The night was getting deeper, and the insects croaked in the mountains.
At Xuanhu Peak, it was still brightly lit. Since the disciples who went to the Netherworld Secret Realm returned, many injured disciples poured into Xuanhu Peak for treatment. Bandaged disciples were coming and going, and the fragrance of medicine permeated Xuanhu Peak all day long.
In the Peak Master Hall on the top of the mountain, Peak Master Rong was in a blue gown, slowly pacing. A furnace of medicine cooked in a small fire beside him.
Not long after, a man in black rushed in from the window.
The man in black took a knee before Peak Master Rong and said: âPeak Master, this subordinate has arranged Young Master Rong in an abandoned hut at the bottom of the mountain. However, Young Masterâs dantian and meridians are damaged, and his limbs and viscera are seriously injured. If the Peak Master doesnât rescue him in time, Iâm afraidâŠâ
Peak Master Rong: âWait a little longer. There are too many people keeping an eye on this person. Since he has been expelled from Sky Sect, taking him back at this moment will undoubtedly give someone an advantage. Since Iâve avoided suspicion, Iâll avoid suspicion to the end. I cannot take action today. Otherwise, how will I explain this to the Sect Master? Tomorrow, Iâll find an excuse to go down the mountain.â
The man in black: âThis subordinate has fed Young Master Rong the life-saving pills. Master Rong should be able to last one day.â
Master Rong waved his hand, signaling him to withdraw, but suddenly stopped him, âYes, what happened to his face?â
The man in black, âMaster Rong has an injury on the left side of his face, and the sword qi has entered his body again. Because itâs been in there for too long, Iâm afraid it canât be recovered even if it can be removed.â
Peak Master Rong frowned and said: âOkay, withdraw.â
The man in black retired.
It was time for the pot of medicine to finish, so Master Rong squatted down, picked up the medicine potâs handle, and poured it into a white porcelain bowl. The black soup medicine exuded a strong bitter taste, so he put some sugar in it.
After putting a brick of brown sugar into it, he stirred it patiently until it melted. The bitter medicine turned into a thick black syrup. It wasnât hot anymore, so Peak Master Rong took the medicine bowl and walked around the hall. In the corridor, he came to a hidden room in the depths.
Rong Qingjue raised his hand and knocked on the door.
No one in the room responded. Rong Qingjue seemed used to it and pushed the door open.
Black gauze covered the windows and doors, and there was no wind nor light, only red candles swaying on the table.
The strong medicinal smell rushed over, heavier than it was outside.
The candleâs tears slipped from the candleâs body to the lamp.
Rong Qingjue brought the medicine to the bedside.
There was a very thin woman lying on the bed. Her face and appearance were seven points similar to Rong Ran, but she was more delicate and gentle. She wore only a white coat with her black hair hanging down like flowing clouds. She had a sharp chin and a pale sickness to her.
A chain pierced her right collarbone, and the chainâs other end was tied to a bolt in the bedâs shadows.
When the woman saw Rong Qingjue, surprise filled her pale face. She forced herself to sit up, and her lips opened as if she was saying something.
Rong Qingjue touched her cheek with pity, then passed the medicine bowl over.
âDrink the medicine, Ah Tan.â
Ah Tan turned her head to rub against his hand with some attachment, then obediently took the medicine bowl.
Rong Qingjue watched Gu Tan drink the medicine a little while holding the medicine bowl.
When he got married, Gu Tan was unwilling in the first year of marriage. She would always say nasty words, and Rong Qingjue never liked to listen to them. Thus, he took medicine to make the other party mute.
The medicine was violent, and Gu Tanâs voice had become extremely hoarse and unpleasant, although Rong Qingjue later regretted it and detoxified the other party.
Rong Qingjue hated flaws.
It was better not to listen than to listen to a bad sound. He simply sealed the hole with a silver needle and sealed her voice again.
