35: Chapter 35 The Ancestor's Sigh, the Jiang Family's Fate

The thick scent of blood in the courtyard mixed with the raw smell of earth, making one want to vomit just by smelling it.

The survivors of the Jiang Family were in a daze; some held the cold corpses of their loved ones with empty eyes, while others sat slumped in pools of blood, gasping for air. The joy of victory had been completely washed away by the massive casualties, and everyone was suffocated by a heavy, oppressive sorrow.

Jiang Feng's gaze swept across the tragic scene, his heart feeling heavy. He walked quickly to Lin Yueyao's side; at this moment, her face was extremely pale, and her lips were devoid of any color.

"How do you feel?"

Jiang Feng reached out to steadily support her cold arm, channeling a stream of robust, pure Yang Qi through his hand to disperse the chill within her body.

Lin Yueyao's body trembled. That overbearing yet warm energy caused an unnatural flush to appear on her pale cheeks. She shook her head, her voice weak yet still as cold and clear as ever.

"My spiritual power is exhausted, and I suffered some internal injuries from the shock, but I'm fine."

"Still trying to act tough."

Jiang Feng glared at her, reached into his robe to pull out a jade bottle, and poured out a green Medicinal Pill that emitted a fragrant aroma.

"Open your mouth."

This tone, which brooked no argument, caused Lin Yueyao to subconsciously open her small mouth. As soon as the Medicinal Pill entered, it transformed into a gentle, warm current that surged into her limbs and bones, rapidly repairing her damaged Meridians.

"Yuan Chu!"

Jiang Feng called out loudly.

"Husband, I'm here!"

Yuan Chu walked quickly out from the backyard, carrying a short sword that was still dripping with blood. There were a few specks of blood on her beautiful face, indicating that the backyard she was responsible for guarding had also endured a fierce battle.

She didn't ask any questions. Seeing Lin Yueyao's weak state, she took the initiative to support Lin Yueyao's other arm, her voice gentle.

"Sister Yue Yao, let me help you rest. The Medicinal Pill Husband gave you is very effective."

Watching the two women supporting each other as they walked toward the backyard, Jiang Feng finally felt a bit more at ease. However, as he turned around, he met the gaze of Ancestor Jiang Xuan, the Old Ancestor—a gaze that was terrifyingly calm.

"You, come with me."

There was no emotion in Ancestor Jiang Xuan's voice. He turned and walked toward a secluded, overgrown courtyard beside the Family Forbidden Ground that no one had ever visited.

Jiang Feng followed in silence. The bluestone path beneath his feet was soaked with blood. Every step he took produced a sticky "squelch, squelch" sound that made one's skin crawl.

The small courtyard was simple, even somewhat dilapidated. There was only an old locust tree with countless aerial roots, which had lived for who knows how many years, and a set of stone tables and stools covered in moss.

Ancestor Jiang Xuan sat on the stone stool without speaking immediately, merely looking at Jiang Feng. His gaze was incredibly penetrating, as if he wanted to see through Jiang Feng from the inside out. Jiang Feng could clearly feel that the vigorous Qi and blood within his body, far exceeding that of an ordinary person, was laid bare under this gaze.

After a long time, Ancestor Jiang Xuan slowly spoke, his voice hoarse and unpleasant.

"At sixty years old, to still possess such vigorous Qi and blood—it is several times stronger than when I was at the Great Perfection of Qi Refining."

He paused, emotions churning in his eyes, looking very complex.

"Such vitality is a good thing."

"But in this place, such excessive vitality only invites disaster."

This sounded like advice, but it was actually a warning. Jiang Feng's heart sank sharply. He didn't want to beat around the bush anymore; the grief and indignation he had suppressed all night could no longer be held back.

"Old Ancestor!"

Jiang Feng's voice trembled with accusation.

"You still haven't answered me! Just now, when Fourth Ancestor, he was being tortured to death, you clearly could have intervened. Why did you wait until the very end!"

Ancestor Jiang Xuan did not answer directly. He looked up, his gaze passing through the branches and leaves of the old locust tree, toward the night sky dyed red by blood and fire. His eyes lost their focus, as if he were looking at something very far away.

"Eighty years ago, I also sat on this stone stool, just like you are now, full of high spirits."

"I thought that with these two fists, I could build a foundation for the Jiang Family and hold up the sky for them."

"But the higher you climb, the more you realize... how low this sky really is, and how heavily it presses down on people."

Ancestor Jiang Xuan gave a low laugh, full of self-mockery.

"Later, I went into seclusion. I thought it was simple: as long as I could achieve a Breakthrough to the Golden Core and keep growing stronger—strong enough to shatter all rules with a single punch—the Jiang Family would be able to prosper forever."

"But I was wrong... terribly wrong."

He lowered his head, looking at his withered hands covered in age spots, his voice so soft it was almost inaudible.

