"Also, I want you to find the villain who killed Yu'er, no matter what method you use."
"I swear I will not be human until I have tortured him to death and torn him to pieces!"
The old woman spoke through gritted teeth.
His tone was incredibly cold, sending chills down one's spine.
"Mother!" Upon hearing this, the Zheng family head hesitated. "Since that person dared to oppose the Seven Kill Tower, their background must be extraordinary. If we investigate further..."
However, before he could finish speaking, the old woman looked at him coldly and said, "So, Yu'er's revenge is not necessary?"
The head of the Zheng family paused, swallowed, and said, "...That's not what I meant. I just think this matter should be discussed further."
"Take it a long time? I think you're going to drag this out until I'm dead, isn't that it?" the old woman sneered.
"You wouldn't dare!"
The head of the Zheng family trembled and quickly lowered his head.
"Hmph! Only you know what you're really thinking. All I want to know now is whether this dying old woman can still be the head of the Zheng family?"
“Mother is the pillar of the family. The entire Zheng family is supported by you, so naturally you can make the decisions.”
"Since I can still make decisions for the Zheng family, then you should obediently do as I say. I don't care what the cost, you must find that person's whereabouts before Yu'er's seventh day memorial."
I don't care who he is or how powerful his background is!
They all °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° had to personally remove his head and place it before Yu'er's grave to appease her spirit in heaven!
Looking at his mother's sinister and ferocious face, the head of the Zheng family knew that it was useless to object anymore.
He could only reply in a low voice, "Yes, I will take care of it right away."
Watching the Zheng family head's dejected retreating figure, the old woman's face was utterly indifferent, and the killing intent emanating from her body was even colder and more concentrated, spreading and boiling, lingering for a long time.
The hall was completely silent; no one dared to move, not even to breathe loudly.
Even the middle-aged woman was drenched in cold sweat, her back soaked with perspiration.
Outside the Zheng residence, in another enormous mansion two miles away, in a study, a refined old man was leisurely writing. Suddenly, his expression changed, and his wrist trembled slightly, causing a drop of ink to fall from the ink-laden brush and smudge onto the paper.
"What's wrong with that old woman from the Zheng family now?"
The refined old man put down his pen, thought for a moment, and beckoned to the servants attending him: "Go and invite the master of the house over."
Soon, a middle-aged man dressed in a long robe, whose features and demeanor somewhat resembled the old man, hurriedly entered the courtyard.
"Grandfather, did you call me?"
“Just now I sensed that old woman from the Zheng family suddenly exuded a terrifying killing intent. I wonder what she’s up to now. Go and investigate,” the refined old man said.
"That patriarch of the Zheng family?" The middle-aged man exclaimed in surprise. "Who would dare to provoke him? Are they tired of living?"
"That's why I asked you to investigate. This old woman is nearing the end of her life and doesn't have many years left. If she goes crazy at this time, no one can stop her."
"Yes, I'll go check right away."
The middle-aged man hurriedly retreated.
Ever since the old woman from the Zheng family was seriously injured a few years ago and it was confirmed that she didn't have many years left to live, she has become a formidable figure in the prefecture.
After all, if a cultivator at the Innate Realm who only has a few years left to live really goes berserk, who can withstand him?
After his grandson left, the refined old man looked up at the sky in the distance, which was just beginning to lighten, and his heart was filled with mixed emotions.
These are turbulent times, with undercurrents surging throughout the land.
As a martial artist at the Innate Realm, he had a faint intuition that something extremely important was about to happen.
At a time like this, I hope that old woman from the Zheng family doesn't go crazy.
Half an hour later, the middle-aged man returned, but with a very strange expression on his face.
He seemed a little surprised, and a little smug.
"Have you found out?" the refined old man asked calmly.
"We found it, but..."
"Just what?"
"According to the information gathered by the spies in the manor, the second young master of the Zheng family was killed last night in a brothel outside the city. His head was blown off. The patriarch of the Zheng family was furious about this and even killed several of the guards."
The middle-aged man reported.
"The second young master of the Zheng family, is he the posthumous son of the eldest son of the Zheng family who has already died?" the refined old man asked.
"It was him, named Zheng Yu. He was greatly favored by the Zheng family's patriarch and was usually very arrogant in the prefecture. I never expected him to run out of the city and be killed!" The middle-aged man had a hint of schadenfreude on his face.
"No wonder that old woman went mad." The refined old man nodded. "That eldest son of the Zheng family was originally exceptionally talented. At the age of thirty, he had already reached the level of a martial arts grandmaster. He originally had a bright future and was expected to reach the Innate Realm before the age of forty, becoming the youngest Innate Realm expert in our Cangzhou."
