Chapter 176 Misty Rain Pavilion (Part 4)
Yanyu Terrace.
In the spacious hall, eighteen water mirrors, each a different color, floated to the top of the hall. Roots grew from their bases and buried deep in the ground, like giant fruits growing from the soil. In the center of the hall was a stone chair, upon which countless sharp swords, as if melted, were firmly solidified, gathering a dense concentration of divine power.
Two of the eighteen water mirrors turned black, while the other water mirrors reflected different figures with varying expressions, conversing in hushed tones.
"The Trial Realm is gone? What are they doing?!"
"Wen Ziheng has fallen, and the Yin-Yang Building is now in complete chaos."
"Chu Guanshan's cultivation had already reached the early stage of the Great Luo Realm, so how could he perish in a place like the Trial Realm?"
"The Trial Realm is nowhere to be found, so where is the Tribulation Jade?"
"...Someone discovered traces of Luo Xiaoyuan and the other eight traitors entering the place."
"What a joke! Even ten Luo Xiaoyuans combined couldn't kill Chu Guanshan..."
Sitting on the stone chair was a young man who looked to be no more than twenty years old. He wore a simple gray robe and had a handsome and dignified appearance. However, if one looked into his eyes, one would not believe that he was as young as his appearance suggested. They were eyes that had experienced the sedimentation of time and the bloodshed of battle, revealing the calmness and peace of an elder. He had been cultivating for more than 5,700 years and was not moved by these minor setbacks. He listened quietly to the conversation of the various pavilion masters and lords in the water mirror without uttering a word.
The incense smoke from the censer in the main hall drifted slowly, and a clear, bright light suddenly enveloped the area from the void. The person sitting on the stone chair suddenly moved slightly, and the conversation in the water mirror stopped abruptly. They all greeted each other respectfully, "Master."
Normally, only a sliver of Xiao Dan's attention is present, and he usually doesn't interfere with their decisions. But now that the real Xiao Dan has appeared, everyone has instantly become cautious.
Xiao Dan pointed to the rough stone chair armrest. "Qingfan, you tell me what happened."
The Water Pavilion Master whose name was mentioned was Xiao Qingfan, the sixth son of Xiao Dan. He was not the most outstanding among Xiao Dan's children, but he was still exceptionally talented and had a long and distinguished career among the Eight Pavilions, second only to Chu Guanshan. Upon hearing this, he revealed his true form and recounted the events in detail.
"The Trial Realm is in turmoil. Pavilion Master Chu and Pavilion Master Wen entered the Trial Realm one after another to investigate, but both perished. The Trial Realm has vanished, and all the primordial spirits within it have been ejected and returned to their true forms. Because the Trial Realm has disappeared, it is impossible to conduct any retrospective investigations. According to the surviving Trial disciples, they saw Luo Xiaoyuan, Bai Luan, and other eight pavilion traitors appear. We speculate that Chu and Wen must have failed in their battle against the traitors and perished. The Trial Realm has most likely fallen into the hands of the Burning Platform Hall." Xiao Qingfan looked up at Xiao Dan.
"But how could that rabble from the Burning Platform Hall possibly kill Chu Guanshan and Wen Ziheng?" Someone in the water mirror hurriedly spoke up: "I hope the Master will investigate this carefully."
Xiao Qingfan glanced back and saw Yan Huai'an, the master of the Life and Death Pavilion. He was about to speak again when Xiao Qingfan interrupted him, "I also find this matter quite strange. Apart from the Heaven and Earth Pavilion, the remaining seven pavilions have organized people to go to the Yin-Yang Pavilion to investigate."
Yan Huai'an was silenced by his words.
"This matter is now entirely in your hands. You must find the Trial Realm again," Xiao Dan said.
"Yes," Xiao Qingfan replied.
Xiao Dan's gaze swept over the others, and he slowly said, "There are quite a few ancient temple ruins that Wangyue has not yet explored. There is no need to waste all our manpower on this one thing. The star map has been unstable recently, which means that a new Heavenly Rank artifact has appeared. The Gold and Fire Pavilions should pay special attention to this."
"Yes." The two pavilion masters of Jin Huo Pavilion could not hide their joy.
