14: Chapter 14 The Four Ancestors "Fallen"! The Jiang Family in Peril

Inside the courtyard, the spiritual light gradually receded.

Su Wan and Zhang Yuniang felt the unprecedented power within their bodies, tears streaming down, and they knelt before Jiang Feng in unison.

"Thank you, Husband, for the grace of our rebirth!"

If not for Jiang Feng, they would be nothing but specks of dust in the Mortal world, living and dying, only to turn into a handful of soil after a hundred years.

"Get up, all of you. We are all one Family now; there is no need for such formalities."

Jiang Feng smiled and helped them up, one in each hand, feeling their bodies trembling slightly from excitement.

His gaze swept across the three women, his expression turning solemn.

"The matter of the mortal shedding pill is of great significance and could easily invite a calamity that wipes out our Family."

"What happened today must never be spread."

Although Su Wan and Zhang Yuniang had just had their Spiritual Roots Awakening, they understood the gravity of the situation and nodded repeatedly.

Lin Yueyao was even more aware of the bloody storm that would be unleashed if such a Heaven-Defying Medicinal Pill were leaked.

"Rest assured, Husband, Yue Yao understands." Her cold, clear voice carried an unshakable firmness.

Seeing this, Jiang Feng began to arrange duties for his inner courtyard team.

"Wan'er, you are meticulous and have a unique eye. From now on, you shall be in charge of the affairs of the inner courtyard, as well as screening new people for me."

Su Wan was startled upon hearing this, then her pretty face flushed slightly, and she whispered: "Rest assured, Husband, your concubine will certainly do her best."

Jiang Feng looked at Zhang Yuniang again.

"Yu Niang, you are skilled at calculations and sensitive to numbers. The resources allocated to me by the Family, as well as the properties of our small courtyard in the future, will all be entrusted to you to manage. Do not let me lose money, or you will be punished at night."

Zhang Yuniang's large, watery eyes lit up instantly, as if she had found where her talents could be put to use, and her face turned slightly red.

"Mm-hmm! Husband, just watch me; I guarantee I will manage our Family assets properly!"

Watching one handle internal affairs, one handle finances, and adding Lin Yueyao as the combat powerhouse, Jiang Feng felt secretly pleased; his core management team had been initially established.

In the following days, the Jiang Family appeared calm on the surface, but there were undercurrents surging beneath.

Under the instructions of the Family Head Jiang Nan, a large number of Jiang Family disciples were sent to various parts of the Yan Kingdom under the guise of training, secretly searching for those former Prodigies whose families had fallen or who had been abandoned by their Sects.

Jiang Feng lived a leisurely life.

Half a month passed in a flash.

During this half month, with the help of the spirit gathering pill, Su Wan and Zhang Yuniang's cultivation steadily improved, and both stepped into Qi Refining Stage 2.

Lin Yueyao's progress speed was astonishing.

She was already a Prodigy, and now that she had reshaped her body into a mutated Ice Spiritual Root and cultivated the High Grade spiritual technique [Ice Phoenix Technique].

Combined with Jiang Feng's "sparring" and the accumulation of spirit gathering pills, in just half a month, her cultivation advanced by leaps and bounds, breaking through from the Peak of Qi Refining Stage 6 to Qi Refining Stage 8 in one go!

If this cultivation speed were to spread, it would shock the entire cultivation world of the Yan Kingdom.

Of course, Jiang Feng's gains were equally huge.

Nourished by both the spirit gathering pill and the three women, the spiritual power in his body grew more abundant every day.

Finally, one morning after Dual Cultivation with Lin Yueyao, the Bottleneck within him shattered with a roar.

Qi Refining Stage 6!

Feeling the spiritual power in his Dantian, which had grown a size larger, Jiang Feng nodded.

This feeling of becoming stronger just by lying down was truly satisfying.

And on this very day, deep within the Jiang Family, movement finally came from the stone chamber for closed-door cultivation, which was listed as a Forbidden Ground.

Boom!

A powerful pressure rose into the sky from the Jiang Family's ancestral land without warning, heading straight for the clouds.

In an instant, the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi of the entire Jiangyuan City became restless, frantically gathering above the Jiang Family, forming a massive vortex of Spiritual Qi.

A natural phenomenon, a sign of Foundation Establishment!

"This... this is... someone is attempting a Foundation Establishment?!"

"The direction is the Jiang Family! It is the Jiang Family's Fourth Ancestor, Jiang Yuan!"

"Heavens, wasn't it said that his blood and Qi had dried up and he had no hope in this life? How could he suddenly trigger a Foundation Establishment phenomenon?"

