Chapter 638: Anhai King's Demise

"Master," Anhai King respectfully saluted.

Qin Wu looked at this disciple. This disciple was once his pride, someone who was expected to become Yuanchu Mountain's fourth Venerable, following Li Guan, Luotang, and Qin Wu himself. However, he had taken the wrong path. He believed he could benefit from the demon race without letting them gain an advantage. Yet, he was ultimately outmaneuvered by the demon race. If not for Meng Chuan's intervention, the harm Anhai King caused back then would have been even greater.

"The three-hundred-year period is over," Qin Wu said coldly. "Yuanchu Mountain permits you to observe and walk among humanity for three days. After that, you must return to Yuanchu Mountain and are forbidden from descending the mountain again without the sect's permission for the rest of your life."

"Yes, disciple understands," Anhai King bowed slightly, accepting the sect's decision.

Qin Wu glanced at him, then turned and left.

Now that Meng Chuan was in Cangyuan Realm, his invisible domain naturally covered the entire realm. If he didn't pay attention, it was one thing, but if he even slightly focused, nothing could escape his notice. Qin Wu wasn't worried that Anhai King's three days among humanity would cause any negative consequences.

"Xiao Qi," Anhai King said, looking at Yan Jin.

Yan Jin, however, looked at Anhai King coldly. "Xue Ting, I came today for one reason: to ask you if you recognize your mistakes and if you have any regrets?"

Even at this moment, Yan Jin refused to acknowledge him as his father.

"Hahaha," Anhai King laughed, looking at his son. "What mistakes would I recognize, and what regrets would I have?"

"Your children," Yan Jin struggled to contain his anger, "and my mother and all those innocent, pitiful people, were deliberately manipulated by you behind the scenes, leading to their tragic fates. Much of the suffering we endured was caused solely by you. These are your sins."

Anhai King looked at Yan Jin and said indifferently, "If you had enjoyed wealth and comfort since childhood with no suffering, would you be a Marquis Godfiend today? Would your fifth brother have achieved what he did back then? You should be grateful for your early life experiences, which led to your current accomplishments."

"Grateful?" Yan Jin laughed, furious. "I truly didn't expect that after three hundred years, you'd still be so deranged! You still don't care about my mother and those other pitiful people?"

Anhai King calmly replied, "Your mother and those other mortals sacrificed themselves to nurture you into a Marquis Godfiend. They made a contribution to humanity. It's a far greater contribution than many ordinary mortals who live their entire lives in mediocrity."

"You truly are beyond redemption!" Rage burned in Yan Jin's eyes. "Xue Ting, I have cultivated arduously for over three hundred years and created my own sword art. Let me show you its power!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Yan Jin made his move.

A dazzling sword light streaked across the sky, appearing instantly at Anhai King's chest.

"Hahaha," Anhai King laughed heartily, meeting the attack with his bare hands.

Yan Jin was also quite talented. Although he couldn't reach the Venerable realm during his peak physical vitality, his cultivation over the past three hundred years coincided with a significant increase in resources for disciples at Yuanchu Mountain and Meng Chuan's frequent lectures. While Yan Jin's current strength doesn't surpass the original 'True Martial King,' his mastery in skill had reached the mid-stage of the Grotto-Heaven realm.

His sword art drew from the experience of the Myriad Sword Sect and incorporated the legacy of the Starry Sky Pavilion, making it incredibly powerful.

However, after a brief exchange...

"Thud."

Yan Jin crashed into the mountainside. The peak trembled, and though protected by the sect's array formation, it still left a large crater. Yan Jin lay there, pale, with a trace of blood at the corner of his mouth.

"Lost?" Yan Jin found it hard to accept.

Anhai King Xue Ting had cultivated for a century longer than him. But now, Yuanchu Mountain's cultivation resources were far superior to the past, and the Tribulation-level mighty figure Meng Chuan frequently lectured. In such an environment, Yan Jin believed he should have been able to surpass Anhai King.

"A self-created sword art, mid-stage Grotto-Heaven realm? It's already rare to exchange dozens of moves with me," Anhai King said calmly, looking at the heavily injured Yan Jin with indifference. "But I cultivated for three hundred years in the World Gap and have reached the late-stage Grotto-Heaven realm. You are still no match for me. If your fifth brother had cultivated for three hundred years, he might have surpassed me. You are still lacking."

