Chapter 37: Qingyun (3)
When the final auction item was unveiled, Yan Qing’s smile was completely and utterly wiped from his face. His fingers that casually leaned on the seat’s armrest stiffened, and when he raised his gaze, something dark rippled within the depths of his eyes.
After the old auctioneer finished announcing the price, he refused to speak another word and merely stood there, poking at the ashes.
The scene bubbled, boiled, and overflowed with feverish whispers as each and every person tried to take a stab at what the lump of ashes was.
No matter how unofficial Nan City’s auction was, if this item was saved for the grand finale, then it was certainly harboring a hidden secret that they failed to understand. However, a price of thirty thousand spirit stones also wasn’t the kind of money a normal person could easily cough up.
Budezhi sensed that its master was acting strange, and its eyes widened. “No way? You’re actually interested in this?”
It flung its wings over to pull at Yan Qing’s hair, determined to wake him up to their cruel reality. “Don’t even think about it! If we added up all the spirit stones we’re carrying, we wouldn’t even have three hundred! You can’t afford it!”
Yan Qing insipidly said, “I’m not interested in the item, I’m interested in the person who brought it out.”
The fire from Shifang City was set by Huai Mingzi before his soul scattered, and it was comparable to a heavenly flame. Back then, Yan Qing had the mindset of taking the Demonic God down with him, self-destructing his mind and body so that not even ashes remained. The Zhinu thread was also eradicated entirely the moment his life was extinguished.
Yan Qing wasn’t sure of what exactly that lump of ashes currently displayed on the auction stage was. However, it definitely came from Shifang City, because Yan Qing was all too familiar with the odor it emitted—perhaps it was Shifang City’s city wall?
This lump of ashes contained remnants of spirit fire left behind after someone from the Soul Formation stage perished, and truly was worth quite a lot. If one took it back, mixed it with water, and drank it, it would probably be more effective than consuming a hundred different kinds of heavenly spiritual herbs.
“You seriously want to buy it?!” Budezhi saw his solemn expression, and its pupils shook in disbelief.
Yan Qing gave a self-satisfied smile, shook his head, and slowly said, “No, I just want to see who its purchaser will be, as well as who its seller is.”
Someone who could recognize what it was and spend thirty thousand spirit stones to buy it absolutely wouldn’t be an ordinary person.
That person unhurriedly emerged at the last second.
“Thirty thousand spirit stones.”
The raucous auction hall instantly went silent with not a single voice to be heard, as if everyone had taken a cold bucket of water to the face. What? There really was a spendthrift like this?
The person who spoke had a very deep voice, husky and mysterious, as if he had spent a long time within a tomb without seeing the sun. Everyone followed the sound with their gaze and saw a man in black robes wearing a gold mask. He was tall, thin, gloomy, and cold, and in his hands he held a long whip as a weapon. Next to him stood a young girl in a white skirt, vivacious and radiant, who was currently looking left and right with high spirits, her lively eyes filled to the brim with curiosity.
The old man standing on the auction stage glanced at them and steadily said, “Alright, thirty thousand spirit stones, going once.”
“Thirty thousand spirit stones, going twice.”
“Thirty thousand spirit stones…”
Just as the sale was about to be finalized, a voice full of humor carried over.
“Fifty thousand spirit stones.”
Everyone was full of doubt. Even a core disciple of the Nine Great Sects couldn’t lightly hand over fifty thousand spirit stones. Just who was this person? However, once the crowd saw who it was, all of their doubts were caught in their throats. Their brains rattled in their skulls, their faces paled, and they couldn’t even form words to speak.
Nan City’s only illumination came from various dusky, dim red lanterns. That person held a sword in his hands and emerged from the darkness, revealing a youth with a tall and straight bearing. He had monolid, almond eyes, thin eyelids and lips, and when he smiled, his lips hooked ambiguously, and his entire aura became both righteous and demonic. His natural bone structure conveyed a sense of harshness, as if this person were not easy to deal with. However, what truly prevented others from daring to look down upon him were the robes on his body.
Pitch-black brocade robes, with dark red lotus flowers embroidered around the fringes, as if they were watered with blood.
—The Immortal Alliance!
This person was from the Immortal Alliance?!
The wavering light fell upon each face, exposing expressions of shock, trepidation, or fright.
Even the old man up on the auction stage, who had remained unfazed all this time, was dumbstruck.
The two words “Immortal Alliance” represented far too many things in the Upper Heaven. Ordinary commoners would be blissfully unaware and only feel reverence and admiration towards them. However, even if they weren’t a disciple of the Nine Great Sects, those who could make their way to this black market must have spent a good number of years roaming and rolling about in Nanze Province and knew how terrifying the youth before their eyes, smiling an almost-smile, was. He was simply a sharp sword with no restraints.
