Chapter 23: Mu Yuanshan’s Return (Part 2)

Chapter 23: Mu Yuanshan’s Return (Part 2)

After discussing for a long time, the three decided to follow the direction indicated by the markers. Their mission was to find Mu Yuanshan—they needed to see the person alive or confirm the body if dead. Not being able to confirm Mu Yuanshan’s fate would be terrible news for the Mu Family.

Although the swamp rats were fierce, they could not pose a fatal threat to the well-supplied and well-equipped Mu Dewu, Mu Deqing, and Mu Yuanfei.

Their journey lasted an entire month. The markers left by Mu Yuanshan were not very consistent. It was unclear whether they had been destroyed by fierce beasts in the swamp or if Mu Yuanshan had been in too much of a hurry to leave more. This forced Mu Dewu and the others to spend a great deal of time and effort locating the next marker and pinpointing Mu Yuanshan’s direction.

Along the way, the three faced countless dangers and nearly exhausted all their supplies. This made them consider turning back home, but a stubborn determination kept them going.

The only thing they felt fortunate about was that the markers never led deep into the Poison Mist Swamp, but rather circled its outer edges.

When Mu Dewu and the others noticed the markers becoming clearer and began finding fragments of Mu Yuanshan’s clothing and even a broken sword along the path, their expressions turned grave. The corpses of various fierce beasts along the way made their hearts tremble with fear, as they realized with shock that the bodies belonged to fourth-tier beasts.

As the three cautiously made their way deeper into the Poison Mist Swamp, suddenly, a series of furious roars and agonized screams caught their attention. At the same time, a strong smell of blood and rot reached their noses, almost making them faint.

Following the sounds, they felt their legs go weak and had the urge to flee.

What lay before them was an uncountable sea of fourth-tier Withered Touch Beasts. Mu Yuanshan was right in the center of this ocean, on the verge of being overwhelmed and devoured by the horde.

It must be known that Mu Yuanshan only had the cultivation of the True Essence Realm. His combat power was at best equal to a third-tier beast, and even then he could not withstand a group attack from them, let alone being trapped in a circle of fourth-tier beasts.

Fortunately, the terrain in the Poison Mist Swamp was complex, and Mu Yuanshan was clearly not a reckless person. He made full use of the terrain’s advantages, hiding between two huge rocks with his back against an ancient towering tree. This meant he only had to face enemies from the front, with no danger from the sides or back.

The Withered Touch Beasts clearly had limited intelligence. Although each stood over three meters tall with a shocking number of tentacles and could occasionally spray greenish poison, they never thought to go around behind Mu Yuanshan to topple the ancient tree. Instead, they clumsily crowded to his front. This resulted in most Withered Touch Beasts only being able to watch as the two in the very front were killed, unable to help at all, only letting out roars of frustration.

Even the two Withered Touch Beasts at the front facing Mu Yuanshan could not fully unleash their true combat power. This was because a mountain of Withered Touch Beast corpses already piled up in front of Mu Yuanshan. These corpses served as his cover, blocking countless attacks for him.

When Mu Dewu and the others clearly saw the situation, they gasped. On one hand, they were amazed by Mu Yuanshan’s bravery and wisdom. On the other hand, they were terrified by the mountain of Withered Touch Beast corpses and the endless tide of beasts fearlessly charging at him.

Although Mu Yuanshan was not in immediate mortal danger at that moment, Mu Dewu and the others could see he was at his limit. The Green Edge Sword in Mu Yuanshan’s hand was already broken in two. Even the remaining half was full of notches. Mu Yuanshan’s body was covered in bloodstains as if he had crawled out of a sea of blood. His face was devoid of color, and his eyes revealed unconcealable exhaustion.

Clearly, Mu Yuanshan had been fighting for a long time before Mu Dewu and the others arrived. The mountain of Withered Touch Beast corpses was the best proof.

Mu Dewu and the others were still worrying about how to get close to Mu Yuanshan to deliver the supplies when a sudden change occurred.

A Withered Touch Beast lying at Mu Yuanshan’s feet was not yet dead. It suddenly stretched out a tentacle and lashed at Mu Yuanshan’s face.

Mu Yuanshan was already struggling to deal with the other two Withered Touch Beasts. His body was long past its limit, so he simply could not dodge the sneak attack from this third beast.

With just that one move, Mu Yuanshan was knocked to the ground by the beast at his feet. Immediately, attacks from the other two Withered Touch Beasts fell upon him like a tidal wave, before he could even steady himself.

In the blink of an eye, sickening crunching sounds of shattering bones came from Mu Yuanshan’s body, along with his suppressed cries of pain.

Watching Mu Yuanshan being tortured nearly to death by the several Withered Touch Beasts, Mu Dewu, Mu Deqing, and Mu Yuanfei felt their eyes were about to crack.