"The three pavilions of Feng, each send a thousand men to assist Chen Yao." After saying this, Xiao Dan's true form and primordial spirit quietly withdrew.
"Respectfully bidding farewell to the Master." Everyone bowed in unison, and the water mirrors in the main hall went dark one by one.
As Xiao Qingyan entered, he brushed past Xiao Qingfan, who was walking out. Xiao Qingfan respectfully stepped aside and bowed, saying, "Sixth Brother."
Xiao Qingfan seemed to recognize him at first, and smiled as he helped him up. "You've come at the right time. Father himself descended just now, and probably knows you're here. He shouldn't have left yet. Go quickly."
Xiao Qingyan smiled and nodded, quickening her pace.
The hall doors closed behind him, and Xiao Qingyan's joyful voice was exceptionally clear in the empty hall, "Father, I'm back!"
The person on the stone chair slowly opened their eyes. "A-Zhuo, come here."
Xiao Qingyan ran up to him with a smile and knelt down in front of him. "Father, it's been so long since you've returned in your true form."
Xiao Dan patted his head and said gently, "I heard you took on the task of escorting the cultivators from Pingze for Qiankun Tower. You did a good job."
Xiao Qingyan smiled sheepishly, paused for a moment, and then said, "Father, I think I've found my destined one."
Xiao Dan looked down at him.
“His name is Jiang Gu. Just as my father said, he is a cultivator from Pingze Continent. However…” He slowly frowned, feeling as if he had forgotten something, but he couldn’t remember it no matter what he did. “However, he doesn’t seem to like me very much.”
"It's alright, take your time." Xiao Dan lifted his sleeve and looked at the scar on his arm. "This scar contains some memories. If the time is right, you can try to get him to help you unlock them."
Xiao Qingyan said, "Father, can't you help me untie it?"
Xiao Dan simply smiled and shook his head, then reached out and touched the space between his eyebrows. Countless memories flooded into Xiao Dan's mind, but there were some inconsistencies among them. "A-Zhuo, your memories have been tampered with."
Xiao Qingyan looked at him with a somewhat blank expression.
Xiao Dan chuckled and removed his hand. "But it's alright, as long as you live well."
Xiao Qingyan nodded. "I will listen to my father."
“Chu Guanshan has harbored ulterior motives for a long time, and Wen Ziheng has also made mistakes. Five years ago, it wasn’t the right time for me to take action against them. This time, you have found your destined person, who helped us get rid of Chu Guanshan and Wen Ziheng. We should thank him properly.” Xiao Dan said unhurriedly, “Now the Jade Steps and the Tribulation Jade are both in the Heaven and Earth Pavilion. Azhuo, keep an eye on them.”
Xiao Qingyan was somewhat taken aback and asked blankly, "Who is the Jade Step? Who is the Tribulation Jade?"
Xiao Dan gathered a point of light at his fingertips and placed it on his brow again.
——
The Heaven and Earth Pavilion, the Xiao Residence.
Yao Li stood coldly at the door, his eyes fixed on the blood-soaked beggar on the ground. All the major acupoints on his body were pierced by soul nails several inches long. He leaned casually against the wall, and two scarlet eyes peeked out from his messy hair. Blood spilled from his mouth when he laughed, but even so, he was still laughing. His intermittent laughter made people feel uncomfortable all over.
Jiang Xiangyun sat in a chair not far from him, sipping his tea leisurely. "What goes around comes around. Lu Liyu, did you ever imagine that you would end up in my hands?"
"Of course." Probably from the intense pain, he gritted his teeth, adjusted his posture, and grinned, "I also know that a young master like you, born of noble birth, may look refined and gentle, but you actually have more ways to torture people than we assassins do. If I had known back in Pingze Continent, I should have coaxed you more, at least to get you into bed. It's really a loss to have only had a few spiritual encounters. It's not worth all the suffering I'm going through now."
Jiang Xiangyun's fingers, which were holding the teacup, suddenly tightened. Yao Li's sword tip was only inches away from Lu Liyu's eyes when someone called out to stop him.
"Uncle, don't get angry over this kind of person." Jiang Xiangyun stood up and said with a smile, "Go outside for a walk and clear your head. I'll talk to him for a bit."
