plumnovel Chapter 223 Night in Suzhou, Jiangnan
Chapter 223 Night in Suzhou, Jiangnan
East courtyard, ancestral hall.
This is a forbidden area of the Cui family, and only direct descendants and highly skilled retainers are allowed to enter on ordinary days.
At this moment, seven white-haired elderly men sat cross-legged on the open ground in front of the ancestral hall.
While they appeared to be adjusting their breathing, the seven people's energy was actually subtly connected, enveloping the entire ancestral hall area.
Suddenly, the red-faced old man at the head of the group opened his eyes wide, his gaze flashing with a sharp light:
"Who dares to disturb the ancestral land of the Cui family?!"
The sound was as loud as a bell, exploding in the night sky.
The other six elders opened their eyes and stood up at the same time, their powerful true energy surging, their robes fluttering even without wind.
All seven of them were Grandmasters!
This is the Cui family's strongest hidden asset on the surface—the Seven Luminaries Elder.
"A petty scoundrel?" A calm voice came from the roof of the ancestral hall.
The seven elders looked up and saw a man in black robes standing with his hands behind his back in the moonlight, with a man in gray robes holding a sword standing beside him.
The red-faced old man felt a chill run down his spine.
None of the seven of them noticed when the two people got onto the roof!
"Who are you?" the red-faced old man asked in a deep voice.
"What grudge does the Cui family hold against you, that they would commit such an act of annihilation?"
Yuan Tiangang did not answer, but only glanced at Jing Ke beside him.
Jing Ke made a move.
The seven elders only felt a blur before their eyes, and then the gray-clad man vanished.
It wasn't fast, but a complete and utter "disappearance" that seemed to blend into the night.
"Watch out!" the red-faced old man shouted, pushing out with both palms, sending a fierce palm wind blasting towards the empty space in front of him.
The palm strike missed its mark.
The next moment, all seven elders simultaneously felt a chill on their necks.
fast!
Incredibly fast!
Seven thin lines of blood gushed from the throats of the seven people almost simultaneously.
They didn't even see the sword light, nor did they feel any pain; they only felt their breath suddenly cut off and their vision rapidly blur.
"Uh...ha..."
The red-faced old man clutched his bleeding neck, staring intently at Jing Ke, who had somehow returned to his original spot on the roof, his eyes filled with disbelief.
"Thump," "Thump"...
Seven bodies fell to the ground one after another.
Yuan Tiangang did not move an inch from beginning to end.
His gaze passed over the ancestral hall and looked towards the several increasingly powerful auras deep within the inner courtyard. The corners of his mouth seemed to curl up very slightly.
"Warm-up is over," he said softly.
"The main character is coming out."
……
Not long ago, in the inner courtyard, in the study.
Cui Yuanming slammed the secret letter in his hand onto the table, causing several cracks to appear on the rosewood tabletop.
His face was ashen, and his chest heaved violently.
"Investigate! Find out exactly who is targeting the Cui family! Twelve prefectures, over a hundred properties, attacked on the same night? This is an attempt to eradicate the Cui family!"
Two other people, his trusted advisors, were also standing in the study, now silent with fear.
"Sir," an aide said, forcing a smile.
"The technique was too swift, like a military style."
Moreover, news from various places says that those who carried out the operation were highly trained and coordinated perfectly, something that ordinary martial arts forces could never achieve...
"The army?" Cui Yuanming turned his head sharply, his eyes bloodshot.
"Lin Chen? He just married the eldest princess and should be enjoying a peaceful life. Why would he suddenly make trouble for my Cui family?"
"Although my Cui family and he... have old grudges, it has not yet come to the point of a life-or-death struggle!"
Another aide cautiously said:
"Zhen... Lin Chen never plays by the rules. Could he be planning to strike first?"
Cui Yuanming's body trembled.
Just then, from a distance outside the window, one could faintly hear shouts of killing and screams, which quickly grew closer!
"What's going on?!" Cui Yuanming rushed to the window and pushed it open.
From the direction of the moon gate leading from the inner courtyard, figures could be seen moving about, and the glint of swords could be seen.
A dozen or so skilled guards from the Cui family were desperately trying to hold them off, but their opponents were three silent men in black.
The three men's swordsmanship was unpredictable and ruthless, and their teamwork was seamless. The guards would often be stabbed in vital areas and fall down after only two or three moves.
