Chapter 217: Chapter 217: The Power to Redefine the World’s Laws

"For power and wealth, I’ve lived a domineering life, killed countless people, and had numerous women, but there are few I remember... cough cough..."

Teng Sect barely opened his blood-blurred eyes, looked powerlessly at Jiaang Jing and Jiaang Yan, who were crying their hearts out. He wanted to raise his hand to wipe their tears, but he couldn’t raise his hand. He had no strength, nor did he have hands.

"Cough cough... The Jiaang Family is one of them, your mother... I still can’t forget her to this day."

"Back then, when I learned I had two daughters in the Jiaang Family, I immediately sent a grand gift of gold, silver, treasures, and cultivation techniques. The Jingyan Dual Blades were one of them..." Teng Sect gasped for breath.

"But the Jiaang Family wouldn’t let me meet you, even hiding you away..." Teng Sect’s chest heaved violently, and crimson liquid spewed from his mouth, "Who am I? The Fortress Master of the Blood Vine Castle, one of the five Meridian Unlocking realm masters in Xirong County..."

"In a fit of anger, I destroyed the Jiaang Family and personally killed your mother..."

Teng Sect strained to twist his neck, looking towards the intricately designed, yet extremely cold Jingyan Dual Blades.

Then he mustered all his strength to swivel his blood-filled eyes, staring at Jiaang Jing and Jiaang Yan: "Xiaojing, Little Yan, seeing you makes me happy..."

"I’ve done so many bad things in my life... So I want to do one good deed before I die..."

Speaking, he laid his neck against the Broken Blade, a look of unprecedented relief in his eyes: "I hope... my death can allow you to let go of hatred."

Before Jiaang Jing and Jiaang Yan could react, Teng Sect suddenly exerted force, his neck sliding across the Broken Blade.

Blood lines floated on the Broken Blade as Teng Sect fell into a pool of blood.

Tears poured like rain, the two girls looked at Teng Sect dead under the Broken Blade, sobbing with trembling bodies.

They so desperately wanted to kill Teng Sect with their own hands, but now that Teng Sect really died, their restless hearts seemed to die and turn cold with him.

They had avenged, but also lost their last relative, even if this relative deserved to die.

The Medicine Maniac watched from the side, with a mocking yet also sighing expression.

The Fortress Master of the Blood Vine Castle, one of Xirong County’s five Meridian Unlocking realm experts, chose suicide at the last moment of life, for the sake of his daughters...

He brought it upon himself, reaping what he sowed, and deserved to die!

But it also evokes a trace of sigh.

Such is the time, and such is fate.

...

Forward.

An Hengying, like a lost dog, used all his Qi Blood in escape.

Rushing out of the Blood Vine Castle, he plunged into the pitch-black deep mountains.

He thought, this could rid himself of pursuit.

However, under the [Sword Gourd Spirit], no matter which direction An Hengying ran, he couldn’t escape.

The night was like ink, the moonlight like a silver plate.

Atop the towering trees, a figure lightly stepped on the treetops, moving swiftly as if by soaring magic.

Swish swish—

A leaf fell onto the face of the equally swiftly fleeing An Hengying, cold to the bone.

Next, many leaves drifted down.

Also descending was a person.

Chu Ming appeared to float down from the sky, stepping on the leaves.

The cold wind blew in terror, An Hengying crouched behind a giant tree.

"Come out." Chu Ming looked at the giant tree, "Lord An."

An Hengying’s complexion tightened; he inhaled deeply before stepping out from behind the tree: "You are not from Xirong County, why interfere with Xirong County’s matters."

There were only five Meridian Unlocking realm experts in Xirong County capable of smashing the Blood Evil Array formed by the Bloodthirsty Guard, and throughout Xirong County, only Xiang Yue, Commander of the Tiger Armor Army, could achieve this.

And Xiang Yue was at war in the Nine Hordes Kingdom, he definitely wouldn’t appear here.

Thus, An Hengying was very certain the expert before him was from outside Xirong County.

Chu Ming remained silent.

"What is your reward, I can offer double... no, triple!" An Hengying’s voice was low.

"Or, if there’s any request you have, I will surely comply."

