Chapter 202 - 140: Reckoning, Emperor Ascension Crisis, Terrifying Death Trap

Chapter 202: Chapter 140: Reckoning, Emperor Ascension Crisis, Terrifying Death Trap

It was only their second embrace in over a decade, without a single word exchanged.

Yet, as Jiang Hao felt the beautiful woman’s trembling body in his arms, an inexplicable trace of heartache welled up within him.

"I’m sorry. I came late."

Jiang Hao tightly held the young woman’s frail body in his arms, as if trying to make up for all the ways he had failed her over the years.

"Hao’Er?"

Seeing the young man appear before him once again, Ye Tiannan called out subconsciously.

"Uncle Ye."

Jiang Hao slowly raised his eyes and looked at Ye Tiannan. He was just about to say something when his gaze followed a line of sight and landed on the aged figure sitting upright in the Ye Family’s main hall, staring blankly out the mansion gates.

"Grandmaster Ye? Grandmaster Ye...?"

Subconsciously letting go of Ye Qingxian, Jiang Hao walked briskly toward the figure, though his footsteps gradually slowed down.

The current Ye Canghai had a head full of white hair and a gaunt frame. He had aged so much that Jiang Hao could barely recognize him.

Inside the Ye Family’s main hall.

Surrounded by the crowd, Jiang Hao approached the aged and benevolent elder. He slowly squatted down, gently grasped the old man’s icy hand—which felt as thin and brittle as dry kindling—and placed it between his own palms.

Scenes of the past flashed by. Countless memories seemed to awaken at this very moment.

"Grandmaster Ye."

These were childhood memories. Back then, Father Jiang was still with the Ye Family, and everything was joyous and harmonious.

The old man had picked up the young Jiang Hao, his face full of kindness. "Look at our Hao’Er. He looks exactly like Tian’Er. This little forehead shows that he is extraordinary at first glance. In the future, he is destined to be a peerless expert who will shake the world."

"Grandmaster Ye, your beard is poking Hao’Er."

"Hahahaha..."

"He is not a child without family. As long as this boy is in my Ye Family, he is a member of my Ye Family. If anyone dares to bully him, our Ye Family will never let it go."

"Why? He was such a perfectly fine child, how did he suddenly become a fool? Good heavens, how unfair you are!"

"Child, you... you...?"

"Tiannan, what... what is going on? Isn’t Hao’Er...?"

"Take this sword as a small token of remembrance for your Grandfather. Let it accompany you to see the great rivers and mountains of this world."

"Child, Grandfather cannot help you much, and the Ye Family cannot help you much either. Just take this as my blessing for your future cultivation path. I hope it can carve a way through the thorns and brambles for you."

"Let Grandfather see you off one last time. I want to watch my Hao’Er fly out of this barren land."

"Grandmaster Ye."

Looking at the dying old man, and then at that benevolent face that refused to close its eyes as it kept staring out the door, Jiang Hao felt a complex mix of emotions.

Back then, when facing the immense pressure from the Qi Family, the old man knew protecting him would be as difficult as ascending to the heavens. Yet, the moment he saw even a sliver of hope, he stood behind the young man without hesitation.

Jiang Hao had no blood relations with the Ye Family. But before he lost his mind, the old man had treated him as his own flesh and blood. Even after Jiang Hao became a fool, the old man bore all the gossip in Xingyue City and turned a blind eye, allowing his granddaughter to keep the boy in the Ye Family.

Today, his lingering obsession might largely be his inability to let go of the Ye Family, but a part of it was definitely his reluctance to part with that young man.

"Grandfather, Hao’Er has returned. Hao’Er is here to bring Qingxian back, and to bring the Ye Family back.

"Hao’Er has already spoken with the Ancestor and Master. From this year onward, the Ye Family can settle down in Nanling for generations, enjoy the resources of Nanling, and remain completely free from any of Nanling’s restrictions.

"The Ye Family will no longer be isolated by others, nor will there be a blade constantly hanging over your heads. Even if Hao’Er falls in the future, the Qi Family and the Celestial Sword Sect will no longer be able to threaten the descendants of the Ye Family."

As Jiang Hao spoke, a thin mist veiled his eyes. This was one of the very few elders he had left in this world, someone who could be considered half a family member.

Following the young man’s words, the old man with vacant eyes finally revealed a faint smile and slowly closed his eyes.

"Father—!"

"Old Patriarch—!"

"Grandfather—!"

In an instant, the entire Ye Family Mansion was filled with sorrowful wailing, their cries shaking the heavens.

Within just one short night, white mourning banners were hung high throughout the Ye Mansion, and mourning garbs filled the air.

Before Ye Canghai’s spirit tablet.

Countless geniuses from Nanling came to offer their condolences, all out of respect for the young man in white.

Having been crowned as a king in Nanling, the current Jiang Hao was also a part of their Nanling and the leading figure of the younger generation.

Perhaps in the near future, they and their descendants would all receive the protection of this king-crowned youth.

For this bit of face and to uphold this occasion, even Huang Ling’Er and the others lent a helping hand.

Watching the endless stream of young Great Powers of Transcendence orderly step forward to pay their respects before the Ye Family’s spirit tablet, the tens of millions of Cultivators from the Earth Realm of Xingyue City were incomparably shocked.

In Xingyue City, whenever the helmsman of a Great Cultivation Race fell or passed away in meditation, countless factions throughout the city would send representatives to offer sacrifices.

But for the Ye Family, there was no one. When the old man passed away, not a single local faction had come to offer their condolences.

Now, they naturally did not have the face to enter the hall.

However, the passing of the Ye Family’s old master had the least local prestige in the Earth Realm of Xingyue City, yet it was also the most grandiose funeral rite throughout the ages.

Countless Great Powers of Transcendence paid their respects before the spirit tablet. How terrifying was this?

What was even more frightening was that they were young Great Powers of Transcendence. Perhaps in the near future, these individuals would become lofty Venerables of a region, Venerables of Heaven and Earth, Divine Kings of a generation, or even Ancient Saints and Emperor’s Supremes.

Although death reduces all men to nothingness, the passing of the Ye Family’s Patriarch brought about the most magnificent spectacle he had ever drawn in life, which was more than enough to comfort the living.

At this moment, countless Cultivators of Xingyue City gazed at this scene.

Especially when they saw the entire Qi Family kneeling before that figure, shivering uncontrollably, the endless Cultivators all felt their mouths go dry, not even daring to breathe too loudly.

The young man from back then had now become an unattainable existence in the entire Earth Realm of Xingyue City.

A Great Power of Transcendence controlled the life and death of thousands. It could be said that as long as that young man wished it, he could reduce all the Cultivators in this region to ashes in an instant.