Chapter 106 The Nine Netherworld Realm Chronicles Pearl: Looking Back, the Six-Nostril Mirror Peering into the Future...
Tianyin Palace.
The broken bricks and stones are covered by the shade of the trees, and the sundial in the hall has lost its gnomon, standing futilely under the statue of Guanyin.
It was hot, and Heng Qichun was sweating profusely as he walked. Thin beads of sweat clung to his forehead, and his snow-white hair clung to his neck.
He had no choice but to raise his hand to smooth his hair, paused for a moment outside the Tianyin Palace, and without knocking, pushed the door open and went straight in.
Beneath the Guanyin statue, Nanyu Mountain is sitting face to face with a person.
Heng Qichun had already prepared himself to see the snake clan leader, but when he looked up and saw the light blue shadow opposite him, he suddenly realized something was wrong.
He paused, then belatedly raised his hand in a salute to Nanyushan, saying, "Senior Brother."
Upon seeing him enter, the person opposite him stood up abruptly, saying with a hint of surprise, "The Divine Lord has emerged from seclusion."
—With her blue dress and bright eyes, she is Hua Jiuyao from the Merfolk.
Heng Qichun responded and, at Nan Yushan's gesture, sat down on the same side as him. He heard Nan Yushan ask him, "How is your recovery going?"
Heng Qichun gathered his sleeves and said, "My spiritual energy flows smoothly. Thank you for your concern, Senior Brother."
Nan Yushan wasn't buying it. He sat up straight in his chair with a cold face and said, "If you're afraid I'll worry about you, then you should do less of those reckless things in the future."
"You turned against the immortals for that wicked disciple. Does that wicked disciple know your kindness and come back to kowtow to you three times and nine times?"
Perhaps in front of Hua Jiuyao, he swallowed back even harsher words.
It's true that he loathed Lou Yan, but it's also true that on the day of the Tianyin Palace incident, he stood by Heng Qichun's side without hesitation.
Heng Qichun understood his senior brother.
Knowing Nan Yushan's usual temper, he was not annoyed by what he heard. He just smiled faintly and said humbly, "Senior brother is right."
"But if I had to do it again, I would do it again."
The first sentence showed a hint of yielding, while the second sentence almost made someone furious.
Nan Yushan snorted heavily, unable to do anything about Heng Qichun, so he could only sit aside and glare at himself.
This is outrageous!
Having gone astray, Heng Qichun didn't want to talk to his senior brother anymore. He picked up the teacup on the table and took a sip. The tea's fragrance was refreshing, and the bitter taste of the medicine in his throat was finally suppressed somewhat.
He then raised his eyes and looked at the woman sitting in front of him again, asking, "Why is Your Highness the Mermaid King here?"
Hua Jiuyao sighed.
The woman was charming and single-handedly freed the merfolk from the division of the demon realm. As the years passed, she inevitably became exhausted, and upon closer inspection, one could even see a fine line at the corner of her eye.
She raised her hand and pressed it against the corner of her eye, pondering as she said, "A hundred days ago, the Tianyin Palace incident also affected Tiantai Pond. Our clan's sharks were frightened by the tribulation lightning and hid at the bottom of the water, afraid to surface."
"Afterwards, I was busy comforting my people and neglected my son, so the child wandered around for many days without returning home."
Heng Qichun's brow furrowed suddenly, a bad premonition emerging.
Sure enough, he heard Hua Jiuyao continue, "This morning, my subordinates reported that my son had been kidnapped by the Nine Netherworld Realm."
Heng Qichun frowned: "Are you sure it's the Nine Netherworld Realm?"
“Confirmed,” Hua Jiuyao said. “There were some clues left at the place where my son was abducted. After a careful search, we confirmed that they were tiger fur.”
"As the Divine Lord knows, the Tiger Clan was used by the Nine Netherworld Realm three months ago."
Upon hearing this, Heng Qichun immediately felt his breath catch in his throat, as if something was pulling at his heartstrings with extraordinary force, making it impossible for him to breathe smoothly.
When he came to his senses, he heard Nan Yushan say, "I have already sent disciples out to investigate, but unfortunately we still have no news of them."
