Sang Dai murmured, “Su Xuan, in this painting, my mother is wearing a jade token from the Weisheng family. Then my master must recognize the seal of the Weisheng family.”
She lifted her gaze to Su Xuan. “When Sang Wenzhou brought me back to the Sword Sect, I was already wearing that jade token around my neck. My master took it from me when I was very young. He clearly saw the seal on the token, so he’s known my identity for a long time.”
Ying Heng knew she was the child of Weisheng Xuan and Bai Yu, knew she was the daughter of an old friend.
“When I was three, he, who had never taken a disciple before, personally requested the Sword Sect to take me as his disciple. He knew of the Sword Sect’s schemes, knew I wasn’t the legitimate daughter of the sect. When he was there, no one in the Sword Sect dared to take my blood. After he left, everyone lied to me—only my master treated me like his own daughter…”
The daughter of an old acquaintance, the disciple of a lifetime—Ying Heng’s kindness toward her was like giving her his very heart.
Su Xuan cupped her face, completely ignoring Tan Huai’s presence, and bent down to soothe her. “Immortal Lord Ying Heng was very good to you. He’s not dead, Dai Dai. Right now, we’re looking for him.”
Sang Dai asked him, “So how could he possibly abandon me and betray the Sword Sect? He clearly knew that if something happened to him, my situation in the Sword Sect as someone who isn’t Sang Wenzhou’s biological daughter would be extremely difficult. Cangwu Daoist Temple was also my father’s sect. He couldn’t have slaughtered the sect of his old friends and mentors.”
If Ying Heng had truly harbored ill intentions, he wouldn’t have treated Sang Dai so well during their seven years together. There was no need for him to pour his heart and soul into her like she was his own daughter.
The light in Sang Dai’s eyes grew brighter and brighter. Though her eyes were reddened, the corners of her lips curved into a smile.
“Su Xuan, I’m absolutely certain that the destruction of the Guixu Spiritual Vein and the massacre at Cangwu Daoist Temple were definitely not my master’s doing.”
Su Xuan pulled the sword cultivator into his arms, his chin lightly brushing against the top of her head. “Yes, I promise as well—Immortal Lord Ying Heng wouldn’t do such a thing.”
To have taught Sang Dai to be so kind-hearted and resilient—though Su Xuan had never met Ying Heng, he held great respect for this elder of the Sword Sect. Over the past hundred years, even though he had mocked the Sword Sect to no end, he had never once insulted Ying Heng.
Tan Huai, who had remained silent all this time, stepped forward and touched the painting on the stone wall. The canvas was soft, the ink deeply absorbed into the rice paper, faintly revealing the force exerted by the artist back then.
Sang Dai stepped back from Su Xuan’s embrace, and the two looked at Tan Huai.
Tan Huai touched the rice paper and raised his head to meet the gaze of the couple depicted in the painting. He said, “Sang Dai, when I was six years old, my parents both died. My father… died from madness.”
“…What do you mean?”
Tan Huai replied, “Exactly what it sounds like. My father lost control and killed my mother. After regaining his sanity, he couldn’t accept it and took his own life in front of her corpse.”
Su Xuan asked, “How could your father fall into madness? I remember the head of the Fan Dong Tan family was an awakened Heaven-grade spiritual root cultivator.”
A hundred years ago, there were still several awakened Heaven-grade spiritual root cultivators. The head of the Fan Dong Tan family was one, as was Immortal Lord Bai Yu, the previous head of the Cangwu Daoist Temple who guarded the Guixu Immortal Realm. After the previous generation fell, only this new generation of Heaven-grade spiritual root cultivators remained. Of the older generation, only Ying Heng was still alive.
The other six Heaven-grade spiritual root cultivators all belonged to the younger generation.
Tan Huai, his head tilted back, stared at the painting of his parents, murmuring, “I don’t know… My obsession runs too deep, and my cultivation progress is stalled. My master told me that my parents were friends with the Lord of Linglong Town. Perhaps the Lord of Linglong Town can give me an answer.”