The Immortal Alliance disciple ignored all the gazes upon him, and fixated his own gaze on the space before him as if hooked. He continued with a playful tone, “Old man, I’ll fork over fifty thousand spirit stones. I have no reason other than wanting to see who brought this item out.”
Jing Ruchen blinked, failing to understand, and reached out her hand to pull at Fei Yu’s sleeve, cautiously saying, “Fei Yu, Fei Yu, who is he?”
Fei Yu tightly pursed his lips and was silent for a moment before saying in a deep voice, “Miss, don’t speak.” Jing Ruchen obediently nodded, her eyes curved, and she mouthed, “Alright, I won’t speak.”
After the person from the Immortal Alliance made his appearance, everyone on site was silent. Nobody in their right mind would want to provoke the most mysterious and the most cold-blooded existence in the Upper Heaven.
The old man stood on the auction stage, back soaked with sweat, and tremblingly opened his mouth to say, “This…Immortal, Immortal Master, the treasure’s original owner left after giving the item to me. He said to leave the spirit stones here after it was sold, and that he would pick them up after a few months had passed.”
The youth hardly bothered to conceal his sneer and saw through him. “Someone who would sell their items here is either in a tight spot or desperate for spirit stones. I’m guessing he’s backstage at this very moment.”
The blood drained from the old man’s face.
The youth’s eyes immediately turned cold as ice. Swish, the sword in his hand unsheathed in a flash, cleaving a long, deep gash beside the old man’s foot. With a crack, the floorboards splintered, revealing a dim staircase tucked beneath the auction stage that led straight into gloom.
Had anyone else dared such impudence, the old man would have long since been furiously cursing and demanding their expulsion. But this person was from the Immortal Alliance, so he could only stand aside, overflowing with cold sweat, at a loss for what to do.
When the youth approached, the old man dropped to a knee with a thunk and started howling and begging for forgiveness. “Immortal Master, please spare my life, Immortal Master, please spare my life, I’m merely responsible for running the auction, I don’t know a thing!”
The Immortal Alliance youth ignored him and walked forward with long strides. As his gaze fell upon the lump of black ashes on display, his phoenix eyes narrowed, and he instantly pulled a little gold box from his sleeves. The box levitated in mid-air, and with a brilliant flash, absorbed the heap of ashes and sealed them inside.
The golden box returned to the youth’s sleeve.
An overwhelming gust of strong wind swept through the black market, carrying a cold, ruthless killing intent that made everyone go weak in the knees.
The youth from the Immortal Alliance headed below the auction stage without a backward glance. The remaining crowd slowly recovered from their lingering fright.
Yan Qing watched his retreating back, lost in thought. To come and go freely, acting without restraint in Nanze Province’s black market—a place where anyone could frequent, from criminals to righteous folk—was proof enough of the Immortal Alliance’s supreme status.
Budezhi gave a strange-sounding cackle, like a honk, and was extremely pleased with itself. “How great, someone stole your ashes!”
Yan Qing was unbothered. “If someone stole them, then I’ll just steal them back.”
Budezhi’s smile froze on its face. “…”
Budezhi: “Where do you think you’re going?!”
Yan Qing smirked and stood up from his seat. After the person from Immortal Alliance interrupted the auction, the audience began leaving their seats one after the other. They were determined to leave this place even if they had to jump to do so.
They were deeply terrified of the Immortal Alliance, yet they also deeply trusted it—for the Immortal Alliance to personally intervene, there must be a truly terrible existence beneath the auction hall. They all thought, Protecting my life comes first; I shouldn’t stay here for too long.
Only Yan Qing, carrying Budezhi, went against the flow of people.
Ming Ze’s face paled in shock, and he grabbed his hand amidst the chaos, sweat coating his forehead. “Fellow Daoist Yan, where are you going? It’s dangerous up front, let’s return to the sect first!”
Coming from the danger in Shifang City, Yan Qing would never shy away from this kind of danger. He blinked and laughed, saying, “Don’t worry, Ming-Xiong, you go ahead and leave first. I’m extremely interested in those ashes and want to take a look.”
Ming Ze burned with anxiety. “No way, Yan-Xiong. If the Immortal Alliance made a move, then that means the situation is an emergency. Who knows, there might be a demonseed with powerful cultivation down there. If you go over there, you’ll be throwing away your life.”
Yan Qing was brimming with confidence and said, as if it were a matter of course, “If someone from the Immortal Alliance is here, I’m confident he would fully protect an innocent disciple like me.”
