Chapter 1 The Chen Family of Bai County

Inside the Chen family's grand residence in Bai County.

Xu Jingming sat in the small courtyard and suddenly heard a "dong, dong, dong" knocking sound.

"Young Master," a voice came from outside.

Xu Jingming then got up, pulled open the wooden latch, and opened the courtyard door. Outside the door stood a somewhat hunchbacked, weathered man. The hunchbacked man's hair was disheveled, and his eyes, peering through the strands, surveyed the surroundings, making the atmosphere seem colder.

However, when he looked at Xu Jingming, his gaze softened considerably.

"Young Master," the hunchbacked old servant called out.

"Uncle Qi," Xu Jingming responded.

In this world, Chen Qi was closest to this old servant, 'Uncle Qi.' Uncle Qi's full name was Wu Qi, and he was the steward Chen Qi's mother had brought from her maiden home! Utterly loyal, he had been serving this Young Master Chen Qi for so many years.

If not for Wu Qi, Chen Qi's life in the Chen family would have been much more difficult.

"Young Master, I have something to tell you," the hunchbacked old servant Wu Qi said solemnly.

"What is it?" Xu Jingming asked.

"I often go to sweep Miss's grave, remove weeds, and repair the tomb," Wu Qi said with a cold glint in his eyes. "But I discovered that yesterday, the Chen family actually sent people to dig up Miss's coffin, preparing to move the grave."

"Move the grave?" Xu Jingming's expression changed slightly. He felt a surge of obsession in his mind, growing much stronger, even bordering on madness.

"The Wu family caused a great disaster, and the Chen family is afraid of being implicated, so they are trying to distance themselves," Wu Qi nodded. "But I didn't expect the Chen family to be so ruthless. Miss has been dead for more than ten years, and they can still do this, even moving her grave."

"Young Master, don't worry. In the past two days, I've already asked a master to reselect a treasured burial site so that Miss can rest in peace," Wu Qi said.

"Thank you, Uncle Qi."

Xu Jingming felt the surging obsession in his mind. "Is this the obsession remaining from when I descended into the Demon Subduing World?" Xu Jingming had learned before coming here that the Demon Subduing World was created to temper and improve one's 'mind and consciousness,' so the original owner of the body he possessed would have remaining obsessions.

"Chen Qi's obsession is..."

Xu Jingming felt it very clearly, "To make a name for himself! To become famous and renowned! To make his father and the Chen family regret it! Even if they begged him to return, he would never go back."

His actions couldn't go against the 'obsession.' The more he went against it, the more severe the obsession would become, and it would be normal to end up with a split personality and go insane.

Fortunately... this obsession wasn't difficult.

He couldn't possibly try to please the Chen family anyway. Just knowing what he knew now made Xu Jingming dislike this Chen family. To fulfill the obsession, he would do things beautifully.

With his mind made up, the obsession immediately calmed down a lot.

"Uncle Qi," Xu Jingming said, "Today, Chen Shian gave me one hundred taels of silver, forcing me to leave the Chen family and fend for myself."

"Just one hundred taels?" Wu Qi couldn't help but say. Xu Jingming nodded.

Wu Qi gritted his teeth and said, "The dowry Miss brought, and the silver she earned for the Chen family over the years, have all become the Chen family's! Miss left you eight thousand taels of silver before she died. Your father, Chen Shian, swore in front of Miss that he would give it to you when you turned eighteen. He kept delaying, and now he's giving you one hundred taels to fend for yourself?"

Wu Qi was furious.

He felt it was unfair to Miss!

"I don't even want this one hundred taels," Xu Jingming said, "Let's pack up and leave the Chen family today."

Wu Qi's eyes lit up when he heard this, "Good, Young Master, no matter where you go, this old servant will always follow you. Moreover, Miss realized Chen Shian's nature back then, so she secretly hid five thousand taels of silver with me! I've been keeping it safe for you, Young Master."

Xu Jingming was slightly stunned.

Chen Qi's deceased mother had actually prepared for this? "Before Miss married, she had only met Chen Shian twice. He looked good and had a decent reputation, but who would have thought that was all Chen Shian's disguise," Wu Qi shook his head, "Forget it, now that we're leaving the Chen family, whether we're in Bai County or go elsewhere, with this silver and this old servant, Young Master will definitely be able to live well."

"Alright," Xu Jingming nodded, "Let's pack up first."

"We must also bring some of Miss's belongings," Wu Qi said.

Soon, after packing some simple clothes and other items, Xu Jingming and Wu Qi left together.

Xu Jingming and Wu Qi passed through courtyard after courtyard, walked along corridors, and along the way, some guards and maids saw Xu Jingming and Wu Qi carrying packages, and they were all a little puzzled.

When they reached the front yard.

"Chen Qi!" A loud shout rang out.

Xu Jingming turned his head and saw a young man with an arrogant expression, surrounded by some of his men, pointing at Xu Jingming and shouting, "You and your old servant are carrying packages. Are you planning to leave the Chen family?"

