The night Xu Jingxian arrived at the Luo Capital, she had been sent off on errands by Changming, before she could even take a look at the prospering city centre.
If the Celestial Library was the heart, and the entire Luo Capital was a formation, there should have been hidden pillars to the four directions, guarding the Celestial Library Pagoda in the centre. It was ready to start working at any moment and would help to bring the Luo Capital under control. This was Changming’s guess, and Xu Jingxian was responsible for searching for the pillars.
But it was easier said than done.
The Luo Capital was the biggest capital in the world. It was the renovated capital of the last dynasty. There were many places to visit outside the city walls, and the territories were vast—Xu Jingxian might as well look for a needle in a haystack and achieve the same result. It was very hard for her to finish the task within a day.
Originally, she thought she would return empty-handed.
Right now, Xu Jingxian had nothing useful on hand and didn’t possess any treasures and tools, only a talisman drawn on her palm by Changming.
Changming told her to look around the city carefully. If she stumbled upon something suspicious, the talisman would get hot as a warning. If Xu Jingxian was lucky, she could get a chance.
Xu Jingxian didn’t believe him completely, and only thought he was trying to make her do all the hard work.
She didn’t dare oppose openly but lazed around behind his back. At first, Xu Jingxian walked through the western market, but it was too early, so the shops still hadn’t opened. She bought a tanghulu and left the city. The region outside the city walls was deserted, and there were only two small guest houses to the sides of the main road, as well as a teahouse full of visitors. An assistant of the teahouse raised the lid of a pot with braised donkey meat that was fresh out of the oven, and the aroma made Xu Jingxian stop.
At this moment, just when Xu Jingxian was about to get closer to the teahouse, the talisman on her palm started burning. She lowered her head and saw that it was even glowing.
“I was looking for half a day and finally found a small pillar right in the middle of the teahouse. The lower half of it was hidden underground, and the upper half looked like a dead tree, easy to mistake for a common pillar supporting the teahouse. It was raining several days ago, so the soil was somewhat soft, and a small piece of a dragon ornament showed from beneath the surface. That was when I realized that this thing was strange.”
She used the compass she took from Fang Suihan, determined the location of the teahouse, and noticed that it was built directly to the west of the Celestial Library Pagoda.
But the process of breaking the pillar didn’t go that smoothly. The owner and guests of the teahouse were all ordinary people, so Xu Jingxian could send them away with the right amount of money. Moreover, considering her reputation as a temptress from a demonic sect, even the money could be saved. But Xu Jingxian looked around and noticed a cultivator in the crowd.
Cultivators frequently visited the Luo Capital, but the strange thing was that that female cultivator was ordering one drink after another, sitting in the teahouse, as if she was waiting for someone.
“I guess that she didn’t know whom she was waiting for and whether someone would come; she was simply ordered to guard that place, and didn’t expect to meet me.”
Xu Jingxian was talking slower and slower, waiting for Changming to show some tenderness for the beauty, and take advantage of him. But who knew that Changming wouldn’t even open his mouth during her speech, while Yun Hai would lose his patience.
“Cut it short!”
Damn man, if I could hit you…
Xu Jingxian swore silently again but didn’t dare say anything aloud.
A person who can adapt to the circumstances is a wise person. This was something Xu Jingxian practised to the point of perfection while working under Zhou Keyi, learning when she should shut up, and when flattery would be the right thing to make her clan master feel good. People who entered the Jianxue Clan at the same time didn’t have her skills, so, naturally, their promotion was not that rapid.
Many people thought that rising in a demonic sect required stepping over the bones of other people. Of course, ruthless murders happened in demonic sects, but the art of reading body language was in truth the key to success.
Xu Jingxian had wandered from the subject, but once she saw that Yun Hai’s eyes were full of murderous intent, she got back on track.
“From the first move, I saw that she was from the Nanhai Flying Immortals Island, and her cultivation wasn’t low, probably even better than other highly ranked cultivators.”