Unexpectedly, early fame and an overly smooth path of cultivation can sometimes be a calamity.
As the youngest martial arts master in Cangzhou at the time, the eldest son of the Zheng family was full of vigor and arrogance, and he didn't even take the few Xiantian Realm masters in the prefecture seriously.
Because of the presence of Old Lady Zheng and the restrictions imposed by the Holy Mountain ban, none of us cared too much, which made him even more arrogant.
More than twenty years ago, a stranger at the Innate Realm came to Cangzhou for a trip with one of his female disciples.
The eldest son of the Zheng family went out of the city for a stroll and saw that the female disciple was extremely beautiful. He became lustful and wanted to abduct her to his mansion and take her as a concubine.
Naturally, this enraged the person at the Innate Realm, who then beat the eldest son of the Zheng family to death on the spot.
Upon hearing this news, Old Lady Zheng went mad and immediately gave chase. She pursued him for over three hundred miles, fighting a desperate battle that resulted in mutual destruction, until she finally managed to kill the stranger who was at the Innate Realm.
Furthermore, he captured the female disciple at the Innate Realm and used her as a sacrifice for his son.
The old woman herself suffered a severe blow to her vital energy and a greatly shortened lifespan, and she has not yet fully recovered.
"I never imagined that such a major event had occurred back then, and that the eldest son of the Zheng family died because of such an event."
The middle-aged man sighed.
“Back then, you were still young and traveling with your master. In addition, the eldest son of the Zheng family died in a less than honorable way, and that old woman was too proud to admit it. So not many people knew the inside story,” the refined old man said.
"The Zheng Yu you mentioned should be the posthumous son of the eldest son of the Zheng family. After his death, the old lady of the Zheng family suddenly changed her temperament and became extremely violent. Every day, servants in the Zheng family were beaten to death, and everyone in the Zheng family lived in fear."
Later, when the eldest son's wife discovered she was pregnant, the old woman was overjoyed and her violent temper gradually subsided.
Later, when the eldest son's wife gave birth, she suffered another difficult labor and passed away after giving birth to a son.
The eldest son of the Zheng family left behind only this one drop of blood, so Old Mrs. Zheng was naturally heartbroken.
You said he was murdered; no wonder she was so murderous before.
The refined old man felt a little relieved. As long as it wasn't someone from his own household who had offended the old woman, everything was still manageable.
He was also curious: "Can you find out who killed Zheng Yu?"
“Nothing was found.” The middle-aged man shook his head. “Our spies reported that the Zheng family only knows that the person who killed Zheng Yu was a martial artist in black. His other identity remains a mystery.”
Moreover, it seems the black-clad warrior didn't intentionally try to assassinate Zheng Yu; he killed Zheng Yu incidentally while looting the brothel.
"It seems we've encountered a powerful outsider. The eldest son of the Zheng family was killed by an outsider at the Innate Realm. I never expected his son to follow in his footsteps."
The refined old man sighed. If it were a martial arts master from Cangzhou, probably no one would dare to risk angering that old woman and attack Zheng Yu.
Only a martial artist from outside the region, unaware of the situation in Cangzhou, would dare to commit such a grave act.
“However, grandfather, I’ve also learned another piece of information.” The middle-aged man’s expression turned serious at this moment.
"It is said that when the black-clad warrior was slaughtering people in that brothel, he said that it was the stronghold of the Seven Kill Tower and that he had come for the Seven Kill Tower."
"Is what you're saying true?" The refined old man was startled.
"I'm not sure either, but this is what the guard who followed Zheng Yu said before he died, so it's probably true."
"The tentacles of the Seven Killings Pavilion have already reached our Cangzhou? But haven't they always been based in the Central Plains? And who is it that dares to provoke such an ancient sect?"
The refined old man murmured.
I felt that things were not as simple as they seemed.
However, the middle-aged man then dropped another bombshell.
"Furthermore, grandfather, the spies also learned that the patriarch of the Zheng family was furious about Zheng Yu's death. He not only killed all the guards who protected Zheng Yu at the time, but also wanted to capture all their family members and clansmen to be sacrificed alive to accompany Zheng Yu in his burial."
"What did you say?!"
Upon hearing this, the refined old man could no longer think about the Seven Kill Tower. He suddenly stood up and looked at his grandson with a face full of shock.
"A human sacrifice! Has that old woman really gone mad?!"
Just then, the refined old man sensed a soaring sense of sorrow, accompanied by cries of anguish, coming from the northwest.
That was where the Zheng family lived.
