Jiang Heqian sneered with a sinister grin—perhaps so vicious and menacing that the assembled guest elders' expressions subtly shifted. Fei Wangbai replied,
"Brother Heqian, a blood feud can finally be avenged today. Let us depart at once! This is no petty skirmish like those on the eastern shore, so we must exercise caution."
It turned out that this Jiang Heqian was none other than the old friend Fei Wangbai had arranged to stir up trouble among the eastern shore clans. Though the Yu family had searched repeatedly to no avail, he had actually been living on a small knoll right beside Milin Commandery. Jiang Heqian had long run out of patience. He growled fiercely,
"Let's go!"
***
The terrain of Milin Commandery was flat, covered in dense, towering woods. A handful of its dark, moist soil was rich enough that squeezing it seemed to press out oil. It was originally a fertile, blessed land capable of sustaining many lives; no matter how much the Yu family's tens of thousands of relatives and scions squandered and mismanaged it, it could still nurture hundreds of thousands of common folk.
With the crowing of roosters and barking of dogs, morning was breaking. Sunlight swept across the five celestial mountains of Milin Commandery. Figures rose into the air from the mountaintops as Yu family cultivators took flight upon the wind, heading toward the plain at the very center of Milin Commandery.
The earth veins of the five celestial mountains converged here, and the intersecting spirit veins nourished vast stretches of spirit fields. The Milin Commandery market was situated right in their midst, its form concealed by a grand formation established where the five earth veins met. This grand formation had been meticulously constructed by the Yu family using their ancestral Jade Court Garrison One Formation. Not only could it withstand attacks from Foundation Establishment cultivators, but it also empowered those inside it. It had cost Yu Xiaogui a massive fortune in spirit stones.
Yu Xiao'ou sat leisurely in a large mahogany armchair, stroking his grizzled beard as he picked up an ancient tome and read it attentively. He was the eldest brother of the Yu family's Xiao generation, currently possessing Qi Refinement peak cultivation. Already over a hundred and twenty years old, he had long abandoned any hope of reaching Foundation Establishment. Thus, he had taken an assignment to oversee the market. No longer cultivating, he spent his days reading books and enjoying opera tunes, living a rather comfortable life.
He had read merely two or three pages when a man came rushing up from below leading a crowd of clansmen, blurting out repeatedly:
"Eldest Master! Word has arrived that the Li family attacked Mount Huazhong! The old ancestor went over alone! The family head sent someone over, saying we must mobilize the clan's cultivators!"
"What?!"
Yu Xiao'ou sprang up, slapping the table. In a mixture of fury and panic, he blurted out in alarm,
"That Fifth Brother of mine—always so brooding and impetuous! Why did he go over all by himself?! Li Tongya has always been cunning and venomous; what if the Li family laid an ambush?! And that Li Chijing has become a sword immortal—how could he take them lightly?!"
The crowd below fell silent at once. Yu Xiaogui was a Foundation Establishment cultivator; only a handful of elders in the clan dared to call him "Fifth Brother" so casually. Moreover, Yu Xiaogui was somber and stern, and no one dared stroke the tiger's whiskers. Yu Xiao'ou's words struck terror into all of them.
Yu Xiao'ou had cultivated for a century after all, and he saw through the father and son—Yu Xiaogui and Yu Mugao—underestimating the enemy at a glance. The old man's chin trembled, his beard shaking as he asked urgently:
"Where is Clan Uncle Yufeng?!"
"We don't know!"
The elders below stirred in panic for a moment before Yu Xiao'ou quickly took control, shouting:
"Quiet down, all of you!"
Seeing all the elders look over, Yu Xiao'ou scolded,
"All this age, yet you panic without a shred of dignity! Everyone grab your gear and come with me to Mount Huazhong to find Yu Xiaogui!"
The group nodded repeatedly and was just about to take to the wind when an outcry rang out:
"Hold on!"
A black-robed youth vaulted out from the crowd, his voice and demeanor stern. Raising a letter high, he yelled:
"By order of the family head: no one is to go to Mount Huazhong!"
