Chapter 29: Futai (5)
What is a phantasm?
Xie Shiyi said it was evil, but if one surveyed the entire Eight Desolations and Nine Heavens1, perhaps he would be the only person to give this answer.
Standing in the position of Immortal Alliance Leader, standing at a point of view that no others could possibly see from.
Yan Qing wasn’t exactly sure what Xie Shiyi had gone through to make him say phantasms were evil. But in Yan Qing’s eyes, in the eyes of countless others—
A phantasm was an incurable illness.
It was a concrete existence, a tumor growing in the consciousness. It used the human consciousness as a womb, slowly, slowly growing. Someday, it would open its eyes, bare its fangs, and become the human realm’s nightmare.
It was a curse left by the Demonic God that drifted through the air, indiscriminately infecting every person. Nobody could definitively say if they or the person next to them was a demonseed.
The Qin family claimed that after scouring countless ancient texts, they had developed a “phantasm-purging technique.” Yet, to this day, the Four Hundred and Eighty Temples were unwilling to display this technique to the outside world.
After Yan Qing was reborn, he had come to understand many matters of the Upper Heaven Realm2.
Demonseeds, the Immortal Alliance, the Nine Sects and Three Clans.
But it was only by descending the mountain for this one training experience that he could truly understand the root of various conflicts between influential factions of the cultivation realm.
If the people who had come this time were from the Immortal Alliance instead of Ming Ze, the boy would have been long dead the second the Heiyi Book turned red. Or perhaps he would have died even earlier. When Zhang Mushi identified him as a demonseed, the Immortal Alliance would have slain him on the spot—they wouldn’t have given the Sun family the chance to speak a word.
The Immortal Alliance wouldn’t worry about whether or not Sun Yaoguang was guilty or if he had done anything wrong. They wouldn’t worry about the Great Elder backing him, they wouldn’t worry about the Four Hundred and Eighty Temples.
The absolute authority to kill, requiring no justification.
Yan Qing played with the red thread in his hand. He pensively looked at Old Lady Sun, at Zhang Mushi, at Sun Yaoguang.
In his previous life, when he was living in that pile of evildoers, murder and seizing lives wouldn’t involve such complex emotions. He now finally understood why Xie Shiyi was so indifferent to the events of Qingle City. Perhaps in his eyes, the confrontation between Zhang Mushi and the Sun Family couldn’t even be considered a farce.
Yan Qing finished listening to what Sun Junhao had to say, and his first reaction was to laugh. Surprisingly, Sun Junhao was actually confident enough to mention the Four Hundred and Eighty Temples and the Qin family. And in front of Xie Shiyi no less—he definitely wasn’t lacking in courage.
“Mom, I’m scared, mom…” Sun Yaoguang cried breathlessly. He hadn’t recovered from his illness yet, his mind was in chaos, and his tender and innocent face was bewildered and helpless. The fright from today was too great, and he could only grasp his mother’s clothes with pale fingers.
Sun Junhao couldn’t bear to take his eyes away from him. “Daoist Ming, Sun Hebi was already eaten by Miss Zhang. Justice is served, and debts are repaid to their rightful owner—we should bring a close to the Jiangjin Temple incident. Regarding Yaoguang, I believe we should hand the matter over for the Qin family to handle.”
Should a demonseed who has never committed any evil be killed? This wasn’t something Ming Ze, a disciple descending the mountain for the first time, could decide. Nobody imagined that they would encounter such a situation on their first time descending the mountain, a situation involving Fuhua Sect, the Qin family, and the Four Hundred and Eighty Temples.
Ming Ze muttered to himself.
“I…okay, when the time comes I’ll…”
Yan Qing suddenly said, “Wait a moment.”
Sun Junhao instantly became alert, warily observing the youth who struck fear into his heart.
Yan Qing gave a slight smile. “Daoist Sun, I still have a question I’d like Madam Sun and Old Lady Sun to answer.”
Sun Junhao’s lips trembled. “Say it.”
Yan Qing offhandedly said, “Since the Sun family’s ancestor once used the Heiyi Book to test Sun Yaoguang for phantasms many years ago, what were the circumstances then?”
When this question was asked, everyone froze.
That’s right—if Sun Yaoguang and Sun Hebi were demonseeds, why didn’t the Great Elder of Fuhua Sect say anything that year?
