Spirit Ruin, Sword Coffin, Blind Swordsman

Ye Feng was in agony, so much so that even the power of the Ghost Hand could not suppress it. Yet Meng Jiangchu hadn’t even come over to look at him.

Watching the man examine Meng Wanshu from head to toe, Ye Feng couldn’t take it anymore.

Forcing the vital force in his body to circulate, he shouted, “H-help me!”

Only then did Meng Jiangchu notice the deep pit several thousand zhang away. Ye Feng was gripping his right shoulder with his left hand, desperately suppressing the rampaging power of the Ghost Hand.

Whoosh!

Meng Jiangchu instantly appeared beside Ye Feng. Meng Jiangchu’s expression turned extremely grave as he looked him over.

With a wave of his hand, twelve ice needles as thin as hair floated in midair. Meng Jiangchu’s divine consciousness hummed, and his right hand moved like lightning, inserting the twelve needles into Ye Feng’s arm in accordance with a profound technique.

Only their tips remained exposed, but immense power erupted from them, surging through his body like a wild current. The Ghost Hand’s power, which had been leaking from his body, was quickly and completely suppressed.

Ye Feng let out a sigh of relief. He stood up and bowed deeply to Meng Jiangchu. “Thank you for your help, Senior Meng.”

Meng Jiangchu waved his hand; it was a small matter for him. His gaze, however, settled on Ye Feng’s arm with a solemn intensity. Sensing it, Ye Feng instinctively shifted, trying to hide his arm.Meng Jiangchu said, “I’ll give you these twelve Ice Spiral Needles. Later, I’ll teach you the needle technique as well. That way, if something like this happens again, you won’t be helpless.”

Ye Feng stared at Meng Jiangchu in a daze. So he wasn’t actually disgusted by the power in my arm…

A strange warmth flowed through his heart. He had been about to refuse, but Meng Wanshu spoke first. “Keep it. The Ice Spiral Needles will be very useful for you.”

In the end, Ye Feng didn’t refuse. He nodded quietly and thanked Meng Jiangchu.

Meng Jiangchu smiled and nodded, then took out a blank jade slip and pressed it to his forehead. After a moment, he opened his eyes and handed it to Ye Feng.

Ye Feng bowed and accepted it with both hands, carefully tucking it away.

The needles remained in Ye Feng’s arm. Meng Jiangchu said, “Don’t remove them for now. Wait seven days for their power to stabilize completely. The timeframe should be neither too long nor too short.”

Ye Feng nodded. “Understood.”

With those words, a slight gloom settled over the three of them.

Meng Jiangchu drew a deep breath and said in a low voice, “Wanshu, take your illusory body and return. Once things are settled, tend to your injuries. I’ll handle what happens here.”

He glanced at Ye Feng and sighed. “As for you, go back to the domain with Wanshu to recover from your injuries. There’s no need for you to worry about what happens here.”

The two youths exchanged a glance, nodded, and turned to leave.

It had all happened in the blink of an eye. One misstep, and death would have followed. Even Meng Wanshu shivered at the memory.

Ye Feng, however, appeared completely calm, which made Meng Wanshu curious. “Ye Feng, weren’t you afraid just now?”

She’d assumed he had a brave heart, but Ye Feng simply shrugged. “Afraid of what? I’m still alive, aren’t I? If you were dead, there’d be nothing to be afraid of anyway.”

Meng Wanshu paused slightly.

“Being afraid doesn’t help,” Ye Feng said. “When you have to face something, face it. In the Dungeon Abyss, I’ve been through situations far more dangerous than what just happened, hundreds of times. If I let fear control me every time, I would never have made it out. Or rather… there, the only thought in your mind is surviving. That’s all. Fear, terror… none of it helps you.”

Ye Feng stretched and clasped his hands behind his head. Around him, the cries of the Xiao family disciples filled the air.

“As long as you’re alive,” he said quietly, “the suffering you’ve endured doesn’t matter.”

Meng Wenshu looked at Ye Feng’s back as they departed, wondering what exactly he had endured all those years in the Dungeon Abyss.

***

In the Xiao family domain, Meng Jiangchu surveyed the ruins, his heart heavy with grief. Corpses lay everywhere. Blood soaked the ground, and the air was thick with the stench of death.

He exhaled heavily and teleported outside Xiao Chen’s residence. His expression was grave, and for a moment, he wasn’t sure whether sending his clone had been the right decision.

If he hadn’t divided his strength by sending out a clone—if he’d had his full power instead of just power at the mid Combined Body Realm—that Abyssal Demon would have been nothing. He could have destroyed it with a single move.

His eyes flickered as he murmured, “It’s time to restore my peak power. The truth about the Xiao family’s Combined Body Realm elders having passed away probably won’t stay hidden much longer. The Xiao family will be hard-pressed to remain a top-tier clan.”

The anxious servants looked up, stunned to see the territorial lord himself. They fell to their knees and saluted.

Meng Jiangchu simply moved them all aside and, with a light wave of his hand, tore through the seal Ye Feng had set and walked inside.

Upon seeing Xiao Chen sleeping on the ice lotus, a whirlwind of emotions stirred within him.

While Xiao Chen often acted carefree and irreverent, he was fundamentally good-natured, valuing loyalty and righteousness above all else. His only real issue was his constant arguments with his father, Xiao Yue, which eventually led him to refuse to go home. Even after Xiao Chen returned to the Divine Treasure Territory, he decided to stay with the Meng family rather than return to his home.

Yet now, the Xiao family had suffered a calamity no one could have foreseen.

Meng Jiangchu slowly extended his hand, imperceptibly tearing apart the temporary domain Xiao Chen had created.

Xiao Chen, unconscious until that moment, sensed someone ripping his domain apart. His eyes were bloodshot, his murderous intent so cold it seemed almost tangible. He rose to his feet and shot a blood-red spear toward Meng Jiangchu’s head with terrifying force.

Meng Jiangchu formed a vital force barrier. It slowed the attack, but the Divine Blood Spear broke through and ground through his palm, ripping away flesh as it flew past.

Bang! Sss!

The spear embedded itself into the wall, the end still trembling slightly.

Xiao Chen finally got a good look at the man’s face, and his dull eyes turned red. His voice was barely a whisper. “Uncle Meng…”

Meng Jiangchu’s chest tightened further. His eyes reddened slightly.

After a few moments, he spoke slowly. “Child, don’t worry. I will shoulder everything for you. If anyone dares try anything right now, I won’t let them live.”

Xiao Chen’s heart swirled with conflicting emotions. He wanted to say something but couldn’t find the words.

The former wandering scoundrel of the jianghu felt the full weight of his family’s legacy for the first time.

His father was dead. Even before he recovered from the grief, the responsibility of being the eldest son of the Xiao family pressed down on him. In such a situation, everyone else could fall apart, but not him.

Suppressing his sorrow, Xiao Chen slowly rose. His eyes were vacant, as if his soul had left him.

“Uncle Meng… I just… want to be alone for a while.”

Meng Jiangchu’s expression was filled with concern, and he still felt uneasy.

Xiao Chen lowered his head, messy hair hanging over his face and hiding his expression.

In the end, Meng Jiangchu quietly stood up, patted Xiao Chen’s shoulder, and turned to leave the cultivation chamber.