The elders instantly lowered their sails, looking up in a dilemma. Yu Xiao'ou grew thoroughly anxious and was about to curse, but he remembered that his nephew Yu Mugao was always sharp and resourceful. He could only suppress his temper and bark:
"If the family head has a scheme, spit it out already! What are you stalling for?!"
The youth choked. Yu Xiao'ou held immense seniority, so the youth could only offer repeated apologies. Seeing him dawdling again, Yu Xiao'ou glared and snapped once more:
"Useless trash! Speak up!"
The man checked himself and shouted:
"The family head's intention is... for all of us to head to the south shore and attack Mount Lijing!"
At these words, everyone held their breath in thought. Yu Xiao'ou realized at once that Yu Xiaogui was likely in no grave danger at Mount Huazhong, merely tied down. He clapped his hands together, his grizzled whiskers bristling. He had vast experience after all; he had only lost his composure momentarily out of anxiety. Now, with just a slight hint, he understood completely. Nodding repeatedly, he exclaimed with feeling:
"That boy Mugao truly is venomous! One glance and you know he's Yu Xiaogui's spawn—a vicious wolf sires vicious cubs, that's how it goes! Listen to your granduncle, all of you: we attack Mount Lijing!"
No sooner had Yu Xiao'ou finished shouting than cheers broke out below, though eyes turned to look at him haphazardly. Gazing at the Yu clansmen—some looking dull-witted, others only now catching on—Yu Xiao'ou felt a fire burning in his chest. He delivered a swift kick that sent the man in front of him tumbling to the ground, cursing:
"You damned idiot! Conceal the 'Yu' characters on your clothes and magical tools! Who in the world goes to butcher someone's family and leaves their own name behind?! Fools! Damn it, I could drag in any mortal shopkeeper from the mundane world and he'd have more wits than all of you bundled together!"
The man on the ground was plump and portly; he rolled three times across the floor before pushing himself upright, nodding frantically. Only then did the rest of the Yu cultivators see the light, hurriedly tearing off collar emblems or casting illusion arts. Yu Xiao'ou's eyes turned red with rage as he scolded:
"Truly an unfilial, worthless generation! Aside from eating and drinking, what else are you lot good for?!"
His heart and lungs felt scorched by fire, yet a chill surged through him in waves. Suddenly, a thunderous roar blasted out. Dust rustled down across the entire hall, and the ground trembled ceaselessly beneath their feet. A chill gripped Yu Xiao'ou's heart. He stumbled back dejectedly, the color draining from his lips. Clutching his robes, he muttered hoarsely as if in a fever dream:
"The Fei family... it's the Fei family. Uncle Yufeng... what happened to Uncle Yufeng?"
Yu Xiao'ou felt waves of dizziness wash over him. The people below looked at him in bewilderment, whispering among themselves:
"This is... the grand formation has been triggered... Who would dare kick us when we're down at a time like this..."
"Where is the old ancestor? We just need to wait for the ancestor to arrive!"
Yu Xiao'ou took a moment to steady his mind, instantly feeling deeply exhausted. Letting out a heavy sigh, he replied:
"Each of you take your stations at the formation flags. Prepare to meet the enemy!"
The Yu cultivators below took their positions to maintain the formation, while Yu Xiao'ou stepped in to control the formation diagram of the Jade Court Garrison One Formation. The grand formation immediately brightened significantly. Above in the sky, Fei Wangbai wore gray robes, his facial features obscured and his voice raspy and harsh. He spoke in a reedy tone:
"Fellow Daoist, I leave this Jade Court Garrison One to you."
Jiang Heqian had likewise concealed his face, but he did not disguise his voice or garments. Even the mist over his visage was haphazardly cast, allowing his rough features to be faintly discerned—as though he had no fear of the Yu clan recognizing him and would even relish it. He answered coldly:
"Rest easy, Fellow Daoist! This Jade Court Garrison One was personally handed down by my grandfather. The Yu thieves only know that Jade Court Garrison One can draw upon earth veins and combine the power of multiple formations, but they know nothing of its true secrets!"
