Chapter 23 The Truth Comes Out (Part 1) "They say, night is falling in Chuncheng..."
The wind was biting cold, and snow piled up on the treetops.
Inside the Xiaotianyuan Hall of Daohe Palace, Zhang Chunhe sat with sweat on his forehead, his hands slightly clenched, and a faint, sweet, metallic taste rising in his throat.
He formed a hand seal to suppress his blood and qi, then took a round, white pill from the side and swallowed it, which eased his complexion somewhat.
The spirit doll was made from his own heart's blood, and its destruction naturally implicated him.
He looked out the window, his white beard and hair tinged with sunlight, his light brown eyes reflecting the verdant pine forest in the distance, the small pine grove where his disciples often practiced their swordsmanship.
At first, Wei Changzai didn't go there often because there were too many people, but later, because of Lin Feiran, the small pine forest also became his place for meditation.
At that time, Zhang Chunhe was somewhat troubled. Wei Changzai had been stagnant since entering Zhaohai Realm, and it was difficult for him to understand the inner workings of the mind. Even though he was considered exceptionally talented for his age, in Zhang Chunhe's mind, he was still far from being good enough.
To break through to a higher level, in addition to the spiritual veins being able to withstand the onslaught of spiritual energy, one also needs to understand one's state of mind.
For cultivators, the word "seeing through" is extremely profound. The path of cultivation is full of illusions. If the paths are not in harmony, the illusions seen will be different. He did not know what Wei Chang was thinking, so how could he answer him?
Moreover, whenever this matter is mentioned, he always says that he is not confused.
It is unclear when it started, but after arriving at the small pine forest, he stopped meditating and instead practiced swordsmanship with Lin Feiran. Zhang Chunhe naturally did not object, and over time, Wei Changzai's swordsmanship finally developed its own unique character.
Until one day, when he came to the hall to greet him as usual, Zhang Chunhe realized that he had already entered the realm of questioning the mind.
Not knowing the reason, he asked, and Wei Changzai only lowered his eyes and replied, "This disciple does not know."
Asking one's heart is to confront one's true self. What do I seek? How could he not know? He simply chooses not to speak.
But why not say it?
Zhang Chunhe couldn't help but think of Lin Feiran again, and those eyes that had turned from crimson to clear and bright. A strange thought suddenly popped into his mind, but he shook his head and dismissed it after a moment.
He was absolutely certain that this was impossible.
"Master."
The door opened slightly, and Zhang Chunhe broke his thoughts, smiling as he said, "Come in."
The newcomer had a face as white as ice and snow, a figure as tall as a pine tree, and impeccable manners. A long, slanted brown wooden hairpin adorned her hair, resembling a plum blossom but not quite. It was none other than Consort Wei.
He bowed and said, "It is now the hour of Mao (5-7 AM), and I have come to pay my respects to my master."
Zhang Chunhe greeted him and then poured him a cup of hot tea: "Why did you come back so suddenly? I thought you were going to look for Lin Feiran again?"
Wei Changzai showed no unusual expression, calmly raising his hand to accept the tea, and then handing over the Myriad Compass from his bosom.
"The compass is not responding, so I guess I can't find her. I'll stop wasting my time."
He looked up, his gaze slightly startled: "Why does Master's complexion look so bad?"
Zhang Chunhe smiled faintly and said, "It's just that I encountered some obstacles during my cultivation. However, there seems to be a faint trace of blood energy around you. Why is that?"
Wei Chang lowered his eyelashes: "Encountering some obstacles during cultivation is nothing to worry about."
Zhang Chunhe said meaningfully, "There are some things that I can see even if you don't say them. This bloodlust isn't yours. So who was injured?"
After a moment of silence, he said, "Qiu Tong's cultivation was hindered and some things happened. There was a shortage of manpower in Fangcao Hall, so I took care of things for her. Perhaps it was the bloodlust that got her there."
Zhang Chunhe nodded, showing no surprise, but frowned slightly: "Is it serious? Qiu Tong is, after all, a disciple of the sect. If her cultivation has gone astray, I should find some time to visit her."
Before Wei Changzai could reply, a series of hurried footsteps came from outside the Xiaotianyuan Hall. The person rushed in without knocking, looking flustered.
"Chief Zhang, yesterday was truly dangerous. It wasn't my fault for not protecting your disciples properly..."
Wei Changzai turned his head and saw the person who came. He was slightly surprised, but he still stepped aside and gave a Taoist salute.
Mu Qian naturally recognized Wei Changzai, so he nodded slightly as a return gesture. He hurriedly put Jiang Jin down and said vaguely.
