“Yin’er, a full day has passed. There’s little hope left for young friend Zhang Chen,” said the Pan family’s protector cultivator at Perfected Gathering Qi realm, Pan Baocai, shaking his head.

After exiting the Black Snake Secret Treasure, Pan Yin stubbornly waited another day at the exit. Hearing her Second Uncle’s words, her face darkened with sorrow in the eyes.

Though unwilling to accept it, she knew Daoist Zhang must have perished after failing to emerge by now.

“Alas… Heaven envies true talent. That lad showed remarkable courage and vision, yet fortune ultimately betrayed him.”

Pan Baocai couldn’t help sighing after learning of Yang Linghu’s deeds, which he deeply admired.

“Understood, Second Uncle. Let’s return home.”

After the Pan family left, only scattered cultivators remained healing at the treasure site’s exit. By next dawn, a solitary figure lingered.

Facing the massive array, Liu Qing knelt heavily.

“This lowly one thanks you for saving my life! Liu Qing shall never forget this mercy!”

He kowtowed three times toward the hidden treasure, wiped his tears, and departed.

No human shadows remained near the Black Snake Secret Treasure afterward. After such tragedy, none dared linger near this ill-fated place.

“Senior Brother! Five storage bags found through thorough search!”

Within the secret treasure site, Zhao Qi presented the collected bags to Yang Linghu. The one-way teleportation array prevented re-entry after departure.

Following Dou Hong’s death, only the Yang Family trio remained. For two days, they scavenged both settlements and the entrance battlefield under Yang Linghu’s direction.

They ultimately recovered eighteen storage bags from fallen cultivators containing:

– 428 spiritual crystals

– 34 early-stage Gathering Qi elixirs

– 9 mid-stage Gathering Qi elixirs

– 27 early-stage Gathering Qi talismans

– 6 mid-stage Gathering Qi talismans

– 1 late-stage Gathering Qi Ice Splitting Talisman (from Xiaoyao Sect disciple’s bag)

This talisman could have repelled Dou Hong’s ambush had its owner not been complacent. The fatal arrogance left this trump card unused.

They also acquired two mid-stage spiritual treasures and various spiritual materials. On the final day, they thoroughly stripped the Safe Area until the teleportation array’s imminent closure, squeezing maximum value from the treasure site.

Departing without delay, the trio headed straight for Yansha Town.

“Our bountiful harvest owes everything to Young Master’s leadership.”

“Had Senior Brother’s combat strength not prevailed, we two individuals would’ve perished here!”

Emerging from the cold pool, Zhao Qi and Liang Yi shuddered at other cultivators’ fates, hearts torn between lingering fear and grateful relief.

If not for Yang Linghu’s careful planning and protection, they probably wouldn’t have survived to walk out alive.

“We’re family. No need for formalities. Everyone does their part in family matters,” Yang Linghu said softly.

His gaze drifted southeast as he spoke, a faint smile touching his lips.

Though the journey had been fraught with complications, they had managed to get through it safely despite the close calls.

“Once we regroup with Lingrui, I can finally return home to my junior sister.”

Being away so long, Yang Linghu missed his wife most of all, and their child yet to be born.

“Elder Brother, have you settled on a name yet?”

“We’ve discussed some options with my junior sister, but nothing’s final.”

Yang Linghu pulled a folded paper from his robe, revealing three names he and Wu Tong had considered.

“Hong. An. Xi.”

“These are all fine choices, Young Master!”

“We spent nights debating these. Just need to decide after returning.”

Yang Linghu chuckled.

Zhao Qi held the paper under the radiant moonbeams, the characters appearing to glow faintly.

“The moonlight’s unusually bright tonight.”

“Indeed, this moon…”

Yang Linghu’s words caught in his throat as sudden unease gripped him.

Chen Yang’s consciousness within his sea of consciousness shuddered violently.

Yang Linghu instantly activated the superior-quality diamond talisman, golden light encasing all three of them.

Swish—

Silvery moonlight cascaded like liquid silk from above, draping over their heads.

The protective golden barrier shattered like glass upon contact.

Under the moon’s glow, Yang Linghu’s body turned leaden, as if crushed by mountain peaks.

Thud!

In that critical heartbeat, Yang Linghu kicked Zhao Qi and Liang Yi clear, taking the full force of the moonlight himself.

Facing death, Yang Linghu felt no sorrow for his halted Path of Cultivation.

Each generation bore its own burdens – this was simply his to carry.

The Yang Family’s rise demanded sacrifice, and he’d long prepared for this.

His only regret was leaving his junior sister alone in this world.

And never knowing the child who’d grow up fatherless.

Before his consciousness plunged into chaos, he thought of Lingrui and Lingqing.

“Lingrui must survive this calamity…”

“Lingqing, see? I told you I needed to come on this trip…”

Boom!

The frail moonlight struck the ground, blasting a deep pit into the earth.

The energy wave from the explosion alone hurled Zhao Qi and Liang Yi dozens of meters away.

“Senior Brother!”

Zhao Qi roared, ignoring the lingering shockwaves as he charged toward the pit.

Liang Yi froze in panic for a moment before scrambling after him.

Zhao Qi leaped into the pit, crouching to grope through the dust until he seized Yang Linghu’s arm.

“Senior Brother!”

He clutched Yang Linghu’s hand, relief briefly washing over him.

But when the dust cleared, the sight left him rooted in shock.

Zhao Qi held only Yang Linghu’s severed right arm.

Nothing else remained in the pit.

A thousand miles away at the Songshan Yang Family…

Yang Lingqing sat in the meeting hall listening to her father discuss family matters when sudden chest pain gripped her.

“Lingqing?”

Yang Feiyun noticed immediately, dismissing the others.

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing, Father.”

She pressed a hand to her chest, regulating her breath until the pain eased, though unease lingered.

This wasn’t normal.

Not after refining the Immortal Master’s spirit pearl.

She stiffened, turning northward as dread coiled in her gut.

“Father, the forbidden area formation fluctuates. I’ll investigate.”

“Go.”

Maintaining composure, Yang Lingqing returned to the cliffside forbidden area.

Skirting around Wu Tong’s courtyard while masking her aura, she hastened to the ancestral hall.

She entered calmly, but the moment she crossed the threshold, panic erupted in her chest.

“Immortal Master!”

Yang Lingqing abandoned propriety, grabbing Chen Yang.

“My brothers…are they…?”

“Alas…”

Chen Yang sighed at her trembling form. Yang Linghu’s soul fire had vanished moments before, while Yang Lingrui’s now flickered weakly. Distance rendered him powerless to intervene.

Similar tragedies unfolded across the Zhuhu Dynasty. Cultivators serving as royal pawns suffered brutal sect retaliations—slain by cursed techniques like Yang Linghu, poisoned, soul-reaped, or worse.

The sects’ violent backlash had been anticipated. After the bloodshed, the Zhuhu Dynasty used these attacks to justify conquering three northern front strongholds, slaughtering three Condensing Essence cultivators and gravely wounding a Spirit Communication cultivator.

As shockwaves rippled through the factions, Yang Linghu’s death became merely another drop in the storm.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep