143: Chapter 144 The Lost Years

Jiang Feng took a step forward, shielding Shangguan Wuqing behind him.

That pressure, which was enough to suffocate Shangguan Wuqing, was incredibly familiar to him.

It made the blood in his entire body cheer and leap with joy!

"Brother Feng..." Shangguan Wuqing's voice trembled slightly.

Jiang Feng did not turn back; he simply strode into the deep, dark passage that seemed capable of swallowing light.

Upon stepping inside, the surrounding scenery did not change; it remained the pitch-black stone walls, but Jiang Feng clearly felt that something had truly been added to the air.

It was wisps of... Spiritual Qi, faint and elusive!

Although it was pitifully thin, worse than even the most barren places in Jiangyuan City outside, it truly existed!

"It's here! It's right here!"

The voice of the Purple-skirted Woman, who had been silent for a long time, suddenly rang out in Jiang Feng's Sea of Consciousness, filled with irrepressible excitement and ecstasy. "This aura, it's the aura of the Spirit Realm! At the end of this passage, there must be a way to leave!"

Jiang Feng ignored her and, pulling Shangguan Wuqing behind him, walked quickly toward the depths of the passage.

The passage was not long; after about a hundred steps, the view suddenly opened up.

At the end was a huge circular stone chamber. In the center of the stone chamber stood a humanoid stone statue ten zhang tall.

The statue's features were blurred. It was in a seated posture, with its hands forming a seal in front of its abdomen, exuding a sense of eternal Dao.

Behind the statue, a screen of light emitting a faint white glow rippled gently like water, and those thin wisps of Spiritual Qi were seeping out from this light screen.

Jiang Feng's heart skipped a beat.

On the other side of the light screen was the Spirit Realm, which he had thought about day and night and had been separated from for ten years!

He subconsciously wanted to rush over, but as soon as he lifted his foot, he stopped abruptly.

His gaze was locked tightly by that huge humanoid stone statue.

For some reason, he always felt that the stone statue was looking at him.

The moment he focused his gaze, it seemed as if two tiny specks of light flashed and vanished within the statue's blurred eyes.

Immediately after, Jiang Feng felt his vision blur, and he fell into a trance.

When he opened his eyes again, everything around him had changed.

Beneath his feet was no longer cold rock, but soft, fragrant green grass. An endless grassland stretched to the horizon, filled with birdsong and flowers. Warm sunlight shone on his body, dispelling all the chill from the snowy mountain peak.

The only thing that remained unchanged was Shangguan Wuqing, who was standing beside him with a bewildered expression.

"Brother Feng, this... where is this?" Shangguan Wuqing looked around in astonishment, completely unaware of what had happened.

"It should be a Small World left behind by the owner of the stone statue, or rather... an illusion."

Jiang Feng frowned, his vigilance greatly increased. He reached back and grabbed Shangguan Wuqing's wrist, saying in a deep voice, "Stay close to me; there might be danger here."

The warmth coming from her wrist and that unquestionable strength made Shangguan Wuqing's heart leap, and her cheeks instantly flushed with shyness.

She could feel that Jiang Feng was simply worried about her getting separated, but for the past seven years, the two of them had always maintained a subtle distance. This was the first time he had taken the initiative to hold her hand.

Just this simple action made her feel that the seven years of companionship and waiting had all been worth it.

Jiang Feng did not notice the abnormality of the woman beside him; he just pulled her along and walked forward vigilantly.

But they had only taken a few steps when the scene before them changed again.

The grassland disappeared, replaced by that familiar thunder of Purple Lightning Peak when he first arrived in Yunmeng Marsh.

He saw himself tempering his Physical Body in the thunder, looking disheveled. He also saw the internal strife of the Chilian Tribe, saw Xiao Mei being whipped to death, and saw Shangguan Wuqing's face, which was filled with despair yet resolute.

The scenes flashed by rapidly.

He saw that figure in red, after he had left, waiting day after day in front of the ruins of the Snake-Person Tribe.