"Xue Ting, your talent is high, and Yuanchu Mountain spared no effort in nurturing you, but what did you do?" Yan Jin sneered. "You guarded the city pass and saved some people, but then you killed them, and even many Godfiends. If not for Meng Chuan's intervention, the number of Godfiends and mortals you would have killed would have been far greater."

Anhai King's expression subtly changed.

This was something he could never forgive himself for.

He had thought he could benefit from the demon race and then counterattack them. But in the end, he truly fell into the demon race's trap.

"You resorted to any means, just to enhance your strength," Yan Jin said angrily. "You even used unscrupulous methods to raise your children. But in reality, when conducting oneself, handling affairs, or educating descendants, one cannot use 'any means necessary.' Everything must follow the righteous path. If one deviates and the path itself becomes twisted, then naturally, one will stray thousands of miles. I can't believe that after three hundred years, you are still so fanatical."

The path twisted? Straying thousands of miles?

Anhai King looked at his hands; his entire body seemed to be formed of ice, no longer the flesh and blood of a normal human.

"Had the path truly deviated?" Anhai King silently asked himself, then said nothing and left, tearing through the air.

Yan Jin watched this scene, clenching his teeth in resentment. He felt indignant for his relatives, his brothers and sisters, all of whom had suffered so much because of this madman.

Three days later.

Anhai King, who had been traveling among humanity, returned to Yuanchu Mountain.

"Master," Anhai King said, once again standing before Qin Wu.

"From now on, you are forbidden from descending the mountain for the rest of your life without the sect's permission," Qin Wu said, looking at him coldly. Anhai King originally had a great future ahead of him but had ended up in such a state.

"Disciple has walked among humanity for three days. Indeed, this world is far more prosperous and vibrant than before," Anhai King said, smiling at Qin Wu. "This is the world I always dreamed of seeing, and now I have truly seen it. Master, please tell Meng Chuan that I am very grateful to him, grateful that he fulfilled the dream I most wanted to achieve."

"Master, please also tell Yan Jin that my path in this life indeed went astray," Anhai King continued. "It even implicated him, and many others like Feng'er. Perhaps if I had guided them properly, they could have grown and become as powerful as Meng Chuan."

"My life has also reached its end. Master, I have failed your expectations."

Anhai King respectfully saluted.

As he then raised his head and straightened his body, his form began to disintegrate, turning into dust and completely scattering.

Qin Wu silently watched as this disciple, who had long since transformed into an Ice Guard, vanished before his eyes.

To one side of the courtyard, Meng Chuan appeared out of thin air.

Meng Chuan naturally sensed Anhai King's demise.

"Anhai King is dead," Qin Wu said. "He seemed to have come to his senses before his death."

"He had a tragic childhood and witnessed the darkest aspects of the human world, which twisted his personality," Meng Chuan said. "His twisted nature also affected his wives and concubines, and his children, and harmed a great many mortals and Godfiends. He caused immense damage, but he also saved many people by guarding Anhai Pass for years. And he served well by patrolling the World Gap for three hundred years."

"He had merits, but also great faults!" Qin Wu stated. "He failed Yuanchu Mountain's nurturing."

"Indeed."

Meng Chuan looked at Qin Wu. "Master, I will be entering seclusion soon. You may seek me if there's an urgent matter. Otherwise, please don't disturb me."

"Alright," Qin Wu nodded.

"The life-extending treasure I prepared for you, take it as soon as possible," Meng Chuan reminded him.

"No hurry," Qin Wu smiled. "I still have several hundred years until my lifespan's limit. If I haven't made a breakthrough three years before then, it won't be too late to take it."

Given Qin Wu's current status, although he didn't know the exact value of the extraordinary life-extending treasure Meng Chuan had prepared, he knew that anything capable of extending a Venerable's lifespan was exceptionally precious. Thus, he was reluctant to use it lightly.

"Very well," Meng Chuan did not force the issue, facing his master's stubbornness.

He had prepared a great deal for his clan and sect, and even gifts for his closest friends, Yan Jin and Yan Chihong, as well as for his grandsons and granddaughters. While these were far less valuable than a treasure worth ten thousand fang, they still had significant uses.

Of course, these were merely external aids; ultimately, whether for the clan or individuals, it still depended on themselves.

Meng Chuan turned and left, beginning to focus more intensely on his secluded cultivation.

He had a feeling that his Sixth Heavenly Tribulation was not far off.