Chapter 14#
Chapter 14#
These words carried a hint of reminiscence.
An Wuxue was stunned for a moment.
Reminiscence?
Reminiscence of what?
Xie Zhefeng reminiscing about someone he had personally killed?
He would rather Xie Zhefeng forget him completely than inexplicably use his sword’s name as an alias and remember those useless past events.
Just like last night, why did Xie Zhefeng punish those cultivators?
And the matter of his name being removed from the disciple roster that the Luoyue disciple told him about.
He used to care a lot about Luoyue Peak.
But that was in the past.
What if Xie Zhefeng really removed his name?
“An Wuxue” was a dead man who had been executed.
If this person hadn’t insisted on investigating whether the Yunjian Sect was involved with him, he might have already flown freely under the vast sky and sea.
He calmed down for a moment before saying, “That’s truly a pity.”
This time it was Xie Zhefeng’s turn to be slightly surprised: “A pity for what?”
“Su Xue didn’t know Fellow Daoist Xie before,” he turned his head slightly, leaning against a beam in the corridor, facing the gentle breeze from outside the window, and said word by word, “If I were truly an old friend of Fellow Daoist Xie, I could still say a few words to you here and now. But I have nothing to say.”
“It’s a pity.”
“I have no old friends.”
—“No old friends.”
An Wuxue said this twice.
The first time was merely a calm statement; the second time was like a decisive severance of ties.
Xie Zhefeng stood by the window, the daylight separating the two of them. Against the light, An Wuxue couldn’t see the other’s expression.
He waited for a full moment, the time it takes to drink a cup of tea.
Xie Zhefeng then slowly spoke: “I again…” He paused, then changed the subject, “It was I who blurred the past. You are indeed not like him.”
Oh?
His junior brother, whom he once thought was the closest to him, actually said he wasn’t like himself?
An Wuxue found it strange: “How am I not like him?”
The one who said he was like him just now was Xie Zhefeng, and now the one who said he wasn’t like him was also Xie Zhefeng.
Xie Zhefeng’s tone softened slightly: “His nature was gentle and never spoke with sharp decisiveness.”
An Wuxue wanted to laugh.
And he did laugh.
Cultivators in the cultivation world said he had too much killing intent, Luoyue disciples felt he had failed the sect, Qi Xun advised him not to be too ruthless, and Qin Wei cursed him for becoming increasingly cold-blooded.
Shangguan Liaoliao once held Shangguan Ran’s corpse and hysterically asked him: “An Wuxue, do you have no heart at all!?”
Only his junior brother, whom he had to bathe and change clothes every time his sword tip was stained with blood before daring to meet, would still say such ridiculous words as “gentle nature” a thousand years after his demise.
He laughed several times before he could barely manage to say: “So it’s truly a pity, Fellow Daoist Xie, I am not him, and…”
“I will never be him.”
These words were too obviously jarring, and Xie Zhefeng’s brows furrowed slightly.
“What are you talking about that’s so funny?”
Yun Zhou’s voice approached from a distance.
An Wuxue nodded: “Some funny jokes.”
Xie Zhefeng thought he was just humoring Yun Zhou and didn’t say much, only turned and walked ahead, saying: “To the City Lord’s Manor, to find the person who visited the Yunjian Sect on the day of the extermination.”
In a place like Zhaoshui City, which had both cultivators and mortals, the City Lord’s Manor was usually composed of highly cultivated individuals—similar to a cultivator’s sect, it also had a lineage.
The cultivators guarding the City Lord’s Manor naturally knew the reputation of Luoyue Peak. As soon as Xie Zhefeng presented the Luoyue invitation, someone led the four of them inside after a moment, saying: “Zhaoshui City is currently celebrating the Tianshui Festival. Recently, an envoy from Beiming City arrived to deliver gifts for the Tianshui Festival on behalf of the Beiming City Lord. The City Lord is currently entertaining the guests from Beiming and cannot personally come out to greet you, so he specifically asked me to lead you in.”
Beiming City and Zhaoshui City had always had dealings, so this was nothing unusual.
But what exactly was the Tianshui Festival?
Now was not a good time to inquire.
He could only suppress his curiosity and follow the group into the reception hall.
As soon as they entered, looking from afar, they saw a dignified man sitting on the main seat, who was presumably the City Lord of Zhaoshui.
Standing in front of the City Lord of Zhaoshui was a tall young man dressed in a white robe with a dark bamboo pattern. Although the young man had his back to them, his posture exuded an otherworldly aura.
