Yan Qing knew that when he wasn’t thinking clearly, he had to avoid provoking Xie Shiyi.
From the moment they reunited, Xie Shiyi had likely detected every flaw in his words, but chose not to mention them.
Xie Shiyi's tone was light, yet each question hit the mark, like the bite of an insect. It didn’t hurt, but it still drew his attention. As wind and snow swept through the corridor, the chill helped clear Yan Qing's somewhat muddled mind.
He thought to himself, no wonder they said Xie Shiyi had an icy, crystalline heart.
These three questions seemed unrelated, but answering them truthfully would only lead to disaster.
Yan Qing refused to answer and retorted, "Why do I have to answer three questions in exchange for asking you one?"
Xie Shiyi ignored this question. He didn't tell Yan Qing that anyone else would trade their life for an answer from him. If he didn't want to answer, he wouldn't lie or evade the question; he had various ways to silence those who asked. But dealing with Yan Qing required a more complex approach.
Xie Shiyi chuckled lightly, as expected, and calmly said, "Yan Qing, next time, don't try to test me without knowing the price." Standing in the wind and snow, his sharp demeanor softened slightly and he said, "Go inside."
Yan Qing tossed Trouble to him. "Watch this silly bird for me, don't let him fly out and ruin my reputation."
Trouble looked puzzled. "?"
Xie Shiyi silently extended his hand, catching the disheartened and utterly dejected Trouble.
As Yan Qing walked into the plum grove, each step he made on the thin layer of snow made a faint sound. Birds fluttered, startled, shaking the black branches above him. A snow-dusted red plum petal fell onto his face, making him shiver from the cold.
He plucked the plum petal from his forehead and bit it, silently cursing Xie Shiyi.
So clever, aren't you, always making everything fit perfectly?
The cold spring on Jadeclear Peak was located at the very center of the plum grove, beneath a low cliff amidst the icy snow. Strangely, some green grass grew beside it.
Yan Qing tidied his hair, casually undressed and stepped into the cold spring. The night he was reborn, he only briefly glimpsed his reflection in a puddle, not sparing much attention. Now, he finally had the chance to take a good look at himself.
The water of the cold spring could cleanse impurities and remove old residue from the meridians.
As black threads of impurities were gradually expelled from his body and dissolved in the pool, Yan Qing's skin visibly became fairer and more translucent.
With his slightly damp black hair, he looked down at his reflection in the water. The surface of the cold spring was like a mirror, revealing a pair of beautiful peach-blossom eyes and delicate features, as clean as a spring morning.
Expressionless, Yan Qing touched his ear, the wet red thread in his fingers slipping over his collarbone.
His resurrection in Yan Qing's body indicated that Yan Qing had died kneeling at the ancestral hall.
Yan Qing's death was a mystery. The reason for his resurrection was also a mystery.
But he felt it was closely related to the demon god.
Yan Qing looked at the red thread in his hand, his eyes darkening as he hid his emotions.
***
Lightstream Sect, the Yin family.
The scene was bleak. A strong wind rose in the Yin family’s ancestral hall, stirring the funeral banners and white paper flowers.
Paper money fluttered, gently landing on the two coffins placed in the center.
The heavy sandalwood coffins were surrounded by silence. The Lightstream Sect leader’s wife kneeled before them, dressed in a plain skirt with a white flower in her hair, pale and wordless.
An elderly man nearby tried to comfort her, "Madam, the soul lamps of the two young sect leaders, Yin Guan and Yin Xian, have been extinguished. The dead cannot be revived. Please, take care of your health and don’t let this grief further wound you."
A sob escaped her lips, her shoulders trembling. She was clearly overwhelmed by sorrow.
Next to her stood the Lightstream Sect leader, Yin Lie, who had his hands behind his back.
Yin Lie was middle-aged with fierce features. The mark on his forehead was a deeper red than everyone else’s marks. His black robes were embroidered with a bright yellow moon with stars twinkling beside it, wavering in the cold wind.
Yin Lie said evenly, "What are you crying for?" He coldly regarded the two coffins with eagle eyes, as if they were not his sons but two irrelevant strangers.
