Chapter Nineteen: The Blood-Drinking End

"Ancient treasure of the Mortal Rank!" Du Qingfeng's eyes were filled with contempt as he pressed two fingers together and pointed at Yin Xue, who was fleeing into the distance.

A resonant clang echoed forth; an ancient sword soared from the scabbard strapped to his back, blurred in the air, and in the next instant, hovered above Yin Xue's head!

"Blade of a Hundred Layers, Extermination!"

Du Qingfeng crossed his hands in a strange gesture. The sword quivered, then multiplied into over a hundred tangible ancient swords, identical in appearance.

The sword cries reverberated through the void. Yin Xue, in the midst of his desperate escape, glanced up in terror, his soul nearly fleeing his body. The hundred swords arranged themselves in a formation overhead, already descending upon him!

Sensing the breath of death, Yin Xue channeled his true energy recklessly into the ancient treasure, Blood Shadow, his speed surging in a last attempt to escape the sword formation's slaughter.

But no matter how fast he was, he could not match Du Qingfeng's sword control. He had barely gotten far before one ancient sword sliced across his waist, followed by nearly a hundred swords intertwining to shred his upper body into fragments!

His lower half still glowed red, legs running forward for dozens of yards, oblivious to the loss of its master, before finally exhausting its energy and collapsing to the ground. Only then did blood gush forth, a testament to the speed of Du Qingfeng’s sword!

"Whoosh!" "Whoosh!"

Sounds of the air splitting! Two elderly men, enveloped in mighty energy, flew to the scene. They saw Ye Xiang lying on the ground, in a pitiful state, and their expressions changed drastically as they hurriedly landed.

Ye Xiang, upon seeing the two elders, grew excited and tried to rise, but was stopped. "Don't move!" The shorter, stout elder pressed him down, while the other retrieved several porcelain bottles, poured out a few pills of various colors, and fed them to Ye Xiang.

After taking the pills, Ye Xiang regained some color in his face and said to the two, "Uncles, I owe my life to this senior’s timely intervention."

Hearing Ye Xiang's words, the two Ye clan supreme elders turned to the white-robed Sword Saint, Du Qingfeng. "I am Ye Chonglang, elder of the Ye family. May I ask your name, friend?"

The stout elder clasped his hands to Du Qingfeng, grateful. "Thank you for your assistance. Our Ye family will surely reward you handsomely!"

Du Qingfeng smiled indifferently and replied in a clear voice, "No need for thanks. It was but a trivial matter for me. I have other affairs; I leave the rest to you."

With a gesture, the ancient sword floating above Yin Xue’s remains circled once and shot back into its scabbard like lightning. Du Qingfeng’s white robes billowed as he spoke,

"Farewell!" He then rode the mighty energy and flew away.

"This young man has profound cultivation!"

"Indeed! Cultivation at the Profound Realm, white-robed, ancient sword!" Ye Chonglang’s face suddenly changed as he exclaimed, "Could he be the famed White-robed Sword Saint, Du Qingfeng, who has been the talk of the town lately?"

"It is very likely him. At such a young age, with such cultivation—besides Du Qingfeng, I can think of no one else who fits this description," the other Ye elder affirmed thoughtfully.

Ye Xiang, having recovered somewhat thanks to the pills, was helped up by the two elders and sat cross-legged. Ye Chonglang placed a palm on his shoulder, channeling his vast true energy into Ye Xiang, repairing his damaged organs and meridians.

"Father..."

Ye Xiang’s heart leapt for joy as he heard the voice and looked up. He saw a robust elder hurrying through the air with Ye Die’er and her brother.

"Die'er! Fan'er!" Ye Xiang struggled to stand, watching the three descend. "Grandfather has arrived too, so the clan isn't left defenseless!"

"Ah!"

Ye Die'er, seeing Ye Xiang’s miserable state, rushed to her father's side, gazing at his severed arm and weeping bitterly. Ye Fan’s eyes brimmed with tears, his fists clenched in hatred. "Bloodsworn Alliance, I, Ye Fan, will one day uproot you completely!"

"Be good, Die'er. Your father is fine. Losing an arm is nothing," Ye Xiang gently patted his daughter’s back to comfort her.

"Alas..." The robust elder’s face showed his heartache—Ye Xiang was his grandson, and now missing an arm; how could he not feel pain?

This elder was Ye Chongtian, former head of the Ye family. He had only one son—Ye Xiang’s father—who died in an accident when Ye Xiang was young.

Thus, the current head of the family was Ye Xiang’s eldest brother, Ye Shan, who now held the reins of the clan.

"Grandfather, your grandson has failed the family and your expectations," Ye Xiang said, facing his grandfather, his heart full of shame, blaming himself for his weakness and for making his aged grandfather worry about his safety.

"You have done well. Life inevitably brings setbacks; as long as you hold fast to your convictions, all will turn out well," Ye Chongtian sighed inwardly, though his face showed nothing.

Ye Xiang remembered something and asked Ye Fan, "Where are the others?"

"Grandfather paid Sister Fire Dance and her group their commission and told them the mission was over, so they didn’t follow us. I think they’ve gone to rejoin Brother Leng Tian," Ye Fan replied, clearly disappointed but resigned. This period of companionship had taught him what true talent meant—even little Ke, only a year older, was at the peak of Qi Gathering, while he himself was still at the Body Tempering stage, just one step away from Qi Gathering, yet still hailed as a genius by his elders.

Ye Chongtian glanced at Ye Fan, understanding the reason for his great-grandson’s mood, and felt pleased. He said, "Second and third brothers, take the two youngsters home first. Xiang’s injuries must be tended to!"

The two elders responded and each took one child, soaring into the sky. "Let’s go; everything will be discussed back in the clan."

Ye Chongtian took Ye Xiang and rode the mighty energy into the air, heading toward the Ye family’s residence in the Canglan Empire. Their light flashed several times and vanished into the horizon.

Mad Dragon lay bloodied in the grass, blue smoke curling around him, the air thick with the scent of charred flesh.

In the void...

Zhuangzhuang, dressed in a pink bellyband, played with a small flower in hand, mocking Dandan beside him, "You really disgrace your identity as a world spirit. I asked you to summon lightning to strike a few people, and you missed nine out of ten bolts! Look, just three people, and you turned this place into a wasteland!"

Zhuangzhuang looked at the ruined scene below, raised his middle finger to Dandan, "You’re a great deity; your handiwork is truly extraordinary!"

Dandan replied indifferently, "I do as I please. Who are you to meddle?"

"This big fool, Bear Lord finds him pleasing. I’ll find a chance to give him some luck, let him shine for once, heh heh..." Zhuangzhuang chuckled wickedly, plotting some mischief.

"Leng Tian is a man of great destiny. Sooner or later, this world won’t be able to contain him. I’ll just quietly go back to sleep," Dandan yawned and said to Zhuangzhuang, "Don’t bother me unless it’s urgent. I’m still growing, and should stay put and grow strong."

With that, he vanished.

"Growing strong? You’re already a ball, what else could you possibly grow?" Zhuangzhuang sneered, grinning as he slipped away, off to spy on some beauty bathing, no doubt!

Martial Dao: Peak of Extremity 19—Chapter Nineteen, The End of Yin Xue, updated!