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Edited by Sahloknir
Yuchi Rui laughed sardonically and said, “Pay for Yuchi Xiao’s life!”
Crash!
At that moment, the mountain of ruins in the distance shook, a hand suddenly broke through the rubble and waved in a frail way. A weak voice could be heard crying, “Uncle, Uncle…”
There was a crash as broken bricks and tiles rolled down from the pile, and a man sat up from underneath, choking and coughing. It was none other than Yuchi Xiao. “Sorry to interrupt but I’m not dead yet, cough cough cough—”
“…”
Yuchi Rui blinked his eyes repeatedly and his expression was blank.
Then he sheathed his sword, pulled out from his robe a soul-attracting lamp, soul-catching cage, reincarnation wind bell, spirit-transferring talisman, and a soul-transferring box…and stuffed them all into Ying Kai’s arms, saying seriously, “Here you go, thanks.”
Yuchi Xiao was still coughing as he sat in the pile of rubble. He looked on in disbelief, “Did you think that I was dead once again, Uncle?!”
There was yet another clatter as Meng Yunfei sat up from under the rubble, covered in dust, choking and coughing up a storm as he struggled to pull his guqin and sword out.
When Ying Kai saw that everyone was alright, he finally breathed a sigh of relief before saying, “Shuangtze, what’s going on?”
Xu Shuangtze, without a trace of expression on his face, waved his hand and threw out something.
Ying Kai caught it in his hand and instantly turned pale. “Thousand Dimension Mirror Realm?”
“The ghost cultivator was not completely destroyed, but its bridge between time and space was broken, so it will remain dormant for the time being. If other broken fragments exist in this world, it can still return.” Xu Shuangtze raised his eyebrows and said, “Go back and investigate the Mirror Palace yourself, Ying Kai. Judging from the shape of the broken mirror, there must be more than one fragment that has come into our world.”
Ying Kai was in disbelief.
He gripped the bronze mirror fragment, the sharp edge pressed into his palm, and then suddenly asked, “Why does it seek out men and women with heavy yin to kill? What connection does it have with the Lotus Immortal?”
Xu Shuangtze fell silent for a moment before quietly replying, “It’s looking for someone.”
“Looking for who?”
Xu Shuangtze did not respond to any more questions. He turned around and fixed his eyes on ‘Xiang Xiaoyuan’, who was standing at a distance.
Gong Wei’s eyes met his and his spine tightened.
—Both Brother Ying Kai and Yuchi Rui are here, and this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Should I reveal my identity right now?
If Ying Kai and Yuchi Rui worked together, it would be possible to save my life from Xu Shuangtze’s sword, but what if they didn’t react as quickly as Xu Shuangtze? After all, proving one’s identity would require a lot of words. But Big Brother Xu’s sword can come down on one’s head without any…just like how the monstrous Qiongqi was chopped up in the blink of an eye earlier.
In the moment of internal struggle, Gong Wei’s mind suddenly exploded.
Xu Shuangtze had actually taken a step towards him!
The fear of actually being killed returned, and Gong Wei did not dare to move unnecessarily. He watched as Xu Shuangtze approached him slowly, his speckless shoes stopping in front of him.
“Where were you when you entered the illusionary realm just now?”
“…”
Xu Shuangtze’s tone intensified, “I’m asking you a question.”
“This disciple is too stupid and has a low cultivation level, so I failed to enter Your Lordship’s illusionary realm…I only felt that I was knocked unconscious by someone and thought I was bound to die. I didn’t know that I would be here when I woke up again…please, please, forgive me, Your Lordship…”
‘Xiang Xiaoyuan’ swallowed hard and did not even dare to raise his head. Only after a long time did he hear Xu Shuangtze repeat his words without joy or anger, “‘knocked unconscious by someone’.”
In any case, the illusionary realm had already been completely shattered by Yuchi Rui, so no one could verify the truth of this statement. Gong Wei stared at the ground without saying a word.
“Failed to enter the illusion.” Xu Shuangtze said again, softly and articulating each word.
Vfflcu atja atf rlaejalbc kjr aegclcu ecqifjrjca, Tlcu Bjl tegglfv ab rafq lc ab mjiwis jvnlrf, “Pa’r cbgwji obg j sbecu vlrmlqif ab tjnf ibk meialnjalbc—la’r olcf Vtejcuahf. Dfrlvfr, fnfc lo tf tjv fcafgfv atf liierlbcjgs gfjiw, tf kbeiv cba yf bo jcs erf bg tfiq, rb kts qegref atf wjaafg? Mbgufa la!”
