The story goes back half a month ago, when the Zhang Family of Anping City was adorned with lanterns and streamers, preparing for their annual Family Martial Arts Competition. Young Family members would compete for the honor of being the Family's number one, based on their individual strength and Cultivation Technique.
In previous years, Zhang Haoyang had always claimed the top spot. Although Zhang Haoyang's Realm had stagnated, the annual Family Grand Competition was still to proceed as scheduled.
Everyone in the Family took the Martial Arts Competition very seriously and prepared with extreme diligence. Shangguan Yilan and Zhang Wanqing also highly valued this competition. Firstly, it was to select young talents within the Family, and secondly, they hoped to use the Grand Competition to stimulate Zhang Haoyang and see if it could help him recover his talent.
On the evening before the competition, a large number of Black-Clothed Masked Men, armed with swords, suddenly stormed into the Zhang Family, killing anyone they encountered. These Black-Clothed Masked Men were all high-level Cultivators, mostly at the Core Formation Realm or above. The leader was a white-haired old man whose Realm was at least the Nascent Soul Realm.
The highest-Cultivation member of the Zhang Family, Zhang Zhenlong, was only at the eighth level of the Core Formation Realm. Zhang Wanqing and Shangguan Yilan were merely at the sixth level of the Core Formation Realm. The Zhang Family members had no power to resist against a group of masked men ranging from the Core Formation Realm to the Nascent Soul Realm, and they were killed one by one.
As the Black-Clothed Masked Men were massacring the Zhang Family, Zhang Haoyang was burning incense in the ancestral temple. Suddenly, with a "rumble," Zhang Wanqing and Shangguan Yilan burst through the door, followed closely by Bai Shaoyang. Shangguan Yilan hugged Zhang Haoyang tightly and said to Bai Shaoyang, "Uncle Bai, you two immediately enter the ancestral temple's secret passage. Haoyang is entrusted to you. Send Haoyang to his maternal grandfather's Family in White Emperor City. Hurry and go!"
Bai Shaoyang said to Zhang Wanqing and his wife, "What about you two, the Old Family Head, and Young Master Haofeng?"
Zhang Wanqing hurriedly said, "Father has already rushed to the front hall to fend off the enemies. He said the situation is extremely critical. Haofeng is in the front courtyard, and there's no time to find him now. Whoever can escape, escapes. We can't worry about so much. You two, hurry and leave."
Bai Shaoyang wanted Zhang Wanqing and his wife to take Zhang Haoyang and leave, but before he could speak, Zhang Wanqing had already opened the door to the secret passage. Although Shangguan Yilan was somewhat reluctant, she quickly pushed Zhang Haoyang into the secret passage. At the same time, Zhang Wanqing also pushed Bai Shaoyang into the secret passage. Then, Zhang Wanqing quickly pressed the switch to close the secret door.
The moment the secret passage door closed, a loud shout came from outside: "Zhang Wanqing, hand over your little brat and the item that doesn't belong to your Zhang Family immediately, or suffer death without mercy!"
Hearing this, Zhang Wanqing and his wife immediately rushed to the entrance of the ancestral temple. Upon seeing the ground covered with corpses outside the ancestral temple, they loudly asked, "Who exactly are you people? Why do you want to slaughter my Zhang Family?"
The white-haired masked man let out a sinister laugh and said, "As for why we want your little brat, this old man is not clear. But there is one thing I do know: three years ago, you entered a relic in the Dark Forest and obtained an item that shouldn't belong to you. Although you sealed the news, our Lord already knew about it. If you're smart, quickly hand over that sacred object and your son."
When the other party came to kill his Family, Zhang Wanqing initially thought it was because his son's talent was extremely high, and his enemies didn't want his child to grow up and pose a threat to them, thus moving to kill him. He never expected it to be related to the Dark Forest relic incident.
The Dark Forest relic, that was something that happened three years ago. At that time, five people entered the relic. Besides him, those who entered with him were his wife Shangguan Yilan, a peer from the Zhang Family, a Shangguan Family member Shangguan Yiqing, and a friend of Shangguan Yiqing, Bai Zhilong. The five of them narrowly escaped death and obtained a Xuan Guang Sword and some Medicinal Pills for Cultivation. When they obtained the sword, one of them triggered the relic's self-destructing Formation switch, causing the relic to be destroyed.
Who would have thought that three years later, the Zhang Family would be annihilated because of this. At this moment, Zhang Wanqing suddenly realized that possessing a treasure makes one a target for crime. A fortuitous encounter three years ago had buried the hidden danger of the Zhang Family's annihilation. Zhang Wanqing sternly asked, "Who told you about the relic?"
The white-haired Black-Clothed Masked Man said, "Frogs at the bottom of a well! My Lord possesses the ability to reach the heavens and earth. As soon as that treasure appeared, my Lord had already deduced its location near the Dark Forest and immediately sent people to investigate the scene. However, upon arrival, the relic had already been destroyed, and the ground had completely caved in. Despite immense effort, it could not be found. Later, my Lord exhausted an immeasurable amount of Lifespan and, through the Heaven's Secret Art, finally deduced that the treasure was in the Zhang Family of Anping. Zhang Wanqing, you and your wife, if not now, then when will you return it?"
Just at this moment, a Black-Clothed Masked old man suddenly appeared like a ghost behind the white-haired Black-Clothed Masked Man. This person was thin and small, with a square face, very small eyes, and a faint green light glowing within them. He said to the white-haired masked man, "Stop talking so much, the key is that child." His voice was sharp and thin, extremely unpleasant to the ear.
The white-haired Black-Clothed Masked Man quickly responded, "Yes, this subordinate mainly wanted to present that sacred sword to Sir, to show my loyalty." The Black-Clothed Man waved his hand and said, "The main business is more important!"
Zhang Wanqing looked at the two masked men in front of him, his eyes wide with fury, and he roared, "Return my Family members' lives!" Immediately, he and his wife Shangguan Yilan engaged in battle with the masked men in front of them, but due to the vast disparity in strength, they were struck by the masked men after a few moves, spitting blood and falling to the ground.
The white-haired Black-Clothed Masked old man ordered, "Search every inch of the Zhang Family thoroughly for me, do not miss a single detail. You must find the Zhang Family's little brat and the sacred object, the Xuan Guang Sword."
The thin and small Black-Clothed Masked Man always stood behind the white-haired Black-Clothed Masked Man and never made a move, but any discerning person could tell that he was the true mastermind.