Chapter 77#

“I am not what I once was, and I have few treasures on hand. However, I can exchange any ancient curse, spiritual array, or secret technique lost since the Immortal Calamity for the Heartless Curse.”

An Wuxue held out his palm. Seeing Pei Qian’s dazed expression, he urged, “Hurry.”

They were still within the Death Gate of the Guan Ye Array. No matter how long Xie Zhefeng and Jiang Qing could lead away the Qu Jizhi of five hundred years ago, they would eventually return.

Pei Qian glanced at him, then looked down at An Wuxue’s extended hand, asking guiltily, “Are you planning to use it on the Immortal Venerable? He is in the Immortal Realm… if you fail and the truth comes out later, will I be held accountable?”

An Wuxue agreed, “You have a point.”

Before Pei Qian could breathe a sigh of relief, An Wuxue continued, “Then I could just knock you unconscious, pillage your spiritual pouch, or even search your soul to obtain the complete Heartless Curse. That way, it will have nothing to do with you.”

Pei Qian immediately pulled a book from his spiritual pouch and presented it respectfully with both hands. “First Seat, please.”

An Wuxue took it and said, half-amused, “In truth, there are only the two of us here. Even if I cast the Heartless Curse on Xie Zhefeng, he won’t know its source. Except for Qu Jizhi…”

Xie Zhefeng could return at any moment. Time was short. He immediately flipped open the book. The scent of peach blossom ink wafted to his nose. On the yellowed pages, thick black runes appeared.

Peach Blossom Ink?

Thousands of years ago, there was a peach blossom forest in North Abyss. The soil had been contaminated by an ancient ink stone, and the blossoms that bloomed were all black. Petals were harvested and ground into ink. The peach blossom scent of this ink could last for a millennium, and its color would not fade for a long time. During the Immortal Calamity, it was a top-tier treasure that only Tribulation-Transcending and Long-Life Immortals could possess a piece or two.

Unfortunately, that forest was destroyed during the great battle between Immortal Venerable Nan He and the North Abyss Immortal Lord. Since then, Peach Blossom Ink had vanished.

An Wuxue frowned slightly.

It was a bit strange.

Peach Blossom Ink was resistant to fire and water and could last for ten thousand years. Since the previous head of the Qu family used this treasure to record the curse, he naturally wanted it preserved. Yet he had sealed the technique in an obscure corner of the Qu estate. If not for the stroke of luck brought by Qu Jizhi’s destined tribulation leading to the Heartless Curse’s rediscovery, this technique might have disappeared along with the Qu clan after tens of thousands of years.

It seemed… he both wanted to preserve it and not preserve it.

But the previous generation’s head had passed away, and there was no way for An Wuxue to ask for the reason.

Time was pressing. Xie Zhefeng could return at any moment. An Wuxue flipped through the pages, learning the hand seals while asking Pei Qian, “By the way, after you cast the Heartless Curse on Qu Jizhi, he let you leave. But he only forgot his feelings; did he even forget the fact that you cursed him?”

If he remembered being cursed, Qu Jizhi wouldn’t have foolishly let Pei Qian go, even if he forgot his love.

Pei Qian’s eyes darted around, suddenly showing a strange expression.

“Cough…” he stammered, “Didn’t I say earlier? I lured him to me… um, said I wanted to engage in dual cultivation. Dual cultivation is naturally a matter of love and desire. I deliberately stirred up his feelings first before casting the Heartless Curse. That memory was counted as part of the ’love and desire,’ so he forgot everything from that period…”

Naturally, he forgot the casting of the curse as well.

An Wuxue was slightly surprised. Dual cultivation had little impact on followers of the Way of Heartless once they ascended, but to think Pei Qian had experienced it… and his Dao heart remained unchanged. The Qu clan might be lacking in other areas, but they were excellent at finding candidates for the Way of Heartless.

Pei Qian waved it off. “Besides, it doesn’t really matter if they don’t forget. After the curse is cast, the victim forgets their feelings, so they naturally won’t be obsessed with breaking it—because it’s no longer important.”

He nodded slightly. “I see. I understand now.”

“What do you understand!?”