Yan Qing said, “In the realm of cultivators, covering up a demonseed is a serious crime. Also, why should we hand this matter over to the Four Hundred and Eighty Temples?”
Yan Qing casually asked, “The Four Hundred and Eighty Temples are far away in Zijian Continent, but this incident happened in Nanze Province. Shouldn’t we hand this matter over to the Immortal Alliance instead?”
The Immortal Alliance! Sun Junhao went stiff, his eyes popped out of his sockets, and he was flooded with dread. But he recovered quickly, angrily retorting, “Fellow Daoist, are you joking? Yaoguang is just a mortal, how could he be worthy of handing over to the Immortal Alliance!?” The demonseeds that required execution by the Immortal Alliance were monstrous fiends that slaughtered cities, destroyed nations, and brought calamity to the land!
Yan Qing said, “If I say we can hand him over, then he can be handed over.”
Sun Junhao’s eyes were bloodshot with fury. He gritted his teeth and, in an instant, another feather shot from his fingertips, flying straight toward the direction of Fuhua Sect. Holding back his wrath, he glared at Yan Qing and said, “There’s no need to use the Immortal Alliance to intimidate me. Since you doubt what happened back then, why don’t you ask my master directly?”
Yan Qing smiled and said agreeably, “Alright.”
Ming Ze was stunned. He pulled at Yan Qing’s sleeve, worriedly saying, “Daoist Yan…” Simple and pure-minded as he was, even he could see how willing that Great Elder of Fuhua Sect was to defend his family’s wrongs. They were just a small group out of the thousands of Wangqing Sect disciples—how could they have the ability to confront a Great Elder of one of the Nine Great Sects?
Yan Qing grinned at him, “Don’t worry, I’m just curious.”
He was curious if there really was bad blood between him and Fuhua Sect.
Yan Qing had yet to meet people from other sects, but he had already familiarized himself with everyone in Fuhua Sect from top to bottom. If he wasn’t even afraid of Jing Ruyu, why would he fear this so-called Grand Elder?
Ming Ze bit his lip, still anxious. “Daoist Yan…you…”
He hadn’t finished his sentence before, suddenly, a domineering green sword intent swept over from Nanze Province’s direction.
The sword intent was as destructive as a tornado, stirring up the tiles on the eaves of the Sun Manor with a crash. It descended with a thunderclap, filled with rage and a murderous aura as if threatening to chop the head off of every Wangqing Sect disciple!
“Be careful!”
“Watch out!”
Yan Qing also planned to take cover, only to find that the shrapnel didn’t even approach his body. The moment a smashed tile came within a hair’s breadth of him, it was shattered by a flash of cold light, turning to dust in the blink of an eye. An array, invisible to others, shielded him. Its power drew from a sword intent at the apex of the Soul Formation stage, rendering him untouchable.
Yan Qing was stunned. It seemed that Xie Shiyi truly cared about his Nascent Soul formation.
His heart filled with suspicion—why? What would happen once he reformed his Nascent Soul?
But before he could linger on his doubts, a wrathful sound shook the earth and split the sky, breaking off his train of thought. “Must you lot insist on targeting my Sun family?”
The people next to him scattered in all directions, their faces twisted in pain as their consciousness churned and their insides clenched. Under the limitless fury of a cultivator at the apex of Great Ascension, even shattered tiles and fallen leaves carried an overwhelming pressure, blanketing the entire world.
Perhaps the only ones who remained unaffected were Xie Shiyi and Yan Qing.
As a Great Elder of Fuhua Sect, the ancestor of the Sun family obviously wouldn’t come in person. Instead, what the feather had brought with it across thousands of miles of mountains and rivers was a Mist Illusion Mirror.
The boundless green mist hovering in mid-air dispersed, revealing an oval-shaped mirror—inside the mirror was the main pavilion hall of Fuhua Sect’s Qingcang Peak.
An aged, grey-haired elder sat cross-legged inside the solemn and dignified palace, wearing the blue robes of the Fuhua Sect with white feathers embroidered around the trim.
He placed both hands atop his leg and unhurriedly opened his eyes. His glare, sharp as a blade, pierced through the air toward Yan Qing—
A cultivator at the apex of Great Ascension was just a step away from the Innate Realm.
In the cultivation world, it is generally believed that the stages of Qi Refining, Foundation Building, Golden Core, Nascent Soul, and Great Ascension constitute the Acquired Realm.
