Chapter 36: The Patriarch of the Fu Family

Chapter 36: The Ancestor of the Fu Family

A bronze pillar, to which Fu Hongying was bound, stood atop a dark red altar covered in intricate, complex patterns.

Around the altar stood seven or eight figures, among them Fu Qiushui.

At this moment, Fu Qiushui’s cultivation had been sealed. She looked haggard, and tears streamed incessantly from the corners of her eyes.

"Big Brother, must we really sacrifice the child, Hongying?" Fu Qiushui asked, her tone filled with reluctance.

"The concentration of purple blood in Hongying’s body is the highest; the Ancestor has already named her..."

The head of the Fu family, Fu Cangyun, his expression shifting, sighed softly and said in a deep voice, "For the sake of the Fu family's prosperity for generations to come, we have no choice but to sacrifice Fu Hongying."

"But..."

Before Fu Qiushui could finish, she was interrupted by a middle-aged man standing nearby.

"But what? The higher the Ancestor's cultivation, the stronger his feedback to our Fu family becomes, and thus, our family grows more powerful! Fu Hongying is making a contribution to the entire family; there is nothing to discuss here!"

"You will regret this..." Fu Qiushui let out a bitter, wretched laugh.

If the old ancestor of the Qingyun Sect were to find out that Fu Hongying was dead, she could only imagine the fury he would unleash to level the entire Fu family.

"Regret? Third Sister, what is the meaning of this?" Fu Cangyun’s gaze turned cold.

The others cast cold, blade-like glares at her as well.

Fu Qiushui bit her lip, preparing to reveal the truth. "Fu Hongying has a former lover who is the ancestor of the Qingyun Sect. His cultivation is..."

"The Qingyun Sect? Hahaha! Third Sister, have you lost your mind? The highest power in that tiny Qingyun Sect is merely at the peak of the tenth level of the Divine Void Realm—our Ancestor could crush them with a single finger!" The middle-aged man acted eccentrically, rudely interrupting her and laughing loudly.

Upon hearing the mention of the Qingyun Sect, the other high-ranking members of the Fu family burst into laughter.

As one of the most ancient aristocratic families in Youzhou, the Fu family’s surface strength was not inferior to the Qingyun Sect. If one were to include the Ancestor, he alone could wipe out the entire sect with one hand.

The piercing laughter caused Fu Qiushui’s face to flush red. She used all her strength to shout hysterically, "Family Head, the Qingyun Sect has an expert at the Transcendence Realm!"

"Hahaha!" The group burst into another round of uproarious laughter.

"Third Sister, have you truly gone senile? How could the Qingyun Sect possibly have a Transcendence Realm expert?" the middle-aged man sneered.

"The Qingyun Sect doesn't even have a Void Spirit Realm expert, so where would they get a Transcendence Realm one?" Fu Cangyun waved his hand, laughing dismissively.

Deep beneath the earth, a series of dull thuds echoed. The blood within everyone’s bodies suddenly surged, as if resonating with some hidden power.

The group felt invigorated. The Ancestor had finished his closed-door cultivation and was about to emerge.

On the altar, purple light flickered, manifesting into an old man in purple robes. On the chest of the robes was a pattern of a purple insect.

The old man’s aura was formidable, his body wreathed in purple blood energy, his purple eyes flashing with light. His current cultivation had reached the peak of the first level of the Void Spirit Realm.

"You have done well. This girl’s purple blood concentration is high." The Fu family Ancestor looked at Fu Hongying with satisfaction, smiling as he said, "Once I break through to the second level of the Void Spirit Realm, I shall certainly perform the Purple Blood Return Technique to provide you all with feedback."

"Thank you, Ancestor." The high-ranking members of the Fu family wore looks of intense excitement.

With practiced synchronization, they sat around the altar in a specific order, forming a strange hand seal, and purple blood energy began to flow within them as well.

Fu Qiushui did not move. Her expression was filled with sorrow. Looking at this group of lunatics, she felt as if she had been plunged into an ice cellar; her heart had frozen over.

Three hundred years ago, the Fu family Ancestor, whose lifespan was nearing its end, had inexplicably learned a bizarre technique called the Purple Blood Return Technique and successfully extended his life. He had passed this technique down to the members of the Fu family. Practicing it would gradually turn one’s blood purple. Once the purple blood appeared, a connection was established with the Ancestor. He could absorb the purple blood of his descendants to boost his own strength, or provide feedback of blood to them, greatly increasing their power.

This was the secret to the Fu family’s rapid rise in strength over the last three hundred years—a secret they kept under tight wraps. The Ancestor had decreed that no Fu disciple outside the main house was to use the technique. As long as it remained unused, the purple blood would stay hidden deep within the bone marrow, undetectable to others.

The Ancestor looked at the unconscious Fu Hongying and walked slowly toward her. A greedy glint appeared in his eyes. "Truly, the heavens are helping me. This Seven-Star Soul-Breaking Poison only targets the spirit; it does not affect the quality of the purple blood at all..."

Suddenly, a communication flying sword drifted silently into the chamber and hovered before Fu Cangyun.

Fu Cangyun took the sword and read it, his expression changing instantly.

"Cangyun, what is it?" The Ancestor asked, his hands behind his back as he stared at Fu Hongying as if she were a precious work of art.

"Ancestor, there is a man at the peak of the tenth level of the Divine Void Realm outside who demands to see Fu Hongying and Fu Qiushui. He is currently clashing with our men, and no one out there can stop him," Fu Cangyun reported.

A man at the peak of the tenth level of the Divine Void Realm?

Fu Qiushui was stunned, thinking hard. This could not be the ancestor of the Qingyun Sect; that ancestor was a Transcendence Realm practitioner.

"Could it be another lover Hongying has outside?" A startling thought emerged in Fu Qiushui’s mind, and it frightened her. Was her niece’s private life really that chaotic? When had she met another expert at the peak of the tenth level of the Divine Void Realm?

"No need to wait. It’s merely a tenth-level Divine Void Realm peak practitioner. Let him come in; I can crush him with a flick of my finger!" The Ancestor waved his large sleeve, a hint of killing intent flashing in his eyes. To an expert at the peak of the first level of the Void Spirit Realm, a tenth-level Divine Void Realm practitioner was nothing more than a slightly larger ant.

"Understood." Fu Cangyun grinned and waved his hand, sending out the communication sword.

A short while later, the heavy doors of the underground palace creaked open.

Led by a man in black, a handsome young man and woman entered the sight of the Fu family’s high-ranking members.

It was that Senior!

As soon as Fu Qiushui saw Chen Pingan, her spirit surged, as if she had finally seen a lifeline.

"Ancestor, this place is so cold!" Upon entering the underground palace, Xia Xiaoliang couldn't help but shiver, nearly dropping the steamed bun in her hand.

"Something has truly happened..." Looking at the unconscious Fu Hongying bound to the bronze pillar and Fu Qiushui with her cultivation sealed on the altar, Chen Pingan understood everything in an instant.