He was jolted awake. Forgetting to talk to his grandson anymore, he immediately used his movement technique to disappear from the study and head towards the Zheng family's residence.
When the refined old man arrived at the Zheng family's residence, he saw a large group of people chained up, prostrate on the ground, crying and begging for mercy.
There were old and young, men and women, even infants still in swaddling clothes.
Beside him was an old man, his head severed from his body, blood flowing all over the ground. His severed head had wide-open eyes, filled with anger and sorrow.
The refined old man could tell at a glance that the sorrow he had just felt was the old man's last words before his death.
He also knew the old man's identity.
He was a steward of the Zheng family, with a cultivation level of the Inner Organ Realm, which was quite extraordinary, and he was quite famous in the prefecture.
This old man has always been loyal to the Zheng family and has managed many of the family's businesses in an orderly manner.
It is said that his eldest son also worked as a guard in the Zheng family, but unexpectedly, he died here.
"Grand Ancestor, spare my life! Spare my life!"
Cries and screams came from the crowd.
People kept kowtowing to the old woman from the Zheng family on the steps, until their foreheads were bleeding and the bluestone slabs on the ground were stained with blood.
But some people remained silent, staring at the old woman with hateful eyes.
"Spare me?"
The old woman remained indifferent, unmoved by the scene before her.
"If I spare you, then who will spare my Yu'er?"
You men were tasked with protecting Yu'er, but you neglected your duties, causing my Yu'er to lose her life.
Those worthless fools deserve to die a thousand deaths, and you, as their wives, children, and clansmen, are also unforgivable. You will all be buried with my Yu'er!
"No, Ancestor, no! This has nothing to do with us! Ancestor, spare us! Spare us!"
Those chained below were terrified upon hearing this and desperately kowtowed, begging for mercy.
However, the old woman remained completely unmoved by this scene.
He simply waved his hand and said, "Take all these bastards away and lock them up. On the day of Yu'er's burial, send them to the underworld to serve Yu'er."
"yes!"
Immediately, guards stepped forward, took the chains, and prepared to take everyone away.
"I won't leave, I won't leave, please have mercy, Ancestor!"
The crowd panicked; some people didn't want to leave, but were forcibly dragged away by the strong guards.
Those who tried to escape were whipped until their skin was torn and bleeding.
Suddenly, screams filled the area in front of the Zheng family mansion, a truly horrific sight.
Finally, when everyone had been dragged away, the gates of the Zheng residence returned to calm.
The people living nearby had heard the screams, but intimidated by the Zheng family's power, no one dared to come out to watch, let alone inquire about them.
"Old man, now that you're here, stop hiding and come out."
After everything calmed down, the old woman from the Zheng family suddenly spoke.
The refined old man revealed his figure with a somewhat unpleasant expression.
The Zheng family guards around him all trembled.
Before the old man appeared, none of them could detect his presence.
To be able to conceal one's presence and form so well right under their noses.
The answer is obvious.
This old man must be one of the few Xiantian Realm beings in the prefecture that are most not to be trifled with.
"Grandma Zheng, haven't you gone a bit too far this time?" the refined old man said with a grim expression.
"Oh, I was just disciplining one of the Zheng family's servants, what's so wrong with that?"
The old woman from the Zheng family revealed a hint of sarcasm on her face: "They all have contracts with my Zheng family. Even if I kill them all, that's my Zheng family's business. When did it become your place to interfere, you old hag?"
"I have no right to interfere if you want to discipline your servants, but if you want to carry out human sacrifices, then that is my business."
The refined old man said solemnly.
"Human sacrifice is too cruel, intolerable to Heaven and Earth, and also to the sacred mountain. If you intend to do something that violates the natural order of Heaven and Earth, everyone has a responsibility to stop you!"
"Hahaha, Heaven and Earth cannot tolerate this? What about the natural order and morality?"
The old woman from the Zheng family laughed loudly, as if she had heard a joke.
Then a look of resentment appeared on his face: "If heaven and earth really have eyes, then why don't they protect my Yu'er? My Yu'er is so well-behaved. He just went out of the city to play for a while, and he suffered such misfortune!"
Those useless servants failed to protect my Yu'er properly. Shouldn't they die?
I want them all to be buried with my grandson!
Anyone who dares to stop me, I'll fight them to the death!
Having said that, a powerful aura emanated from the old woman.
She slammed her dragon-headed cane down hard, cracking the bluestone slab beneath her feet.
His eyes were fixed on the refined old man: "Old man Lin, are you sure you want to stop me?"
I could sense the old woman's pent-up energy and the madness in her eyes.
The refined old man's expression changed, and he was immediately caught in a dilemma.
