After fleeing from Zhao Family Town, Li An didn't stop and ran all the way back to Moon Tempering Valley.

By the time he returned to Moon Tempering Valley, it was already the afternoon of the third day.

He only felt relieved once he entered the valley.

Wiping the sweat off his forehead, Li An calmed down, closed his eyes, and replayed the disaster in his mind.

Thinking and replaying things in his mind could improve his reactions and instincts in the face of danger, a habit he developed in his previous life.

Upon further reflection, it seemed Wang Dazhu didn't intend to harm him.

The key was Chen Qingling!

This young girl had a mind too deep for her age.

It was likely that Chen Qingling learned about Li An from Wang Dazhu and then leaked it to Zhao Xian, deliberately luring Li An in.

Then, using Li An, they escaped from the Zhao family.

Moreover, her micro-manipulations were numerous.

For example, after Li An took Wang Dazhu out of the Magic Artifact Pavilion, his first thought was actually to quickly eliminate her!

After all, having obtained the magical artifact and rescued Wang Dazhu, she had lost her value to Li An, who definitely did not want to be burdened by a dead weight.

But it was then she revealed her connection with Wang Dazhu.

Li An, wanting to eliminate her, would certainly face Wang Dazhu's obstruction, so he had no choice but to suppress his murderous intent.

Later, when exiting Zhao Mansion, Li An had Wang Dazhu wait behind, intending to change into Zhao Xian's form to sneak out, leaving them behind, no longer his concern.

Yet, Chen Qingling insisted on tightly following Li An.

Fearing she might scream and ruin things, Li An was forced to take them to violently break through the Zhao family gates.

After leaving, she even shouted to draw the fire towards Li An for them.

This woman's depth of mind and operations were truly impressive!

"No matter how cautious one is, it's hard to handle the unforeseen variables, so one must have enough life-saving items, leaving enough room for error."

In fact, if it weren't for Li An's deep-rooted caution and preparedness, and having refined enough Tier Two talismans before going out, this time he would have perished for sure.

No matter where or when, one must always be ready to face danger!

Unfortunately, three Swift Movement Talismans, five Bursting Talismans, two Thunder Shock Talismans, and two Breaking Charms... the losses this time were truly too great.

He then began to carefully inspect the pile of storage bags seized from the Zhao family.

Along the way, he had already quickly scanned them with his Divine Sense, destroying a dozen marked items.

Opening the storage bags, they were filled with dazzling treasures!

...

At this moment.

Zhao Family Town.

The fire burned for two days and nights before finally being put out.

The entire Zhao Mansion had turned to ashes, and a third of the buildings in town were destroyed as well.

The Zhao family's centuries-old foundation was ruined in an instant!

Everywhere were cries and wails.

"It's over... all over!"

And Zhao Xian, watching this scene, felt as if his heart was bleeding, his fists clenched, teeth gritting.

Three Foundation Establishment Stage experts and a squad of elite Qi Refiners he led had chased far away, yet found no trace of Li An again.

Upon returning, Zhao Family Town was completely destroyed, and the steward was killed. Many core resources were stolen.

Truly a case of losing both the wife and the army!

"Li An!"

He wished he could grind Li An to pieces!

"Xian, what on earth is going on? For the sake of one Li An, we've destroyed the Zhao family's foundation!"

Beside him, a Foundation Establishment Stage expert spoke with an incredibly grim face, voice cold.

"The Zhao family's foundation isn't the scary part; it can be rebuilt if destroyed..."

Yet Zhao Xian felt a catastrophic doom impending, powerless to resist, chilling his heart.

Li An had escaped; how would they face the Demon Sect?

"Reporting to the Patriarch, an esteemed guest has arrived!"

At this moment, someone already came to report.

Zhao Xian's eyes flickered with fear as he turned to look a short distance away, where two men were approaching with the steward he had sent.

He hurriedly went forward to greet them.

"Sirs, please... let's discuss in the tea house!"

The two men glanced at the mess of Zhao Family Town, their eyes growing cold but saying nothing, they followed Zhao Xian into a tea house.

Everyone in the tea house was cleared out.

Zhao Xian knelt directly on the ground and said, "This subordinate failed to do his duty! I ask the sirs to punish me!"

"Speak, explain clearly!"

One of the demon cultivators said coldly.

Zhao Xian immediately explained everything in detail, saying, "Sirs, please give me a chance; I will definitely capture Li An!"

"You let him escape even in this situation, and now he's nowhere to be found, yet you still think you can capture him? Dream on!"

The demon cultivator slammed the table heavily, anger flaring in his eyes.

Eight years!

Finally waiting for that black-hearted Talisman Master to appear, only for him to escape.

How would they explain to the helm master?!

"How do you plan to die?!" the demon cultivator reprimanded harshly.

Zhao Xian froze in place, body trembling, unable to utter a word.

However, the other demon cultivator beside him waved his hand, saying in a deep voice, "Killing him serves no purpose."

"I'm quite curious, how exactly did Li An discover the problem?..."

They had not taught Zhao Xian any Demon Sect cultivation techniques to prevent Li An from discovering Zhao Xian's collusion with the Demon Sect.

"Chen Qingling, it must have been Chen Qingling who let it slip..."

Zhao Xian spoke, his face filled with extreme regret!

Over the years, he had turned Mu Qingwan into a slave, treating her with wanton humiliation and torture.

Regarding the Demon Sect, he kept the secret well hidden from the entire clan, but he had only ever mentioned it in front of Mu Qingwan...

Because, in front of him, Mu Qingwan was merely a pure slave and plaything; as he abused her, watching her endure in silence, he would also indulge in saying many humiliating words...

Those humiliating words primarily involved Chen Cheng, and secondly Li An.

After all, in Mu Qingwan's life, apart from marrying Chen Cheng and bearing his children, she only ever showed any affection for Li An in the early years.

Moreover, people always have a desire to express themselves; he had long ceased to see Mu Qingwan as a threat, so he could freely share the deepest secrets of his heart.

Now thinking back, it must have been Mu Qingwan who revealed them to Chen Qingling.

These mother and daughter, whom he had long ceased to guard against, dealt him the heaviest blow.

"Wretch, you think hanging yourself to death will end it? I'll have your head fed to the dogs!"

At this thought, he remained filled with hatred in his heart.

"Chen Qingling..."

The demon cultivator narrowed his eyes, "So, this girl actually manipulated that black-hearted Talisman Master, she's the real winner..."

"Heh, a black-hearted Talisman Master actually got conned by a woman... interesting."

"Bring us her mother's corpse."

He spoke nonchalantly.

Zhao Xian hurried to agree.

"Alright, keep this matter confidential, continue as the patriarch of the Zhao family."

"Go bring the corpse, and you may leave."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Xian was instantly filled with joy; he actually had nothing to worry about?!

"Thank you, sirs, thank you so much. From now on, I will serve the sirs with absolute loyalty!"

With that, he got up and left.

"What do you mean by this, Yu Jie? Just let this Zhao guy off the hook like this?" the demon cultivator beside him spoke discontentedly.

"Zhen Sha, if Zhao Xian is killed, all our years of effort would be wasted; keeping him possibly holds potential value."

Yu Jie smiled slightly, "This time, Zhao Xian went all out against Li An. Do you think he would seek revenge in the future?"

"If we kill Zhao Xian now, aren't we doing Li An a favor?"

"Besides, there's Chen Qingling; find her... This girl is quite ruthless and seems to have more potential for cultivation than Zhao Xian."

Zhen Sha nodded, "But she might be hard to find..."

"So, we need to use Mu Qingwan's corpse... Be patient, she'll take the bait sooner or later."

...

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.