Although Sect Leader Changying was a man of ancient times who had died a long time ago, many paintings of him were passed down in the cultivation world.

     Rufeng Sect’s Hall of Sages even had a majestic jade sculpture of the Grand Sect Leader, so Ye Wangxi reacted almost instantly, “A-Si, quickly open the boundary! You can’t beat him!”

     Of course he couldn’t beat him…

     Who could beat him?

     Perhaps even the most powerful zongshi in the cultivation world today, Chu Wanning, wouldn’t stand a chance against him.

     Nangong Si was trembling—not because he was afraid, but because of intense grief and anger. Grand Sect Leader… Xu Shuanglin had actually turned the Grand Sect Leader’s corpse into a Zhenlong chess piece!

     Madness…

     He was truly mad!

     This was their ancestor, the soul of Rufeng Sect, the root of the sect itself, the god revered by generations of disciples and descendants for hundreds of years!

     Nangong Changying!

     The veins on Nangong Si’s neck bulged, and he let out a twisted roar, like a tiger roaring in the forest, “Xu Shuanglin! No, Nangong Xu! Come out! Come out!!!”

     The ringing of his voice lingered for a long time, like a circling vulture. No one answered him.

     Of course Xu Shuanglin wouldn’t come out.

     The only one who reacted was Nangong Changying, whose eyes were covered by a black-silk ribbon. He turned his face slightly, his pale fingers sliding across the sheath of his sword. The treasured sword that had been buried with him for hundreds of years emerged from the sheath, the dragon light shining through.

     He held the sword and slowly took another step down.

     At the same time, Nangong Si took a step back and muttered, “Grand Sect Leader…”

     Nangong Changying walked steadily, the tip of his sword moving against the jade steps, making an ear-piercing scraping sound.

     Since his eyes were covered with the silk ribbon after his death, tied by a spell that didn’t allow for its removal, he couldn’t see the path in front of him. He could only rely on sound and smell to determine Nangong Si’s location.

     “Who are you?”

     Suddenly, a low and ethereal voice sounded.

     Nangong Changying actually spoke!

     “Why are you trespassing?”

     Hearing the ancestor of a hundred years speak, even as a Zhenlong chess piece, it was still extremely shocking.

     Nangong Si swallowed and said, “Grand Sect Leader, I…”

     “...”

     He suddenly let go of the sword he was holding and knelt down to kowtow, “This humble servant, the seventh generation's direct disciple of Rufeng Sect, Nangong Si, pays his respects.”

     “Seventh generation… Si…” Nangong Changying’s corpse slowly and sluggishly repeated the words. Then, he shook his head and raised his sword before saying one word, “Kill.”

     Their weapons clashed!

     As Nangong Si struck against his blow, he felt his arm go numb. His ancestor’s force was astonishingly strong. A deathly pale face loomed, as the other spoke with a breath like ice.

     “Trespassers will be killed.”

     “Grand Sect Leader!”

     The sword was dazzling, its aura both sharp and swift. As the metal blades collided, sparks flew in all directions, the light scattering like snow.

     Xue Zhengyong slammed his fist into the barrier and yelled, “Are you crazy?! How can you possibly win?!”

     Who didn’t know about Nangong Changying’s power? It was said that with his incredible strength, even if he didn’t use a weapon, he could still smash rocks to pieces with one hand.

     How could he fight him?

     It was likely that not even ten Nangong Si’s would be enough to fool around with this ancestor.

     Nangong Si’s mind was almost completely blank. He never thought that there would be a day when he would actually fight against the First Sect Leader of Rufeng Sect on Mount Jiao.

     After their first clash, he was pushed ten feet back, and if he didn’t grab his sword in time, he would have already fallen to his knees in a pile of weeds.

     Nangong Changying raised his treasured sword and slowly approached again.

     He repeated the order in a low voice, “Kill…”

     Outside the barrier, Xue Zhengyong was furiously hammering against the boundary. Jiang Xi frowned and pursed his lips, not saying a word. Villa Master Ma simply covered his eyes and didn’t dare to look. Huang Xiaoyue was secretly frightened and overjoyed that he didn’t really capture Nangong Si back then.

     Only Chu Wanning watched Nangong Changying closely. He felt that something was wrong.

     Who was Nangong Changying?

     He had subdued two demonic beasts, one was a demonic dragon and the other was a Gǔn. There was no need to say how terrifying this man’s spiritual power was. Even if his soul had already left his body and he was only a corpse unable to perform many spells, his martial technique shouldn’t have been affected.

     Then how fierce were Nangong Changying’s martial skills?

     Near Feihua Island in the east, there was a relic of Rufeng Sect—a lake on the island. This lake was neither big, nor small. Its water was stagnant, with no magnificent scenery. Walking leisurely around it would take around half an hour.

