Zhang Zongnian bounced up from the ground and lunged at Yang Zhen.
He wanted to strangle Yang Zhen to death.
However, his cultivation had dropped drastically.
He couldn’t even touch the edge of Yang Zhen’s robe before Yang Zhen kicked him heavily to the ground.
Yang Zhen stepped on his head, his face full of mockery as he sneered, “You are no longer a Grand Demon! A mere Lesser Beast actually dares to dream of attacking a Foundation Establishment Cultivator like me? You’re simply courting death.”
“I didn’t have many years left to live anyway,” Yang Zhen continued.
“To escape your pursuit just now, I consumed a Soul-Devouring Pill, wasting one year of my lifespan. I am getting old, and recently, when playing with those concubines, I’ve felt a bit inadequate. I’ll use your Demon Whip to bolster my Yang energy. Maybe I can add a few more descendants to the Yang Family. Consider it compensation for wasting one year of my life. Hahaha!”
Yang Zhen laughed wildly, using a Long Sword to slit open Zhang Zongnian’s robes.
Zhang Zongnian felt the cold blade against his body. He felt immense anger, but even more sadness and frustration.
He never expected to die such a humiliating and pathetic death, and at the hands of the man who killed his mother. Even with 10,000 regrets in his heart, he could only let out a sigh.
The only thing to be thankful for was that the beautiful Lin Xue wouldn’t see his shameful state.
‘Lin Xue should have returned to Xixia Mountain by now,’ he thought.
‘She might go looking for him, or perhaps she will eventually realize I came to Xichuan for revenge and seek me out at the Yang Family Mansion. But by then, my soul will likely have returned to my ancestors, and my body, having reverted to a mouse, will have been dismantled into various materials by the Yang Family. It is a pity I couldn’t avenge my mother personally.’
However, Zhang Zongnian wasn’t entirely worried. He believed Lin Xue would avenge her for him.
That day, when he possessed the mouse to bring her the Foundation Establishment Technique, he had written the word ‘Yang’ in blood with a red X. She should understand what he meant.
Zhang Zongnian closed his eyes, recalling Lin Xue’s voice and smile as he prepared for death.
With a sinister grin, Yang Zhen raised his Long Sword, intending to disembowel Zhang Zongnian and harvest his organs.
Just as he was about to strike, a red short blade suddenly flew through the air, hitting the sword with a precise clank.
The impact split Yang Zhen’s thumb web, numbing his arm and sending the Long Sword flying.
The short blade sliced through Yang Zhen’s right leg. He felt a chill, then a strange sensation.
To his horror, he found his leg was weak and he couldn’t stand.
He instinctively stepped back, but his foot met empty air, and he tumbled to the ground.
He glanced back and saw the lower half of his right leg wasn’t moving with him—it had stayed where it was.
His leg was severed. Terrified, Yang Zhen clutched his stump and wailed in pain.
A graceful silhouette descended from the sky, appearing before him.
Yang Zhen looked up and realized with horror that the one standing before him was the Demon Snake who had killed Yang Yuting and taken the Foundation-building Pill.
Even more shocking was that the Snake Spirit’s Demon Aura was incredibly abundant; she seemed to have reached the Demon King Realm. Yang Zhen was in disbelief.
Two months ago, she was clearly just a Lesser Beast in the Body Tempering Stage who could only flee for her life from him.
Two months later, she had already formed a Demon Pill and ascended to become a Demon King?
‘How is this possible? Is this a dream?’
But Yang Zhen didn’t have time to dwell on it. Lin Xue recalled the Blood Fiend and pinned him to the ground with a single throw.
The piercing pain and the agony in his leg made it clear that this was no dream; it was reality.
This Snake Spirit had truly become a Demon King and was now dealing him a lethal blow.
Panicked, Yang Zhen’s old face twisted.
‘Is this Snake Spirit the bane of the Yang Family? First, she stole the Foundation-building Pill, and now that we finally obtained another, is she going to take it too? Is the Yang Family destined to fall at the hands of this Snake Spirit?’
He struggled to beg for mercy, “Mercy, Queen! Mercy!”
