Chapter 89#
Shangguan Liaoliao was momentarily stunned.
For a thousand years, no one in the two realms except Xie Zhefeng had ever caused her to lose face like this.
She hadn’t felt this way for a long time. It wasn’t until a period of time had passed in the illusion that she regained her composure, letting out a light laugh. “Since you say it so frankly, I find it hard to say anything in return.”
An Wuxue didn’t respond.
He wasn’t even listening to what Shangguan Liaoliao was saying.
He was observing the flow of time in the illusion, watching the past versions of himself, Shangguan Liaoliao, and Shangguan Ran. Occasionally, he would catch glimpses of Xie Zhefeng and Qi Xun coming to the First City to find him.
The time in the illusion now should be long after Shangguan Liaoliao had found Shangguan Ran.
A thousand years ago, after two failed attempts to set up the array, An Wuxue became convinced that branch sword arrays must be established in the other forty-eight cities of North Abyss to support the primary North Abyss Sword in the First City.
Since the matter was of great importance, Qi Xun was also brought in to help. They and the other experts from North Abyss and Falling Moon traveled among the forty-nine cities, finally establishing the forty-eight branch arrays. They then returned to the First City to link these branch arrays with the primary sword array.
Shangguan Ran’s cultivation wasn’t particularly high during the Immortal Calamity, so he had remained in the First City throughout.
Whenever An Wuxue returned to the First City on business, he would check on Shangguan Ran’s progress.
Shangguan Ran’s return had been too sudden and too coincidental; despite his joy, An Wuxue remained cautious. Sometimes he would ask Shangguan Ran about his experiences during his time as an amnesiac wanderer—where he had been and who he had met.
Shangguan Ran’s answers were logical and filled with detail, allowing An Wuxue to temporarily set his mind at ease.
Over time, the immortal cultivators of the First City began to say that the City Lord’s younger brother was easygoing and lively, always greeting everyone with a smile as if he never grew angry.
Moreover, he was diligent in his cultivation. Aside from Shangguan Liaoliao teaching him swordplay, he frequently sought guidance from other experts.
An Wuxue also frequently offered him instruction.
Through these interactions, on one occasion when An Wuxue returned to the First City to settle the date for the primary array’s activation with Qi Xun, Shangguan Ran came to see him.
Shangguan Ran asked, “I see the First Seat and my sister are exhausted every day with the Four Seas Ten Thousand Swords Array. I am now also at the Tribulation-Transcending stage; could the First Seat let me participate as well? I want to help North Abyss and my sister.”
An Wuxue replied without hesitation, “It is good that you have such intentions, but we are currently at a critical stage. There are over ten Great Demons lurking outside the First City, waiting for an opportunity. The day the array is established will surely involve a fierce battle. Your sister worries about you; it’s better if you don’t risk yourself.”
He refused, firstly for the reason he stated, and secondly because Shangguan Ran had been missing for too many years and claimed amnesia; regardless of everything, he still couldn’t explain the details of those missing years.
The Four Seas Ten Thousand Swords Array concerned the fate of the two realms. Shangguan Ran’s cultivation wasn’t extraordinary, and his blank past made it impossible to fully trust him. An Wuxue could look after him like a younger brother, but he could not entrust the core of the sword array to him.
Shangguan Ran pouted. “Does the First Seat think I’m incapable?”
An Wuxue laughed. “How could that be? Among the early Tribulation-Transcending cultivators of the First City, your mastery of spiritual arts and understanding of the Way of the Sword are unrivaled among your peers. In time, you will surely become your sister’s right hand. It’s just that your wings aren’t fully grown yet, and the sword array is dangerous. Better to let it be for now.”
“Alright then…” Shangguan Ran turned to leave with little enthusiasm.
An Wuxue was flipping through an array manual. Thinking about what he had just said, just as Shangguan Ran was about to step out of the room, he suddenly put down the book and looked up.
“By the way…”
Shangguan Ran turned back. “First Seat?”
