Chapter 68

Ji Yichuan walked alone on the stone path, his brows furrowed in deep thought. He knew that this incident was a disaster for the Ji family, but to stand firm on this vast land, one must naturally go through numerous trials. If they could endure, the clan's foundation would deepen and their strength would naturally grow. If they couldn't, it would mean the destruction of the clan. Even if a few clan members managed to escape and preserve some bloodline, it would be considered a fortunate event.

"Master."

"Master." Some servants knelt respectfully to greet him.

After entering his family's residence, Ji Yichuan headed toward the courtyard where his wife often stayed. Suddenly, a maid rushed out and, upon seeing Ji Yichuan, immediately knelt down in fear.

"Rushing around like this, what does it look like?" Ji Yichuan frowned and scolded.

"Master," the maid's face turned pale and she was flustered, "Lady, Lady..."

Ji Yichuan's expression changed instantly: "How is Xue'er?"

"Lady fainted!" the maid said anxiously.

"Fainted?" Ji Yichuan's face turned pale. As a Qi practitioner, how could she faint? The reason for his wife's fainting could only be one.

"Xue'er!" Ji Yichuan instantly turned into a gust of wind and disappeared from the spot.

...

Inside the room.

Wei Chi Xue lay quietly on the bed, her face slightly pale but still beautiful and serene.

"Xue'er." Ji Yichuan instantly appeared in the room, looking at his wife lying there. He approached and carefully examined her, then turned to the maid, "What exactly happened?"

The maid was trembling and had already knelt down: "Master, Lady was drinking tea just fine. No one touched her, and no one spoke to her. Suddenly, she collapsed. We panicked, and I carefully carried her back to the room, while Liu Ye went to call you."

"How could this happen?" Ji Yichuan's face showed pain, "How could this happen! Quickly, go and get the witch doctor Cao to come immediately."

"Yes." The maid ran out, leaving Ji Yichuan alone in the room.

Ji Yichuan sat by the bed, looking at his wife, and touched her face, murmuring, "Is this day finally here? When you decided to give birth to Ning'er, I feared this day would come. I don't believe it, I don't believe it. We must still live on. I want to watch our son become a great hero."

A moment later.

A bearded old man dressed in dirty animal skins walked in, carrying a natural aroma of herbs. Witch doctors and herbalists are experts in the study of herbs in the world, and this vast land is full of magical creatures. Even ordinary herbs, when extracted and mixed, can have some miraculous effects.

And this witch doctor Cao was the strongest in this field in the Western Manor of the Ji family.

"Witch doctor Cao." Ji Yichuan looked at the bearded old man, "My wife fainted for no reason just now. Please take a look."

"Please step back, Commander." Witch doctor Cao said hoarsely. Ji Yichuan stepped aside, and Cao extended his dry, claw-like hand, placing it on Wei Chi Xue's forehead. Instantly, a green light appeared in Cao's palm and began to seep into Wei Chi Xue's body.

A strong medicinal aroma filled the air.

Witch doctor Cao closed his eyes, and after a long time, he withdrew his right hand. The originally unconscious Wei Chi Xue's eyelashes fluttered, and she then opened her eyes.

"Xue'er." Ji Yichuan, surprised, rushed forward and looked at the witch doctor Cao, "How is my wife?"

"Please forgive my limited abilities." Witch doctor Cao shook his head, "Commander, you should go and ask the Clan Leader."

"Clan Leader?" Ji Yichuan's heart tightened.

The Clan Leader, also the leader of the five manors of the Ji family, was named Ji Jiuhuo. A man who had lived for nearly four hundred years, the true patriarch of the Ji family. He was also a Purple Mansion cultivator! Ji Jiuhuo enjoyed research and had achieved much in the fields of formations, medicines, and poisons. In terms of healing, he was undoubtedly much stronger than witch doctor Cao.

"I will take Xue'er there." Ji Yichuan said.

"No." Witch doctor Cao said, "Commander, you must not be careless. Your wife cannot withstand the journey. It's best for her to rest. If we can get the Clan Leader to come here, it would be even better." Witch doctor Cao paused, knowing that it was a difficult task to get the Clan Leader to come.

Ji Yichuan nodded and immediately instructed the maid, "Go and invite Commander Ji Honghua."

A moment later.

Ji Honghua, dressed in red, walked in, "Yichuan, what do you need?"

"Honghua." Ji Yichuan looked at her and said, "I need you to ride the Green Flame Bird to the Clan Manor and ask the Clan Leader to come to our Western Manor."

"Ask the Clan Leader?" Ji Honghua was surprised. The Clan Leader had long since retired and focused on research and cultivation... Even if the Lord of the Western Manor, Ji Youyang, asked, the Clan Leader might not come. "Can I get him to come?"