Only by breaking through to the Void Comprehension stage and gaining the ability to tear through the fabric of space could one truly be considered to have transcended their mortal body and been reborn, possessing the power to rival the heavens—hence the title of “Innate.” As for the stage after Void Comprehension, Soul Formation, it represented an existence approaching demi-godhood.
Someone in the Innate Realm could warp space to their will.
Although this Great Elder from the Sun family hadn’t completely attained Void Comprehension, facing off against Yan Qing and pulverizing his divine sense using inner strength would be all too easy!
The Sun ancestor fumed, “How did Wangqing Sect manage to raise this bunch of willy-nilly wastrels!? Today, I’ll help your shifu out by thoroughly disciplining you all!”
He wanted to make an example of Yan Qing.
The Sun ancestor raised his hand and made a tight pinching gesture. His expression was malevolent as if he wanted to pluck Yan Qing straight off the ground.
—Thick fog condensed mid-air into a giant hand, which emerged from the mirror and attacked Yan Qing with an imposing might. Yet before it could even make contact, it was instantly severed, obliterated by a cold and pure sword intent, leaving no room for resistance.
The Sun ancestor’s face turned deathly pale, and he retracted his hand.
Invisible to others, an icy blue wound that exposed the bone appeared in the hollow of his hand.
—Soul Formation stage.
The Sun ancestor’s breaths abruptly quickened, and his expression became grave. He looked at Yan Qing anew. Although he didn’t know who this disciple had backing him, nor the relationship between the two, he still suppressed his anger and heavily asked, “You were the one who wanted to see me?”
Yan Qing smiled. “Yes.” In his previous life, he would have stuffed the skull of anyone who dared make a move against him like this inside a Red Lotus Lantern by now.
But, Yan Qing was currently too lazy to waste time squabbling with him. “I just want to ask Senior three questions.”
“That year, when you used the Heiyi book to test Sun Hebi and Sun Yaoguang’s consciousnesses, what was the result?”
“If they were demonseeds, why didn’t you report this to your sect?”
“If they weren’t demonseeds, then what exactly is the phantasm-suppressing bead that Sun Hebi mentioned?”
When he finished, Yan Qing smirked. “Go ahead then, Senior.”
The Sun ancestor had never been so offended in his life. His hackles raised on the spot, and he gave a heavy flick of his sleeve! He couldn’t harm Yan Qing, but the violent gale he summoned billowed through the Sun Manor’s courtyard, causing everyone to screech in panic as they collapsed on the ground, trembling.
The Sun furiously demanded, “What gives you the right to interrogate me?”
Yan Qing thought briefly, blinked, then smiled and said, “I have the right as an upstanding, kindhearted Wangqing Sect disciple. Is that enough, Elder?”
An upstanding, kindhearted Wangqing Sect disciple; this was exactly the role he wanted to embody when descending the mountain for this training experience.
Yan Qing never had any fantasies about the Upper Heaven; he only had fantasies about the environment around Xie Shiyi.
The Nine Great Sects divided Nanze Province among themselves, harboring unfathomable intentions and vying for power. It was obvious that peace and stability were out of the question.
The Sun ancestor said coldly, “I will take care of the Sun family’s matters, no need for others to interfere or get involved.”
Yan Qing said, “How will you take care of it? By sending him to the Four Hundred and Eighty Temples?”
Hearing these words, the Sun ancestor’s face chilled. He seethed, “The Four Hundred and Eighty Temples were established by the Qin family of Zijin Continent! You disciples aren’t worthy of doubting them!”
“I don’t accept this.”
The harsh dissident was Zhang Mushi.
She was nearing death and had nothing left to fear.
Raging fire burned away all reason, leaving only bone-chilling blood caught in her throat. With bloodshot eyes, she crawled from the ground toward Yan Qing’s side, her voice hoarse and desperate. “Immortal master! I refuse to accept this! I want Sun Yaoguang to pay for his crimes with blood! He’s a demonseed!—That day he smiled at me, that day he smiled at me!”
Zhang Mushi reached her hand out as if to grasp the hem of Yan Qing’s robes. But, afraid that the array around him would harm her, he silently stepped back.
She lowered her hand in perplexion, then raised her head, with a numb, empty stare, to calmly look at this youth before her.