"Is that so?" Chu Ming stared at An Hengying, calmly speaking: "Can you tell me, within Xirong County, who belongs to your Blood Evil Sect?"

"I can!" An Hengying agreed without hesitation.

"Speak." Chu Ming was slightly surprised.

"Here’s the list." An Hengying took out a piece of beast skin.

Chu Ming looked at the beast skin, saying: "Is this the list?"

"Yes, as long as you promise to spare my life, I’ll give you the list."

"Alright." Chu Ming stepped forward.

An Hengying lowered his eyes, a flicker of killing intent in their depths.

The beast scroll was not a list, but a poisoned cultivation technique.

Life-taking Night from prior capturing of the Medicine Maniac!

Come take it!

An Hengying’s heartbeat began to quicken.

Whether he could escape tonight relied on this scheme.

Half a body’s distance away, Chu Ming halted.

"Hand it over."

"Okay, I hope you keep your word." An Hengying anxiously handed over the beast scroll.

Chu Ming took the scroll, slowly unravelling it, but displayed no sign of being poisoned.

Impossible!

How is he not poisoned?!

An Hengying’s heart dangled torturously, as if it was about to leap from his chest.

The beast scroll wasn’t a list. Once unrolled, it would definitely be exposed.

In a split second, he feigned frenzy, his palm bursting with a cold gleam.

"Die!"

The sharp sword thrusted out, as if to slash everything apart.

The sword aura flashed past An Hengying’s face, his lips forming a wild, cruel smile.

The sharp sword poised at the crown, merely half a finger away!

An unstoppable slash, it was done!

However.

Clang—

A crisp sound of gold and iron colliding suddenly resounded.

The sharp sword, which should have cut down, was forcibly suspended in mid-air.

The sword’s blade was pinched between two fingers, unable to advance further.

"Lord An has broken his word." Chu Ming smiled gently, exerting reverse force with his fingers.

Clang clang!

The sharp sword snapped, fragments and a blood-colored palm shadow shot out.

Boom—

Thud thud thud—

Bright red liquid mixed with shattered organs spewed out, and An Hengying flew backward like a ragged bag, crashing into three giant trees before falling down.

"Lord An," Chu Ming grasped the Beast Scroll, walked up to An Hengying, and looked down, "Be more careful when poisoning. This part was left uncovered."

"You..." Bright red matter continuously spilled from An Hengying’s mouth.

Chu Ming flicked his fingers, and a cold gleam shot out, ending the life of the Standard Fourth-Grade Governor of Xirong County.

Searched the body and retrieved a jade plaque, a few pieces of gold, and a golden key.

Oh, there was also a Beast Scroll cultivation technique.

Chu Ming sat cross-legged on the ground and unfolded the cultivation technique.

"Tiger and Python Body Refining Technique·Meridian Passage..."

No wonder he couldn’t sense any Blood Evil Qi on An Hengying; turns out he was cultivating the Tiger and Python Body Refining Technique.

[Reading] Several effects initiated simultaneously, and this scroll of Tiger and Python Body Refining Technique·Meridian Passage swiftly transformed into skill fragments, suspended over the cultivation technique lake in the Sea of Consciousness.

"Unfortunately, only the first half."

The Beast Scroll’s cultivation technique was incomplete.

"Seems like I still need to ask my master for the complete Tiger and Python Body Refining Technique of the Meridian Unlocking Realm."

In the Sea of Consciousness, at the center of the cultivation technique lake, five small islands had already taken shape; the first two islands were fully formed.

This meant he had already deduced [Mountain and Sea Tiger and Python Cold Refining Sutra] to the Realm of the Five Meridian Unlocking and had unlocked two meridians.

However, deducing up to five meridians was the limit.

Subsequent deduction was slow; he needed more cultivation techniques from the Meridian Unlocking Realm.

The half of Tiger and Python Body Refining Technique brought change.

Fragments on the lake surface gathered and fell, causing ripples in the water.

In the center of the lake, a sixth island began forming.

Meanwhile, changes appeared on the panel.

[Mountain and Sea Primordial Body Technique·Meridian Passage (Meridian Unlocking)]

[Progress: 17/100]

The technique evolved again.

