Chapter 138

"What..."

Chen Lili was suddenly stunned, looking in the direction of Lü Ming's gaze.

At the bottom of the massive "Big" character-shaped deep pit lay a figure charred all over, skin and flesh carbonized, unrecognizable as human.

Her pupils suddenly contracted, her mouth opening slightly, yet she couldn't utter a single word.

She looked at the bottom of the pit in disbelief, then at Jiang Ye's calm, water-like profile, an indescribable shock surging in her heart.

That was Zhang Kui, the famous "Mountain-Shaking Hand" of the prefecture city...

She truly couldn't imagine how Jiang Ye had managed it.

A dazed look, just like Lü Ming's before, appeared in Chen Lili's beautiful eyes.

Lü Ming saw Chen Lili's shock, which was the same as his own; he coughed lightly, his round face carrying a certainty that was almost devout:

"Chen Xu Shijie, you don't need to think too much; Elder Jiang is a god..."

Hearing this, Chen Lili's delicate body trembled slightly, and then she looked at Jiang Ye with bright eyes, her gaze filled with reverence and admiration, as if looking at the brightest star while gazing at the starry sky.

She murmured softly in her heart:

"Elder Jiang is a god..."

At this moment, that aged body even seemed to glow in her eyes.

Jiang Ye felt Chen Lili's burning gaze, but he didn't think much of it, taking it as a young girl's gratitude.

His gaze fell on the fainted Zhu Ling for a while, a flash of contemplation appearing in his aged eyes.

Immediately, he turned around and said calmly: "Let's go, let's return to Tianyangfeng first."

"Yes!!!"

Lü Ming and Chen Lili quickly followed, their footsteps light and firm.

Seeing Jiang Ye and the others leave, the Feng family members felt their hearts loosen, and the turbid breath they had been holding in their chests could finally be exhaled.

The pot immediately boiled over, with chaotic discussions rising one after another.

"What kind of background does this Elder Jiang from the Profound Heaven Sect have..."

"To act so domineeringly! This is completely disregarding our Feng family!"

"Forget it, he even dared to kill the 'Mountain-Shaking Hand' Zhang Kui of the same sect..."

Someone sneered, pouring a bucket of cold water.

"If the Great Elder doesn't come out of seclusion, what does our Feng family count for in his eyes."

Someone sighed, their tone full of helplessness.

"If you ask me, this whole thing is all the fault of that stupid woman Zhu Ling!"

An old man who looked like a clan elder stroked his beard, his expression gloomy.

"Indeed, letting a woman hold power just doesn't work."

"Sucking up to the Profound Heaven Sect is fine, but where did she get the guts to capture someone from the Profound Heaven Sect..."

"With this move, she's lost all of our Feng family's face..."

The discussions rose in waves, filled with anger, fear, resentment, and relief.

Yet not one person dared to say they would chase after them to take revenge.

Just then.

"Who dares to cause trouble in my Feng residence!!!"

A thunderous shout, like a clap of thunder, made the tiles in the courtyard tremble.

A figure swept into the courtyard like a cannonball, stirring up a wild wind that made everyone's clothes flutter loudly.

The smoke and dust cleared, revealing an aged figure.

He was tall, his whole body radiating a sharp aura that one could not look at directly, like a drawn sword, his edge fully exposed.

That old face had deep wrinkles, yet his majesty was not diminished in the slightest; his eyes shot out brilliant light, and wherever he swept, everyone lowered their heads.

"This... this is..."

"The Great Elder!!!"

"The Great Elder has come out of seclusion!!!"

The Feng family members immediately let out gasps, their expressions a mix of joy and confusion.

The joy was that the Feng family's anchor had finally come out!

The confusion was...

Why did he only come out after people were done causing trouble.

The Great Elder's sharp gaze swept over the crowd, that look like a tangible blade, scraping across everyone's face.

Everyone's heart stalled, their breathing stifled.

Especially the two Embracing the Pill Realm retainers, whose hearts trembled even more; they looked at each other and saw a trace of shock on each other's faces.

This old thing was actually still alive.

The two quickly lowered their heads respectfully and said: "Greetings, Great Elder."

The Great Elder's gaze swept over everyone's faces, then swept over the deep pit on the ground, and finally landed on the fainted Zhu Ling.

His brows furrowed slightly, no expression visible on that old face, his voice neither light nor heavy, yet clearly falling into everyone's ears:

"What has happened here."

