Chapter 12#
Could Xie Zhefeng not think of any other fake names to use??
To actually use the name of his natal sword?
He preserved his natal sword, and even when traveling in disguise, he used the name of that natal sword.
Was this man not afraid that someone who still remembered the events of that year would recognize “Chunhua” as the sword name of the First Seat of Luoyue Peak, who deserved ten thousand deaths a thousand years ago?
It was as if he had been sleeping in a grave for a thousand years, only to have it suddenly dug up, and the grave robber was holding his own funeral urn while shouting his epithet.
An Wuxue: “…”
He was almost laughed with anger.
Whether Xie Zhefeng sensed An Wuxue’s internal criticism or not, he glanced over toward him.
An Wuxue said with a smile that didn’t reach his eyes: “This Fellow Daoist Xie… I come from the mortal world and only came to Luoyue Peak through the Yunjian Sect; I know nothing about the Yunjian Sect. Besides, I’m only in the Bigu stage. If there’s any danger in the Yunjian Sect, I won’t just be useless, I’ll be a burden to everyone. I’ve thought about it; perhaps it’s better if I stay at the Frost Sea.”
Between going to the Yunjian Sect with Xie Zhefeng and staying at Luoyue Peak, he’d rather stay at Luoyue Peak.
Yun Zhou said worriedly: “I also think it’s quite dangerous for you to go along, but this matter was personally decided by the Immortal Venerable…”
“No,” Xie Zhefeng said indifferently, “besides the matter of the sect extermination, I also need to investigate the source of the talisman paper in your hand.”
The implication was—it was fine if Yun Zhou and Yun Yao didn’t go, but An Wuxue must.
An Wuxue: “…”
Xie Zhefeng had already opened the barrier on the spirit boat and was the first to step onto it.
Before boarding the boat, Yun Zhou leaned into An Wuxue’s ear and whispered: “Don’t you think this Fellow Daoist Xie’s words and actions are a bit like the Immortal Venerable’s? He also has the surname Xie; could he be a relative of the Immortal Venerable?”
An Wuxue: “…”
On the spirit boat, Xie Zhefeng had his back to them, as if he hadn’t heard.
But even using a Great Achievement stage avatar, his soul was still in the Long-Life Immortal realm. No matter how softly Yun Zhou spoke, the other party could hear.
It wasn’t convenient for him to say anything, so he just said vaguely: “It’s not good to talk behind people’s backs.”
“You coward.”
An Wuxue: “…”
If you knew who the person steering the boat for you was, you’d be even more of a coward.
He boarded the spirit boat, chose the place farthest from Xie Zhefeng, and sat down quickly.
Yun Zhou and Yun Yao followed up at a slow pace. Before they could sit firmly, Xie Zhefeng formed a hand seal, the barrier went up, and the spirit boat suddenly soared into the air, pushing aside the sea of clouds on both sides.
Yun Zhou hurried to grab Yun Yao, saying in shock: “Fellow Daoist Xie, why didn’t you say something before starting the boat!”
So Xie Zhefeng said: “The boat has started.”
Yun Zhou: “…”
The spirit boat quickly skimmed over the mountains of Luoyue Peak and passed through the mountain protection array.
An Wuxue sat steadily at the farthest point, feeling the spirit pouch hanging at his waist.
Well, it still contained the Soul Bell he had stolen from Xie Zhefeng.
Now that the Soul Bell was of no use, he and Xie Zhefeng had actually come out together. It was also impossible to return it now, so he could only continue to hide it secretly.
He quietly tightened the spirit pouch to prevent the “Fellow Daoist Xie” who was steering the boat from sensing the Soul Bell’s aura.
In this short while, the spirit boat traveled through the clouds. Looking down through the barrier enveloping the boat, one could already see the mortal towns surrounding Luoyue Peak.
Although the “two realms” were called such, they weren’t actually two distinct places, but rather a general way to distinguish mortals from cultivators.
An Wuxue looked down. The towns in the mortal world were not at all like he remembered.
This was his first time stepping out of Luoyue Peak since he woke up. The mountain protection array was like a barrier separating the time from a thousand years ago and now. Inside Luoyue Peak, the vegetation hadn’t changed, while outside, the world had undergone great changes.
He was like a young cultivator entering the mortal world for the first time, finding everything fresh and interesting.
Yun Zhou had already begun to get bored. He said a few words to Yun Yao, but Yun Yao didn’t speak much. Knowing that An Wuxue never really paid him any mind, he actually turned to strike up a conversation with Xie Zhefeng.
“…Once we return to the sect, I must find out who the culprit is and avenge my master and the sect master. By the way, Fellow Daoist Xie, when the Immortal Venerable said yesterday he would send someone to investigate together, I thought there would be several fellow Daoists from Luoyue Peak. I didn’t expect there to be only Fellow Daoist Xie.
“Fellow Daoist Xie must be very formidable. May I be so bold as to ask about your cultivation level?”