Ming Ze: “…”
Where does your confidence to think like this come from?!
Ming Ze’s head hurt so much it felt like it was about to split.
The Immortal Alliance would protect an innocent disciple like him? What a joke. The Immortal Alliance was an existence that transcended worldly matters like good and evil. Their mission was to purge demons, and their primary, and only, responsibility was to murder people. Although the Nine Great Sects had established the Immortal Alliance with the intention of protecting peace under the heavens, the disciples of the Immortal Alliance never had a duty to save people. Phantasms were mysterious and undetectable, and humans were ensnared by entanglements of love and hate. In a moment of crisis, how were they to judge who was a “person” and if they should be “saved”?
Thus, the people of the Immortal Alliance didn’t kill indiscriminately, yet they also didn’t harbor a thread, a single hair, of compassion for the common people.
However, in Ming Ze’s heart, the Immortal Alliance still sternly upheld justice. After all, absolute order could only be enforced using cruel methods.
Nonetheless, he was still worried about Yan Qing. Who was to say that he wouldn’t be slain at the hands of the Immortal Alliance for obstructing their mission?
Ming Ze firmly latched onto his hand and, with a pale face, urged him anxiously, “No, Yan-Xiong, don’t rush in blindly. If you really want those ashes, then let’s go return to the sect first, and you can ask Xie-Shixiong to step in.”
It was only after he finished speaking that Ming Ze realized—that’s right, Yan Qing actually knows Xie-Shixiong?
Yan Qing saw his expression and was quite surprised. “Ming Ze-Xiong, what’s the matter? Weren’t you just singing the Immortal Alliance’s praises in front of Yuqing Peak last time?”
Ming Ze: “…” Praising them was one matter, fearing them was another. How could he bear to admit that this was also his first time encountering someone from the Immortal Alliance?
Xie Shiyi was outstanding and peerless in both appearance and manner, like a cool breeze or the bright moon, to the point that even the disciples of Wangqing Sect saw him through a filter. It was as if he were their Chief Disciple first and foremost, and only the Immortal Alliance Leader second.
This kind of warm and gentle filter should never, under any circumstances, be used on the Immortal Alliance.
Yan Qing saw his terror-struck appearance and laughed. He reached out his hand to comfort him. “Relax, I know my limits.”
Ming Ze thought, Like hell you know your limits. But, faced with Yan Qing’s smile, he couldn’t speak a word. Yan Qing was acquainted with Xie-Shixiong, so perhaps the Immortal Alliance really would thoroughly protect him.
Ming Ze’s emotions were extremely conflicted, and not all of them were entirely genuine either. In reality, no matter what status Xie-Shixiong had, it was completely out of reach for him. Only this person who happily chatted with him without any airs of arrogance, Yan Qing, actually lived on Yuqing Peak and had a close association with Xie-Shixiong.
It was like a dream. He had yet to exchange a single word with Xie-Shixiong, yet it was as if he had already glimpsed the pale glow at the edge of the bright moon.
How could Yan Qing have the time to consider these youthful thoughts of his?
Luckily, Budezhi was making a ruckus, absolutely refusing at all costs to enter with him.
Yan Qing directly threw it over to Ming Ze. “If you truly are too worried, you can wait outside for me first. Oh, and you can also keep an eye on my bat in the meantime.”
Ming Ze suddenly found a lump of something black in his hands, baring its fangs and brandishing its claws. When he lowered his head to take a look, he was so startled he almost dropped it.
As expected of Yan-Xiong…even his spiritual beast was one of a kind.
“Let go of this lord! Let go of this lord!” Budezhi was pretty cowardly by nature, but upon actually being abandoned by Yan Qing, it suddenly felt a strange sense of humiliation and disgrace. It gritted its teeth and, after pestering Ming Ze to let go of it, it stretched its wings, twitched its ears, and obsequiously returned to Yan Qing’s side.
“Wait! This lord will enter with you!”
Ming Ze stood still, at a loss for what to do.
On the other side, Fei Yu and Jing Ruchen hadn’t left either.
Jing Ruchen looked around her, bent over, cocked her head, and with a soft, thin voice, asked Fei Yu, “Now that person has left, can I speak now?”
Fei Yu said, “What do you want to say, Miss?”
Jing Ruchen’s eyes curved, pure and clean as a lake. “Fei Yu, what was that lump of ashes just now? Why did you want it?”
Fei Yu was silent for a long while before hoarsely saying, “Miss, if you drank that thing, it would be very beneficial to your body.”
