Chu Qingyun was startled and dashed out of the main house without hesitation, leaping into the courtyard.

There, he saw Chu Qingzhi standing frozen in the courtyard, clutching a few pieces of dry food tightly.

Six warriors dressed in black, their faces masked, vaulted over the courtyard wall and into the yard, cutting through the dark night.

They wielded swords and knives that glinted with cold light, forming a semicircular encirclement, exuding a chilling murderous intent.

The leader was tall and had the strength of the 8th Level of the Hualing Realm.

The other five black-clothed men were around the 5th Level of the Hualing Realm.

"Brother, there are assassins!"

Chu Qingzhi snapped back to reality and quickly warned Chu Qingyun.

"Qingzhi, get inside. I'll handle them."

Chu Qingyun remained calm and composed, pulling his sister behind him to let her hide inside the house.

The leader of the assassins sneered, "As expected of Lingjiang City's First Genius, facing death with such courage. But do you know, now that you've become a cripple, how will you deal with us?"

"You're here for me? Who sent you?" Chu Qingyun narrowed his eyes, secretly analyzing their origins.

The assassin leader didn't bother to hide his identity and said arrogantly, "We are from the Shadow Assassins Guild. Someone paid for your life!"

The Shadow Assassins Guild was the most powerful assassin organization in the Kingdom Qian.

It not only had numerous assassins and top-tier killers but also a strong guard team.

As long as you paid enough, you could hire the guild's assassins to kill or their guards for protection.

Back when Chu Qingyun went to Tianjue Valley, he spent all his savings to hire eighty guards to protect him.

"These six are all at the Hualing Realm, likely the lowest-ranked Bronze-ranked Assassin of the guild. I heavily injured Ling Zifeng in front of everyone today. Could these assassins have been hired by the Ling Family?"

Chu Qingyun's first thought was that the Ling Family wanted to kill him to avenge Ling Zifeng.

But then he reconsidered, knowing that the guild's branch was in Qianjiang County City, and the Ling Family couldn't act so quickly.

Moreover, he and his sister had just arrived at the Abandoned Garden, and the assassins showed up immediately, which was suspicious.

"The Family Head only ordered today to drive us siblings to the Abandoned Garden, and the assassins followed right after... Could the mastermind be someone from the Chu Family?"

Chu Qingyun was well aware that the seemingly prosperous Chu Family was not harmonious internally.

Over the years, his brilliance had attracted much jealousy and hatred.

Now that he had become a 'cripple' and was stripped of his position as Young Master, someone was bound to take advantage and try to kill him.

While Chu Qingyun was analyzing in his mind, the assassin leader shouted sternly, "Chu Qingyun, if you kill yourself now, I'll leave your corpse intact. If you dare resist, I'll cut off your head as proof!"

"Just you?" Chu Qingyun showed no fear, secretly channeling the Heaven Devouring Art, ready to strike.

"Just in time to test the power of the Heaven Devouring Art on you!"

Seeing that he refused to accept his fate, the assassin leader stopped wasting words and ordered with murderous intent, "Kill him!"

Two assassins closest to Chu Qingyun immediately launched a pincer attack.

One swung a knife at his neck, while the other thrust a sword at his chest.

To them, Chu Qingyun, who had fallen to the Qi Condensation Realm, was as easy to kill as a chicken.

However, when the blades were only three inches from Chu Qingyun, he used a footwork as agile as the wind, dodging in a flash.

Before the two assassins could change their moves, he had already reached out with both hands, gripping their arms like eagle claws.

The Heaven Devouring Art operated at full force, unleashing a terrifying devouring power through Chu Qingyun's hands, enveloping the two assassins.

They froze in place, unable to muster any strength, only letting out terrified screams.

Meanwhile, their spiritual energy was completely devoured, and even their blood was rapidly drained.

Under the shocked and horrified gazes of the other four assassins, the two became as dry as twigs, their vitality extinguished on the spot.

"Boom... Boom..."

Chu Qingyun released his grip, and the two desiccated corpses fell to the ground.

He clearly felt that after devouring the spiritual energy and blood of the two assassins, his strength had increased slightly.

At this moment, the remaining four assassins snapped back to reality, all roaring in anger and terror.

"Old Five and Old Four were sucked dry into corpses?"

"Heavens! What kind of method did that kid use? It's terrifying!"

"The information was wrong! That kid wasn't crippled at all, everyone retreat!"

Seeing their companions' tragic deaths, the assassins were terrified, their faces pale.

The assassin leader remained relatively calm and immediately ordered a retreat.

After all, Chu Qingyun could easily dodge the attacks of two assassins and counter-kill them effortlessly.

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The deaths of the two assassins were both gruesome and bizarre.

The assassin leader didn't want to end up like his two companions, sucked into a ghastly corpse.

Seeing the four assassins turning to flee in panic, Chu Qingyun sneered and gave chase.

"Since you're here, none of you are leaving!"

Chu Qingyun moved like a shadow through the night, catching up with one assassin in the blink of an eye.

The assassin swung his sword backward at him, but Chu Qingyun sidestepped it.

Then, he grabbed the assassin's neck, quickly channeling the Heaven Devouring Art.

