Walking in the cycle of reincarnation

Chapter 32 Keeping Tongue

Zhang Nanfeng swept across and landed lightly on the top floor of the stilted building.

Only the blood-red light and moonlight outside the window barely broke through the gloom, illuminating the entire interior.

A bamboo couch, a straw mat, and a half-open wooden cabinet in the corner containing a few black robes piled haphazardly. Apart from these, the room was empty and contained nothing else.

How could Meng Lie, the head of a clan, live in such a simple dwelling?

He was somewhat surprised, and then carefully searched every corner of the building.

However, after some investigation, they found nothing.

Just as he was about to go downstairs to investigate the ground floor, he suddenly heard breathing sounds coming from downstairs.

Zhang Nanfeng recognized the aura.

Meng Jinchuan.

The boy didn't run away; instead, he hid in the building.

Thinking of him, Zhang Nanfeng's murderous intent suddenly arose.

This child must not be allowed to live.

The Meng family is now on the verge of collapse, and Meng Jinchuan knows too much about him. Once he falls into the hands of the Holy Altar, he will surely become a scourge in the future.

......

Outside the building, the deafening fighting and wailing echoed throughout the entire village. Meng Jinchuan heard it all, but dared not step out of the building.

He huddled between the bamboo basket and the corner of the wall, clutching the insect jar, trembling like a leaf, tears streaming down his face, his heart filled with fear and despair.

From the shadows, a figure emerged.

Its brown skin is mottled and particularly ugly.

Meng Jinchuan was so shocked he almost lost his voice, but in an instant, doubt began to appear in his eyes.

Golden Toad Ancestor?

No... the Golden Toad Ancestor, with its golden skin and purple spots, was extraordinary and far from resembling this ugly toad. Yet, the scrutinizing look in its eyes was all too familiar.

Countless thoughts flashed through Meng Jinchuan's mind, and an absurd conjecture emerged. He opened his mouth, but no sound came out; he just stared blankly at those toad-like eyes.

Zhang Nanfeng also looked at him.

Those eyes, washed clear by tears, overlapped with memories from the past few months.

The boy knelt on the ground, looking up at him with the same bright light in his eyes.

That's it.

With a sigh, his murderous intent finally dissipated.

Although he is no longer human in this life, he still has a bottom line and would not kill a teenager.

Moreover, the offerings made over the past few months... were truly made with genuine sincerity.

Zhang Nanfeng opened his mouth, and a strange wind swept past Meng Jinchuan's face.

"ah--!!"

A chill ran down his face, and Meng Jinchuan screamed, his heart pounding with fear. He covered his head and rushed out of the building.

The earthenware jar he had been hiding close to his body slipped from his grasp, smashed on the floor, and shattered into several pieces.

Zhang Nanfeng stared at the scattered Gu worms on the ground and remained silent for a moment.

The secret of the Meng family will surely spread throughout the Southern Frontier after tonight. As for the Meng family itself... it will probably come to an end here.

He withdrew his gaze, went down to the ground floor, and knocked on every inch of the floorboards until he finally touched a wooden board with a slightly different sound.

When the wooden plank was lifted, a sloping earthen step was revealed underneath.

He leaped and landed at the bottom of the steps.

At the end of the stairs was a dark underground room.

The dark room was small, with blood seeping continuously from the cracks in the rocks, soaking the floor. In the center was a pool, which was not filled with clear water, but with thick blood plasma, from which a foul stench lingered.

Seven or eight bodies were chained to the pool wall and soaked in blood. There were men, women, young and old, and their features were completely unlike those of the natives of southern Xinjiang.

The scene before him was terrifying. Even with Zhang Nanfeng's current state of mind, he couldn't help but feel startled, but he suppressed his pity and kept the purpose of his trip firmly in mind.

He looked around and saw neither martial arts scrolls nor storage boxes in the pool.

It wasn't here.

Zhang Nanfeng left the dark room, his mind becoming restless.

He returned to the top floor of the stilted house, and on the way, his gaze fell upon an embroidery.

On the embroidered face, a person kneels on one knee, holding a short blade upside down, blood dripping from the tip. The other hand is raised high, holding a bloody object in the palm, its skin wrinkled and resembling a toad's skin.

