Chapter 88#

The lighting of a life plate meant that the owner was nearby.

On the day of the battle between Nan He and the North Abyss Immortal Lord, the entire North Abyss was in chaos, with turbid energy surging.

Shangguan Liaoliao was not the only descendant of the North Abyss Immortal Lord.

She had an elder brother and a younger brother.

However, her elder brother had conspired with her mother, the North Abyss Immortal Lord, to turn North Abyss into a source of turbid energy for thousands of demon cultivators to settle and practice.

She only remembered that day as a period of immense chaos, but after she gouged out her eyes, she was never again able to see the battle-torn North Abyss with her own eyes.

Nan He was the peerless genius of the previous generation, the sharpest blade forged by the Way of Heartless thousands of years ago.

The North Abyss Immortal Lord had already expended a great deal of energy drawing turbid energy into North Abyss and was no match for Nan He. However, she hid in the Black Sea to recover, allowing the turbid energy to spread. Nan He couldn’t find her, and naturally, couldn’t kill her.

But the North Abyss Immortal Lord hadn’t expected that Shangguan Liaoliao, despite their blood connection, would not abandon the immortal path. Instead, she gouged out her own eyes to help Nan He find her.

As the North Abyss Immortal Lord’s soul was dispersed, her laughter echoed through the Black Sea.

Her eyes filled with blood, Shangguan Liaoliao heard the curse that came with the waves.

—“Since you choose to be a heartless guardian of the Dao who executes her own kin, choosing North Abyss and the immortal path, then in this life, you shall never see the world again. You shall never have beloved kin; those close to you will either compete, turn against you, or wither away. Your enemies will rejoice…”

—“My only daughter, I use my last remaining soul as a curse to wish you a long life in eternal solitude!”

“Hahahahahahaha!!!!”

The North Abyss Immortal Lord died.

Her soul dispersed, her body shattered in the Black Sea, and the spiritual power of the turbid immortal plunged into the depths of the ocean. Waves rolled, and dark clouds swirled.

The young girl’s eyes were vacant, blood dripping down her clothes.

The elders of Falling Moon Peak stood by her side, blocking the surrounding turbid energy.

But she didn’t even have time to wipe away the blood, suddenly turning and running toward the City Lord’s manor.

Those close to you will either compete, turn against you, or wither away. Your enemies will rejoice…

Her elder brother had already been slain by the Falling Moon experts, but her younger brother was still in the City Lord’s manor!

Shangguan Ran was only eleven years old and had just entered the path. He had not yet stepped through the doors of cultivation and could not influence the outcome of the battle. When the North Abyss Immortal Lord turned demonic, she hadn’t taken the young child with her.

He was her only remaining relative in the world.

But she fought her way through the chaos back to the City Lord’s manor, only to find no trace of Shangguan Ran.

She and Shangguan Ran were separated from that day on.

Subsequently, Immortal Venerable Nan He helped her stabilize the situation in North Abyss and took her back to Falling Moon Peak to be raised. She eventually completed her Dao and returned to North Abyss, becoming a Tribulation-Transcending expert governing the forty-nine cities at a young age.

But she could never find Shangguan Ran.

Shangguan Ran’s life plate had not shattered, yet no matter where she went, it never lit up.

She was blind. Though she could distinguish objects with her divine sense, she could not truly see light.

Over the years, every time they arrived at a new place, if An Wuxue was with her, she would pull out Shangguan Ran’s life plate and ask him, “A-Xue, is it lit?”

Every time, the answer was “No.”

Except for this time.

An Wuxue understood the significance of the life plate lighting up. He reacted even faster than Shangguan Liaoliao, quickly standing up and summoning Chun Hua. He pulled up the still-stunned and overjoyed Shangguan Liaoliao.

The long sword streaked through the sky, and they landed at the site of the battle reported by the sound transmission.

At the edge of the First City’s barrier, someone was enveloped in turbid energy. Their pupils were red, their black hair was loose and fluttering, obscuring much of their face.

That was a Great Demon of the Tribulation-Transcending stage!

And before that demon, a young man at the peak of the Great Success stage was already covered in blood. Both sides had sustained injuries.

