Chen Changyan, his eyes filled with memories, spoke, "I was not even ten years old a century ago, but I still vividly remember the terrifying calamity caused by the demonic cultivators."
After he finished speaking, he glanced at the heads in the cellar and continued, "Fortunately, this little demon didn't dare to act recklessly in the city and only secretly killed dozens of people. Otherwise, if he'd had the chance to slaughter a few thousand people to refine a demonic treasure, even a late-stage Qi Refining cultivator might not have been able to stop him."
Elian listened quietly, his gaze tinged with a faint trace of killing intent.
For now, it seemed this demonic cultivator dared not act openly. However, if the Chen family were to weaken, such hidden dangers would likely be the first to strike, bringing calamity upon the Chen Immortal Clan and its mortal descendants.
Throughout history, countless immortal families had been targeted by demonic cultivators during their decline, losing the support of their mortal bloodlines. This fundamental loss eventually reduced them to precarious wandering cultivators, disappearing into the river of time.
"It seems we made the right decision to act decisively and root them out early," Elian thought.
After thoroughly inspecting the demonic cultivator's residence and finding no additional clues, the group returned to the city square.
The inspections continued, and two more days passed. On this day, another demonic cultivator appeared.
This demonic cultivator wasn't detected through the inspections but instead attacked when summoned, trying to kill the messenger and escape out of fear of being exposed.
Unfortunately for him, the city-protection formation had long since been activated, turning Pingyang City into an inescapable trap. Even a Foundation Establishment demonic cultivator wouldn't escape easily.
In the end, the Fourth Elder, Chen Qingyuan, personally intervened and used his magical artifact to slay the demonic cultivator at the city's edge. For the next few days, the situation quieted down as if all the demonic cultivators had vanished.
One night, in a large courtyard within the city, five figures in black robes gathered and whispered among themselves.
"Everyone, it seems the Chen family has truly resolved to leave us no way out this time."
"We can't just sit and wait to die. The only chance we have to survive is to take the initiative and fight back," the leader said. This person was a demonic cultivator at the eighth level of Qi Refining. His appearance was handsome, but his eyes glowed with a blood-red hue.
The others seemed somewhat fearful of him, though one of them sneered and said, "Han Mo, your master is the infamous Elder Zhang of the Demon Lair. Surely, he has a way to get us out of here?"
"Now you're pushing us to fight. Are you using us as cannon fodder?"
The other demonic cultivators became wary of Han Mo after hearing this.
Elder Zhang was a well-known and devious Foundation Establishment demonic cultivator from Yu County. He was infamous for his ruthlessness, willing to use any means to achieve his goals.
Han Mo, relying on his connection to Elder Zhang, had always acted arrogantly, instilling fear in others.
Han Mo remained silent for a moment before finally speaking.
"Even we didn't expect the Chen family to act so decisively."
"Junior Brother Zhang was my master's own blood relative. Yet, even after sacrificing thousands of mortals in a blood ritual, he was slain by the Chen family elders."
"I'm just a nominal disciple. Do you think I have any secret escape plans? Our only chance is to fight our way out together."
Not wanting to appear weak, he added, "But don't worry. After these ten days, my master has surely realized what's happening."
"If we coordinate from within to break through their city-protection formation, my master will tear through the formation and save us."
The doubting demonic cultivator still harbored suspicions but reluctantly agreed, seeing no other choice.
"Then there's no time to lose. Let's act tonight."
At midnight, near the core of Pingyang City's protective formation, more than twenty cultivators carefully guarded the area.
Suddenly, the Great Elder opened his eyes, a sharp light flashing in them.
"Who's there?"
"Swish—"
Several magical lights shot out of the darkness, revealing themselves to be demonic treasures.
The Great Elder immediately reacted, wielding his magical warblade to deflect the strongest demonic treasure.
The battle erupted in an instant. Although the demonic cultivators' ambush caught the defenders off guard, the Chen family cultivators were not entirely unprepared.
Despite the sudden attack, most quickly rallied and fought back with their magical artifacts and techniques. Only one cultivator failed to react in time and was gravely injured.
The battle soon turned against the demonic cultivators.
Seeing the situation deteriorate, Han Mo gritted his teeth and took out a blood-red demonic blade, spitting a mouthful of essence blood onto it.
This blade, known as the Blood-Refining Demonic Blade, was forged from a thousand-year-old Crimson Iron by Elder Zhang. However, it was still only an embryonic form and required the blood of ten thousand mortals to be fully forged.
Once completed, the blade would be a top-tier second-level demonic treasure, capable of killing most Foundation Establishment cultivators with a single strike and draining their life essence completely.
Elder Zhang had entrusted this blade to Han Mo, hoping he could use it to blood-sacrifice enough mortals while the Chen family was in decline to complete the weapon.
But Elder Zhang, being naturally cautious and fearing the Chen family's Sunfire Formation, dared not enter Pingyang City himself, leaving the task to his disciples instead.
Now, to break the stalemate, Han Mo activated the blade using his own essence blood, severely damaging his vitality in the process.
"Not good!"
The Great Elder's expression changed upon seeing the demonic blade.
"It's a second-tier demonic treasure."
"I need time to activate the Sunfire Formation. Hold them off for a moment!"
The others immediately responded, summoning all their strength to delay the blade.
Though only an embryonic form, the Blood-Refining Demonic Blade's power rivaled that of a second-tier lower-grade magical artifact.
As it descended, even first-tier mid-grade and lower-grade magical artifacts shattered instantly, and first-tier high-grade magical artifacts were damaged and flung aside. Three unfortunate Chen family cultivators were sliced in half and drained of their life essence.
During these critical moments, those resting in the side hall arrived at the battlefield.
Elian was the first to charge forward, summoning his Golden Light Blade to clash with the demonic blade. However, it was knocked away instantly.
Realizing that the Golden Light Blade couldn't hold, he gritted his teeth and summoned his Greenleaf Sword. This time, instead of targeting the demonic blade, he aimed directly at Han Mo's head.
This strategy of attacking the enemy leader proved effective. At the brink of death, Han Mo was forced to abandon his attack on the Great Elder and redirect the demonic blade toward the Greenleaf Sword. With one clash, the Greenleaf Sword's glow dimmed, and its spiritual essence was severely damaged.