Xu Jingming didn't say much and continued walking outwards.

"Stop!"

The young man shouted coldly, "You two are sneaking around with packages. Who knows if you've stolen any of my Chen family's property? Someone, search their packages!"

"Chen Shuwen," Xu Jingming looked at him, "Aren't you going too far?"

"I'm afraid you'll steal the Chen family's property. Go, search their packages," the young man ordered. As the grandson of the clan leader, Chen Shuwen had much more power in the Chen family than Chen Qi.

At his command, guards immediately stepped forward, wanting to take action by force.

"Get lost!"

The hunchbacked old servant 'Wu Qi,' who had been standing behind Xu Jingming, suddenly stepped forward. With a shout, the saber at his waist flashed and disappeared! The five guards who had approached flew backwards.

The guards fell to the ground, each spitting blood, filled with disbelief. They couldn't block it at all. The back of the blade swept across their chests, and they were sent flying.

Chen Shuwen couldn't believe it even more: "How can this old servant be so powerful?"

Xu Jingming watched this scene and thought to himself: "Wu Qi's saber technique is definitely top-notch. The combat bonus is probably around 30 times." His eyesight was so sharp that he could judge the strength of this strike.

"You old hunchback..." Chen Shuwen couldn't believe it. At this moment, Chen Shian, having received the news, finally arrived.

Wu Qi coldly swept his gaze over Chen Shuwen and Chen Shian, and said, "The next time I draw my saber, it won't be the back of the blade."

This made the five guards quite fearful.

Yes, if he had used the blade, all five of them would be dead.

"Second Uncle," Chen Shuwen said through gritted teeth, "Look, Chen Qi and his old servant are sneaking away with packages, wanting to escape the Chen family. I asked people to search their packages, and this old hunchback actually injured several guards."

Chen Shian narrowed his eyes slightly, looking at Xu Jingming, "Chen Qi, I just slapped you once, and you're leaving today?"

"The one hundred taels of silver you gave me are in the house," Xu Jingming said.

"You don't even want the one hundred taels?" Chen Shian laughed, "You have some backbone! Wu Qi, you came to the Chen family with my wife back then. For so many years, you've been a servant of my Chen family! Without my permission, how can you leave?"

Chen Shian was also secretly surprised.

He hadn't noticed Wu Qi's strength all these years?

"Chen family servant?" Wu Qi sneered, "Does the Chen family have my indenture? When Miss married here, she personally tore up my indenture. The first day I came to the Chen family, I was a free man! I've never been a servant of your Chen family."

Chen Shian's expression changed slightly, "So that's how it is."

"Chen Qi, once you leave the Chen family, you're no longer a member of the Chen family," Chen Shuwen shouted, "Don't go around using the Chen family's name to swindle and cheat."

"Chen family member?" Xu Jingming glanced around, "I'll make things clear here today. From now on, I... will no longer be surnamed Chen! I have nothing to do with you Chen family anymore."

After saying that, Xu Jingming led Wu Qi towards the gate. None of the guards dared to stop them.

Chen Shuwen and Chen Shian watched the two leave.

"Second Uncle, you're amazing," Chen Shuwen fawned. "Chen Qi really did leave the Chen family obediently."

"I'm doing this for the family," Chen Shian shook his head, "For the family, I naturally have to abandon this son. Let's just pretend we never had this son." As he said this, he turned and left.

Soon, Chen Shian arrived at Chen Qi's residence. "Hmm?"

Chen Shian saw a package of silver on the table in the room, "One hundred taels of silver, he really didn't take it with him? He's as stubborn as his mother! This one hundred taels is enough for me to enjoy several rounds of wine."

Saying that, he hummed a little tune, picked up the package of silver, and left.

"Wu Qi, that hunchback, has such strength?" The Chen family's old patriarch frowned slightly upon hearing the news, "It's a pity, a pity he can't be used by my Chen family. That little vixen of the Wu family tore up Wu Qi's indenture long ago. Her heart was never with my Chen family!"

The Chen family's old patriarch's eyes were cold.

"Father," Chen Shuwen said, "What do we do next?"

"Release the news to the outside world that Chen Qi has run away from home! Publicly declare that he has severed ties with the Chen family and no longer bears the Chen surname," the Chen family's old patriarch said, "Since he wants to sever ties, it's only right and proper that we remove him from the family tree."

"Originally, removing him from the family tree would have caused some trouble, but now we have reason to do so," the Chen family's old patriarch chuckled softly.

Chen Shuwen nodded.

A quiet residence in Bai County.

"Young Master, this old servant usually moves around outside and occasionally stays here," Wu Qi unlocked the door and pushed it open, "Although it's not big, it's quiet. Young Master, please make do for a day or two. In a day or two, I'll rent a larger residence."

"No need, I think this is fine."

Xu Jingming looked around, quite satisfied.