Jing Ruchen frowned with disdain. “Oh, but I don’t want to drink that thing. It looks very yucky.”
“But your body needs it.” Fei Yu paused for a moment. His hand holding his whip slowly clenched as he said, “Miss, wait here for a moment. Don’t move around.”
The whip in his hand melted into black fog, and each whisp moved like a chain to form a cage, trapping Jing Ruchen inside.
Jing Ruchen raised her head and watched all of this with surprise and curiosity. She wasn’t scared, and merely widened her eyes and said, “Fei Yu, where are you going?”
Fei Yu said in a deep voice, “I’m going to get back that thing you need.”
Jing Ruchen’s expression contained either sleepiness or bewilderment. However, since she spent her time isolated in Fuhua Sect’s medicine garden year-round, she was used to being alone, and settled down quietly and peacefully, not uttering a single word begging him to stay.
Currently, Ming Ze and Jing Ruchen were the only ones remaining inside this vast auction hall.
Mingze was just a greenhorn teenager, standing there scratching his head, torn between whether or not he should enter as well.
“No, Yan-Xiong’s acting way too recklessly. I should send a letter to the sect.” He thought it over for half a day before gritting his teeth and pulling out a sound-transmitting talisman from his sleeve. He painstakingly poured in his spiritual energy, yet before the talisman could take effect—a gust of green smoke suddenly blew over, carrying along the crisp sounds of little bells with it.
Ming Ze’s pupils contracted, and he whipped his head up to see that the green mist had already blanketed the entire deserted auction hall. At the edge of the smoke stood an old man with a stooped back. What was left of the old man’s hand was nothing but skin-covered bone, and the skin was mottled with brown age spots. He gently shook a small bell, ding-a-ling, ding-a-ling, like he was summoning spirits or hypnotizing someone. In a voice laced with enchantment, he spoke.
“Come over here, child.”
*
The lower floor of the auction hall was from a completely different world, like a small-scale prison. Any movement above didn’t transmit below, and inside the prison, the items that would be auctioned off tomorrow were locked up, including birds of prey and house pets. Yan Qing’s glance flitted past them as he walked forward. Once he put his mind to pursuing a person, it was an easy matter.
Following the Immortal Alliance disciple forward, he finally stopped inside a hidden wing of the auction hall.
The lanterns inside the wing were dark and gloomy, and that youth with black robes and red embroidery leaned on the room’s doorframe, hugging his sword. His monolids contemptuously and disdainfully lifted as he icily glared at Yan Qing.
Budezhi’s pupils shrank. “He’s waiting for you!”
Yan Qing said, “I’m not blind.”
The Immortal Alliance youth stood up and gave a dark, cold smile as he said, “I’m curious about the person who brought those ashes out, but I’m even more curious about who would be interested in them.”
Yan Qing held his bat and nodded in approval. “Not bad, the two of us have the same idea. Great minds think alike, huh?”
The Immortal Alliance youth wasn’t amused by his words, and the smile dropped from his face. His gaze was frigid, and he looked at Yan Qing as if he were looking at a corpse. In the blink of an eye, the sword in his hand unsheathed, and Great Ascension cultivation aimed straight for Yan Qing’s throat with a whoosh.
Yan Qing thought, This bullshit Immortal Alliance really does fucking kill people without batting an eye. “Hold on, you can’t kill me.”
The Immortal Alliance disciple immediately revealed a viscous sneer. “I can’t kill you? How laughable. Someone in the Upper Heaven I can’t kill? I’ve yet to—”
Yan Qing raised his hand, and his cyan-blue sleeve dropped to reveal a thin, pale wrist. The red string on his wrist was threaded through a blood jade bead1, tightly bound to his wristbone. The bead was suffused with glowing light and vibrant color, frosty glints intertwining with bloody hues.
Yan Qing caught his blade between his fingertips and asked with a smile, “You’ve yet to what?
The Immortal Alliance disciple: “…” The instant he saw that blood jade bead, his pupils contracted, and all of the ruthless words that were bubbling up in his mouth were forcefully swallowed back, the restraint causing his face to turn green and white. It was as if he had seen a ghost.
Yan Qing held back his laughter and meaningfully lectured him, “Kid, don’t leave your sentences unfinished. Someone in the Upper Heaven you can’t kill, you’ve yet to what?”
The Immortal Alliance disciple: “…”
He retracted his sword, swallowed all his humiliation, and curtailed all his arrogance. He then took one step backward and got down on one knee to pay his respects. “Disciple Yu Xin greets the Immortal Venerable.”
