Chapter 12
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Couldn’t Xie Zhefeng think of a better alias? He actually took the name of his own life sword? Sealing his life sword, disguising himself to travel, yet still using the name of his life sword. Didn’t he fear that someone who remembered the past might recognize Chunhua as the name of the sword belonging to the chief elder of Luoyue Peak, who was condemned a thousand years ago? It was as if he had been sleeping in a tomb for a millennium, only to be unearthed suddenly—and the grave robber even carried his urn, loudly proclaiming his epitaph.
An Wuxue: “...” He almost laughed out of anger.
Xie Zhefeng seemed to sense An Wuxue’s silent resentment and glanced over at him.
An Wuxue forced a smile without warmth and said, “Fellow Daoist Xie… I come from the mortal realm and have only arrived at Luoyue Peak via Yun Sword Sect. I know nothing of Yun Sword Sect. Besides, I am only at the Qi Refining stage. If there is danger within Yun Sword Sect, not only would I be of little help, I might even become a burden. I’ve thought it over; I’d rather stay in the Frost Burial Sea.”
Going to Yun Sword Sect with Xie Zhefeng? He might as well remain at Luoyue Peak.
Yun Zhou worriedly said, “I also think it’s risky for you to go, but this matter was decreed by the Immortal Venerable…”
“No,” Xie Zhefeng said calmly, “Aside from the extermination of the sect, I need to investigate the source of the talisman paper in your hands.”
The implication was clear—Yun Zhou and Yun Yao could stay behind, but An Wuxue had to go.
An Wuxue: “...”
Xie Zhefeng had already opened the barrier on the spirit boat and was the first to step on board.
Before Yun Zhou boarded, he leaned close to An Wuxue’s ear and whispered, “Don’t you think Fellow Daoist Xie’s mannerisms resemble those of the Immortal Venerable? He’s also surnamed Xie. Could he be a relative?”
An Wuxue: “...”
On the spirit boat, Xie Zhefeng turned his back to them, as if he hadn’t heard.
But even though he used a doppelganger at the Great Accomplishment stage, his soul still reached the realm of the Everlasting Immortal. No matter how quietly Yun Zhou spoke, Xie Zhefeng could hear it.
An Wuxue couldn’t say much, only muttered vaguely, “It’s rude to talk behind someone’s back.”
“Coward,” Yun Zhou teased.
An Wuxue: “...”
If you knew who was driving this boat, you’d be even more scared.
He took a seat as far from Xie Zhefeng as possible and sat down quickly.
Yun Zhou and Yun Yao followed behind, and before they could settle, Xie Zhefeng made a hand seal and raised the barrier. The spirit boat suddenly soared, parting the clouds on both sides.
Yun Zhou hastily grabbed Yun Yao and exclaimed, “Why didn’t Fellow Daoist Xie say anything when starting the boat?”
So Xie Zhefeng said simply, “We’re underway.”
Yun Zhou: “...”
The spirit boat swiftly passed over the mountains of Luoyue Peak and through the protective mountain array.
An Wuxue sat steadily at the farthest spot, touching the spirit pouch hanging at his waist.
Hmm, inside was still the soul bell he had stolen from Xie Zhefeng.
Though the soul bell wasn’t useful now, at least he and Xie Zhefeng had ventured out together. Returning was impossible; he could only continue hiding it secretly.
He tightened the spirit pouch slightly to prevent the “Fellow Daoist Xie” driving the boat from sensing the bell’s aura.
In that moment, as the spirit boat sailed through the clouds, looking down through the barrier, the mortal towns around Luoyue Peak were already visible.
Though called “two realms,” the boundary was not so clear-cut; it was a rough distinction between mortals and cultivators.
An Wuxue lowered his gaze. The towns in the mortal world looked nothing like in his memory.
This was his first time stepping outside Luoyue Peak since awakening. The protective mountain array felt like a barrier separating a millennium. Inside Luoyue Peak, the flora remained unchanged; outside, everything had transformed.
He felt like a young cultivator newly entering the mortal world, everything fresh and strange.
Yun Zhou was already growing bored, chatting a little with Yun Yao, who spoke little. Knowing An Wuxue rarely paid attention to him, Yun Zhou surprisingly started talking to Xie Zhefeng.
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“...When we return to the sect, I must find the culprit and avenge my master and our sect leader. By the way, Fellow Daoist Xie, yesterday the Immortal Venerable said someone would accompany us for the investigation. I expected several Luoyue Peak disciples, but it’s only you.”
“Fellow Daoist Xie must be very skilled. May I be so bold as to ask your cultivation level?”
Xie Zhefeng glanced at him briefly and answered simply, “Great Accomplishment stage.”
Yun Zhou was momentarily stunned.
He worried aloud, “But my master and the others are also at Great Accomplishment. The culprit managed all this silently…”
That likely meant the culprit was at the Tribulation Crossing stage or at the peak of the Great Accomplishment stage, almost crossing the tribulation.
“If the other party is at Tribulation Crossing, what shall we do?”
An Wuxue continued to curiously observe the sea of clouds below, hearing Xie Zhefeng’s indifferent reply: “Then I could be at Tribulation Crossing as well.”
Yun Zhou: “?”
An Wuxue: “...”
Straightforward honesty.
“Xie Chunhua” could not only be at Tribulation Crossing, but even an Everlasting Immortal.
Yun Zhou continued, “Fellow Daoist Xie, under which Tribulation Crossing elder of Luoyue Peak did you study?”
“...”
“I heard entry into Luoyue is very strict. How did you manage to join?”
“...”
“What did you mean just now by saying you could be at Tribulation Crossing? Are you a half-step Tribulation Crossing? Amazing.”
