Vol. 1 - Ch. 10 - Senile Confusion

"Luckily, we discovered their tracks in advance and retreated quickly. Only a few members sustained minor injuries, nothing serious," the messenger replied."That's good! That's good!" Chen Xingzhen muttered. This left the young man who came to report the news stunned.

The clan members were injured, yet the clan chief was saying it's good? If it weren't for him being the clan chief, he would suspect that the person saying these words was a spy sent by another family.

At this moment, another young man approached Chen Xingzhen and reported, "Chief, the clan's food stores and jerky are almost gone!"

"How much longer can we hold on?" The Chen patriarch said.

"Probably less than a day, almost all of the clan members who went out have been attacked by the Li family, they couldn't hunt anything." The young man replied.

Upon hearing this, Chen Xingzhen instantly understood the Li family's conspiracy. The Li family dared not directly confront them for fear of casualties. Instead, they opted for this method, intending to starve and trap the Chen family inside their estate.

This was a clever tactic. The Chen family has no means of retaliation.

"What a cunning strategy!" Chen Xingzhen exclaimed.

The two who came to report also felt disheartened, understanding the situation. 

Chen Xingzhen didn't care. The situation had already deteriorated to such an extent that it couldn't get much worse. 

He waved his hand and said to the two of them, "Tell all the members of the family to gather outside the ancestral hall. There are some matters I need to discuss. Those injured should also come!"

"Yes Chief!"

Upon receiving the order, the two individuals immediately left. As they left, they noticed a hint of confusion in each other's eyes.

"Have you noticed that the Chief seems surprisingly spirited?" they both said simultaneously, and then exchanged puzzled looks, realising it wasn't just their imagination.

Without further discussion about the reason behind this, they went to inform the other clan members.

...

Inside the ancestral hall, Ji Yang stood quietly in one corner, feeling utterly bored.

After a night of cultivation, his vitality had now reached 4.1. If he hadn't used his divine ability last night, his vitality would have been 4.2. 

It was unfortunate that he couldn't activate his technique in the morning. If he had chosen to absorb the essence of the sun in the deduction that he had performed, things might have been different. But then he wouldn't be able to cultivate at night, leading to the same outcome.

He hoped that during the next deduction, he would encounter a similar choice.

He wondered when the next Chen family sacrifice would take place. He had only just demonstrated his divine power yesterday, so it should be soon. However, considering the current plight of the Chen family, the ritual might not be as straightforward as it seemed.

As Ji Yang enjoyed the sight of the rising sun, the doors of the ancestral hall slowly opened. Without surprise, it was Chen Xingzhen who entered.

After closing the doors behind him, Chen Xingzhen directed his gaze towards the sacred tree in the hall.

Although the sacred tree no longer emitted its nightly radiance, its improved condition was undeniable. With the family's situation growing increasingly dire with the tactics of the Li family, Chen Xingzhen had already formulated a plan. However this plan required prior communication with the sacred tree. Without the tree's healing, his plan would be futile.

Aware of this, Chen Xingzhen promptly laid out his plan before the sacred tree.

Upon hearing Chen Xingzhen's plan, Ji Yang couldn't help but cast a strange glance at the elderly man before him who had surpassed the age of sixty. It seemed that Chen Xingzhen had placed all his bets on him. However, Ji Yang also had no choice but to help. Currently, his fate was tied to the Chen family. He couldn't escape the predicament on his own for now.

After outlining his plan, Chen Xingzhen looked at Ji Yang with hopeful eyes. He believed that the sacred tree had a spirit and would surely respond to him.

Under Chen Xingzhen's expectant gaze, the branches of the sacred tree swayed slightly.

Seeing this, Chen Xingzhen's face showed gratitude, and he bowed once more. At that moment, the sound of noisy discussions and arguments could be heard from outside the ancestral hall. 

After finishing his bow, Chen Xingzhen frowned slightly and then walked towards the outside of the hall. 

"What's going on?" he asked.