"The Heavenly Guards..." Cui Yuanming squeezed out these three words through gritted teeth, his face instantly turning deathly pale.
He recognized the outfit and the skills!
Lin Chen had already thoroughly investigated those under his command who had destroyed the Yama Palace.
"Master, let's go!" The two advisors panicked as well.
"Leave?" Cui Yuanming gave a bitter laugh. "Where to? Now that they're here, the outside must be completely surrounded!"
Before he could finish speaking...
"boom--!!!"
A deafening roar suddenly came from the direction of the main gate of the Cui residence, and the ground seemed to shake.
Immediately following was the ear-piercing sound of some massive array of light shields shattering, and the crashing sound of countless tiles falling to the ground and breaking.
"The clan's protective formation... is broken?" A staff member slumped to the ground.
Cui Yuanming also stood frozen in place.
The Cui family's protective formation, passed down for over a thousand years, can withstand an army of tens of thousands for a day and a night!
It was broken so quietly?
"A formation that can withstand a peak Celestial Realm expert for half an hour, not bad!" A calm, unwavering voice rang out from outside the study door.
"Unfortunately, we've messed with the wrong person."
The door turned to dust without a sound.
Yuan Tiangang strode in, his black robe spotless.
Jing Ke followed half a step behind him, holding his sword and looking down.
"Yuan Tiangang!" Cui Yuanming's eyes reddened.
"Does Lin Chen really intend to wipe us out completely? My Cui family is a thousand-year-old clan with disciples and friends all over the world! Isn't he afraid—"
"Afraid?" Yuan Tiangang chuckled lightly, as if he had heard a joke.
"Master Cui, you colluded with Beishuo to smuggle forbidden iron and secretly communicated with the Netherworld Sect in Zhongzhou. How much trouble have you caused our lord?"
In the twelve prefectures of Jiangnan, hoarding of grain and price gouging drove countless farmers to their deaths.
"Any one of these things is enough to warrant the death of your Cui family ten times over!"
Cui Yuanming felt ice-cold all over. It wasn't a big problem that Yuan Tiangang could say that.
But that means the other party is here to wipe out the whole family.
"You...you people are so vicious!"
"Not as ruthless as Patriarch Cui!" Yuan Tiangang was losing patience.
"The Lord wants to see you. Will you go on your own, or shall I 'invite' you?"
"I'll fight you to the death!" Knowing he had no chance of survival, Cui Yuanming roared and unleashed his full power as a cultivator at the early stage of the Celestial Realm!
He pulled a soft sword from his sleeve, poured in his true essence, and the sword instantly straightened like steel. The sword energy stretched for a zhang, carrying a shrill whistle, and stabbed straight at Yuan Tiangang's face!
This sword strike was the culmination of his life's work—fast, ruthless, and decisive!
Yuan Tiangang remained motionless.
But Jing Ke behind him raised his eyelids slightly.
Before Jing Ke could make any move, Cui Yuanming only felt a blur before his eyes and his hand tremble violently!
"bite--!"
With a soft sound, the sword energy vanished into thin air, and the soft sword made of refined steel broke in two!
The fracture surface is as smooth as a mirror.
Immediately following, an irresistible gust of wind struck his lower abdomen, dantian, before he could react.
"puff--!"
Cui Yuanming felt as if he had been struck by a heavy hammer, spitting out blood as he flew backward and crashed heavily into the bookshelf, collapsing limply.
The sharp pain and emptiness emanating from his dantian told him—his cultivation was ruined.
"Why...why..." Cui Yuanming's face was ashen, and he was barely breathing.
"My Cui family... and our ancestor... they won't let this go..."
"You mean Cui Zhenyue?" Yuan Tiangang walked up to Cui Yuanming, looking down at him.
"That half-step immortal? He can't even protect himself."
With a wave of his hand, two Heavenly Guards stepped forward and dragged Cui Yuanming up like a dead dog.
"Oh, right," Yuan Tiangang turned to leave, then stopped, turned back, and added in a flat tone.
"You arranged for your three sons to flee to Zhongzhou, as well as those dozens of your direct descendants."
As the saying goes, you can run away from the monk but not the temple.
In Zhongzhou, there were naturally people who would "receive" them.
Cui Yuanming's body trembled, and he collapsed completely, the last glimmer of light in his eyes extinguished.