Budezhi poked its head out and glanced around. Yan Qing thought, As expected, the bead is as effective as the Immortal Alliance’s token. However, he didn’t reveal the bead just to borrow Xie Shiyi’s influence and wave it around.
Yan Qing wore a grave expression as he said, “Bring out the ashes that were just auctioned off for me to look at.”
Yu Xin: “…Yes.”
Yu Xin truly believed he had seen a ghost. He had never felt this stifled before in the many hundreds of years of acting as he pleased. Most importantly, he couldn’t rebel in the slightest. Whenever he so much as glanced at that bead, he became unable to muster up a single thought. He only felt a chill seep into his bones, and terror seized his trembling heart. He retrieved that box from his sleeve and offered it. He even took into account that Yan Qing was only at the Nascent Soul stage currently, and that his cultivation was too low to open the box, so he silently opened the box for him. The level of consideration was almost creepy.
Budezhi nearly choked on his own spit—wasn’t this just throwing away fifty thousand spirit stones??? Yan Qing reached out, pinched a few grains of ash, and brought them to his nose to take a whiff. His expression became even graver.
Yu Xin saw that Yan Qing wasn’t speaking and held his breath. He was used to taking the initiative himself to report everything during the Alliance Leader’s silences and said, “This subordinate is tracking a demonseed that escaped from Zijin Continent and arrived here. That demonseed was seriously injured by this subordinate, and currently, his spiritual energy is dispersed, and his martial abilities are unstable. He needs a large amount of spirit stones to heal, and these ashes being auctioned off should be brought out by him. Furthermore, these ashes originate from the Demon Realm, and those who are able to recognize them are also suspicious.”
The final sentence was his explanation as to why he was lying in wait.
Yan Qing said, “Do you know where the demonseed is?”
Yu Xin quietly said, “The demonseed contains phantasms inside his body. This subordinate tracked him to this place but has no methods to identify his exact location. However, he should be nearby. My current act was in order to lure him out. Currently, he’s seriously injured and close to death. He’s at the end of his rope, and he won’t be able to sit still after seeing me enter. A cornered dog will try to jump over the wall. He’s in a moment of crisis, and should have already appeared outside by now.”
Yan Qing said, “Alright.”
After speaking, Yan Qing crushed the ashes between his fingertips. All things and all beings would be annihilated under the Scorching Xuanyin Formation. The only thing that would leave behind ashes was that wall in Shifang City with unknown origins and unknown history.
Yu Xin had said that this person escaped from Zijin Continent. However, Yan Qing was more inclined to believe that this person had escaped from the Demon Realm. Before escaping, he had stolen some ashes.
These ashes were actually quite useful for nourishing the mind. However, the demonseed was more preoccupied with replenishing his spiritual energy.
Yan Qing said, “You may leave.” Yu Xin said, “Understood.”
*
The green obfuscating fog didn’t just trap Ming Ze and Jing Ruchen, but countless people throughout the city’s streets and alleyways who couldn’t get away in time. Everyone’s expressions were filled with unease and dread as they were unable to take a single step and began shouting frenziedly.
“What is this?”
“Why am I feeling a little dizzy?”
“Hurry up and plug your nose! Hurry!”
The faint sounds from the little bells resounded throughout the entire black market, creating an eerie atmosphere as if they were plunged into a thriller.
Ming Ze had been tied up next to Jing Ruchen, and his entire body and face were flushed. He was both shocked and furious, and tried to put on a strong front by shouting, “You let me go! I’m a disciple from Wangqing Sect’s Jingshuang Peak! If you kill me, my master will come for you!”
The old man walking next to him said nothing, only ringing the little bell and circling the Great Possession Formation he had drawn using blood. The old man was a Great Ascension cultivator and had undergone two severe injuries. His Dantian was shattered, and his spiritual energy was nearly drained. He had utterly no way of continuing his escape. Now, he was preparing for a life-or-death struggle, to stake everything in one go.
“Wangqing Sect?” He gave a deviant, cruel smile. His tone was full of avarice as he said, “No wonder your aptitude is so outstanding, it turns out you’re a disciple of Wangqing Sect. Little child, I’ve had my eyes on you as soon as you walked in.”
Ming Ze erupted in cold sweat from head to toe, as if he had been licked all over by a viper. “What do you want to do to me?”
The old man paused to laugh, but ruthlessly continued, “I knew the person from the Immortal Alliance was freakishly dogged, but I didn’t think he’d arrive this fast. If you want to blame anyone, you should blame that group of lunatics called the Immortal Alliance. If I had gotten my hands on those spirit stones and healed, then I wouldn’t have needed to waste all this blood to possess you.”