A young man in fine robes quickly stepped forward, indignantly recounting the events quickly, starting from Zhu Ling sending people to capture Chen Lili, to Jiang Ye's arrival, and finally to Chen Lili slapping Zhu Ling unconscious...

He spoke vividly, adding oil and vinegar, describing the Feng family as an innocent victim and Jiang Ye as a domineering villain.

By the end, his expression was indignant, his voice rising a few notches:

"Great Elder, those people from the Profound Heaven Sect shouldn't have gone far yet; with your strength, you can definitely catch up easily..."

His eyes were full of expectation.

Before his voice had even faded, he felt his body stiffen, a chill shooting straight from the soles of his feet to his crown.

He didn't know if it was his imagination, but the Great Elder seemed to glare at him, making the words on the tip of his tongue swallow back down.

The young man tactfully closed his mouth, retreated two steps with a sheepish expression, and dared not say another word.

A hint of hidden exhaustion flashed across the old man's brow, and then he pointed to Zhu Ling not far away, saying in a deep voice:

"Bring her to the guest hall."

After speaking, he flicked his sleeve and headed toward the guest hall.

The Feng family members immediately began to busy themselves.

At the same time.

Steward Cao, hiding in the crowd, quietly walked outside the residence, a look of unbelievable shock still lingering on his face, unable to help but exclaim in his heart:

"The sky is turning! The sky is turning! The prefecture city is truly going to turn upside down!"

He had to return to the Chen family at the fastest speed to report everything that had happened here to the Patriarch.

Faintly, he could already foresee what kind of earthquake would occur in the prefecture city next.

He even looked back at the direction Chen Lili and the others had left in, sighing in his heart:

"Miss Chen... perhaps in the future, the Chen family will have to rely on you..."

Feng residence, inside the guest hall.

Those standing here at this moment were all direct descendants of the Feng family, faces that usually commanded the wind and rain in the prefecture city, yet now each one had a solemn expression, as if mourning their parents.

"Ugh..."

After being fed a high-quality elixir, the unconscious Zhu Ling finally slowly woke up.

Half of her face was swollen beyond recognition, wrapped in thick bandages, with only one eye exposed.

As soon as she opened her eyes, what met her gaze was a pair of aged eyes.

"Gr... Great Elder..."

Zhu Ling immediately let out a gasp, her voice full of fear and panic.

She struggled, wanting to get up, but found her whole body limp, unable to exert any strength, and could only lie half-prostrate on the ground, looking up at that aged figure.

The old man looked at her coldly, that wrinkled face full of disappointment and anger.

He said in a deep voice:

"That boy Feng Qun's body isn't good, lying in bed all day; back then, I saw that although you didn't practice martial arts, you had some means, so I let you handle some miscellaneous matters on my behalf."

"And the result?"

He paused, his tone becoming increasingly cold:

"What kind of things have you done!!!"

Hearing this, Zhu Ling was slightly stunned, unable to speak, her eyes filled not only with resentment and hatred but also with deep regret.

She knew that the move of capturing Chen Lili had been a wrong one.

And a very outrageous one at that.

She had never imagined that the wild girl who was not favored in the Chen family could make Elder Jiang of Tianyangfeng go to such great lengths.

And that Elder Jiang's strength was so horrifying.

Even Zhang Kui was not a match for his single palm.

"Great Elder, I was wrong..."

Zhu Ling lowered her head, her voice hoarse, tears mixed with bloodstains sliding down the half of her face that was still intact.

But how much of those tears were genuine repentance and how much were fear for her own situation, only she herself knew.

"You..."

The old man snorted coldly, just about to speak, when his expression suddenly changed, and he spat out a mouthful of bright red blood.

That blood landed on the ground, a shocking sight.

Afterward, he retreated two steps, his whole person looking withered and lifeless, his figure swaying as he slumped into a chair, gasping for air.

Where was there any sign of his previous majestic appearance.

At this moment, he was just an old man nearing his end, so weak that a gust of wind could blow him over.

Seeing this scene, everyone in the guest hall felt their hearts tighten, looks of terror appearing in their eyes, and they exclaimed in unison: "Great Elder..."

In this exclamation, there was worry, fear, and even more, disbelief.

They had never imagined that the Feng family's anchor, a Divine Qi Realm powerhouse, had actually become weak to this extent.

Now, they finally understood why the Great Elder had waited until Jiang Ye left before coming out.

