Chapter 26: Mu Zhenren

While Mu Feng was breaking through his bottleneck in the Yinfeng Cave, a woman wearing coarse cloth arrived at a remote and simple wooden house deep within Mu Manor. Led by a black-clad servant who had no arms, she pushed open the wooden door with a creak, entered, and knelt on a pale yellow cushion.

The small wooden house was extremely simple, almost empty except for rows of spirit tablets. In front of the tablets, an old man with a white beard knelt motionless. He seemed as if he had been asleep for thousands of years, or as if his soul was roaming a thousand miles away, completely unaware of the footsteps behind him.

One old man, one woman in coarse cloth, and one servant without hands.

The three remained silent. The old man and the woman knelt on the ground, while the black-clad servant without hands stood to the side with his head bowed.

One hour passed, then two hours…

Outside, dark clouds gathered, and muffled thunder rumbled from time to time, signaling an approaching storm. Inside the wooden house, however, there was deathly silence.

After a long while, a soft sigh finally came from the wooden house. The old man kneeling before the spirit tablets slowly raised his head slightly. “Sixteen years ago, I risked the extermination of our clan to save your child from the Imperial Capital. Fourteen years ago and seven years ago, I expended over a hundred years of my cultivation each time to pull your child back from the brink of death. This time, what do you want me to help you with? A dozen taels of silver, or an order to exempt you and your son from the Tribute Payment?”

“No!”

Situ Qing lay prostrate on the ground, motionless.

“Do you want me to punish Mu Qingyuan and order that no one bully you and your son anymore?” The old man did not turn his head, his voice low.

“No!”

Situ Qing firmly refused, still not moving.

“Then what do you want?” The old man slightly raised his head again, looking at the densely packed spirit tablets before him.

Each tablet represented an ancestral spirit, someone who had made outstanding contributions to the family. Facing the numerous tablets and listening to the wind and rain outside the wooden house, he felt intensely lonely.

“I don’t want money, I don’t want power. I am content with poverty. All I want is my son’s safety!”

Situ Qing suddenly lifted her head, two clear streams of tears flowing down her face. “Feng’er’s injury flares up every seven years, each time more painful than the last. If he were an ordinary person, it might be manageable, but after stepping onto the path of cultivation, the stronger he becomes, the more terrifying the flare-ups are. Recently, he has been leaving early and returning late, training secretly under immense pressure, and his progress has become increasingly noticeable. As the Family Patriarch of Mu Manor, the all-powerful Mu Zhenren, can you tell me how to save my son? How to spare him from future suffering?”

Regarding Mu Feng’s changes, Situ Qing said nothing aloud, but she had been watching closely in secret.

The stronger Mu Feng became and the faster he advanced, the more worried she grew.

“Everyone has their own destiny. Let each follow their own path!”

The Family Patriarch did not turn his head, secretly sighing to himself.

He understood Situ Qing’s intentions clearly; she had come for the Source of Life that had been preserved in Mu Manor for thousands of years. If one swallowed that drop of Source of Life, not only could old injuries be healed, but it was even possible to break through from an ordinary person to the Late Elite Realm in one go! Unfortunately, that drop of Source of Life was the power source for the core disciples of Mu Manor, and even for the Grand Elders’ cultivation. How could it possibly be granted to an ordinary disciple who did not cultivate?

“Mu Feng is my son, but he is also your great-grandson! Family Patriarch, how can you bear to watch Mu Yuan’s only son die before your very eyes?” Situ Qing’s face was streaked with tears as she knelt and moved forward a few steps.

Hearing the sobbing behind him, the Family Patriarch remained expressionless. After pondering for a while, he slowly said, “If Mu Feng can break through to the Elite Realm on his own, I can make an exception and allow him to ascend the Heavenward Platform to become a disciple of a Grand Elder!”

“Thank you, Family Patriarch!”

Situ Qing’s eyes lit up. Seeing the Family Patriarch lower his head and remain motionless, she quietly bowed and retreated.

Becoming a disciple of a Grand Elder meant there was hope of getting close to the Source of Life. Although this was not the outcome she had hoped for, it still gave her a glimmer of hope, something to look forward to.

