"Granduncle."
In the great mansion of the Merchant Li family in the Imperial Capital, Li Yuanshang, panting heavily from just a few steps of jogging, dragged his rotund body into the family's Ancestral Hall, where he saw a tall, upright back.
That person was none other than Su Chen, who had been traveling the world to cultivate and gain experience.
Years ago, after emerging from the secret realm, he had returned to the Imperial Capital and married a daughter of the Liu family.
Yet, even a beautiful and charming wife could not tether this wild dragon who roamed the world.
However, upon receiving a clan letter from Li Xinnian and Nangong Qingya, Su Chen had ended his cultivation and rushed to the Imperial Capital.
After gazing intently at the many spirit tablets in the Ancestral Hall for a long time, Su Chen finally turned around slowly.
He glanced at Li Yuanshang, who was wiping a head full of sweat, and couldn't help but furrow his brow.
"Yuanshang? I took your father, Zhiheng, to cultivate for a few years; Zhiheng is devoted to cultivation. How did you, his child, become fat to this extent?"
He weighed at least 200 kg, looking for all the world like a Golden Toad.
In all his years roaming the world, this was the first time Su Chen had ever seen someone so obese.
If he hadn't sensed the familiar bloodline aura emanating from Li Yuanshang, he would have thought this was a fake member of the Li family.
"Ahem." Li Yuanshang gave an awkward laugh.
"I'm in the business of trade, you see. When I first came to the Imperial Capital, I was actually quite slender.
But later, I had no choice. I had to wine and dine the powerful nobles, eating nothing but delicacies from the mountains and seas.
This went on for decades, and I just couldn't digest all that spiritual qi..."
Su Chen was momentarily speechless.
He secretly resolved to help him lose some weight if he ever had the time, then immediately began discussing the Zhao Clan matters with Li Yuanshang.
Their conversation carried over to the dining table, where eighteen courses of exquisite delicacies were served, their fragrance filling the air.
Su Chen furrowed his brow; the food Li Yuanshang had the kitchen prepare was so enticing that even he felt his appetite stirring.
"The three clan elders went to the Zhao Clan's old site to investigate many years ago. What destroyed the Zhao Clan's glory back then... was a Fiend!"
"A Fiend?" Su Chen furrowed his brow slightly.
In his past life, he had also encountered Fiends.
Without exception, these Fiends possessed formidable innate talents and were truly difficult to deal with.
However, these existences, intolerable to the world, mostly hide in various places.
They were not as heinously evil as the legends proclaimed; usually, if people did not provoke them, they would not provoke people.
As for the demonic cultivators currently practicing in the world, they merely cultivated the techniques of Fiends and couldn't be considered to have learned even a fraction of a true Fiend's power.
"It was a Fiend. But as to why that Fiend slaughtered its way into the Zhao Clan back then, no one knows."
Li Yuanshang let out a long breath.
"However, after their investigation, the three clan elders confirmed that back then, the Zhao Clan possessed one Integration realm cultivator and six Void Refining elders. They enjoyed a time of supreme glory."
Hearing this, a trace of confusion flashed across Su Chen's face.
He wondered why Li Yuanshang was speaking only of the Zhao Clan's history from one hundred and sixty thousand years ago.
"One of them cultivated the Dao of Wood and Plants.
He transformed his physical body into a lotus, forging a form as pure as ice and jade, capable of drawing the spiritual power of Heaven and Earth into himself.
This person's Void Refining Dharma Body possessed inexhaustible spiritual power.
Within the realm of his Void Refining Space, he refined his very body into the space itself. As long as the lotus platform remains undestroyed, his body will not perish."
Hearing this, Su Chen's expression changed.
Battles at the Void Refining realm take place within Void Refining Spaces.
Each space possesses its own Rules, making the battle a contest of the combatants' Rules and techniques.
Those who refine their bodies together with their space may possess slightly weaker spiritual power intensity, but they are also the most difficult to deal with.
To kill such a person, one must either exhaust all of their spiritual power or locate their Divine Soul—their fatal weak point.
"There was another who cultivated the Art of Formations, excelling at utilizing the Qi of Heaven and Earth to forge spiritual Formations.
His own Void Refining Space served as the foundation of the formation; with every move, a formation was established."
"Using oneself as the formation?"
Su Chen took a deep breath. "How are these two so difficult to deal with?"
Even in his past life, he had no desire to contend with Formation Masters.
Among the Three Thousand Great Daos under heaven, the Dao of Formations was known to all, a testament to its extraordinary nature.
To use one's own Void Refining Space as the foundation for a formation meant that fighting within their space was equivalent to battling a Void Refining expert inside their own trap.
Li Yuanshang, however, paid no mind to this; he was merely relaying the findings of the clan elders.
"There was another who used Void Refining spiritual power as spirit seedlings.
With Void Refining techniques alone, they could borrow the Spirit Qi of Heaven and Earth to plant immortal seedlings, feeding a million people.
From the ruins, it was evident that this person also participated in the battle.
These immortal seedlings could save lives, but they could also transform into weapons to kill, and could even be infused with their own spiritual power; ordinary people would be hard-pressed to withstand a single blow."
All three were individuals of extraordinary natural talent and formidable combat power!
"The experts of the Immortal Zhao Clan from one hundred and sixty thousand years ago were actually this terrifying."
Su Chen asked in confusion, "Yuanshang, I only asked you about the Li clan's current enemies. Why are you discussing these people who are already dead?"
A shadow of gloom appeared on Li Yuanshang's face.