Chapter 129 — Xuan Che, Rivers of Blood

Ying You moved quickly. As soon as Lian Mu gave her instructions, he went straight to carry them out.

Lian Mu sat on the second-floor railing, watching him run back and forth. She felt he was being a bit too serious — it was just a trivial matter, yet he insisted on doing it perfectly.

She still didn’t know why he was investigating her. She guessed that perhaps he had suspected she was of the demon race long ago, and after finding out she wasn’t, he had come several times to apologize.

That was the only explanation that made sense.

Lian Mu gazed at the clouds on the horizon and thought back to what she had just seen. She had never noticed before that he had a crabapple mark on his wrist.

She seemed to have seen it once, but at that time, there had only been a vermilion mole there.

Ying You returned, taking only a quarter of an hour to go to the library pavilion and back. Within this area, he couldn’t ride his sword, so he could only walk step by step and then climb up to the second floor as before.

“Your books.” He was still catching his breath. Up close, the lingering scent of magnolia on him was clear.

Lian Mu took the books and said, “You’re too late. I suddenly thought of a few more I want to read — can you make another trip?”

“Tell me.”

Lian Mu had more or less figured out his temperament by now: as long as she asked, he would agree, since in his mind, he still owed her.

Sure enough, you really shouldn’t raise a person too properly, or they’re easy to bully.

Thinking this, she went on bullying him, handing him a slip of paper. “Get these too. Sorry to trouble you, Captain Ying.”

Ying You didn’t refuse. He did everything as told, running back and forth several times at Lian Mu’s bidding until the people nearby began to grow suspicious.

“What are you trying to do?” a Returning Immortal Sect senior brother said. “Until this matter is clear, no one is to touch my junior sister — not even if you’re from Azure Profound Sect.”

A disciple guarding the building from Azure Profound Sect shot Ying You a meaningful glance but said nothing.

Lian Mu acted dead upstairs, pretending to know nothing.

The two senior brothers immediately turned on Ying You, who remained calm. “I wanted to see her. When I left, I realized I’d forgotten to say a few things, so I came back.”

Returning Immortal Sect senior brother: “?”

Lian Mu laughed upstairs. To come up with such a ridiculous excuse — impressive.

The Returning Immortal Sect senior brother looked at her and, seeing nothing amiss, hesitated a moment before finally letting him through.

“This is the last time.”

Ying You walked in and saw Lian Mu smiling gleefully. He lowered his voice. “Your senior brother said this is the last time.”

“I heard.” Lian Mu had all the books she wanted now and no longer needed him. “You’re terrible at lying. Next time, don’t say anything — your excuse was pathetic.”

She looked him up and down, realizing he was much more easygoing outside the illusion realm — like a completely different person.

“Who knew our Captain Ying had two faces?” she said with a laugh.

Ying You suddenly averted his eyes. “…You can just call me by my name.”

Lian Mu was about to do so but caught a glimpse of the silver at his temples. For some reason, the “Ying You” on the tip of her tongue got stuck.

After a moment, she restrained her smile and said coolly, “Mm. You can go back now. I forgive you — for now.”

He paused, standing there a moment, then, seeing she had nothing more to say, nodded slightly. “…Alright.”

Ying You left. Lian Mu pushed down the odd feeling in her chest and turned to go inside.

She hadn’t specified that she wanted books about the Feng Clan — she had rattled off a long list and slipped in the ones she really wanted.

Lian Mu opened the spatial pouch and flipped through the books one by one.

This spatial pouch belonged to Ying You and was more exquisite than any she’d seen: indigo fabric embroidered with a branch of crabapple blossoms after the rain, and beneath it a string of runes she didn’t recognize, looking like some foreign script.

Lian Mu didn’t know what they meant and ignored them. She dug out the books she actually wanted from the pile, then pulled a table and chair over.

As expected, the White Tiger West’s collection on the Feng Clan far surpassed Returning Immortal Sect’s.

She opened the first book at hand; the beginning recorded the Feng Clan’s family history.

The Wuyang Feng Clan was not originally a cultivation aristocracy of White Tiger West. Long ago, only the Shen, Wen, and Tang families held sway here. After Feng Tianche gained fame across the land, the Feng Clan rose rapidly on the strength of his name, even surpassing the Shen family and becoming the foremost family of alchemy cultivators.

