As the Liu Clan ship neared, the appearances of the old man and the other three who accompanied him grew clearer. Behind them appeared seven or eight Qi Condensation Clan members, all of whom wore expressions of disdain.
Standing next to the Liu Clan Patriarch was a middle-aged man. He smiled and said, “Zhang Wenfang, what’s your hurry? Now that you’ve abandoned your Zhang Clan island, where exactly do you think you’re going?”
1
Zhang Wenfang walked to the stern of the ship, took a deep breath and then said, “Junior offers greetings, senior Liu. Senior, we’ve abandoned our island, and would simply like to get as far away as possible. Our two Clans were friends in the past. Don’t tell me you won’t even give us a chance to survive?” The other Zhang Clan Cultivators gathered around her, their faces filled with extreme grief and indignation.
The young woman’s words were directed, not toward the man who had spoken, but toward the Liu Clan Patriarch. Despite matters having reached their current state, she still addressed him respectfully.
The Liu Clan Patriarch said nothing; he merely looked on with a proud expression. The Clan member standing next to him was the one to respond, his tone of voice filled with ridicule. “What a joke! Do you really take us to be three-year-old children? Do you really think we don’t know of your plan, Zhang Wenfang? You’re obviously journeying to the Footloose Clan!”
“Junior can abandon everything, even deliver our island to you, senior. I can also swear that we have no intention to encroach on what is not ours. I just beg of you to be a bit lenient….” Zhang Wenfang’s face was pale, but before she could finish speaking, the Liu Clan Patriarch frowned.
“Pipe down!” he said coolly, his voice echoing about like thunder in all directions. The seawater roiled, and the minds of the Zhang Wenfang and the other Clan members filled with a droning sound.
One sentence, two words. All of the Qi Condensation Clan members coughed up blood. Only Zhang Wenfang and the other Foundation Establishment Cultivators got by with only pale faces. Their expressions were filled with increasing hopelessness.
“Where do you come up with so much nonsense?” said the Liu Clan Patriarch, his voice cool. “Kill them all! Old people, children, don’t leave a single one alive!” With that, he waved his sleeve, and the surrounding Liu Clan members flew up into the air, vicious expressions on their faces.
Zhang Wenfang clenched her teeth and looked back at the ship’s quarterdeck. “Senior Liu!” she suddenly cried. “If you have a quarrel with the Zhang Clan, you can kill us, but do you really dare to trifle with our honored guest?!”
“Still making things up?” said the Liu Clan Patriarch with a cold snort. “You expect me to believe that the Zhang Clan has a Nascent Soul guest aboard? Or is it a Spirit Severing expert? Wouldn’t that be a bit more threatening?” He had already swept the ship with Spiritual Sense, and had detected only the Zhang Clan Cultivators and mortals on the ship, no one else.
By this point, the Liu Clan Cultivators were closing in. A glowing shield sprang up from the Zhang Clan ship, blocking their progress. However, it couldn’t do anything to stop the Liu Clan Patriarch. With a single palm strike, he caused a deafening boom to ring out. The ship sank down by more than half into the water, and the shield shattered into fragments.
The Liu Clan Cultivators proceeded onward with vicious grins. As soon as they reached the boat, Zhang Wenfang and the other three Foundation Establishment Cultivators unleashed magical items and flashed incantations to summon magical techniques. Booms instantly rang out.
The massacre had begun.
“The Patriarch has issued the orders! Eliminate them completely, root and branch. They can only blame their own name of Zhang.”
Some of the Liu Clan Qi Condensation Cultivators, with hideous grins on their faces, headed toward the pale-faced and terrified youngsters. Zhang Wenfang’s eyes turned red, and the Clan members next to her were on the verge of going crazy and risking everything.
The Liu Clan Patriarch hovered in mid-air, staring superciliously out of the corner of his eyes. To him, all of these people were clearly insects.
However, it was at this moment, a calm voice suddenly echoed out from within the Zhang Clan’s ship.