Chapter 456: The Jiang Family's Secret

The Jiang family head descended through the stairway into the underground tunnel, then passed through more than a dozen forking passages, making his way downward for roughly half a cup of tea's worth of time, until he finally arrived at an underground chamber deep beneath the earth.

The entire underground space was shrouded in complete darkness. The Jiang family head stood on the stone steps and struck out with several palm strikes in succession, relying on memory to trigger the hidden mechanisms concealed within the darkness of the chamber.

Immediately, the sound of grinding metal gears turning in unison rang out through the silent, dark underground space.

Visibly, the ground beneath the Jiang family head's feet began slowly parting, revealing an even deeper, darker abyss beneath.

"I've come to see you."

The Jiang family head's voice carried no discernible emotion. He flicked a finger, and one by one, braziers within the abyss below ignited, lighting up the darkness that had been so complete one couldn't see a hand in front of one's face.

And illuminated by the firelight, the scene within the underground abyss was revealed.

Twelve rust-covered bronze chains were driven deep into the surrounding stone walls, and at the other end of these chains hung a disheveled woman, her hair loose and unkempt, bound and suspended in the air above the abyss.

Hearing the Jiang family head's voice, the woman, who had been completely motionless while bound in the air, finally seemed to show a flicker of response.

The woman slowly raised her head to look up at the Jiang family head above the abyss. In the dim firelight, her eyes were hollow and lifeless, showing not the slightest hint of luster.

"When... do you plan... to kill me?"

The woman's voice was halting and broken, so faint it was barely audible. Even so, the Jiang family head clearly heard her words.

He sat himself down on the stone steps beneath his feet, his somewhat portly frame bending forward, and looked down at the woman whose meridians and bones were bound by the bronze chains, sighing, "Zhu'er, every time I come here, you ask me the same question."

"But you should know that you are the one I have loved most deeply in this life. How could I bear to kill you?"

The disheveled woman said nothing, only letting out a barely audible whimpering sound, as though laughing, though there was no genuine feeling in that laughter, only an unspeakable fury and resentment.

"Let me tell you some good news. Wang'er's discipleship gathering will be held in just a few days. Our son will surely become renowned throughout the entire martial world and ascend to the Transcendent Realm."

The Jiang family head seemed entirely indifferent to the woman's laughter, his face full of unmistakable pride as he spoke.

At those words, the woman bound by the bronze chains went visibly still for a moment, then seemed to summon the last of her remaining strength with great difficulty, causing the bronze chains to shudder faintly and imperceptibly.

"You... let me see Wang'er... and Si'er..."

The woman's mouth opened slightly, and her lifeless eyes finally showed a trace of pleading emotion, fixed unwaveringly on the Jiang family head above.

The Jiang family head looked down at the disheveled woman for a long moment, then said with an expressionless face, "Zhu'er, you are already dead. How could the dead return to life? It would only frighten Wang'er and the others."

At those words, the woman bound by the bronze chains grew visibly furious, then her eyes filled with deep anguish, and finally her voice faded into a barely audible plea, "Please... let me see them... just once..."

The Jiang family head remained entirely unmoved and simply said evenly, "You know I cannot let you out. You are the daughter of a Martial God. Setting you free would cost me my life."

As he said this, the Jiang family head took out a black, disc-shaped token that looked almost like wood from within his robes, gently caressing it a few times with his hand, then shifted his tone and said, "Even so, if you tell me the secret of the Heavenly Martial Abyss, I might consider bringing Wang'er and Si'er to see you at an appropriate time."

At those words, the entire underground chamber fell into visible silence for a moment. The disheveled woman below, her face contorted like a vengeful spirit, kept her eyes fixed unwaveringly on the Jiang family head, and said in a faint voice, "I should never have... trusted you... you sanctimonious hypocrite... and told you the secret of the Heavenly Martial Abyss... it was the greatest mistake of my entire life..."

At those words, the Jiang family head gave a cold laugh and said, "Nonsense. If you hadn't married me, could you have given birth to talents as rare as Wang'er and Si'er, martial prodigies unseen in a thousand years?"

"Zhu'er, you should understand that meeting me was the greatest stroke of fortune in your entire life."

"Besides, my Jiang family's ancestors once produced a supreme Martial God. For you, the daughter of a Martial God, to join with me is hardly beneath your station."

The Jiang family head's voice echoed through the abyss, refuting the woman's words below, causing her to shut her eyes tightly, "Kill me... even in death... I will never tell you... anything about the Heavenly Martial Abyss..."

But before the woman could even finish speaking, the Jiang family head suddenly rose to his feet and cut her off directly, "Enough."

"Do you think I'm asking you about the secret of the Heavenly Martial Abyss for my own sake? I'm doing this for Wang'er and Si'er. They are martial talents unseen in a thousand years, both possessing the bearing of Martial Gods. But without the Heavenly Martial Abyss, how will they ever ascend to the Transcendent Realm in the future?"

"For you to be this stubborn and obstinate, willing to take this secret to your grave rather than tell your own children, is simply unworthy of being called a mother."

At this moment the Jiang family head's face was full of fury, his hand gripping the disc-shaped token tightly, glaring down at the woman below with what seemed like extreme anger and disappointment.

But the woman had long since seen through exactly what kind of man he was. She had been betrayed by this man she had once loved more deeply than anyone, and had been imprisoned in this lightless underground abyss for nearly thirteen years.

At this moment, her heart held nothing but hatred, and she wished nothing more than to kill the Jiang family head with her own hands.

What was more, the woman understood perfectly well that the Jiang family head's desire to obtain the secret of the Heavenly Martial Abyss had nothing to do with his own children, and everything to do with his own delusional dream of becoming a Martial God.

"You... becoming a Martial God... what a fool's dream..."

The woman forced out a faint mocking laugh, then closed her eyes and paid the Jiang family head no further attention.

At the sight, the Jiang family head's expression shifted through a series of changes, then he adopted once again the same gentle, affable manner he had shown while with Jiang Wang, calling out softly, "Zhu'er..."

But the woman had lowered her head as though dead, and no matter how he called out to her, there was not the slightest response.

The Jiang family head's face darkened at once. He cursed quietly to himself, and finding the woman refused to acknowledge him, had no choice but to leave empty-handed. He reset the mechanisms and made his way back up the stone stairway to the study above.

The Jiang family head restored everything in the study to its original state, and after confirming nothing had been left out of place, opened the study door and asked the old servant waiting outside, "Did anyone come by while I was gone?"

The old servant shook his head. Seeing this, the Jiang family head closed the door and departed with him.

But not long after the Jiang family head had left, a small, jade-green figure appeared silently before the study door.

"What exactly is the secret my father is hiding?"

Jiang Si watched the Jiang family head's retreating figure, hesitated briefly, and then slipped silently into the study.