The sect leader's wife abruptly lifted her head, "Why am I crying? These are the sons I bore for nine months! Why shouldn't I cry?!" Her long-suppressed hatred burst forth at this moment, her eyes reddening as if they would bleed. "Yin Lie, how many times have I told you not to get entangled with the Qin family? You just wouldn’t listen. Look at this now. This is the price—your own sons, your two sons have died at the hands of the Immortal Alliance! At the hands of Xie Ying!"
Her eyes filled with tears, her breath trembling, "They died just like that, and we can't even hold a grudge, can't object and can't secretly retaliate!" The sect leader's wife grew yet more agitated, her voice breaking. "Yin Lie! Are you satisfied now?"
The elderly man sighed, stepping forward, "Madam, your health is fragile. Please, don’t let your anger injure you."
She brushed his hand away, collapsing to the ground and crying uncontrollably.
Yin Lie sneered dismissively. "What a womanly take on this affair."
The sect leader’s wife, her eyes burning red, lifted her head defiantly. "Yin Lie, since you can't defeat Xie Ying, don't send my children to their deaths!"
Yin Lie was infuriated by her words. "Shut up! What does a mere woman like you understand?"
"What do I understand?" she retorted. "I understand that the Immortal Alliance's power extends throughout the Southluster continent. I understand that Xie Ying's current position is unassailable. The Qin family is the Qin family, far away in the Violetaurum continent where even the Immortal Alliance's reach cannot reach. But we are here, right under the eyes of Desireless Sect. Xie Ying doesn't need an excuse to kill anyone he wants. Yin Lie, the sword Regretless will fall upon you one day!"
Yin Lie's veins bulged as he erupted in rage, slapping her with a resounding crack. "Bitch! I told you to shut your mouth!"
The sect leader’s wife shrieked in pain, covering her face and turning away.
The loyal, elderly servant of the Yin family stood helplessly, unsure how to intervene in this affair. He trembled as he approached to help up the sect leader’s wife, deeply concerned. "Madam, perhaps you should say no more and return your room to rest. Let me stay here to watch over the souls of the two Young Masters."
The sect leader’s wife sobbed quietly, her cries soft and subdued.
A gentle breeze stirred the funeral banners as someone entered the Yin family’s ancestral hall. Their voice was clear and melodious as they spoke with a leisurely tone. "Madam, your line of thought is rather peculiar. Why are you blaming Sect Leader Yin for the deaths of your children, instead of Xie Ying?"
They were clad in red robes embroidered with white plum blossoms, and they wore a silver mask. They hailed from the Violetaurum continent; they were from the Qin family.
Yin Lie stiffened for a moment, then said, "Young Master Qin."
Qin Changxi bowed his head, seeming sympathetic as he sighed, "Madam, if you truly grieve for your deceased sons, you should seek vengeance for them by killing Xie Ying."
The sect leader’s wife ceased her weeping, but clenched her teeth tightly, trembling as she stared at him.
Holding his folded fan, Qin Changxi said softly, "Xie Ying is inscrutable and ruthless. Allowing him to continue controlling the upper realm like this will only lead to more tragedies like yours, where the old are forced to bury the young. I believe the top priority for the nine great sects should be to pull him down from his pedestal at Azurejade Palace."
"What exactly are you trying to say?"
The sect leader's wife bit her lip, her vigilance not diminishing but increasing, her fingers tightly gripping her dress.
Qin Changxi walked forward, his fingers brushing over the white paper flowers on the coffin, with his silver mask obscuring his expression. His voice was low and mournful. "Madam, what you said just now was wrong. Even if my family is in the Violetaurum Continent, we still cannot be spared. My cousins Changfeng and Changtian were both killed by the Immortal Alliance the day before. Luoya and Chengxue from the Xiao family in Soulstream also died at the same time."
Qin Changxi was silent for a moment before saying in a voice that betrayed no emotion, "Indeed, this is Xie Ying's style. After a hundred years of seclusion, the first thing he does after coming out is to kill six people, all of whom are our blood relatives."
Yin Lie was stunned after hearing his words, his brow furrowed. "The Qin and Xiao families have also suffered casualties?"
Qin Changxi said, "Yes."
Yin Lie was shocked. "How dare Xie Ying be so ruthless..."
"Is there anything Xie Ying doesn’t dare to do?" Qin Changxi said, the eyes under his silver mask filled with scorn. "Sect Leader Yin, have you forgotten the night when he first entered Azurejade Palace? Regretless pierced the heads of three sect elders, the blood staining the steps of the palace red. He wiped the blood off his sword and walked up step by step."
