32: Aftermath

Fine snow drifted over the ruins of the Jiang Family ancestral land, and the newly laid bluestone steps still bore traces of ice.

Jiang Li knelt before the broken stone pillar of the ancestral hall, her fingertips gently caressing the four characters "Loyalty and Righteousness Passed Down Through Generations" that remained on the pillar.

Behind her, more than thirty members of the Jiang Family held their breath, staring at the figure in a green robe standing with his hands behind his back – the cuffs of that person's sleeves were still stained with the blood of the He Family head, spreading like dark brown plums in the snow.

"Senior."

Jiang Li's voice startled the cold crows perched on the eaves.

As she stood up, her skirt brushed over the still-wet bloodstains on the bluestone, the last struggles of the Shen Family Cultivators from three days prior.

The moment Xu Qi'an turned around, the seventeen-year-old girl suddenly recalled their first meeting a month ago; his eyes had also reflected the snow light like this, cold like a sword tempered for a hundred years in a deep pool.

"A total of two hundred and seventy-three Cultivators from the Wan, Shen, and He families have all been executed."

"Thank you, Senior, for your great kindness!"

Jiang Li offered the blood-stained Family tree with both hands. The edges of the sheepskin scroll were densely covered with new ink, all names of the scattered Family members gathered over the past three days.

"The remaining thirty-nine members of the Jiang clan are willing to swear a blood oath to be grateful to Senior for generations."

Xu Qi'an did not take the scroll.

He looked at the simple silver hair ornament gently swaying in the girl's hair. What hung from it was not pearls, but three rice-sized recording stones, which at this moment reflected the scattered limbs all over the ground.

"Do you truly intend to rebuild the Jiang Family?"

"Yes." Jiang Li's fingernails dug into her palm.

She remembered how the sword light of the Ting He Sword had split open Wan Tianming's Dantian when Xu Qi'an shattered the Wan Family's mountain-protecting formation three days ago, and how those Cultivators who had once bullied her turned into blood mist amidst the sword's cry.

At this moment, the respectful gaze of her Family members was like fine needles, stitching something burning hot into her trembling voice: "The Jiang clan is willing to honor Senior for generations as..."

"An Elder is unnecessary."

The crisp sound of the sword sheath striking the bluestone made everyone tremble.

Xu Qi'an shook a handkerchief from his sleeve and slowly wiped the congealed bloodstains from the sword hilt: "I'm used to being free and unrestrained, and I don't like being bound by clans."

"What's more, there was originally a transaction between you and me."

"The Ting He Sword was the cause, and the Jiang Family is the effect."

Jiang Li stumbled half a step back.

She suddenly realized that the rescued Family members were staring at her back with bated breath.

Jiang Li quickly straightened her back, but half a bloody hair tie slipped from her sleeve – it had been pulled from the corpse of the He Family young master this morning.

"Senior, although my Jiang Family is now destitute, the Jiang Family will not lack Senior's ling stones."

"How about my Jiang Family offers you one thousand Low-Grade Spirit Stones as tribute every year!"

"I only ask that you act once in the future when the Jiang Family is in danger!"

The girl's voice suddenly rose, then died down the moment the other party raised his eyes.

Xu Qi'an did not reply, but instead counted the storage bags on the ground one by one.

Jiang Li stared at the sword marks gradually disappearing on the stone slab, then suddenly grabbed the fluttering sleeve of the green robe: "Does Senior find the tribute meager? The Jiang Family also has..."

"Then how about I ask you to be my slave or maidservant?" Xu Qi'an suddenly stopped, spread his green robe, and smiled indifferently.

Jiang Li looked at the extremely young Foundation Establishment cultivator before her, her heart suddenly trembled, and her tender pink lips exhaled a reddish breath.

"This Junior..."

Before Jiang Li could open her mouth to reply, the figure in the green robe on the ground had already vanished without a trace.

"Hahaha, Jiang Li, there will be plenty of time in the future, keep up the good work!"

"Presumably, with the precedent of my bloody cleansing of the three clans, no other Cultivator will dare to scheme against your Jiang Family."

"So feel free to boldly develop the Jiang Family and Cultivate safely and steadily!"

Xu Qi'an's words echoed in the air for a long time. Jiang Li covered her chest with both hands, unable to calm down for a long time.

Misty Tower in Lingmiao Market.

This is an information hub in Lingmiao Market, often bustling with people, like a busy marketplace.

"I heard that Sword Cultivator shattered the Wan Family's Three Talents Formation with a single raise of his hand!"

The scar-faced man spat everywhere, and his wine bowl clattered on the table.

"How could Wan Tianming not be ruthless? He leaped out, sacrificing that Foundation Establishment Spiritual Artifact, the Black Blood Long Saber, but guess what happened?"

"That green-clothed figure's sword light flashed, and it directly cut that Black Blood Saber in half with one strike!"

"Then, that figure in the green robe flicked out another white stream of light, and that fellow Wan Tianming's head directly fell to the ground!"

"What kind of Sword Cultivator is this!"

In a private room on the second floor, Water Lingmiao dipped her finger in wine and drew on the sandalwood table.

What gradually appeared from the wine stains was the figure in the green robe, the same one Xu Qi'an had worn in the pavilion that day.

"Fellow Daoist Chu, is that you?"

She suddenly chuckled, wiping away the wine stain with her fair finger.

"But if it were you, your cultivation has Advanced too quickly; this concubine is truly envious. In just a few years, you've broken through to the Middle Stage of Foundation Establishment."

"Truly worthy of being from a major Sect!"

......

On the other side, Xu Qi'an had already returned to his cave dwelling.

The destruction of the three families was merely an easy matter.

The Wan, Shen, and He families had plundered many things from the Jiang Family, and their own Family fortunes were also quite good. Xu Qi'an returned most of the ling stones and spiritual items belonging to the Jiang Family to them.

The rest of the gains were tucked into his waist pouch. His storage bags were now completely full; saying he was as rich as a nation was no exaggeration.

Unfortunately, apart from that Low Grade Foundation Establishment Spiritual Artifact which was somewhat decent, the other items were barely better than nothing.

They were not of much help to the current Xu Qi'an.

After Xu Qi'an entered the Foundation Establishment Realm, the Omnipotent Treasure Basin gained an additional spiritual pattern.

After testing this additional spiritual pattern, Xu Qi'an discovered it had other wondrous uses.

Originally, the Omnipotent Treasure Basin could only gather items of the first tier, but this additional spiritual pattern meant it could now gather items of the second tier.

However, it still couldn't transcend tiers; the item being gathered itself had to be of the second tier.

As for Talismans like the second-tier mid-grade Hanhai Talisman, Xu Qi'an had already gathered far too many.

Even second-tier High Grade Talismans were not few in number.

He even had dozens of second-tier supreme-grade Talismans.

And that second-tier mid-grade Ting He Sword had long ago been gathered into a second-tier peak-grade Spiritual Artifact.

Although the original Ting He Sword had some spirituality, it had not yet reached the point of developing sentience, so it could also be gathered.

However, gathering pills could only change their quality; it couldn't gather them into pills of a higher tier.

As for spiritual herbs and Spirit Medicine, their medicinal power and age could continue to increase through gathering.

Inside the cave dwelling.

Xu Qi'an took out a Perfected Ascension Pill and began to continue cultivating.

The effects of the Perfected Ascension Pill were sufficient for him to Cultivate to the peak of the Middle Stage of Foundation Establishment.

As for the Late Stage of Foundation Establishment, it was hard to say; for now, Xu Qi'an planned to take things one step at a time.