Moreover, he didn't plan to stay in Bai County for long. He still had to go to the Qi family in Cheng'an Prefecture to find the Demon Subduer 'Qi Xiao.' This was a matter that Senior Brother Chi Tong had asked him to help with, and since he had already paid the reward, he naturally had to complete it as soon as possible.

"Young Master has grown up," Wu Qi was quite happy to see his young master's appearance. He was worried that the young master would be too traumatized, "Young Master, you rest first. I'll go buy some food and come back."

"Thank you, Uncle Qi," Xu Jingming said.

Wu Qi, because he was a young beggar adopted by the Wu family back then, his exact age was unknown, but his age should be about the same as Chen Qi's mother, because he was just a teenager when he first entered the Wu family.

Estimating, he was around forty years old.

"Around forty years old, but he looks much more weathered," Xu Jingming thought to himself, then went inside and arranged the many items in the package.

Night fell.

Xu Jingming rested in the main room.

"It's time to cultivate the Demon Subduing Secret Art," Xu Jingming sat cross-legged on the bed.

In the Demon Subduing World, countless mortals are just soil, and the most powerful are the Demon Subduers and Demons.

Demons are born from the obsessions of people, drawing upon the world's demonic energy. If the obsession is not dispelled, the Demon will not die! Therefore, even if the Demon's body is destroyed, seemingly obliterating everything, it is still necessary to 'destroy the Demon's obsession.' The process of destroying the obsession is 'mind refining the Demon.'

Either the Demon Subduer's mind is stronger, completely destroying the Demon's obsession, causing the Demon to dissipate.

Or the Demon is superior, and the mind refining fails, and the Demon Subduer's mind is injured!

"So in the Demon Subduing World, subduing Demons is a very dangerous thing," Xu Jingming thought, "If you are inferior in strength and are killed, then re-establishing an account will cost another 100 million."

Dying once costs 100 million universe coins. "Even for an eighth-order Starry Sky lifeform, the cost of dying once is heartbreaking," Xu Jingming thought, "Even if you defeat the Demon, but when refining the Demon, you are defeated by the Demon's obsession... then your mind will be injured, and the consequences will be even more serious! Like Senior Brother Chi Tong, who has the inheritance of the Primordial Star Conjecture lineage, it takes five years to recover from mental injuries. Ordinary eighth-order Starry Sky lifeforms suffer even more severe consequences from mental injuries."

Every eighth-order Starry Sky lifeform has a strong ability to earn money!

It's just that most of their time needs to be spent on the 'path of evolution' or the affairs of their home civilization, and the time and energy they actually use to make money are limited.

So 100 million universe coins is something they are somewhat reluctant to spend.

Of course, 'mental injuries' are something that every eighth-order Starry Sky lifeform doesn't want to encounter, as this is a much bigger price than '100 million universe coins.'

"Demon Subduing is divided into two steps."

"First, directly kill the Demon. Second, then use your mind to refine the Demon and destroy the Demon's obsession. These two steps are more difficult than the last," Xu Jingming thought, "But first, you must have the strength to subdue Demons."

"Among the thirty-two secret techniques passed down by Senior Brother Chi Tong, there are two based on the *Primordial Star Conjecture Light Ray Chapter*, namely *Great Sun Demon Subduing Diagram* and *Ten Thousand Stars Demon Refining Scroll*."

"I originally had a deep understanding of the *Light Ray Chapter*, and the one that resonates most with my insights is the *Ten Thousand Stars Demon Refining Scroll*."

Xu Jingming nodded slightly.

"Then in the Demon Subduing World, I will use the *Ten Thousand Stars Demon Refining Scroll* as the core method."

Closing his eyes, Xu Jingming began to slowly spread his mental power, spreading it to the roof and touching the moonlight above the nine heavens, "Using the mind to leverage the power of Taiyin, and then transforming it through the Ten Thousand Stars formation in the body, refining Taiyin magic power to build the foundation."

Xu Jingming thought, "This is very similar to leveraging the power of the universe in reality with the mind! It's just that the power of the moon is far below the level of the power of the universe."

As time passed, mental power led strands of Taiyin power into the body, and after layers of transformation within the body, it finally turned into Taiyin magic power!

At the moment when a drop of cold Taiyin magic power was born, Xu Jingming's speed of absorbing Taiyin power suddenly increased.

Above the roof, Taiyin light continuously penetrated the roof tiles and flew into the house, pouring into Xu Jingming's body.

In the courtyard.

Wu Qi sat by the stone table. Suddenly, he felt something and saw a layer of flowing, colorful moonlight on the roof. The moonlight was as thick as flowing water, constantly penetrating the roof tiles.

"This is..." Wu Qi's body trembled, filled with joy, "Drawing on the power of heaven and earth, refining Demon Subduing magic power?"

"Young Master, is Young Master cultivating the Demon Subduing Secret Art?" Wu Qi was so excited that he couldn't restrain himself.

"Miss, can you see it? Young Master has obtained a secret inheritance and has become a Demon Subduer," Wu Qi's eyes were filled with tears.