If this had happened to Xu Jingxian before she took the Yangzhen Grass, it would have been hard to determine the victor between the two of them in a short time. However, Xu Jingxian had become a different person after the Nine Layers of the Abyss; her cultivation had broken through to the next level, and she had turned into an actual master. Her opponent probably didn’t expect Xu Jingxian to be that formidable and quickly lost control over the situation.
More than that, Xu Jingxian used a demonic art of dominating over a person’s consciousness, and fished every detail out of the woman, forcibly taking her techniques and obtaining the information about the other three pillars effortlessly.
“I found both the northern and the southern pillars on mountain slopes, and the last one was inside a house; I came up with plans to destroy them all. That female cultivator of the Flying Immortals Sect said that every position was guarded by someone originally, and her cultivation was the lowest among them. However, a couple days ago, there were rumours about formidable characters coming to the Luo Capital, and the people from the northern and the southern position were transferred to deal with it, while only the woman and the person from the eastern point were left. It was also said that the other person, protecting the Dragon Pillar in the Imperial mausoleum on the East, is very powerful, the strongest among the four of them. I didn’t dare to hurry over there without careful consideration, and decided to come here and report first.”
Xu Jingxian finished speaking with a deep sigh, revealing a feeble appearance of an exhausted beauty and waited for Changming to give her some reward.
She didn’t expect anything good from the other person anyway.
Unexpectedly, Changming looked at her sleeves: “This new tool you got is not that bad.”
Xu Jingxian: …
She didn’t even show it, how on earth did he know!
That female cultivator from the Flying Immortals Sect was using silk just like her. Although it wasn’t superior to Donghai Muslin, it was made of rare and hard-to-produce sharkskin. Just when Xu Jingxian was sullen over losing an appropriate weapon, this woman was simply giving a pillow to Xu Jingxian who was falling asleep—how could the latter miss this opportunity? She took it immediately for herself, considering it a small reward for the hassle she had been through for the last several days.
“We are going to set out in two days. You should send people to deal with the Dragon Pillar in the Imperial mausoleum in the East, lest it becomes a new hidden danger in several days.”
Changming had addressed these words to Kuhe and the others.
Not only were the emperors of every dynasty buried in the imperial mausoleum, but it even helped to sustain the Feng Shui of the ruling dynasty. Judging by the words of that female cultivator from the Flying Immortals Sect, the Dragon Pillar in the imperial mausoleum was a very knotty matter.
“Senior, there’s one thing I don’t get. Since the thing attracting evil spirits in the Celestial Library Pagoda is already broken, how can our enemies cause trouble with only one pillar? The Dragon is a symbol of the Son of Heavens; when demons and the You dynasty were causing trouble for us this time, why did they choose Dragon Pillars?”
Since Changming had demonstrated his skills, Xie Chunxi sincerely admitted his superiority. This question was asked not as a quibble, but to dispel his doubts.
Demons blended in the Human World and were only occasionally discovered. But it had been many years since they started appearing, and humans rarely had to deal with them, only hearing names, but seeing not a single trace of them. This time, however, the emperor lost his souls, all his men and their horses were thrown off their feet in the Luo Capital, and even Kuhe and Xie Chunxi were almost defeated. At this moment, the humans had finally noticed that the demons had already infiltrated the world, unnoticed by anyone, and even grew deep roots and thick leaves.
Deep roots and thick leaves: well-established and strong.
Not to mention the fact that the Zhaoyue princess was possessed by a demon. Was it a coincidence that the demon took a fancy to someone with her status, or was there someone in the Zhaoyue imperial harem who had colluded with demons?
And was there a third force that influenced the ambassadors from You and King Hui, making them cooperate to rebel together?
These questions couldn’t be solved in a short time.
Needless to say, although the empress dowager of Luo had cultivators like Xie Chunxi, she couldn’t escape the fear of their uncertain future.