Po-possession?! Ming Ze’s eyes widened in a flash.
He had never encountered this kind of thing before. He backed up, step by step, until his back rammed into the edge of the iron cage. As pain shot through him, he looked up, meeting a pair of rippling, shimmering black eyes.
Jing Ruchen was completely unhindered by the green fog. She half-squatted, blinked, and whispered to Ming Ze, “How are you?”
Ming Ze was so anxious he nearly cried. “Can you contact that bodyguard of yours?! Tell him to hurry back! Save me!”
Jing Ruchen blanked. “Huh?”
Ming Ze reached his hand out and grabbed her skirt. He was at his wits’ end. “Little lady! Hurry up and save me, think of something!”
That old man seemed to have long realized that he was a disciple from a great sect and used the spirit-summoning bell in advance to force him to hand over every talisman that could be used to contact the sect for help and every weapon that could be used to defend himself. However, when the little bell rang, this white robed young lady didn’t feel the slightest effect.
When could Jing Ruchen have ever been in a situation like this? Her pale, white fingers weakly pulled at her skirt, and she stuttered, “H-how can I think of anything?”
Ming Ze said, “You should also be a disciple of the Nine Great Sects. Your sect didn’t give you any alarm talismans?”
Jing Ruchen said, “…Huh? What are alarm talismans?”
Ming Ze was at the end of his patience. “The thing you can use when you run into danger.”
Jing Ruchen bewilderedly scratched her head and muttered, “I don’t think I have it, hm. I only wanted to go down the mountain, Fei Yu was never more than a few steps away, and even if we got separated, he wouldn’t set up a cage like this.”
Ming Ze began to feel despair at her identity. Just which sect had raised such a naive young lady?! She didn’t understand or know anything!
Jing Ruchen saw that his expression looked like death, and nervously clutched at her skirt. Suddenly, a thought of an item appeared in her head, and a gleam arose in her eyes. “Ah, that’s right, I thought of an item, it should be able to save you.” She lowered her head and rummaged through her sleeve until she finally dug up a mirror.
The old man had been a silent spectator this whole time, unconcernedly listening to their conversation. But the instant that mirror was brought out, his head suddenly shot up.
The mirror Jing Ruchen brought out was double-sided. Its frame was forged from the finest white jade, resembling vines weaving upward to form a mountain range. A gem of completely translucent jasper was embedded at the peak.
What shocked the old man wasn’t the mirror’s beauty, but what it held inside. There was no way he could afford to be lax around Soul Formation aura.
The number of people in the Upper Heaven who had achieved Soul Formation likely did not exceed fifteen. Just who was this little girl?!
“Give it!” The old man immediately walked over with an outstretched hand and made to snatch that mirror away.
Jing Ruchen was greatly startled and ducked backward.
The old man could reach his hand inside, but was unable to destroy the cage, let alone harm her in the slightest. His voice was dark and vicious as he said, “If you don’t want to die, then drop it!”
“I won’t, don’t you come over here.” Jing Ruchen actually didn’t know herself what this mirror was meant to be used for. Fei Yu had given her this mirror and said that if a day came when he was unable to protect her, then she should use this mirror. However, as for how to use it, at the time, she completely forgot to pay attention.
The old man said, “Give it!”
He abruptly channeled his spiritual energy, and a blazing inferno leapt to life and rushed toward Jing Ruchen. However, Fei Yu’s cage, also created with Great Ascension cultivation, was in the way. The flame was blocked and could merely circle and lick at the outside of the cage.
The old man was furious. He had hastily set up the formation here because he was pressed for time, but he never thought that there would also be a troublesome little girl interfering nearby! The old man was just in the middle of cursing his bad luck, and planned on carrying Ming Ze and switching to another spot. However, nobody expected Jing Ruchen to suddenly let out a great shout and drop the mirror in her hand with a pow.
Jing Ruchen’s entire person was like a startled bird, crouching down and hugging her knees.
Her body convulsed as she covered herself.
The old man was stunned. He looked back to discover that even though fire hadn’t physically burned her, that mask-wearing, white-clothed girl seemed to have descended into a madness. She had curled up into a ball, and the tears in her eyes fell in large drops. “Fire, fire.” Bewilderment welled up from the depths of her eyes, and her fingers spasmed as they tugged at her own hair.
Who would have thought she was this much of a coward? The old man quirked his eyebrows, laughing with cold disdain inside, and set Ming Ze down.
Actually, the Great Possession Formation was a technique that harmed your enemies a hundred percent while damaging yourself eighty percent. You could only possess someone of a lower cultivation level than yourself. Additionally, no matter how talented the person you possessed was, they would still suffer heavy injuries once you forced yourself into their body. Furthermore, the chance of failure was extremely high. Nobody in the cultivation realm would want to possess someone unless it was their last resort.
