Chen Chen was injured on his return to Mount Wufeng.

He did that only because he valued and treasured the people around him more than he did himself.

'Wasn't that being loyal and righteous? How is that being narrow-minded?'

'Is this how the world sees me?'

'Am I a narrow-minded and vengeful person in the eyes of everyone in this world?'

"The people in this world are foolish..."

Chen Chen sighed gently, feeling rather aggrieved.

At the same time, the pity and sympathy he had for Jiang Chu eventually disappeared without a trace.

'This person can't even provide intelligence reports properly. He's probably incompetent.'

However, the Dark Guards behind him were not too bad. They would unconditionally accomplish and completely follow whatever orders he gave.

They had probably been brainwashed, trained, and accustomed to becoming emotionless tools for others to use, ever since they were children.

...

"Kid? What happened?"

"On the account that you still address me as the Clan Master, I'll help you as much as I can. Just tell me what happened."

It was a message from Zhou Renlong, sent through a communication token. Although Zhou Renlong was sharp-tongued, Chen Chen could tell that he was slightly worried about him.

"It's okay, old Zhou, you may resume your business, I've settled the matter."

Chen Chen answered after giving it some thought.

"Ugh, screw you, I'm already on my way to the State of Jin!"

Chen Chen joked, "Since you're here, don't let your trip be wasted. Go to Mount Wufeng and collect some pills to bring home with you. I've just made a windfall, I have a lot of money to spare."

'Since Old Zhou is innately concerned about me, I have to give him something in return.'

Of course, it was not necessary to do that because strictly considering, Zhou Renlong was now his subordinate.

"That's more like it!"

Zhou Renlong was finally appeased.

...

When Chen Chen returned to Mount Wufeng, his eight Senior Brothers and Senior Sisters were all refining pills, except his eight Senior Sister, Zhou Shu, who was taking a walk with Yuan Qingtian. They were delightedly chatting and gleefully smiling, as if having hit it off, rather well.

"There's love in the air... I miss Xishuang too."

Chen Chen sighed and then took out the communication token to express his thoughts.

Xia Xishuang soon replied, but she was now in a somber mood.

"Chen Chen, two small vassal states were destroyed three days ago. The Demon Emperors who destroyed the two small vassal states were personally received by the so-called descendant of the Demon God. I don't know what benefits they received, but their bloodline has greatly improved to the level of the eight great Demon races. Now, many Essence Soul realm Demon Emperors are spotting the small vassal states, you must be careful."

When Chen Chen saw that message, the smile on his face stiffened, and he started to feel depressed too.

'With a great war ahead, where is home? The peace enjoyed by the two states now is only short-term glory. God knows what will happen down the road.'

Xia Xishuang said that the two vassal states were destroyed, but Chen Chen didn't know exactly to what extent.

However, he was certain that it must be tragic.

"Senior Brother, you're back..."

Yuan Qingtian finally saw Chen Chen from a distance and hurriedly ran over, leaving Zhou Shu behind.

"Qingtian, what do you think of my eighth Senior Sister?" Chen Chen asked with a smile.

"She's a very kind and a good person," Yuan Qingtian subconsciously answered with a gentle gaze.

Chen Chen could tell from the look in his eyes that Tang Qing was not a ladies' man.

Chen Chen patted Yuan Qingtian on his shoulder and said ambiguously, "Qingtian, you have to seize the opportunity."

Yuan Qingtian knew what Chen Chen meant and he rashly shook his head. "No, no... Senior Brother, don't make fun of me. I'm just a cultivator at the Core Formation realm who lacks talent and a powerful background. I'm not even worthy of being her chaperon... I wouldn't dare to harbor any other thoughts."

Chen Chen was surprised that Yuan Qingtian had overgrown an inferiority complex.

However, to be honest, he would develop inferiority too if he was in Yuan Qingtian's shoes.

After a moment of silence, Chen Chen said with a stern expression, "You're my junior brother. That identity alone has given you the right to be good enough for anyone!"

Yuan Qingtian was stunned to hear his words. Not only that he never felt encouraged by others, his self-esteem was also further humiliated.

The huge gap in talent and power between him and Chen Chen would never make him catch up and match with Chen Chen in this lifetime.

Once Chen Chen became even stronger, he would probably be deprived of the right to even follow him.

Thinking of this, he subconsciously lowered his head, and at that moment, a token was suddenly shoved into his hand.

The token was black and had the word "dark" engraved on it.

Before he could figure out clearly what the token was, the twelve peak Essence Soul realm Dark Guards surrounded him. They had exuded only a wisp of their powerful aura, but it made him shudder.