The young man was deathly pale, clearly seriously injured, yet he was still persisting in forming a hand seal.

The moment the seal was complete, Shangguan Liaoliao’s expression shifted, and she immediately formed an identical seal!

This seal carried the power of the Tribulation-Transcending stage. When it struck the Great Demon, the demon seemed to let out a muffled groan.

An Wuxue prepared to join the attack, but after being forced back, the Great Demon didn’t linger. He turned and fled.

The young man turned his head. Seeing experts had come to his aid, he finally released his breath and fell unconscious.

Afterward, Shangguan Liaoliao and An Wuxue brought him back to the First City.

The young man had several wounds, each covered in blood.

During the battle, the young man had used techniques inherited from the North Abyss Immortal Lord.

The life plate was still lit.

Shangguan Liaoliao sat by the bed. Raising her hand and ignoring the blood on his body, she gently stroked the face of the unconscious young man.

An Wuxue laughed from the side. “How could you even forget the cleaning curse?”

As he spoke, he waved his hand, washing away the blood from the young man, who had been confirmed as Shangguan Ran, and changed him into clean clothes.

Shangguan Liaoliao then said in a daze, “I… I forgot.”

An Wuxue knew she was simply too overjoyed.

Shangguan Ran was not only the relative and regret she had long sought; he was also the exception to the curse her mother had placed on her before her death.

He had always been concerned about the search for Shangguan Ran, precisely because he knew that if this matter remained on Shangguan Liaoliao’s heart, it would eventually become her inner demon.

Now that the person had been found, Shangguan Liaoliao was happy, and An Wuxue was happy as well.

The next day, the young man woke up. An Wuxue waited outside while Shangguan Liaoliao spoke with Shangguan Ran for a long time.

After Shangguan Liaoliao came out, she told him: “Ran-er said that during the North Abyss chaos, in order to save his life, he wandered off in a daze. He then encountered demon cultivators and was pursued, nearly losing his life. He forgot everything from his childhood and so didn’t know to come back to look for me.”

“But he always felt he had a place of origin, so he has been wandering the two realms.”

“Meeting him yesterday was a stroke of luck. He was passing through the First City, but because we were setting up the array and had sealed the city, he couldn’t enter. While wandering outside, he ran into the Great Demon lurking there.”

The North Abyss sword array had failed twice, and demon cultivators were watching like hawks. The city had been sealed for a long time.

No one had expected a chance encounter would lead Shangguan Liaoliao to find her only remaining relative in the world.

The situation in the First City was tense. For the past few years, even whenever Immortal Venerable Chu Han came on business, he had to follow the protocols set by An Wuxue, sending a sound transmission into the city and waiting for someone to receive him.

The immortal cultivators of North Abyss all knew that though the First Seat was normally gentle, he was always strict and cautious when it came to official business. As long as the sword array was not complete, there would be no revelry in the First City.

But on the day Shangguan Liaoliao found Shangguan Ran, the First City broke tradition and lit its candles. The First Seat and the City Lord held an immortal banquet, introducing a young man at the peak of the Great Success stage to all the renowned immortal cultivators in the city.

Xie Zhefeng and Qi Xun both received sound transmissions from Shangguan Liaoliao and attended the banquet.

Amidst the bonfire, An Wuxue’s face was reflected in the firelight. As he listened to the rare sounds of joy and laughter nearby, he was still thinking about the sword array.

Some North Abyss cultivators gathered their courage and placed Winter Mulberry flowers, used by North Abyss cultivators to pursue partners, by his side.

By then, he had already made many enemies in the two realms. Many cultivators were dissatisfied with him, and some said he was too ruthless and his killing intent was too deep.

Of these Winter Mulberry flowers, how many were sincere, and how many were just aimed at his cultivation and his status as the First Seat of Falling Moon Peak?

He gave a slight smile and silently refused.

The Winter Mulberry flowers had just been picked, and ice still clung to their petals.

These spiritual flowers were covered in frost and snow year-round and would not wither after being picked. Consequently, they were used by North Abyss people as tokens of love, representing an unchanging heart.