He turned to face Sang Dai and Su Xuan, his gaze for the first time showing a hint of unease. “I came here to find answers. Miss Sang, Beast King, I lied to you. I wasn’t just investigating the disappearance of rogue cultivators.”
Su Xuan’s fox-like eyes narrowed slightly, while Sang Dai remained silent.
Just as Tan Huai was about to speak further, the jade token at Su Xuan’s waist suddenly lit up.
The little fox’s expression turned cold, his jaw tightening as he swiftly opened the token.
“Liu Lixue?”
On the other end came the sound of a heavy object hitting the ground, accompanied by a familiar muffled grunt and the shattering of tiles, as if someone had been violently thrown onto a rooftop.
The expressions of all three changed in an instant.
The jade token was abruptly snapped in two.
Tan Huai hadn’t yet regained his senses when the two people in the stone chamber had already disappeared.
He glanced back at the painting on the wall, clenched his teeth, and hurriedly chased after them.
—
Liu Lixue was merely a Nascent Soul-stage cultivator, an awakened Mysterious-grade spiritual root cultivator, specializing in medicine with little combat ability.
He had no idea what that vine was. Earlier, he could easily cut through it, but as soon as he channeled his spiritual energy into his folding fan, the vine went berserk, transforming into dozens of tendrils that surged toward him.
The more spiritual energy he infused into the fan, the more frenzied the vines became. Even when severed, they could rapidly regenerate in a short time.
With a muffled groan, Liu Lixue tore away a vine that had pierced his shoulder and flung it aside with all his strength. He seized the opportunity to retrieve his jade token and called for Su Xuan.
The moment the jade token connected, a vine shot toward him. The thick tendril struck his chest, sending him flying dozens of feet away. He crashed onto the rooftop of a building opposite, then tumbled to the ground.
He landed covered in blood, coughing up mouthfuls of it, struggling to get back on his feet and dodge the vine that came at him again.
Liu Lixue stood on the ground, looking up to meet the gaze of the person standing on the rooftop.
The peacock’s face was pale, his red robes torn and tattered, blood flowing out and sticking to the fabric.
The blades attached to his fan’s handle were broken in several places. He was now utterly spent, barely able to stand.
Clutching his chest, Liu Lixue coughed violently as the vines surged toward him again, surrounding him from all four directions: east, west, south, and north.
He gritted his teeth to hold himself up, raising his fan to block the vines charging at him head-on—
A sword light sliced through from afar. Its sharp pressure caused buildings to collapse as countless sword beams cut through all the vines, severing them completely. A figure stood before Liu Lixue, blocking him with a sword.
Black hair whipped up by sword intent, the slender figure—despite appearing incapable of shielding him—somehow exuded an endless sense of safety.
In the distance, a shadow teleported over, striking at the person standing on the rooftop. Hellfire coiled around the pitch-black sword, its sparks tracing razor-sharp arcs through the void.
The black-robed figure who had been leisurely standing laughed lightly and evaded with ease, withdrawing a hundred feet in an instant.
Su Xuan’s expression darkened, and he spoke almost word by word, “You’re courting death.”
He forced the black-robed figure away from Sang Dai and Liu Lixue, his Qingwu Sword engulfed in ancient Hellfire, each strike brimming with murderous intent.
Sang Dai didn’t step forward to assist Su Xuan. The vines had briefly paused but were too numerous to eliminate completely. She first used a spiritual energy barrier to shield against the vines and then heard suppressed coughing behind her.
She quickly turned around and caught Liu Lixue as he fell toward her.
“Young Master Liu!”
Sang Dai caught him just as Tan Huai arrived.
The Buddhist cultivator cut through the vines on the perimeter and entered Sang Dai’s protective barrier, kneeling beside Liu Lixue to take his pulse.
“Miss Sang, the barrier won’t hold for long. I don’t know what these vines are, but you’d better deal with them. Leave Young Master Liu to me.”
“Understood.”
