Surging with murderous intent, Xiao Chen leaned down and snarled through bared teeth,
"You old bastard, don't force me to kill you right here!!"
"You want to establish your own branch? Fine!"
"Get the hell out of here, and don't even think about taking a single hair belonging to the Xiao clan!!"
With that, he straightened up, swept his furious glare across the room, and roared, "Who else wants to leave?!"
"After today, if anyone harbors other intentions, don't blame me, Xiao Chen, if I kill!"
With those words, he kicked the old man beneath him, sending him flying hundreds of zhang away. The old man's body shattered one of the hall's pillars as he was sent hurtling out.
His ribs broken by the kick, the old man uttered not a single word. One after another, fully two-thirds of the people in the hall chose to leave!
Holding his crimson spear, Xiao Chen stood motionless in the center of the hall, silently watching the departing crowd.
He watched until they had all departed the domain together.
Xiao Chen swept his sharp gaze across the remaining crowd and asked in a low voice, "Does anyone else wish to leave?"
The nine who remained looked at one another, then slowly stepped into the center of the hall, bowed deeply, and said,
"We are but fading candles, yet we willingly offer ourselves to assist the Young Master!"
All of these elders were advanced in years, their lifespans drawing near their end, and their cultivation could only be considered mediocre at best.
Only three of them were cultivators in the Soul Formation Realm.
Yet each and every one was an elder of Xiao Chen's lineage!
Looking at the gray-haired elders before him, Xiao Chen felt his nose sting.
Putting away his spear, he bowed deeply in return to the old men and said solemnly,
"Elders, please rest assured. Xiao Chen... will never fail your expectations!"
Seeing this, Ye Feng decided not to linger any longer. He took his leave with a brief word to Xiao Chen.
There were surely countless matters waiting for Xiao Chen to arrange.
Ye Feng told him that he would not stay long before returning to the Great Xia Sword Sect, and Xiao Chen nodded without saying more.
Xiao Chen himself did not know what he should do next; he felt quite lost.
However, what he was certain of was that he would not remain in the clan for long before departing!
Ye Feng also told him that if he intended to travel the Six Domains, he must call him along.
When Ye Feng arrived at the Meng clan's domain, Meng Jiangchu came walking over to meet him.
Seeing Ye Feng, he stood side by side with him and asked with a trace of concern,
"How is Xiao Chen?"
Hearing the question, Ye Feng recounted everything that had just occurred.
Meng Jiangchu flew into a fury upon hearing this, his face darkening as he cursed,
"That old bastard Xiao Ding, still scheming for power and profit even at a time like this!!"
"Hmph! If he dares harbor any designs on the Xiao clan in the future, I'll skin the bastard alive!"
With that, the man sighed.
Xiao Chen had undergone a drastic transformation now, or rather...
after so much had happened, he had no choice but to change.
Still, this was for the best. If he remained timid and subservient, never fighting or contesting for anything, then the Xiao clan would probably have declined completely in his generation.
After speaking, Meng Jiangchu, contrary to his usual demeanor, actually asked with concern about Li Guanqi's condition.
Ye Feng shrugged and described Li Guanqi's situation.
Meng Jiangchu's brow furrowed at once.
"You can't sense him?"
"Hiss... wait a moment."
With that, the man vanished on the spot, reappearing in the blink of an eye.
In his hand were six or seven storage rings.
Pointing at one of the white rings, he said, "Inside this one are pills commonly used in the Void Refining Realm, as well as pills that aid in Void Returning."
"I prepared a share for you, and isn't that Cao Yan about to break through? There's a share for that brat as well."
"This one contains dharma artifacts, this one spirit stones, and inside here are some rarer talismans and teleportation scrolls."
Ye Feng gulped as he listened. Then, suddenly remembering something, he frowned and asked,
"Uh... Senior Meng, is my sister-in-law not coming back with me?"
Meng Jiangchu's face darkened at the question. "Go back? Go back for what?"
