The Meng Family could no longer hold their ground and retreated in defeat.
Shortly after, the entire clan retreated into their ancestral lands, relying on the defensive formations to barely hold on.
However, the disparity in strength between the two sides was too great, and it was only a matter of time before their ancestral lands were breached.
Ning Fa guessed that Meng Ruoqi would soon come to him for help.
Ning Fa was now leaning towards accepting her conditions and protecting some of the Meng family members.
He was very covetous of that Third-grade Spiritual Bamboo, imagining it would greatly aid his Supreme Wood Divine Thunder.
It might even accelerate the growth of the young green wood sapling that symbolized the Supreme Wood Divine Thunder.
At the very least, it would allow him to unleash a few more blasts of Evil-Repelling Divine Thunder.
This would definitely be his strongest trump card, so the Third-grade Spiritual Bamboo held immense appeal for him.
There was also another key reason: the Xue Family had also intervened.
This gave the Ning Family a reason to act as well.
Ning Fa decided to seek out the First Elder, Ning Zhongyuan.
After hearing Ning Fa's words, Ning Zhongyuan couldn't help but give him a meaningful look and chuckled, "As expected, even heroes can't resist a beautiful woman. The reputation of that Pearl of the Meng Family has spread far and wide. I didn't expect even young Fa to be captivated."
Ning Fa gave an awkward smile.
Although he had mentioned that he desperately needed something from Meng Ruoqi, which was part of their deal, Ning Zhongyuan had clearly misunderstood. He thought Ning Fa was infatuated with Meng Ruoqi and thus made this request.
Ning Fa couldn't be bothered to explain. It was fine if Ning Zhongyuan thought that way.
Ning Zhongyuan pondered for a moment, then said, "Since young Fa has personally requested it, and it's only to protect a few members of the Meng family, there's no problem. Besides, I've heard that the Pearl of the Meng Family has very high talent in formations. If she were to marry into our Ning Family, it would be a good thing."
"Moreover, since the Xue Family has also made a move, I'm more than happy to see them frustrated. Young Fa, you can proceed with confidence. If necessary, I'll have the Third Elder accompany you."
Ning Fa was overjoyed and left after expressing his thanks.
After Ning Fa left, Ning Zhongyuan's cheerful smile vanished.
A sharp glint flickered in his eyes, and an imposing aura of a powerful expert radiated from him.
He murmured to himself, "Xie Feng, a cultivator from the Xie Family... the Xue Family's hidden strength beneath the surface is indeed considerable. Heh, the more you act like this, the more others will fear you. This way, it will be easier for me to persuade those families..."
As he spoke, a strange look appeared in Ning Zhongyuan's eyes, and he whispered, "Xue Tiansheng, you definitely wouldn't guess that our Ning Family also has considerable hidden strength, and it's absolutely beyond your imagination. Heh, I can hardly wait..."
The war between the Meng Family and the Anti-Meng Alliance intensified, drawing the attention of the entire Thousand Wave Lake.
With the Xue Family sending in more troops, the Meng Family's situation became increasingly dire.
If it weren't for the Meng Family draining the spirit veins of their ancestral lands like a desperate measure to maximize the power of their island-protecting formations, the Meng Family would have been breached long ago. However, they couldn't hold out much longer.
On this day, the Nine Wood Hermit descended rapidly from the sky above Meng Island, near the Meng Family's ancestral lands.
He was an old man wearing a daoist robe, with graying hair and a gaunt appearance.
His aura was currently weak, and his face had an unusually flushed complexion.
Meng family members nearby immediately came forward to pay their respects.
The Nine Wood Hermit waved them off and hurried away, finding Shi Shaoyang.
He pulled Shi Shaoyang aside and quickly said, "Disciple, we must leave the Meng Family. If we don't leave now, we won't be able to. Forget about the reward for the Jade Heart Bamboo."
Shi Shaoyang, covered in blood, shook his head violently and said with difficulty, "If I leave now, what will Ruoqi think of me? Then, I'll have no hope with her at all."
The Nine Wood Hermit said angrily, "How can you be so foolish! Is your life more important, or is a woman more important! No, you must leave with me today!"