To look at him—amidst everyone else’s silence, mockery, deliberation, or indecision—the only person to stand up for her.
Zhang Mushi shuddered as she cried and softly said, “Immortal master, that day at Jiangjin Temple, Sun Yaoguang smiled at me. He isn’t innocent, he wasn’t forced. He sat next to my little sister’s corpse, licked the blood off his fingers, and smiled at me…how could he be innocent?”
On the other side, stimulated by the words “Jiangjin Temple,” Sun Yaoguang seemed to sink into an inescapable nightmare. He wailed, “Mom! Save me! Mom! Save me! Save me!”
Madam Sun, having a nervous breakdown, slowly knelt down and bitterly despaired.
With a face streaked with tear stains, she looked at Zhang Mushi and repeatedly kowtowed on the ground. “Miss Zhang, I’m begging you, please let Yaoguang go, I’m begging you.”
Her forehead became bloody from the kowtows. “Miss Zhang, Yaoguang is only seven, how could he have the ability to kill your little sister? He’s only seven, his life has just begun.”
“That day, you were delirious and definitely saw it wrong. After he came back from Jiangjin Temple, he didn’t eat a bite for three days, vomiting, vomiting, he couldn’t stomach a thing.”
“Miss Zhang, I’m begging you to put yourself in my shoes, if the one who was found to be a demonseed today was your sister…” Madam Zhang’s speech became incoherent, hysterical, until finally, she began laughing in distress, “She hasn’t done anything, she’s been doted on since birth, her thoughts are pure, she’s scared of blood, she’s scared of pain—just because of an innate phantasm, execution is necessary!?”
“Why? Why…”
Madam Sun choked out each word through her sobs, utterly despondent.
Zhang Mushi emotionlessly looked at her kneeling on the ground in apology, looked at her injured head from kowtowing, and said nothing.
The Sun family contemptuously looked past these two women and asked sarcastically, “Did you see anything? Is this your so-called upstandingness, kindheartedness?”
Yan Qing looked down and twirled the red thread around his fingers. Lightly, he smiled and said, “Yep.”
He walked forward, ink-black hair swaying in the wind, robes fluttering across the blood and tear-soaked ground.
Yan Qing stood in front of Sun Yaoguang.
Sun Yaoguang froze.
He subconsciously loosened the hand that tightly grasped Madam Sun’s robes and timidly retreated.
Yan Qing leaned over slightly, his long black hair cascading over his face, his attractive peach blossom eyes twinkling, his mouth corner hooked, as if carrying a hint of affection. When Yan Qing shed his carefree and mischievous demeanor and got serious, he would always give others the impression of an irresistible heartthrob. The string between his fingers was long, falling to the ground. He scrutinized Sun Yaoguang, and said with a smile, “Little brother, has anyone told you? Eating people is actually a pretty bad habit.”
Yan Qing seemed to sigh. “Furthermore, eating people is not something you can hide.”
Especially not in front of him.
The red thread in Yan Qing’s hand suddenly wound itself around Sun Yaoguang’s neck—
The Sun ancestor erupted in rage, “What are you doing!?”
Sun Yaoguang’s face began turning green and purple, his breathing became labored, and his eyes filled with terror.
Old Lady Sun: “Yaoguang!”
The Sun ancestor: “Stop!”
The red in Yan Qing’s pupils faded as he quickly withdrew his hand, winding the red thread around his wrist loop by loop. He said, “Alright, little brother, let’s see if you’ve really been fasting these past few days.”
Sun Yaoguang abruptly covered his stomach, squatted on the ground, and vomited—
Vomited on the ground.
It was red, it was white, it was yellow.
He once again retched violently—
A human eyeball rolled onto the ground.
The Sun family’s servants had never witnessed such a scene before, and one after another, their faces turned pale as they shrieked.
The eyeball rolled to a stop at Old Lady Sun’s feet. Old Lady Sun was mute, and only when someone rushed to support her did they realize—she had completely fainted.
The wind swept across the world in eerie silence.
Madam Sun’s tears froze in her eyes, never falling.
Sun Yaoguang was still throwing up. He threw up a gallbladder, he threw up blood—it seemed as if he was about to throw up every organ in the body.
Zhang Mushi watched this spectacle and only thought it was funny, her body alternating between flashes of heat and chills.
