Chapter 5: Old Ancestor Returns

It was the ninth day of the second lunar month, and the sky was overcast over a wilderness outside Dongning City.

“Caw!” A long, drawn-out bird call echoed as a colossal bird, wreathed in lightning, swooped down from the clouds. Two figures sat cross-legged on its back.

“Boom!”

As the bird neared the ground, lightning surged from its massive wings, striking out in all directions, causing the entire wilderness to tremble. Electric tendrils snaked across the ground before dissipating.

At that moment, the two figures descended from the bird’s back.

One was a middle-aged woman, and the other was an elderly woman leaning on a walking stick.

“Junior Sister Huang, I’ve arrived. I’m home. You should go back now,” said the elderly woman, smiling as she leaned on her stick.

“Sister Meng,” the middle-aged woman said, tears welling in her eyes. Her ‘Sister Meng’ hadn’t been so aged before; this severe injury had clearly taken its toll. Yet, one could still vaguely discern from her features that the elderly woman had been a beauty in her youth.

“After this parting, I fear we may never meet again,” the elderly woman sighed with a smile. “But I’ve been fortunate. At least I can return to my hometown before I die and spend my last few years here. Those who fell in battle truly became mere mounds of earth.”

“Sister Meng, if there’s anything you need my help with, a letter is all it takes. I, Huang Xiangning, will certainly do everything in my power,” the middle-aged woman stated solemnly.

“If I need your help, I’ll ask,” the elderly woman said with a smile. “Alright, go back quickly.”

The middle-aged woman gazed intently at the elderly woman, then finally leaped onto the bird’s back. Soon, the bird flapped its wings, and lightning permeated the air in all directions.

Carrying thunder and lightning, the bird swiftly soared into the sky, disappearing into the horizon.

The elderly woman watched her companion depart, then turned to look at Dongning City, a smile on her face. “It’s time to go home. To return to my roots—Heaven has been kind to me!”

“Thump.”

The walking stick in the elderly woman’s hand gently tapped the ground. Ripples of space emanated from the point of impact, spreading in all directions, encompassing an area of a hundred zhang around her.

Holding her stick, shrouded by the ripples, she walked towards Dongning City, each step covering dozens of zhang. Even as she passed pedestrians and merchant caravans on the official road, they seemed not to notice the ‘elderly woman’, continuing their cheerful conversations.

A moment later, she arrived at the city gate entrance.

“Dongning City.”

The elderly woman leaned on her stick, gazing at the magnificent city before her.

This was her hometown! The place where she had lived in her youth.

The elderly woman smiled and continued to walk forward. The many people at the city gate, including the guards, did not see her. It was as if she didn't exist in this world. She simply entered the city, walked through the streets, and arrived at the Meng family’s ancestral home.

She entered the ancestral home.

Many family members patrolled the ancestral grounds, but none of them could see the elderly woman either.

“Gurgle, gurgle,” sounded from within a small courtyard in the ancestral home, where a stout old man was drinking in silence.

“Pingping, are you sneaking a drink?” A voice echoed in the small courtyard.

The stout old man startled, looking around frantically. He couldn’t help but ask, “Third Sister, is that you? Third Sister?”

In the courtyard, an elderly woman leaning on a walking stick materialized out of thin air, smiling as she looked at him.

“Third Sister.”

The stout old man’s eyes turned red. He was the only biological younger brother of ‘Immortal Lady Meng’. Although other elders in the family also called her ‘Third Sister’, that was because the family was immense, having a history of over a thousand years, with many generations separating its members. The stout old man’s name was Meng Yanping, the current patriarch of the Meng family. He was nearly twenty years younger than Immortal Lady Meng, so she had raised him in his childhood, acting both as his sister and a mother figure.

In his heart, his Third Sister had always been so young, beautiful, and omnipotent. Yet, now she had aged so much.

“Why are you crying? Aren’t I perfectly fine?” the elderly woman said, smiling.

“Third Sister, are your injuries truly beyond healing?” the stout old man pressed.

“As long as I don’t exert myself in battle, I can still live for seven or eight years,” the elderly woman said calmly. “Humans are born, grow old, fall ill, and die. Even gods and demons have limits to their lifespans. There’s nothing to be sad about. The next few years will be enough for me to properly arrange things for my Meng family. When news of my severe injuries reached Dongning Prefecture, was there any reaction?”

“The Yun family broke off their engagement with our Meng family, specifically young Meng Chuan’s engagement,” the stout old man reported. “As for others, the four major Godfiend families only made minor moves; they didn’t dare to truly anger our Meng family.”

“Hm, when the engagement was first arranged, Yun Wanhai was seeking to leverage the Meng family’s influence. Now that I am severely injured, it’s normal for him to annul the junior’s engagement.”