"The mission went wrong, and I will go back to accept my punishment. As for your disciple, I brought him back safe and sound. His injuries have been treated, but keeping him alive is up to you!"
His face was ashen and his lips were bloodless, indicating that he had also suffered a serious injury. After saying hello, he fled the place as if he were escaping.
Jiang Jin was placed on the ground. Zhang Chunhe sighed slightly upon seeing this and fed him a Three Yuan Emperor Pill.
"Changzai, you should send someone to Lingming's palace first. Consider this box of pills as payment for this mission."
"yes."
"yes."
Wei Changzai led the man to the corridor. He looked at Jiang Jin lying on the ground, carefully tracing every wound on him. Then he bent down, placed his right hand over the finger mark on Jiang Jin's neck, and lowered his eyes in thought.
He did see Jiang Jin enter the Demon Realm with another man, and now that he thinks about it, that man was probably Mu Qian from the Canxing Domain.
What will they do? The answer is self-evident.
A gentle breeze rustled through the corridor, and the surrounding pine forest was quiet, with only the occasional rustling of falling snow. Wei Changzai's hand tightened and loosened, as if trying to replicate the force used to create the fingerprint, as if that would allow her to feel her state of mind at the time.
But he knew he was cold-hearted and could hardly understand.
Suddenly, he saw something, raised his hand and slowly pulled out the long sword that was tied to Jiang Jin's waist. His gaze fell on the junction of the hilt and the blade, where there was a faint, almost imperceptible red.
As I ran my finger over it, the not-yet-completely-coagulated blood spread across my fingertip.
He stared at her for a long time, then said softly, "Manman, how come you're injured again?"
Suddenly a gust of snow wind swept by, lifting his black hair and Taoist robe, concealing his movements and expression.
When the wind stopped and the snow ceased, he lowered his hand, his fingertips showing no other color except for a glint of water.
He stood up and looked at the distant, layered mountains, thinking to himself, "Just wait a little longer, and I'll see them soon."
*
"Woof!"
Lin Feiran was awakened by a dog barking, not knowing how long she had slept.
She covered her forehead and got up, her eyes glazed over. She looked around and found herself in a completely unfamiliar room, with the blue-eyed white fox crouching beside her pillow.
The woman and the fox stared at each other for a moment, then the fox circled around her twice and began to whine.
Lin Feiran looked up and saw someone push the door open and enter.
Her snow-white hair reached her waist, her face was delicate and her hair was smooth. She wore a long white robe with gold lotus patterns and gold bracelets around her wrists. The person who came was Ru Xian. He was dressed much more casually than when they had met before. When he saw that she was awake, he only raised his eyebrows slightly.
"You slept for three days. Among those who dared to consume a whole bottle of aphrodisiac pills, you were the first to wake up."
Lin Feiran opened his mouth, his voice slightly hoarse, and said, "Is three days considered early?"
“Compared to never waking up again, three days is certainly early. You should be grateful that your stagnant spiritual veins saved you.” He walked to the bedside, slightly raising his chin. “Raise your hand.”
Lin Feiran did as instructed.
A few strands of gold thread emerged from his fingers, wrapping around her wrist. Gentle spiritual energy flowed along the gold threads into her meridians, meandering through them.
He was treating her and had no intention of chatting. After thanking him, Lin Feiran lowered her head and rubbed her stiff neck. As she turned her head, her gaze suddenly froze.
Beneath the loose, flowing robe were a pair of long, straight legs. The silk trousers fit snugly, accentuating the shape of the legs, but at the base of the right thigh, a pure gold leg ring was suspended.
The gold ring was about three fingers wide and not openwork. At this moment, its circumference was slightly wider than his leg, and it was overflowing with light. After she looked at it, the gold ring immediately contracted back, making a slight indentation at the base of his leg.
"...?"
Lin Feiran stopped rubbing her neck.
Things like hailstones are all very peculiar. This fox-dog that can change shape at will is one such example, and the golden ring around its body is also extraordinary. Could this golden ring be a living thing as well?
"What are you looking at?"
His cool voice came from above. Lin Feiran was silent for a moment before speaking: "Lord, your leg rings seem to fly."
Seemingly surprised by her comment, Ru Xian couldn't help but chuckle.
"alright."
After speaking, the golden thread on Lin Feiran's wrist broke, and the green-eyed fox seized the opportunity to pounce, swallowing all the golden thread into its mouth and rolling around in satisfaction.
He moved a soft chair to the bedside, sat down casually, crossed his long legs, and looked at her with his chin propped up on his hand. "Immortal flesh, think carefully, who else would want to come to the demon realm to kill you?"