âAh Tan, if you were good at the beginning, how good you could have been.â
Rong Qingjue held his hand over his heart. The Hehuan Gu in it was beating regularly.
âIf you didnât insist on fleeing, injured by the light array, there should be more than a hundred years left between us⊠now, we only have a limited amount of time. I donât know what I should do after you die.â
After the Hehuan Gu was planted, the child Gu relied on the mother Gu to regenerate. It needed to be merged every three months. Otherwise, the child Gu would be agitated and go crazy, torturing the person inflicted with the Gu until they wish for death.
Rong Qingjue got up and blew out the candle.
The room fell into dim darkness. His lips had a little smile. He turned around to return to the bed, but a chill appeared on his back.
Extremely biting sword energy cut through the night of the windowsill and came straight from behind him!
The exceptionally powerful sword intent was unavoidable. It far exceeded the limit of the mortal cultivator of the six realmsââRong Qingjue reacted instantly. It was the Sect Master!
Why did the Sect Master take out his sword against him?
He was already cautious enough and didnât even go to the Law Enforcement Hall just because he was afraid that Rong Ranâs murder of his fellow disciples would arouse the anger of the Sect Master to burn him.
Ah Tan still needed him to refine medicine every day to survive. He couldnât die!
Those thoughts were no more than a flint of a moment.
But the cultivation baseâs suppression still made Rong Qingjue immobile.
The terrible sword energy grazed his neck, and warm blood oozed down.
Rong Qingjueâs legs were soft, and he trembled like crazy, but he recovered in a cold sweatââhe wasnât dead yet. Qiyun Jun avoided his vitals with that sword.
The door was wide open, and the faint cold wind came in, blowing the black curtains around the window.
âI never draw out my sword behind a personâs back.â
Qiyun Junâs cold voice came from behind like an urgent ghost.
Rong Qingjueâs teeth trembled. He didnât dare to turn around at all. He said, âSect Master, I donât know what I did wrong to actually cause yourself to make a move. If itâs about my child, it is indeed because of my lax teaching, which has damaged the Sect Masterâs reputation. I can sever the father-son relationship with him from now on and never allow him a step into the sect. I ask for the Lordâs forgiveness.â
Qiyun Jun said indifferently: âWhat were you doing twenty-seven years ago?â
âI⊠â Rong Qingjueâs face was completely pale. He finally knew where Qiyun Junâs killing intent came from.
Rong Ran, that useless waste. Exposing some treacherous means in the secret realm was fine, but how could this matter be leaked out?
He could only harden his scalp and respond: âTwenty-seven years ago, the Sect Master was in a coma from the Heavenly Tribulation. For the Sect Masterâs safety, I secretly kept the Sect Master in Xuanhu Peak to heal your wounds.â
Qiyun Jun said: âSo to speak, you hadnât taken a step out of Xuanhu Peak?â
Rong Qingjue: ââŠYes.â
âââExcellent,â Qiyun Jun said.
âRong Qingjue, do you dare make an oath with your dao heart?â
Rong Qingjue didnât dare.
Qiyun Jun: âTurn around and draw your sword.â
Rong Qingjue didnât dare even more.
Qiyun Jun: âYou donât dare to draw a sword at me but dare to deceive me with a lie?â
Rong Qingjue was cold, knowing it was useless to say anything now.
Qiyun Jun: âA liar and a weakling isnât worthy of my sword.â
He lifted his sleeves, and six energies flew out of his hands, divided into six directions.
The formation method encircled Rong Qingjue. There was boundless killing intent from the formation, and the Taiqing Duâer sword was sheathed.
His boundless spiritual consciousness spread out, and the Xuanhu Peak disciples could perceive a thought in the dark.
âFrom today, Rong Qingjue is no longer the master of Xuanhu Peak.â
There was an uproar on the brightly lit Xuanhu Peak.
Meanwhile, countless Xuanhu Peak disciples looked up at the top of the peak. For them, they only saw dark clouds covering the moon. The night was still silent, but the sky had changed.