An Wuxue just kept flipping through the pages.

Pei Qian said with annoyance, “I was truly terrified of being imprisoned back then and only thought of escaping quickly. My casting was full of flaws. With Qu Jizhi’s talent, even if he forgot being cursed, breaking it was only a matter of time. Unfortunately, after he forgot his love, he became wary of me, and I had no chance to cast it again. I could only leave North Abyss…”

An Wuxue also kept in mind the most urgent matter.

After thinking for a moment, he said, “Based on what you’ve said, the primary event of this illusion is Qu Jizhi’s ‘wedding banquet.’ We must ensure that at the banquet, the current you does not appear, and Qu Jizhi does not appear either. Only the guests and Shangguan Liaoliao should be present.”

“It’s not hard for me to not appear. At this time, the me of five hundred and twenty years ago should already be hiding in the trapping array. As long as we don’t disturb ‘me,’ everything will be fine. The main issue is Qu Jizhi.”

An Wuxue smiled. “Then why should we avoid the Qu Jizhi in the illusion? As long as he doesn’t attend his own wedding banquet, won’t it be fine?”

“The First Seat means…”

“It’s truly unlikely you’d invite friends to this absurd banquet, so any explanation would carry risk. Better to reveal your true self and pretend to be the ‘Pei Qian’ of five hundred years ago, acting as though he has found you. You only need to stall him until the moment Shangguan Liaoliao visits the Qu family.”

Pei Qian’s eyes brightened. “Exactly! We aren’t really afraid of the Death Gate’s killing intent; we’re just afraid of changes occurring before City Lord Shangguan appears. We just need to stall until that moment—”

His face suddenly fell. “But… I have to face the Qu Jizhi of five hundred years ago? No way. He didn’t even catch me back then, but now I have to run straight into him.”

An Wuxue chuckled.

He thought that the Qu family’s divination was indeed peerless. Qu Jizhi cultivated the Way of Floating Life, yet his destined tribulation ended up being Pei Qian’s Way of Heartless. The hexagram was correct to every word.

He said, “If it’s truly too difficult for you, I will think of another way.”

Though Pei Qian’s face was full of woe, he shook his head. “I know the priorities. This situation is due to my negligence. In a moment, I—”

“They’re back,” An Wuxue said suddenly.

His divine sense had been slightly extended, and he had just sensed Xie Zhefeng’s return.

He quickly finished the last page of the Heartless Curse manual, committed the method to memory, and put the book into his spiritual pouch.

Outside the guest room, the footsteps of Xie Zhefeng and Jiang Qing could be heard, followed by Qu Jizhi’s voice: “Fellow Daoists, why are you ignoring me after coming back? Please wait!”

Jiang Qing laughed. “Is the fellow daoist calling us? We were just racing each other; we were moving fast and didn’t stop, so we didn’t notice you. Please forgive us.”

Qu Jizhi’s voice had been polite, but now his tone lowered, full of suspicion. “Didn’t I see four fellow daoists just now? Why are there only two now?”

Kun Kun: “Whine!”

Qu Jizhi: “Oh, two and a half.”

Kun Kun: “…”

“What about the other two?”

—Jiang Qing and Xie Zhefeng were about to lose their hold on him!

Pei Qian stood up in the room and spoke quickly to An Wuxue, “There’s one more thing about the Heartless Curse. As you likely know, this curse sounds like it could be a perfect technique for cultivating the Way of Heartless, yet it was sealed by the Qu clan. There must be a deficiency.”

“I’ve studied it for several hundred years and have a guess.”

“This curse might actually not work on someone with the foundation for the Way of Heartless. It can only be used on those with the foundation for the Way of Floating Life. Consequently, it cannot serve as a method for Heartless cultivation; instead, it is a poisonous curse.”

After speaking, he met An Wuxue’s gaze, then turned and pushed open the door, stepping out of the room.

Pei Qian removed the illusion on his face, revealing his original appearance.

Qu Jizhi immediately called out, “Pei Qian.”

An Wuxue also walked out.

On the outdoor corridor, besides Xie Zhefeng and Jiang Qing, a handsome young man in black robes stood on the stairs.

