Building a Martial Dao Celestial Family by Laying Low

Inside the ruined temple, Liu Gongquan’s Spiritual Sense swept over the man tending the fire. He found the man’s aura to be perfectly ordinary, no different from a common mountain villager, with no sign of Inner Qi circulating in his body. Completely reassured, he didn’t spare him a second glance.

He directed his people to sit down in a relatively clean spot on the other side of the temple. The group took out their dry rations and water flasks, eating and resting in silence.

Luo Yuzhen, however, found a corner by herself, sat cross-legged against the wall, and closed her eyes to meditate.

Before long, the sound of footsteps came from outside the temple entrance.

A skinny, rat-whiskered man and a fair-skinned man walked in, carrying four pheasants that had already been cleaned.

The rat-whiskered man grinned. "Looks like our luck is good tonight. We’re going to eat well."

The fair-faced man, however, glanced at the Liu Family group without a word.

The two walked over to Chen Li, ignoring everyone else, and skillfully placed the pheasants into the pot of boiling water. They then took out some salt and wild ginger they were carrying and sprinkled them in.

In no time, the rich aroma of chicken soup filled the air, whetting everyone’s appetite.

The members of the Liu Family, who were gnawing on their dry rations, couldn’t help but sniff the air, their gazes repeatedly drifting toward the pot of hot soup.

Even Liu Gongquan felt that the dry rations in his mouth were as tasteless as wax, and he couldn’t help but steal a few more glances.

A quick-witted Honored Guest with the surname Zhao immediately understood.

He stood up and walked over to Chen Li’s group. "Hey, you three. We want this chicken soup. Here, we’re buying it from you."

As he spoke, he tossed out a five-tael Silver Yuanbao.

Bai San immediately jumped to his feet, glaring. "Bah! Who gives a damn about your silver? You think we’re just a bunch of beggars? Scram!"

The Zhao-surnamed Honored Guest’s expression darkened. He snorted coldly. "You don’t know what’s good for you."

Before the words even left his mouth, his right hand shot out like lightning. His five fingers formed a claw, kicking up a fierce gust of wind as he lunged for Bai San’s shoulder blade.

With his Cultivation at the Spirit Realm Meridian Passage, if this claw were to land true, Bai San’s shoulder would be shattered.

In that split second, Chen Li, who had been tending the fire all along, didn’t even raise his head. He simply reached out a hand, casually grabbing Bai San’s clothes and giving a gentle tug backward.

Bai San was pulled back like a leaf, and the Honored Guest’s guaranteed strike hit nothing but air.

Only then did Chen Li lift his gaze. He glanced at the enraged Honored Guest, then over at the Liu Family, and said slowly, "Since you all want it, it’s just a pot of soup. Go ahead, take it."

Bai San muttered a few defiant words, but a look from Chen Li made him back down and step aside.

Seeing them back down, the Honored Guest laughed smugly. "At least you know your place."

He paid Chen Li and Bai San no further mind, walking straight up to the fire. He lifted the scalding iron pot and turned to leave.

Returning to the Liu Family’s side of the temple, he placed the pot before Liu Gongquan. "Patriarch, please, help yourself."

Liu Gongquan, smelling the fragrant aroma, was just about to partake when he felt a cold gaze pierce him.

He looked up and met the eyes of his wife, Luo Yuzhen.

Luo Yuzhen’s lips didn’t move, but her voice carried directly to his ears. ’You dare consume something of unknown origin?’

Startled, Liu Gongquan quickly retracted his hand in embarrassment. He waved the Honored Guest away. "Ahem... I’m not hungry. You’ve all had a long journey; you share it."

The Honored Guest was slightly disappointed, but since the Patriarch had spoken, he didn’t stand on ceremony. He, along with the other Honored Guests, began to feast heartily.

Luo Yuzhen, Liu Gongquan, and two other, more cautious Honored Guests didn’t touch the food.

After about the time it takes an incense stick to burn...