Yin Lie was silent for a moment when he heard him mention the past of Azurejade Palace. Hidden in his sleeve, his hands clenched tightly, his knuckles turning white.
That bloodbath in Azurejade Palace seemed like it was yesterday.
Xie Ying was too young and too conspicuous. Except for his master, the Desireless Sect Leader Lezhan, almost none of the other eight sect leaders at that time were willing to let this 200-year-old brat surpass them.
The eight sect leaders, out of respect for Lezhan, remained silent in their resistance. Only three supreme elders from the Driftflower Sect straight-out questioned him in the palace.
Incited by Jing Ruyu, the malice they felt toward Xie Ying almost overflowed from their eyes. They used all sorts of shameless tactics and took advantage of their age and seniority to pressure him, questioning him repeatedly on what qualifications he had to sit on the throne of Azurejade Palace.
Xie Ying stood before them, raised his brow lightly and immediately proved his qualifications.
No one expected him to make a move, just as no one saw the ruthlessness and madness in the bones of this seemingly gentle and elegant son of heaven.
Xie Ying was at the late stage of the Nascent Soul realm at that time. The moment Regretless left his sleeve, its icy light seemed to echo the endless wind and snow of Azurejade Palace.
In an instant, the three elders gesturing in front of him were decapitated.
Blood splashed three feet away, gushing over Xie Ying's feet and the path below him.
Blood splattered onto Xie Ying's eyebrows and eyes, as well as Jing Ruyu's bright red nails.
Jing Ruyu stood up abruptly, the hatred and anger in her eyes like flames, screaming Xie Ying's name.
Everyone watching them was shocked.
Immediately afterward, countless Immortal Alliance disciples emerged from the darkness, their oppressive aura spreading in all directions.
The chill of Azurejade Palace quietly enveloped the heavens and the earth, and the air was still as death.
Yin Lie still remembered many details from that night.
He remembered the everlight lamps that lit up one by one.
He remembered the heads that rolled to the ground.
He remembered the three pairs of eyes that refused to close in death.
He remembered the translucent jade steps that rose layer upon layer.
He remembered Xie Ying's pale, icy hand casually wiping the blood off his sword.
He remembered him walking up step by step.
His footsteps were slow and deliberate. The silk gauze of his robe glided over the bloody corpses, remaining stainless. He left them only a distant and cold view of his back. .
His robes, like snow, quietly concealed the bloodstained steps. From then on, he cast a deep, cold shadow over the entire upper realm, a shadow from which it seemed impossible to escape.
Qin Changxi said softly beside him, "Sect Leader Yin, do you think there’s anything Xie Ying wouldn’t dare to do?"
Just then, an anxious plea for help came from outside the door.
"Sect Leader! Sect Leader! Please save the young sect heir!"
Yin Lie regained his composure, looked up, and was stunned when he saw who it was. "Chengying?"
After Xie Ying removed the birdcage formation, he rushed back to the sect with Yin Wuwang. Regretless’s sword intent had entered his gate of life, and Yin Wuwang was now so weak that he had only one breath left. Chengying carried him to the front of the ancestral hall. The young man’s lips were pale, his face was bloodless and the red diamond between his brows was covered with a thin layer of frost.
The sect leader's wife, who was kneeling on the ground, wiping her tears away, froze when she heard this name. She staggered to her feet, walked out and saw the weak and powerless Yin Wuwang. She let out a cry of grief and rushed over: "Wuwang! Wuwang! Wuwang, what's wrong with you?"
She had already lost two children and could not bear the pain of losing another member of her family.
The sect leader's wife held Yin Wuwang in her arms, her tears pouring down like rain. At the same time, she looked up and interrogated Chengying in a sharp voice. "Chengying! I asked you to go to Springturn Sect to take Wuwang home! How did you return him in this state?!" There was frenzy and hatred in her eyes. "Was it Springturn Sect?! Was it those lowly mortals who did this to Wuwang? I’ll tear them into pieces, one by one!" She let out a scream.
Chengying's lips trembled and he said softly: "No, Madam. It was Xie Ying who did this to the young sect heir."
In an instant, the world fell silent.