Xie Zhefeng glanced at him and answered briefly: “Great Achievement stage.”
Yun Zhou was startled.
He said somewhat worriedly: “But my master and the others were also in the Great Achievement stage. Since the culprit could do all this silently…”
Then it was likely someone in the Tribulation stage or a half-step Tribulation at the peak of the Great Achievement stage.
“If the opponent is in the Tribulation stage, then what should we do?”
An Wuxue continued to look at the scenery below the sea of clouds with curiosity. He heard Xie Zhefeng say neither warmly nor coldly: “Then I can also be in the Tribulation stage.”
Yun Zhou: “?”
An Wuxue: “…”
That was telling the truth.
“Xie Chunhua” could not only be in the Tribulation stage, but he could also be a Long-Life Immortal.
Yun Zhou continued: “Fellow Daoist Xie, which Tribulation stage elder of Luoyue did you study under?”
“…”
“I heard that admission to Luoyue is extremely strict. How did Fellow Daoist Xie enter Luoyue?”
“…”
“What did Fellow Daoist Xie mean just now by saying you can also be in the Tribulation stage? Is Fellow Daoist Xie at the half-step Tribulation stage? So impressive.”
“…”
“The Immortal Venerable said someone would bring the Soul-Nourishing Tree spirit. Is the Soul-Nourishing Tree spirit on Fellow Daoist Xie’s person?”
“…”
Yun Zhou spoke I don’t know how many sentences, but Xie Zhefeng was as if deaf, ignoring him directly.
An Wuxue looked left and right, and from the corner of his eye, he saw Yun Yao with a wooden face, his eyes lifeless.
Yun Zhou was heartless; even when something happened to the sect, he could quickly cheer up. Yun Yao had always been taciturn, and Yun Zhou hadn’t even noticed that his senior brother’s state was wrong.
Worrying in his heart, he asked: “Yun Yao? Are you thinking about the disaster at the Yunjian Sect?”
Yun Yao seemed not to have heard.
“Yun Yao?”
Yun Zhou stopped talking and turned his head: “Senior brother, Su Xue is talking to you.”
“Hmm?” Yun Yao seemed to come to his senses. “What did Master Su say? Sorry, I was just thinking that the sect might have already… the sect master, mine and Yun Zhou’s master, and the various elders and martial uncles—they were all very good cultivators. Although the sect was small, the sect master was never stingy with the pills and spiritual treasures he gave us.”
“Master Su, they never had a grudge with anyone. Why was the murderer of our sect so heartless?”
It was rare for Yun Yao to say such a long string of words. An Wuxue was silent for a moment and could only say: “There are many grievances in the world that may not have a clear reason. Sometimes it’s a pardonable grudge, sometimes it might just be for profit, or even just unfounded malice and hatred with nowhere to vent. The dead are gone; the living should not be held back by resentment and regret. Since Luoyue has stepped in, this matter will definitely not be ended perfunctorily…”
He knew the feeling of losing close relatives and dear friends; he could empathize with what Yun Yao was thinking.
But he wasn’t good at comforting people. Having said this, he didn’t know what else to say.
Xie Zhefeng seemed to look back.
Yun Zhou, who had been smiling just now, also had a darkened expression, and his eyes immediately turned red.
Yun Yao said syllable by syllable: “Master Su is kind-hearted. Thank you.”
Luoyue Peak was not particularly close to the Yunjian Sect. They set out in the early morning, and by the time they were nearly there, it was almost dark.
Xie Zhefeng didn’t go directly to the Yunjian Sect but instead stopped in front of a town near the sect.
“Su Xue! Still sleeping?”
An Wuxue slowly opened his eyes: “Have we arrived at the Yunjian Sect?”
“Not yet.”
He stepped out of the spirit boat and looked ahead.
The setting sun on the horizon stained more than half of the clouds. High above the city gate, which was protected by multiple layers of spirit arrays, the three large characters “Zhaoshui City” were hung.
Inside the city, a towering sculpture of a long sword stood, making the twilight sky seem like the blood-red color after a slaughter. However, at the city gate, cultivators and mortals were hurrying back and forth. The prosperity of the mortal world washed away this sense of slaughter, and the long sword sculpture added a sense of solemnity.
This place was…
The Yunjian Sect was actually in this area!?
—He had been here a thousand years ago.
When Nan He fell, the muddy immortals were all killed.
After both sides perished together, not a single person in the two realms ascended to immortality. Many great demons were scattered throughout the world, and thus the Immortal Calamity continued for several more decades.
At that time, many spiritual veins were destroyed, and the four celestial pillars were nearly shattered. Xie Zhefeng, with his half-step ascension cultivation, hurriedly took over the position of Immortal Venerable.
To repair the celestial pillars and the earthly spiritual veins, he thought of using the ten thousand swords of the four seas as the array base and the entire two realms as the array ground to replace those broken celestial pillars.
Because of this, he led the disciples of Luoyue to visit many sects and cities like this one, managed by cultivators.
