External Enemy

Meanwhile, deep within a narrow alley outside the Qi family residence, another household's room had been strewn with countless paper copper coins.

An aged figure stood before the candlelight.

Though it was the height of summer, she was wrapped head to toe in a thick cotton-padded coat.

As she watched the flickering flame, intense hatred welled up in her eyes.

"Hongmei, my poor daughter, you can finally rest in peace. Your mother will soon avenge you! Not only that venomous woman Madam Zhou—even everyone in the Qi family's main branch will be buried with you. They are all the murderers who killed you!"

She murmured under her breath, punctuated now and then by a cough or two.

Pain lingered in her eyes as well.

Her daughter had originally been a second-rank maidservant in the main branch. Because she served so well, Qi Yuanwu had taken her into his chambers as a concubine. Everything had been fine at first, but after she had luckily become pregnant, mishaps came one after another, until at last she fell into a well, taking two lives with her.

She had long warned her daughter to guard against that venomous woman, but no matter how carefully one guarded by day and night, one could not withstand an enemy with a powerful family behind her. In the end, she had met such a fate.

What filled the old woman with hatred was that Qi Yuanwu, the master of the Qi family's main branch, had not uttered a single fair word. He acted as though an ant had died, rather than a beloved concubine carrying his own bloodline. How could the old woman not hate him?

Just then, a deep voice gave a cold laugh from beyond the window.

"If you rely only on those methods now, I'm afraid you may not be able to avenge your grievance!"

Hearing this, the old woman looked toward the person outside, and her expression instantly twisted.

"You lied to me! Didn't you say this spell could utterly take the lives of that venomous woman, Qi Yuanwu, and everyone in the Qi family's main branch?"

A dense layer of yin and resentment clung to her entire body.

Hideous festering sores surfaced across her face, like living toads, horrifying to behold.

The visitor slowly appeared at the doorway. He glanced at the sores covering the old woman's body without a trace of surprise, merely nodding. "That was assuming no one interfered. Now someone has stuck their nose in and ruined your plans!"

The cloaked figure seemed especially icy amid the black wind.

The old woman immediately panicked. She had paid such a tremendous price—if it all came to nothing in the end, who would avenge her daughter and grandson?

"What should I do? Tell me quickly! You must have a way!"

She looked like a vengeful ghost come to claim lives!

The figure did not mind the old woman's offense. "Simple. Dig out the object used for the nightmare curse. Go perform the final rite now, then find a way to lend your daughter a helping hand!"

The old woman froze at his words.

"Wasn't it one bow a day? It isn't even midnight yet today?"

"There's no time. You can only speed things up, or you may not get your wish!"

A dark gleam flickered in the figure's eyes.

He had finally found an opportunity with Madam Zhou. He could not let all his efforts go to waste!

The old woman nodded. Without further hesitation, she wrapped herself in black cloth and hurried toward the Qi family estate.

Within the Qi family's inner courtyard, a thunderous boom rang out. Terrifying, sinister energy erupted from the bottom of the well like a flood, along with countless strands of horrifying black hair, like an endless tide of black insects.

The runes around the well walls burst apart, and one yellow banner after another snapped with a crash.

The black hair shot forth, racing toward the depths of the inner residence like a net cast over heaven and earth.

Heavenly Void Daoist was struck pale with shock at the sight.

This was an accident he had never imagined. As far as he knew, although the mother-and-child Baleful Intent was formidable, it should not have been able to break through Iron Immortal Abbey's inherited ritual artifacts.

It was not as though he lacked experience dealing with such powerful vengeful ghosts.

Startled inwardly, he could not spare a thought for the shattered ritual implements. He raised his hand and removed a purplish-red longsword from his waist.

The spiritual aura flowing from this sword was far stronger than that of the other items, and it faintly carried the rhythm of a spell.

This was Iron Immortal Abbey's true treasure.

A genuine ritual artifact, a treasure nurtured with magical power.

"Dharma sword, slay evil!"