"She unsealed her cultivation without permission and suffered a severe backlash, and the cold poison in her body is stirring up again."
"On top of that, recalling her void avatar is troublesome in its own right. She probably won't be able to step outside for a while."
Ye Feng nodded silently. He had guessed that recalling a void avatar would come with substantial complications, though in that dire situation back then, she had no other choice.
The man sighed and asked, "When do you plan to leave?"
Ye Feng pondered for a moment before answering, "Since everything is settled here, I plan to head back right now."
"I'm also worried about Boss's situation."
Meng Jiangchu nodded slightly, flicking his wrist to cast out nine radiant array plates.
Like petals, the nine array plates attracted one another and locked together in midair.
Immediately after, a teleportation array a full ten zhang across formed in an instant.
*Hum!*
A spatial pathway opened in the void, and Meng Jiangchu spoke:
"Alright. Be careful on your way back."
At this point, the man paused briefly, then said in a sincere voice,
"Thank you for looking out for Xiao Chen."
Resting his right hand on his sword hilt, Ye Feng said softly, "When it comes to my brothers, I can never just stand by and watch."
Cupping his hands in a parting salute, he took a step into the teleportation array.
As the array light flickered, the teleportation channel slowly closed.
Once Ye Feng was gone, Meng Jiangchu's expression instantly darkened!
Looking down at the half-mask in his hand, he fell silent.
Regarding this mysterious organization, he had only heard fleeting whispers in the Seventh Domain.
Moreover, the Seventh Domain...
had shocked him far too deeply. Even though he had already returned, his mind remained unsettled, and from time to time, he would still recall the scenes he had witnessed there.
Taking out a jade slip, he said in a heavy voice, "Fellow Daoist Gu, people from that organization... attacked the Xiao clan with creatures from the Purgatory Abyss! They even attempted to assassinate my daughter!"
"Can you find where their organization is based?"
Before long, the jade slip glowed faintly.
Gu Yong's voice came through from the jade pendant:
"Brother Meng, I am already aware of this matter."
"Not only the Xiao clan—nearly at the same time, numerous clans in both the Shenbao Domain and the Xuanmen Domain were brutally exterminated!!"
Hearing this, Meng Jiangchu's pupils contracted to needlepoints!
It seemed the situation was far graver than he had imagined!
Meng Jiangchu suddenly caught an anomaly in the old man's words and quickly asked,
"Only our two domains? What about the other domains?"
The old man's voice carried an equal measure of perplexity.
"There were incidents in the other domains as well, but very few clans or factions were wiped out—only a mere handful."
"Furthermore, this organization is exceptionally mysterious. Even the Tianji Pavilion has failed to uncover any useful information so far!"
Meng Jiangchu suddenly recalled the matter of 'raising demons' that Ye Feng had mentioned to him, and he recounted it to Gu Yong.
"That much is understandable; after all, most foul creatures feed on cultivators' essence and blood to strengthen themselves," Gu Yong replied. "However, I never expected that Abyss Demons of the same kind would devour one another. I plan to make a trip to the Taiqing Domain in person!"
Meng Jiangchu pondered for a long time before saying,
"I'll come find you. We will go together!"
"I'm getting ready to restore my strength!"
At those words, atop a distant tower, a white-haired elder looked out the window, his eyes flickering slightly.
Setting down the teacup in his hand, the old man murmured softly,
"After this journey, it will be time to break through to the Mahayana Realm..."
Putting down the jade pendant, Meng Jiangchu once again scrutinized the half-mask in his hand.
Wisps of spiritual light seeped from his palm to probe the mask.
The further he examined it, the graver his expression became!
Because whoever had forged this mask possessed artifact-refining abilities that were equal to his own, if not superior!
Yet he knew every renowned weapon refiner across the Six Domains, and none of their techniques matched this mask!
Knitting his brows, the man withdrew his spiritual light and muttered under his breath,
"Just who could it be?"
Chapter 608