A milky white light screen rose from the formation below, and Yu Xiao'ou's face appeared faintly on the formation as a thunderous noise sounded.
"Why have you attacked our Yu Family's marketplace without reason? Please reconsider your actions; our ancestor is..." Yu Xiao'ou said, attempting to buy some time.
However, Fei Wangbai's sleeve swept across the formation, instantly producing a massive explosion from the formation that forcibly interrupted Yu Xiao'ou's words. His robe and cloak fluttered silently behind him. Fei Wangbai, fearing recognition, did not take out his spear. The power of his immortal foundation surged secretly, quietly activated.
Jiang Heqian sneered coldly, his expression twisting with rage while he clenched his teeth. Alone and unafraid, jade-like patterns emerged in his eyes. As he pressed his palms together, six jade-like beams of white light burst forth from his body, and the jade patterns extended from his elbows and his earlobes, floating in the air like white silk ribbons.
As soon as his immortal foundation had manifested, the Yu Family members below were visibly stunned, some even losing control of their formation points, which caused them to flicker slightly. The shock came from seeing Jiang Heqian's immortal foundation, which was identical to that of the Yu Family's old ancestor, Yu Yufeng, from many years ago. Such a sight caused them to speculate wildly amongst themselves.
Yu Xiao'ou was utterly horrified, looking as if he had seen a ghost.
" Jade Court General ...! How is this possible?!"
Jiang Heqian had cultivated the immortal foundation, Jade Court General, from the Aged Courtly Path Scripture . This scripture had long lost its crucial essence—the Celestial Dust Qi . The Yu Family had only managed to preserve a portion of this spiritual qi, which was used on Yu Yufeng. Since then, no one had succeeded in cultivating it.
Now, seeing this cultivator activate his immortal foundation, the Jade Court General , Yu Xiao'ou's mind went blank, filled with countless conjectures.
He was so distracted that he ignored the two people attacking the formation, murmuring in a daze, "It is you..."
The two outside the formation did not give him a chance. Fei Wangbai did not use his spear, only suppressing the Jade Court Guarding Formation with spells and physical attacks.
Jiang Heqian leaped forward, placing his palms on the formation. The jade-like patterns extended from it and seemed to come alive, drilling into the milky-white formation and quickly spreading across its surface.
"What is this..."
Yu Xiao'ou's mind was in turmoil, and he noticed the formation growing increasingly unstable. His control over it, maintained through the formation diagram, weakened. His heart raced, feeling a mix of disbelief and inevitability. He murmured hoarsely, "It's the Jiang Family..."
The formation continued to shake, visible cracks now appearing on the Jade Court Guarding Formation as it flickered even more. Yu Xiao'ou heard terrified screams and faint sobbing outside the hall, and his grip slowly loosened.
CRACK!
The Jade Court Guarding Formation, painstakingly set up by the Yu Family and connected through the spirit veins of the five immortal mountains, shattered like fragile paper under Jiang Heqian's spell. The milky-white barrier faded, turning into countless streaks of light that disappeared into Milin Prefecture.
The dense cluster of buildings below was finally revealed. The Milin Prefecture marketplace was not yet open, and it was mostly occupied by Yu Family's cultivators and guest cultivators. With two Foundation Establishment Realm cultivators among the invaders, the Yu Family's cultivators who had lost their formation's support fled in all directions.
Fei Wangbai's guest cultivators descended upon various formation points. Jiang Heqian, without hesitation, moved to the tallest palace, smashing its dome with a single step and landing swiftly inside.
BOOM...!
Yu Xiao'ou, struck by the backlash from the shattered Jade Court Guarding Formation, felt his organs ache and his mana drained completely. His body felt hollow, making an escape by flying an impossible task. He could only watch as tiles and rubble fell from the dome, retreating futilely.
"Are you... from the Jiang Family?"
Yu Xiao'ou no longer thought of fleeing, his expression complex due to the flurry of emotions he was feeling. Recognizing Jiang Heqian's cultivation of the Jade Court General , his targeting of the Yu Family and his method of breaking the Jade Court Guarding Formation, combined with Jiang Heqian's resemblance to his late wife, Yu Xiao'ou was convinced of his suspicions.
The Yu Family and the An Family had originally been external cultivators under the Jiang Family. After the Jiang family declined, the Yu and An families slowly carved away at them, piece by piece. Both families had Jiang Family's blood, and now, seeing a member of their former main family standing before them, Yu Xiao'ou's emotions were exceedingly complex.
Jiang Heqian's eyes barely opened, his pupils possessing the same jade-like clarity that Yu Yufeng had once had. His terrifying gaze bore straight into Yu Xiao'ou.
Jiang Heqian did not speak, using only his jade-like eyes to stare penetratingly into Yu Xiao'ou which caused him to stumble backward pathetically. Although Yu Xiao'ou was from the Xiao generation, his age surpassed that of Yu Yufeng due to accumulated years. His mother was from the Jiang Family, his grandmother was from the Jiang Family, he had married into the Jiang Family, and in the end... he was the one who murdered those in the Jiang Family.
Yu Xiao'ou's mind was flooded with chaotic visions—his mother, his grandmother... their eyes overlapped in this moment, like lightning flashing through his aged mind. Even without making a move, Jiang Heqian had already driven Yu Xiao'ou backward in retreat, one step at a time.
Poof!
Yu Xiao'ou figured that the middle-aged man before him might be his wife's younger brother, or even his cousin, or perhaps a distant relative. But before he could reach a conclusion, the jade-like hand had already pierced through Yu Xiao'ou's chest, extracting his still-beating heart.
A surge of intense satisfaction washed over Jiang Heqian, but the old man's sorrowful and shocked eyes made him feel a pang of remorse—a discomfort akin to swallowing a fly. He could not bear to look directly at him, and the ferocity in his gaze slowly faded into a wet, painful expression. Jiang Heqian soon got lost in his own thoughts.
Perhaps this old man is my brother-in-law, or even my uncle... or perhaps a distant relative.
Lowering his head, Jiang Heqian slowly withdrew his arm, causing Yu Xiao'ou to spit out a mouthful of blood, staining his gray beard with streaks of red. Yu Xiao'ou strained to see the middle-aged man's face, noticing his distinct upright and decent features. Despite the fierce and venomous eyes, they still bore a striking resemblance to his late wife—full of vitality with a subtle melancholic look.
His mind flashed back to the dim candlelight on their wedding night, when the woman's sorrowful gaze fixed on Yu Xiao'ou. At fifteen, Yu Xiao'ou had been utterly entranced, stroking her long hair and calling her Heqing lovingly.
As the world spun, Yu Xiao'ou felt the cruel irony of fate. His chest heaved like bellows as saliva dripped from the corners of his mouth due to the agonizing pain, falling drop by drop. Uncontrollably, urine seeped out, and the pitiable old man shuddered as he uttered two words weakly from his lips.
"Qing'er..."
Jiang Heqian laughed coldly, seemingly mocking him. Yu Xiao'ou only lowered his head to look at the white arm piercing through his chest. His wrinkled old hand gently, tenderly patted the arm, as if in comfort.
The last breath that had sustained his aged body finally left his body. Yu Xiao'ou's life force dissipated, and he slowly bowed his head, slipping into darkness.