     However, everyone knew that this lake wasn’t originally a lake, but a small mountain. During the fierce battle between Nangong Changying and the Gǔn, the Gǔn had used this mountain to dodge many times.

     Nangong Changying punched the mountain several dozen times, but in the end, his final punch actually shattered the thousand foot tall rock, causing the earth to collapse and the ground to crack.

     From then on, the mountain ceased to exist, and the rainfall accumulated into a pool, which was how this lake came to be.

     It wasn’t that Chu Wanning looked down on Nangong Si, but he felt that by the time Nangong Changying’s sword first met with Nangong Si’s, Nangong Si should have been thrown a hundred feet away, and there would be no chance of him getting up.

     There was something strange about this corpse.

     Chu Wanning’s eyes were as sharp as a blade, scraping across every inch of Nangong Changying’s body.

     Suddenly, his sharp gaze focused on the arm Nangong Changying was using to wield the sword. He paused for a moment, and in that instant, a spark suddenly ignited in his mind. He suddenly realized what was wrong.

     On the other side, Nangong Si was struggling to hold onto his sword as he staggered to his feet. He was like the faewolves he had raised; he could be defeated, but he would never run. He used a sleeve to fiercely wipe the blood from the corner of his mouth.

     Just as he was about to fight again, he suddenly heard a familiar voice behind him, “Hit his left side. All of the meridians in his left arm have been severed.”

     “Chu-zongshi?” Nangong Si asked.

     “Don’t get distracted.” Chu Wanning stood outside of the boundary, his brown eyes fixed on the two men exchanging blows, “Even if Nangong Changying can’t use his left arm, you still can’t let your guard down.”

     Hearing Chu Wanning’s words, the surrounding Sect Leaders all looked at Nangong Changying’s left arm. Sure enough, they found that the corpse’s left arm was limp and weak.

     Xue Zhengyong was shocked, “Were Sect Leader Changying’s meridians severed after he died? Who did it?!”

     “...”

     No one answered.

     However, those familiar with Nangong Changying’s history, like Ye Wangxi, quickly understood what was going on.

     Who did it? In this world, who would break his meridians? Who could?

     As he fought with Nangong Changying, Nangong Si stared at his ancestor’s face. His face was so undoubtedly identical to the jade statue in the Hall of Sages that it was as if he was still alive in this world, and had never gone to his death.

     If he really was still alive, if he truly hadn’t died… If these hundreds of years were written off, then at this moment, was he being tested by the First Sect Leader, accepting his guidance?

     Nangong Si gradually came back to his senses and sternly called for his faewolf, “Naobaijin! Come here!”

     He quickly flipped onto the faewolf’s back, keeping his eye on Sect Leader Changying’s left arm as he attacked.

     A scene from his childhood suddenly flashed before his eyes.

     He stood in front of the magnificent jade statue in the Hall of Sages, tilting his head to look at the First Sect Leader.

     A child’s perspective was always strange. He suddenly turned to Rong Yan and said, “Mother, this statue, it’s not done yet.”

     “Why isn’t it done?” Rong Yan pulled her luxurious robe over to him, covering her mouth with a handkerchief as she coughed. When she got to her child’s side, she looked up at the statue of Sect Leader Changying, “Isn’t it good? It’s very detailed, very lifelike.”

     “...I don’t understand.”

     Rong Yan sighed. She was an impatient person, and wished she could cram all of the knowledge that others would learn over twenty years in these two years, “It’s carved to look like a living person, every detail is lifelike. Didn’t I teach you these two words last time?”

     Nangong Si bristled and said, “But it’s carved wrong.”

     “What’s wrong with it?”

     “Mother, look.” He pointed to the Grand Sect Leader’s left arm, then to his right arm, “His left arm is a lot thicker than his right arm. I’ve been looking at it for a long time, and I’m sure it’s thicker, not symmetrical at all. It’s wrong, it’s wrong!”

     He held up both of his arms to Rong Yan, and explained seriously, “My arms are the same size on both sides, and so are Mother’s. Father’s are too… So, this statue is wrong. Tell the craftsmen to reconstruct it!”

    “So that’s what Si-er meant.” Rong Yan shook her head and said, “This is not the craftsman’s fault. The Grand Sect Leader’s left and right arms are indeed different.”

    “Why? Is it natural?”

    “Of course not,” Rong Yan said. “The Grand Sect Leader usually used his left hand, so the strength of his left arm is much greater than his right arm. So, not only did the craftsmen not make a mistake, they were actually very meticulous, and took great care to notice these subtle details.”

     Clang! The two longswords clashed.

     Nangong Si and Nangong Changying were very close to each other, standing face to face, separated only by the sparks flying from their weapons, as they gritted their teeth.

     Nangong Changying, who had lost his left hand, now took on a bruised and battered Nangong Si, who was at his last ounce of strength. This was a hand-to-hand battle.