Ji Yichuan said, "Go directly and say that I, Ji Yichuan, have a matter of life and death and need the Clan Leader to come to the Western Manor. The Clan Leader will definitely come."

Ji Honghua, though puzzled by Ji Yichuan's confidence, nodded and said, "Alright, I'll go to Wanjian City."

The Great Xia Dynasty had built countless cities on the vast land, and the Ji family only occupied one, Wanjian City, which was the location of the Clan Manor of the five manors! As for the Eastern, Western, Southern, and Northern Manors, they were built by the Ji family and had no special significance.

"Thank you." Ji Yichuan said gratefully.

Ji Honghua immediately left and quickly rode the Green Flame Bird to leave the Western Manor, heading for Wanjian City!

...

The maid in the room had also left, leaving only Ji Yichuan and his wife Wei Chi Xue.

"Yichuan." Wei Chi Xue smiled and looked up at her husband.

"Xue'er." Ji Yichuan sat by the bed and held his wife's hand.

Wei Chi Xue shook her head lightly, "I know, and you know. When we returned from the Northern Sea, we were fortunate to survive the disaster. These ten years have been peaceful and happy, and I am content."

"If, if you hadn't given birth to Ning'er..." Ji Yichuan's voice was hoarse.

Wei Chi Xue shook her head, "He is our child, and I had to give birth to him. Even if it meant using secret techniques and living a few years less, it was worth it! When I was severely injured, I didn't know if I could ever have another child. Ning'er is our blood, and he is also the life of my brother."

"Brother." Ji Yichuan remembered the great disaster during their return.

That disaster changed the fates of three people: Wei Chi's brother and sister, and himself, Ji Yichuan.

"Take my sister and go! Go quickly!"

The brave and tall figure and the roar, Ji Yichuan had never forgotten.

"If I had abandoned Ning'er, I might have lived a few more years, but without our child, I would have regretted it for life. He is the blood of the Ji family and the blood of the Wei Chi family." Wei Chi Xue said softly, "These ten years with you and our incredibly smart son... I have been incredibly happy and content. These ten years have been the happiest and most content of my life."

Ji Yichuan gently held his wife's hand.

"Ning'er is my pride." Wei Chi Xue said slowly, "I don't regret giving birth to him."

"Um." Ji Yichuan nodded gently, "I understand, I understand. In less than an hour, the Clan Leader will be here. Let him take a look; perhaps it won't be so bad."

Wei Chi Xue nodded, "If I can live a couple more years, we won't tell Ning'er for now. If I don't have much time left, let Ning'er come back." Then she looked at her husband with bright eyes, "Yichuan, with you and Ning'er in my life, I have been very happy."

"Um." Ji Yichuan looked at his wife and said softly, "I have been too."

...

Ji Yichuan and Wei Chi Xue did not know that at that moment, their son Ji Ning was in a dire situation. In the mountains at the border between the Ji and Tumu territories, which looked ordinary from a distance, one would be trapped in endless black fog if they ventured in.

Surrounded by a protective lotus, Ji Ning sat cross-legged, studying the "Nine Volumes of Formation" and continuously deducing to break the formation as soon as possible.

...

Inside the mountain.

Piercing screams echoed from various directions within the mountain, filled with hatred, curses, desperate pleas, and cries. In the center of the mountain, there were numerous poles, and men and women were tied to them, with at least a hundred of them visibly injured.

Beating, insulting, torturing... various methods were used on these people.

"Born spirits? You still think you are born spirits? Hahaha, thirsty? Drink some delicious urine to quench your thirst!" The burly servants were crazily torturing them.

In the center of the mountain, six elegantly dressed men and women stood calmly watching.

"Over a million ordinary slaves were purchased in the Yan Mountains, and nearly a hundred born spirits were captured, but we are still far from meeting the Master's requirements." A black-clad woman with a scorpion on her shoulder said slowly.

"Eldest Brother is out capturing born spirits and will soon have enough." A handsome young man smiled, "However, one of the Master's spirit beasts, Black Needle, was killed in the formation. What should we do, Senior Brothers and Sisters?"

"Junior Brother has great talent, let Junior Brother go."

"Junior Brother..."

The men and women around the handsome young man looked at him, and he turned pale. These Senior Brothers and Sisters were not easy to deal with. Although each of them had remarkable skills, knowing that the creature inside the formation could easily kill the spirit beast Black Needle, none of them were willing to go in, as there was still some risk.

Suddenly, the ground in the mountain began to rotate, and iron plates moved to reveal a passage entrance. The dark passage faintly glowed green, and a cold aura emanated from it.

"Master." The six men and women called out respectfully.

{Piaotian Literature