Chapter 88 Youthful Spring Robes (Thirty-Four)
"Wei Feng!" Qu Fengyu's meridians were sealed, and without spiritual power, he was no match for Shen Yuxin.
Wei Feng snapped back to his senses and instinctively drew his sword to block Qu Fengyu. Looking at Shen Yuxin's sinister face, he found it hard to reconcile him with the gentle and refined Elder Shen of the past. He couldn't help but click his tongue in amazement. Love really could make people lose their minds and become unrecognizable, just as his master had said. Fortunately, he hadn't reached that point yet.
"You're still alive?" Shen Yuxin looked at him in surprise.
Wei Feng's gaze was icy, and countless ghostly patterns spread out from his back, unexpectedly entering Shen Yuxin's dantian. Shen Yuxin's expression changed. He clearly felt that his Dao heart was on the verge of shattering, but he was unable to move. It looked like his dantian was about to be crushed by the ghostly patterns.
A murderous intent spread through Wei Feng's eyes.
"Wei Feng, don't kill him!" Qu Fengyu said hurriedly.
Wei Feng suddenly turned his head, his white eyes staring straight at Qu Fengyu, a ferocious smile on his face. Qu Fengyu subconsciously took half a step back, forcibly stabilizing his mind and said, "Isn't he your good friend's master?"
The man exuding murderous aura froze, and Wei Feng finally came to his senses. He naturally thought of Xuan Zhiyan. Although he knew Xuan Zhiyan's feelings for Shen Yuxin weren't as deep as his feelings for Qi Fengyuan, the two were currently master and disciple. Putting himself in Xuan Zhiyan's shoes, if he killed Jiang Gu, he…
Wei Feng put away the ghost pattern and threw Shen Yuxin into the spirit pet bag.
Qu Fengyu finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Wei Feng didn't notice her. Now he could decide Shen Yuxin's life or death, but back in the Chaolong Secret Realm, he had personally witnessed Qi Fengyuan die under Jiang Gu's sword. He had been deliberately avoiding thinking about this matter, but he couldn't deny that Jiang Gu and Xuan Zhiyan were mortal enemies. If Xuan Zhiyan knew the truth, he would definitely seek revenge on Jiang Gu. At that time, who should he help?
He lowered his head and tightened the several spirit pet pouches around his waist, his eyes deep and thoughtful.
As long as he doesn't say it, Xuan Zhiyan will never know.
“I know why you’ve come.” Qu Fengyu followed him into the heavy rain. “I still owe Jiang Gu a spiritual realm.”
"Hmm." Wei Feng squinted in the rain, puzzled, "Why did you and Wu Hezhi return to Yanghua Sect again?"
"We didn't return after leaving Pingfengzong. Instead, Ruan Keji and Shen Yuxin have been searching for Wu Hezhi," Qu Fengyu said. "The sect leader's seal is still in Wu Hezhi's hands. If Ruan Keji wants to become the sect leader, he must have the sect leader's seal. Otherwise, the elders will not recognize him."
Wei Feng scoffed, "This old man has quite an appetite."
"Wei Feng, how about we make a deal?" Qu Fengyu said with a smile, "You definitely didn't return to Yanghua Sect to save us. I'll help you do what you want to do, and you help us leave. How about that?"
Wei Feng's expression turned strange for a moment. "Should I help you side with Wu Hezhi or with Shen Yuxin?"
Qu Fengyu twitched the corner of his mouth.
Wei Feng stared at her with a strange look in his eyes. "Will you go with Wu Hezhi and Shen Yuxin?"
"...What are you thinking about all day long!" Qu Fengyu couldn't help but roll his eyes. "Of course, it's me and Azhi."
"Then why were you pleading for Shen Yuxin just now?" Wei Feng curled his lip. "You fickle woman."