Suddenly, one of the Honored Guests’ faces changed dramatically. Cold sweat beaded on his forehead as he cried out in horror, "Oh no! The chicken is poisoned!"

Before he could finish, the faces of the other Honored Guests who had eaten the chicken turned ashen.

"Damn it, my Inner Strength... I can’t summon it!"

They tried to circulate their Inner Qi, only to find their Inner Strength completely frozen and sluggish. Their limbs grew sore and weak, and they could no longer even stand steadily.

The ruined temple descended into chaos as the Liu Family party fell into disarray.

Liu Gongquan was livid. "Who in the hell are you? To resort to such a despicable trick, poisoning us!"

Bai San shielded Chen Li, yelling at the top of his lungs, "What kind of bullshit is that?! We hunted that chicken for ourselves! Your people were the ones who acted like thugs and stole it. Now you’ve been poisoned by your own greed, and you’re trying to blame us?"

"You sharp-tongued beast! You’re courting death!"

These words, which twisted right and wrong, sent Liu Gongquan into a towering rage. His fury completely overwhelmed his reason.

He wasted no more words. His right hand formed a claw, whipping up a vicious gale as he aimed for Bai San’s skull, intending to kill the loud-mouthed punk with a single strike and vent his fury.

However, before his attack could reach Bai San...

Chen Li, who had been silent until now, finally moved.

He took a single, simple step forward.

An indescribable pressure emanated from Chen Li, spreading outward.

He grasped at the empty air, and the Qiankun Ruyi Staff materialized in his hand.

Facing Liu Gongquan’s seemingly ferocious and peerless strike, Chen Li simply swung his staff downward.

There were no flashy techniques, only the purest form of power and speed.

It was too fast for anyone to react.

He struck second, but his blow landed first!

"BANG!"

A deafening CRACK echoed through the temple.

The instant the staff and claw met, Liu Gongquan proved as fragile as paper. He couldn’t resist for even a moment as his arm shattered, inch by inch, with a sickening crunch of breaking bone.

"Aaaargh!"

Liu Gongquan let out a wretched scream.

Blood sprayed from his mouth as his body was sent flying backward, completely out of his control.

CRASH!

He smashed straight through the temple’s already crumbling back wall and vanished into the thick darkness outside. A dull thud followed, then silence. His fate was unknown.

It all happened in the blink of an eye. An expert of the Spirit Realm Third Level had been utterly defeated.

’A Void Transformation Grandmaster?’

The moment Chen Li’s power erupted, the pupils of Luo Yuzhen, who had been on high alert, contracted sharply.

But she had no time to rescue her husband.

SHIIIING!

A clear ring of a sword echoed through the ruined temple as a Longsword appeared in her hand.

The blade was long and narrow, glowing with an eerie, cold blue light.

It was her personal weapon, the Ice Soul Sword.

As the sword’s light flared, a chill radiated outward, instantly coating the ground in a layer of white frost.

"Die!"

Luo Yuzhen shrieked, pouring all of her Power into the Ice Soul Sword.

VMMMM!

The blade trembled violently as an incredibly dense, seven-foot-long, ice-blue sword aura erupted from its tip.

The aura pulsed, bathing the dark temple in an eerie blue light.

This was her ultimate technique, the very move that had made her famous: the seven-foot Ice Soul Sword Aura.

The sword aura pulsed erratically, emitting a faint crackling sound.

Her body moved with the sword, achieving Sword and Man Unity, transforming into a peerless streak of cold blue light aimed straight for Chen Li’s heart.

Before the blade even arrived, its chilling Sword Intent seemed to freeze the very air around Chen Li.

But faced with a killing blow that would have instantly slain any ordinary Spirit Realm Powerhouse, Chen Li showed no signs of panic.

With a flick of his wrist, he brought the Qiankun Ruyi Staff down in a casual, powerful slash.

The tip of the staff struck precisely at the densest point of the seven-foot sword aura.

"CRACK!"

An exceptionally sharp crack rang out.