     Xue Zhengyong suddenly had a thought that made him gasp, “The meridians in his left arm, could it be… could it be that he broke them himself?!”

     In fact, it was not only Xue Zhengyong. Many people watching the battle from outside the boundary also gradually had this same suspicion in their hearts.

     After high-ranking disciples of Rufeng Sect were buried, their eyes were covered with a silk ribbon bound with spiritual power. Was it really just to “ride the crane and see the clouds?” Was it possible that Nangong Changying had also anticipated the changes in the world over the centuries?

     If that was the case, then when he established Rufeng Sect, he had already thought of its doomsday. The reason why he covered the eyes of every disciple buried was so they wouldn’t be able to display their full battle strength, so that they wouldn’t be able to bring disaster to the world.

     Therefore, the holy weapon that accompanied him throughout his life was not inside the coffin. He only carried a longsword.

     Then, before he died, he severed all of the meridians in his left arm, so even if there really was a truly unrighteous person in the future who tried to use his corpse to stir up trouble, they wouldn’t be able to obtain his full strength.

     But in the end, the answer was ultimately unknown.

     After over a dozen blows were exchanged, and just as the blows were getting more intense, Nangong Si suddenly saw the Grand Sect Leader’s brows furrow slightly. Then he muttered, “Nangong… Si… seventh generation…”

     Outside of the boundary, Mo Ran was observing Nangong Changying’s every move with rapt attention.

     As the former Taxian-Jun, he was different from all the righteous cultivators present, and was able to accurately perceive things that people who hadn’t used the Zhenlong Chess Formation would find it difficult to discover immediately.

     To Mo Ran, it was clear that this corpse was different from the others. He seemed to be struggling to regain his consciousness, even in death.

     This was also something that Mo Ran had worried about before. Although the Zhenlong Chess Formation was one of the three forbidden techniques, there was no spell in the world that was perfect.

     If a person’s willpower was particularly strong, then the caster would have to continuously exert spiritual power to suppress the chess piece’s resistance. Once the caster ran out of spiritual energy, the chess piece would go berserk and lose control, sometimes even backfiring on the caster.

     This was also the reason why many of the casters in the history of the Zhenlong Chess Formation died of an evil ailment, or directly reversed the flow of their meridians, resulting in a sudden and violent death.

     Mo Ran’s face was somber as he followed Nangong Changying’s movements. He was almost certain that Xu Shuanglin was not in full control of Nangong Changying.

     Clang!

     A sudden muffled sound made Mo Ran’s fingers against the barrier clench tightly, his veins bulging.

     The difference in strength was just too great.

     Everyone present could clearly see that even though Nangong Changying had severed his own meridians and forcefully cut off his own strength, a great zongshi was still a zongshi. Even if his sharp claws were pulled out, this empty corpse would still be able to fight evenly with Mei Hanxue and Xue Meng.

     If they really wanted to defeat him, they would still need someone at the level of Sect Leader or elder to make a move.

     But the sect leaders and elders could not enter. The boundary was sealed, and inside was the territory of the Nangong family. If they broke in rashly, it would cause the spirit of Mount Jiao to go berserk, which would only cause more trouble.

     This was the civil war of Rufeng Sect, and no one was able to interfere.

     If Nangong Si had still been at full strength, he could have probably taken care of the broken corpse in front of him on his own. But he had already suffered too much before this.

     Another heavy blow landed. Nangong Si could have easily dodged, but when he grabbed Naobaijin’s gold collar and flipped onto his back, the wound on his palm tore open and he was momentarily unable to stop it.

     “Wuuuu—”

     Naobaijin let out a mournful cry. The sword in Nangong Si’s hand was struck, and sent flying, knocked away to the edge of the boundary.

     Mo Ran saw that the hilt of the sword was already stained with the blood from Nangong Si’s palm…

     “A-Si! Don’t fight anymore! Come out! Let’s think of another way!” Ye Wangxi shouted at him again.

     Ye Wangxi would never beg for mercy for herself. But Nangong Si was her weakness.

     She was crying uncontrollably.

     Mo Ran had never seen her cry like this in his previous life.

     At this moment, she really seemed to reveal the shadow of a young girl, removing the resolute and cold mask the two brothers, Nangong Liu and Nangong Xu, had selfishly placed on her face.

     She had always felt that she would never be able to take off this mask. But the moment she saw the sword stained with blood, it turned to ashes.

     “A-Si…”

     The blow was too hard. Nangong Si gritted his teeth as beads of sweat rolled down his forehead. He didn’t utter a sound as he tried to force himself up from the ground. However, a cold light flashed past, a sharp blade as bright as snow shining on his face.

     Nangong Si gasped for breath and raised his face. His features were slightly similar to Nangong Changying’s as he stared at his ancestor through the dazzling sword light.

     Nangong Changying’s sword was already hanging directly above him.

     Inside and outside the boundary, there was a deathly silence.