Dearest Shixiong, you raised me personally, don’t you have any sense of familiarity when you see me? Even Xu Shuangtze has suspected me at least twice, alright?
Gong Wei was in a dismal mood, but then he suddenly heard Ying Kai discover something and said suspiciously, “Hold it. Can you raise your head?”
“!”
As if being blessed with a surprise, Gong Wei raised his head with hope, and the two of them looked at each other for a long time.
“…”
Ying Kai clapped his palms together and said with sudden realisation, “Aren’t you Xiang Xiaoyuan?!”
Gong Wei was dumbfounded. Only the sensitive Yuchi Xiao sensed something, “Lord Ying, could it be that you were also…”
Someone of Lord Xu’s status could not possibly know the gossip and peculiarities of a lowly outer disciple of his sect, and at that moment he too frowned, only to hear Ying Kai burst into laughter and say, “It’s not a big deal, I just met this kid when I was on an errand run at Cang Yang Sect two years ago. I wasn’t paying attention and this kid ended up following me for some time. He wouldn’t say a word when I asked him, and he refused to be sent back, so he followed behind me for half a day. It was only when I met a senior disciple of the Cang Yang Sect that we managed to coax him away. At that time, I wondered why this boy liked to follow people, but after hearing what people told me, I realised that this was the legendary Young Master Xiang.”
He shook his head amusedly and said, “Shuangtze, this child is a bit dull, but now he seems to have brightened up quite a bit, so don’t be harsh on him!”
Yuchi Xiao glanced at Gong Wei with a smile on his face and said, “Yes, he is always like that.”
If Gong Wei’s expression was blank before, then now it was pitch black.
What do you mean by ‘always like that’? What does it have to do with you? Why are you making matters worse now?
Xu Shuangtze’s face did not look not much better than Gong Wei’s, and he only spat out two words, “Get up.”
‘Xiang Xiaoyuan’ trembled. “L-L-Lord…”
Before all the words came out, Gong Wei’s throat suddenly went numb—as though there was an invisible lump blocking his windpipe. He opened his mouth again in vain and could no longer make any sound—he had been silenced by Xu Shuangtze again.
Immediately afterwards, Xu Shuangtze grabbed Gong Wei by his collar and ordered, “Blood River Chariot!”
A gust of wind blew from above, parting the gloomy clouds of the night sky and a huge carriage swooped down from on high. The magnificent carriage was lavishly decorated. The four giant eagles tied to the reins were named Di Jiang, Bi Fang, Mie Meng, and Gu Diao and when they all landed, air currents rushed in all directions with a boom!
Xu Shuangtze threw Gong Wei into the carriage, and then got in himself. Ying Kai was frantically waving at the back asking, “Hold on Shuangtze, what happened in the illusionary realm? And what about the strange situation at the Ghost Wall…”
Xu Shuangtze replied faintly, “Ask the kid from the Yuchi family. If he can’t tell you clearly, ask me again at Cang Yang Sect.”
The carriage door closed with a bang, he no longer looked at the crowd and commanded in a deep voice, “Go!”
The four giant eagles spread their wings at the same time and the carriage rose straight up, sending Gong Wei against the carriage wall. Clouds appeared outside the window and the carriage was actually traversing through the night sky like a meteor, speeding towards Cang Yang Mountain.
The interior of the carriage was as wide and straight as a hall, with three compartmented rooms, each with all the necessary furnishings. Xu Shuangtze was seated in a meditation pose in the middle, his hair brushing the ground, his robe neat and tidy, his eyes slightly closed, a stern expression on his face. Gong Wei was huddled in a corner, curled up as much as possible, looking at him from top to bottom warily, his mind buzzing with confusion.
The Thousand Dimension Mirror Realm was broken? How had the shard fallen into the hands of a ghost cultivator? Who exactly was stirring up trouble?
Xu Shuangtze, who had leaned under the melting moonlight and whistled a ditty all night in the starry glow of the sky, seemed like an unreal bubble in a fantasy world, disappearing without a trace in the blink of an eye.
Twenty years have passed, is he still angry about the wedding banquet?
Suddenly Xu Shuangtze’s eyes fluttered open, “What are you looking at?”
Gong Wei averted his gaze like lightning and humbly lowered his head.
Xu Shuangtze said, “Come here.”