Yao Li paused for a moment, then abruptly sheathed his sword. He nodded respectfully to Jiang Xiangyun, "Yes, young master."
After saying this, he picked up his sword and left, closing the door behind him.
The moment the indoor light dimmed, a dull thud echoed in the room, followed by the sound of bones breaking. Dust swirled in the sunlight, and a pool of sticky blood pooled on the floor. Jiang Xiangyun's clean boots pressed down on Lu Liyu's face. He looked down at Lu Liyu, his tone still gentle and mocking, "Enraging me will do you no good. Although the bond is temporarily unbreakable, I can still make you wish you were dead."
Lu Liyu's scarlet eyes flickered, and she let out a hoarse laugh.
Jiang Xiangyun released his foot, bent down, grabbed his hair, and lifted him up, smiling as he said, "So you'd better listen to me."
Lu Liyu stared at him and narrowed her eyes. "Then I'll give you a piece of advice: obediently go back to Pingze and be the young master of the Jiang family. Wangyue is not a place for you."
Jiang Xiangyun slowly suppressed his smile, "Take us into the ancient temple, and I'll help you break the life-and-death pact with the Eight Pavilions."
Lu Liyu's scarlet eyes suddenly fixed.
——
The neighboring courtyard.
"Ancient Temple?" Wei Feng asked in surprise, "Master, the ancient temple here is far more dangerous than the temple ruins in the Trial Realm and Pingze Continent. Usually, it is only those Eight Pavilion cultivators who have passed the ten trials who go to explore it. Even so, eight or nine out of ten people die every time they enter the temple. It would be unwise to go in rashly."
“We need an opportunity and a divine artifact now,” Jiang Gu said. “Jiang Xiangyun will persuade Xiao Qingyan, and you will come with us then.”
Upon hearing that he was willing to take him along, Wei Feng immediately stopped trying to dissuade him and said, "Okay!"
He's just venturing into an ancient temple; he'll definitely be able to protect his master.
The small primordial spirit, having eaten and drunk its fill, lay on the table patting its belly. Jiang Gu looked up at Wei Feng and said, "I'll tell you when we set off. Go back now."
Wei Feng was taken aback. "Go back where?"
Jiang Gu said, "Your room."
"I'm with my master, and this is our room." Wei Feng said with a serious expression, "Master, if you don't keep a close eye on me, what if I get captured by those bastards Lu Liyu and Chu Guanshan again? Even though I'm just a wooden shell, they're incredibly vicious; they'll slice my soul open piece by piece—"
Jiang Gu's cold gaze stopped him from saying anything more. He guiltily looked away, his hand reaching out to poke the little primordial spirit on the table, and whispered, "It's too dangerous for me to live alone."
Jiang Gu ignored him and went to cultivate on the bed.
Wei Feng raised an eyebrow smugly at the silly little spirit, pinched its wings and stuffed it back into the cauldron. When it tried to pop its head out to ask for help, it kicked it into the corner and it was left to eat dust. He then went over and sat down next to Jiang Gu.
Jiang Gu was repairing the tiny wounds on his primordial spirit.
As Wei Feng said, his ghost pattern healing effect was excellent. After the spiritual communion, Jiang Gu's originally riddled primordial spirit recovered by more than half. Even the residual poison that Jin Yingxiu had given him was cleared away. The spiritual power also flowed much more smoothly in his meridians. However, his originally bright golden primordial spirit had some dark and turbid impurities, which would take some time to remove.
Jiang Gu was in a terrible mood when he did this, but when he remembered that he also had a remnant of his primordial spirit in Wei Feng's primordial spirit, he inexplicably calmed down a lot. He separated a strand of spiritual power to explore Wei Feng's primordial spirit, wanting to see how this guy cultivated his primordial spirit.
As soon as Jiang Gu entered Wei Feng's sea of consciousness, he saw his primordial spirit lying casually with his legs crossed, wisps of golden remnants of his primordial spirit wrapped around his fingers. He stuck out his tongue, rolled them into his mouth, and slowly swallowed them. The golden remnants of his primordial spirit then appeared in a certain place on his dark primordial spirit. He happily tore them off and wrapped them around his hand, repeating this process tirelessly.
"..." Jiang Gu was speechless. "What are you doing?"