“Although the demons left the Celestial Library Pagoda, the building wasn’t ruined. Until the pagoda remains, it is a nail piercing the heart of the Luo Capital.” Changming said.
Nail: here: obstacle, hindrance
Kuhe frowned deeply.
“Will it be fine if the pagoda is destroyed?”
“Going to the pagoda is only the first step, and the Dragon Pillar inside the imperial mausoleum should be removed as fast as possible. Otherwise, the Celestial Pagoda and the imperial mausoleum will still be linked, and troubles can arise once again. In a month, the Five Stars will align in the sky. Originally, our enemies intended to arrange a corresponding formation on earth, the five points being the Celestial Library Pagoda and the four pillars. If they activated it at the right time, they would get twice the result with half the effort. But now, everything has shifted to an earlier time. Our opponent is a master of formations, and his skills aren’t inferior to mine, so I can’t predict his next move.”
Five Stars will align in the sky: Mercury (water star), Venus (gold star), Mars (fire star), Jupiter (wood star), Saturn (soil star). An auspicious omen
Changming had never underestimated Jiang Li. If the latter wasn’t strong, he wouldn’t have forced Changming to jump into a pit willingly, fully aware of the danger, several decades ago.
In this game, things had changed from the way they used to be after fifty years. At first, his enemy was in the dark, while Changming was in the light, which resulted in Changming falling into a disadvantageous position. However, some time had passed, and now, the cards in Jiang Li’s hands had started to be exposed, bit by bit.
The Wanxiang Palace, Xiao Cangfeng, demons—there were fewer resources his opponents could use, while Changming now knew more.
If they had enough time to achieve their goals, the Treasured Celestial Library Pagoda would have turned into a flawless formation, and Xiao Cangfeng, Jiang Li’s disciple, wouldn’t have died unnoticed. But it was clear that they couldn’t just wait. Changming was slowly recovering his cultivation, while Yun Weisi had left the Nine Layers of the Abyss—their plans had already been disturbed. And a single problem could lead to utter chaos.
“Who, in the end, colluded with demons? Does the senior have any clues?”
Xie Chunxi had already thought of the possible dark secrets hidden behind their backs.
Could they set such an enormous trap, relying only on demons?
Of course, they couldn’t.
Then, the one who cooperated with them could yield unexpectedly tremendous power.
The Jinque Daoist Temple wasn’t big, and Xie Chunxi wasn’t particularly worried to ask this question. But those like Kuhe, who came from the Qingyun School, had a lot to take into consideration.
Even though they were thinking the same as Xie Chunxi, and perhaps even understood more, Kuhe couldn’t easily ask this.
But Changming didn’t give them much time to ponder and gave them two locations straidforwadly.
“The Wanjian Immortal Clan and the Wanxiang Palace.”
Naturally, Xie Chunxi and the others were taken aback.
Although these two large sects shared the same ‘wan’ in their names, they had no blood relations. The Wanxiang Palace portrayed themselves as those who had an understanding of every phenomenon in the world, from the heavenly bodies in the sky to the yin and yang on the earth, while the Wanjian Immortal Clan was a high mountain in the physical world, which no cultivator could bypass.
The same ‘wan’: lit. 10.000, countless. Wanjian means ‘10.000 swords’/‘all kinds of swords’, wanxiang means ‘10.000 phenomena’/‘every phenomenon on earth’
People said that if you managed to enrol into the Wanjian Immortal Clan, your path of cultivation would be halved. This sect was an assembly of distinguished talents and a forest of worthy opponents; Xiao Cangfeng managed to become Jiang Li’s direct disciple, admittedly, he had outstanding natural endowments. It was often said that Xiao Cangfeng was arrogant, but there were three to five talents like him in the Wanjian Immortal Clan.
And a common sect could hardly get one.
Even though Buddhists and Daoists had different opinions on every matter, Buddhists remained polite to first-class sects like the Wanjian Immortal Clan, and couldn’t afford to offend them.