“I recall that before your return, you used immortal arts inherited from the North Abyss Immortal Lord during your wanderings?”
“Yes.”
“Liaoliao said you forgot many things from your childhood. Were the arts you remembered enough to let you reach the peak of the Great Success stage?”
“Naturally not,” Shangguan Ran said casually. “I was lucky in that regard. When I was fleeing for my life during the chaos, I had a spiritual pouch sister had given me. There were cultivation methods inside, which allowed me to practice.”
An Wuxue thought for a moment, then felt that he had been fighting demons for too long and the sword array had exhausted him to the point of becoming paranoid.
Shangguan Liaoliao would have surely asked about such details long ago; what was he worried about?
He said warmly, “That’s good then. If you find any obstacles in your sword or array paths, you can send me a sound transmission.”
“The First Seat and my sister are so good to me,” Shangguan Ran said with a smile.
As An Wuxue returned to his array manual, Shangguan Ran stepped out of the residence and ran into the returning Shangguan Liaoliao.
Shangguan Liaoliao asked, “Did you go to see A-Xue?”
“Sister,” he only said, “the First Seat doesn’t seem to like me very much.”
Shangguan Liaoliao’s expression immediately turned solemn. “Why do you say that?”
“I just went to ask the First Seat for some guidance on array methods. He brushed me off with a few words and sent me away.”
Shangguan Ran looked disappointed, but then smiled as if to cheer himself up. “Perhaps it’s because I was wandering for many years and my cultivation is lacking. The First Seat is surrounded by exceptional people; it’s only natural he’d look down on me…”
Shangguan Liaoliao had intended to rebuke him for overthinking, but since he had already said those things himself, she found her words caught in her throat.
She sighed and said, “Ran-er, Immortal Venerable Xie has been fighting in the two realms for years to eliminate demons. The burden of the Four Seas Ten Thousand Swords Array falls entirely on my brother’s shoulders. Sometimes he simply has no choice but to be strict. Don’t think too much; he was very happy when you returned.”
Shangguan Ran gave a muffled “Alright.”
Shangguan Liaoliao then went to see An Wuxue.
After discussing the essentials of the sword array, she finally said, “Brother, I am sometimes away from the First City; Ran-er relies on your care. If he does something disappointing, you don’t need to be easy on him.”
An Wuxue was startled. “How could that be? He hasn’t caused any trouble.”
Shangguan Liaoliao was only afraid An Wuxue would be too gentle with their own people and find it hard to discipline him, which was why she said it.
After saying this, she didn’t take it to heart, assuming Shangguan Ran had simply misunderstood An Wuxue’s attitude, and promptly forgot about it.
But this was only the beginning.
After that day, Shangguan Ran would frequently drop casual comments to Shangguan Liaoliao like, “The First Seat seems to think my cultivation is slow,” or “The First Seat seems suspicious of my experiences while I was missing, even though I’ve told sister everything,” or “Today I asked the First Seat about some array matters, and he said I was being too ambitious.”
And so on.
Shangguan Liaoliao didn’t think An Wuxue was the type to say one thing and do another. Sometimes she would say, “Perhaps Brother is being strict because he fears you’ll hinder your current progress by being too ambitious.”
She didn’t think anything of it.
When things were too vague, Shangguan Liaoliao would directly ask An Wuxue to avoid misunderstandings.
Occasionally, An Wuxue could sense the subtle discrepancies.
Shangguan Ran often claimed An Wuxue was unwilling to discuss array matters, but Shangguan Ran’s questions were all about the Four Seas Ten Thousand Swords Array—how could he teach him that?
But if he explained the details, it seemed there was no issue; he had indeed refused Shangguan Ran’s requests for guidance on those specific matters.
Thinking the other was just being naive, he would explain it again in person.
But over time, some words could never be fully communicated.
Both An Wuxue and Shangguan Liaoliao had seen too much life and death; how could they have the time to worry about Shangguan Ran’s petty feelings?
Neither of them took it very seriously.
There were many such incidents.