Rong Qingjue was still trapped in the formation. The gap between Transcendence and Ascension Realm was too far. Shortly, Rong Qingjueâs body was wreaked havoc by the sword intent raging through his meridians, penetrating his dantian. He hadnât been tried in the law enforcement hall for even half a day, and he actually ended up exactly like his son.
Rong Qingjue was dying on the ground.
But he couldnât die yet. He still had Ah Tan to take care of. If the mother Gu, host of the Hehuan Gu, died, the child parasitic Gu would die with it. He didnât want Ah Tan to die. He also had pills and magic weapons to extend his life.
Rong Qingjue raised his head and stretched out his hand at the person he didnât want to be far away from.
Gu Tan walked in front of him with a long chain.
Rong Qingjue wanted to catch her but only witnessed Gu Tan picking up the sword on the ground and slamming it into his palm.
His arms twitched with pain. He looked at Gu Tanâs expression in a daze.
There was no gentleness and attachment that he was used to seeing, only the boundless hatred and indifference.
So many years had passed.
Gu Tan broke free from Hehuan Guâs shackles again.
How could she still have the strength to break free from Hehuan Guâs shackles?
The sword tip was pulled out from his palm and hung over his body.
He widened his eyes in despair, âAh Tan, you canâtâŠâ
Inserted into Rong Qingjueâs heart.
The Hehuan Gu stopped its movement.
The dark clouds in the sky dispersed.
Moonlight shone down everywhere.
Silence resumed at the top of Xuanhu Peak.
Moonlight gleamed into the peach forest.
There was heavy snow in Yuntian Palace. Only here, the four seasons was always spring.
Qiyun Jun was sitting under a peach tree, Taiqing Duâer sword placed by his side. He didnât know how long he had been sitting. Pink petals fell all over his clothes, and his white hair glowed silently under the moonlight.
Although Rong Qingjue had already been taken care of, the qi surging in his body hadnât dissipated. It caused his meridians to swell and hurt like a knife cut.
The heartless state of mind was originally supposed to be a calm lake, firmly surrounded by high walls, isolating all the mundane disturbances outside.
His heartâs lake water gurgled out of the flaw. If it wasnât resolved in time, the flaw would only grow bigger and bigger, and eventually, like a thousand-mile dike, it would collapse from an antâs cave. The road foundation would completely collapse.
Those who cultivated the heartless dao couldnât be moved.
This was what his master had repeatedly warned him before he entered the dao.
He closed his eyes, his temples beating constantly.
The qi currents surging in his meridians were still circling and colliding, showing his unstable state of mind. He had been practicing the heartless dao for many years, but he couldnât calm his mind. He didnât want to calm down.
He stubbornly sank into the fog of memory. There was the feeling of a headache. Wielding the long sword in his mind, he cut through the fog and moved forward.
He didnât know how long it took before a light finally appeared before him.
He arrived at a peach forest.
A young man was standing in the peach forest. The boy had an extremely beautiful face, like a bright sunset in the sky.
The other person looked back and smiled at him.
Peach blossoms in the sky were flying behind him.
The spirit of heaven and earth seemed to be poured into the young man. He looked at the mountains and rivers of the world and the vast avenue of heaven and earth, but he couldnât ignore the other party.
Qiyun Jun coughed, and blood suddenly exited his lips.
ââTwenty-seven years ago, after he was seriously injured in the calamity, what happened during the three years when he lost his memory.
Blood gradually stained his outfit red.
Qiyun Junâs blue, veiny hand slowly took out something from his arms.
It was a cloth bag wrapped in brocade.
Qiyun Jun opened the cloth bag, and there were thousands of pieces of broken black jade.
The moonlight shone into his empty and faint eyes. His long silver eyelashes trembled suddenly.
He got up, half-kneeled on the ground, then in the moonlight, he slowly pieced together the broken jade piece by piece.