Qu Fengyu rolled up his sleeves as if to punch him, but seeing the coldness in his eyes, he reluctantly withdrew his hand, cleared his throat and said, "Just say whether you agree or not. Jiang Gu isn't here. What can a kid like you accomplish?"
"Sure," Wei Feng said with a grin, "You can give me the Spirit Realm then."
Qu Fengyu's eyes suddenly became meaningful, "You and Jiang Gu finally broke up?"
She was very clever. Wei Feng didn't want to reveal any flaws, and even less did he want others to know that Jiang Gu had lost all his cultivation. So he said with a grin, "Of course not, such a small matter is not worth my master's help."
Qu Fengyu remained noncommittal; each with their own thoughts, the two left Shuying Peak together.
Wei Feng touched the jade pendant by his ear, "Zhiyan?"
Soon, Xuan Zhiyan's panting voice came from the jade pendant: "Ruan Keji is guarding the treasure pavilion with his men right now. I finally managed to sneak out, but Mu Si and Liu Xian have been watching me the whole time... I'll stop here for now. I've run to Touchun Peak. I'll go into the Soul Lamp Cave to hide for a bit, and I'll contact you again once I've shaken them off."
Before Wei Feng could reply, the communication talisman on the earring went out.
The Soul Lamp Cave houses tens of thousands of ever-burning lamps, and one can only hear faint footsteps when walking inside.
Xuan Zhiyan gripped his sword tightly, his gaze falling on the soul lamps, some lit and some extinguished. He pondered how many fellow disciples had perished in the last chaotic battle, and his expression suddenly froze.
He saw a soul lamp that had been extinguished and covered in dust, and the name on it was Qi Fengyuan.
If you think about it carefully, his master has been gone for almost two years, but this is the first time he has seen Qi Fengyuan's soul lamp.
Xuan Zhiyan knelt down and kowtowed ten times to the soul lamp. He then knelt again in front of the long-extinguished lamp and carefully wiped away the dust and grime with his sleeve. He stared at Qi Fengyuan's name on it for a long time before finally speaking: "...Master."
However, the stern yet loving person in his memory would never answer again.
He forced a bitter smile, “Master, I’m doing fine now, so don’t worry.”
But his choked voice betrayed him. He turned his head to look around, gritted his teeth, and quietly picked up Qi Fengyuan's soul lamp and put it into the storage bag in his heart.
The Yanghua Sect is currently in utter chaos, and it's uncertain who will eventually fall into its hands. Many rules are practically meaningless; even though the sect strictly forbids anyone from taking a soul lamp out of the cave, no one has seen it now—
"Senior brother, what are you doing?!" A surprised voice suddenly came from behind.
Xuan Zhiyan turned around abruptly and saw Liu Xian looking shocked.
“I…” Xuan Zhiyan subconsciously raised his hand to cover the storage bag in his heart, and forced himself to remain calm, saying, “I didn’t do anything.”
Just then, the communication talisman at Liu Xian's waist lit up, followed by Mu Si's gruff voice, "Have you found Xuan Zhiyan?"
Upon hearing this, Xuan Zhiyan's gaze sharpened, and he raised his hand to grasp the sword at his waist.
Liu Xian glanced at him, his expression unchanged, and said, "No, Senior Brother. He's not in the Soul Lamp Cave; perhaps he's returned to Lianyun Peak."
"We'll meet at Lianyun Peak." Mu Si's impatient voice rang out, but Liu Xian quickly extinguished the communication talisman.
Xuan Zhiyan looked at Liu Xian warily, "Why are you helping me?"
“You are my true senior brother.” Liu Xian smiled bitterly when he saw that he had not let go of the sword. “When I first entered Shuying Peak, you personally guided me and helped me countless times. You even saved me several times later. I admit that I did many bad things for Ruan Keji, but I never thought of hurting you.”