He had an air of arrogance and was looking at Pei Qian with a smile in his eyes. “So you are here.”

Qu Jizhi’s gaze shifted, looking over Xie Zhefeng, Jiang Qing, and finally An Wuxue who had just emerged. He said coolly, “Such an important matter as our union, yet you broke the restriction and left without telling me. And why are there three friends I don’t recognize?”

Seeing Qu Jizhi so abruptly, even though he told himself this was only the Qu Jizhi of five hundred years ago, Pei Qian still froze for a moment. He chose his words carefully and began to act: “Since you know they are my friends, do you really want to discuss these things in front of them?”

He pointed to the empty room nearby. “Let’s talk in private.”

Qu Jizhi walked slowly to him.

“Fine. But to think you could break the restriction and escape today shows you’ve been hiding your strength. How can I trust you’ll talk to me properly in private?”

Qu Jizhi’s brow twitched. He leaned down and whispered into Pei Qian’s ear.

“If you want to talk in private so your friends aren’t involved, that’s fine. But you have too many tricks. I must seal your spiritual power first before I can be sure you won’t run again.”

An Wuxue’s gaze narrowed. He slowly gathered spiritual energy in his hand hidden beneath his sleeve, ready to strike if things went south.

Finding Shangguan Liaoliao was important, but he couldn’t just watch Pei Qian fall into actual danger.

Pei Qian almost cursed out loud.

But he managed to hold back.

The Qu Jizhi in the illusion was the one from five hundred years ago. His cultivation was surely not as high as the current Pei Qian’s. The seal would be easy for him to break.

He put his hands behind his back and signaled to An Wuxue to put him at ease.

“Seal it then,” he said.

Qu Jizhi was actually surprised. “So obedient today?”

“Because you caught me after I ran away, so I’m feeling guilty.”

Qu Jizhi laughed. He tapped several meridian points on Pei Qian’s body to place the seal, then grabbed Pei Qian’s hand and led him into another empty room.

With a wave of Qu Jizhi’s sleeve, several layers of barriers were placed around the room, isolating all sound and activity.

Once the door closed and Qu Jizhi and Pei Qian vanished from sight, Jiang Qing whispered, “Su Xue, what are you two…?”

“It’s a plan Pei Qian and I discussed. Don’t worry, it won’t change the necessary trajectory of the illusion. The Death Gate is still safe for now. But,” he said solemnly, “Fellow Daoist Jiang, may I ask a favor?”

Xie Zhefeng’s expression immediately turned sour. “Whatever you want done, I will do it.”

Jiang Qing squinted with a smile. “I am naturally willing to serve Su Xue.”

An Wuxue ignored Xie Zhefeng and said directly, “It’s a long story, but in short, our goal is to stall Qu Jizhi until City Lord Shangguan appears at the Qu family estate. Pei Qian is stalling him now. Of the three of us left, you are the most familiar with North Abyss. Can you infiltrate the Qu estate and see exactly when the City Lord will arrive?”

“I’ll go then.”

“Contact me by sound transmission for everything.”

Jiang Qing nodded. His spiritual energy rippled, and he vanished from the corridor in the blink of an eye.

In a few moments, only An Wuxue and Xie Zhefeng remained on the corridor.

Kun Kun flew between them, looking at Xie Zhefeng and then An Wuxue.

“Whine?”

An Wuxue reached out, pulled Kun Kun into his arms, and stroked its paw. With a ripple of spiritual energy, he cast a sleeping spell on the little creature, which immediately fell unconscious.

Carrying the sleeping Kun Kun, he walked back into the guest room, laid it down gently, and set up an isolating barrier around it.

“…Senior Brother?” Xie Zhefeng was clearly confused by these actions.

Pei Qian was in another room dealing with the Qu Jizhi of five hundred years ago, Jiang Qing had gone to the Qu estate, and Kun Kun was out for the count. Only An Wuxue and Xie Zhefeng remained.

An Wuxue composed himself, recalling the method for casting the Heartless Curse once more. Then he turned to look at Xie Zhefeng.

“Junior Brother.”

He called out softly, his eyes full of a warm smile.

Xie Zhefeng was stunned.