But ever since Feng Tianche’s death, the clan produced few alchemy geniuses and gradually declined. Though still called a cultivation aristocracy, the Feng Clan had long lost all status in White Tiger West.

A few centuries ago, the Feng Clan’s head yielded the Clear Thought Sect’s leadership to Shen Minglu and withdrew from public view. It wasn’t until seven years ago, when the new young master Feng Huanyin entered the Clear Thought Sect, that the clan seemed poised for a comeback.

But when they went into seclusion, they took away a trove of alchemy manuals. What remained in the Clear Thought Sect’s library pavilion were merely the leftovers they’d chosen to leave behind.

In these books, Lian Mu didn’t find any method for repairing a dantian. Maybe the book was kept in the higher levels of the library, off-limits to outer disciples, or maybe it had been taken away by the Feng Clan and was never in the Clear Thought Sect to begin with.

She opened The Feng Clan’s Secret Arts and flipped to the page on recasting spiritual roots — and froze.

Something was wrong.

Lian Mu frowned and kept flipping pages, finding that the early parts didn’t match her memory at all.

The second half was intact, exactly the same as what she’d memorized at Returning Immortal Sect.

But what she’d memorized was the first half.

Lian Mu’s hand stilled. She stared at the familiar pill recipes, then looked down —

“Heavenly Spiritual Root Chapter.”

She fell silent.

She double-checked again and again before realizing that what she’d learned back then was actually the Heavenly Spiritual Root content.

…

She never imagined that not only had the Returning Immortal Sect’s copy been defaced, but the pages had also been rearranged.

So what did that make her now?

Lian Mu suddenly recalled what Xu Xianxing had said about three Heavenly Spiritual Roots.

He was right after all.

But… she remembered Ji Mingyue saying that the pill to recast a Heavenly Spiritual Root was incredibly difficult to refine. Back then, she’d even had a wasted root — how could she have managed to refine such a pill?

Lian Mu fell into deep thought, motionless for a long time.

Sensing her mood, Green Bean, who had been napping on the luminous stone, opened its eyes and crawled over to the book under her hand, ready to start chewing.

Lian Mu snapped back to herself, flicked it away with her finger. “Don’t chew on random things. Go back to sleep.”

She used too much force. Green Bean was flicked into the table’s luminous stone, knocking it off the edge as well.

Under the table, Green Bean lay belly-up, waving its pincers trying to flip over, but the luminous stone pinned it down. It struggled for ages without success.

Lian Mu: “…”

She was about to pick it up when her fingertips brushed the luminous stone — and a vision suddenly flashed through her mind: the heart she’d seen in the illusion realm.

Dark purple blood flowing, veins pulsing with a heavy, steady rhythm, beating in sync with her own heart.

Her vision blackened at once. She lost her balance and pitched forward, barely regaining her senses before smashing her head on the table corner.

Just as she steadied herself, another wave of dizziness hit. The scene before her eyes twisted and turned.

Amid the chaos, Lian Mu instinctively reached for Wealth Bringer. Gripping it, she realized it was trembling too — the hilt burning hot in her palm.

A rush of warmth slid down her face. She touched it — blood.

Her eyes were bleeding again.

She covered her eyes but couldn’t stop the flow. She could hear the drops hitting the floor like rain.

Her vision blurred crimson. She groped for something to wipe it away. Underfoot, she felt a hard bump — she’d stepped on something.

Green Bean, which had been precisely stepped on, let out a sharp squeak. Luckily, its shell was tough enough, so it didn’t die.

It struggled, Lian Mu’s blood dripped onto it, and it tried to get up, but its stinger was pinned firmly underfoot.

Green Bean squeaked pitifully under the weight, the scene a mess.

“So noisy.”

“Heh, never thought you’d be in such a sorry state.”

Lian Mu paused, uncertain if she was imagining things — she thought she’d just heard a man’s voice.

She immediately drew her sword and struck toward the source, but hit something hard.

“This is the new master you chose? I’d like to see what she’s capable of.”

As that low, lazy male voice faded, Lian Mu suddenly felt the ground vanish beneath her feet, as if she had fallen into a bottomless abyss. The surroundings grew darker.

Alert, Lian Mu tried to wipe her eyes clean but couldn’t. Still, she sensed she was no longer in her room. Nearby… there was the presence of a demonic beast.