If he had forced a move, I'm afraid the Feng family wouldn't be here discussing countermeasures now, but holding a funeral.

At this moment, looks of sorrow immediately appeared on everyone's faces.

Some were dejected, some sighed, some were pale-faced.

The reason the Feng family had been able to stand in the prefecture city for many years and hold the title of one of the three great families was because of the Great Elder's reputation.

In recent years, the Feng family had been failing to produce successors.

Once the Great Elder's time came, the Feng family's situation would be precarious.

And now they had provoked a dangerous figure like Jiang Ye.

Thinking of this, everyone's gaze toward Zhu Ling became even more unfriendly.

The old man took a deep breath, forcing himself to sit straight, his aged face full of exhaustion, yet still carrying a hint of majesty.

He shook his head slightly and said in a deep voice:

"I can still hold on for a few more days, but if you provoke people like today's again... I estimate the Feng family will truly be finished."

His voice was very light, yet it was like a mountain, pressing down on everyone's hearts.

Zhu Ling wept bitterly, her bandage-wrapped face twisted by crying, tears soaking the bandages and seeping into the wounds, bringing waves of stinging pain.

But she couldn't care about that, only repeating incessantly: "Great Elder, I was wrong, I was truly wrong..."

That voice was shrill, echoing in the guest hall, yet few people sympathized with her.

Just then.

A clan elder stood up and said with a solemn expression: "Big Brother, how should we handle Zhang Kui? I just confirmed it; he's dead through and through, even his internal organs have been burned away."

His voice carried a hint of lingering fear, as if remembering the miserable state of that charred corpse, his heart still palpitating.

The old man shook his head slightly, a flash of cold, sharp light appearing in his aged eyes.

He sneered, his voice hoarse and cold: "Arrange for someone to quickly send his corpse back to Thick Earth Peak; I remember the Profound Heaven Sect has rules strictly forbidding internal fighting among fellow sect members."

On the way back to the Profound Heaven Sect.

Chen Lili and Lü Ming followed behind Jiang Ye, both of them carrying a hint of unhideable worry on their faces, brows furrowed, preoccupied.

Just now at the Feng residence, seeing Zhang Kui's dead state had indeed been very satisfying.

That kind of joy from having a great revenge avenged, that kind of confidence from having someone back you up, made every pore on their bodies cheer.

However, once they were out and had calmed down, they thought about the consequences of this matter...

Jiang Ye turned back to look at the two who were hesitating to speak, his expression calm: "Are you thinking about Zhang Kui's matter?"

Lü Ming nodded with a worried expression:

"Elder Jiang, although we are in the right in this matter, the Profound Heaven Sect's rules strictly forbid fellow sect members from killing each other..."

"Zhang Kui is, after all, a powerful Elder of Thick Earth Peak, with a prominent reputation..."

"I'm worried the Peak Master of Thick Earth Peak will..."

Chen Lili had a look of self-reproach, her bright face now full of guilt, her eye sockets turning red again.

She bit her lip, her voice trembling: "Sigh, it was me who harmed you all..."

Finally, she seemed to have thought of something, a flash of determination appearing in her eyes: "Elder Jiang, why don't you run away now? I'll go back to the sect alone to be punished!"

Jiang Ye looked at the expressions of the two and shook his head with a hint of amusement:

"Rest assured, with me here."

"The sky won't fall!"

His tone was very calm, but carried a convincing confidence.

"Elder Jiang..."

Chen Lili and Lü Ming were both stunned, looking at Jiang Ye's calm, water-like face, an indescribable warmth surging in their hearts.

They stopped talking, only silently following behind Jiang Ye, their footsteps firm and composed.

After a long while, Chen Lili suddenly turned around, looking at the red, swollen slap mark that hadn't faded on Lü Ming's face, a flash of guilt appearing on her bright face, and she said sincerely and softly: "Junior Brother Lü, thank you for this time; you've suffered quite a bit."

Lü Ming was slightly stunned; Chen Lili's sudden serious tone made him quite unaccustomed.

Usually, the two were used to bickering and joking, so her being so serious made him feel at a loss.

He chuckled, scratched his head, his round face full of indifference: "Just small injuries."

Afterward, he seemed to have thought of something, a hint of mischief flashing in his small eyes, and he chuckled softly:

"Chen Xu Shijie, I've noticed that the way you look at Elder Jiang now..."

"Seems..."

He deliberately paused, drawing out his tone, the smile at the corner of his mouth growing thicker:

"A bit impure!"