The Wanxiang Palace alone was fine. Their disciples appeared like spirits and vanished like ghosts, and people in the Jianghu often heard of them, but rarely encountered them, so they didn’t have a strong impression of this sect. But, unexpectedly, Changming aimed his attack directly at the Wanjian Immortal Clan. For a short time, everyone was at a loss for how to react.
Xie Chunxi and the others felt a bit awkward.
They never thought of opposing the Wanjian Immortal Clan.
Changming smiled and didn’t say much. He approached Yun Hai and patted his shoulder.
“Let’s go back.”
Their reaction was sincere. They couldn’t believe that the Wanjian Immortal Clan was at fault after Changming had said a couple of words, and Changming couldn’t fill them with righteous indignation by force. But he had sowed the seeds of doubt in their hearts, and it would be hard for them to uproot that suspicion for the time being.
Jiang Li had been scheming, using the world as his chessboard for several decades. If the tiny bits of this matter were exposed, eventually, everyone would pick up on the clues.
Changming wasn’t in a hurry.
He was turned into a chess piece, forced to wander through the Yellow Springs with a slim chance of survival, his cultivation had been lost, and a thousand accusing fingers were pointing to him.
A thousand accusing fingers were pointing: be universally condemned
There was no more room to retreat. He returned to the Human World and started to uncover the mystery of the past, regaining his cultivation slowly.
The one who was in a hurry now was Jiang Li.
Yun Hai squinted, his face was half-asleep.
He was powerless as he slept, but others couldn’t notice his weakness.
But Changming could. He supported Yun Hai with one hand, letting him put half of his weight on Changming.
Xu Jingxian saw that he was going to leave, so she shouted to stop him: “Ming-lang!”
Yun Hai interrupted her words with one glance.
“Senior! Future Shifu!”
Xu Jingxian changed her address immediately and grabbed Changming’s sleeve.
“I was rushing about busily all day, so I’m tired; I barely managed to uproot the three pillars! Are you not going to reward me at all?”
When she acted coquettishly on purpose, she could make every bone in her opponent’s body feel soft, from head to toe, and make them docile and obedient, ready to cater to her every request.
Unfortunately, Changming wasn’t an ordinary person.
“I seem to remember now. Isn’t your old friend here with us now? Xie Chunxi, from the Jinque Daoist Palace, you must know him well, right?”
He revealed a suddenly enlightened expression and looked at Xie Chunxi amiably after finishing his words.
“Mentor Xie, you encountered a little girl many years ago, and told her that she was born with charming bones, so she would bring a calamity to the whole country, hence she can’t cultivate. Do you still remember her? This girl is in front of you right now, and, what a coincidence, she became a demonic cultivator, the master of Lingbo Peak of the Jianxue Clan. You’ve met each other after a long separation, so you must have a lot of things to discuss. Lady Xu, you should slowly reminisce about good old times with Mentor Xie.”
Xu Jingxian: …
How could she not recognise Xie Chunxi? Just as she entered the palace, she immediately took notice of this man who had changed her fate many years ago with a few words. But a man of noble character can wait for years to have his revenge. Moreover, she was in front of Changming now, so at first, she had intended to ignore Xie Chunxi’s existence and wait for an opportunity to settle the score with him later in some dark alley, by putting Xie Chunxi into utter misery with no control over his life. Who knew that Changming would lay bare the truth with one incisive remark?
Of course, Xie Chunxi didn’t recognise Xu Jingxian who had turned into a beauty after all these years. He was astounded: “It’s you?”
From the corner of her eyes, Xu Jingxian saw Changming and Yun Hai leaving the place. Just when she wanted to chase them, Xie Chunxi added one more sentence—
“Sure enough, you entered a demonic sect!”
Xu Jingxian’s lifted foot changed its direction. She folded her white fingers in a technique as fast as lightning, aiming right at Xie Chunxi’s face.
If I don’t correct his thinking today, my name is no longer Xu Jingxian!