“...”
“The Immortal Venerable said someone would bring the Soul-Nurturing Tree spirit. So you have one with you?”
“...”
Yun Zhou rattled off countless questions, but Xie Zhefeng seemed deaf to them all, completely ignoring him.
An Wuxue glanced around, noticing Yun Yao’s wooden face and vacant eyes.
Yun Zhou was carefree and quick to recover even after the sect’s disaster, but Yun Yao remained silent and withdrawn; Yun Zhou hadn’t noticed his senior brother’s odd state.
Concerned, he asked, “Yun Yao? Are you thinking about the calamity at Yun Sword Sect?”
Yun Yao seemed not to hear.
“Yun Yao?”
Yun Zhou stopped speaking and turned back. “Senior Brother, Su Xue is talking to you.”
“Hm?” Yun Yao seemed to come to himself. “What did Young Master Su say? Sorry, I was just thinking that perhaps the sect has already… The sect leader, my master, and all the elders are fine cultivators. Although the sect is small, the leader never hesitates to provide us with pills and spirit treasures.”
“Young Master Su, they never made enemies. Why would the culprit be so cruel as to exterminate the entire sect?”
Yun Yao rarely spoke so much. An Wuxue fell silent, then said, “There are many grudges in the world, not all with clear reasons. Sometimes hatred is justified, sometimes it’s merely give and take, or even baseless malice with nowhere to vent. The deceased are gone; the living should not be trapped in regret. Since Luoyue Peak is involved, this matter will not be handled hastily…”
He understood the pain of losing close friends and family; he empathized with Yun Yao’s thoughts.
But he was not good at comforting others and didn’t know what else to say.
Xie Zhefeng seemed to glance back once.
Yun Zhou, previously cheerful, suddenly grew somber, his eyes reddening.
Yun Yao spoke deliberately, “Young Master Su is kind. Thank you.”
—
Luoyue Peak was not close to Yun Sword Sect. They departed early morning, and as they neared, dusk was settling.
Xie Zhefeng did not head directly to Yun Sword Sect but stopped at a town near it.
“Su Xue! Still sleeping?”
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An Wuxue slowly opened his eyes. “Are we at Yun Sword Sect?”
“Not yet.”
He stepped off the spirit boat and looked ahead.
The setting sun stained the clouds with deep hues. Above the city gate, held up by multiple spirit arrays, hung a large sign: “Zhaoshui City.”
Within the city, a towering sword sculpture pierced the sky, coloring the sunset like the crimson aftermath of slaughter. Yet cultivators and mortals hurried past the gate, the mortal world’s prosperity washing away the sense of carnage; the sword sculpture only added solemnity.
This place was...
Yun Sword Sect actually stood here!?
He had been here a thousand years ago.
When Nan He fell, the Turbid Immortals were almost annihilated.
After both sides perished, no one ascended to immortality for decades, with many great demons roaming the world and the calamity lingering.
Many spiritual veins were destroyed, the four heavenly pillars almost shattered. In haste, Xie Zhefeng, at half-step to Immortal, took over the Immortal Venerable’s position.
To repair the heavenly pillars and earth veins, he conceived a formation using myriad swords across the four seas, the entire two realms as the battlefield, to replace the broken pillars.
Therefore, he led Luoyue disciples to many sects and cultivator-managed cities.
Zhaoshui City, ravaged in the calamity and neighboring the Eastern Azure Sea, served as a formation’s focal point—one of the places he stayed longest.
Beneath the towering sword sculpture that pierced the clouds lay thousands of ownerless spirit swords—life swords left behind by cultivators who perished in Zhaoshui City during the calamity.
He personally laid down formation markings here.
No wonder.
No wonder Xie Zhefeng believed his casual lie without suspicion, even concealing his identity and coming to Yun Sword Sect in disguise to investigate.
Yun Sword Sect, a small sect that arose near Zhaoshui City over a thousand years, could indeed be connected to him.
An Wuxue: “...”
Truly, the flood washed away the dragon’s temple; he had trapped himself.
Lost in thought, Yun Zhou asked confusedly, “Fellow Daoist Xie, why have we come to Zhaoshui City? The sect is just ahead, but the leader and masters are still warm in their graves. I want to quickly uncover what happened within the sect. Why are we stopping nearby?”
Xie Zhefeng said, “No rush.”
He headed straight into the city.
Yun Zhou finally couldn’t hold back: “You—!”
Yun Yao pulled him back. “Junior Brother, Fellow Daoist Xie must have his reasons. Since he’s a Luoyue Peak disciple and a Great Accomplishment expert, following him is correct. Look, Young Master Su is following too.”
An Wuxue followed Xie Zhefeng into Zhaoshui City.
The man ahead walked at a steady pace, seemingly observing the passing figures, lost in thought.
Not long after entering, the streets lit up brightly. Vendors crowded the streets, dazzling the eyes, and more mortals appeared, with many cultivators mingling among them.
The crowd seemed to be discussing a “Tianshui Festival.”
An Wuxue looked ahead and saw the most crowded area, where a two-story-high flower carriage slowly moved forward amid the clamor of gongs and drums and continuous fireworks.
In his memory, Zhaoshui City’s mortals dared not venture out after dark, cultivators always carried their swords among corpses, and the protective spirit arrays on the gates ran constantly, often buffeted by turbid energy.
It was completely different now.
An Wuxue watched, entranced, gradually distracted.
Xie Zhefeng, ahead, glanced back slightly to see the one behind looking around curiously, even pausing briefly at a stall selling sugar paintings for children.
In the bustling street, the reflection of thousands of lights shone in that person's eyes, their gaze softly curved with wonder.