He saw that over these seven years, this woman had silently followed behind him, walking through every corner of Yunmeng Marsh without any complaints. Every time she found a similar location, the joy on her face was more genuine than his own.

Scene after scene, all things he had experienced, yet it was as if he were seeing details he had never noticed from another perspective.

Jiang Feng's heart felt inexplicably tight.

Before he could sort out his thoughts, the scene before him changed again!

This time, it was not Yunmeng Marsh.

A magnificent and imposing residence appeared before his eyes. On the vermilion gate, the two bold and vigorous characters for "Jiang Residence" were shining brightly.

Huoyang Commandery, the Jiang Family!

This was the new Jiang Residence after he had left the Spirit Realm!

The scene shifted, entering the backyard of the residence.

He saw Su Wan, who was more graceful than she had been ten years ago, directing the servants with a gentle smile on her face.

He saw Zhang Yuniang, the little miser, still holding an abacus, fiddling with it while giving instructions to the maid beside her, her eyes full of shrewdness and capability.

He saw Lin Yueyao, her cold and aloof temperament unchanged, though there was a bit more softness in those icy eyes. She was sitting to the side, quietly wiping a long sword.

The scene changed, and a loud cry of an infant broke the silence in the courtyard.

A midwife ran out of a room holding a swaddled infant, her face full of joy: "It's born! It's born! It's a big, chubby boy!"

Su Wan lay weakly on the bed, carefully taking the child, her smile so tender it could melt.

"Jiang Tian..." An old voice sounded; it was Ancestor Jiang Xuan. He stroked his beard, his face full of gratification. "Let's call him Jiang Tian, symbolizing the new generation of heaven and earth for our Jiang Family!"

The scene shifted again.

From Zhang Yuniang's room came two cries; she had actually given birth to a pair of boy-girl twins!

In Lin Yueyao's courtyard, when her daughter was born, seven-colored rays of light flashed across the sky, and countless sword lights circled above the Jiang Family, causing all the Cultivators in the entire Huoyang Commandery to be shaken.

Finally, the scene froze in an elegant room.

Yuan Chu lay on the bed, holding an infant in her arms. Her face was as pale as paper, and her body was gradually becoming transparent.

She looked at the child in her arms, a satisfied yet weak smile appearing on her face. Then, amidst the sobbing of the women, her body turned into glowing white light spots dancing in the sky and completely dissipated.

Had she really... left?

Jiang Feng felt as if his heart were being tightly gripped by an invisible giant hand, so painful that he couldn't breathe.

But the scene before him continued.

The children grew up day by day: Jiang Tian was steady, Jiang Ming was intelligent and clever, Jiang Xue was cute, and Jiang Ling'er was gifted.

Su Wan treated every child as her own, taking care of them meticulously.

The figure of Yao Shifei also appeared in the scene; she used the best Medicinal Pills to temper the Foundations of every Jiang Family descendant and enlighten their Spiritual Roots.

In her room, there was also a baby boy crying to be fed. Just after the boy was born, his body was accompanied by sparks of thunder power.

Huangfu Yunni and Huangfu Yunshang also gave birth to children one after another.

The entire Jiang Family was thriving, with descendants filling the house.

Jiang Feng watched all of this, watching those children he had never seen before, watching them go from babbling to taking their first steps, and then to starting to Cultivate... Only then did he realize what he had missed in these ten years.

A hot drop of liquid slid from the corner of his eye and landed on the back of his hand.

He cried.

"Brother Feng..."

Shangguan Wuqing felt the violent trembling of his body. She reached back and used all her strength to hold that cold, large hand, trying to transmit her own warmth.

At this very moment, above the festive and peaceful Jiang Residence in the illusion, the wind and clouds changed abruptly!

A cloud of pitch-black ink gathered without warning, like a giant demonic claw, pressing down fiercely toward the new Jiang Residence!

Within the black clouds, it seemed as if countless pairs of resentful eyes were staring fixedly at the people below!