The elderly woman instructed, “By the way, Pingping…”

“Third Sister, I’m ninety years old and the Meng family patriarch. Can you please call me by my full name?” the stout old man couldn’t help but interject.

“Oh, alright, alright, I’ll humor you,” the elderly woman said, smiling. “Meng Pingping, go and summon all the clan elders to the Fiery Hall. I wish to see them.”

“What ‘Meng Pingping’? My name is Meng Yanping,” the stout old man grumbled, but he quickly went to summon the clan elders nonetheless.

His sister had raised him, acting both as a mother and a sister.

She had protected him, enabling him to reach his current position.

Hearing his sister call him ‘Pingping’ still made Patriarch Meng Yanping feel more energetic in his stride.

The Fiery Hall, within the Meng family ancestral home.

Only matters of the utmost importance to the family were discussed here. Today, the area around the Fiery Hall was heavily guarded.

Inside the hall.

Immortal Lady Meng stood there, leaning on her stick, looking up at the plaque inside the hall bearing the two characters: ‘Fiery Flame’.

The patriarch and the elders stood respectfully, none daring to utter a sound.

In terms of age...

Immortal Lady Meng was 112 years old this year, making her the eldest in the family. In terms of strength, she had become a Godfiend at the age of thirty-five, protecting the Meng family for nearly eighty years, during which time the family had prospered. Her authority within the Meng family was unquestionable. At her command, many clan members would likely not hesitate to face death.

After gazing at the ‘Fiery Flame’ plaque for a long time, Immortal Lady Meng finally turned around, her eyes sweeping over the assembled elders. Each elder bowed, looking somewhat nervous.

“Among the younger generation of our Meng family, are there any with talent, any with the potential to become Godfiends?” Immortal Lady Meng inquired. Although the Meng family had been established in Dongning Prefecture for over a thousand years, it had only produced two Godfiends: Old Ancestor Yushan five hundred years ago, and herself. During their respective eras, they had brought the Meng family to its peak. Immortal Lady Meng’s greatest hope was...

...to cultivate the third Godfiend in the family’s history.

Originally, she could have patiently taken her time to find suitable descendants to nurture, but now time was pressing, and she had to choose from what was available.

“Dajiang possesses considerable talent. He comprehended a blade technique secret at nineteen and the blade ‘momentum’ at thirty. Now, at forty-seven... there’s a slim hope he could become a Godfiend,” the bald, thin elder spoke.

“Dajiang?”

Immortal Lady Meng looked at Meng Dajiang, who was standing to the side.

“Aunt,” the stout Meng Dajiang quickly saluted.

“Have you formed your Core?” Immortal Lady Meng asked.

Meng Dajiang shook his head.

Immortal Lady Meng frowned. At forty-seven, still unable to form his Core, the hope of becoming a Godfiend was indeed very slim.

“What about the younger generation?” Immortal Lady Meng pressed.

“Among the younger ones, three are promising,” Patriarch Meng Yanping quickly replied. “Meng Zhu, who is twenty-three this year, is in the ‘No-Leakage Realm’ and currently serving in Qinyang Pass. He comprehended a secret technique at nineteen. Then there’s the girl, ‘Meng Wenying’, who is sixteen this year and had already mastered peak-level sword arts by age twelve. And Dajiang’s son, ‘Meng Chuan’, who is fifteen this year and mastered peak-level blade arts at thirteen. Both Meng Wenying and Meng Chuan are young, but neither has comprehended a secret technique yet.”

Immortal Lady Meng fell silent.

Meng Zhu, comprehending a secret technique only at nineteen, was truly too late for becoming a Godfiend! Because comprehending ‘momentum’ would be years away, and becoming a Godfiend even more distant.

Meng Wenying and Meng Chuan, at sixteen and fifteen respectively, were also running out of time, and crucially, hadn’t even mastered a secret technique.

She wanted to choose from the limited options, but there was truly no one suitable.

“You may all return,” Immortal Lady Meng said coldly. “Over the next few years, all the younger generation in the family must receive intensified training. This is the foremost priority for our family; nothing else matters. Before I die, I want to see a promising candidate who has the potential to become a Godfiend.”

Clearly, she hadn’t found anyone exceptional, so she could only cast a wide net, hoping that a genius would emerge from the eight-nine or eleven-twelve-year-old youngsters.

“Yes,” the patriarch and the elders responded in unison.

“This matter concerns the rise and fall of our family, and not the slightest negligence will be tolerated. Any who are found to be enriching themselves will be dealt with directly by family law.” After speaking, Immortal Lady Meng walked out, leaning on her walking stick.