Hua Jiuyao, a man of strong character throughout his life, showed extraordinary tenderness only towards this young child whose life had been fraught with hardship. Upon hearing this, he closed his eyes tightly, his lips parted, and finally choked out, "If we truly cannot find their whereabouts, then it is my son's fate..."
Heng Qichun suddenly stood up.
Just as noon was approaching, a sliver of morning sunlight peeked through the cracks in the doors and windows, grazed the stale sundial, and settled on the face of the Guanyin statue, gradually merging with Heng Qichun's profile.
A string of vermilion prayer beads on the stone statue swayed gently, making a soft sound.
Heng Qichun blinked, turning her gaze away from the string of Buddhist beads. Her long eyelashes cast a small shadow below her eyelids, and her light-colored long hair was completely enveloped in sunlight, making her look as if she were in a cloud.
"Although I don't believe this was at Lou Yan's behest, I'm willing to do my best to find it for the Mermaid Emperor."
Nan Yushan scoffed at him, "The whereabouts of the Nine Netherworld Realm are unpredictable. Since Lou Yan fell into demonic possession, most of the demons and evil spirits have gathered in one place."
"Unfortunately... no one knows their whereabouts."
The hall fell silent. Perhaps sensing the slim chance of hope, Hua Jiuyao lowered her head, a hint of reluctance flashing in her eyes.
But to her utter surprise, Heng Qichun calmly replied, "I know."
"You knew?" Nan Yushan was taken aback, his first reaction being that Heng Qichun was challenging him. He frowned slightly before asking, "How did you know?"
Heng Qichun pursed his lips, his gaze involuntarily falling into the distance, and his voice suddenly revealed a hint of desolation.
He said, "Because I saw it in the six-nosedoscope."
Six nose mirrors...
That day at the Oath of Immortals, Heng Qichun glimpsed the six-nosed mirror in Shi Wuqing's hands!
No wonder he acted so strangely after emerging from the illusion that day, even going so far as to buy alcohol and get drunk.
Everything is connected.
Nan Yushan couldn't help but turn his head to look at him, and when his gaze fell on Heng Qichun's particularly striking white hair, he couldn't help but fall silent again.
After a moment's hesitation, he could only stare at Heng Qichun's profile and ask, "What will happen next?"
The commemorative bead reflects the past, while the six-nosed mirror glimpses the future.
If Heng Qichun really saw Lou Yan in the six-nosed mirror that day, then he must have known what would happen next.
But Heng Qichun did not say what would happen next.
He turned his body to the side, still keeping his sleeves tucked in, and bowed slightly towards Nanyu Mountain. It was a great gift that he, as a supreme god, had managed to receive with great difficulty.
“I wasn’t lying then. I didn’t see his face clearly in the six-nosed mirror. As for what happened after that…” Heng Qichun pursed his lips, his bowing gesture making him appear humble, but his words were undeniably authoritative. “As for what happened after that, I cannot say yet.”
He did not lie to Heng Qichun.
Even though the cultivation world has undergone earth-shattering changes, the scene he saw in the Six-Nose Mirror that day still lingers in his mind.
In the illusion, Nanxu severed his demonic bones before the tomb of Elder Hengyang, and peace was restored throughout the land.
A moment later, the true demonic bone finally descended into the world. He didn't see the person's face clearly, but he saw...
Heng Qichun closed his eyes briefly, and when he opened them again, he had suppressed his complex emotions, looking only at Nanyu Mountain with his clear and bright eyes.
He hesitated for a moment, but finally advised Hua Jiuyao in front of him: "Yusheng has been managing the Luduan Sect for his senior brother and teaching his junior brother. Over the years, he has been self-disciplined and respectful of etiquette, and has never violated the principles of morality. He has made great contributions."
"I hope you won't make things difficult for him, senior brother."
Nan Yushan, who had just calmed down, suddenly erupted, slamming his hand on the table beside him with a "bang." The porcelain cup trembled and made a precarious "crackling" sound.
"I'm making things difficult for him?!"
Heng Qichun didn't know why he suddenly lost his temper like this.
