In the pitch-black cave, a burst of flame ignited, illuminating the dark space.

After Jiang Huai Zhen started a fire by waving his hand, he set Ling Yanshui aside and sat down, panting.

Burning essence blood twice in a short period of time, combined with an all-out sprint, left this trusted aide of the Jiang Family Patriarch utterly exhausted.

"Let's recuperate and restore our True Qi for now. Xu Xingying, stay alert and keep an eye on the outside," Jiang Huai Zhen ordered as he sat cross-legged on the ground.

Unlike Jiang Huai Zhen, the other three in the group, Xu Xingying, Xie Qun, and Ji Sheng, were not direct descendants of the Jiang Family but came from branch families, so naturally, they regarded Jiang Huai Zhen as their leader.

The Jiang Family's heritage stretched far back, with historical accounts tracing the family's origins to a time when the Three Generations of Human Emperors battled with the War Gods of the Southern Border, a history spanning at least five thousand years.

With such an ancient family history, it was natural for there to be a proliferation of family members who branched out and formed offshoots.

Lv, Xu, Xie, Ji, Qiu, Dongguo, Gao Tang, Zi Ya... In East Province, seventy-eight families originated from the Jiang Family. It could be said that the Jiang Family was a major bloodline source in East Province.

With such history and such a vast influence, the Jiang Family could be called the uncrowned king of East Province.

Upon hearing the command, Xu Xingying rose and moved to the passage near the cave entrance to sit cross-legged. His strongest skill was Qinggong, and since he had burned the least amount of essence blood earlier, his injuries were not serious. Now, he could take a brief rest while closely monitoring the movements outside the cave.

However, just as Xu Xingying sat down, he felt an unprecedented terror surge from deep within his heart, raising the hair on the back of his neck.

"..."

Xu Xingying opened his mouth to shout, but felt an inexplicable Qi Mechanism stifling his mouth, preventing him from making any noise.

No, not just one Qi Mechanism. There were eight Qi Mechanisms, spreading throughout his body, tightly controlling him.

"What's happened, Xu Xingying?" Jiang Huai Zhen called out to Xu Xingying, who sat in the shadows away from the fire.

Although Xu Xingying had made no sound, the way he had tried to mobilize True Qi to counter an unknown threat had put Jiang Huai Zhen on high alert.

Everyone present was a master of the True Pill Realm, extremely sensitive to the fluctuations of Qi Mechanism. Even though Xu Xingying's Qi Mechanism had only trembled momentarily before ceasing, it was enough to make Jiang Huai Zhen and the other two stand up immediately, warily watching the passage.

"Xu Xingying."

Seeing that Xu Xingying did not respond, Jiang Huai Zhen called out again.

Darkness could not obscure Jiang Huai Zhen's vision. For him, the small fire behind them was enough to allow him to see in the darkness.

He could see that Xu Xingying had collapsed on the ground cross-legged, his head hanging down, looking as if he were dead. But Jiang Huai Zhen's senses told him that Xu Xingying was still alive.

"Bang—"

Suddenly, Xu Xingying's shoulder burst open, shooting out a spark. What followed was a twisting, snake-like green Qi Force emerging from the wound, writhing in the air.

"Save me!!" Xu Xingying cried out loudly for help, trading self-mutilation for a moment of freedom with his True Qi.

However, Jiang Huai Zhen's cold command in response to Xu Xingying's plea was, "Kill!"

An enemy capable of controlling Xu Xingying silently and unnoticeably was extremely powerful. The three of them were all at a low point, with no strength to spare for a rescue.

The best course of action at this moment was to destroy Xu Xingying along with the mysterious and dangerous Qi Force. Otherwise, the next one to fall like Xu Xingying could be any one of the remaining three.