Zhang Nanfeng seemed lost in thought as she lifted the embroidery. Sure enough, a square panel of a different wood color was embedded in the wall.

Hidden compartment!

His heart raced, and he leaped up, slapping the square board open with a claw.

A blue-covered, thread-bound ancient book lay quietly in the compartment, no different from any other ordinary book circulating in the market.

Zhang Nanfeng took it out and looked at it by the moonlight.

The pages are covered with handwritten characters, the ink of which is both new and old, recording Meng Lie's various insights, trials and errors, and physical changes since he began his cultivation.

"...Using snake venom as a substitute for the original source, initially the meridians felt like they were burning, and I couldn't sleep for three days..."

"...The scales and armor grew spontaneously, a backlash from the source, a last resort..."

Zhang Nanfeng flipped through the pages quickly, his belly heaving repeatedly, his mind growing increasingly heavy.

No.

There is no method to absorb the origin; it is merely Meng Lie's personal cultivation notes.

Outside the building, the sky suddenly changed color.

Zhang Nanfeng paused, looking out of the building.

Before I knew it, the sky had darkened to an inkwell, and rumbling thunder rolled in from afar. Raindrops pounded on the bamboo tiles, making a crackling sound, gradually thickening until they wove into a vast curtain of rain.

Zhang Nanfeng gazed at the rain curtain, his mind racing.

If not in the building... then where could it be?

Meng Lie usually stays in this building. His most valuable possessions are either hidden in this building or... carried on his person.

Intimate?

He looked down at the booklet, then gazed out the window at the rainy night, two thoughts tearing at his mind.

go......

Even though Meng Lie's decline was already evident, he was still only halfway to the path of immortality, not to mention the giant serpent outside and the upcoming reinforcements from the Holy Altar.

He has endured this lifetime with forbearance, proceeding cautiously step by step, never taking any risky gamble. If he loses, he will perish.

But if I don't go...

The Meng family will perish tonight. There will be no more Meng Jinchuan offering sacrifices to the Five Poisons, and no more Meng family collecting poisonous insects for him.

More importantly, there was that readily available opportunity to become a celestial being.

If he misses tonight, if he misses Meng Lie, where else in this vast southern border can he find such a ready-made method of cultivating immortality?

The rain intensified.

Zhang Nanfeng's gaze gradually settled.

I gambled.

He leaped out of the window, his webbed feet skimming through the rain as he sped toward the spot where the blood was most intense.

......

Outside the building, it was already a scene of carnage.

Meng Lie's black robe was torn, revealing his torso covered in snake scales. At this moment, most of the scales had peeled off, and the blood mist was as thin as gauze, no longer able to maintain its previous immortal aura.

He was still standing, but he was already at his last gasp.

Meng Shi roamed around, his thick eyebrows raised, his eyes bloodshot, and his short sword gleaming with black light. Every time he lunged forward, he was lashed back by the giant snake's tail whip.

Blood trickled from the corner of his mouth, yet he still screamed hoarsely:

"Big brother! Big brother, where are you! Please lend your second brother a hand!"

No one answered; only the wind and rain howled.

After Meng Cang fled, he vanished as if he had disappeared from the face of the earth and never reappeared.

The giant serpent raised its head, and three overlapping sneers came from its belly. Then it inhaled sharply, and a gust of wind suddenly arose.

In a certain part of the village, a figure was lifted into the air like a kite with a broken string, and was forcibly pulled into the raging wind and rain.

"No--!"

A desperate roar exploded, echoing through the torrential rainy night.

It was Meng Cang.

The snake scale on the back of his neck was now glowing brightly, as if it were a living thing, desperately pulling him toward the giant snake.

"No...no!"

Meng Cang struggled in vain in the air.

The giant serpent's massive, tooth-filled mouth opened and closed, its sound echoing in the rain and mist:

"Meng Cang, why do you think the Holy Altar chose a piece of trash like you?"

"As early as ten years ago, our sacred altar noticed unusual activity in the Meng family's territory, suspecting the arrival of a celestial being. However, the sacred altar has strict rules, making it inconvenient to directly intervene in the affairs of small border tribes..."

"Therefore, I chose you."