“Kid, if you’re going to hate anyone, then you should hate the Immortal Alliance.” The old man saw that the blood in the formation was already beginning to boil and, with a frigid smile, reached out and grabbed Ming Ze’s skull with his five fingers. Yet, his possession was abruptly cut short. A sword shot over, skewering his body. No words were exchanged, and no moment was spared for him to resist. His life was simply claimed.
Blood splashed on his chest with a splutter. The old man’s eyes nearly fell out of their sockets, and as he stiffly turned around, he glimpsed from within that green mist two people strolling out from a secret tunnel in the auction hall. At the sight of one of them, blood flowed from his eyes.
“The Immortal Alliance!”
Yu Xin retrieved his sword and fixed him with an icy glare.
For him, executing demonseeds was as ordinary as a meal. He was too lazy to even spare a word for the dying person.
“Don’t push all your own evildoings onto the Immortal Alliance, alright?”
Yan Qing looked down at the formation on the ground and smirked as he said, “As expected, he was using the Great Possession Formation. We came just in time.”
Yu Xin stepped back of his own accord to allow him to go first.
Yan Qing held a smile on his lips as he gazed at the old man.
The old man covered his chest, flowing with blood, and panted heavily. He sucked in a breath and spit out blood, yet was smiling when he said, “As expected, the Upper Heaven is full of people who lead sanctimonious lives! The Zijin Continent’s Qin family is full of backstabbers who will burn a bridge once they’ve crossed it, but your guys’ Immortal Alliance isn’t much better. You’re just a pack of mad dogs!”
Yu Xing rolled his eyes and said, “You think that by saying these words of slander against the Qin family, I’ll give you the opportunity for survival?”
A thread of deep hatred suddenly surfaced in the old man’s eyes.
Yu Xin apathetically said, “Since the Qin Family allowed you to escape, that means that there’s no possibility of your knowing many secrets. Just wait for death, you old fart.”
The old man gritted his teeth with a gurgle. At this critical moment, a sliver of green emerged in his eyes. That green color slowly spread from his pupils and rapidly enveloped his entire eyeballs. His face twitched malevolently, until it finally twisted into a grin with overwhelming malice. One glance would strike fear into people’s hearts.
“In your dreams!”
The old man’s voice also seemed to become sharper. Just now, when Yu Xin and Yan Qing had walked out together, he noticed that Yu Xin was somewhat apprehensive toward this youth at the early stage of Nascent Soul. The moment the phantasm awakened, the robes on the old man’s body began billowing in the absence of any wind. His spiritual energy once again transformed into fire, and a flame shot toward Yan Qing. His person also moved abruptly, and he stood beside Yan Qing, his sharp nails digging against Yan Qing’s neck. He sternly shouted, “Don’t move! Stand still! If you dare pursue me, I’ll kill him!”
Yu Xin: “…”
Yu Xin wanted to cuss someone out.
He had never experienced this feeling of being threatened in eight lifetimes2. When they slaughtered demonseeds, they never had any misgivings about whether or not they had harmed someone innocent. As soon as a phantasm awakened, a person’s bloodthirst was bottomless. Saving one innocent person meant endangering even more innocent people.
In the past, he would have finished this in one blow with his sword.
However, the person currently being held hostage was Yan Qing.
The old man saw that Yu Xin really froze, and celebrated inwardly. His jade-green eyeballs flashed with light, and he immediately grabbed Yan Qing and made to take advantage of the dense fog and head toward the mountain forest.
“Yan-Xiong!” Ming Ze came to his senses and gave a sudden shout.
Yu Xin didn’t dare act rashly. He could only summon a hummingbird with a whistle. The hummingbird was what the Immortal Alliance used to exchange messages. The blood jade bead was given by the Alliance Leader, so nobody would dare to make a hasty decision.
It was at this moment that a loud sound erupted from the other side of the auction hall. With a rumble, the entire floor caved in, wrecking everything that was imprisoned along with it. After the dust had dispersed, Yu Xin looked up and saw that the masked youth wearing black robes was slowly walking out.
Fei Yu pursed his lips tightly and paid no attention to Yu Xin’s scrutinizing stare. Upon seeing Jing Ruchen curled up in the cage, he only pursed his lips again, reached out his hand, and made the cage disintegrate and transform back into the whip in his hand.
She held her head in both hands, and white bones were starkly visible beneath her skirt. Her entire person seemed to be nearing insanity.