The carriage only had that much room, and there was nowhere to hide. Gong Wei reluctantly stood up and walked over to him.
“Sit.”
Gong Wei, “…”
Gong Wei cautiously sat down and glanced at No Way Out. His heart instantly throbbed in reflex, followed by a chill across his brows, as Xu Shuangtze’s cold thumb pressed against his skin and gush of qi went straight to his consciousness!
The sea of consciousness is the most vulnerable place for a cultivator. Xiang Xiaoyuan was so weak that his fragile sea was defenceless and easily entered by Lord Xu in an instant. Xu Shuangtze scouted around for a moment and asked, “No core yet?”
Gong Wei was forced to maintain the position of his head tilt, “My Lord, this disciple is half mei demon and is unable to attain a golden core.”
In reality, with Gong Wei’s cultivation level, it was easy to form a core within the little mei demon’s sea of consciousness. With a golden core, his own Lotus Immortal soul’s power could be utilised to its full potential, and Gong Wei would not have to hold back so much.
But in Linjiang City, he was in such a hurry that he didn’t have time to form a core while avoiding detection by the sharp Yuchi Xiao. Moreover, his intention is to bring Xiang Xiaoyuan’s soul back from Hell and return it to this body.
Gong Wei feared that if his own golden core and the half-demon body could not merge and attain balance, it would cause damage to Xiang Xiaoyuan’s life span. As such, he has been delaying any action.
It was fortunate that Gong Wei had not acted, for each person’s golden core is unique, and a cultivator of Xu Shuangtze’s calibre can recognise people from their core. If Gong Wei had formed a golden core, he would have been found out by now.
Xu Shuangtze stared at ‘Xiang Xiaoyuan’ for a long time before slowly letting go with his hand and snorted inaudibly, “Half-demon.”
Gong Wei said humbly, “This disciple is incompetent.”
Xu Shuangzte looked at him noncommittally, then surprisingly repeated the question, “What were you looking at just now?”
Looking at you of course, Sovereign.
Gong Wei glanced out of the corner of his eye at the divine sword which was constantly emitting a powerful aura of oppression, and said sincerely, “Your Lordship is wise and handsome, like a god descending from the heavens, so I couldn’t help but stare. Please forgive me, my Lord!”
Xu Shuangtze did not say a word.
When Gong Wei heard nothing in response, he thought for a while and said hesitantly, “This disciple grew up listening to the legendary deeds of Your Lordship since I was a child. I deeply admire Your Lordship and never thought that I would witness it with my own eyes. I hope you will forgive me for my disrespect!”
There was still dead silence around them.
“…”
Gong Wei's eyes were closed and his heart was crossed, “Your Lordship’s cultivation is as profound as the vast river and seas, and your elegance parallels the beauty of the sun and moon. Anyone would be ashamed to look at Your Lordship and would sigh at the difference! This disciple’s heart is overwhelmed, and I can hardly calm it down, so I can’t help but admire Your Lordship and be dazzled! I—”
“Is that so?” Xu Shuangtze’s  deep voice finally came, asking, “Am I really so worthy of admiration in your heart?”
Gong Wei resounded, “This disciple has not uttered a word of falsehood!”
“And what about Lotus Immortal?”
Very well.
The big brother had just forced Gong Wei to praise him to the skies for half a day, and now he was going to force him to scold himself.
Gong Wei said in his heart, “I am but a fish on the chopping block”, then he took a deep breath, “The Lotus Immortal has blatantly disregarded Xuanmen’s laws, ignored the prestige of the Cang Yang Sect, and even tried to assassinate Your Lordship. His crimes are too numerous to record! The Lotus Immortal is a frivolous person and is not worthy of being a Sovereign of his generation, and this disciple is ashamed of him!”
Xu Shuangtze asked, “Do you really think so?”
“I do!”
It was only after a long silence that Xu Shuangtze said, “Gong Zhiyu, the great chief of the Disciplinary Court.”
He tapped his long, strong fingers rhythmically on the table, making a sound like gold knocking on jade.
“Since he entered the Immortal Alliance at a young age, he has never practiced cultivation, never built a foundation, his roots and soul are no different from those of a mortal, but overnight he suddenly broke through to the late Jindan stage, which shook all the Xuanmen Sects in the world.”
“Gong Zhiyu was the only person well versed in two of three ancient illusionary arts, which were supposed to have been lost for a long time. His origins, background and the depths of his powers are unfathomable. His strength was superior to that of Yuchi Rui, the world’s third most recognised Sword Master, and he was only second to Ying Kai and myself.”