The powerful devouring force enveloped the assassin, causing him to tremble all over, his spiritual energy and life force rapidly draining away.

"Ahhh! Save me!"

The assassin screamed in terror, desperately calling for help from his companions.

Another assassin rushed over, grabbing his companion's arm, trying to pull him away from Chu Qingyun.

However, the invisible devouring force transferred to him as well, making him shudder all over.

Both their spiritual energy and blood were rapidly depleting.

Meanwhile, Chu Qingyun's strength was quietly growing.

Seeing the two assassins unable to escape, their skin drying at a visible rate, the assassin leader's eyes turned red with urgency.

"Damn beast, I'll chop you up!"

The assassin leader roared in anger, leaping at Chu Qingyun, swinging his knife at his arm.

In his view, cutting off Chu Qingyun's arm would save his two companions.

However, a scene of despair unfolded before everyone's eyes.

Just as Chu Qingyun was about to be struck by the blade, he dodged in a flash.

At the same time, his other hand shot out like lightning, grabbing the back of the knife.

An invisible devouring force, like a surging flood, enveloped the assassin leader through the blade.

Instantly, the assassin leader was also paralyzed, uncontrollably trembling.

His entire spiritual energy and blood were being crazily devoured by Chu Qingyun, his body rapidly withering and shriveling.

In just two breaths, the assassin leader and the two assassins turned into dry corpses, collapsing to the ground.

Only one assassin remained alive, but after witnessing his companions' gruesome deaths, he wet his pants on the spot.

Terrified out of his wits, he scrambled towards the gate, crying out words like 'devil' and 'demon.'

"Shua!"

Before the assassin could reach the gate, Chu Qingyun blocked his path, demanding in a deep voice, "Who sent you to kill me?"

The assassin trembled with fear, yet instinctively shook his head.

"The Shadow Assassins Guild has rules; we can never reveal the employer's identity. If I break them, I'll be executed even if I return to the guild."

"Then you can die!" Chu Qingyun wasted no words, striking the assassin's head with his palm, turning him into a dry corpse as well.

With that, all six assassins were dead.

Chu Qingyun began to clean up the battlefield and tally the spoils.

The six assassins carried pouches and bags filled with silver notes, Spirit Stones, and Elixirs.

These were all essential for a warrior's cultivation and were exactly what he desperately needed.

In total, there were over eight thousand silver notes, twelve Low-grade Spirit Stones, three bottles of Elixirs for treating external injuries, and eight bottles of pills for replenishing spiritual energy and aiding cultivation.

There were also six Yuan Grade Spiritual Artifact swords and knives, worth over ten thousand silver.

With these cultivation resources, Chu Qingyun and his sister could sustain their lives and support his cultivation for a while.

Chu Qingyun planned to find an opportunity to sell these items and exchange them for what he needed.

After collecting the spoils, he dragged the six assassins' bodies to the backyard and burned them to ashes.

Once the bodies were dealt with, he suddenly remembered that his sister had been in the room all along, never showing herself or making a sound.

A sense of unease surged in his heart, and he hurried back to the room, pushing the door open.

"Qingzhi, are you okay?"

The room was dark, the air turning cold, filled with an inexplicable oppressive atmosphere.

Chu Qingyun quickly lit a candle, seeing his sister curled up like a shrimp under the window, trembling all over.

Her body emitted a chilling cold, her disheveled hair and clothes covered in a layer of white frost.

Chu Qingyun was not unfamiliar with this scene.

He immediately realized that his sister's cold poison had flared up again.

"Qingzhi! Wake up!"

Chu Qingyun hurriedly picked up his sister, gently patting her pale, bloodless cheeks, urgently calling her name.

Chu Qingzhi struggled to open her eyes, her voice weak as a mosquito's buzz, "Brother, as long as you're okay..."

"Qingzhi, hold on a bit longer. I'll go buy a Fiery Sun Pill right now! You must hang in there; I'll be back soon!"

Chu Qingyun laid his sister on the bed, covering her with two thick quilts, then hurriedly left the Abandoned Garden, heading straight for the Lingyao Pavilion in the city center.

Chu Qingzhi was born with a cold constitution, and the mysterious cold poison in her body flared up every month.

Each time it erupted, she endured immense pain and suffering, always on the brink of death.

At these times, the Chu Family would provide a Fiery Sun Pill to fend off the cold poison and save her life.

Though the Fiery Sun Pill was precious, worth ten thousand silver each, Chu Qingyun, as the Chu Family's Young Master, had rendered great service to the family, and they were willing to spend money to keep Chu Qingzhi alive.

But now, the siblings had been expelled from the Chu Family.

The Chu Family would no longer provide the Fiery Sun Pill, so Chu Qingyun had to buy it from the Lingyao Pavilion.

Under the night sky, Chu Qingyun sprinted at full speed, reaching the Lingyao Pavilion as quickly as possible.

It was close to midnight, and the pavilion was about to close.

Just as the shop's doors were about to shut, Chu Qingyun rushed in like a whirlwind.

He quickly approached the counter, addressing the sleepy, yawning middle-aged manager, "Manager Ye, I need a Fiery Sun Pill, now!"