“Feng’er, your mother is powerless. Whether you live or die depends on yourself now!”

After exiting the wooden house, Situ Qing was about to turn and leave quickly when the silent black-clad servant without hands suddenly approached. With a flick of his braid, several ingots of silver landed accurately in front of her. “Madam, take these silver taels with you.”

“Thank you, Zuinü!”

Situ Qing bowed respectfully.

The Family Patriarch was named Mu Wuzui, known as Mu Zhenren. The black-clad servant beside him called himself Zuinü. His status and position were far from that of an ordinary servant; he had followed the Family Patriarch for over a hundred years. No one knew his real name or his true identity. They only knew that although he had no hands, his strength was unfathomable. Throughout the vast Mu Manor, even the high and mighty Elder of Inheritance might not be his match!

“Young Master Mu Yuan was once the greatest pride and hope of our Mu Manor. I believe his son will never be a mediocrity in the future. If you encounter any difficulties, Madam, feel free to come to me!”

Zuinü flicked his braid, and with a ‘Hu’ sound, he vanished without a trace.

“I am deeply grateful!”

Situ Qing bowed once more. Watching the remote and lonely wooden house after the door closed, she bent down to pick up the silver taels from the ground, then turned and quickly left.

A long time after her figure had long disappeared, a low voice finally came from within the wooden house. “How did that advisor named Skinny Monkey beside Mu Qingyuan die?”

“He was ambushed. His throat was severed with one cut. Young Master Mu Feng’s aura was left on the body.” Zuinü stood bowed behind the Family Patriarch, his words concise.

“Good, a fine cut to the throat. Mu Yuan’s son truly does not disappoint.” The Family Patriarch suddenly raised his head, his eye sockets empty—he was clearly blind. Then he spoke gravely, “What about the Blood Pool? Have you found out what exactly happened?”

“Recently, the Blood Pool has not shown a single ripple. Its power has greatly diminished. It is very likely that the drop of blood essence sealed at the bottom has disappeared!” Zuinü’s face was expressionless. After a pause, he continued, “The sudden change in the Blood Pool occurred on the day of the family baptism. The moment of the change coincided exactly with when Young Master Mu Feng dived underwater!”

“What?”

The Family Patriarch’s heart shook. Connecting this with Mu Feng’s recent changes, his eyebrows rose. “Zuinü, are you saying that it was Mu Feng, that weak scholar, who took the blood essence sealed beneath the Blood Pool?”

“Very likely!”

Zuinü’s face remained blank. With a flick of his braid, he suddenly made a decapitation gesture. “My Lord, should we…”

“No, first, strictly seal the news. Forbid anyone from spreading rumors within the manor. We will watch and wait!”

Though blind, the Family Patriarch’s ears twitched slightly, and he understood Zuinü’s action perfectly. “Zuinü, remember, what we want is not a pile of trash, but a true genius! As long as one clan disciple can one day break through the constraints of heaven and earth and step into the Saint Realm—whether a Saint of Letters or a Saint of Martial Arts—we will spare no cost! The former Mu Royal Manor may have declined, but in the future, it will be a disciple of our Mu Manor who destroys the Tongtian Dynasty!”

“As you command!”

Zuinü responded and stood motionless behind the Family Patriarch.

Boom…

As soon as the words fell, a muffled thunderclap exploded in the sky, and a downpour began. Looking out through the small window of the wooden house, at this moment before dawn, endless darkness enveloped the land. High in the sky, dark clouds stretched for thousands of miles, rolling toward the border city of Jianning from afar!

Above the Yinfeng Cave deep in the Back Mountain of Mu Manor, lightning flashed and thunder roared. Frightening snake-like bolts of lightning occasionally streaked across, illuminating half the sky. The ground below was scorched black, with wisps of black smoke rising here and there, everywhere bearing the marks of lightning strikes. The Heaven and Earth Spiritual Energy floating in the air was unusually thin for some reason.

The usually chilling and unfathomable Yinfeng Cave emitted traces of scorching blood energy, as if there was an endless Blood Sea deep within the cave. The blood energy churned, and Yang Energy surged skyward!