Xu Shuangtze paused, leaned down slightly and said softly, “But I always thought that if Gong Zhiyu revealed his true form, no one in the world would be his opponent.”
The two of them were so close that Gong Wei tried to lean back without him noticing. In the next moment, Xu Shuangtze laughed softly, his cold breath blew straight into Gong Wei’s ear.
“—Tell me, why would the great Lotus Immortal, Gong Zhiyu, take a fancy to a half-demon like Xiang Xiaoyuan?”
The two were almost close to touching, and Gong Wei’s scalp went numb.
He stood up, took half a step back, held Xu Shuangtze’s hand and with a thud he fell to his knees and said aloud in a heartfelt voice, “Shizun!”
Xu Shuangtze froze.
“Although this disciple is of a humble status, I am loyal to the Cang Yang Sect and the sun and moon can bear witness. When the Lotus Immortal attempted to assassinate Shizun, his act was so heartless and cold, and I vowed that I would not forgive this person! I would rather die than give my body his soul!”
“…”
Gong Wei bowed his head and kneeled down, his voice was full of emotion, “Please believe me, Shizun!!!”
Xu Shuangtze didn’t move a muscle as he stared at his hand, which Gong Wei was clinging to like a lifeline.
The air felt like it was freezing, and after a long time he finally moved his fingers and lifted Gong Wei’s chin, “…What did you call me?”
Anyone with some degree of dignity would have already stopped by now, but Gong Wei was adamant, “Shizun.”
“…”
“Your Lordship is Master to all of the Cang Yang Sect’s disciples. You may not be our direct Shizun but we regard you more than our direct Shizun!”
Xu Shuangtze’s dark pupils stared straight at him, and after a long time he suddenly gave an odd smile and said, “Good.”
What’s good?
No matter how fast Gong Wei’s mind was spinning, he couldn’t even begin to guess what Xu Shuangtze’s words meant. At this point, the giant eagles let out one sharp cry after another, and then swooped down!
The carriage slanted once more, and Gong Wei was caught off guard, letting go of Xu Shuangtze’s hand, he rolled forward. He then slid to the left along the edge of the table and hit the wall. Next, he slid to the right as the carriage tilted once more, and hit the large vase standing on the floor. The carriage stopped abruptly, and Gong Wei was caught off guard again as he fell backwards. Gong Wei felt a tightening around his wrist and was held before he could fall.
Xu Shuangtze’s face was expressionless as he held on to Gong Wei, but then the giant birds swooped down again, and the inertia suddenly changed its direction. Gong Wei’s whole body rolled forwards headfirst and he hit his forehead on the table in front of Xu Shuangtze with a thud.
Boom—
The four giant birds landed smoothly and the carriage slowly landed on the ground, no longer moving.
“…” Gong Wei maintained this pose of kowtowing to Xu Shuangtze, his heart in desolation.
“You may rise.” Xu Shuangtze said coldly, letting go of Gong Wei’s hand and standing up. He straightened his lapels and got straight out of the carriage.
The light of day had already broken, and the giant carriage landed on the top of the first peak of Cang Yang Sect as it was draped in the golden sunrise. All the elders and spiritual masters were already awaiting for the carriage with their disciples. As they saw it, they all bowed their heads, “Welcome back, Sovereign!”
The crowd’s eyes could only see the tips of Xu Shuangtze’s shoes as he took a few steps down onto the white jade tiles, before his voice came down from above.
“The disaster at Lingjiang City has been resolved, but the matter is related to the Lotus Immortal and has been handed over to the Immortal Alliance for investigations.”
—It’s really the Lotus Immortal! The elders turned pale, and then they bowed their heads again in unison. “Sovereign is wise!”
“My Lord,” Jing Xu Spiritual Master, who was at the forefront of the group spoke in a low voice, “The Peach Scourge is coming, and the matter is of great importance, would Sovereign like to return to Xuanji Hall for a short rest, or summon the elders to the Tianji Tower to discuss this matter, so that we can…”
Before Jing Xu completed his sentence Xu Shuangtze suddenly turned around and looked back at the giant carriage.
Gong Wei, who was lifting the curtains halfway in his attempt to slip away, froze in mid-step.
The scene seemed to have come to a complete standstill, and in full view of all eyes below. Xu Shuangtze then reached out his hand and beckoned, calmly saying, “Come here, beloved disciple.”