The night Xu Jingxian arrived at the Luo Capital, she had been sent off on errands by Changming, before she could even take a look at the prospering city centre.
If the Celestial Library was the heart, and the entire Luo Capital was a formation, there should have been hidden pillars to the four directions, guarding the Celestial Library Pagoda in the centre. It was ready to start working at any moment and would help to bring the Luo Capital under control. This was Changming’s guess, and Xu Jingxian was responsible for searching for the pillars.
But it was easier said than done.
The Luo Capital was the biggest capital in the world. It was the renovated capital of the last dynasty. There were many places to visit outside the city walls, and the territories were vast—Xu Jingxian might as well look for a needle in a haystack and achieve the same result. It was very hard for her to finish the task within a day.
Originally, she thought she would return empty-handed.
Right now, Xu Jingxian had nothing useful on hand and didn’t possess any treasures and tools, only a talisman drawn on her palm by Changming.
Changming told her to look around the city carefully. If she stumbled upon something suspicious, the talisman would get hot as a warning. If Xu Jingxian was lucky, she could get a chance.
Xu Jingxian didn’t believe him completely, and only thought he was trying to make her do all the hard work.
She didn’t dare oppose openly but lazed around behind his back. At first, Xu Jingxian walked through the western market, but it was too early, so the shops still hadn’t opened. She bought a tanghulu and left the city. The region outside the city walls was deserted, and there were only two small guest houses to the sides of the main road, as well as a teahouse full of visitors. An assistant of the teahouse raised the lid of a pot with braised donkey meat that was fresh out of the oven, and the aroma made Xu Jingxian stop.
At this moment, just when Xu Jingxian was about to get closer to the teahouse, the talisman on her palm started burning. She lowered her head and saw that it was even glowing.
“I was looking for half a day and finally found a small pillar right in the middle of the teahouse. The lower half of it was hidden underground, and the upper half looked like a dead tree, easy to mistake for a common pillar supporting the teahouse. It was raining several days ago, so the soil was somewhat soft, and a small piece of a dragon ornament showed from beneath the surface. That was when I realized that this thing was strange.”
She used the compass she took from Fang Suihan, determined the location of the teahouse, and noticed that it was built directly to the west of the Celestial Library Pagoda.
But the process of breaking the pillar didn’t go that smoothly. The owner and guests of the teahouse were all ordinary people, so Xu Jingxian could send them away with the right amount of money. Moreover, considering her reputation as a temptress from a demonic sect, even the money could be saved. But Xu Jingxian looked around and noticed a cultivator in the crowd.
Cultivators frequently visited the Luo Capital, but the strange thing was that that female cultivator was ordering one drink after another, sitting in the teahouse, as if she was waiting for someone.
“I guess that she didn’t know whom she was waiting for and whether someone would come; she was simply ordered to guard that place, and didn’t expect to meet me.”
Xu Jingxian was talking slower and slower, waiting for Changming to show some tenderness for the beauty, and take advantage of him. But who knew that Changming wouldn’t even open his mouth during her speech, while Yun Hai would lose his patience.
“Cut it short!”
Damn man, if I could hit you…
Xu Jingxian swore silently again but didn’t dare say anything aloud.
A person who can adapt to the circumstances is a wise person. This was something Xu Jingxian practised to the point of perfection while working under Zhou Keyi, learning when she should shut up, and when flattery would be the right thing to make her clan master feel good. People who entered the Jianxue Clan at the same time didn’t have her skills, so, naturally, their promotion was not that rapid.
Many people thought that rising in a demonic sect required stepping over the bones of other people. Of course, ruthless murders happened in demonic sects, but the art of reading body language was in truth the key to success.
Xu Jingxian had wandered from the subject, but once she saw that Yun Hai’s eyes were full of murderous intent, she got back on track.
“From the first move, I saw that she was from the Nanhai Flying Immortals Island, and her cultivation wasn’t low, probably even better than other highly ranked cultivators.”
