The Spirit King

"Hand over my disciple!"

Leng Yue glared at them, her brows drawn together, and spoke in a cold voice.

Inside the grand formation, the elder said nothing. Holding a twisted corpse aloft with spiritual essence, he brought it before the two women.

The corpse's face was contorted. It had endured agonizing struggles in life, and its eyes had not closed in death.

"Cheng... Cheng'er..."

Looking at the disciple who was so familiar to her, yet had been tortured beyond human form, Leng Yue shed tears once more.

"Esteemed guests, there is more to this matter than meets the eye. Please, allow me to..."

The elder steeled himself and spoke.

Even he could hardly bear to look at the young man's deathly appearance, let alone Leng Yue, his master.

"You'll all be buried with him!"

Before the elder could finish, a terrifying ray of cold white sword light came at him, carrying an unmistakable resolve to kill him on the spot.

Feeling the terrifying power of the sword light, the elder's expression changed. Not daring to delay, he swept his wide sleeve, sending an enormous torrent of golden dragon Qi charging to meet it.

At the same time, he dared not linger in battle and flashed back inside the formation.

Just as he had expected, most of the golden dragon Qi was scattered the instant it collided with the sword light, utterly unable to fight back.

"Only one minor realm separates us, yet the difference in our strength is so vast..."

The elder's face turned bitter, but there was nothing he could do.

He could imagine that her talent was certainly greater than his. With her striking in anger, he dared not meet her edge head-on.

"Your disciple was not killed by us. Please calm down and hear my explanation."

The elder called out to her from the other side of the formation.

"I'll judge that for myself! As long as you had anything to do with my disciple's death, you'll all die beneath my sword!"

Leng Yue's eyes burned with hatred, and the power radiating from her entire body even broke through its peak, becoming several degrees stronger than before!

Trembling, she placed Dai Cheng's body inside a spatial treasure.

"Xue Yue, break the formation. I'll kill nine-tenths of the people inside, then find out the truth and avenge Cheng'er!"

Leng Yue looked at the red-robed woman beside her, sorrow in her eyes.

"Very well!"

Xue Yue lifted her pointed chin and stood beside Leng Yue.

"You devils! You make no distinction between right and wrong. How utterly shameless!"

Beside Madam Wang, Ling Fei, who had appeared at some unknown point, heard those words and immediately launched into a torrent of abuse.

Shocked and furious, he berated her without restraint. "Your disciple was bewitched by a woman with the heart of a snake and a scorpion. He must have been sick in the head to come pick a fight with our Spirit King's Manor, and you still have the gall to blame us!"

"No wonder he died. It turns out he had a master who was just as sick in the head, who raised an idiot who only knew how to use his fists, not his brain. He deserved to be used by someone else!"

"Your head's full of shit..."

"@&#￥%＋＄..."

Ling Fei unleashed a lengthy tirade, but when he saw the two women's expressions darken, his heart skipped a beat.

As the hot blood rushing to his head cooled, his voice grew quieter. In the end, he lowered his head and hid behind Madam Wang, muttering so softly that no one could hear him.

"Stay put and keep your mouth shut!"

Madam Wang gave him a tap on the head. Though her words were reproachful, she felt a surge of satisfaction.

"What a sharp-tongued brat. I'll kill you first in a moment. Since you're so clever, you can teach my disciple properly when you join him beneath the nine springs!"

Leng Yue suddenly laughed, but the smile did not reach her eyes, making her look utterly chilling.

"It seems my name as the Sha Demon still isn't well known enough. No one dares provoke me in the Moon-Gazing Sect, yet I never imagined the lowly people in this backwater wouldn't know whom they've offended!"

Leng Yue pointed her sword at the sky. With a clap of thunder, a cold moon high in the azure heavens shattered into countless points of light, which slowly formed a terrifying sword a thousand zhang long. Cold light rippled across its blade, gathering layer upon layer of killing intent.

Xue Yue rose into the air. Behind her, countless crimson threads came swimming forth, each one seeming to have a mind of its own, as nimble and terrifying as venomous snakes.

"Bright Moon Sword!"

"Blood Spirit Silk!"

These two divine abilities were several times stronger than before. As everyone watched with tense expressions, the thousand-zhang sword pierced the spiritual light, and countless threads shattered the formation patterns.

Amid a radiance so dazzling that no one could open their eyes, the damaged spiritual formation, which had clung to its last breath for a thousand years, finally split open with an enormous crack.

The terrifying residual force of the divine abilities poured down. The elder drew on all his cultivation to shield the people of the manor, but many of the surrounding pavilions were not so fortunate and were blasted to pieces.

In an instant, the entire Spirit King's Manor was riddled with destruction, enormous craters gaping across the ground. It was a pitiful sight.

"The grand formation is broken. Meet your deaths!"

A voice like thunder rang out. Madam Wang's eyes widened as she saw the chilling sword light streak toward Ling Fei. She violently shoved him aside and faced the sword light herself.

The elder had just resisted the residual force and was struggling to keep up. He had no time to react.

"Mother!"

Ling Fei struggled to his feet and stared in horror at the sword light less than three zhang from Madam Wang. His eyes nearly split as he let out a shrill cry.

Madam Wang's heart had already died. With a smile still on her lips, she closed her eyes.

Several breaths later...

Feeling a warm presence blocking the way before her, and finding that the Sword Qi she had expected had not passed through her body, Madam Wang opened her eyes.

A mighty war halberd floated before her, radiating a scorching presence. A pressure unique to the Primordial Spirit Realm poured from it, but it did not bear down on her. Instead, it protected her firmly, holding the sword light at bay.

"The... the Spirit King's Halberd? How did it get here?"

Madam Wang stared in astonishment.

As she stood there stunned, a blurry figure appeared beside the Spirit King's Halberd, finally taking the form of a burly man.

The moment the man appeared, the pressure on everyone eased considerably. His figure seemed a true backbone, holding all that power at bay.

"F-Father!"

Ling Fei, some distance away, was the first to react. His eyes widened as he spoke in delighted surprise.

"My lord..."

Madam Wang called out softly. Then she thought of something, and all color instantly drained from her face.

"Leave it to me."

The Spirit King gave her a reassuring smile as he spoke.

"Greetings, Your Highness!"

The people of the manor erupted, calling out excitedly.

In midair, Leng Yue and Xue Yue frowned, utterly taken aback.

"There's another Primordial Spirit Realm expert here."

The two women had attacked as soon as they arrived, and for a time had not sensed that such an expert was also hidden within this vast manor.

A powerful spiritual might radiated from the Spirit King, far stronger than that of the imperial elder. At the very least, he would not be entirely helpless against the two of them.

"Has His Highness... recovered?"

The people of the manor were overjoyed.

However, only Madam Wang knew that the Spirit King was merely forcing himself to hold on.

"Such is the time and such is my fate. No matter how unwilling I am, there is nothing I can do. The strange poison has already penetrated deep into my dantian and the marrow of every bone in my body. I'll save this last chance to fight for when the manor is in grave danger."

"I hope that time never comes. Once Yun'er and Fei'er have grown up, I can depart in peace."

"From now on, my lady, it will be up to you to keep the manor standing."

Remembering what the Spirit King had once told her, Madam Wang lost all strength and had to be supported by Ling Fei, who had returned to her side.