The Nan family.
Nan Ziyun successfully transferred the Yu Xue Pharmaceutical and the companies managed by Nan Zi'an into his name.
Elated by his control over the Nan family's power, he prepared to celebrate with his family when his phone suddenly rang.
"What?"
"The funds in Yu Xue Pharmaceutical's accounts are all gone?"
Nan Ziyun felt as if he had been struck a heavy blow, collapsing onto the ground, his expression vacant, unable to accept this reality.
"Quickly investigate! How could so much capital disappear just like that?"
The call had barely ended when another immediately followed.
"What? All suppliers have severed cooperation with the Nan family?"
...
The ringing of the phone was like a death knell, one after another.
Each call brought bad news.
All businesses and companies that had dealings with the Nan family, even at the cost of enormous breach of contract penalties, voluntarily terminated their cooperation.
Meanwhile, Nan Xiuming, leaning back in his lounge chair sipping tea, suddenly received a call from his old friend Dong Xing.
"Xiuming, did you offend someone?"
"What do you mean?"
Nan Xiuming sat up straight, a bad premonition surfacing in his heart.
"The Azure Dragon Consortium just contacted me, asking me to sever all business ties with the Nan family."
"What?"
Nan Xiuming was so shocked he almost couldn't breathe. "Old Dong, did you agree?"
"Xiuming, don't blame me. It's just that the Azure Dragon Consortium is a formidable power that cannot be provoked. You should quickly think about what you did to offend their higher-ups!"
"As an old friend of many years, this is all the advice I can give you."
"Beep, beep, beep..."
"Old Dong, Old Dong..."
Nan Xiuming stared at the phone, completely stunned.
The Azure Dragon Consortium had taken the initiative, forcefully severing all cooperation with the Nan family?
"Dad, Dad, something's wrong..."
Nan Ziyun stumbled in.
The dire news caused Nan Xiuming's eyes to roll back.
"Dad, Dad..."
After pinching his philtrum several times, Nan Xiuming finally opened his eyes.
"How could this happen? How could this happen? Where did our family offend the Azure Dragon Consortium?"
Even now, Nan Xiuming found it difficult to accept this reality.
Targeted by such a behemoth as the Azure Dragon Consortium, the Nan family would have no place to stand in Shan Hai City.
Little did they know, this was only the beginning.
"Master, bad news, bad news Master."
Xing Si, the Nan family's finance manager, hurried in.
The father and son, having vaguely guessed the situation, turned ashen, their bodies trembling uncontrollably.
"All family assets have been frozen."
"Tax evasion and other matters, somehow, have all been uncovered. Personnel from relevant departments are likely on their way here!"
All of the Nan family's assets were frozen, and their unclean secrets exposed.
The Nan family was finished!
With a thud, Nan Xiuming collapsed to the ground and fainted completely.
Nan Ziyun also staggered, and if not for Xing Si quickly supporting him, he too would have fallen.
"Where on earth did the Nan family offend the Azure Dragon Consortium?"
Nan Ziyun sighed to the heavens, utterly perplexed.
The news spread like wildfire throughout Shan Hai City, even threatening to overshadow the matter of the mysterious young man challenging the underground emperor.
The Azure Dragon Consortium's suppression of the Nan family caused such a shock primarily because the consortium had recently invested one hundred billion in Yu Xue Pharmaceutical.
The people of Shan Hai City mistakenly believed that the Nan family had a close relationship with the Azure Dragon Consortium.
Yet, after such a short period, the Azure Dragon Consortium suddenly withdrew its investment and even mobilized powerful connections to forcefully demand that suppliers, distributors, and others cooperating with the Nan family sever ties.
Furthermore, they unearthed the Nan family's hidden secrets, leading to the freezing of all assets accumulated by the Nan family over the years.
The Nan family had also built up considerable connections in Shan Hai City over the years.
When this happened, not a single person dared to contact the Nan family to inquire about what was going on, fearing they would be targeted by the Azure Dragon Consortium.
Overnight, the Nan family plummeted from being among the top twenty families in Shan Hai City to not even ranking.
Nan Zi'an also learned of the news.
When he informed Qin Xue, Qin Xue was stunned.
They pondered for two hours, unable to fathom the reason.
During this time, they completely failed to consider Chu Fan as the cause, as Chu Fan was too young and his words unreliable; they didn't believe he possessed such power.
Meanwhile, Hong Batian was also mobilizing all his forces.
He intended to make an example of someone.
To inform the people of Shan Hai City that the throne of the underground emperor still belonged to Hong.
Those who dared to challenge his authority would perish without a burial place.
The Nan family's downfall was of no concern to Qin Xue; her worry was for Chu Fan.
Because Chu Fan was missing.
When she came to her senses and went to find Chu Fan, intending to use secret channels to send him out of Shan Hai City, she discovered that Chu Fan was not in his room.
The last time his family saw him was when Nan Baixuan was yelled at and retreated from the room.
Qin Xue mobilized her entire network but could not locate Chu Fan, which made her extremely anxious. She even considered going to Hong Batian to ask if he had kidnapped Chu Fan, but Nan Zi'an stopped her.
Three days later.
On the peak of Wan Shu Mountain, within the dense foliage, Chu Fan, his body entwined with vines, suddenly stood up.
He had been absorbing the power of the Wood Meridian here during this time.
Although the foreign poison in his body had been suppressed by borrowing the power of the Fire Meridian below the Eternal Hall, the suppression's strength would gradually weaken over time.
Attacking also consumed the suppressed power.
Whenever he had time, he would replenish it.
As dawn broke, the sky over Shan Hai City was shrouded in thick, dark clouds, and the air was heavy.
Inside Jin'an Residence, over ten thousand people were on high alert.
The residents within a ten-mile radius had all been evacuated.
At the entrance, a blood-red coffin had already been placed.
As Chu Fan walked to the foot of Wan Shu Mountain, Qing Long suddenly appeared.
"Young Master, everyone is ready. We await your command!"
"Kill!"
The command was issued.
From all directions of Shan Hai City, personnel who had gathered quickly after the appearance of the Eternal Slaughter Order rapidly headed towards Jin'an Residence.
"Big Brother, there are many people outside!"
"Each of them looks formidable, all unfamiliar faces. We don't know where they came from!"
...
Information poured before Hong Batian, who sat on a pure gold throne.
The oppressive aura around him continuously intensified.
Hong Batian's expression gradually shifted from arrogance to gloom, and finally to ugliness.
He had initially thought Chu Fan was joking when he prepared to face them alone.
He never expected that Chu Fan would also have helpers.
As Chu Fan stood before the entrance of Jin'an Residence, the entire residence was completely surrounded, impenetrable.
"Grandmaster, Grandmaster, Grandmaster..."
Wherever one looked, there were Grandmaster-level experts.
The old man in plain clothes who assisted Hong Batian's endeavors turned pale, his legs trembling uncontrollably.
As a Grandmaster himself, he knew the terror of Grandmasters.
One or two Grandmasters would not be a concern for the old man.
However, the arrival of so many Grandmasters, their sheer aura alone, made it difficult for the old man to breathe, and he sensed the presence of death.
"Hong Batian, I am here. Are you ready to die?"
A roar that shot straight into the nine heavens echoed.
"Kill!"
"Kill!"
"Kill!"
...
One hundred thousand Grandmasters roared in unison.
Inside Jin'an Residence, with the first "kill" command, ordinary thugs died, bleeding from all seven orifices.