The sect leader's wife swallowed all her screams, her body trembling like a white flower in the wind, her fingers cramping. Finally she hugged Yin Wuwang tightly, buried her head against his shoulder and sobbed loudly.
Yin Lie completely stiffened. His expression hadn’t changed when he saw the dying Yin Wuwang, but now a crack formed. "Xie Ying? Why did you run into Xie Ying?!"
Whether it was Yin Guan and Yin Xian from before, or the deaths of the four people from Violetaurum Continent, all of it had happened at the hands of the Immortal Alliance. Xie Ying had never shown himself. He sat in Azurejade Palace, playing chess behind the scenes. Why would his most incompetent and useless son encounter Xie Ying?
Covered in sweat, Chengying said truthfully: "Sect leader, Xie Ying went to investigate the Zixiao affair. We ran into Xie Ying at Springturn Sect, and he severely injured the young sect heir. He asked you to go to the Azurejade Palace tomorrow to see him...and give him an explanation."
Yin Lie was shocked. "The Zixiao affair?!"
Chengying nodded fearfully.
Yin Lie's eyes were about to bulge from his face. "You went to Springturn Sect?!"
Chengying had no idea why the sect leader was so angry. He said tremblingly, "Yes."
Yin Lie felt his blood rushing to his head. He turned around, walked over quickly, grabbed his wife's clothes, forced her to look up and questioned her. "Did you send Yin Wuwang to Springturn Sect?! Did you?!"
The sect leader's wife trembled, but this time she didn't speak.
Before this, when she eavesdropped on a conversation between Yin Lie and the Qin family, she learned about the Zixiao incident. Pitying her youngest son who had a low aptitude for cultivation, she secretly asked him to try his luck at Springturn Sect. The secret realm left behind when a Void Comprehension cultivator fell was a chance opportunity that he wouldn’t be able to find anywhere else in the world. Who would have thought... that this would happen today?
Yin Lie almost vomited blood with anger. "Bitch! Do you realize that you're going to kill me this time?!"
Qin Changxi had been silent for a while. Now he took action, placing his fan before Yin Lie’s face and saying, "Sect Leader Yin, don't be impulsive. In my opinion, Xie Ying calling you to Azurejade Palace may not be a bad thing."
Yin Lie's eyes were bloodshot. "Xie Ying's mind is unfathomable. Now that he’s calling me to Azurejade Palace, I'm afraid I won't be able to come back!"
Qin Changxi said, "No." He opened his folding fan, and the lips under the silver mask hooked up. "Sect Leader Yin, you may not know that when Xie Ying entered Tenside City a hundred years ago, his way of cultivation, the heartless path, was shattered. Thus he went into seclusion for the past hundred years." He smiled and said slowly, “It seems he may have started all over again.”
Yin Lie’s eyes widened with surprise. "What do you mean? Xie Ying's heartless path is broken?"
Qin Changxi smiled and nodded. "That's right. Even with Xie Ying's extraordinary talent, he would have had to destroy his cultivation and rebuild it to reach his peak again. Since this is so, he probably won't go head-to-head with the Nine Great Sects right now. I can accompany you to the Azurejade Palace this time."
***
A side chamber of Jadeclear Peak.
After washing up, Yan Qing came out wearing a black robe and sat down across from Xie Shiyi. When he saw how dejected Trouble was, he couldn't stop laughing. He propped his chin up and poked the bat with his finger. "Oh, isn't this Trouble? What, have you gone mute after not seeing me for an hour?"
Trouble, who had always been unruly and domineering, squeezed out two tears from his red eyes.
With a flap of his wings and a roll of his body, he burrowed back into Yan Qing’s sleeve, shutting himself away as if he never wanted to face this cruel world again.
Yan Qing chuckled a few times, then looked up and asked Xie Shiyi curiously, "What did you do to him?"
Xie Shiyi, who seemed to have had enough of this boring game with Yan Qing, reached up to remove the white silk covering his eyes. He said coldly, "You raised him yourself, why are you asking me?"
Yan Qing was shocked by his matter-of-fact attitude. "I left my bat in your hands for a while, and now that I’ve come back, he wilted. Shouldn’t you be blamed for this?"
Xie Shiyi sneered.
Yan Qing rolled his eyes. Sure enough, he and Xie Shiyi would always start arguing after a few sentences when they were by themselves.