Sang Dai handed Liu Lixue to Tan Huai, then dropped Changmang.
The wide fabric of the binding ribbon was vast enough to blot out the sky, fully shielding Tan Huai and Liu Lixue.
Sang Dai unsheathed her sword and charged out of the barrier, ready to cut down all the vines in one sweep. Spiritual energy coursed along the blade of her Zhiyu Sword as she pressed her wrist down and slashed.
The vines, which had been savagely attacking moments before, suddenly froze, then quickly retreated and sank back into the ground.
In the blink of an eye, the ferocious, enormous mass of vines disappeared without a trace.
They had actually fled.
Tan Huai was astonished. “…This—when I arrived just now, these vines were trying to eat me.”
How did they retreat the moment Sang Dai drew her sword and activated her spiritual energy?
The vines had quickly hidden themselves beneath the ground, so fast that even if Sang Dai wanted to pursue them, she couldn’t. All that remained were scattered fragments of vines littering the ground, serving as evidence that everything they had just experienced was real.
Sang Dai turned back and asked, “How is Young Master Liu’s condition?”
“He’s a healer. Just now, he used his spiritual energy to seal his vital acupoints and protect his dantian. His life is not in danger.”
Sang Dai nodded. “I’ll go assist Su Xuan. Master Tan Huai, I’ll trouble you to look after things here.”
“Understood. Rest assured.”
Sang Dai leapt onto the rooftop and teleported toward Su Xuan’s direction. However, the area was already void of Su Xuan and the black-robed man’s presence. Fortunately, she was wearing the Silver Feather, allowing her to sense Su Xuan’s aura.
But before she could get far, the Silver Feather at her waist flickered on and off, and Su Xuan’s aura was rapidly approaching.
Sang Dai abruptly halted as a figure appeared before her.
His silver hair was slightly disheveled, but his robes were still neat, and he bore no injuries. However, his expression was grim.
“Su Xuan?”
“Dai Dai, let’s leave first.” Su Xuan grasped her hand and teleported them back toward Liu Lixue.
Sang Dai asked in confusion, “Didn’t you go after him?”
“He fled. Just like last time—tore open space and ran.”
None of them understood how a cultivator could tear open space at will. Not even a Tribulation-stage cultivator could achieve such a feat. In the history of the cultivation world over tens of thousands of years, no one had ever heard of such a technique, and the black-robed man wasn’t using a formation either.
Su Xuan held her wrist firmly and brought her back to where Liu Lixue lay.
Tan Huai was transmitting spiritual energy to the unconscious Liu Lixue and was startled when he saw them return.
“Weren’t you chasing that man? Why are you back so quickly?”
Sang Dai remained expressionless, but Su Xuan’s face was visibly dark, as though he had encountered something deeply unsettling. His gaze was heavy, like storm clouds pressing down on a city.
He said coldly, “We’ll discuss it after we return.”
Tan Huai’s heart sank. Judging by Su Xuan’s demeanor, something must have happened.
Su Xuan bent down, hoisted Liu Lixue onto his back, and glanced at the broken vines on the ground.
“Take a few pieces.”
Tan Huai nodded, bent down to gather several fragments, and packed them away.
By the time they teleported back to the inn, it was past midnight—a new day had already begun.
Su Xuan placed Liu Lixue in the room, sat at the edge of the bed, and rummaged through the spatial pouch at Liu Lixue’s waist.
Liu Lixue always carried many pills with him. He had clearly still had them on him earlier that evening, but now they were completely gone.
Su Xuan asked, “Did you see Liu Lixue’s spatial pouch on the ground earlier?”
Sang Dai shook her head. “No. Before we left, I carefully checked the area, and apart from the broken vines, there was nothing else.”
The three fell silent for a moment before saying in unison, “He took it.”
Liu Lixue was a renowned healer across the Four Realms, and the pills he created were worth their weight in gold. He always carried spares with him.
The contents of the Peacock’s spatial pouch were almost entirely pills. If that man took his pouch…