The supposedly invincible seven-foot Ice Soul Sword Aura, faced with the absolute power of the Qiankun Ruyi Staff, proved as fragile as glass.

It shattered instantly, exploding into countless tiny ice-blue motes of light that scattered in every direction.

The sword aura was shattered by brute force.

As if struck by a massive blow, Luo Yuzhen shuddered violently. The recoil tore the sleeve on her sword arm to shreds, burst the webbing between her thumb and forefinger, and left her hand dripping with blood.

But Chen Li’s assault didn’t stop there.

The Qiankun Ruyi Staff, having shattered the aura, now swung upward, faster than Luo Yuzhen could possibly react.

"CLANG!"

Another sharp ring.

An irresistible, titanic force surged up the blade of her sword.

A powerful backlash of Inner Qi slammed into her body. Her meridians felt as if they were being torn apart, her organs thrown into disarray.

The Longsword flew from her grasp, landing with a CLATTER and sticking into the ground some distance away.

"PUH!"

A sweet taste filled her throat as she spat a mouthful of blood, her body flying backward uncontrollably to crash heavily onto the ground.

Her face was ashen, her aura all but extinguished.

From Chen Li’s first move to her utter defeat, only two or three exchanges had passed.

The difference in their strength was overwhelming.

There was never any doubt about the outcome.

"Who... who are you?"

Luo Yuzhen struggled to speak, her voice hoarse and weak, laced with a final trace of defiance. "There is... no great hatred between us. Isn’t it ridiculous to fight to the death over a few chickens? The Liu Family is willing to compensate you ten, even a hundred times over. Let us turn hostility into friendship, what do you say?"

Chen Li advanced, staff in hand, his face devoid of expression.

Seeing this, a grim light flashed in Luo Yuzhen’s eyes. "My husband and I are both disciples of the Celestial Sword Sect. If you kill us... the Celestial Sword Sect will hunt you to the death."

But his only reply was the merciless swing of the Qiankun Ruyi Staff.

"Wait!"

Luo Yuzhen screamed.

But it was too late.

SQUELCH!

The tip of the staff pierced through her heart without any resistance.

Her body stiffened, and the light in her eyes faded rapidly.

She breathed her last and collapsed, her eyes wide open in death.

She died without ever knowing why he had to kill her.

’Was it really just over a few chickens?’

While Chen Li was killing Luo Yuzhen, Shu Qi and Bai San were efficiently dispatching the poisoned Honored Guests of the Liu Family.

"Boss, this Hundred Flowers Intoxicated Immortal Powder is amazing stuff! Even Spirit Realm experts can’t handle it. How about you spare some for me?"

Bai San sidled up to Chen Li with a cheeky grin.

Chen Li shot him a look.

Bai San froze. The smile on his face vanished, and he quickly lowered his head, not daring to say another word.

Just then, Shu Qi dragged someone in from outside the temple.

It was Liu Gongquan—arm broken, shoulder caved in, bleeding from his mouth and nose, and barely clinging to life.

"Why?"

Liu Gongquan struggled to lift his head, his eyes fixed on Chen Li. They were filled with a mixture of ultimate rage, terror, and baffled confusion. "Who are you? What grievous hatred does my Liu Family... have with you? Why would you do this? Why try to wipe us out?"

Chen Li simply smiled, not saying a word. He had no intention of explaining himself.

He gave the Qiankun Ruyi Staff a casual swing.

With a dull thud,

Liu Gongquan’s head burst like a ripe watermelon.

He died without ever understanding why.

Deathly silence returned to the ruined temple.

"Dammit, these paupers didn’t have a single valuable thing on them,"

Shu Qi and Bai San grumbled as they returned from dealing with the bodies.

"Boss, where to next?" Bai San asked.

"Qingshui. The Liu Family estate."

Chen Li’s gaze turned to the east.

He had gone to great lengths, using Liu Dazhu to lure the Liu Family out, only because he was worried a fight with a Grandmaster like Luo Yuzhen would attract the attention of the Government Office.

Now, that concern was gone.