But Xiuzhu is not a liar. His senior brother is so righteous in his hatred of Lou Yan. Now that he knows that the disciple he has valued for many years is also a demon, who knows how he will punish Fuyusheng.
He pursed his lips and thought for a moment, but decided not to be too blunt in front of Hua Jiuyao. He simply said, "If Senior Brother says no, then no."
"Heng Qichun!"
Heng Qichun felt he had said all he needed to say, so he ignored the enraged Nanyushan, cupped his hands in a salute, and made as if to take his leave, saying, "The matter is urgent and pressing. I must go to the Nine Netherworld Realm first."
"Senior brother," Heng Qichun paused, but still couldn't help but advise, "I think you have a bad temper, you'd better change it."
Nanyu Mountain: ...
Even after Heng Qichun and Hua Jiuyao had taken their leave, and the doors of the Tianyin Palace had opened and closed again, the intense summer sun filled the entire room, Heng Qichun still sullenly came back to his senses.
He got up, walked around the table to the inner room, and casually overturned the teacup on the table.
"When you were little, your master wanted to forbid your desires, and I shouldn't have stopped him!"
A harsh word crossed a barrier crackling with purple lightning and reached the little white snake's ears.
The latter was intently perched atop the barrier, its round eyes darting around, its tongue flicking out, emitting eerie hissing sounds in the quiet room.
Nan Yushan's forehead twitched twice, and he suddenly felt that Heng Qichun and his wicked disciple had become more and more familiar.
"Change back!" he said to the white snake.
Fu Yusheng tilted his head at him, waited a moment, and only when Nan Yushan was about to lose control and cross the barrier to deal with him did he recite the Returning Origin Mantra.
In an instant, a green light flashed, and an undisguised demonic aura spread out.
Upon closer inspection, the white snake that had been coiled on the barrier had transformed into human form, sitting on the ground with its legs bent, licking its lips with a smile.
Nan Yushan snorted coldly, "You're usually quite composed, so what, you've shown your true colors and you're no longer pretending?"
“No.” Fu Yusheng immediately became serious and knelt down inside. “This disciple knows that Master imprisoned me here to make me reflect and also to protect me.”
"Don't think I don't know Xiuzhu was here last night." Nanyushan squinted at him, then snorted coldly after a moment. "And don't think I don't know what the two of you did here."
Fu Yusheng paused for a moment, probably somewhat surprised, and a smile immediately appeared in his narrow, willow-shaped eyes.
Knowing that snakes are clever and cunning, he immediately changed the subject and asked Nanyushan, "Last night I sensed that the snake clan had come looking for us, but this morning that aura was gone. I suppose it was Master who intervened and persuaded them to leave. Thank you, Master, for your concern."
"Who has time to bother with your trivial matters?" Nan Yushan said with his hands behind his back, not looking at him again. He simply said, "I just summoned the Chongming Bird this morning. The snake clan is naturally afraid of it, and it ran away as soon as it saw it."
At this point, he couldn't help but glance at Fu Yusheng, frowning as he said, "I'm quite curious, how did you manage the Lu Duan Sect for so many years with your snake body, without trembling in front of the Chongming Bird?"
"No, not at all." Fu Yusheng smiled. "I was taken in by my master with great kindness. Now that I have taken on the path of immortality, I should also cultivate the heart of the Dao."
"The Chongming Bird is an ancient divine beast, how could I fear the gods?"
Silence.
In the vast Heavenly Sound Palace, the master and disciple gazed at each other across a purple barrier. The sunlight shifted, casting a shadow in this quiet room.
After a long while, Nan Yushan raised his hand and removed the barrier, then turned to his chief disciple and said, "Come out."
"Master?"
"As you say, we should uphold our Dao heart. The demons and monsters of the Nine Netherworld are causing trouble outside. How can we sit idly by?"
Fu Yusheng's heart skipped a beat, and he instantly understood Nan Yushan's meaning, but hesitated and said, "Lou Yan..."
“Qi Chun said he didn’t do it,” Nan Yushan interrupted him. “I’ll believe him this time for now.”
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