Black and White Fiends stood by, quietly watching the show. Who would have thought that Ye Nanxing would remain completely calm?
She pulled out a longsword from her spatial storage. As the blade left its sheath, the cold gleam of the steel reflected the lightning-like sharpness in her eyes.
Without any unnecessary movements, she leaped into the air and directly unleashed a vast wave of sword energy.
The swarm of corpse insects charging toward her was instantly cut down by more than half. At the same time, White Fiend let out a muffled groan.
Black Fiend looked down and realized that Ye Nanxing’s sword aura had struck White Fiend’s hand as well—her hand was nearly severed at the back.
Only then did the two fiends finally feel a trace of danger. But the next scene made them immediately think of fleeing.
Ye Nanxing completely ignored the poisonous corpse insects circling above her head. Instead, she stared straight at them with blazing eyes as she slowly walked forward.
“How is this possible? Why isn’t she poisoned?” White Fiend cried out in shock.
That was right. Ye Nanxing was connected to the spiritual spring within her space, making her completely immune to the corpse insects’ deadly poison.
“Run—!” Black Fiend grabbed the injured White Fiend and prepared to escape.
“Trying to leave? Did I allow it?”
Before her words even finished, Ye Nanxing used a long-distance teleportation and instantly blocked their retreat.
Black Fiend attacked with ghost claws. Ye Nanxing raised her sword upward and severed his wrist in a single strike.
“Ahhh—!”
After losing his hand, Black Fiend no longer carried his previous arrogance.
But it wasn’t over yet. Ye Nanxing spun around, switched hands, and thrust her sword backward through his chest. In an instant, the blade pierced straight through his heart, and not long after, he collapsed to his knees and died.
White Fiend’s face changed drastically when she saw this. She looked at Ye Nanxing as if she were an unbeatable monster.
“Don’t kill me! I have many treasures—I can give them all to you!” she cried, hurriedly handing over a treasure map.
Ye Nanxing’s eyes remained icy cold. After lifting the map away with the tip of her sword, the blade stopped beneath White Fiend’s chin.
“Speak. How did you know I possessed a treasure?”
“If I tell you… will you spare me?” White Fiend begged in panic.
The sword edge sliced lightly across her neck.
“Speak!”
“The poison mist we released earlier was colorless and odorless. Ordinary people can’t detect it at all. But you could see it, which means you definitely possess some kind of treasure!”
Ye Nanxing’s gaze darkened, terrifying like an abyss.
“So that’s it. I’ve finished asking my questions. Time for you to die.”
“You… you promised not to kill me!”
“The weak have no right to negotiate!”
Swish—
Blood sprayed everywhere. The moment White Fiend fell, her head rolled across the ground…
Ye Nanxing sheathed her sword and turned to leave, but suddenly a wave of dizziness struck her. Darkness swallowed her vision.
When Jiang Qingshu woke again, dusk had already blanketed the earth.
The cries of crows echoed nearby. She turned her head and nearly fainted from the gruesome sight.
A flock of crows was pecking at two mutilated corpses. Two of the birds were even fighting over bloody eyeballs.
She nearly vomited and quickly shrank backward. Though the bodies had been pecked into mangled flesh, she could still barely recognize from their hands that they were Black and White Fiends.
How did these two die? Which expert killed them?
She had absolutely no memory of it. She only remembered swallowing the blood pearl before being stabbed in the back by White Fiend.
Speaking of injuries, she suddenly remembered her badly wounded sister-in-law and the rest of the family who had been surrounded by poisonous bats. What had happened to them?
She quickly checked the condition of her space with her consciousness. After confirming that the space had not disappeared because she swallowed the blood pearl, she immediately prepared to rush back to the hill where her family was.
But as she turned around, she unexpectedly noticed a “Treasure Map” lying on the ground. It looked like a map leading to hidden treasure.
Whatever—might as well keep it.
“Little sister?” Suddenly, Jiang Chengyu’s voice came from the north.
“Third Brother?”
At this moment, simply hearing a family member’s voice filled her with excitement.
Jiang Chengyu leaped down from higher ground and landed in front of Jiang Qingshu.