“Senior brother, the Yanghua Sect has changed drastically. Ruan Keji will target our master Shen Yuxin next, and it will be your turn sooner or later,” Liu Xian looked at him pleadingly. “Besides, the matter of Wei Feng and Jiang Gu is not something we can interfere with. Senior brother, let’s leave the Yanghua Sect together. There are countless sects on the Pingze Continent, and we will eventually find a place to stand.”
Xuan Zhiyan's gaze suddenly turned cold. "When did you see Wei Feng?"
Liu Xian bit her lip. "I happened to see you when you were in the treasure pavilion's magic array, but I didn't tell Ruan Keji."
"Whatever you saw, you'd better forget it." A hint of disgust flashed in Xuan Zhiyan's eyes. "Liu Xian, we are not on the same path, so you can leave on your own."
“Senior brother…” Liu Xian looked at him pleadingly, “I’m all ready. As long as you say yes, we can leave right now. Do you know how serious it is to get involved with divine artifacts in Pingze Continent? Wei Feng has Jiang Gu protecting him, and Jiang Gu has the Jiang family behind him. But what about you? We’re already struggling to survive in Yanghua Sect! If Wei Feng really cared about you, he wouldn’t have come back to drag you into this!”
"Stop trying to sow discord!" Xuan Zhiyan's face showed anger. "You know absolutely nothing—"
"You good-for-nothing Liu Xian, I told Master long ago that you had harbored disloyal intentions, but he didn't believe me." A mocking voice came from afar, followed by a sword light that rushed straight towards Liu Xian.
Before Liu Xian could react, Xuan Zhiyan grabbed him and pulled him behind him, the clash of swords producing a piercing clang.
"The fire at the Treasure Pavilion was indeed your doing and Wei Feng's doing." Mu Si said with a sinister look in his eyes, "That bastard Wei Feng really is a persistent ghost."
Xuan Zhiyan was forced back several feet and crashed into the wall of the Soul Lamp Cave, spitting out a mouthful of foul blood.
He was only at the Great Perfection of Foundation Establishment, while Mu Si was already at the late Golden Core stage. He was no match for Mu Si at all. Mu Si raised his sword to slash at his neck. Liu Xian, who was standing next to him, cried out and rushed forward, but was kicked away by Mu Si. He knocked down a large number of soul lamps, and the lamp oil spilled on him and ignited flames, causing him to let out a shrill wail.
"Liu Xian!" Xuan Zhiyan was shocked and wanted to save him, but Mu Si used his spiritual power to lift him up and throw him against the wall.
"You should worry about yourself! I've had my eye on you bunch of trash for a long time!" Mu Si slammed his palm into his chest.
That palm strike was delivered with all its might. Xuan Zhiyan knew he had no chance of survival, so he instinctively closed his eyes. But the instant Mu Si's palm touched him, a blinding light suddenly burst forth from his chest, enveloping his entire body and sending Mu Si flying.
That was a powerful attack from a late-stage Nascent Soul cultivator. Mu Si's soul was instantly shattered, and he died on the spot.
Still shaken, Xuan Zhiyan leaned against the wall, his trembling hands reaching for the storage bag in his chest. A gray soul lamp floated out of the bag, casting a phantom image in the dim cave.
The phantom consisted of three somewhat blurry human figures, but Xuan Zhiyan recognized Qi Fengyuan and Wei Feng at a glance. The third person was an unfamiliar face, but Wei Feng was being protected behind him.
Qi Fengyuan stood beneath a massive banner, his calf gripped tightly by a spirit beast that looked remarkably similar to Wu Tuo, rendering him completely immobile.
Qi Fengyuan's voice was hoarse: '...He's a scourge, he'll kill everyone sooner or later! Wei Feng! If you have even a shred of the awareness of a Yanghua Sect disciple, kill yourself right now. Falling into Jiang Gu's hands will only make you wish you were dead!'
'Jiang Gu! What exactly do you want the Divine Kite Shark for?'
Xuan Zhiyan was stunned, and suddenly turned his head to look at the third person. Was this Jiang Gu?!
