Chapter 98: The Mysterious Statue

Main Hall.

Jiang Shangliu sat on a chair.

Jiang Min knelt half-crouched before him, her palm gathering the spiritual power of water and wood, which she placed gently, yet without contact, over his left ankle.

Her father’s leg had been crippled as a young man, when he fell while chopping wood in the mountains. Though he could still walk with effort, every step sent a piercing pain through him.

“Er Ya, if it’s too much trouble, don’t bother with it. Eldest Brother and Gu Si have found many doctors for me, but none could cure it. I’ve long since lost hope,” he said.

As he finished, Jiang Shangliu’s gaze didn’t fall on his own leg, but instead lingered on Jiang Min.

He saw that she was no longer the carefree, innocent girl she had been when she left. Gone was the perpetual, radiant smile that once lit up her face like a tiny sun in the sky.

Now, she was calm and composed, her demeanor as serene as a gentle breeze.

Jiang Shangliu opened his mouth, his heart aching as he softly asked, “Er Ya, these years you’ve spent alone out there… it must have been hard, hasn’t it?”

At his words, Jiang Min looked up and offered him a gentle smile, her tone easy and light.

“Father, I haven’t suffered. Everything has been just fine.”

As she spoke, she bent her head again, and from her palm, an invisible current of true energy—imperceptible to mortals and precious beyond measure—flowed out, smoothing and revitalizing the stagnant blood and energy that had accumulated in his leg over the years.

The rest of the family watched expectantly as Jiang Min treated Jiang Shangliu’s old injury.

Before long, Jiang Min withdrew her energy and stood up, saying, “It’s done, Father. Try walking.”

“Already?” Jiang Shangliu was taken aback.

Just now, he had only felt a soothing current coursing through his leg. How could it be healed so quickly?

But seeing Jiang Min’s confident expression, he hesitated only a moment before using the chair for support and rising to his feet. The familiar, searing pain didn’t return. In his aged eyes, a sudden brightness appeared, and a joyful smile spread across his face.

He took a step, then paced back and forth several times.

At first, he was unsteady, but soon his pace quickened.

“A miracle, an absolute miracle! My leg is healed!” Jiang Shangliu exclaimed as he walked, his face alive with excitement and joy.

Though he had grown used to being called “the Crippled Jiang” all these years—over several decades—he had never stopped hoping for a cure. In the past, poverty barred the way, and even now, after consulting many physicians, he had been told it was hopeless.

He had never expected that Jiang Min’s return, with a single touch, would heal him at once.

“No wonder everyone aspires to be an immortal. Cultivation truly is extraordinary,” Jiang Shangliu sighed, then suddenly recalled something. His expression changed as he looked at Jiang Min and hesitantly asked, “Child, why have you come back so suddenly? Are you staying? Or… will you be leaving again soon?”

“I came back especially to see all of you. I won’t leave for a while,” Jiang Min replied with a smile, then shifted the subject. “By the way, earlier there was an elder who said he wanted to take me as his disciple. I saw that he seems to be living here. Do you know who he is?”

Jiang Shangliu shook his head and instinctively lowered his voice. “We don’t know. Five days ago, this Daoist arrived and said he wanted to make you his disciple. We told him you’d been gone for many years, but he confidently said you’d be back soon, and that he would wait. So, he’s been staying with us.”

“Your brother said his cultivation is extraordinary, so we haven’t dared to disturb him. We were just waiting for your return.”

Jiang Min nodded, her expression unchanged. “I’ll go speak with this elder.”

Worried she might lose her way, Jiang Shangliu called to the young Jiang Shi by his childhood nickname. “Shitou, take your second sister to the guest courtyard.”

Jiang Shi nodded eagerly, looking at Jiang Min. “Second Sister, let me show you the way.”

Jiang Min raised her hand and patted Jiang Shi’s shoulder, smiling warmly. “No need, I can find it myself. You stay here and chat with the elders.”

With that, she turned and walked out of the main hall.

As soon as Jiang Min left, Madam Jiang immediately instructed Jiang He, “Daniu, go buy some ingredients. Tonight, I’ll cook a proper meal to welcome Er Ya home.”

Jiang He nodded at once, her eyes bright. “Alright, I’ll make a trip to the restaurant and add some of my best dishes for my second sister tonight.”

“I’ll go with you. And let’s have Yangzi fetch the Immortal’s Brew that’s been aging in the wine cellar for ten years,” Gu Kangcheng added.

Just as the group was about to leave, Jiang Shangliu suddenly stopped them. “Wait, since Er Ya has started cultivating like Eldest Brother, can she still eat regular food?”

Jiang He and the others fell silent.

Indeed, in their excitement, they had forgotten that cultivators, like Jiang Yuanyi, often replaced meals with fasting pills and avoided grains and common fare, believing food would hinder their cultivation.

For a moment, everyone exchanged uneasy glances.

Jiang Min was now a cultivator—no longer the same as them, mere mortals…

As the mood grew heavy, Jiang Min’s voice unexpectedly drifted in from a distance.

“I love everything my mother and elder sister cook!”

Everyone paused, and then laughter broke out. Madam Jiang let out a breath and smiled, “So grown up, yet still a child at heart.”

…

Jiang Yuanyi’s residence looked small from the outside, but inside, it was spacious and cleverly designed, with a special, broad courtyard set aside for guests.

Jiang Min walked into the guest courtyard and stepped into the yard.

An old man in gray robes was sitting in the courtyard, reading leisurely and serenely, his aura peaceful and calm, betraying nothing unusual.

At least with her current spiritual sense, Jiang Min could detect nothing out of the ordinary—not even his true cultivation.

Only the Peach Branch could sense more.

Jiang Min wondered, “Since the Peach Branch is part of me, can I use its abilities to see things I cannot perceive myself?”

As soon as the thought arose, she drew a trace of demonic power from the Peach Branch, merging it flawlessly with her vision.

In an instant, the old man’s appearance transformed before her eyes.

Beneath the immortal-like facade of bone and flesh, fresh crimson sinew pulsed, yet deep within, countless black threads squirmed like living worms, slowly crawling and consuming his flesh. The devoured flesh regenerated continuously.

At his dantian, a statue shrouded in black mist could be vaguely seen. Those black threads sprang from the statue, spreading throughout his entire body…

What was that statue?

Jiang Min was deeply shaken.

She had encountered evil cultivators before, but all those practiced blood rituals, feeding on human essence to replenish their vitality—their bodies reeked of blood and malevolence, but none possessed such strange and sinister phenomena.

She did not know what that statue was, but relying on the Peach Branch’s keen perception, she was certain of the old man’s true cultivation.

Not yet at the Golden Core, but at the peak of Foundation Establishment.

A formidable opponent.

She could not confront him here; she must lure him out of Jiangning City, lest her family become her weakness.

“Elder.”

Jiang Min withdrew the demonic power from her eyes and stood in the courtyard, cupping her hands respectfully—a gesture meant to test him.

At her call, the old man at the stone table closed his book, his kindly face creasing in a gentle smile. “You’re here! Please, sit.”

He gestured to the seat opposite him, the very image of affability.

“Very well.”

Seeing that the old man had not yet revealed his intentions, Jiang Min showed no hesitation, acting as if she suspected nothing, and walked to the stone table, sitting opposite him.

Now closer, Jiang Min could feel with even greater clarity the hunger emanating from the Peach Branch within her, as though the sinister statue hidden in the old man’s dantian was the most delicious thing in the world.

How enticing it was.