“I finally found you. Are you alright?” He grabbed her shoulders and carefully examined her.
“I’m fine. But Sister-in-law…” Jiang Qingshu recalled the scene of White Fiend severely injuring Tang Shuangshuang and didn’t dare think further.
“Her injuries are serious, but thankfully her heart wasn’t damaged. And after drinking the medicinal water you left behind, she’s already out of danger.”
Jiang Qingshu was overjoyed.
“Really? That’s wonderful!”
She had been terrified about it the entire time, and now she could finally relax.
Jiang Chengyu turned his head and noticed the two corpses nearby. His expression immediately changed.
“Aren’t these the Black and White Fiends? They…”
Jiang Qingshu didn’t know how to explain it, but Jiang Chengyu suddenly exclaimed in admiration,
“Your master is truly incredible—to think he cut the two fiends down into such a miserable state!”
Master?
Jiang Qingshu could only smile bitterly. Even she herself was confused this time…
The siblings immediately set off to reunite with the family.
During the battle against the poisonous bats, only Jiang Yifeng had been accidentally struck by a poisonous claw while protecting the children. Fortunately, he had already consumed spiritual spring water, so he was not seriously harmed.
Though the poisonous bats were troublesome, the Jiang family was no pushover either.
Jiang Qingshu immediately went to visit Tang Shuangshuang. Although still weak, she had already awakened, and the child in her womb was safe as well.
To help her recover faster, Jiang Qingshu gave her another cup of spiritual spring water.
When Jiang Kun asked about the treasure, Jiang Qingshu simply explained that the enemies wanted the miraculous medicine in her possession that could cure all poisons.
Every time she gave her family spiritual spring water, she mixed a few vitamin C tablets into it so they wouldn’t think it was just ordinary spring water.
Her family fully believed her explanation. After all, such a miraculous medicine capable of reviving the dying truly could be called a treasure.
“How much of that medicine do you still have?” Jiang Kun asked.
Jiang Qingshu took out a small gourd bottle.
“About half a bottle left.”
“Then I’ll keep it safe for now. It’s too dangerous for you to carry it.” Jiang Kun directly took the vitamin C tablets from her hand.
Jiang Qingshu could only laugh helplessly. For now, she had no good way to refuse his kindness.
Everything he did was simply to protect his child.
That night, the three Jiang brothers took turns standing guard while everyone else rested.
At dawn the next morning, they set off again.
Across the vast and desolate wasteland, the family struggled forward against fierce winds.
Because of the prolonged drought, not a blade of grass grew on the land. Whenever the cold wind howled past, it swept up clouds of yellow sand.
“I wonder when it’ll finally rain. At this rate, we’ll all start stinking,” Sun Yuluo complained while covering her face with her sleeve to keep the sand out of her eyes.
“Just endure a few more days. Things will improve once we reach the north,” Jiang Kun comforted her with narrowed eyes.
The sandstorm was so intense that every breath felt like swallowing a brick of dirt. The environment was harsh to the point that even taking a step was difficult.
Three days later, on a sunny afternoon, they finally left the wasteland and arrived beneath a sprawling mountain range.
After crossing over mountains and ridges, they discovered a village hidden in the valley below.
It was already getting late. They needed to find a place to stay before nightfall.
The forest in the mountains was too primitive, and wild beasts surely roamed there. Staying at the foot of the mountain was their only option.
After discussing it, the family decided to ask the villagers for shelter for the night.
Under the cover of night, they descended the mountain. Crossing a small stone bridge, rows of yellow mud huts gradually came into view.
The village was not large, yet strangely quiet.
Looking at the fences and the repaired thatched roofs, it clearly didn’t seem like an abandoned village.
They stopped before a courtyard house, and Jiang Fengyu stepped forward to knock on the door.
However, despite knocking several times, no one answered.
Just as they were about to leave, the courtyard gate suddenly creaked open on its own.
Looking through the open wooden door, they saw that the seemingly empty main hall was actually a funeral hall.
And on the offering table before the hall were rows upon rows of memorial tablets…