Lin Xue ignored him, turning to look at Zhang Zongnian on the ground.
She had rushed to Xichuan at her fastest speed, fearing she would arrive too late.
Upon arrival, she hadn’t known the location of the Yang Family Mansion, so she had simply looked for the largest, most grand estate from the air and landed there.
That estate was indeed the Yang Family Mansion.
It was in total chaos; members of the Yang Family were frantically packing their belongings and fleeing, terrified that the Grand Demon from earlier would return.
Lin Xue caught one of them and interrogated him, learning that Zhang Zongnian had already been there and was pursuing Yang Zhen.
She immediately flew in the direction they had gone.
Before long, she saw a young man lying on the ground with Yang Zhen stepping on his head, the latter about to stab him with a sword.
That young man’s face belonged to the young Demon King who had saved them from Hei-Pi yesterday—Zhang Zongnian.
In that moment, Lin Xue’s heart nearly jumped out of her throat. She immediately drew the Blood Fiend and threw it with all her might.
Carrying the formidable power of the Demon King Realm, the Blood Fiend easily knocked the Long Sword out of Yang Zhen’s hand, saving Zhang Zongnian and severing Yang Zhen’s leg in the process.
She used the Blood Fiend to pin Yang Zhen to the ground to prevent his escape, then hurried to Zhang Zongnian’s side.
Looking at his unfamiliar face, she still felt a lingering fear.
‘That was close; a moment later and I would have been collecting his corpse. Thank goodness I arrived in time.’
Lin Xue crouched down and asked, “Brother, I’m here. Are you all right?”
Zhang Zongnian had prepared for death. He had felt the cold blade touching him, but the situation had suddenly changed; someone had saved him.
He opened his eyes and saw the person he most wanted to see, yet least wanted to encounter in this state. He heard her voice, which sounded like heavenly music.
Lin Xue was crouching before him, her beautiful eyes filled with concern as she softly asked about his condition.
Zhang Zongnian’s face instantly turned bright red and hot.
Yang Zhen had intended to take that specific organ, so his clothes had been sliced open, leaving him disheveled and exposed—it was the most humiliating moment possible.
Furthermore, his cultivation had dropped to the Late Body Tempering Stage and was still falling.
Once it reached the early stages, he wouldn’t be able to maintain his human form and would revert to a mouse.
Zhang Zongnian was extremely reluctant for Lin Xue to see him in such a miserable and pathetic state.
He wished he could find a hole to crawl into. He reached out, his hand trembling, trying to pull his clothes back together to cover himself.
Lin Xue understood and pulled his robes closed for him, hiding his exposed body. Zhang Zongnian’s face burned even hotter.
Lin Xue acted as if nothing were wrong as she tucked him in securely and asked gently, “Brother, can you get up?”
Zhang Zongnian nodded and hummed in response. Lin Xue gently helped him up.
The strength in Zhang Zongnian’s body was still draining quickly, and the Demon Power inside him was still running rampant. He could barely stand.
Fortunately, Lin Xue supported him. He was tall, and with Lin Xue holding him up, she seemed small and delicate beside him.
Lin Xue pointed at Yang Zhen, who was still struggling desperately on the ground, and said to Zhang Zongnian, “Brother, didn’t you want to avenge your mother? I didn’t kill him; I left him specifically for you so you could do it yourself.”
With a wave of her hand, she used her Demon Power to pull the distant Long Sword into her grasp. She handed the weapon to Zhang Zongnian.
Zhang Zongnian took the sword. He looked at Lin Xue gratefully and nodded heavily. “Thank you.”
Lin Xue shook her head. “You saved me; it is I who should thank you.”
Zhang Zongnian gripped the Long Sword and staggered toward Yang Zhen.
The Blood Fiend had pierced Yang Zhen’s abdomen, pinning him to the ground and leaving him powerless.
Seeing Zhang Zongnian approach with the sword, Yang Zhen turned pale.
Zhang Zongnian raised the Long Sword and thrust it into Yang Zhen’s throat.
Blood sprayed from Yang Zhen’s mouth.
After a few struggles, the old man’s eyes rolled back, his legs kicked one last time, and he died.
Beautiful