Yan Qing softly said, “You Suns are so interesting. When Miss Zhang ate Sun Hebi, you all called her a demonseed and wanted to grind her bones to ashes, saying all demonseeds must be exterminated without exception.”
“Yet when your son became a demonseed, suddenly phantasms have hidden complexities, he’s not deserving, and nobody is born evil.”
“What is a phantasm?” A genuine trace of curiosity flickered in Yan Qing’s voice. “Shall I dig it out of his brain for you all to see?”
Nobody spoke a word.
Qingle City was in the midst of celebrating the Floating Lantern Festival, and lanterns hung from every doorframe of every house. The festival also happened to coincide with the Sun family’s happy occasion, and the road was littered from start to finish with colorful paper and brown sugar. Now, they floated through the main streets and narrow alleys with a howling echo, blown adrift by a gust of wind, as if the bride’s sedan chair was filled with long, despairing sobs.
The truth came to light and the dust settled. Just as everyone thought it was all coming to a conclusion—
The Great Elder of Fuhua Sect suddenly struck the black stone below his seat with a bang.
—In the blink of an eye, a green array shrouded the sky above them, enclosing the Sun family.
The Sun ancestor’s tone was frosty. “Even if such is the case, I won’t place the matter of the survival of my descendants in your hands.”
“I will place it in the hands of the Qin family.” The Sun ancestor said, “I will notify the Qin family to send personnel over to examine Sun Yaoguang’s wrongdoings throughout his life and have them come to a final decision. Before this, nobody is allowed to leave.”
The Great Elder of Fuhua Sect had finally shed all pretenses, exposing his hypocritical and sinister nature. He glowered at Yan Qing and spat out word by word, “Are you still qualified to kill someone from my Sun family!?”
Just as his voice fell.
Madam Sun suddenly screamed, “Yaoguang!”
That green array shattered as if it was drained by Xie Shiyi’s last thread of patience—
In an instant, every stalk in the courtyard’s dense bamboo forest shuddered and split. Thousands of razor-thin green leaves soared into the air, utterly unhindered by the Sun ancestor’s oppressive power, each carrying profound sword intent, piercing through Sun Yaoguang’s throat—
Then piercing through his hands and feet, his entire body.
Sun Yaoguang let out a whimper and excruciatingly raised his head. Within his eyes something dark green seemed to churn, but the next second, those two eyeballs were also shredded by green leaves.
Thousands of leaves pierced through the body, leaving no room for resistance.
His young and tender face was saturated with resentment and menace as he slowly slid to the ground, dying with eyes wide open.
Madam Sun’s shrieks were caught in her throat. The sudden turn of events left everyone in total shock.
A silver sheen fluctuated below Xie Shiyi’s footsteps, and his robes rustled over the blood-soaked ground. With a soft voice, like a flutter of snow, he lightly asked, “Then am I qualified?”
In a flash, every trace of fierceness and ridicule on the Sun ancestor’s face froze.
Every single person in the courtyard stiffly raised their heads.
They watched as this young man, who had remained in the corner on the outskirts this entire time, observing everything with cold eyes, slowly stepped into the center of the dispute.
His robes didn’t catch a speck of dust as he walked past the life and death, the love and hatred of so many others without sparing a single glance to any. Whether it was phantasms, demonseeds, or muddy blood and tears, it was as if they were all but the dust of the human world. It was only when he arrived at Yan Qing’s side that his line of sight dropped to the red thread in his fingers. Nonchalantly, he asked, “How was your training experience?”
Yan Qing: “…” He drew his hand back into his sleeve and let out a small smile. “It was alright, the gains were quite fruitful.”
Xie Shiyi gave a soft scoff.
The Sun ancestor sat in Fuhua Sect’s palace petrified like a stone statue.
The icy blue sword wound in the hollow of his palm seemed to throb, and frost spread through his four limbs and every bone.
Reversed blood surged to his heart, shattering his pupils and eardrums. His voice quivered as he spoke, word by word.
“…Xie Ying.”
It was like he was in the middle of a wild, frigid nightmare.
The aged and malicious gaze of the Sun ancestor slowly filled with a tinge of blood, his teeth grinding with an audible clatter.
How could Xie Ying show up here?
He should be in seclusion!
He should be at Xiaoyu3 Palace!
Amidst thousands of lanterns and curtains, amidst endless ice-jade steps, shrouded in shadow!
How could he possibly be here!?