If this had happened to Xu Jingxian before she took the Yangzhen Grass, it would have been hard to determine the victor between the two of them in a short time. However, Xu Jingxian had become a different person after the Nine Layers of the Abyss; her cultivation had broken through to the next level, and she had turned into an actual master. Her opponent probably didn’t expect Xu Jingxian to be that formidable and quickly lost control over the situation.
More than that, Xu Jingxian used a demonic art of dominating over a person’s consciousness, and fished every detail out of the woman, forcibly taking her techniques and obtaining the information about the other three pillars effortlessly.
“I found both the northern and the southern pillars on mountain slopes, and the last one was inside a house; I came up with plans to destroy them all. That female cultivator of the Flying Immortals Sect said that every position was guarded by someone originally, and her cultivation was the lowest among them. However, a couple days ago, there were rumours about formidable characters coming to the Luo Capital, and the people from the northern and the southern position were transferred to deal with it, while only the woman and the person from the eastern point were left. It was also said that the other person, protecting the Dragon Pillar in the Imperial mausoleum on the East, is very powerful, the strongest among the four of them. I didn’t dare to hurry over there without careful consideration, and decided to come here and report first.”
Xu Jingxian finished speaking with a deep sigh, revealing a feeble appearance of an exhausted beauty and waited for Changming to give her some reward.
She didn’t expect anything good from the other person anyway.
Unexpectedly, Changming looked at her sleeves: “This new tool you got is not that bad.”
Xu Jingxian: …
She didn’t even show it, how on earth did he know!
That female cultivator from the Flying Immortals Sect was using silk just like her. Although it wasn’t superior to Donghai Muslin, it was made of rare and hard-to-produce sharkskin. Just when Xu Jingxian was sullen over losing an appropriate weapon, this woman was simply giving a pillow to Xu Jingxian who was falling asleep—how could the latter miss this opportunity? She took it immediately for herself, considering it a small reward for the hassle she had been through for the last several days.
“We are going to set out in two days. You should send people to deal with the Dragon Pillar in the Imperial mausoleum in the East, lest it becomes a new hidden danger in several days.”
Changming had addressed these words to Kuhe and the others.
Not only were the emperors of every dynasty buried in the imperial mausoleum, but it even helped to sustain the Feng Shui of the ruling dynasty. Judging by the words of that female cultivator from the Flying Immortals Sect, the Dragon Pillar in the imperial mausoleum was a very knotty matter.
“Senior, there’s one thing I don’t get. Since the thing attracting evil spirits in the Celestial Library Pagoda is already broken, how can our enemies cause trouble with only one pillar? The Dragon is a symbol of the Son of Heavens; when demons and the You dynasty were causing trouble for us this time, why did they choose Dragon Pillars?”
Since Changming had demonstrated his skills, Xie Chunxi sincerely admitted his superiority. This question was asked not as a quibble, but to dispel his doubts.
Demons blended in the Human World and were only occasionally discovered. But it had been many years since they started appearing, and humans rarely had to deal with them, only hearing names, but seeing not a single trace of them. This time, however, the emperor lost his souls, all his men and their horses were thrown off their feet in the Luo Capital, and even Kuhe and Xie Chunxi were almost defeated. At this moment, the humans had finally noticed that the demons had already infiltrated the world, unnoticed by anyone, and even grew deep roots and thick leaves.
Deep roots and thick leaves: well-established and strong.
Not to mention the fact that the Zhaoyue princess was possessed by a demon. Was it a coincidence that the demon took a fancy to someone with her status, or was there someone in the Zhaoyue imperial harem who had colluded with demons?
And was there a third force that influenced the ambassadors from You and King Hui, making them cooperate to rebel together?
These questions couldn’t be solved in a short time.
Needless to say, although the empress dowager of Luo had cultivators like Xie Chunxi, she couldn’t escape the fear of their uncertain future.