Across a thousand years, the real Shangguan Liaoliao watched as these past events were laid out before her.
She heard the conversations between Shangguan Ran and An Wuxue in private.
After a long silence, her voice suddenly trembled as she whispered, “Ran-er back then… didn’t tell me things like this.”
Standing behind her, An Wuxue saw her usually upright and resolute back also trembling.
He said, “Yes, I saw. The City Lord didn’t take it to heart at the time.”
Shangguan Liaoliao replied, “You don’t understand…”
Don’t understand?
What was there to not understand?
At that time, both he and Shangguan Liaoliao knew of Shangguan Ran’s thoughts, and he knew perfectly well she hadn’t taken them seriously—but that only applied while Shangguan Ran was still alive and well.
While Shangguan Ran was alive, it was just harmless naivety.
Once Shangguan Ran was killed by him, Shangguan Liaoliao had questioned him: “He said before that you didn’t like him. When you struck, was there truly no personal grievance involved!?”
He hadn’t expected, Shangguan Liaoliao hadn’t expected, and perhaps even Shangguan Ran himself hadn’t expected that this clumsy attempt at sowing discord would become the most critical thorn after Shangguan Ran’s death.
It became the “evidence” that was hardest to refute.
Who would have thought that this thorn, after a thousand years, would be presented before him and Shangguan Liaoliao in such an absurd way?
Unaware of Shangguan Liaoliao’s emotional fluctuations, the illusion continued its mechanical progression.
Day by day, the critical moment of the array’s activation arrived.
At that time, trouble arose at the Black Sea.
—It was precisely when the Great Demon of the shark clan absorbed the immortal remains of the North Abyss Immortal Lord that had fallen into the Black Sea, attempting to ascend to immortality.
Xie Zhefeng had gone deep into the abyss and hadn’t returned for a long time. An Wuxue had no choice but to temporarily entrust the sword array matters to Shangguan Liaoliao and agreed to let Shangguan Ran assist her.
Afterward, he engaged in dual cultivation with Xie Zhefeng and sealed Jiang Qing upon waking.
These events took place beneath the Black Water Abyss and were outside the scope of the First City’s Guan Ye Array, so they weren’t shown in the illusion. In a flash, time moved forward to when he returned to the First City alone.
He had been worried about Xie Zhefeng’s condition. Though Shangguan Liaoliao didn’t know what had happened at the Black Sea, she could see An Wuxue’s unease and told him: “The final array patterns are being drawn now. There are capable people in the Qu clan who can do it. Take a few days to regulate your breathing. When the time comes to infuse spiritual energy into the patterns, it won’t be too late to step in.”
So he sat by the shore of the Black Sea for several days.
But he never saw Xie Zhefeng appear. He only received a formal sound transmission: “I am returning to Falling Moon to recover. If anything changes in North Abyss, Senior Brother may send a message to the Frost Sea at any time.”
An Wuxue stared at the floating sound transmission talisman for a long time, listening to it three times before finally destroying it.
On the day the array was established, Qi Xun and Qin Wei also arrived.
Experts from Falling Moon, North Abyss, and other sects were stationed throughout North Abyss City.
But North Abyss had forty-nine cities in total, and a problem with any one of the sword arrays could affect the North Abyss Sword in the First City.
All the experts were scattered among the forty-nine cities, with Qin Wei and Qi Xun each guarding a branch array.
Only An Wuxue and Shangguan Liaoliao remained in the First City.
A fierce battle raged in North Abyss.
It lasted a full five days.
The sword array was almost complete, and the surroundings were in ruins.
Several barriers had already shattered, and the final layer protecting the First City was covered in cracks, on the verge of collapse.
Shangguan Liaoliao was covered in blood, believing all the demons had been slain, when suddenly more demons attempted to shake the First City’s barrier!
That aura—it was actually the Great Demon who had nearly killed Shangguan Ran before!
That demon hadn’t appeared again after fleeing. Who would have thought he had been lurking outside the First City for so long, waiting for the moment when everyone was exhausted?