Xie Shiyi didn’t want to stay here long. His gaze moved away from Yan Qing and fell upon the Heiyi Book.
He reached his pale fingers out from his sleeve, and the Heiyi Book, like it was encountering something terrifying, started gushing out black fog. However, the book still ultimately ended up in his firm grasp.
Xie Shiyi held the book and indifferently asked, “Answer me, what was the result when you tested the first time?”
The Sun ancestor’s lacerated hand had already started frosting over and crystallizing. Eyes filled with terror, he abruptly screeched, “Demonseed! The first time I tested them they were demonseeds!”
Xie Shiyi followed up with, “Why didn’t you report this to your sect?”
The Sun ancestor’s voice trembled, his tone suffused with agony. “I was obsessed, I wanted to protect my descendants, but at the time they really hadn’t done a thing!”
Xie Shiyi lifted his gaze, and flatly asked, “What is the bead?”
The Sun ancestor was silent for a moment, but the frost had reached his heart. All color drained from his face as he lifted his head. No one would ever forget the night Xie Ying took control of Xiaoyu Palace.
The Sun ancestor gritted his teeth and said, “The bead doesn’t suppress phantasms, but allows me to manipulate their consciousnesses.”
Xie Shiyi’s expression was cold, and with his fingers, he rapped the Heiyi book.
The Heiyi Book struggled silently in his grasp, but it had no chance of escape—its dense fog was swathed and shattered by the piercing cold spiritual energy.
The Sun ancestor’s eyes widened.
Xie Shiyi said, “Do you still have anything you want to ask?”
This question was directed toward Yan Qing.
Only then did Yan Qing realize that the three questions Xie Shiyi just asked were the very same ones he himself posed to the Sun ancestor earlier but were disregarded.
He couldn’t help but let out a laugh.
With smiling eyes, he said, “Yes, I want to ask the immortal master, how should we deal with the other member of the Sun family?”
Xie Shiyi mildly looked at him. Without turning his head, the green bamboo leaves on the ground instantly shot into the air, forming a grand and deadly sword array—
Illuminating the deathly pale bloodless faces of each and every Sun family member.
This came as no surprise to Yan Qing, who sighed in his heart. He tugged on Xie Shiyi’s sleeve and said, “Never mind, just leave it.”
Destiny is always playing tricks on people like this.
…The person with the absolute least regard for human life became the leader of the righteous path.
Before they parted ways, the fiercest argument they ever had took place in Zhang City—a night of slaughter, where blood and wails intertwined. That night, they tore every long-existing crack in their relationship into an insurmountable chasm.
On the two sides of the chasm were good and evil, right and wrong, righteous and demonic.
Or maybe there was nothing.
Maybe there was only Xie Shiyi holding a sword, eyes bloodshot, calmly asking him that question.
—”Yan Qing, I’ve always been suspicious, are you my innate phantasm?”
What is a phantasm?
Yan Qing now viewed the world with new eyes.
Sun Yaoguang’s skull and eyeballs were shredded by those green bamboo leaves. At the moment of his death, something leaked out of his eyes. It was black, it was viscous, it was overflowing with wickedness, resembling the savageness of primordial beings, slowly shifting. The instant it touched the bamboo leaves, it immediately began to sizzle, emitting white steam, and was annihilated within the Eight Desolations and Nine Heavens.
This is a phantasm.
It wasn’t an abstract “evil.”
It was a tangible “poison.”
The others.
Madam Sun kneeled on the ground with a shattered spirit.
Old Lady Sun fainted due to the excessive shock.
Master Sun was bewildered and stunned, utterly at a loss for what to do.
Yan Qing said, “Let Zhang Mushi handle her revenge herself.”
Xie Shiyi dropped his gaze to look at the hand with which Yan Qing clutched his sleeve, and faintly said, “Okay.”
Ever since that name left the Sun ancestor’s mouth, everyone in the courtyard was dumbfounded.
Xie Shiyi was already used to thousands of stares being cast upon him. He once again looked at the Great Elder of Fuhua Sect. He was completely indifferent to the grievances and grudges of the human world. He merely sneered, his deep glacial gaze falling like snow, his tone cold and tranquil.
“Elder Sun, the parasitism of phantasms leaves no trace, but unusually the Sun family has produced two demonseeds. It’s too coincidental to be a coincidence. Now I’m suspicious, could you be a demonseed too?”