“Although the demons left the Celestial Library Pagoda, the building wasn’t ruined. Until the pagoda remains, it is a nail piercing the heart of the Luo Capital.” Changming said.
Nail: here: obstacle, hindrance
Kuhe frowned deeply.
“Will it be fine if the pagoda is destroyed?”
“Going to the pagoda is only the first step, and the Dragon Pillar inside the imperial mausoleum should be removed as fast as possible. Otherwise, the Celestial Pagoda and the imperial mausoleum will still be linked, and troubles can arise once again. In a month, the Five Stars will align in the sky. Originally, our enemies intended to arrange a corresponding formation on earth, the five points being the Celestial Library Pagoda and the four pillars. If they activated it at the right time, they would get twice the result with half the effort. But now, everything has shifted to an earlier time. Our opponent is a master of formations, and his skills aren’t inferior to mine, so I can’t predict his next move.”
Five Stars will align in the sky: Mercury (water star), Venus (gold star), Mars (fire star), Jupiter (wood star), Saturn (soil star). An auspicious omen
Changming had never underestimated Jiang Li. If the latter wasn’t strong, he wouldn’t have forced Changming to jump into a pit willingly, fully aware of the danger, several decades ago.
In this game, things had changed from the way they used to be after fifty years. At first, his enemy was in the dark, while Changming was in the light, which resulted in Changming falling into a disadvantageous position. However, some time had passed, and now, the cards in Jiang Li’s hands had started to be exposed, bit by bit.
The Wanxiang Palace, Xiao Cangfeng, demons—there were fewer resources his opponents could use, while Changming now knew more.
If they had enough time to achieve their goals, the Treasured Celestial Library Pagoda would have turned into a flawless formation, and Xiao Cangfeng, Jiang Li’s disciple, wouldn’t have died unnoticed. But it was clear that they couldn’t just wait. Changming was slowly recovering his cultivation, while Yun Weisi had left the Nine Layers of the Abyss—their plans had already been disturbed. And a single problem could lead to utter chaos.
“Who, in the end, colluded with demons? Does the senior have any clues?”
Xie Chunxi had already thought of the possible dark secrets hidden behind their backs.
Could they set such an enormous trap, relying only on demons?
Of course, they couldn’t.
Then, the one who cooperated with them could yield unexpectedly tremendous power.
The Jinque Daoist Temple wasn’t big, and Xie Chunxi wasn’t particularly worried to ask this question. But those like Kuhe, who came from the Qingyun School, had a lot to take into consideration.
Even though they were thinking the same as Xie Chunxi, and perhaps even understood more, Kuhe couldn’t easily ask this.
But Changming didn’t give them much time to ponder and gave them two locations straidforwadly.
“The Wanjian Immortal Clan and the Wanxiang Palace.”
Naturally, Xie Chunxi and the others were taken aback.
Although these two large sects shared the same ‘wan’ in their names, they had no blood relations. The Wanxiang Palace portrayed themselves as those who had an understanding of every phenomenon in the world, from the heavenly bodies in the sky to the yin and yang on the earth, while the Wanjian Immortal Clan was a high mountain in the physical world, which no cultivator could bypass.
The same ‘wan’: lit. 10.000, countless. Wanjian means ‘10.000 swords’/‘all kinds of swords’, wanxiang means ‘10.000 phenomena’/‘every phenomenon on earth’
People said that if you managed to enrol into the Wanjian Immortal Clan, your path of cultivation would be halved. This sect was an assembly of distinguished talents and a forest of worthy opponents; Xiao Cangfeng managed to become Jiang Li’s direct disciple, admittedly, he had outstanding natural endowments. It was often said that Xiao Cangfeng was arrogant, but there were three to five talents like him in the Wanjian Immortal Clan.
And a common sect could hardly get one.
Even though Buddhists and Daoists had different opinions on every matter, Buddhists remained polite to first-class sects like the Wanjian Immortal Clan, and couldn’t afford to offend them.