A milky-white light barrier rose from the formation below. Yu Xiao'ou's face faintly emerged on the surface of the formation, his voice booming like thunder under the formation's amplification:
"Why are you Fellow Daoists attacking my Yu family's market without cause? You had best think this through—our old ancestor..."
Yu Xiao'ou still hoped to stall for time, but Fei Wangbai had already swept his sleeve, slamming into the formation with a massive booming crash that cut Yu Xiao'ou off midsentence. His robe and cloak drifted silently behind him. Fearing recognition, Fei Wangbai restrained his transformations and did not produce his spear, though his immortal foundation, Byway Brocade, was already silently circulating.
Jiang Heqian sneered coldly, gritting his teeth with a ferocious look. Alone in the world, he feared nothing. Jade-like patterns emerged in his pupils. Bringing his palms together, six jade-white rays of magical light surged from his body. Jade textures showed through his skin, extending from his elbows and earlobes to drift in the air like ribbons of white silk.
The moment this immortal foundation manifested, the Yu clansmen below were struck dumb. Some of the formation nodes controlled by them flickered erratically—clearly their minds were utterly shaken. For nothing else than this: Jiang Heqian's immortal foundation manifestation was identical to that of Yu Yufeng, the Yu family's old ancestor, many years ago. It instantly set everyone's imaginations wild.
Yu Xiao'ou was aghast, frightened out of his wits. He blurted out in disbelief:
"'Jade Court General'... How is that possible?!"
What Jiang Heqian had formed was precisely the immortal foundation "Jade Court General" derived from the Classic of the White-Headed Court Knocker. The Classic of the White-Headed Court Knocker had long lost that wisp of "Court Red Dust." The Yu family had possessed only a single portion of this heaven-and-earth spirit qi left, which had been used on Yu Yufeng; none had achieved it since. Now, seeing this attacking cultivator invoke the immortal foundation Jade Court General, Yu Xiao'ou's mind went entirely blank, flooded with countless conjectures.
He even lost his senses, paying no heed to the two men attacking the formation, and said in a dry, hoarse voice:
"It's you..."
The two outside gave him no respite. Fei Wangbai did not use his spear, suppressing the Jade Court Garrison One Formation solely with spells and martial strikes. Jiang Heqian flew forward and pressed his palms against the barrier; the extending jade-like patterns seemed to come alive, boring into the milky-white barrier and rapidly spreading across it.
"This is..."
Yu Xiao'ou's thoughts were in utter turmoil as he found the formation growing increasingly turbulent. His control, sustained through the formation diagram, steadily waned. Unsettled, his heart pounded violently against his ribs. He felt it was unbelievable, yet somehow a natural cause and effect. Yu Xiao'ou rasped:
"A member of the Jiang family."
The grand formation shook continuously. Visible cracks and flickering gaps appeared across the Jade Court Garrison One Formation. Outside the hall, Yu Xiao'ou heard terrified screams and faint sobs. Slowly, he released his grip.
*Crash!*
The Jade Court Garrison One Formation, which the Yu family had painstakingly erected by linking the earth and spirit veins of five celestial mountains, shattered like shredded paper under Jiang Heqian's art. The milky-white light barrier slowly dissolved, turning into specks of scattered luminescence that vanished into Milin Commandery.
The clusters of buildings below were revealed. The Milin Commandery market was not yet open for the day, so most of those inside were Yu family cultivators and guest elders. With two full Foundation Establishment cultivators present and the formation gone, how could any of the Embryonic Breathing and Qi Refinement cultivators dare linger? They fled in every direction.
The guest elders Fei Wangbai had brought dropped toward the various formation nodes. Jiang Heqian hardly hesitated; with a shift of his body, he landed upon the highest main hall, crushing its vaulted roof with a stomp of his foot and dropping inside.
