Chapter 11

Jiang Tengqing hurriedly rushed to the main road east of Luming Town. Seeing the scene ahead, he immediately drew in a sharp breath.

There were mainly two routes from Luming Town to the capital: one was through the Changchuan River waterway, and the other was this main road. It was located to the east of Luming Town, crossing the Changchuan River and extending eastward. To the west of Luming Town was Taiwu Mountain, surrounded by undulating hills covered with dense green trees. After crossing the Changchuan River, it was a vast plain.

This area had already entered the plain, with nothing to obstruct the view around.

Jiang Tengqing immediately saw that a large pit had appeared on the main road, cutting it off. Several corpses lay at the edge of the pit, already collected.

On a regular day, many carriages passed through this main road, but now, with a major incident, the road was completely cut off. The town official had sent people to疏散 the crowd, persuading them to take the waterway instead.

When Jiang Tengqing arrived, the place was already much quieter. The town official, seeing him, immediately came forward to greet him: "Clan Leader Jiang, you're here."

Jiang Tengqing suppressed his urge to rush forward and politely returned the greeting: "What exactly happened?"

The town official, Wu Kai, was sent by Zhu Tianguo and was a Tianming warrior. He glanced at Jiang Tengqing and handed him a jade hairpin.

Jiang Tengqing knew nothing about women's accessories, but he immediately recognized the mark at the end of the hairpin. It was the mark of the Jiang family! He also vaguely remembered seeing it on Jiang Chen's head before.

He had heard that the incident involved Cimu and others, but he still harbored a glimmer of hope. Seeing the hairpin, his heart sank.

Jiang Chen was always cautious and guarded her personal items tightly. If something had not happened, this jade hairpin would never have fallen into someone else's hands.

He gripped the hairpin and asked urgently, "Is there anything else besides this?"

Wu Kai looked at him deeply and led him to the edge of the large pit.

Seven or eight corpses had been neatly arranged. They were all dressed in black, with very ordinary appearances. Jiang Tengqing recognized them as Cimu's ghostly subordinates.

Jiang Tengqing examined their bodies and said, "A powerful force directly shook them to death."

Wu Kai said, "Yes, we have studied it. The force was extremely powerful, and we cannot determine the level of the strong person who caused it..."

Jiang Tengqing drew in another sharp breath. Although Wu Kai was only at the Tianming level, as the town official, he could easily summon higher-level devotees. His meaning was clear: even the devotees could not determine the level of the opponent, which meant that this matter had reached a point beyond their reach!

Wu Kai carefully observed Jiang Tengqing's expression and asked, "Do you know where these people came from, Clan Leader Jiang?"

Jiang Tengqing did not answer immediately but looked around again. Next to the corpses was a clothing box, with some clothes and miscellaneous items spilling out, which were exactly what Jiang Chen had taken.

She had always insisted on not having maidservants, and this time, before leaving, she had even dismissed the old woman who took care of her, bringing no one with her.

The clothing box was here, but where was she? And Cimu, did he take her away alone?

What about these corpses? They were Fuliujun's people. Who could—dare to leave them all here?

The more Jiang Tengqing thought, the more he felt a chill. Just as he was about to speak to Wu Kai, he suddenly noticed that Wu Kai's face was stiff, his eyes fixed straight ahead, as if he were frozen by an unknown force!

Not just him, but everyone else around was the same. Wu Kai's subordinates and Jiang Tengqing's subordinates were all like trapped in a giant piece of amber, unable to move. The only one who could still move was Jiang Tengqing himself!

As if drawn by an unknown force, Jiang Tengqing involuntarily looked up.

In the sky, a figure in stone-green robes descended and landed next to the large pit. He wore wide sleeves with black flowing patterns, like water rippling. His long black hair flowed behind him, and he looked down at Cimu.

A name suddenly flashed in Jiang Tengqing's mind, and he knelt down, bowing, "Lord Fuliujun!"

Fuliujun did not speak. He walked slowly, carefully examining all the corpses.

Jiang Tengqing stammered, "This morning, Lord Cimu took my niece..."

Fuliujun glanced at him indifferently. That one look made Jiang Tengqing shut his mouth, not daring to say another word.

He lowered his head, using his peripheral vision to observe Fuliujun's actions.

After a while, Fuliujun muttered, "Why did they come here..."

Clearly, he found nothing. After a moment, he raised his head and spread his arms wide.

A strange scene unfolded. Jiang Tengqing looked around in shock. In his eyes, everything seemed to be distorted, as if seen through flames!

In the distorted shadows, countless currents of air were rapidly flowing. They swept past Fuliujun's body like a strong wind, making his robes rustle. His long hair danced, and he stood there with his eyes closed.

After a while, Fuliujun suddenly grunted and took a step back. Instantly, his face turned pale, and a trickle of blood appeared at the corner of his mouth—he was injured!

The strange scene returned to normal, and Fuliujun stood there, his expression unreadable. Finally, he let out a cold snort and walked forward slowly.

After two steps, three steps, his figure gradually faded and finally disappeared completely.

Jiang Tengqing sat down on the ground, drenched in cold sweat. In that short moment, all the Ming power in his body had been completely drained, leaving nothing behind!

Moreover, he now understood that what appeared here was just a manifestation of Fuliujun, the real him was still in the capital, thousands of miles away.

