Spirit Ruin, Sword Coffin, Blind Swordsman

Xiao Chen, murderous intent surging wildly around him, bent down with a ferocious expression and snarled. “You old bastard, don’t force me to kill you right here! You want to set up your own faction? Fine! Get the hell out on your own, but don’t even think about taking so much as a single hair from the Xiao family!”

He straightened up and roared at everyone present, shouting, “Who else wants to leave?! After today, if anyone has second thoughts, don’t blame me for showing no mercy!”

He lifted his foot and kicked Xiao Ding, sending him flying hundreds of zhang away. He smashed through the pillars of the great hall and shot straight out. Xiao Ding, ribs shattered by the kick, said nothing more.

One after another, two-thirds of the people in the hall left. Xiao Chen stood in the center of the hall with a red spear in hand, silently watching the departing crowd.

Only after they had all left the place did Xiao Chen sweep his sharp gaze across the hall. He said in a deep voice, “Anyone else want to go?”

The remaining nine exchanged glances, slowly walked to the center of the hall, and bowed deeply.

“We are old, withering embers. We are willing to assist you, Eldest Young Master.”

All of them were old, approaching the end of their lives. Their strength was only average, and only three had reached the Divine Transformation Realm. But they were all elders from Xiao Chen’s own line.

Looking at the gray-haired elders before him, Xiao Chen felt his eyes sting. He put away his spear and bowed in return, speaking solemnly, “Please rest assured, elders. I will not break your trust!”

Ye Feng didn’t intend to linger. He told Xiao Chen he wouldn’t stay long and would soon return to the Daxia Sword Sect. He also told Xiao Chen that if he ever planned to travel the Six Territories, he had better bring him along. Xiao Chen nodded without another word, and with that, Ye Feng took his leave, as many pressing matters awaited his attention.Xiao Chen had no idea what to do next and felt rather lost. But one thing he was certain of: he would not stay with the family for long before leaving.

When Ye Feng arrived at the Meng family territory, Meng Jiangchu came out to meet him.

Walking alongside him, Meng Jiangchu asked with some concern, “How is Xiao Chen doing?”

Once Ye Feng finished recounting everything, Meng Jiangchu flew into a rage. His face darkened as he cursed, “That old bastard Xiao Ding, still vying for power when we’re in this situation! Hmph! If he ever harbors any ill intentions toward the Xiao family in the future, I’ll skin him alive!”

He let out a long sigh. Xiao Chen had changed greatly. Or rather, after everything that had happened, he’d had no choice but to change. But that was probably for the best. If he had remained timid, yielding, and unwilling to fight for anything, the Xiao family would likely have fallen into complete decline in this generation.

Then, uncharacteristically, Meng Jiangchu started asking about how Li Guanqi was doing.

Ye Feng shrugged and briefly updated him on Li Guanqi’s situation.

Meng Jiangchu frowned. “Can’t sense him? Hmm… Wait a moment.”

He disappeared, only to reappear a moment later with six or seven storage rings. He pointed to a white one. “These contain commonly used pills for Illusory Refinement Realm cultivators, as well as pills that aid in the clone creation process. I’ve prepared a set for you.”

“And Cao Yan, he’s about to break through, isn’t he? I prepared some things for that brat too.” He took out a few items. “This one’s a magic tool, this one has spirit stones, and these are some precious talismans and teleportation scrolls.”

Ye Feng swallowed hard. He frowned as he remembered something. “Uh… Senior Meng, will Meng Wanshu be coming back with me?”

Meng Jiangchu’s face darkened.

“Coming back? Forget it. She broke her seal, and the backlash was significant. Her body’s ice poison is also starting to stir. On top of that, she recalled her clone, which makes things more troublesome. She won’t be able to go out for a while.”

Ye Feng nodded, having expected that recalling her clone would lead to complications, even though it had been unavoidable at the time.

Meng Jiangchu sighed. “When do you plan to leave?”

Ye Feng hesitated for a moment. “Since everything’s settled, I’ll head back now. I’m also a bit worried about what’s going on with the elder.”

Meng Jiangchu nodded slightly and tossed out nine glowing array trays. The nine trays hovered like petals in the air, automatically aligning and connecting. A teleportation array nearly ten zhang wide formed in moments.

Buzz!

A teleportation channel opened in the void.

“Be careful on the way back,” Meng Jiangchu said. He paused, his voice sincere. “You’ve gone to great lengths for Xiao Chen.”

Ye Feng rested a hand on his sword and replied softly, “He’s my brother. I couldn’t just stand by.”

He cupped his fists in respect and stepped into the teleportation array. The light flickered, and the channel gradually closed.

Once Ye Feng departed, Meng Jiangchu’s expression darkened. He lowered his head and stared silently at the broken mask in his hands. He had heard only scattered rumors about the Sha organization while in the Seventh Territory. Even after returning, the shock from what he’d witnessed there lingered. His mind still drifted back to it from time to time.

He pulled out a jade slip and said gravely, “Daoist Gu, the people from that organization… They attacked the Xiao family with items from the Dungeon Abyss and even attempted to assassinate my daughter! Can you trace the location of their organization?”

Soon, the jade slip glowed faintly, and Gu Yong’s voice came through.

—Brother Meng, I’m already aware of this. Not only the Xiao family, but at almost the same time, many families across the Divine Treasure Territory and Black Sect Territory were annihilated!

Meng Jiangchu’s pupils dilated sharply. The situation was far worse than he had imagined. “Only our two territories? What about the others?”

His voice carried a trace of puzzlement.

—The other territories do have incidents, but the number of families or forces wiped out is extremely small, only a handful. And this organization is utterly mysterious. Even the Heavenly Intelligence Pavilion hasn’t uncovered anything useful yet!

Meng Jiangchu recalled what Ye Feng had told him about the “raising of demons” and relayed it to Gu Yong.

—That I can understand. After all, vile creatures like that usually feed on cultivators’ essence to strengthen themselves. But for Abyssal Demons to actually devour one another… that I did not expect. I’ll personally pay a visit to the Taiqing Territory.

“I’ll go with you. I’m ready to restore my full strength!” Meng Jiangchu said.

In a distant tower, an elderly man with graying hair looked out the window, his gaze flickering slightly.

He set down his teacup and murmured, “After this journey… it’ll be time to break through to the Mahayana Stage.”

Setting aside the jade slip, Meng Jiangchu once again examined the broken mask in his hand. Threads of spirit light arose from his palm, probing the mask. The more he probed, the graver his expression became. Whoever had forged it possessed artifact-refining skills at least equal to his own, if not greater.

But Meng Jiangchu knew every famous artifact refiner across the Six Territories, and none of their techniques matched the mask. Frowning, he withdrew the spirit light and murmured, “Who on earth could it be?”