Chapter 1115, Searching for the Brand

Translator: Silavin

 

“What does the Sacred Master wish to convey?” The moment Yei Xiu heard this, he instantly straightened, bowing his head in readiness to receive his orders.

 

Senior Qing smiled and said. “Actually, you can probably guess. It is simply, to have you go and annihilate the Situ Family.”

 

“You were branded by the Situ Family’s brand, and whether the other party has already learned the location of our Sacred Jiang Family cannot yet be determined. As the Sacred Master had said, though the Sacred Jiang Family does not fear exposure, now is not the right time. So, to ensure the safety of our Sacred Jiang Family, the Situ Family absolutely cannot be allowed to remain.”

 

“The Sacred Master’s meaning is simple. You are to go to the Situ Family, kill every last one of them, and ensure there is no possibility of them leaking the location of our Sacred Jiang Family.” He paused, and then Senior Qing added. “The other party’s ties to the Sacred Yei Family run extremely deep. They exist, in essence, as dependents of the Sacred Yei Family. And as for what the Sacred Yei Family did to the Sacred Jiang Family all those years ago, you should be well aware of that, right?”

 

Yei Xiu gave a slight nod.

 

The actions of the Sacred Yei Family all those years ago had, in truth, not been spoken of at great length to the Sacred Yei Family’s younger generation.

 

After all, what the Sacred Yei Family had done back then was not something to be proud of. Also, such matters could naturally not be broadcast widely among the younger generation, lest they tarnish the Sacred Yei Family’s image in the hearts of its Descendants.

 

However, after Yei Xiu had joined the Sacred Jiang Family, he had come to learn something of what had transpired in those days.

 

And beyond that, he himself had nearly lost his life to the schemes of those within the Sacred Yei Family, only to be rescued afterward by the people of the Sacred Jiang Family.

 

Weighing everything in his mind, he naturally trusted what the Sacred Jiang Family told him. He had long since judged the Sacred Yei Family to be a nest of thieves and scoundrels.

 

Seeing Yei Xiu give a slight nod, Senior Qing continued, “Should the Sacred Yei Family learn the location of the Sacred Jiang Family, I fear they would band together with other Sacred Lands to lay siege on us.”

 

“The Slaughter Ancient God’s degree of awakening is low. Now is not the right time to engage with many Sacred Lands simultaneously. In order to cut off any possibility of the Sacred Jiang Family’s location being leaked, the Situ Family must be eliminated. Also, since this matter began because of you. It is only right that you would be the one to resolve it.”

 

Having heard all of this, Yei Xiu nodded repeatedly and said. “Senior Qing, you’re right. I will handle this matter properly.”

 

Senior Qing gave a nod. “Very well then. Go and promptly deal with it. Annihilating a Supreme Tier Ancient Noble Family will not be easy for you, but consider it a trial as well.”

 

Yei Xiu clasped his fist and bowed. “Senior Qing, rest assured, I will certainly annihilate the Situ Family and spare the Sacred Jiang Family from this trouble!”

 

With that, flames surged beneath his feet and his speed instantly exploded.

 

With the lightest touch of his foot against the ground, Yei Xiu transformed into a streak of flame and shot out of the Secret Realm, vanishing from sight.

 

Senior Qing stroked his beard gently and nodded with a smile.

 

…

 

At the Situ Family.

 

More than ten Alchemists sat cross-legged in a ring, positioned around an Array.

 

The Array’s light flickered, pulsing steadily in and out.

 

In the intervals between its flashes, a blurred Map was being slowly traced into being.

 

Nearby, Situ Hengxing, Lu Fan, Jian Ying, Ouyang Bai Ge, and others all stood watching in silence as this unfolded.

 

Then, without warning, the Map that had been growing steadily clearer abruptly went dark. Everything vanished.

 

At that, every single Alchemist exchanged bewildered looks. Alarm was spreading between them.

 

Situ Xiong, standing to one side, witnessed this and immediately bellowed. “What happened!? Why has the Map suddenly disappeared!?”

 

One of the Alchemists rose to his feet, clasped his fist and bowed, and said with a deeply troubled expression. “From the look of things, it seems like the brand has been erased by someone…”

 

“Erased by someone!?” Situ Xiong erupted with fury, storming forward and seizing the man by the collar. “Did you not say before that this brand was concealed and extremely hard to remove, that it could never be discovered, let alone erased!? How is it that in just a few days, the brand is already gone!? Back then, our Situ Family had spent so much material to have you all learn this Skill. Now, you are telling me the Skill is this useless!? Can you even look at me in the face after looking at all those materials we have invested in you!?”

 

“P-Patriarch, our brand is truly well Concealed and difficult to remove. We truly do not know how it was discovered or how it was erased…”

 

The Alchemist was near tears, pleading desperately.

 

Situ Xiong cared nothing for any of that. In his towering rage, he was on the verge of calling someone over. First to kill one Alchemist as a warning to the others, and then to have the remaining ones find a way to re-establish the brand’s location.

 

At this moment, Situ Hengxing cleared his throat softly and reached out to pull Situ Xiong back.

 

“Enough. Rein in your temper.” Situ Hengxing was far calmer than Situ Xiong, and with a single word, he made Situ Xiong think twice about acting rashly.

 

Even so, Situ Xiong still could not let this go. He lowered his voice to Situ Hengxing: “Ancestor, my Older Brother is dead. And these people…. are so useless! They cannot even confirm where the killer is! How am I supposed to swallow this?! If we don’t punish them somehow, Heaven knows how much more material these good-for-nothings will waste in the future!”

 

The assembled Alchemists kept their heads bowed and said nothing.

 

Situ Hengxing let out a long sigh and said. “In truth, you know better than anyone, if the other party hails from the Sacred Jiang Family, then the brand failing is to be expected. After all, the other party has the foundations of a Sacred Land behind them. Discovering our brand and erasing it directly should not be too difficult for them.”

 

Situ Xiong fell silent and said nothing.

 

Situ Hengxing was right. He knew the brand was bound to be erased sooner or later.

 

The fact that it had lasted this long before being detected already spoke to the brand’s effectiveness.

 

But Situ Ying was dead, and he was his own Older Brother!

 

This fire inside him had nowhere to go, so he vented it on the Alchemists.

 

Situ Hengxing waved a hand, gesturing for him to compose himself, then turned to the Alchemists and said. “The location you marked just now, you should still be able to recover it, correct?”

 

The Alchemist who had nearly been executed answered immediately. “The Coordinates may be somewhat off, but they should be close enough. But, re-establishing the Coordinates will take some time…”

 

Situ Hengxing gave a nod. “Fine then. I’ll give you time. Do your best to find that guy’s position. I’ll give you three days at most. Give me some results, and I will relay it to the Sacred Yei Family.”

 

“If the location I submit is incorrect and you’ve made a fool of the Sacred Yei Family… you know what that outcome would mean, don’t you!?”

 

With such weighty responsibility pressing down upon their shoulders, every one of those Alchemists felt the full force of the burden. But to keep their lives, they had no choice but to grit their teeth and accept.