'This is not the injured master of the Dark Immortal Sect who only had the essence soul left but twelve terrifying experts who are at their peak!'

"Qingtian, these are my newly acquired subordinates. They're called the Dark Guards, and you'll be in charge of them from now on."

Chen Chen smiled calmly with his eyes full of expectations.

The twelve of them were like walking corpses that gave him the creeps. He thought that it would be better to hand them over to someone he trusted.

For example, Jiang Wang had also handed the Dark Guards to Jiang Chu.

"Senior Brother... are they all from the peak of the Nascent Soul realm?"

Yuan Qingtian was in disbelief, and he felt like he was dreaming.

'Senior Brother wants me, a Core Formation realm cultivator, to be in charge of twelve peak Nascent Soul realm Dark Guards? He's not kidding, is he?'

"You should also be able to feel what kind of people they are. To be frank, I obtained those Dark Guards from an enemy, so there might be risks involved when they're under your supervision. Of course, if you don't want to take on this task, I'll let someone else who trusts me take over."

Chen Chen said truthfully with a burning gaze.

Without the slightest hesitation, Yuan Qingtian nodded solemnly and exclaimed, "Senior Brother! Of course, I am willing! This risk is nothing! Thank you for giving me this opportunity!"

Hearing this, Chen Chen finally showed a heartened smile on his face.

...

Meanwhile...

In the middle of a wilderness that was rather distant, a figure was walking alone forlornly.

He was the quasi-successor of the Void Spirit Clan named Ding Yi. He had been breaking through during the war between the two races and had just reached the Essence Soul realm. He had also joined the front line of the war a short while ago.

Ding Yi had an innate spirit body and had already achieved great accomplishments at a young age. He was a famous elite among the human race. He rose to fame more than a decade before Xia Xishuang did.

However, an elite like him appeared alone in the wilderness.

The wilderness was located at the border of Qi Kingdom, which was his hometown.

A month ago, the Berserk Lion Demon Emperor entered the border of Qi Kingdom and launched a massacre to kill the humans. In just two weeks, tens of millions of people in the Qi Kingdom were slaughtered!

Not only were all the clans in Qi destroyed, but even the mortals were completely reduced to becoming the food for the demonic beasts.

The entire Qi Kingdom was almost completely reduced to a dead region where miserable cries of wailing souls could be heard everywhere in the entire Qi Kingdom late at night.

As the elite of the Void Spirit Clan, his family naturally received the best protection.

Three days ago, the Void Spirit Clan sent several Nascent Soul realm cultivators to pick up his family.

However, when they reached the border of Qi Kingdom, they were ambushed by the Crimson Fox Demon Emperor, stationed in a neighboring country, and were trapped in a large formation.

Hundreds of thousands of civilians and nearly 10,000 cultivators accompanying him were annihilated. Not a single member of his clan survived.

Looking at the corpses strewn all over the ground in the wilderness, Ding Yi was devastated and full of despair. At the same time, he also resented the demons to the core.

He returned to his hometown without permission, in defiance of the orders he received from the front line.

At this moment, he couldn't care less about anything else, because there was only one desire in his mind.

He wanted to take revenge!

He would slay the Crimson Fox Demon Emperor who slaughtered his people, and crush him into pieces! He would do the same to the Berserk Lion Demon Emperor who ruined the Qi Kingdom!

While he developed the ferocious killing intent, his powerful spiritual pressure killed the demonic beasts that happened to appear in the wilderness.

After walking slowly along the wilderness for dozens of kilometers, he suddenly stopped in his tracks.

A disturbing view that was built together by human heads, appeared in his eyes.

The heads belonged to the people he knew, including his parents, grandparents, uncles, and cousins.

He was born into a family of cultivators who were rather powerful and competent. However, his family members had all become trophies for others to show off their achievements.

If the elders of his clan hadn't insisted on taking the civilians away, such a thing wouldn't have happened.

However, as a powerful cultivator, he was obligated to protect the civilians.

If there were no civilians, there would be no means for cultivators to be nurtured. Besides, they were civilians who had been affiliated with the Ding family for generations.

A demonic aura surged in the air around him, and there was a murderous vibe in the entire wilderness.

Ding Yi suddenly became extremely collected as he said coldly, "Come out."

As he said that, a burst of maniacal laughter spread from afar, and there was a drastic change in the environment.

Thousands of demons emerged from a certain array formation, and the two leading demons were the Crimson Fox Demon Emperor and the Berserk Lion Demon Emperor who had slaughtered almost all the people of Qi Kingdom and the neighboring Wei Kingdom.