As the pile of Winter Mulberry flowers beside An Wuxue grew larger, Shangguan Ran said from the side, “The First Seat is truly popular with the ladies. Why are there so many flowers, yet the First Seat hasn’t picked up a single one?”

An Wuxue raised his eyes, his gaze crossing the bonfire to look at Xie Zhefeng, who was holding the Chu Han sword and listening to a cultivator report on the situation in North Abyss.

His junior brother’s expression was as cold as always. The other cultivators were all solemn and restrained, speaking in very low voices, as if afraid the Chu Han sword would take their lives if they weren’t careful.

But An Wuxue looked directly at him and said slowly: “My favorite flower is the snow lotus of the Sea of Guxu. Unfortunately, it cannot be picked.”

“Cannot be picked? Is it because of the astral winds of the Sea of Guxu? With the First Seat’s cultivation, would you still fear snow demons and astral winds?”

An Wuxue smiled but didn’t answer, instead saying: “You’ve wandered outside for all these years; you must have suffered. I treat Liaoliao like a sister. You are her brother, so you are also my brother. You can treat me as an elder brother. In the future, I will do my best to look after you.”

The bonfire that night warmed the cool North Abyss. Shangguan Liaoliao instructed Shangguan Ran on how to act in the future, laughing happily.

An Wuxue thought that the curse her mother had placed on her before her death was, after all, just a curse.

Shangguan Liaoliao now governed North Abyss with her profound cultivation and had found her only relative in the world. Once the sword array was established and Xie Zhefeng ascended, the four seas would be at peace. Nothing could be more beautiful than that.

After that night, time within the Guan Ye Array illusion began to flow rapidly.

The illusion appeared based on the karma Shangguan Liaoliao was thinking of, so only things related to Shangguan Ran were shown. Everything else was a passing blur.

The real Shangguan Liaoliao stood before An Wuxue, using her spiritual energy to conceal their presence as they watched the past events unfold.

She spoke no word. An Wuxue stood behind her, not knowing what she was thinking.

Xie Zhefeng sent them a sound transmission, saying that the person with the guide had been repeatedly entering and exiting this illusion. He had to ensure no real person affected this Death Gate and couldn’t return for the time being.

An Wuxue watched as time in the illusion flew by. In the past, they had already found a way to set up the array, establishing branch sword arrays in the other forty-eight cities to support the primary array.

With the full support of Shangguan Liaoliao and An Wuxue, Shangguan Ran broke through to the Tribulation-Transcending realm.

Shangguan Liaoliao continued to “watch” in silence.

The time for the disturbance of the shark race in the Black Sea was fast approaching.

Not wanting to “relive” the past with Shangguan Liaoliao, An Wuxue spoke up: “City Lord, if the past is too difficult to bear, why not leave it to me? You can look elsewhere for clues to the array core. I will keep an eye on the events in the First City and send you a sound transmission if anything changes.”

Without turning her head, Shangguan Liaoliao said slowly: “You gave me the soul-nourishing tree leaves the first time we met, and now you fear I am sinking into the past. Acting like this toward me… you really are like him…”

“Is there some karma between us that I don’t remember?”

An Wuxue’s eyelid twitched.

His expression shifted slightly, but his voice remained steady: “I’ve said it before. I simply admire the City Lord’s righteous act of executing her kin during the Immortal Calamity, saving countless lives in North Abyss.”

This was not a lie.

He was someone who had died once; how could there be any karma?

He felt sorry because he felt he had failed Nan He’s entrustment to take care of Shangguan Liaoliao because of the debt the two realms owed her, having failed to properly handle the matter of Shangguan Ran.

And what he had done for Shangguan Liaoliao—whether it was giving her the leaf or watching over her past now—wasn’t because she was Shangguan Liaoliao, but because she had gouged out her eyes all those years ago to save North Abyss and the two realms.

Even mortals knew that death settling all debts; no matter how great the debt of gratitude or grudge, it had to be settled. Where would karma come from?

“The City Lord is overthinking,” he said finally. “We are just strangers passing by—a chance encounter.”