Without hesitation, Xie Qun and Ji Sheng followed Jiang Huai Zhen's lead, swinging out their Sword Gangs for a "Three Soldiers' Pillage Attack."

```

"Sssss—"

Xu Xingying's body surface was covered in dark green sword snakes that slithered around and absorbed the essence Qi within him, devouring all his essence blood before breaking out from his body.

Xuanyin Twelve Swords·All Things Become My Sword.

Having absorbed Xu Xingying's essence blood, the Xuanyin Sword Energy seemed even more ferocious. Eight sword snakes twisted their forms and shot out, colliding with the flaming Sword Gang.

"——"

Without sound or resistance, the Sword Gang was torn into shreds. How could Jiang Huai Zhen and his two companions, already at the end of their strength, contend with the Xuanyin Sword Energy that had absorbed Xu Xingying's life force?

Eight Swords in Unison·Xuanyin Devouring Spirit.

The Sword Qi twisted and turned, taking positions in different directions, seemingly forming a Sword Array.

A dark green poisonous flood dragon vividly appeared, swiftly circling around Jiang Huai Zhen and the others.

First Xie Qun, then Ji Sheng. Both men were powerless against the poisonous flood dragon formed by the Xuanyin Sword Energy and had their essence blood entirely absorbed, turning into withered corpses that fell to the ground.

Lastly was the strongest, Jiang Huai Zhen.

The poisonous flood dragon coiled around Jiang Huai Zhen's arm, rapidly climbing towards his head.

"Don't even think about it!"

Jiang Huai Zhen's eyes showed determination as he rapidly activated the 'Fierce Tao Military Destruction Technique,' ready to perform a suicidal move. But at that moment, his gaze swept over Ling Yanshui lying quietly beside the fire, and his True Qi hesitated slightly.

"Tss—"

A Sword Qi emerged from Jiang Huai Zhen's chest, dripping with his heart's blood like the sharp point of a true sword.

"Who is Ling Yanshui? Why would you protect her?"

A deep voice reached Jiang Huai Zhen's ears from behind, and then he felt his mind being invaded by an abnormal power…

"Plop—"

Jiang Huai Zhen's body, with barely any flesh and bones left, hit the ground with a somewhat crisp sound.

Eight strands of Xuanyin Sword Energy flowed into Qing Yu's right hand, where the refined essence blood slowly released, nourishing his wounds that had still not healed.

After the encounter with Xuan Du, Qing Yu took advantage of the remaining power of 'Taichu Mixed Hole' and refined another strand of Sword Qi. Now, he had eight strands of Xuanyin Sword Energy under his control.

Moreover, Qing Yu discovered a new use for Xuanyin Sword Energy, which was to absorb impurities and refine essence blood. The cultivation of 'Blood Soul True Understanding' required essence blood, but Qing Yu did not want to waste time removing impurities to refine it.

At this time, the extremely Yin and evil Xuanyin Sword Energy came in handy. Inherently wicked and resistant to corruption by essence blood, it could even extract power from it, making the Sword Qi even stronger.

As for Qing Yu, he could use the refined essence blood to cultivate 'Blood Soul True Understanding,' while simultaneously treating his injuries—a perfect two-for-one deal indeed.

After absorbing Jiang Huai Zhen's essence blood and searching his memories, Qing Yu's eyes slightly closed as he slowly organized the somewhat chaotic memories.

After the sword pierced Jiang Huai Zhen's chest and the Xuanyin Sword Energy directly absorbed his essence blood, he hadn't lasted more than a few moments. With such a short time, Qing Yu could only hastily plunder without being selective.

After a while, Qing Yu opened his eyes, "This man's name is 'Jiang Huai Zhen,' a trusted follower of the Jiang Family Patriarch Jiang Haogang. He led the attack on those from the Guanghan Immortal Palace to abduct Ling Yanshui, who is the biological daughter Jiang Yanyu of Jiang Haoyun.

He did not know why it was to abduct, not to kill Ling Yanshui. All he knew was that Jiang Haogang had emphasized repeatedly the importance of ensuring Ling Yanshui's safety. Even if it meant sacrificing the lives of Jiang Huai Zhen and his four companions."

```

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.