Gripping Wealth Bringer tightly, the stench of rot rushed at her from the side. Almost simultaneously, she slashed her sword sideways.

“Good reflexes.”

That voice circled her, seemingly amused.

“Before, when it brought you in, you killed quite a few of my demonic beasts. I don’t like others touching my things without permission.”

Lian Mu couldn’t understand him, nor could she tell where he was, but mention of killing demonic beasts brought back memories of a nightmare she’d had — in which she had been endlessly slaying demonic beasts.

“Who are you?” Lian Mu felt her blood pouring faster; if it continued, she’d be in trouble soon.

“Kill them, and I’ll tell you.”

No sooner had he spoken than the roars of demonic beasts echoed from all directions. Lian Mu felt a dozen eyes lock onto her, though she couldn’t see them. She was surrounded.

She was just about to force her way out when a dull thud came from nearby — something heavy hit the ground.

Something bumped into her. She reached out and felt smooth scorpion armor.

Green Bean stood before her, its shape shifting — now taller than she was.

Its limbs pounded the ground, making the nearby demonic beasts shrink back and retreat.

A harsh voice barked, “Stand down!”

Green Bean didn’t move an inch. Its stinger rose and swayed, alert.

“…Even you won’t listen to me anymore?”

A sigh drifted from high above. Lian Mu instinctively looked up and saw a swirl of dark mist drifting toward her.

She stepped back two paces and swung her sword, slicing the mist apart — only for it to scatter and then gather again.

“In the Pangu Illusion Realm, weren’t you quite the fighter?” The mist slowly took on human shape.

A hand reached out and covered her eyes.

In the next instant, the blood clouding her vision drew back. Her sight cleared, and she met a pair of eyes as dark as ink.

Without thinking, she punched.

“Hiss…”

Apparently caught off guard, the man took the punch squarely, then crouched down, clutching his face.

Lian Mu: “?”

She finally saw him clearly — a white-robed man with a golden jade crown, half his face showing, features sharp yet carrying a violent edge in his eyes.

While he was crouched, she grabbed his collar and pressed her sword to his neck. “Where did you come from?”

His battered face turned to mist, his body dissipated, and the next moment he was behind her.

“Don’t touch me.” He spoke coldly.

He pressed a hand to her shoulder, looking down at her. “You killed my demonic beasts, yet ask where I come from? You took the Thousand Mechanisms Pagoda from that old geezer and don’t even know who I am?”

Her shoulder felt like a mountain pressed on it; she nearly suffocated in an instant and only caught his first sentence.

Calming herself, she asked, “You’ve been hiding inside my luminous stone?”

The man didn’t answer. Instead, he circled her, examining her up and down. “You’re not from the Crimson Sky Sect? Interesting. Things outside have changed again.”

He turned to mist once more.

A moment later, in the darkness, a throne appeared. He sat on it, legs crossed, gazing down at her.

Green Bean turned to him too. Several pairs of red eyes opened, and its pincers clicked.

Half-lidded, he pointed at the black scorpion. “You gathered all of them here. What’s your aim? Is that old thing finally sending someone to deal with me?”

Lian Mu said, “Has it occurred to you I don’t even know who you are?”

Seeing her serious expression, he fell silent for a moment. “…You truly don’t know me?”

“Send me back.”

Lian Mu felt she’d been far too unlucky lately — first falsely accused of being demon race, then stepping right into this place. From what he implied, he seemed connected to Green Bean.

She could sense his overwhelming strength — unrelated to spiritual roots, but honed through countless years.

She had no doubt he could kill her in the blink of an eye. But he hadn’t, so she must still have some value to him.

Given her current strength, caution was her best option.

“How old are you?” he suddenly asked.

Lian Mu said, “What good does answering do me?”

He thought for a moment. “I’ll give you a sweet?”

He really searched his sleeve, but found only a swirl of black mist.

“Oh, I forgot. Long turned to ash.”

He withdrew his hand and said blandly, “No benefit.”

Lian Mu: “?”

Not quite the answer she’d expected.

“In the Pangu Illusion Realm, I saw that move of yours,” he said. “You’re over four hundred years old, right?”

Lian Mu frowned. How did he know what happened in the Illusion Realm?

Just as the thought arose, she remembered — she had always kept that luminous stone in her spatial pouch. He could have been observing her all along.

