Chapter Sixteen: Blood Stains the Jiang Family

Jiang Hua was stunned.

He had thought that six demon slaves would be more than enough to deal with Jiang Fan, but even Liang San, after transforming, was split in two by the blade.

“Ninth Brother, we share the same grandfather, we are bound by the closest blood!” Jiang Hua forced a stiff smile onto his face. “Look, I personally summoned these demon slaves for you to kill—what a great merit your Sixth Brother has done for you!”

Jiang Fan said nothing, raising his blade and stepping forward. Blood dripped from the edge of the knife.

“Ninth Brother, everything before was a misunderstanding, a huge misunderstanding!” Jiang Hua retreated, pointing to a nearby house. “Even those two girls, I merely invited them here, I never mistreated them.”

“Do you think saying this now makes any difference?” Jiang Fan replied quietly, leaping forward and striking the back of Jiang Hua’s demonized head with the flat of his blade, knocking him unconscious.

Lifting his head, he saw the black mist on the pillar rapidly spreading, tendrils drifting past him with a stench so foul it made his head spin with dizziness.

Looking down, the blood from the slain Liang Shan and others was quickly flowing out of their bodies, then floating up and streaming toward the pillar.

“This is trouble!” Even though he didn’t know what the pillar was, Jiang Fan realized that the real calamity for the Jiang family was only just beginning.

He hurried to the door Jiang Hua had indicated, kicked it open, and saw two young girls bound on the floor with cloth stuffed in their mouths.

When they saw him enter, the two girls struggled fiercely.

Jiang Fan cut their bonds and removed the cloth.

“Come with me, quickly!” He pulled them up and dashed outside.

Xiao Qing and Xiao Qian didn’t complain, rushing after him.

In the courtyard, seeing the corpses and the floating blood, they nearly screamed, but with Jiang Fan leading, they found some reassurance.

Jiang Fan picked up Jiang Hua and ran out of the courtyard.

Outside, his heart sank.

Many maids and servants already lay dead in pools of blood. Demon slaves roamed chaotically. Strands of blood floated up, all streaming toward the pillar.

A suffocating atmosphere made it hard for him to breathe.

Boom!

In the distance, the main hall burst open and two figures charged out—it was Jiang Zheng’an and Jiang Zhengde, the two brothers locked in fierce battle.

Nangong Yue was fighting demon slaves elsewhere, and as for the others, it was unclear how many still lived.

“Third Brother, I didn’t expect you to break through in crisis and step into the Daoist realm!” Jiang Zhengde hovered in midair, black mist swirling around him like a demon king descended. “Unfortunately, you still cannot change fate!”

“Second Brother, you’ve ruthlessly slain our kin, even our eldest brother, even our father... Are you still human?” Jiang Zheng’an stood atop the eaves, shaking with rage. Bloody marks covered his body.

“I am not human, I am now a god!” Jiang Zhengde spread his arms wide. “I asked you to submit, but you refused. Very well, I’ll kill you all, offer your blood to the Black Demon Pillar, quickly awaken its power, and fulfill my master’s supreme cause!”

“The Xuantian Mirror will surely destroy you!” Jiang Zheng’an pointed with his hand. “Look—your presence has already been sensed by the Xuantian Mirror!”

Before the words finished, a beam of light shot across the sky, nearly frightening Jiang Zhengde to death. His face turned pale, but he struck out and shattered the light.

He paused, then burst into wild laughter. “Ha! I knew nothing would happen. After all, this is a plan set in motion for countless years. Third Brother, look—outside the city, east, south, west, and north, water-demons are commanding rivers to attack the Xuantian Mirror’s barrier. Even if they cannot break it, the mirror’s power is divided and cannot threaten me!”

“Third Brother, you are talented, truly talented. I’ll give you one last chance. Refuse, and don’t blame your elder brother for showing no mercy!”

“Die!”

Jiang Zheng’an gripped his saber, leapt a hundred meters through the air, and slashed at Jiang Zhengde.

The air visibly split in two.

“If this is your choice, so be it!” Jiang Zhengde dodged the blow and pressed his back against the Black Demon Pillar. Instantly, his aura surged. “You weren’t my match before—much less now. With the Black Demon Pillar supporting me, unless a primordial spirit appears, who can touch me?”

Crack!

He struck Jiang Zheng’an, sending him flying.

“With me here, the Jiang family will endure forever. As for the rest of you—go and die!” Jiang Zhengde unleashed his power. Black light erupted, and the black mist from the pillar swelled, engulfing more than half the courtyard. Any maids or guards who had escaped the demon slaves were shrouded in the mist, screaming as their bodies withered away.

“This demon mist...!” Seeing the scene in the distance, Jiang Fan’s heart pounded. He suddenly hoisted Jiang Hua and shouted, “Jiang Zhengde, withdraw your sorcery, or I’ll kill him!”

“Jiang Hua has fallen into your hands?” Jiang Zhengde looked over in surprise. “My dear nephew, you’ve hidden your strength well. Not bad, not bad. As for my son, Jiang Hua...”

He paused, then chuckled coldly. “I am now the supreme demon god—who can threaten me? Jiang Hua? He’s just a son. If he dies, I can sire a hundred more!”

“Then I’ll kill you first!”

Jiang Zhengde struck with his palm.

Black mist surged, the world trembled. The pressure was as if the heavens themselves were descending.

The attack was upon him in an instant.

Jiang Fan tried to evade, but there was no time; only despair showed on his face. Against such an attack, such terrifying speed, he could only watch death approach.

This sense of powerlessness drove him mad.

Power! he screamed in his heart.

Suddenly, a flash of blade split the demonic palm.

Jiang Zheng’an stood before him.

Nangong Yue leapt over, followed by Jiang Shan, whose face was etched with sorrow and unending hatred.

“Where are Grandfather and the others?” Jiang Fan caught his breath and quickly asked.

“They’re dead—all of them!” Nangong Yue’s eyes were already red.

“Ninth Brother, will you let me have him?” Jiang Shan’s voice was choked with tears.

“Yes!” Jiang Fan’s heart trembled as he handed Jiang Hua over.

Just now, his mother’s words had revealed the grim reality. If Jiang Zhengde could kill his father and brothers, was there any humanity left in him?

He never could have imagined that this always cheerful middle-aged man was capable of such atrocity.

Humanity...!

“Jiang Zhengde, you fiend—I’ll kill your son first, then slaughter everyone in your Hode Court!” Jiang Shan howled in grief, tossing Jiang Hua into the air.

With sword in hand, he flashed through the sky, leaving only clouds of blood behind.

A mournful wail echoed.

Jiang Shan had not been in the main hall. When he sensed something was wrong and rushed over, he saw Jiang Zheng’an battling Jiang Zhengde and Nangong Yue fighting the demon slaves.

But Nangong Yue was only one person, unable to withstand the tide of demon slaves.

At that moment, many elders and Jiang Shan’s father had already been butchered.

Even Grandfather, the family head, left behind only a final sigh.

“You’re nothing but a beast!” Jiang Shan longed to fly over and kill him.

Jiang Zhengde only laughed maniacally. “After I’ve killed you all, I’ll wipe out every clansman outside as well. Then I’ll be the sole bloodline. I will found a Jiang family the world has never seen, one flowing with the blood of gods and demons! I will be the true patriarch of the Jiang family!”