"Junior Sister!~"
Wang Quan's voice pulled Chen Jinshu out of her troubled thoughts about the three survivors. As soon as he descended from the spirit ship, he flew directly toward her.
"That demonic cultivator who destroyed the city—where is he?"
"He left. But I don't know if he'll return."
Four fellow disciples from the sect, all at the Foundation Establishment stage like Wang Quan but barely at its early stage, followed behind him.
"You know the situation in Guanghan Immortal City. We don't have many Foundation Establishment disciples to spare. Having this many come is already a great effort," Wang Quan said with an apologetic tone.
"It's fine. The fact that senior brothers came is already a great honor to me. The full account of what happened is recorded in this memory stone. Please see for yourselves."
Chen Jinshu handed over the prepared memory stone to Wang Quan.
While they examined the recorded images, Chen Jinshu turned to the three young survivors behind her and brought them back onto the spirit ship. She didn't want them to see the footage—it was too gruesome, too cruel. It would leave scars they might never be able to erase.
"Immortal sister, where are we going now?" Chen Yan asked timidly.
"Later, Senior Brother Wang Quan will take you to Guanghan Immortal City. If all goes well, you'll be admitted into the Xuanming Sect."
"To even become outer disciples, you'll need to cultivate a certain level of strength. You'll start out as menial disciples, doing basic tasks."
"Thank you for the guidance, Senior Sister." The three nodded like chicks pecking at rice.
"There's not much else I can do to help you. If you ever find yourselves in real trouble, come find me on Medicine King Peak."
"I'll help you—just once. Only once. Think carefully before you come."
Back outside, Wang Quan and the others had begun watching the memory stone's recording. It started from a distance—specifically from the Water Azure Stone mining area where Chen Jinshu had first noticed something was wrong.
She had very little time to react then, so she made preparations quickly: sending a distress signal and having Xiao Yin carry the memory stone to record everything.
When the scene shifted to Yulian City, what it captured was terrifying—an entire city reduced to ruins. A flood of fleeing citizens were mercilessly slaughtered, with no chance to resist. Many were torn apart by spells mid-run, reduced to nothing but flesh chunks, while others were crushed on the spot—shattered in the blink of an eye.
Wang Quan stopped watching after seeing most of it, his eyes dim. It was the first time he had seen such a brutal city-wide massacre. His gaze stayed fixed on the demonic cultivator in black robes, and on those rogue cultivators who tried to resist but were utterly powerless.
They had tried to protect the people—but in the face of a Foundation Establishment cultivator, Qi Refining cultivators were like ants.
"Quickly clean up the surroundings. We're leaving soon." Wang Quan instructed the pale-faced Foundation Establishment disciples around him. A short while later, they used spells to retrieve the corpses from the rubble and cremated them.
An hour passed by the time the task was done.
During that time, Chen Jinshu had been educating the three survivors about the basics of the cultivation world—ensuring they wouldn't become lost in it due to ignorance. After all, they were still just eight or nine years old. They bore the burden of great vengeance and a future filled with uncertainty. It was a time when children should be carefree. Without guidance, they could easily stray down the wrong path.
"You'll need to help each other going forward. This is all I can offer you." She tucked a high-grade Tier One defensive talisman into each of their robes—something that could protect them in a moment of danger.
"These are your defensive talismans. Keep them safe."
"Thank you, Senior Sister!"
"Junior Sister Chen! Everything has been handled."
"In that case, let's head out," Chen Jinshu nodded and brought the three children over to Wang Quan.
"These three all have spiritual roots, but we don't yet know their attributes. I'll leave them in your care. If possible, I hope you can help them join the sect."
"Of course. I'll take responsibility for them. You've been busy, Junior Sister. You should rest now."
Chen Jinshu nodded and quietly walked back to her room on the ship.
…
An hour passed.
Wang Quan steered the spirit ship toward Guanghan Immortal City. Chen Jinshu's purpose for this trip, beyond ensuring the three survivors were properly placed, was also to investigate the truth behind Chen Wenshan's death.
In the past few days at home, she had questioned her mother thoroughly for any clues about her father's past. Her mother had said that her father had decent cultivation—just slightly weaker than her second uncle. With the right opportunity, he might've reached Qi Refining Level 9 like him.
He also knew quite a few powerful techniques. Yet, he'd died during a beast hunt. At the time, Wu Shuya could hardly accept the news—her children had only recently come of age.
An investigation at the time ruled it an accident during the hunt. Her mother, though unwilling to believe it, had to accept it for the sake of her daughters. Without the clan's support, they wouldn't have survived. Thankfully, the Chen family gave them a decent amount of help, allowing the three of them to live in relative safety for a while.
Her sister, Chen Jinfang, eventually became part of the main Wang family thanks to the Chen family's support. Though her recent life wasn't ideal, Chen Jinshu's mother said her sister still refused to leave the Wang family. While the Wang family didn't treat her well, her in-laws and children did. If she left, her children would lose their support. That thought alone kept her from leaving.
Wu Shuya never interfered with her daughters' choices—she only gave advice. So she didn't try to persuade Chen Jinfang otherwise. Later, Chen Jinshu managed to track down the family members who had gone with her father on that fateful beast hunt and questioned them in detail.
Chen Wenshan had also been part of that group. By all accounts, his performance was excellent—some said even better than her father's.
No one suspected him.
But Chen Jinshu didn't agree. Why hadn't the blood ape beast struck to kill? Why had it gone berserk and turned on them, killing so many in the process?
It was supposedly only at Qi Refining Level 9—but its fur and flesh were worth as much as a Foundation-tier spirit beast.
That allure had clouded their judgment. They decided to fight it. And they suffered dearly. Nearly half of them died, and they still lost the beast in the end. However, the elder who led the group gave her a crucial clue.
He later saw materials from that very same blood ape for sale in Guanghan Immortal City. The cultivation level, the attributes—they were identical. Which meant the beast had been killed after all. The hunting grounds were remote, but still within Chen family territory.
That meant whoever sold the beast was likely from the Chen clan. Given the past animosity between Chen Wenshan and her father, the real culprit wasn't hard to guess.