As if reading her mind, he said, “That sword technique of yours was too loud. It woke me up.”

“I’m eighteen.” Lian Mu tested him. “Who are you?”

“Eighteen… Heavenly Spiritual Root?” He mused. “It’s been ages since anyone asked my name.”

With a flick of his finger, two wisps of black mist formed characters in front of her — Xuan Che.

“At last, a living person has come in. I won’t kill you.” Xuan Che lounged on his throne, a fine red mark at his brow like a bloodstain. “If it acknowledges you as master, you must be more than ordinary.”

Though clad in white like an immortal, he exuded reckless arrogance, and the murderous aura he gave off could not be suppressed by any robe.

He clearly wasn’t someone to be trifled with.

“You dragged me in here just to ask two questions?”

Xuan Che replied, “Of course not. I’ve been watching you a long time. That mutt kept squeaking at the tower, you ignored it for ages, and it disturbed my rest.”

She didn’t understand at first what he meant, until he pointed at Green Bean.

Lian Mu: “…”

She had never realized Green Bean could make noises.

“You did this to my eyes too?”

Xuan Che glanced at her bloodied face. “Your dantian is damaged. If you can’t control your spiritual energy, it seeps into your blood and leaks out. That’s your own problem.”

“And?” From his tone, Lian Mu felt he knew more.

Expressionless, Xuan Che said, “If you want to know, bring me something to eat next time you come in. Then I’ll tell you.”

Lian Mu: “…”

This man must be older than a few centuries. How was he not living on breath alone by now?

“Next time, don’t step on it till it squeaks. Annoying. Do it again, and I won’t let you off.”

Having said that, Xuan Che stretched out his legs, lay down sideways on the throne, turned over, and shut his eyes to sleep.

Lian Mu’s last bit of wariness vanished. She was about to ask more when a sudden dizziness struck and the black mist beneath her feet began to collapse.

Her vision went dark as she lost her footing.

When she opened her eyes again, she was back in her original room.

It was her divine sense that had entered that other world; her physical body was lying on the ground, surrounded by blood.

Her divine sense had just returned, and she couldn’t stand up for a moment, so she remained lying there.

She groped for the luminous stone at her side, picked it up, and realized its glow had long faded, completely different from when she first bought it.

This luminous stone had been with her for nearly six years, and only now did she learn someone had been living inside it.

Green Bean had come out too. Its size was back to normal, just palm-sized. It crawled over the pool of blood toward her, saw her lying motionless, then nestled quietly at her neck.

Lian Mu finally understood why Green Bean had insisted on following her all this time—it was because of this luminous stone.

She had lost too much blood, her body limp and powerless. She tried to grab the table leg to pull herself up.

There was a knock at the door.

“Lian Mu?”

“Come in.” Lian Mu could tell it was a Clear Thought Sect disciple who had been guarding near her room.

The Clear Thought Sect disciple outside received her response and pushed the door open. “The disciples from all four sects have gathered. Lian Mu, come with us—”

Halfway through his sentence, he caught sight of the mess inside: blood covering the floor and table, and Lian Mu’s face streaked with blood.

The Clear Thought Sect disciple froze. The Returning Immortal Sect senior brother behind him squeezed in. “What are you standing there for? My junior sister—”

Both of them were stunned.

The Clear Thought Sect disciple immediately raised his clean hands to prove his innocence. “I just opened the door. I didn’t do anything.”

Lian Mu finally managed to stand up. She wiped her face and cleared the things on the table.

“Sorry for startling you all. I’m fine.”

Both of them: “…”

Did she look fine?

The Returning Immortal Sect senior brother rushed forward. “Junior Sister Lian, don’t do anything rash! Sect Master Shen has gathered everyone at Biyun Terrace. Your name will soon be cleared.”

“So soon? Weren’t the other sects just coming out?” Lian Mu asked.

The Clear Thought Sect disciple looked a bit puzzled. “Your Returning Immortal Sect elders thought it was still too slow. The other sects’ disciples came out five or six days ago.”

Lian Mu fell silent for a moment and looked outside. What had been a dull gray sky before was now clear and cloudless.

She had only stayed with Xuan Che for a short while, yet outside, five or six days had passed.

Lian Mu pressed her lips together. “Wait a moment. I’ll change my clothes.”