Just as the three were about to risk their lives to charge towards Mu Yuanshan, ready to die with him, a sudden golden light blazed in the air. At the same time, a cold snort reached their ears.

With that snort, the group of Withered Touch Beasts, who had just been dancing excitedly, all trembled and prostrated on the ground, as if encountering something extremely terrifying.

Mu Dewu and the others looked up and saw that a resplendent, golden carriage had appeared in the air. In front of the carriage, nine Five-Clawed Golden Dragons were pulling it. A middle-aged man in a python robe sat inside the carriage, his face like still water.

“Sister-in-law, that middle-aged man in the python robe was incredibly powerful. With one cold snort from him, all those Withered Touch Beasts were too scared to move. He waved his sleeve, and all the Withered Touch Beasts turned to ashes. It completely stunned us. We really don’t know what level his cultivation is.”

“That python-robed man seemed to have come specifically to rescue Big Brother. After dealing with the horde of Withered Touch Beasts, he floated down next to Big Brother. He checked Big Brother’s injuries, then fed him a pill. He set all the broken bones in Big Brother’s body one by one, then brought the four of us to the exit of the Poison Mist Swamp before departing just as quietly. From start to finish, he didn’t say a word, and we didn’t dare speak either…”

When talking about the python-robed man, Mu Yuanfei’s eyes shone, and his face became extremely excited. Clearly, Qian Tian Wang had left an extremely deep impression on him.

“We owe Qian Tian Wang a huge debt.” After listening to Mu Yuanfei’s account, Tang Qiluo murmured.

“Yes, we owe Qian Tian Wang an enormous favor.” As soon as Tang Qiluo’s words fell, a hoarse and weak voice chimed in nearby: “If it weren’t for Qian Tian Wang, all four of us would have been buried in the bellies of the Withered Touch Beasts this time.”

Hearing this voice, Tang Qiluo’s body trembled, and she immediately looked at the speaker.

It was only then that Tang Qiluo realized she had been too engrossed in listening to Mu Yuanfei’s story about the Poison Mist Swamp that she hadn’t noticed three more people had appeared beside her.

These three were Mu Yuanshan, Mu Dewu, and Mu Deqing, who had arrived at the Mu Family a step later than Mu Yuanfei.

Mu Yuanshan’s white robe was dyed into a bloody robe, with not a single spot intact on his body. Mu Dewu and Mu Deqing were also covered in wounds, their long robes torn into countless shreds. The three looked as if they had crawled out of a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood.

“Yuanshan!” Tang Qiluo called out emotionally, then rushed towards Mu Yuanshan.

As she rushed forward, Mu Yuanshan staggered on his feet, opened his mouth to gasp sharply, and his facial muscles twisted into a knot from the pain.

Noticing her husband’s condition, Tang Qiluo remembered he was seriously injured. She quickly stepped back a few steps, a look of guilt appearing in her eyes, her delicate, fair face instantly flushing red.

“Qiluo, you’ve worked hard this whole time. Let’s go inside first.” Mu Yuanshan gazed quietly at Tang Qiluo for a moment, then suppressed his emotions and said softly.

Tang Qiluo nodded at his words, then shook her head vigorously. Tears kept flowing, but her eyes were filled with joyful smiles. She stepped forward, took over from Mu Dewu and Mu Deqing, supported her husband’s body, and slowly entered the courtyard gate.

Seeing this, Mu Xian hurried to the other side, supporting his father’s body alongside his mother, one on each side.

Mu Yuanshan glanced at Mu Xian, his eyes full of a kind smile, but he didn’t speak.

Mu Xian keenly noticed that although his father could barely walk, there was not the slightest fluctuation of Yuan Power within his body, and even his vitality was extremely weak. This gave Mu Xian a bad feeling. Could his father’s injuries be much more serious than he imagined?

“Qiluo, a lot must have happened in the family during the more than a month I was gone, right?” After the group quietly entered the North Courtyard and sat down in the room, Mu Yuanshan finally asked in a serious tone.

Even Mu Yuanfei could tell at a glance that something was wrong with the family situation, and Mu Yuanshan was no exception. But compared to Mu Yuanfei’s impatience, Mu Yuanshan was obviously more composed.

Tang Qiluo softly “mm-hmmed,” then recounted everything that had happened in the family over the past month. This included not only the palace pressure incidents involving Mu Deyu, Mu Deguang, Mu Siping, and Mu Guitu, but also Wang Xiangnan and Li Qingyu taking advantage to plunder, the timely appearance of Qian Tian Wang, and the two waves of attacks Mu Xian encountered on his way home.

Tang Qiluo’s account took almost half an hour.

Hearing that so many things had happened within the short span of a month, each one enough to threaten the family’s survival, the veins on the foreheads of Mu Dewu, Mu Deqing, and Mu Yuanfei bulged, and their fists clenched tightly. Mu Yuanshan also wore a grave expression, with an occasional terrifying glint flashing in his eyes.