Even a manifestation of Fuliujun had such power!

As Fuliujun left, the air's restraint disappeared, and Wu Kai and the others gradually regained their freedom. They were unaware of what had just happened. Wu Kai was about to continue the conversation with Jiang Tengqing when a loud explosion suddenly sounded.

Both of them turned around. One of the corpses suddenly exploded from the inside, instantly turning into countless dust particles that merged into the earth. "Bang," "bang," "bang"... one after another, all the corpses exploded.

Finally, with a "boom," the last corpse exploded, turning into countless black dust particles!

In an instant, all the corpses were gone, not a single one left!

Jiang Tengqing was dazed for a moment, then patted Wu Kai on the shoulder, "Lord Wu, just pretend you saw nothing!"

This series of events was too bizarre, and the ominous feeling behind them was too strong. Wu Kai thought for a moment, then bowed to Jiang Tengqing, "I understand, farewell!"

...

...

Jiang Feng knew nothing about the changes below the mountain.

After leaving the Jiang family, he directly entered the unnamed valley in Taiwu Mountain, sat down in a tree house, and carefully examined his body.

During the fierce battle with Jiang Huixiao, he became more and more excited, and finally, he could clearly feel a force flowing through his body.

This force originated from deep within his heart and flowed through his body with his blood.

He had spent over a year learning to control his body and use physical strength. But this new force was not easily controlled by him.

It seeped into his body through his blood, making him stronger, faster, and more resilient.

But Jiang Feng could not use it directly in battle.

He vaguely felt that if he could use it directly, one punch would have been enough to knock Jiang Huixiao down, without the need for such a prolonged struggle!

What was going on? How could he control it?

Jiang Feng took out a few books from his bag.

They were thin notebooks, personally written by the young lady and left for him.

The cover of the top notebook simply read two words—

"Ming Power."

...

...

Jiang Feng did not immediately start reading the books.

After such a long day, he was quite hungry. He took out the dry rations he had stored here and ate them all.

Then, he walked to the other end of the valley, fetched some clear water, and carefully washed away the blood and dirt from his body.

After the fierce battle with Jiang Huixiao, he had many injuries. Now, most of them had healed, and some shallow ones had left no trace.

He noticed that his self-healing ability was stronger than before. Was this also an effect of fusing with the Tianxin Seed and possessing Ming Power?

He touched his arm, deep in thought.

The young lady had felt that his bloodline was sufficient to fuse with the Mingxin Seed because of this innate ability. The Jiang family was a descendant of the medicinal people, but it was extremely rare for their bloodline to be strong enough to possess supernatural powers. If judged by ability alone, the young lady's judgment should be correct.

However, Jiang Feng always had a lingering doubt.

Not to mention the bloodline test he had undergone as a child, but even recently, under the Mingxin Tree, he could feel no connection with the Mingxin Seed.

He could find other reasons, such as the book's records being incorrect or him not being old enough. But a deep consciousness in his mind told him that these were not the reasons! Under normal circumstances, his bloodline purity was indeed not enough to fuse with the Mingxin Seed!

His bloodline was mixed, yet he possessed supernatural powers. What was the reason for this?

If it weren't for the rabbit bringing him the Tianxin Seed, he might really not have been able to fulfill the young lady's wishes and embark on this path of cultivation...

Right, Jiang Feng was startled and hurriedly searched his chest. He had placed the rabbit in his chest earlier but had completely forgotten about it during the battle with Jiang Huixiao. Where was the rabbit? Had he accidentally killed it?

The rabbit's furry body was nestled in his chest, still warm. Jiang Feng breathed a sigh of relief, patted its head, and placed it aside.

The appearance of the white figure seemed to have put a great burden on it. It was now sleeping deeply, just like when he first found it.

Four notebooks and a Tianzhao County Seal were all the young lady had left him.

Jiang Feng wiped a stone slab clean and neatly arranged them on it.

His movements were slow and careful. After he finished, the last trace of anxiety in his eyes had disappeared, replaced by an unwavering determination.

Jiang Feng washed his hands, sat down cross-legged, and opened the notebook titled "Ming Power."

At this moment, all thoughts of the Jiang family were completely out of his mind. His heart was filled with only one thought—cultivate to the Dawn Realm and participate in the Zhu Tian Examination!

The young lady's handwriting was not as delicate as that of ordinary women but was sharp and rugged.

"Day and night alternate, and light is born."

"The so-called 'Ming' is the power of the sun and moon, the power of light."

"The Mingxin Seed uses bloodline as soil, sprouting branches and bearing fruit. The trunk and branches are filled with Ming Power."

"Wu Dao cultivation is the cultivation of Ming Power!"

"One branch, seven fruits. Each fruit opens a channel. When all seven channels are open, a new branch grows."

"Each branch represents a realm. The first realm is the Dawn Realm. Those who enter this realm are called Dawn Wu Cultivators. This is the official entry into the realm."

Jiang Feng was stunned as he read the words on the first page.

"One branch, seven fruits?"

The young lady's writing could not be wrong, but...

His consciousness turned inward, and he saw the branch deep in his heart. Although none of the fruits had matured, Jiang Feng could clearly count them: one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine—nine fruits in total!

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