Chapter 217: The Woman in the Jar
Chapter 217: The Woman in the Jar
The courtyard gate was only a few steps away from the house door.
After seeing Yu Qingli rush into the small courtyard, everyone present tensed up and watched nervously. From their expressions, it was clear what they were thinking: they didn’t want Yu Qingli to enter that courtyard or see the person inside, but they knew it was bound to happen eventually, so they forced themselves not to stop it.
So, almost under everyone’s gaze, Yu Qingli violently pushed open the door and saw everything in the room.
Outsiders couldn’t see what was happening inside at that moment. All they heard was that after Yu Qingli rushed into the room, there was dead silence for a long time.
Then, suddenly, a deafening roar that could tear through the sky and rip out one’s heart echoed out.
That was Yu Qingli’s voice!
That angry and painful roar came from the depths of his soul, like it would tear his whole self apart.
“Whoosh!”
He Zhenzhang and Meng Qing’er both turned pale at the sound. No one knew what had happened.
But just hearing that roar, one could feel a sorrow too deep for words, chilling the body.
In that instant, everyone—whether Fang Cun in mid-air, Liang Xiangzi the Sect Leader of Lingwu Sect before the guest hall, the elders who had just carried Young Master Bai down, or the scattered Lingwu Sect disciples in the air—was startled by that mournful scream. They felt a strange panic inside, as if sinking into an ice cellar.
“I’ll kill you…”
Next, Yu Qingli burst out of the small courtyard.
This young man, who usually looked gloomy and had a face that chilled the heart, now appeared twisted beyond recognition. Not everyone can control their expressions well, so with rage and killing intent burning fiercely, his emotions twisted his once handsome face into something almost ugly.
“I’ll kill you…”
He kept repeating those words. His eyes swept the crowd quickly, then turned southwest.
He looked toward someone standing under a pine tree on the Southern Mountains.
Then, as if dark fire scorched his spirit, Demonic Qi boiled around him. Behind him, a green-faced demon head with fangs appeared, radiating an ancient and bleak sadness that disregarded the world.
For a moment, his appearance had a horrifying power that made people afraid to look at him.
Anyone who faced him felt ice-cold inside, like an invisible hand gripped their heart.
Boom!
Even though Yu Qingli was only in the Foundation Building Realm, with each step he took, wind and thunder seemed to roar. Ripples formed in the void as if he walked on water. He shot forward like an arrow from a strong bow, trailing a long afterimage in the air, and charged fiercely toward Elder Xue with overwhelming killing force.
“How dare you attack anyone freely in our sect?”
The hearts of the elders sank when Yu Qingli entered that courtyard earlier.
It felt like accepting a done deal, like a woman faced with an unwanted fate.
But they hadn’t expected Yu Qingli to explode with such fury and rush out to attack one of their elders. It was so sudden that they yelled out and instinctively moved to stop him.
Right then, Fang Cun high in the sky suddenly turned and gave them a sharp look.
Instantly, everyone felt their spirits sink and slowed down.
“Second Young Master Fang, Lingwu Sect has already shown great tolerance…”
Meanwhile, Liang Xiangzi the Sect Leader of Lingwu Sect also looked toward Fang Cun and said firmly, “You tricked the Seven Clans’ Qi Refiners into fighting in Lingwu Sect, we accepted that. You let your disciple force his way into our courtyard and hurt our member, we accepted that. Even you badly hurt Young Master Bai in our sect, we stayed neutral. But now, if your disciple insists on attacking an elder of Lingwu Sect, then whatever happens next, we…”
As he spoke, Liang Xiangzi felt real anger inside.
After all, he was a true sect leader.
Lingwu Sect had its pride!
With all that had happened that day, Lingwu Sect felt it had given Second Young Master Fang enough face.
Not just for him, but for his dead brother’s sake too.
How could a sect allow someone to attack its elders on their own turf?
The unspoken threat was clear: if their elder fought back and hurt your disciple from Shoushan Sect, what then?