*Rumble...*
Yu Xiao'ou had suffered backlash from the Jade Court Garrison One Formation. The shock had left his internal organs throbbing in agony, and his magic power had been drained completely dry. Emptied from within, he could barely stand, let alone take flight to flee. He could only watch as tiles and rubble cascaded from the vaulted ceiling, stumbling back a few paces in vain.
"You are... from the Jiang family?"
Yu Xiao'ou no longer thought of running. His expression was complicated. Having formed the immortal foundation "Jade Court General," harboring hostility toward the Yu family, possessing the method to unravel the Jade Court Garrison One Formation, and with features bearing some resemblance to his late wife—Yu Xiao'ou was already certain.
The Yu family and the An family had originally been external cultivators under the Jiang family. Later, when the Jiang family declined, the Yu and An families used a dull knife to shave meat, gradually encroaching upon and devouring the Jiang family. In the end, both families carried Jiang blood. Now, seeing a descendant of their former masters standing before him, Yu Xiao'ou felt overwhelmingly conflicted.
Jiang Heqian narrowed his eyes slightly. Both pupils possessed a translucent jade-like quality, just like Yu Yufeng's in years past. Those two frightening eyes stared straight at Yu Xiao'ou.
Jiang Heqian said nothing, merely fixing his gaze on Yu Xiao'ou, forcing the old man to retreat step after step in disheveled humiliation. Though of the Xiao generation, Yu Xiao'ou was older than Yu Yufeng due to generational spans over the years. His mother had been of the Jiang family; his grandmother had been of the Jiang family; the woman he had wed was of the Jiang family; and in the end, those he had killed were also of the Jiang family.
A storm of disordered visions surfaced in Yu Xiao'ou's mind: his mother, his grandmother... their eyes converged at this moment, flashing like lightning through his aging mind. Before Jiang Heqian had even struck a blow, Yu Xiao'ou was already reeling in defeat.
*Splurt!*
Yu Xiao'ou wondered whether the middle-aged man before him was his brother-in-law, his cousin's son, or something else, but that jade-like hand had already punched through Yu Xiao'ou's chest, tearing out the old man's beating heart.
A bone-deep thrill of vengeance welled up within Jiang Heqian, yet the sorrowful, pleading, and stunned gaze in the old man's eyes stirred an unbearable pang in his heart. It felt as foul as having swallowed a fly, leaving him unable to look directly into those eyes. The ferocity in his gaze slowly faded, dissolving into moist, glistening anguish. Jiang Heqian thought:
'Perhaps this old man was my brother-in-law, or my mother's cousin, or something else.'
Jiang Heqian lowered his head and slowly withdrew his arm, causing Yu Xiao'ou to cough up a mouthful of fresh blood that trickled through his white beard. Yu Xiao'ou strained with his cloudy old eyes, desperate to make out the middle-aged man's face. He saw that his brow and features were dignified and handsome; though his eyes were fierce and malicious, they still bore an uncanny resemblance to those of his late wife—vivacious, yet tinged with a delicate sorrow.
In his mind flashed the dim glow of candlelight on their wedding night all those years ago. The young woman had gazed at Yu Xiao'ou with that same sorrowful, longing look. Fifteen-year-old Yu Xiao'ou had been utterly enchanted. Gathering her long hair, he had called her Heqing.
As the world spun around him, Yu Xiao'ou felt the mockery of fate. The old man's chest heaved like a bellows. From the agony, saliva dribbled strand by strand from the corner of his mouth, spattering downward. Urine seeped out beyond his control. Shivering in utter indignity, the old man squeezed out two words:
"Qing'er..."
Jiang Heqian let out a cold laugh, as if mocking him. Yu Xiao'ou merely lowered his head to gaze at the pristine white arm piercing his chest. His wrinkled, aged hand settled soothingly over that arm, patting it gently and tenderly.
The last breath kept alive in his aged body by his Qi Refinement peak cultivation slipped away. The vitality drained from Yu Xiao'ou, and his head slumped heavily downward.
Chapter 249