just give them to him without a reason. If he had found the general outline, he could discuss it properly. But he has nothing, so it's impossible for him to forcibly seize it and take away someone else's foundation.

So the heads of the various academies joined forces with the Grand Secretary to convene a grand meeting, extinguishing Zhao Ziyang's hopes... From then on, he stopped caring about affairs and has remained in a state of despondency ever since.

“This… I see, no wonder…” Han Yi muttered to himself.

No wonder Zhao Ziyang could ignore Zong Wu's tragic death in front of him, and remain indifferent to the deaths of the various academy leaders. He was probably completely disillusioned with them.

“Thinking like that makes you think too highly of Zhao Ziyang,” Zhong Yunxiu retorted. “He does harbor resentment and desire for revenge against us, the heads of the academy. But we are ultimately the pillars of Jingtian Manor, and our lives and fortunes are inextricably linked to the interests of Jingtian Manor. If we are not doing well, he will not be doing well either.”

Therefore, his reason for not offering assistance wasn't that. It was something else entirely. "Master, please speak." Han Yi listened attentively.

"He... he just wants to save his own life." Zhong Yunxiu sneered. "The Zhao family has a hundred or so people, plus Guan Chan and him, and they have some unclear relationship. They just want to protect themselves."

He has been so tolerant and patient, willingly becoming a coward, simply because he relies on his status as the main branch to abandon us branch branches, thereby drawing the hatred of the government army and extricating himself from this matter to protect himself!

"This... he's so willing to gamble? He's betting that the government troops won't attack him?" Zhong Han couldn't help but ask.

"It's normal for him to have such thoughts," Zhong Yunxiu said coldly. "Zhao Ziyang and Kou Hu both worked together in the Yuanmiao Sect in the past and had many dealings with each other, so their relationship is quite close. Now that the Yuanmiao Sect has retired, not only is Zhao Ziyang under great pressure, but Kou Hu is also under great pressure."

Therefore, Zhao Ziyang vainly hoped to rely on this relationship to endure until the end and gain a sliver of hope. He was gambling; he was gambling that Kou Hu would still need his help in the future, and that Yuan Miaozong would not ignore him and would speak up for him.

That's why he ruthlessly abandoned us, his branch families, biding his time and satisfying Kou Hu's appetite, thus preserving himself and rising again.

"Ridiculous... Doesn't he know that constant forbearance only makes others think he's weak and easy to bully?" Han Yi said speechlessly. "Forbearance, forbearance, forbearance! Enduring everything only leads to more and more blatant bullying."

“It’s not that he doesn’t understand… it’s just…” Zhong Yunxiu sighed, “It’s just that, Xiao Yi, have you thought about it? Zhao Ziyang is not young anymore… He’s getting old, and he has a large family to support… He’s old, and he doesn’t have that many ambitions anymore. His first reaction to danger is to endure and survive.”

Han Yi fell silent.

Upon closer examination, Zhao Ziyang is considerably older than Zhong Yunxiu, making him someone from her previous generation.

Although Zhong Yunxiu appears gentle and elegant, and looks to be only in her thirties, as a master, she has the art of preserving her youthful appearance and can maintain it for a long time.

She is actually in her forties or fifties.

That's normal, after all, her daughter Zhong Han is already in her twenties.

Zhao Ziyang, on the other hand, is from her previous generation and is probably not in his eighties or nineties, but close to being a centenarian.

Even after becoming a grandmaster, one's lifespan can be greatly extended, but at one hundred years old, one is still considered middle-aged or elderly among grandmasters.

Thinking about this, Han Yi began to understand Zhao Ziyang's conservative, tolerant, and hesitant behavior.

“Taking a step back opens up a whole new world; sometimes yielding a step can bring more options. There’s nothing wrong with forbearance,” Zhong Yunxiu continued. “However, Zhao Ziyang is getting old, his reactions are slower, and his eyesight is naturally failing.”

The current situation clearly shows that Kou Hu is determined to kill the goose that lays the golden eggs, making a desperate gamble. Giving in now will only embolden him... Branches are like leaves, the main branch is the trunk; without the cover of leaves... I fear that if things continue like this, the main branch of Jingtian Manor... will also be destroyed sooner or later..."

The room was completely silent.

Those branches that split off from Jingtianzhuang, like the Nine-Bend Gate, are considered as offshoots.

The demise of a branch branch might not affect the name of Jingtian Manor. But the extinction of the main branch means that the last glimmer of hope for the prosperity of Jingtian Manor has vanished.

Like the Divine Gun Tower and the Green-Clad Alliance, they were forgotten by the world and by history, gradually disappearing into the long river of time.

Death itself is not scary; what is scary is that no one remembers it.

After a long pause, Zhong Yunxiu finally spoke. She seemed a little disheartened and said, "So be it. Perhaps this is fate. What is united for a long time will eventually be divided, and what is divided for a long time will eventually be united. Jingtian Manor has prospered for so many years. It's time for it to give way and let new people take over."

After experiencing this ordeal, she has become more open-minded.

"Xiao Yi, Han Han, come on, take me out for a look. I've been lying in bed for so many days, if I don't move around, I'm afraid I'll get bedsores."

“Mom, you’re not fully recovered yet… if you catch a cold again…” Zhong Han quickly stopped her.

Han Yi offered the same advice.

But after much persuasion, they couldn't persuade Zhong Yunxiu, so the two had no choice but to help her get out of bed and walk out of the room.

Although it was midday and the sun was scorching.

However, Moyou Valley is located deep within the Black Miasma Mountains, where dense miasma surrounds it, and the light that penetrates here is greatly reduced.

The temperature was comfortable, a cool breeze was blowing, and everything was calm and peaceful.

Looking around, rows of small black houses are neatly arranged, with a white fence surrounding them, resembling black and white pieces on a chessboard, clearly distinguished.

In the distance, a large group of people were moving timber, compacting the foundation, and then gradually planning the layout, finally erecting the crossbeams and main beams, and sealing the roof. "That is..." Zhong Yunxiu broke free from the two people's support and stared intently.

"Oh, this is ironwood. It's sturdy, durable, and resistant to corrosion. Most importantly, it's resistant to miasma. It's a common type of wood in the Black Miasma Mountains. Using it locally is perfect for building the main frame of the house."

As Han Yi walked towards the bustling crowd, he introduced the various activities.

"Brother, we're running out of Six Harmonies Spiritual Thorn Grass, what do you think..." As soon as Han Yi arrived, Qu Qiao, who was directing his underlings to build a house, jogged over.

"It's alright, I already sent someone to collect them this morning, and they'll be delivered soon," Han Yi replied. "Just continue working according to the plan."

"Okay." After receiving the confirmation, Qu Qiao quickly returned to work.

After arriving at Ink Valley, he remained the head of Xuanwu Hall, responsible for security and protection.

However, this Dark Valley is rarely visited by humans and teeming with poisonous insects; no one ever comes here. The greatest danger is the presence of demonic beasts.

But the monsters and such had long been driven away by the wolf pack led by Xiaoyue.

Therefore, Qu Qiao's so-called responsibility for security is only nominal. Having him build the house is just right.