“Miss.” Fei Yu walked over and called for her in a deep voice.
This time, Jing Ruchen didn’t feel safe after hearing his words—instead, a great despair welled up within her. Her tears fell like rain as she hugged her knees. However, through the fire’s glow and the blur of tears, she glimpsed that mirror she had dropped on the ground, topped with its dark green crystal bead, and her entire being became dazed once more. A searing heat wave enveloped her, and her insides seemed to melt to ash.
—”Ruyu, we’re saved.”
Who was speaking?
Heavenly fire rained chaotically, to the point where ashes were the only thing the eye could see. Yet, just beyond the gate’s threshold was the fresh vitality of a gentle breeze and bright moon, the opportunity of survival. Jing Ruchen didn’t stop her steps, and only looked back once she stood before the gate threshold, smiling with both gratification and a desire to reassure.
However, before the smile of surviving a calamity had yet to completely form before it had completely stiffened on her face. As she turned her head back, she saw that the roof beam had been scorched to ruins, and a large log was about to fall—carrying a devastating cleaving power and enveloped in flame. In the next instant, it would smash onto the head of the person behind her.
She paled in shock, and didn’t even have time to speak before she reached out and pulled that young girl over.
However, the young girl was obviously oblivious to the danger and was still crying tears of joy at her earlier words. She threw herself over into her embrace, and her body trembled with emotion, crying and laughing as she said, “That’s right, sister, we’re saved!”
She was overcome with emotion, and her fingers tightly clutched onto her arm, her nails turning white from the force.
Jing Ruchen staggered back a step.
Amidst the sounds of destruction and collapse, she seemed to remember the young girl in her embrace raising her head, and looking at her. The glowing flames and glittering teardrops danced in her eyes, reflecting Xuanji Palace’s sumptuous crystal. She was as charming and pure as a flower in the rain.
“Sister, this is great, we’re saved!”
*
Yan Qing, using his new status as a hostage, followed this old man making his last stand into Nan City’s dusky alleyways. They wriggled along the damp, dim roads and headed toward the mountain forest. The dense, opaque green fog enhanced the jade green in the old man’s eyes, and the bloodthirst and murderous intent rolling in his heart seemed to roar to life. However, he had already reached the Great Ascension stage and wouldn’t lose control as easily as a mortal.
“Little child, since you helped me this time, I’ll give you a reward.” The old man’s voice was hoarse, and he laboriously gasped for breath. His fingers pinched Yan Qing’s neck firmly, and they shook violently, as if he was trying to resist the urge to tear Yan Qing to shreds.
Yan Qing put on an act and fearfully said, “W-what kind of reward?”
The old man asked, “Do you want to become a genius?”
Yan Qing: “Ah?”
The old man coughed up a few mouthfuls of blood and rasped, “The Qingyun Conference is near, and with your current cultivation, there’s no way you can get a good ranking. But, I have a way to have your cultivation progress soar in just a few days.”
Yan Qing embarrassedly said, “Isn’t this cheating?”
The old man sneered, “How could this be considered cheating? Even if you don’t use this method, other people from the Nine Great Sects will. At the auction, I didn’t just bring out those ashes, I also brought out some elixirs. However, now they’ve all been left underground. If you want them, once I’ve recovered from my injury, I can refine more for you.”
Yan Qing asked, “Elixirs?”
The old man said, “Right, if you take them, you can rapidly improve your aptitude, which will help you cultivate faster.”
He had tasted Yu Xin’s sword, and currently, his body was like an arrow at the end of its flight. The roused phantasm within his body merely ignited the final dregs of this deathbed struggle. The old man didn’t dare to use spiritual energy and knew he wouldn’t be able to remain conscious for much longer. He absolutely had to succeed in tricking this kid.
“The people of the Upper Heaven aren’t as clean as you think, kid. At this Qingyun Conference, you’ll encounter many unprecedented opponents.”
Yan Qing heard this and laughed. He lightly repeated his words, “The people of the Upper Heaven aren’t as clean as I think?”
“Right. But I can help you…” The old man wasn’t even able to feel despair before this person’s slow next words reached his ears.
“But, during all those years I spent at Shifang City, I never thought that the people of the Demon Realm were very clean either?”
Though his voice was loose and filled with laughter, it revealed a terrifying chill that made one’s heart tremble.
The old man’s pupils contracted, and he abruptly looked up. However, before he could react, a thread of thin red string had already pierced his brain, entering his spiritual consciousness.
Nan City had been blanketed in dense fog this entire time. It was only now, with the help of the moonlight, that he finally got a clear look at Yan Qing’s face.