An Wuxue was occupied, and Shangguan Liaoliao rose with her sword.
Shangguan Ran said to her, “That demon is a madman, mindless and unable to understand speech. Sister, don’t waste words on him, just strike.”
Shangguan Liaoliao said helplessly, “What words could I possibly have for a demon?”
“He left me in such a pathetic state back then. Sister, you must get revenge for me. Don’t let him escape.”
“Since he is a Great Demon,” Shangguan Liaoliao said resolutely, “regardless of whether he fought you then, I will naturally not let him go.”
She raised her hand and, with the gesture of an elder, straightened Shangguan Ran’s clothes and hair, saying warmly, “Once the North Abyss Sword is complete and the demons are slain, the Black Sea will be peaceful from then on. I will then properly guide you in your cultivation.”
Shangguan Ran smiled. “Alright. Sister—you must return safely.”
Before the words had finished, Shangguan Liaoliao had already vanished from the sword array.
Beyond the cracked barrier, spiritual energy clashed with turbid energy. The ripples of the Tribulation-Transcending battle spread for miles, sending wave after wave of violent winds.
An Wuxue stood at the center of the sword array, before the giant sword.
He crossed his hands and poured the last of his spiritual energy into the array patterns without reservation!
In an instant, the giant sword trembled, and its hum echoed repeatedly. The wind from the North Abyss Sword clashed with the gale from Shangguan Liaoliao’s battle, causing the already ruined First City to shake violently!
The sword arrays of all forty-nine cities resonated together. Amidst the flying sand and stone, the dark clouds on the horizon dispersed, the turbid energy faded, and a long-absent bright sky pierced through the remaining gloom.
At that moment, the missing Heavenly Pillars of Zhaoshui, Langfeng, and North Abyss were all replaced by the giant swords. Most of the spiritual veins in the two realms were supported by these pillars, and the power of suppression began to return.
The triangle was complete, leaving only Mingri City to the south.
The demon cultivators were destined to decline. Once another Long-Life Immortal emerged from the immortal path, the world could be cleansed.
But An Wuxue remained in his position, his hands still forming the seal, staring blankly for a long time.
This day had not been easy to achieve, and a sudden sense of exhaustion rose in his heart.
At that moment—
He suddenly sensed spiritual energy ripples within the array.
A light breeze swept past, and he instantly flew to the source of the ripples.
He saw Shangguan Ran, his clothes neat and showing no sign of having fought a demon, standing leisurely before an array pattern, seemingly preparing to destroy it.
An Wuxue’s brow furrowed. With a surge of spiritual energy, he knocked the other back!
Seeing him take action, Shangguan Ran didn’t stop but instead flipped around and launched a counterattack!
But he was naturally no match for An Wuxue. Chun Hua left its sheath, and in a few exchanges, he had sliced through the meridians through which the other’s spiritual power flowed.
An Wuxue transformed his spiritual power into chains, binding Shangguan Ran.
“What are you doing?”
“What am I doing? Naturally, I wanted to tamper with the sword array. Unfortunately, I didn’t even know how to begin. After all this time, I haven’t been able to pry any secrets of the array from your mouths. The First Seat and the young master of the Qi clan are truly masters of the array path. I’ve been studying the array by your side for so long, yet I still haven’t found a way to destroy it.”
“Forget it. In any case, I never truly expected to be able to affect this array that even countless Great Demons couldn’t stop.”
An Wuxue’s brow furrowed even deeper.
He looked solemnly at the horizon—the demonic aura had vanished; Shangguan Liaoliao had slain the Great Demon.
He said, “Liaoliao will be back soon. When she returns, I hope you can give us an explanation. Tampering with the sword array is a grave crime. If I hadn’t stopped you just now, even before you could act, the array’s backlash would have taken your life. you wouldn’t have even lived to be questioned.”
“If you don’t value your own life, Liaoliao still does.”
Shangguan Ran glanced at the chains on his body. He tried to struggle, but finding them unbreakable, he actually let out several loud laughs.