“I don’t care about your tolerance. All I know is, no Shoushan Sect disciple can be hurt here…”
Fang Cun said no more. He just spoke coldly and rushed toward that courtyard. Without needing to be called, Liang Xiangzi understood and flew after him. They moved swiftly and landed before the courtyard moments later. Pushing open the gate that Yu Qingli had crashed through, they both saw a large jar.
The jar had a wooden lid with a hole in it. A woman’s head stuck out of the opening.
She must have been very beautiful once, but now she was just skin and bones, like a pale skull.
The jar was black, covered in tiny, strange patterns that glowed and dimmed. When all the patterns shone, the jar turned slightly transparent, revealing the woman’s crouched body inside—it was skeletal, with almost no flesh left. Only Spirit Pills in the jar kept her clinging to life.
Fang Cun instantly understood why Yu Qingli had gone mad.
He stayed silent for a long time. Then he slowly turned to Liang Xiangzi the Sect Leader and asked, “Is this one of your elders?”
Liang Xiangzi’s face darkened, and after a long pause, he said quietly, “When we learned you were coming, this woman was already like this. Her bloodline was drained by the time we found her. To save her life, Lingwu Sect used our best Treasure Pills to sustain her breath. We feared she’d die!”
Fang Cun was still silent. After a long time, he repeated softly, “Is this one of your elders?”
“What would you have us do?”
Liang Xiangzi’s voice grew suddenly furious as he snapped, “He was appointed by the Xue family! And this woman is his lawful partner! They practiced their lovers’ arts privately. We’re outsiders—what could we do? If not for knowing about your visit and Yu Qingli, how could we interfere?”
Yes…
Fang Cun’s heart was overwhelmed with the deepest anger, taut to the breaking point.
This world was often like that.
The woman was a commoner. As the elder’s lawful partner, who could intervene?
Who cared if she agreed or was tortured into this state?
If Yu Qingli hadn’t helped him, would he have cared?
And could anyone care about all such cases?
…
Meanwhile, inside Lingwu Sect, facing Yu Qingli’s murderous charge, Xue Zhizheng the young elder didn’t strike back. He simply stepped back lightly. With a crash, the ancient pine beside him snapped in half under Yu Qingli’s furious power. The rock under him shattered like a sieve.
“You monster…”
“I’ll kill you, I must kill you…”
Yu Qingli’s eyes were blood red, his voice hoarse as he attacked nonstop.
The ferocity shocked even Qi Refiners beyond the Condensed Radiance Realm.
“Kill me?”
Xue Zhizheng moved like smoke, dodging easily. All of Yu Qingli’s attacks hit only his afterimage. At times, it seemed like a leisurely walk, with distance between them fixed. Without the motion, it looked like they were just talking face to face.
Amid Yu Qingli’s endless rage, Xue Zhizheng’s grim face broke into a slight smile. “What right do you have to kill me?”
He avoided Yu Qingli’s moves with ease, his voice slithering into Yu Qingli’s ears like a snake: “I wed your sister lawfully, with a County Mansion-certified marriage vow. Your sister agreed willingly—at least in words. Our private matters? Even the Immortal Emperor couldn’t meddle…”
“Shut up! Shut up!”
Yu Qingli roared like a wounded beast.
“Hah…”
Contrasted with Yu Qingli’s fury, Xue Zhizheng acted calm and assured, even sounding breezy: “I’m surprised you won favor from that Fang family member. But what if he backs you?”
“Officially, I spent years as Chief Warden at the County Mansion, earning honors and praise for my deeds. Later, the Xue main branch appointed me as an elder at Lingwu Sect. Privately, I gave your sister gold and jewels to wear, fancy silks, Spirit Pills and Treasure Pills. Loving in public, sweet in private—deep devotion. But she indulged in our arts and wasted away. Who’s to blame?”
“Heh…”
He spoke barely above a whisper, only for Yu Qingli’s ears, but his eyes turned vicious: “I follow all rules, step by step. Not one wrong move. Even with Second Young Master Fang on your side, so what? I took her bloodline, but I broke no laws. How can anyone touch me?”