Upon hearing this form of address, Lin Feiran paused slightly and looked at him with a puzzled expression.
Ru Xian understood her gaze, her eyes narrowed slightly, and she said, "What else could it be but divine flesh that everyone wants a bite of?"
Lin Feiran thought he was worried that her affairs would disturb the demon capital Lancheng, so she said seriously, "I don't know who else wants to kill me, but since I have become an envoy of the demon realm, I will take on this responsibility and will not involve others."
Before he could react, Ru Xian's lips had already curled up like a flower breaking through ice, and even the blush on his eyes brightened up. He rarely saw such a serious and earnest person.
After laughing, he sighed.
"You take your replies so seriously? That's rather boring."
"But you smile..." Realizing what she was about to say, Lin Feiran stopped and took the throat-soothing dew, drinking it down in one gulp.
He suppressed his smile, gave her a cool look, and raised an eyebrow, saying, "There's something even more important right now. Remember, the Pilgrimage Valley opens in October."
Lin Feiran nodded: "You said that after the contract was formed, you wanted me to go to the valley to find something for you."
"I thought you'd forgotten again." He raised his hand, and the blue-eyed fox cleverly leaped onto his lap, pretending to be obedient and letting him pet it. "You know the rules for entering the valley, right?"
Lin Feiran nodded.
The Valley of Pilgrimage is filled with numerous magical artifacts and sacred objects, attracting countless people eager to enter in search of treasures. However, each time the valley gates open, only eighty-one people are allowed to enter.
Of these eighty-one, two were from each of the four major sects, one from each of the eight great families, three were recommended by the lineage of the Human Emperor, and two were chosen by divination using yarrow stalks. Thus, only sixty positions were left for the independent cultivators at the foot of the mountain.
If independent cultivators want to compete, they must enter Spring City in advance, participate in the Flying Flower Gathering, and win the top sixty positions. Then, the eighty-one people who have entered the valley will gather to compete. The top ten can enter Sword Mountain to retrieve the sword. This competition is called the Pilgrimage Ceremony.
In the original book, Qiu Tong had to participate in the Flying Flower Gathering because her skills were not good enough, while Wei Changzai was directly selected to go to the Pilgrimage Ceremony because he won the competition within the sect. He won the championship and entered the Sword Mountain to take the first sword.
He raised his hand: "Perfect, let him explain."
The newcomer held a gold-flecked folding fan, had a white jade bell hanging from his waist, wore a wide blue robe, and was covered with a dark-patterned green bamboo gauze garment. He had an elegant appearance and smiled before speaking.
He stepped forward, glancing at Lin Feiran almost imperceptibly, before bowing to Ru Xian: "Your Excellency."
After speaking, he looked at Lin Feiran formally, nodded slightly, and behaved politely.
“I heard from Xun Feifei a few days ago that a new envoy has been appointed, but I have been unable to leave due to other matters, which is why we are meeting today. I am Qingzhu, the fifth envoy, and now I should be one of the six envoys. It is a pleasure to meet you.”
She replied, "Lin Feiran."
Ru Xian raised her hand to interrupt the two: "Let's get straight to the point."
Qingzhu chuckled: "My lord, since Miss Lin is human, she shouldn't be so impolite... Alright, let's make a long story short. Back then, for the sake of the demon realm, I reluctantly infiltrated a sect in the human realm as an undercover agent, and finally, a few days ago, I obtained some information."
The Taiji Immortal Sect's Master Shufeng, once again inspired by the Sage, declared that various sects and families could still recommend candidates for this pilgrimage ceremony, but there would be no more multiple competitions as in the past. The top ten sword-selectors entering Sword Mountain this time would be chosen solely from the Flying Flower Gathering.
In other words, regardless of whether one is recommended or not, if one wants to enter the Sword Mountain, one must go to Spring City to participate in the Flying Flower Festival.
Upon hearing this, Lin Feiran frowned, and doubts began to arise in his heart.
Ru Xian then asked, "Is there anything else?"
Qingzhu nodded: "After this Flying Flower Gathering, those who are destined will be able to meet the holy spirits of the Pilgrimage Valley. Those who have requests will surely be granted them. However, as for whether the Flying Flower Gathering will be the same as before, the saints did not say, but only entrusted her with four words."
"They say, the Spring City will soon be dark."
Author's Note: Ahhh, I'm so sorry everyone, this chapter was also scheduled to be released at 11 PM, and I only just noticed.
P.S.: This title doesn't seem very straightforward. I'm thinking of changing it to "Feiran" (斐然). I'd like to let everyone know why.
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