Xie Shiyi probably hadn't touched his own hair in centuries, and Yan Qing had deliberately tied it up in an elaborate knot when he first arrived. After fiddling with it for a while, Xie Shiyi couldn't undo it, and his eyebrows furrowed almost imperceptibly.
Seeing this, Yan Qing leaned on the table and laughed. Then he lazily opened his mouth and said, "Your Excellency, do you need help?"
Xie Shiyi ignored him.
Yan Qing put his hands on the table, stood up, leaned over and said flippantly, "Yaoyao, don't try to attempt something you can't accomplish."
Yan Qing had just left the cold spring, and his hair was still wet, with a faint scent of plum blossoms. His neck and wrists were set off by his pure black robe, making them seem even paler. He dragged out his words, full of mockery. The breath he exhaled was damp and light, like swirling mist.
Xie Shiyi stopped moving, his thin lips pressed together.
Yan Qing looked up, shook his head in exasperation and pulled Xie Shiyi’s wrist down. "You really don't realize how precious your hair is when you're young."
Yan Qing helped him untie the white cloth he had tied playfully earlier.
A few strands of Xie Shiyi's hair got tangled in his fingers. The cold light of winter reflected on the snow outside, and red plum blossoms danced and fluttered. The candles in the room flickered, and as Yan Qing untied the cloth, Xie Shiyi slowly opened his eyes.
The blue mist in his eyes had mostly dissipated, revealing their original color: deep, black and cold, like the night after ages of snowfall.
Under the bright moonlight, Yan Qing held a white length of silk in his hand, his figure tall and slender. He looked down and smiled, his ink-colored hair winding onto the table, a red silk ribbon on his wrist.
In this quiet and peaceful atmosphere, Yan Qing's mood improved a little and he asked, "Then what should I do after this? Just cultivate on your Jadeclear Peak?"
Xie Shiyi said, "Reshape your dantian first."
Yan Qing: "How do I reshape it?"
Xie Shiyi lowered his eyes and said, "Give me your hand."
Yan Qing: "Oh, sure."
He stretched out his right hand, and starlight appeared at Xie Shiyi's fingertips. His inner force was an icy blue like frost and snow. This white starlight was his divine sense.
According to the norm, if Soul Formation cultivator poured his divine sense into a Qi Refining cultivator’s body, the worst possible outcome for Yan Qing would be to explode.
However, Xie Shiyi didn't lie to him. Yan Qing didn't feel any pain at all. A warm stream spread gently through his limbs and bones, then converged into his dantian, shattering the originally damaged core. Afterwards, spiritual energy gathered again and rebuilt his core, feeling like a gentle spring breeze.
After washing his marrow, refining his bones and reshaping his dantian, Yan Qing felt like he had been reborn.
Xie Shiyi's raven-like eyelashes lowered, and he said calmly, "Your current identity in Desireless Sect does not allow you to participate in the Bluecloud Conference."
Yan Qing blinked: "Why? Isn't the Bluecloud Conference open to everyone in the world?"
Xie Shiyi: "It would be very troublesome if you went to the outer arena to compete with scattered cultivators from all over the world. Your best path forward is to become a disciple of Desireless Sect."
Yan Qing: "How come I feel like the latter option is even more troublesome? You guys have high standards, Venerable Immortal."
Xie Shiyi said: "Since you are an old friend of mine, the sect will not have such high requirements for your aptitude and spiritual roots."
Yan Qing: "..." Xie Shiyi was speaking normally, so why did he feel uneasier and uneasier the more he listened?
Xie Shiyi: "I'll see the sect leader tomorrow and ask him to let you in, old friend."
Yan Qing smiled sheepishly and said, "Aren't you going to see Yin Lie at Azurejade Palace tomorrow?"
Xie Shiyi said: "I just asked him to go to Azurejade Palace to give me an explanation. I didn't say I would see him in person."
"Oh, so you were lying about seeing Yin Lie before." Yan Qing thought about it and couldn't help but laugh. Then he said seriously: "Xie Shiyi, have you made a lot of enemies over the years?"
Xie Shiyi said: "Perhaps."
He rose and quietly closed the windows of the side chamber, shutting out the wind and snow.
"Your body is weak now that you’ve reshaped your dantian. You should go to sleep, old friend."
***
cela's notes:
1:39 hours
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