Stepping out of the ancestral hall, Chen Xingzhen looked at the gathered clan members and directed his inquiry to Chen Qingyu, who was at the front. Chen Qingyu, visibly upset, said, "Chief, recently many of our clan members who went out hunting have been attacked by the Li family. And the food left in the clan is running low. If this continues, the family won't hold out for long."

"I am already aware of this!" Chen Xingzhen responded.

Chen Xingzhen sighed and was about to speak when Chen Qingyu continued, "Chief, in my opinion, we should gather our forces and go hunting while our clan members still have the strength. Otherwise, in a while, our people will be weakened and starving, our combat effectiveness will decrease, and we'll lose any chance we have to turn the situation around!"

After Chen Qingyu finished speaking, many behind him nodded, thinking the idea was reasonable.

At this moment, an elderly man with a slightly haggard appearance stepped out from the crowd and voiced his opposition, "This is not a good idea!"

Everyone immediately looked over. The speaker was none other than Chen Tianjing, a Blood Coagulation Realm warrior within the family. On closer inspection, his appearance bore some resemblance to Chen Qinghe, although much older and more haggard.

Seeing the crowd's attention on him, Chen Tianjing sighed before continuing, "The reason the Li family hasn't attacked us directly is because the ancestor is still able to fight. If we gather our forces to go hunting, we won't have any protection. With just our current strength, we are no match for the Li family, and this will only put our clan in a more precarious situation!"

Some of the clan members nodded again. Chen Qingyu frowned slightly and said, "But Third Uncle, if we don't take a chance, won't we have no opportunity at all?"

"This plan is still too risky. If anything goes wrong, the family might be..." Chen Tianjing replied.

The two sides argued incessantly, each holding their own viewpoints. At the back of the crowd, Chen Qinghe and Chen Qingmeng stood together. Hearing the clan's arguments, Chen Qinghe couldn't help but whisper, "I think my father is really getting senile! Qingyu's idea is so good. Qingmeng, don't you agree?"

Chen Qingmeng scratched his head and voiced out his confusion, "Huh?"

"Enough!" Chen Xingzhen's voice cut through the noise. "Let me say something!"

The other clan members instantly fell silent.

"The remaining food stores are running low, so we must go hunting! However, the Li family has people stationed all around the Chaotic Burial Mountain to ambush us. To find a way out, we need to take an alternative route, one that the Li family can't see!" Sᴇaʀch* Thᴇ ɴøvᴇlFɪre.ɴet website on Gøøglᴇ to access chapters of nøvels early and in the highest quality.

After Chen Xingzhen finished speaking, the crowd began murmuring with questions.

The Chen family was based on the ground. None of them could fly? So how could they avoid the Li family's guards and hunt in the Chaotic Burial Mountain?

"Then the only option is the family secret passage!" someone blurted out. Immediately, everyone turned their gaze toward the speaker, who then realized his mistake.

"No way!" another person exclaimed.

"The family secret passage is the last escape route for some clan members. It cannot be exposed!"

"Yes, if the Li family discovers the secret passage, our family will have no way out!"

Despite some initial disagreements, the two individuals found themselves standing on the same side after hearing this proposal.

"I was just speaking my mind," the person who made the suggestion muttered.

But now, everyone seemed uncertain. According to the Chief's words, it seemed like this might be the only option.

"This is my suggestion," Chen Xingzhen said slowly. The crowd fell into silence.

The two who had opposed the idea before looked shocked. Given the recent anomalies with the sacred tree and the Li family's attack, the idea of using the secret passage for hunting seemed unexpected coming from the Chief.

If the secret passage were discovered and blocked off by the Li family in advance, it would indeed cut off the family's last resort entirely. 

What made it even more critical was that both the previous and current proposals came directly from the Chief himself, leaving the two individuals struggling to accept it. They couldn't understand what Chen Xingzhen's intentions were. 

Even though it was the Chief who proposed it, Chen Qingyu couldn't help but retort, "But, Chief..."