Zhaoshui City was deeply involved in the war of the Immortal Calamity and was also adjacent to the East Cang Sea. As one of the array eyes, it was one of the places where he stayed the longest.
Beneath this sculpture of a long sword pointing straight into the sky, thousands of masterless spiritual swords were suppressed—they were the natal swords left behind by the cultivators of Zhaoshui City who fell during the Immortal Calamity.
He had personally placed the array patterns here.
No wonder.
No wonder Xie Zhefeng had no doubts about the lie he had told so casually, even going as far as to hide his identity, travel as an avatar, and personally come to the Yunjian Sect to investigate.
The Yunjian Sect was a small sect that had risen near Zhaoshui City over the past thousand years; it could indeed be related to him.
An Wuxue: “…”
It was truly a case of the flood washing away the temple of the Dragon King—he had dug a hole for himself.
In his daze, Yun Zhou asked in confusion: “Fellow Daoist Xie, why have we come to Zhaoshui City? The sect is just a bit further ahead. The bones of the sect master and master are not yet cold. I want to find out as soon as possible what exactly happened within the sect. Why are we still stopping nearby?”
Xie Zhefeng, however, said: “No rush.”
The man went straight into the city.
Yun Zhou finally couldn’t help it: “You—!”
Yun Yao pulled him back: “Junior brother, Fellow Daoist Xie must have his reasons for doing this. Since he is a disciple of Luoyue Peak and a master in the Great Achievement stage, we won’t go wrong following him. Look, even Master Su has followed.”
An Wuxue followed behind Xie Zhefeng and walked into Zhaoshui City.
The person in front walked at a steady pace, seemingly looking at the figures passing by, thinking of who knows what.
Not long after they entered the city, the two sides became brightly lit. There were enough vendors to daze one’s eyes. There were more and more mortals coming and going, and there were even quite a few cultivators mixed among them.
The crowd seemed to be discussing something about the “Tianshui Festival.”
An Wuxue looked ahead and saw that where the most people were, a float two stories high was moving slowly. Around it, gongs and drums filled the air, and fireworks were constant.
In the Zhaoshui City of his memory, mortals didn’t dare go out at night, and cultivators walked among bones with their swords in hand at all times. The spirit arrays protecting the city gate operated all day, with turbid energy surging in from time to time.
It was completely different from now.
An Wuxue looked on in fascination and gradually became lost in thought.
Xie Zhefeng, walking in front, turned his head slightly and caught a glimpse of the person behind him looking left and right, even stopping for a moment at a stall selling sugar paintings for children.
In the flow of people on the long street, that person’s eyes reflected the lights of ten thousand homes, his eyes slightly curved, filled with curiosity.
He suddenly remembered when he was young and his senior brother took him down the mountain. He was born in the mortal world and had little interest in mortal things, but his senior brother was captivated by a firework display and pulled him toward the fireworks.
The figure looking around overlapped with the memory, and Xie Zhefeng was dazed for a moment.
An Wuxue’s eyes were full of prosperity, and he didn’t notice Xie Zhefeng’s gaze.
“—Aiy!”
He suddenly bumped into someone and took two steps back.
Looking up, Xie Zhefeng had at some point stopped and was standing in front of him.
An Wuxue: “…”
He took another two steps back.
Xie Zhefeng looked at him silently.
Knowing that his attitude of avoiding the other was a bit strange, he said politely: “I’ve never seen such a lively scene before. I was lost in thought and didn’t expect to bump into Xian—Fellow Daoist Xie.”
Xie Zhefeng didn’t hear his fleeting slip of the tongue.
This person stood still with him in the flowing crowd, thinking of who knows what. Inexplicably, he gazed at him quietly for a while, then suddenly moved his gaze away from him, looking instead at the float surrounded by the crowd and the sound of gongs and drums, saying: “He probably hasn’t seen it either.”
“He?”
“An old friend.” Xie Zhefeng looked back at him again.
“Oh.” It had nothing to do with him anyway.
An Wuxue’s attention was drawn again by the lanterns sold by a nearby vendor. He had little interest in Xie Zhefeng’s words. He walked around Xie Zhefeng to the stall, picked up a rabbit-shaped lantern to play with for a bit, and responded casually: “Then Fellow Daoist Xie should just call him to come and see.”
He was looking at the lantern and didn’t notice the man beside him stiffen for a moment.
“…He is no longer here. But sooner or later, I will find him and bring him back.”
The man’s voice was too low, vaguely fading away into the music and song.
“What?”
“Nothing.” Xie Zhefeng looked at him, yet seemed not to be looking at him.
His habitually cold tone actually softened slightly: “The Yunjian Sect said you came from the mortal world. Now that you’ve returned to the vicinity, do you want to go home and take a look, or look for old friends?”
An Wuxue’s movements paused.
What an excellent question.
He stared at the jumping candle flame in the rabbit lantern and slowly placed the lantern back on the rack.
“I have no home.”
His tone was like he was making casual conversation.
“…And no old friends.”