With a sharp shout, wisps of spiritual energy gathered in his hand, forming a purplish-red sword shadow that slashed fiercely at the countless black strands of hair. It severed them in an instant, revealing within them two nearly crazed figures, one large and one small.

They were a graceful woman with lovely features now covered in blue Baleful Intent, holding a wicked infant with a sharp mouth and fangs in her arms.

The crimson sword light slowly pierced into her forehead, inflicting grievous damage upon her.

Yet it ultimately failed to cleave her completely in two. Meanwhile, sheets of talismans flew out from beneath the doorway, forming a wall of runes that blocked her black hair.

The injury instantly enraged the mother-and-child vengeful ghosts. The female ghost flung the child ghost aside and transformed into a dense cloud of black qi as she charged at Heavenly Void Daoist.

"Busybody old ox-nose, today I'll take your life along with theirs!"

"Eat!"

The child ghost was even faster, turning into a lightning-swift black shadow and arriving before Heavenly Void Daoist in the blink of an eye. It was so fast that even Heavenly Void Daoist could not evade it.

He could only stir up his spiritual power and form a protective aura before himself.

Zhang Jian, hidden on the wall, shook his head inwardly. The spiritual aura of a Qi Refinement cultivator could not stop the child ghost's claws. The child ghost's yin qi was even stronger than the female ghost's, and it was particularly skilled in speed.

But at that moment, Zhang Jian's eyes moved. Qi Yi flashed forward, sword in hand, transforming into a majestic sword shadow that struck the child ghost's claws. Scorching blood burst forth, instantly severing the child ghost's claws. An even fiercer, invisible blaze of energy surged forward like a torrent and slammed into the child ghost, scorching it until it wailed.

"Such a petty ghost dares commit murder before this general? You're courting death!"

Icy killing intent filled Qi Yi's eyes. His great sword swept forth in layers of blazing blood-red radiance, charging over like a fierce tiger.

"Organ-refining blood force, pure yang vitality?"

Zhang Jian was greatly startled at the sight.

Organ refinement was the fourth stage for body-tempering martial artists, equivalent to the fourth stage of inner-refinement martial artists, the Innate realm. His maternal grandfather was actually an organ-refining martial artist.

Organ-refining martial artists were not numerous among body-tempering martial artists.

Breaking through was even more difficult than for inner-refinement martial artists.

"No wonder he was past sixty yet still red-lipped and white-toothed, growing younger the older he became. This grandfather of mine was no ordinary man either..."

Zhang Jian secretly mused.

The blood-colored sword flashed like a meteor. Its supremely yang energy, capable of burning all things to ash, erupted and formed a dense net over the unprepared child ghost.

Surging dragon-and-tiger energy also roiled around his grandfather.

It was as though the roars of dragons and tigers shook the air, raging through mountains and rivers.

Even Zhang Jian's expression changed sharply as he watched.

This was his first time seeing a court martial general with a noble title truly unleash his power. The dragon-and-tiger energy he wielded was indeed terrifying, enough to suppress all manner of external evil.

An ordinary immortal cultivator of insufficient realm might be suppressed by that dragon-and-tiger energy in a single encounter, then killed outright.

"No wonder all those heterodox paths, no matter how rampant, only dared hide in the shadows and wreak havoc?"

Zhang Jian mused inwardly. The trace of pride he had felt after his breakthrough gradually subsided. Beneath a colossal entity like the Great Qian court, even immortal cultivators had to act with caution.

Seeing the two suppress the mother-and-child vicious ghosts, Zhang Jian dismissed any thought of making a move.

He glanced toward the depths of the flower garden. He had a premonition that the person who had cast the nightmare curse might act, so with a shift of thought, he headed toward the garden.

After arriving, he soon discovered a furtive figure appearing around the flower garden. At the sight of that figure, Zhang Jian smiled faintly. His form vanished at once, and before long, he led someone into the flower garden.

Soon, screams rang out from within the flower garden. The shrill cries immediately drew the Qi family's patrolling servants.