Inside Jiangyuan City, countless Cultivators and Mortals looked up one after another, gazing in shock at the terrifying vortex of Spiritual Qi in the sky, with discussions and exclamations rising one after another.

The Wang Family residence.

A burly, domineering-looking middle-aged man slammed open the door to his secret chamber and looked up at the sky, his face terrifyingly gloomy.

It was the Wang Family Head, Ancestor Wang Gang, a genuine Foundation Establishment Cultivator.

"Jiang Yuan... this old immortal, he actually dared to risk his life. It seems your Old Ancestor Jiang Xuan has already died." Ancestor Wang Gang clenched his fists tightly, his eyes fierce.

The Li Family.

Inside the study, a man holding a folding fan with an elegant temperament also furrowed his brows, his eyes filled with calculation and suspicion.

"Fourth Ancestor Jiang Yuan's Foundation Establishment... this is not good news."

Clan Head Li Ziwen, also a Foundation Establishment Cultivator, muttered to himself, "The Jiang Family has been acting strangely recently. First, they made a big fuss about taking a concubine for that sixty-year-old good-for-nothing, and now Fourth Ancestor Jiang Yuan is suddenly attempting Foundation Establishment. What exactly is hidden behind this?"

Inside the City Lord's Mansion.

City Lord Fang Ming, wearing official robes, stood in the courtyard, looking up at the sky with his hands behind his back, his expression grave.

As the City Lord appointed by the Dynasty, what he most wanted to see was the three major families keeping each other in check.

But once Fourth Ancestor Jiang Yuan succeeded in Foundation Establishment, the Jiang Family might possess two Foundation Establishment Cultivators, and the balance of Jiangyuan City would be completely broken.

"Come here, keep a close watch on the Jiang Family's movements. Report any disturbance immediately!" City Lord Fang Ming ordered in a deep voice.

For a time, the eyes of the entire Jiangyuan City were focused on the Jiang Family residence.

Countless pairs of eyes, whether jealous, wary, or terrified, were waiting for the final result.

However, contrary to everyone's expectations, the terrifying vortex of Spiritual Qi lasted for less than a quarter of an hour before it ran out of steam, shuddered violently, and then suddenly dissipated.

The phenomenon in the sky disappeared, as if it had never appeared.

The powerful pressure that had soared into the sky also vanished, returning to deathly silence.

The entire Jiangyuan City fell into a strange silence.

A few breaths later, a deafening uproar erupted.

"Failed! The phenomenon dissipated, the Spiritual Qi retreated—this is a sign of Foundation Establishment failure!"

"I told you! That Fourth Ancestor Jiang Yuan's blood and Qi had long since withered, and he was at the end of his rope. Forcing a Foundation Establishment was just looking for death!"

"Failing the Foundation Establishment attempt, under the backlash, he will surely die! The Jiang Family's only pillar has fallen!"

Inside the Wang Family residence, Ancestor Wang Gang was stunned for a moment, then burst into laughter.

"Hahahaha! Good! A good death! Once Fourth Ancestor Jiang Yuan is dead, the Jiang Family will no longer be a threat!"

"Pass on my order: unite with the Li Family and prepare to make a move! It is time to swallow the fat piece of meat that is the Jiang Family!"

In the Li Family study, Clan Head Li Ziwen slowly waved his folding fan, his eyes flashing with cold, icy light.

"Seeking one's own death, utterly foolish. It seems the sky over Jiangyuan City is about to change."

City Lord Fang Ming of the City Lord's Mansion first breathed a sigh of relief, then his expression grew grave once again.

The Jiang Family had lost its greatest reliance; the Wang and Li families would certainly not let the matter rest.

This Jiangyuan City, I fear, is about to see a change in the heavens.

Just when the whole city was convinced that Fourth Ancestor Jiang Yuan had failed his Foundation Establishment and died,

In the Jiang Family's inner courtyard, Jiang Feng, who was enjoying tea, set down his teacup.

He gazed toward the direction of the Family's depths, with not a trace of panic in his eyes.

Something was wrong.

When an ordinary Cultivator fails a Foundation Establishment, the backlash of spiritual power would trigger a violent explosion, with chaotic and brutal energy.

It would absolutely not be like what happened just now, receding silently like the tide.

Moreover, within that dissipating Spiritual Qi, it seemed to be mixed with a trace of... extremely subtle life force.

Jiang Feng's fingertips tapped lightly on the stone table, his mouth curling into a meaningful smile.

Did he really fail?