He suddenly spoke, startling Wei Feng so much that his entire primordial spirit jumped up, staring at him in horror, "Master, how did you get into my sea of consciousness?"
Jiang Gu frowned and said, "The remnants of the primordial spirit after spiritual communion cannot be devoured by the main body. Clear away these impurities."
Wei Feng abruptly hid his hands behind his back, looking at him with a flushed face, "I... I'll clean it later."
Seeing his blush, Jiang Gu said expressionlessly, "Now."
Wei Feng was caught red-handed—although he didn't think it was a big deal—but he had no choice but to succumb to Jiang Gu's intimidation. Reluctantly, he cleared away the golden impurities from his primordial spirit. Jiang Gu only sent in a wisp of his divine sense, which was a faint gold color. Wei Feng felt a tickle in his heart. He looked down at his own primordial spirit and softened his voice, saying, "Master, my primordial spirit is sewn up. Look."
He had previously harbored resentment towards Jiang Gu, and had been stubbornly holding back his anger, covering his primordial spirit with a layer of illusion to prevent Jiang Gu from exposing his ugly wounds. But now, he had deliberately revealed his scars to Jiang Gu.
The scars were densely packed, all stitched together with thin, ghostly lines, and even his face and neck were no exception. Although Jiang Gu was mentally prepared, his heart still sank when he saw them.
Wei Feng felt a little uncomfortable under his gaze. He quickly put on the illusion magic again, transforming himself back into a handsome young man. He said sadly, "I got a lot of new wounds when I killed Chu Guanshan. Although these wounds have healed a bit after the spiritual connection, they still hurt a lot. The consciousness in this puppet body is narrow and not very useful..."
Jiang Gu sensed the hidden meaning in his words but didn't react. Then he saw him pitifully raise his head, "Master, can I go into your sea of consciousness to heal my injuries? I promise I'll stay obediently in the corner and I absolutely won't touch your primordial spirit."
Although he spoke with such sincerity that it seemed plausible, Jiang Gu was still so angry that he laughed out loud: "Dream on."
He must be out of his mind to let someone else's soul enter his own sea of consciousness. Don't even think about it, let alone Wei Feng, or even his own parents.
Wei Feng's eyes were full of disappointment. "I'm sorry, Master. I was presumptuous."
Jiang Gu said coldly, "I will find a way to deal with the injury to your primordial spirit, so there's no need to worry about it."
“Okay.” Wei Feng nodded obediently, but insisted on adding, “Actually, spiritual communication is very effective. My Dao heart of the Six Desires has advanced by leaps and bounds, and my wounds have healed...quite a lot.”
Under Jiang Gu's icy gaze, Wei Feng's voice grew softer and softer, yet a tingling excitement and stimulation rose throughout his body. His mouth seemed to be beyond his control, and he heard himself cautiously ask, "Master, is it comfortable when you communicate with me spiritually?"
This was blatant flirting. Jiang Gu's face darkened, and he flicked his sleeve and left his sea of consciousness.
The next instant, Wei Feng burst through the window and was kicked out of the room, crashing heavily onto the artificial rockery in the courtyard, the rocks behind him shattering into pieces.
He coughed twice, clutching his chest, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth. He looked at Jiang Gu, who had emerged with a sword, in terror, knowing he had offended Jiang Gu. He quickly begged for forgiveness, "Master, I was wrong, I was really just curious—"
boom!
A bright sword light flashed before his eyes, and a fierce wind raged around him as lightning and thunder roared. Wei Feng was about to control his primordial spirit to escape when he discovered that his primordial spirit was bound within this body. The Spirit-Severing Array rose from the ground, cutting off all his possibilities of controlling spiritual power. The next instant, the Crimson Snow Sword struck his shoulder, back, and thigh squarely, leaving deep red wounds.
Wei Feng cried out in pain as he was beaten, "Master! Master, I was wrong! Go easy on me! Ouch—"
A head peeked out from the wall of the neighboring courtyard. Jiang Xiangyun was watching with great interest from the top of the wall, and even whistled loudly.
He turned to Yao Li and sighed, "Tsk, even someone as good-tempered as Seventh Brother got so angry that he resorted to violence. Luckily, I don't have any disciples."
“…” Yao Li.
Why am I not deaf?
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