The Wanxiang Palace alone was fine. Their disciples appeared like spirits and vanished like ghosts, and people in the Jianghu often heard of them, but rarely encountered them, so they didn’t have a strong impression of this sect. But, unexpectedly, Changming aimed his attack directly at the Wanjian Immortal Clan. For a short time, everyone was at a loss for how to react.
Xie Chunxi and the others felt a bit awkward.
They never thought of opposing the Wanjian Immortal Clan.
Changming smiled and didn’t say much. He approached Yun Hai and patted his shoulder.
“Let’s go back.”
Their reaction was sincere. They couldn’t believe that the Wanjian Immortal Clan was at fault after Changming had said a couple of words, and Changming couldn’t fill them with righteous indignation by force. But he had sowed the seeds of doubt in their hearts, and it would be hard for them to uproot that suspicion for the time being.
Jiang Li had been scheming, using the world as his chessboard for several decades. If the tiny bits of this matter were exposed, eventually, everyone would pick up on the clues.
Changming wasn’t in a hurry.
He was turned into a chess piece, forced to wander through the Yellow Springs with a slim chance of survival, his cultivation had been lost, and a thousand accusing fingers were pointing to him.
A thousand accusing fingers were pointing: be universally condemned
There was no more room to retreat. He returned to the Human World and started to uncover the mystery of the past, regaining his cultivation slowly.
The one who was in a hurry now was Jiang Li.
Yun Hai squinted, his face was half-asleep.
He was powerless as he slept, but others couldn’t notice his weakness.
But Changming could. He supported Yun Hai with one hand, letting him put half of his weight on Changming.
Xu Jingxian saw that he was going to leave, so she shouted to stop him: “Ming-lang!”
Yun Hai interrupted her words with one glance.
“Senior! Future Shifu!”
Xu Jingxian changed her address immediately and grabbed Changming’s sleeve.
“I was rushing about busily all day, so I’m tired; I barely managed to uproot the three pillars! Are you not going to reward me at all?”
When she acted coquettishly on purpose, she could make every bone in her opponent’s body feel soft, from head to toe, and make them docile and obedient, ready to cater to her every request.
Unfortunately, Changming wasn’t an ordinary person.
“I seem to remember now. Isn’t your old friend here with us now? Xie Chunxi, from the Jinque Daoist Palace, you must know him well, right?”
He revealed a suddenly enlightened expression and looked at Xie Chunxi amiably after finishing his words.
“Mentor Xie, you encountered a little girl many years ago, and told her that she was born with charming bones, so she would bring a calamity to the whole country, hence she can’t cultivate. Do you still remember her? This girl is in front of you right now, and, what a coincidence, she became a demonic cultivator, the master of Lingbo Peak of the Jianxue Clan. You’ve met each other after a long separation, so you must have a lot of things to discuss. Lady Xu, you should slowly reminisce about good old times with Mentor Xie.”
Xu Jingxian: …
How could she not recognise Xie Chunxi? Just as she entered the palace, she immediately took notice of this man who had changed her fate many years ago with a few words. But a man of noble character can wait for years to have his revenge. Moreover, she was in front of Changming now, so at first, she had intended to ignore Xie Chunxi’s existence and wait for an opportunity to settle the score with him later in some dark alley, by putting Xie Chunxi into utter misery with no control over his life. Who knew that Changming would lay bare the truth with one incisive remark?
Of course, Xie Chunxi didn’t recognise Xu Jingxian who had turned into a beauty after all these years. He was astounded: “It’s you?”
From the corner of her eyes, Xu Jingxian saw Changming and Yun Hai leaving the place. Just when she wanted to chase them, Xie Chunxi added one more sentence—
“Sure enough, you entered a demonic sect!”
Xu Jingxian’s lifted foot changed its direction. She folded her white fingers in a technique as fast as lightning, aiming right at Xie Chunxi’s face.
If I don’t correct his thinking today, my name is no longer Xu Jingxian!