However, Wei Feng seemed not to hear them, staring blankly at the two of them.
'People only know about the divine merman, but they don't know that mermen can also give birth to offspring... I shouldn't have been soft-hearted and brought him back to Yanghua Sect. I should have killed him long ago...' Qi Fengyuan suddenly transformed into a merman and pounced on Wei Feng.
The spirit beast, strikingly similar to Wu Tuo, charged towards Qi Fengyuan with all its might, shouting, "Master, he's going to self-destruct his core!"
Wei Feng was pulled into Jiang Gu's arms, and then Jiang Gu drew his longsword and slashed straight at Qi Fengyuan.
"Master!" Xuan Zhiyan stared in shock, rushing forward to try to stop him, but it was just a few phantoms. The phantom of the longsword easily swept past him, splitting Qi Fengyuan in two in front of him.
A phantom of blood pierced through Xuan Zhiyan's body, and he stared blankly as Qi Fengyuan collapsed at his feet.
The illusion ends here.
Xuan Zhiyan blinked with difficulty, meeting Wei Feng's equally horrified gaze in the illusion, whose face was splattered with blood. He moved his lips, but couldn't utter a word.
He suddenly remembered the time when he dug Wei Feng out of the mud and sand in the Chaolong Secret Realm. At that time, Wei Feng was covered in blood, but he never thought that the blood was his master Qi Fengyuan's.
Wei Feng never mentioned Qi Fengyuan to him once from beginning to end.
He clearly saw it with his own eyes... Yes, Jiang Gu is Wei Feng's master, and he cares about Jiang Gu so much that he would naturally cover for him... But Qi Fengyuan is also his master, so why can't Wei Feng tell him the truth?
Xuan Zhiyan's mind was in chaos. The dissipating phantoms slowly gathered into a blurry human figure, which stopped in front of him.
"Master?" Xuan Zhiyan's eyes widened slowly. He tried to grab him in a flustered manner, but still missed.
Qi Fengyuan's illusory figure slowly shook his head at him, "Zhiyan, this is a wisp of your soul that I left in the Soul Lamp. It should have dissipated long ago, but I couldn't bear to leave you behind."
Xuan Zhiyan burst into tears instantly, choking out, "Master, I'm sorry, I... I didn't know, I really didn't know that Jiang Gu killed you, Wei Feng, he..."
"My affairs are none of your concern. It's just that this attack has exhausted this wisp of my soul, and I'm about to disappear." Qi Fengyuan raised his thin hand and lightly placed it on his head. "Zhiyan, don't seek revenge on Jiang Gu, and don't have any further involvement with Wei Feng. I left enough spirit stones and spiritual treasures in your cave to support you until you reach the Nascent Soul stage. Take those things and leave Yanghua Sect, the farther the better."
“Master?” Xuan Zhiyan carefully grasped his hand, looking at him helplessly. “Jiang Gu killed you! How can I not avenge you?! How can I—Master? Master!”
Before he could finish speaking, Qi Fengyuan's illusory figure transformed into countless points of light and completely dissipated into the Soul Lamp Cave.
"Master!" Xuan Zhiyan frantically reached out to gather the points of light, but to no avail, and in the end he was left all alone.
A weak groan roused him from his daze.
"Liu Xian!" Xuan Zhiyan suddenly looked up, ran over and helped Liu Xian up.
Liu Xian, with only the cultivation of the Qi Refining stage, had been struck by Mu Si and burned by the lamp oil, leaving him on the verge of death. He managed a weak smile at Xuan Zhiyan, and with his burned and bloodied hands, he pulled two storage bags from his robes and stuffed them into Xuan Zhiyan's hands. "Senior brother... let's go, don't get involved with Wei Feng... leave Yanghua Sect..."
