Yuyang Commandery City, Miao Clan estate.
Crack!
A delicate teacup crashed to the floor and shattered into pieces.
Mason Miao and five others standing nearby all wore terrified expressions, not daring to utter a word—when the Old Ancestor was angry, it was best not to provoke him.
What on earth could have made the Miao Clan Old Ancestor so furious?
To understand, we have to start with yesterday.
Yesterday, Jason Ji from the Ji Clan personally visited the Old Ancestor and brought a message from A-Qing.
Though the Old Ancestor didn’t lose his temper on the spot after hearing those veiled threats, he was still deeply unsettled.
On top of that, Jason Ji threw in a few sarcastic remarks, making him feel even worse.
But today, thanks to certain people stirring the pot, A-Qing’s name has spread like wildfire, while news of Skye Miao’s death—which was originally only circulating in small circles—has now become common knowledge.
Then the rumors started: people called the Miao Clan Old Ancestor a coward, said the clan head was dead and he was still hiding away—what kind of so-called Out-of-Body expert is that?
Normally, Mason Miao and the others wouldn’t have cared about such talk—it would blow over soon enough.
But the Old Ancestor got an urge to stroll through the city, and at a teahouse, he overheard people loudly gossiping that he was too timid to avenge Skye Miao.
While putting him down, they kept hyping up that woman called A-Qing, calling her the number-one expert in Yuyang Commandery, and saying even the Miao Clan Old Ancestor couldn’t beat her.
The people gossiping were just some low-level juniors; the Old Ancestor couldn’t be bothered to argue, so he swallowed his anger and went back to the Miao estate.
Then he called Mason Miao and the others over and started taking his anger out on them.
By now, the whole tea set had been smashed, leaving only a solitary teapot.
Staring at the lone teapot on the table, the Old Ancestor’s anger had mostly cooled. He looked at Mason Miao and asked, “How are the preparations?”
Mason Miao hurriedly replied, “Old Ancestor, I’ve secretly purchased a Slaughter-Heaven Sword Formation and installed it in the estate. As long as A-Qing dares to show up, we’ll lure her into the array and kill her. I also bought an Earthfiend Dragon-Binding Formation—if she manages to escape the Sword Formation, the six of us can trap her together, and then you can finish her off yourself!”
Hearing this, the Old Ancestor couldn’t help but frown.
Mason Miao said nervously, “My arrangements still have plenty of gaps—please advise me, Old Ancestor.”
“You’ve done well. You may go now,” the Old Ancestor said, waving Mason Miao away.
The Miao Clan Old Ancestor was named Tianxiang Miao; he’d lived for over three thousand years and founded the clan himself. Compared to the Ji Clan, the Miao Clan had less foundation, and compared to sects like Yuhua Sect, Sword Sect, and Qilin Sect, they were even further behind.
The only reason the Miao Clan could share city resources with the Ji Clan was because of his Out-of-Body-stage cultivation. Without him, the Miao Clan wouldn’t just lose out to the Ji Clan—they’d be nothing compared to the three great sects.
But now, that mysterious woman called A-Qing had actually killed the Wind Division master of Yuhua Sect, Sect Leader Ethan Ye, and three elders.
All of them were top powers in Yuyang Commandery, and he knew well that Yuhua Sect possessed three supreme treasures: the Four Fiends Heaven-Slaughter Formation, the Dragon-Roar Bell with its sonic attack and defense, and the Heart-Heaven Ring that confuses the mind.
Even with those three treasures, Ethan Ye still died at her hands, so it’s clear her strength is at least mid-stage Out-of-Body, maybe even late-stage.
But he himself was only early-stage Out-of-Body.
If A-Qing was only mid-stage Out-of-Body, with Mason Miao’s arrangements he could barely fight to a draw. But if she was late-stage, he didn’t stand a chance.
After all, the higher your cultivation, the slower your progress.
He didn’t have any mid-stage Out-of-Body techniques, and no matter how many times he shut himself away to try and invent one, he’d never succeeded.
The longer you live, the more afraid of dying you get.
So right now, the Miao Clan Old Ancestor was seriously on edge.
What should I do?
He fretted in secret.
He had two choices in front of him: One, go all out against A-Qing—maybe he’d kill her, or maybe she’d kill him. Two, abandon the clan and run away.
But every member of the Miao Clan was his descendant, and making them one of the five great powers of Yuyang Commandery had cost him countless years of effort. When his cultivation stalled, he threw himself into building up the family.
So walking away now would be a gut-wrenching decision.
Thinking about it made him hate that unfilial Skye Miao even more. If Skye had just handed over the Yellow Springs Secret Canon, he could’ve used it to break through to mid-stage Out-of-Body, maybe even late-stage.
With that kind of power, he could’ve crushed the Ji Clan, Yuhua Sect, Sword Sect, and Qilin Sect, ruling Yuyang Commandery alone. But no, that idiot was short-sighted and selfish, hiding the canon and cultivating by himself.
And look what happened—he lost his life, and the technique ended up in someone else’s hands.
Old Ancestor!
Just then, Mason Miao came back again, not long after leaving.
What is it now?
The Old Ancestor’s voice was anything but friendly.
Old Ancestor, there’s someone outside who claims to be your old friend and wants to see you!
Old friend?
The Old Ancestor was stunned. He’d been holed up in Yuyang Commandery for eight hundred years, hadn’t seen any of his old friends in ages, didn’t even know if they were alive or dead. Now one was suddenly here? That was a shock.
Did he give his name?
Mason Miao answered, “He said his name is Tianji Feng.”
What? It’s really him!
Hearing that name, the Old Ancestor jumped to his feet, face full of shock. He muttered, "Didn’t he die in that deadly place years ago? How is he still alive?"
He was confused and skeptical, but still hurried outside the estate, where he saw a middle-aged man in black waiting.
Nearly a thousand years had passed, but the Old Ancestor still recognized Tianji Feng from back then.
What surprised him more was that he couldn’t sense the man’s cultivation at all.
There were only two possibilities: either he had a treasure that hid his aura, or his cultivation was at least two realms higher.
In other words, unless Tianji Feng was hiding his aura, he was at least late-stage Out-of-Body.
Miao old brother, it’s been a thousand years! You’ve gotten old!
The black-clothed man strode forward and bowed deeply, clearly excited.
Hearing this, the Old Ancestor’s face lit up with excitement. He hurried to help him up. “Tianji, it really is you! I can’t believe it!”