“Why value my life? When she comes, she will surely kill me with her own hands.”
These words were too strange; An Wuxue’s heart sank.
He felt that everything about this situation was wrong.
An Wuxue and Shangguan Liaoliao had checked Shangguan Ran’s dantian themselves; it was that of an immortal cultivator. He hadn’t practiced turbid cultivation, so why was he on the side of the demons?
Moreover, he was Shangguan Liaoliao’s long-lost younger brother, her only blood relative. With the North Abyss sword array complete, North Abyss would one day return to prosperity. Given Shangguan Ran’s status, the sword array only offered him benefits and no harm; why would he want to destroy it?
And…
In a flash of insight, a thought occurred to An Wuxue, and he blurted out: “Liaoliao is also one of the masters of the North Abyss sword array. You and Liaoliao share a blood connection. If you wanted to tamper with the array, you could have used bloodline power to deceive it. Why—”
Why would he not even know how to begin?
That was the strangest part!
Shangguan Ran let out another loud laugh. “My, Immortal Venerable Nan He truly knows how to teach his disciples. The First Seat is indeed the First Seat, to find it so quickly.”
“Why didn’t I use bloodline power? Naturally, it’s because I have no bloodline to use.”
He used force as he laughed, causing the spiritual locks to tighten further, pulling at his clothes. His hair had come loose during the struggle, and the robes Shangguan Liaoliao had prepared for him were in tatters.
Yet he seemed very happy, showing no sign of his impending doom.
As if completely unfraid of An Wuxue’s attack, Shangguan Ran walked toward him step by step and whispered: “An Wuxue, I have truly waited a long time for this day. I’ve called her ‘sister’ every day, called you ‘First Seat,’ and followed her lead in calling you ‘brother.’ I almost began to believe it myself.”
Seeing An Wuxue’s dark expression and silence, he added, “Are you wondering why, having successfully maintained the facade until now, I would choose to destroy everything myself?”
“Because all my deception was for today.”
Amidst his shock, An Wuxue spread his divine sense and detected that Shangguan Liaoliao was rushing back to the sword array.
He didn’t have time to think too much, but he could sense “Shangguan Ran’s” intention to see her.
“…You’re waiting for Liaoliao to return so she can find out you’re not her brother? Who exactly are you? And what are you after?”
“Sir,” he said, his gaze darkening as he changed his tone, “Falling Moon Peak has many extreme punishments for demon cultivators. They can also be used on immortal cultivators who harbor ill intent.”
“Shangguan Ran” nodded. “Yes, I’ve heard of them. The First Seat’s reputation precedes him; I’ve heard many people say you are ruthless and cold-hearted. I’ve often wondered why the you I know is so different from the you in the rumors.”
“But it doesn’t matter. I never planned to live past today anyway.”
He blinked, and a look of nostalgia suddenly appeared on his face.
“I’ve followed her for a long time. She was a very proud person. From the moment she entered the Way of Floating Life, she was an unrivaled genius in North Abyss. In less than two hundred years, she reached the Tribulation-Transcending stage, and ascended in a thousand. Even those long-established immortals were no match for her—until Nan He appeared out of nowhere.”
An Wuxue’s pupils shrank— “Shangguan Ran” was talking about the North Abyss Immortal Lord!
“…Nan He entered the Dao through heartlessness. From the day his name appeared in the Falling Moon disciple records, he reached the peak of the Tribulation-Transcending stage in a century. The Way of Heartless is a path of thorns for all immortal cultivators, except for Nan He—why was Nan He so uniquely gifted? Why did he reach the Long-Life Immortal stage without any obstacle, and even suppress her, becoming the world’s number one and easily succeeding as the Immortal Venerable?”
“She had never lost, yet she lost everything to Nan He. She actually fell into a mania even in the Immortal Realm. Fortunately, there was that turbid cultivation method!”
“She could have won! And Shangguan Liaoliao—what did she do to deserve anything? Her daughter, who from birth was raised by the highest cultivators of North Abyss, possessed the best spiritual treasures, and had her natal sword forged by her mother’s own hands. And in the end? In the end, she actually died by her daughter’s betrayal?”