"Don't speak! If you want to leave, leave yourself!" Xuan Zhiyan frantically took out the life-extending pill from his pocket and tried to stuff it into Liu Xian's mouth with trembling hands. However, before he could put the pill in, Liu Xian breathed his last. Only that bloody and mangled hand tightly gripped his wrist and the two storage bags.
“…Liu Xian?” Xuan Zhiyan called out to him cautiously, but there was no response.
The spirit pet pouch at his waist opened slightly due to his movement, and a fluffy head popped out. Utuo stared at him with its round eyes, climbed out of the pouch, stepped on his arm, and licked his chin. "Awoo?"
Xuan Zhiyan stiffly looked down at it. If Wu Tuo's body were enlarged several times and its fur color changed, it would be exactly the same as the spirit beast in the illusion that had bitten his master's leg and trapped him under the banner. And Wu Tuo was the one he had taken from Wei Feng...
Some things cannot withstand scrutiny.
Xuan Zhiyan stared at the spirit beast he cherished like a precious jewel, chuckled self-deprecatingly, and revealed a smile that was more like a grimace.
Wu Tuo tilted his head in confusion, wanting to lean in and lick him, but was roughly pushed away, rolled twice on the ground and crashed into a rock, howling in pain.
"Zhiyan!" A familiar voice rang out from the cave entrance, and Wei Feng flew in on his sword with a look of anxiety on his face. He breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that he was still alive. "Xuan Zhiyan, are you alright? Didn't I tell you to find a place to hide first?"
Xuan Zhiyan held Liu Xian's body and stiffly raised his head to look at him.
"This is..." Wei Feng glanced at Mu Si's corpse not far away, then swept his gaze over Liu Xian's corpse, his eyes showing no ripples or emotion. He chuckled and said, "You're really something, kid. I've disliked those two for a long time. Mu Si always flaunts his power because of Ruan Keji, and Liu Xian isn't exactly benevolent either, always trying to sow discord between us. Last time we went to the Xiyuan Secret Realm, he even killed Senior Brother Feng. If Master hadn't told me not to meddle, I would have dealt with him long ago. What are you still holding onto his corpse for? Get up!"
He grabbed Xuan Zhiyan's wrist and pulled him up. The two storage bags that Liu Xian had given him rolled to the ground. Xuan Zhiyan subconsciously tried to pick them up, but Wei Feng stepped on them.
"What the hell?" Wei Feng glanced down, casually kicked the storage bag aside, and picked up Wu Tuo, who was huddled in the corner, and put him on Xuan Zhiyan's shoulder. "Let's go, let's go. We can't stay here any longer. Let's hurry to Yunhai to get Wei Mingzhou's Purple Mansion."
Xuan Zhiyan staggered forward a few steps as he was dragged along, then suddenly stopped, looked at him with a serious expression, and said in a hoarse voice, "What do you need that Purple Mansion for?"
"Of course it's for my master, I can't refine it myself." Wei Feng turned to look at him, puzzled. "What's wrong with you?"
Wei Feng's expression suddenly tightened. He turned around and grabbed his shoulder, the ghostly markings on his back almost completely enveloping him. "Are you injured somewhere?"
He checked the situation while feeling annoyed, "Mu Si is only at the Golden Core stage. I shouldn't have let you face him. You go back first, I'll go by myself—"
"I'm fine." Xuan Zhiyan looked at him seriously. "Jiang Gu is just using you. Why are you so devoted to him? Don't you hate him at all?"
Wei Feng was stunned for a moment, then said helplessly, "Didn't I already say that I can become stronger by following him? Besides..."
"What else are you saying?" Xuan Zhiyan pressed.
Wei Feng grinned, "No matter what, Jiang Gu is still my master."
Xuan Zhiyan stared at him for a long time, then burst out laughing.
Wei Feng punched his shoulder. "Let's go."
Xuan Zhiyan turned around, looked at Liu Xian's corpse and Qi Fengyuan's soul lamp, which had been reduced to fragments on the ground, and then followed.
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