"The higher one's cultivation, the more one can vaguely perceive things one doesn't want to see. Eight years ago, I attempted to reach the Golden Core stage, but during a moment of spiritual wandering, I saw my own ending."

"To die in battle, Soul Flying Away and Spirit Scattering."

"And the cause of that great catastrophe was the Jiang Family."

Boom!

Jiang Feng felt a chill shoot from the soles of his feet to the top of his head.

"People always love to inquire about the will of Heaven. The will of Heaven is hard to fathom; not knowing is a greater blessing than knowing."

"From that day on, I completely isolated myself and Cultivated desperately, wanting to change my fate. I severed ties with the Family, wanting to cut the line of Karma between me and the Family."

"I thought that as long as I didn't enter the game, I could step off the chessboard."

Speaking of this, Ancestor Jiang Xuan looked up. For the first time, tears welled up in those murky, old eyes that hadn't fluctuated for eighty years. His wrinkled face twisted in extreme pain.

"But Fourth Ancestor Jiang Yuan, my son!"

Rumble!

Jiang Feng's mind buzzed. In an instant, he understood everything.

The Old Ancestor's hesitation when he emerged from seclusion, the ruthlessness when he crushed Senior Brother Qin Feng from a distance, and now, the dense, unresolvable Death Qi on him, as if he were about to die.

So, he was just a coward who watched his own son die a miserable death, yet dared not intervene because of a vague prophecy!

That heart-breaking cry Fourth Ancestor Jiang Yuan let out before he died, that rain of blood filled with extreme humiliation—it wasn't a plea for help at all!

It was an attempt to use his own life, his own flesh and blood, to deliver the most tragic remonstration to his father who wanted to escape fate!

He used his Soul Flying Away and Spirit Scattering to forcibly drag his father, who wanted to sever the Karma, out of the cage he had locked himself in, forcing him to face this blood-soaked reality that could not be escaped!

"He used his life to tell me that some things are rooted in the Bloodline; they cannot be severed, and they cannot be escaped."

Ancestor Jiang Xuan closed his eyes. A murky tear finally could not be held back; it slid down the wrinkles on his face, hit the moss-covered stone table, and splashed.

"In the end, I simply couldn't bear to watch the Family he protected with his life just disappear like that."

The courtyard was terrifyingly quiet; only the wind blowing through the locust tree leaves made a "rustling" sound.

I don't know how much time passed before Ancestor Jiang Xuan opened his eyes. The tears had dried, and only a sense of absolute calm remained in his gaze. He looked at Jiang Feng and asked an incredibly heavy question.

"If one day, you too must choose—on one side, your own life; on the other, the lives of hundreds of people in the Jiang Family."

"How would you choose?"

Jiang Feng opened his mouth. If this question had been asked before he heard these secrets, he might not have been able to answer.

But now, he had the answer.

He met Ancestor Jiang Xuan's deep gaze and straightened his spine. His voice was not loud, but it carried an absolute, undeniable firmness.

"I choose a third path."

Ancestor Jiang Xuan was stunned.

"I want my own life, and I also want the lives of my Family!"

"I don't believe in any bullshit about destiny being impossible to defy! I only believe that my fate is decided by me, not by Heaven!"

The moment his words fell, the air in the entire small courtyard seemed to freeze.

Ancestor Jiang Xuan's murky pupils shrank sharply. He stared fixedly at Jiang Feng, as if seeing this junior he favored for the first time. From Jiang Feng, he saw something he had long forgotten, or perhaps something he had never truly possessed.

That was not simple arrogance; it was a madness and wildness that wanted to pierce a hole in the sky! It was a contempt for and a challenge to all predestined fates, emanating from the very bones!

"Good, what a 'my fate is decided by me, not by Heaven'..."

Ancestor Jiang Xuan seemed to be shaken by these words. He slowly stood up, his body actually swaying slightly. The look in his eyes as he watched Jiang Feng was extremely complex—there was admiration, shock, and a trace of indescribable relief.

"The people from the Qingyun Sect will definitely come to retaliate within a month."

His voice returned to its calm state, but his tone was more resolute than ever before.

"For the sake of their Disciple and the reputation of the Sect, those who come will likely include a Golden Core Cultivator."

"By then, not a single person in the Jiang Family, or even the entire Jiangyuan City, will survive."

"Enjoy these last moments of warmth well. Perhaps it really is the Jiang Family's final time."

As his words fell, his figure slowly faded in place, finally disappearing completely into the night, leaving behind only a long, distant sigh.

Jiang Feng stood alone in the courtyard. The night wind blew, chilling him to the bone.

He looked down at his blood-stained hands, his mind filled with the Old Ancestor's final words.

Golden Core Cultivator?

A month?

Final time?

[Ding, detected that the host and the host's Family are about to face a crisis of annihilation]

[Triggering Family Protection Reward]

[Golden Core Late Stage Pressure Experience Card]

...