Zhang's Mansion.

One table lamp, nine porcelain cups.

But only eight figures sat around the huge round table, in shadows that the light could not reach.

No one spoke for a long time, everyone maintained a fixed posture, and the atmosphere was eerie.

This is the basement of Zhang's Mansion, and it is also the core area of Zhang's house, with antique decoration style and carved beams and painted furnishings...... But you can't feel all this now, the only thing you can feel is the oppressive mystery.

After a long time, the man in the north seat leaned out of the shadows, stretched out his hand, and the door of the basement slowly closed, and the ancient heavy lock fell, and the place was completely sealed.

The teapot on the table automatically floated into the air, adding two-thirds of water to each porcelain cup, and after the man demonstrated such a domineering opening, he slowly stood up:

"For thousands of years, generations of cultivators have followed one after another, hoping to break through the realm of tribulation through their own efforts, but without exception, they have all failed. Why is that?"

He glanced at the audience, no one answered the question, and everyone else bowed their heads in the eyes of the man—although their cultivation was not low, no one dared to make eye contact with the man's eyes, and the invisible coercion was enough to make the most arrogant nobles bow down.

This is the head of the Zhang family, the head of the Zhang family, Zhang Kang.

"It's not that their qualifications are insufficient, and it's not that these people can't cultivate. Here's the real reason!" Zhang Kang pointed to himself, "Although we cultivators claim to be superior to mortals, in fact we are still human, the human body is lowly, it is not complete, the aura is the power of the primeval tradition, it cannot be integrated into the lowly mortal body, so we have not been able to break through the tribulation." This is the fatal factor that restricts the entire cultivation realm, which I call - original sin. ”

Zhang Kang paused at this point, and continued:

"Our Zhang family, since the ancestor Zhang Daoling, has been committed to studying how to break through the cage of 'Ten Folds of Contemplation', and today, I can tell you very clearly: If you want to get rid of original sin, we can't do it on our own, no matter how much you cultivate, you can never get out of the physical body, but don't forget: in ancient times, whether it was 'god' or 'demon', they all had a strong aura adaptability. Therefore, if we want to break through the shackles of cultivation and break the bottleneck that has bound us for thousands of years, the only way is to accept the genes of gods and demons, modify our genetic code, and reshape our gene chain, which is ......"

With a wave of his hand, a pillar of light was laid behind him, and the huge curtain under the spotlight opened, and the four big characters on it were eye-catching:

Humanity completes the plan.

"Maybe you want to say," Zhang Kang said again, "It's pointless to say this now, the gods and demons have already fallen, and without the god body and demon body, it is difficult to complete the genes." But there is an old saying: things are man-made! Our Zhang family has never given up hope for thousands of years, until today!

When I took charge of the family, Zhang Kang, I vowed that in order to realize this dream in my generation, I have sent countless archaeological teams to excavate the remains of gods and demons all over the world, and I even sacrificed my own son for this project......"

When Zhang Kang said this, his voice became choked, but it was only a fleeting moment, and soon he regained his majesty:

"But for the sake of the family's ambition for thousands of years, they died as they deserved, and there will be sacrifices to fight, and the dead are a common occurrence, and we have sacrificed tens of thousands of our compatriots before. Generations of Zhang clansmen have fallen on the journey, but as long as I can realize this ideal and reach the pinnacle of glory, I will not hesitate. ”

Someone seemed to sneer during the banquet, Zhang Kang glanced at the corner and continued:

"Fortunately, their blood was not shed in vain, and the sacrifices of our ancestors have been rewarded with an unparalleled achievement: we have found a magic ...... No, it should be said that it is the sleeping place of the Demon Lord! As long as you can successfully open the Demon Tomb, you will be able to obtain unparalleled power! The Zhang family's cultivation will become the first family in this world to possess the realm of tribulation! The balance of the four major families will be completely overturned! The Zhang family will become the first family in the cultivation realm, and eventually the king will dominate the whole world!"

He spoke impassionedly, and even more subduedly. This emotion exaggerated all the people present, and some people began to applaud in the shadows, and the applause lasted for a long time, and it gradually subsided after a while, and someone stood up:

"This is indeed an epoch-making event, marking a new journey in the cultivation realm. But all of you here are family members, and we already know about it. So the head of the house has summoned us here today to ......"