The City Lord of Zhaoshui seemed to have noticed their arrival. He stood up, patted the young man, and said: “Beiming and Zhaoshui are thousands of miles apart. Since Fellow Daoist Jiang has been here for so long, there’s no rush for a day or two. The Tianshui Festival will end in three days, and it won’t be too late to return to Beiming City then.”
The young man’s voice was exceptionally clear and gentle: “Then it would be disrespectful not to obey. Since the City Lord has guests, I will return to my room to rest.”
The two exchanged a few pleasantries. When the cultivator surnamed Jiang turned around, An Wuxue, who had been absentmindedly looking around, suddenly froze.
This cultivator surnamed Jiang had delicate features and an outstanding appearance, with a gentle demeanor between his brows. However, a cluster of karmic fire marks at the corner of his right eye added a touch of sharpness to his face, making him appear somewhat alluring.
As this person walked out of the hall, and they brushed past each other, An Wuxue looked at him, still a little lost in thought.
But the other party seemed not to recognize An Wuxue and the others, only nodding slightly in acknowledgment before quickly walking past.
Upon entering the hall, Yun Zhou was the first to voice An Wuxue’s doubts: “The Fellow Daoist just now had karmic fire marks on his face. Is he from the Tailing clan? Didn’t the Tailing clan… perish during the Immortal Calamity?”
Yun Yao reprimanded: “Junior brother, some words should be carefully considered before being spoken.”
The City Lord of Zhaoshui, however, said heartily: “No harm, no harm. That is a cultivator from Beiming City, named Jiang Qing. Fellow Daoist Jiang doesn’t mind talking about this. I was curious and asked him before. He said that a thousand years ago, when he had just developed sentience and had not yet cultivated a human form, he was almost corrupted by turbid energy. He was sealed in the Sea of Hades by a highly cultivated individual, who cleansed him of the turbid energy. He only came into being and cultivated a human form in these past few hundred years, thus escaping the calamity.”
Yun Zhou sighed with emotion: “That cultivator who laid the seal truly performed a great deed, saving the last Tailing clan member in the world.”
The City Lord of Zhaoshui nodded: “Unfortunately, after Fellow Daoist Jiang regained his sentience, he had no idea who sealed him, so he couldn’t find anyone to repay his gratitude to.”
An Wuxue looked back in the direction Jiang Qing had left.
Indeed, it was him!
The Tailing clan was formed from the fetal stones left after karmic fire burned out. Before developing sentience, they were all in the form of fetal stones.
The Jiang Qing in his memory was still a white stone the size of a palm.
—Jiang Qing was the one he had sealed in the Sea of Hades.
At that time, Xie Zhefeng had not long temporarily taken over the position of Immortal Venerable.
A great demon at the peak of the Tribulation stage had emerged from the Merman clan in the depths of the Sea of Hades.
At the end of the Immortal Calamity, no one in the four seas had ascended to immortality. If this great Merman demon successfully broke through, the consequences would be unimaginable.
There was an unusual movement in the Sea of Hades.
An Wuxue happened to be in Beiming City.
He, Shangguan Liaoliao, and Shangguan Liaoliao’s younger brother, Shangguan Ran, were busy setting up the Four Seas Ten Thousand Swords Array to compensate for the loss of the celestial pillars and earthly spiritual veins.
Beiming City was one corner of this grand array, and the array formation was at a critical moment; no mistakes could be afforded.
He sent a message back to Luoyue for help. Xie Zhefeng personally rushed over, sent people to seal off the Sea of Hades, and went alone into the ten-thousand-foot deep abyss to slay the great demon.
An Wuxue initially had no worries.
His junior brother was also at the peak of the Tribulation stage, a half-step to ascension.
The path of emotionless cultivation was inherently thorny, and what it forged was a sword sharper than any other.
Under the same realm, that enchanting Merman would not be his junior brother’s opponent.
But seven days passed, and the Sea of Hades remained calm.
Xie Zhefeng still hadn’t returned.
An Wuxue’s heart began to stir with unease.
Shangguan Liaoliao was already blind, and her divine sense was difficult to expand in water; her cultivation would inevitably be restricted underwater.
Shangguan Ran’s cultivation was insufficient.
Only he could go.
He temporarily entrusted the critical array formation matters to Shangguan Liaoliao and Shangguan Ran, and delved into the Sea of Hades to search for Xie Zhefeng.