“I refused to accept it. I wanted her final curse to come true. In the City Lord’s manor, I took away her youngest son.”
“Shangguan Ran” gave a soft “Shh.” “First Seat, let me tell you a secret that is about to become public knowledge.”
“The part about fleeing in a panic during the chaos is true. The part about being injured and forgetting everything is also true. But the final outcome was that Shangguan Ran was captured by me.”
“I helped him practice, helped him reach the Tribulation-Transcending stage, but in the end, I searched his soul, destroyed his mind, and infected his meridians with turbid energy. Guess which Great Demon outside the city he is now…?”
An Wuxue was speechless.
His lips trembled, and his Adam’s apple bobbed, but no sound came out.
Shangguan Liaoliao was drawing closer and closer.
“Oh, the First Seat has guessed it,” the man said. “He’s the one who was pretending to fight me when we first met, and also the one who today—”
He tilted his head, looking at the distant horizon beyond the now-peaceful First City.
“—also the last Great Demon to die at the hands of Shangguan Liaoliao today.”
“My, hahahahahaha!!! Hahahahahahahahahaha!!!”
An Wuxue’s eyes turned red.
He suddenly stepped to the side and grabbed “Shangguan Ran’s” collar, his knuckles white with effort.
“Animal,” he said.
“Shangguan Ran” suddenly stopped laughing.
His eyes curved slightly, showing a soft expression as he recited the North Abyss Immortal Lord’s final words as if they were a song.
“…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.”
He repeated: “Those close to you will either compete, turn against you, or wither away. Your enemies will rejoice. Long life in eternal solitude…”
The curse from years ago drifted in the breeze brought by the North Abyss sword’s humming, washing over the Sword Tomb where the blades of countless fallen North Abyss cultivators were buried.
Thousands of spiritual swords resonated together, like a mournful song before victory.
Only this curse failed to blend into the bright light after the dark clouds dispersed, appearing as if it came from a bottomless abyss, ready to pull the listener into an irrevocable doom.
An Wuxue seemed to hear the sound of the Black Sea’s waves.
The sword array rippled.
The other array master had entered.
“Shangguan Ran” continued by his side: “Her brother didn’t turn demonic. He was just a poor wretch I drove mad and infected with turbid energy.”
“She killed with her own hands the only blood relative she most wanted to find.”
“First Seat, you are also a genius of the Way of Floating Life. You have seen countless souls and witnessed the myriad deaths and partings in the battle between the North Abyss Immortal Lord and Immortal Venerable Nan He. You should be able to see through all the things in this world that cannot be forgotten or let go, right?”
“Then do you know that after I tell Shangguan Liaoliao all this—will she ever be able to ascend in this life?”
An Wuxue took a deep breath and immediately began to form a hand seal.
“Want to seal my tongue? But in City Lord Shangguan’s eyes, I am still her brother. No matter how you stop me now, she will save me. And once she saves me, I can tell her who her real brother was, can’t I? I never planned on living; everything I’ve done was for today.”
“So I told you on purpose. I’ve had enough of your hypocritical, always calm-even-if-the-sky-falls-down look. I want to see you powerless! I want to see your expression of rage yet being unable to stop anything!!”
“An Wuxue, I will tell her the truth sooner or later. You can’t save her.”
In the span of a moment.
In his peripheral vision, An Wuxue could already see Shangguan Liaoliao flying toward them on her sword.
He suddenly let out a light laugh, his eyes filled with sorrow.
Shangguan Ran hadn’t expected such a reaction and was stunned.
In the next instant—
With a sharp shink.
Chun Hua left its sheath and lunged into “Shangguan Ran’s” chest!!!
Sand seemed to sting their eyes. With red-rimmed eyes, An Wuxue whispered into “Shangguan Ran’s” ear: “But you seem to have forgotten…”
“There is a concept called ‘killing to silence someone.’”