"Because success must be proclaimed, but failure is equally heavy," Zhang Kang interrupted with a raised hand, "Although we have found the motsuka, we need a key to open the mozuka, and if we don't have the key, then everything is empty talk." ”

At this point, he turned his gaze to the corner of the round table: "Our ally, the Mitsui clan, once volunteered to undertake this mission, but nothing has come of it so far. I'd like to ask if there's anything you have to say?"

In the shadows, Mitsui Zero poked out her delicate and noble face. Everyone is looking at her, for thousands of years, the Mitsui family has been the staunchest ally of the Zhang family, every wife of the head of the Zhang family is from the Mitsui family, and every first lady of the Mitsui family is from the Zhang family. Mitsui Zero knew that at today's family meeting, her identity was not the mother of the Zhang family, but the representative of the Mitsui family.

She took a breath, fixed her gaze on her husband's face, and said slowly:

"I don't have much to say, but I've done my best, and I've sacrificed two sons for this plan. ”

When she said "son", Zhang Kang immediately showed a sad expression.

"That's not just your child, it's mine. ”

"Yes. Mitsui Zero sneered, "In that case, why did Mr. Zhang calm down in the face ......of the murderer?

"Madam!" Zhang Kang interrupted again, "Revenge is a family matter, and I don't want to discuss ...... at the family meeting."

"It's a family matter, but it's also a family matter!" Mitsui raised his voice.

The temperature of the surrounding air seemed to be lower, Mitsui Zero's face seemed to be frozen, and the elders of the family were talking about it, Zhang Kang looked around the audience, and finally let out a long sigh.

"Well," he said, "then let's talk about this: I am also sorry for Ouchi-kun's death." Believe me, he is not only your Mitsui's retainer, but also our Zhang clan's clan!"

"But ......"

"But I told you plainly, don't take matters into your own hands. ”

"Smack!"

Mitsui slapped the table hard, and his hands were on the case: "Then there is no need to avenge the revenge?"

"No~!" Zhang Kang shook his head, "Regarding revenge for my son, I have my own arrangements." ”

Mitsui sneered constantly. Zhang Kang frowned, everyone could tell that he didn't want to continue the topic.

"We Chinese have a saying," he said, "and it is not too late for a gentleman to take revenge." Sunan is very optimistic about the kid surnamed Yang - although I don't know why, I accept the fait accompli. I don't want to overly irritate the Su family in this matter, especially at this critical time. ”

"But Yang Zhen is the only son-in-law recognized by the Su family, and one day with him, you don't want to marry the bride of the Su family!" Mitsui Ling reminded coldly, "Don't forget, Su Ziqing is the only key to open the mozuka." ”

"Quite the opposite. Zhang Kang's voice was cold and stern, "Madam, I have never forgotten, but I must point out that your Mitsui family has made a serious mistake in this matter: retrieving the 'key' and marrying the bride are two different things, we want the key of Su Ziqing, not the daughter-in-law of Su Ziqing." ”

All the elders of the family began to talk to each other in unison, and the concept proposed by Zhang Kang refreshed their cognition, and they had to admit that they had ignored this before, but they were not ashamed of it, because they did not fall into some kind of text trap, but everyone's subconscious reaction when they heard that the "key" was Su Ziqing - marriage is the only way out.

An old man on crutches stood up, he was wearing a crisp black suit, too old to tell his age, but his eyes were shining:

"Family Master, I have to remind you: the strength of the four major families is half a pound and eight taels, and neither can overwhelm the other, so they have been at peace for thousands of years. Your idea is too crazy, which means that we will start an all-out war with the Su Clan, and we will only lose both. ”

"We just need to take Su Ziqing away secretly. Zhang Kang said, "When Sunan finds out, the mounds have already been opened, and we will have the powerhouse of the Tribulation Realm, which is an epoch-making breakthrough, and then our strength will be several times that of the Su family, this is a war without suspense, and the Su family will become the first sacrifice of our Zhang family's unified cultivation realm!"