In the deep sea, he found the corpses of ordinary demonized merfolk floating in the water, and the clam shells among them were stained with blood.
Where were that great demon and his junior brother?
He went further in and finally saw a barrier that isolated all seawater. The barrier emitted turbid energy, and there was also Xie Zhefeng’s aura inside—clearly, both the great demon and Xie Zhefeng were in there!
An Wuxue rushed into the barrier without hesitation.
He thought that the Merman was truly formidable, and Xie Zhefeng couldn’t slay it, thus they had been entangled in battle for seven days.
But when he entered the barrier, he found the Merman lying on the ground, barely alive.
Xie Zhefeng held Chuhan, his figure swaying slightly.
An Wuxue rushed to Xie Zhefeng’s side.
“Junior brother?”
Xie Zhefeng seemed to be in a trance.
He called out again: “Junior brother?”
His junior brother turned his head to look at him.
The young Immortal Venerable’s usually frosty face was flushed, his eyes slightly red, his breathing rapid, and his expression seemed somewhat bewildered.
But the next moment, Xie Zhefeng came to his senses and asked in an exceptionally hoarse voice, “…Senior brother?”
An Wuxue’s heart fluttered.
He quickly composed himself, finally understanding what had happened.
He reached out to support Xie Zhefeng, and Chunhua flew out with a “clang,” its sword light falling upon the Merman lying on the ground.
His voice grew increasingly murderous: “You poisoned him with a charm!?”
A charm poison would endlessly stir a cultivator’s emotions. There were only two ways to resolve it: the poisoner personally undoing it, or… dual cultivation.
The Merman smiled.
As soon as it smiled, it spat out a large mouthful of blood.
“So what?”
“The antidote.”
The soul-searching method could only be used on cultivators of a lower realm. This Merman and Xie Zhefeng were of comparable realms, so soul-searching was impossible; he could only interrogate.
“I’ve already lost. At worst, my soul will be annihilated. What’s wrong with dragging Immortal Venerable Xie down with me? He killed my entire clan. Chuhan sword has been hanging over my soul for seven days, and I haven’t said anything. What makes you think you can make me speak?”
An Wuxue sneered: “My junior brother is my junior brother, and I am me.”
The Merman was startled, then nodded: “I have naturally heard of First Seat An’s reputation.”
The sword lights of Chunhua and Chuhan were both suspended over the Merman’s vital point, but the Merman’s laughter grew louder and louder, then suddenly—
The Merman abruptly stopped breathing.
This Merman actually chose to perish, destroying its own soul!!!
An Wuxue’s heart sank sharply.
The poisoner was dead, and the charm poison could only be resolved through dual cultivation.
For ordinary cultivators with a mutually affectionate partner, the charm poison would be harmless.
But Xie Zhefeng cultivated the path of emotionless cultivation.
An Wuxue looked at Xie Zhefeng, and saw that his junior brother’s expression still seemed somewhat detached, his gaze fixed intently on him.
“…Senior brother.” Xie Zhefeng called him.
He gritted his teeth: “I’ll search the vicinity and examine the Merman’s corpse again; we might find an antidote. Junior brother, wait for me for a moment—”
The person beside him suddenly grabbed his wrist, not even using spiritual power, but with brute force, abruptly pulling him onto the Merman’s clam bed.
An Wuxue was completely unprepared for Xie Zhefeng. Before he could finish speaking, the world spun before his eyes, and his junior brother’s warm breath was already by his ear.
He went blank for a moment.
Between Xie Zhefeng’s eyebrows, the snow lotus sword vein appeared, tinged with a faint red.
In his haste, An Wuxue had no time to think, only knowing to pull his hand back and dodge.
As soon as he recoiled, the other immediately grabbed his wrist again.
Unable to dodge, he frantically reprimanded: “Junior brother!”
Xie Zhefeng whispered in his ear: “Senior brother…”
This “senior brother” pushed his embarrassment and panic to their peak.
His whole body tensed up.
He was Xie Zhefeng’s senior brother.
His junior brother’s emotionless path had reached its final step.
His junior brother was currently under the influence of a charm poison and had no idea what he was doing.
But he knew.
He couldn’t…
He was almost enveloped by Xie Zhefeng, with the inescapable clam shell behind him.
In the cramped space, he took a deep breath and said heavily: “Junior brother, look clearly at who I am…”
“Mm,” Xie Zhefeng murmured softly, “A-Xue.”