With that, the Nine Wood Hermit tried to drag Shi Shaoyang away by force.
However, Shi Shaoyang broke free with a sudden movement. He then knelt on the ground and kowtowed three times to the Nine Wood Hermit.
He said mournfully, "Father! Please forgive your son's stubbornness. Without Ruoqi, I'd rather die!"
The Nine Wood Hermit trembled, "You know?"
Shi Shaoyang kowtowed without speaking.
The Nine Wood Hermit sighed deeply, "Alas! I owed your mother too much back then, so even after finding you, I never dared to acknowledge you. Since that's the case, then your father will stay and help the Meng Family resist for a while longer."
Shi Shaoyang was overjoyed and quickly said, "Ruoqi said they are already preparing to evacuate, within these few days. We just need to hold on."
A doting look appeared in the Nine Wood Hermit's eyes, but a sense of foreboding arose in his heart.
Two nights later, deep in the night.
The Meng Family secretly evacuated.
The Meng Family's ancestor, Meng Hongji, and the Nine Wood Hermit stayed behind to resist, covering the escape of some elite Meng family members.
But they didn't expect that in addition to the four Foundation Establishment Cultivators, two other Foundation Establishment Cultivators from the enemy side had also secretly intervened.
One was Xue Zhishen, the Third Elder of the Xue Family, and the other was a Foundation Establishment Cultivator surnamed Chang from the Chang Kong Alliance.
Under the sneak attack from these two, the Meng Family's Old Ancestor, Meng Hongji, died on the spot.
Afterward, the Nine Wood Hermit tried to surrender, but the Chang-surnamed Foundation Establishment Cultivator had clearly reached an agreement with the Xue Family, so he showed no mercy to the Nine Wood Hermit.
Ultimately, the Nine Wood Hermit also perished.
Following this, the Anti-Meng Alliance also pursued and killed the fleeing Meng Family members.
The fleeing Meng Family members split into several groups, escaping in different directions.
On a Flying Boat, dozens of Meng Family members were being transported.
Leading them were Meng Ruoqi and Shi Shaoyang; this group was the true hope of the Meng Family.
They carried many of the Meng Family's accumulated resources and bore the heavy responsibility of the Meng Family's resurgence.
On the Flying Boat, Meng Ruoqi's complexion was extremely pale, but she could still manage to maintain her composure.
However, the sorrow in her eyes could not be concealed.
Shi Shaoyang stood beside her, gazing at her with infatuation.
Just then, Meng Ruoqi's delicate body trembled.
She shakily took out a square jade token, on which a crack had appeared, and the entire token had turned a dull gray.
Tears streamed down Meng Ruoqi's face as she choked out, "Grandfather... is gone."
The surrounding Meng Family members immediately burst into cries, the atmosphere becoming extremely tragic.
Many looked terrified, unsure of what lay ahead.
Beside Meng Ruoqi, a black-clothed youth with sharp eyebrows and starry eyes, who bore some resemblance to Meng Ruoqi, had red-rimmed eyes but said with determination, "Sister, don't worry. From now on, I will protect you and our Meng Family!"
Meng Ruoqi pulled him into her embrace, sobbing uncontrollably.
Shi Shaoyang was about to step forward to comfort her when his expression suddenly changed.
A sword cry filled with sorrow rang out.
He also took out a palm-sized gray sword. The black airflow within it, which had resembled a human figure, suddenly dispersed.
Disbelief flashed in Shi Shaoyang's eyes as he murmured, "My father... my master... he's gone too..."
Meng Ruoqi suddenly looked up, choked out, "Shaoyang, I'm sorry... it's our Meng Family that implicated Senior Nine Wood..."
Shi Shaoyang closed his eyes, then slowly opened them. He shook his head, "I don't blame you, and I never will. Master... he just had bad luck..."
Then, he looked at Meng Ruoqi affectionately and said softly, "Ruoqi, don't worry. I will lead the Meng Family to rise again. I won't allow our future children to be displaced and wander."
Meng Ruoqi lowered her eyelids, but did not reply.