There was another buzzing discussion, and a monk in a robe with a twisted Buddha bead stood in the light:

"Are you sure? Don't forget, Su Ziqing herself is also a monk in the Concentration Realm, and her side is secretly obedient to the clouds, and all of them are powerful. If you want to take her away without knowing it, you can't do it unless it's God. ”

Zhang Kang smiled mysteriously, took out a cigar from the cigarette case, cut the opening with scissors, lit it with a slender match, took a slow puff, and his eyes fell on the only empty cup in the room:

"Then let the gentlemen bear witness to the miracles. ”

※※※

At three o'clock in the morning, the meeting ended.

The elders left one after another, and the underground conference hall was once again quiet. But Zhang Kang didn't leave, he sank himself into the darkness where he couldn't see his fingers, and smoked one cigarette after another.

The first cigarette, he remembered the ancestor of the Zhang family, the heavenly master Zhang Daoling, in July of the second year of Han'an, he climbed Qingcheng Mountain, fought against the eight ghosts, how high-spirited, but in the end, at the critical time of breaking through the tribulation, he failed to withstand the catastrophe and disappeared.

In the second cigarette, he remembered his father, who fought the Ghost King for Six Days under the Yellow Emperor's Altar in Chicheng, subdued the evil demons for the Sixteen Days, imprisoned in the capital of the Northern Yin Dynasty, and led the Zhang family to leap into the four major families, and finally went deep into the Mariana Trench in order to explore the mystery of the catastrophe, and never returned.

The third cigarette ......

Zhang Kang slowly stood up.

"To forget the past means to betray, so I will never forget. He whispered, then pulled off the cigarette butt and turned to walk towards the wall.

Zhang Kang stretched out his hand, and the incantation of Gu Ao was chanted from his mouth, and the tightly closed wall suddenly sank into a palm-like dentation, and then the wall retreated, and a gloomy air flow gushed out from the crack in the door, revealing a deeper tunnel behind him that could not be seen at a glance, and there was a faint sound of the wind, like a ......

The Yellow Springs Road.

But Zhang Kang walked in without thinking.

In the tunnel, the walls are made of hard rock, and the tunnel leads to the depths of the rock formation, and people walk in it with the illusion that they are going deep into the center of the earth, as if they are entering hell.

There was no light, and the tunnel was pitch black, but for the head of the Zhang family, this darkness was nothing at all, he walked down the tunnel step by step, and finally his eyes suddenly opened up, and he came to a huge stone room.

Zhang Kang waved his hand, and the lights on the four walls lit up one by one, and now you can see the furnishings inside: tables, chairs, carpets, sofas, fireplaces, all kinds of facilities are available, and there is even a small bar in one corner, like an aristocratic salon in high society.

"Actually, I didn't understand," someone suddenly spoke in the stone room, "why did you have your living room here?" ”

It was a man shrouded in a black robe, his face handsome, his eyes shining like stars shining in the night sky, and a modest smile always on the corner of his mouth.

"Isn't it good here?" Zhang Kang walked to the bar, poured two glasses of whiskey, and handed him one, "At the end of the Yellow Springs Road is heaven, just like what we are after, isn't it?"

"Perhaps. The man in black shrugged, "It's just that I didn't expect that you would even cheat on your own son and wife for the sake of the human race." ”

"Son, wife?" Zhang Kang sneered, "Do you think that RB woman who was eight months pregnant and gave birth to her will really be my Zhang Kang's son?"

The man in black smiled: "You can apply for a DNA test." ”

"The Zhang family can't afford to lose this person," Zhang Kang said, "Besides, everyone is a cultivator, is it difficult to give a doctor a hint? This kind of result is only suitable for mortals." ”

"Maybe you're right. The man shook the wine glass lightly, and the liquid swayed, reflecting a charming luster, "But I still admire you very much, it is not easy to easily convince everyone that Su Ziqing is the 'key'~ Mitsui and your elders, which one of them is not a human spirit, they were all hidden, and they were willing to be cannon fodder for you." ”

"It's not cannon fodder, I let them covet Su Ziqing, but also to attract the attention of the Su family, in the final analysis, it's for our plan," Zhang Kang took a sip of wine and straightened his expression, "What's going on?"

"It's going well," said the man in black, "and it won't be long before we're on top of the world." ”

"Where's the Mozuka?"

"We've found the place where the demons are buried. ”

Zhang Kang nodded slowly and made a small gesture. The man in black bowed slightly and retreated.

"It's been two thousand years~" Zhang Kang looked at the wine glass in his hand and sighed softly.