"Not enough, still quite a bit missing."

Chu Ming felt that this evolution of the cultivation technique lake would at most deduce Meridian Unlocking Realm techniques to about nine or ten meridians.

He stood up, tore a piece of cloth from An Hengying’s body, wrapped the Beast Scroll, and collected the gold, jade plaque, and golden key.

The jade plaque was An Hengying’s symbol of identity for the Xirong County Governor’s Office; the use of the golden key was unknown for the moment.

After a brief recovery, Chu Ming hoisted An Hengying’s corpse and sprinted towards Blood Vine Castle.

...

"Little girl, don’t cry."

The Medicine Maniac sat on a massive rock, softly comforting.

Rustle—

The shadows of trees swayed, and a figure slowly descended.

"Benefactor!" The Medicine Maniac immediately approached, "Is An Hengying dead?"

Chu Ming nodded slightly and threw down An Hengying’s corpse.

Jiaang Jing and Jiaang Yan saw the newcomer, wiped the tears from their faces, and restrained their grief, coming forward.

"Thank you, senior." The two girls bowed in salute.

Chu Ming glanced at the corpse of Teng Sect on the ground, his expression slightly changing.

There was a fatal wound on the neck, but it looked as if it had been self-inflicted...

Suicide?

"Senior helped the little girl kill Teng Sect. This life..." Jiaang Jing spoke, both frightened and mournful.

A stunning face, coupled with helpless charm.

Truthfully, Chu Ming felt a twinge of emotion for a moment.

But he knew what he pursued.

Power, a power that stands above all, a power that allows him to control his destiny and rewrite the rules of the world.

The annihilation of Blood Vine Castle was for the hundreds of unjustly dead miners at Jingyan County’s mines;

It was for Chen Dianji of Wind Vine County, who would rather have his chest hollowed out than collude;

It was for the Black Bear, who drank and ate with him, only to die tragically in the end;

And also for himself.

He left Teng Sect for the two girls to exact revenge, not because of their beauty, but because he had accepted the golden fragments from them.

"No need."

Chu Ming gave the two girls a calm glance, then turned to look at the Medicine Maniac.

"Benefactor..."

The Medicine Maniac met Chu Ming’s deep, unfathomable gaze and was momentarily panicked.

He was trembling, holding two items with both hands—one was the Blood-Colored Bell that previously summoned the Bloodthirsty Guard, and the other was a pair of wrist guards shimmering with silver.

These two items were just stripped from Teng Sect by the Medicine Maniac.

Both appeared to be extraordinary treasures, yet the Medicine Maniac had never thought of keeping them for himself, not even entertaining such an idea.

Jiaang Jing and Jiaang Yan wanted to serve the senior who avenged them; likewise, the Medicine Maniac harbored similar thoughts.

Alone, he slaughtered four Meridian Unlocking Realm cultivators!

Such an achievement is rare in the world.

The Medicine Maniac was well aware that he was facing a life-and-death test.

He clearly recalled the conflict he had with this master who slew four Meridian Unlocking Realm cultivators at Jingyan County’s mines.

Blood Vine Castle’s fate has been sealed, but not his; his life wasn’t in his own hands.

Moreover... Tonight could be a matter of life and death; it might also be the biggest opportunity of his life, a chance to latch onto a powerful backer!

This was why he remained here waiting, even with the chance to escape.

Besides, he felt that taking that step to flee would result in a fate akin to An Hengying’s.

Chu Ming nodded slightly, accepting the two items.

He first focused on the Blood-Colored Bell—thumb-sized, intricately designed, entirely blood-colored, looking quite remarkable.

Unfortunately, the two Bloodthirsty Guards had already been destroyed by him; he wondered if the Blood-Colored Bell still had any use.

Next, he looked at the wrist guards, soft in texture, highly flexible, with a silver sheen.

Suddenly, Chu Ming glanced at Jiaang Jing.

Jiaang Jing’s cheeks immediately flushed, somewhat flustered.

"Give me the short blade."

"Ah?" Jiaang Jing was momentarily stunned, then realized the senior was looking not at her, but at the short blade in her hand.