Xu Ying woke up and, seeing this scene, hurriedly vaulted into the air. Leaping out from Wutong Palace, he stepped upon a cloud ladder and caught the petite girl in his arms.
Having forcefully activated the Heaven-Soaring Cloud Ladder, his heart power was strained, and a piercing ache gripped his chest as if his heart were about to burst.
Xu Ying forced up a breath of yuan qi as sword qi erupted all around him, transforming the Heaven-Soaring Cloud Ladder into the Sword Control Formula. A beam of sword light carried Xiao Fengxian toward the parasol tree, plunging into Wutong Palace.
Xiao Fengxian remained unconscious. Xu Ying found a room to lay her down and examined her carefully. Using the vitality of his Mud Pill secret depository to aid her healing, the girl's breathing gradually stabilized.
When Xiao Fengxian regained consciousness, a bitter, coppery taste lingered in her throat. Remembering her blackout, she hurriedly sat up, only to find herself tucked under a quilt, having somehow returned to Wutong Palace.
She climbed down from the bed and found that her injuries were not particularly severe.
Stepping out of the room, she saw Xu Ying sitting on a divan outside her door with a scroll in his hands. The book covered his face, his head was tilted to one side, and he was sleeping soundly.
Only then did she realize Xu Ying had treated her wounds. Seeing him look so endearing in his sleep, she chuckled silently and walked forward, intending to play a prank on him. To her surprise, before she even reached his side, Xu Ying woke up. He set aside the book covering his face and smiled. "I fell asleep after reading just a few pages. How long have you been awake?"
"I only just woke up too."
Abandoning her urge to tease him, Xiao Fengxian said apologetically, "Young Master, I originally thought I could help you break your seal, but I didn't expect yours to be different from mine. In rashly trying to break it, not only did I suffer a backlash, but I fear I may have dragged you into danger as well by alerting the person who placed it. We cannot stay here for long. Whoever laid the seal will surely sense it being disturbed and will definitely send someone to investigate."
With light steps, she went to pack her belongings and said, "Young Master, though Fengxian failed to break your seal, it has loosened considerably, so perhaps that counts as a modest service. As for your two acts of saving my life, if there is a chance, I will repay you in the future! If not, I shall repay you in the next life!"
Xu Ying asked solemnly, "Lady Fengxian, did you truly meet me three thousand years ago?"
Xiao Fengxian flitted about Wutong Palace like a bird, packing her things as she answered, "Of course I did. Three thousand years ago, when I had just hatched, I met you here on this very Mount Jiuyi. Back then, your appearance was just as it is now, though you seemed slightly younger."
Xu Ying stood in a daze. She had no reason to deceive him.
Yet if Xiao Fengxian had seen him three thousand years ago, wouldn't that mean he was at least three thousand years old?
How could a human live that long?
And what about his memories of Xujiaping and his parents? Were his blissful recollections of childhood, his painful memories of the fire in Xujiaping, all fake?
Having finished packing, Xiao Fengxian pushed open the window latticework and prepared to fly away.
Xu Ying hurriedly called out to stop her. Standing on the windowsill, the petite girl glanced back gracefully with a radiant smile. "Young Master, if I don't leave now, I'm afraid I'll be intercepted. My strength is still weak right now, and this is a matter of life and death, so please do not try to keep me."
Xu Ying asked, "You said before that you were sealed as well. What was the reason for that? And who was the one who sealed you?"
Xiao Fengxian's expression grew increasingly tense, and she spoke rapidly: "I was born with keen perception. Not long after hatching, I sensed an impending upheaval in heaven and earth, so I wanted to flee this realm. That day, I had finished preparing and was planning to fly out of the Hundred Thousand Mountains when suddenly the world began to twist and spin. My vision went black, and I knew nothing more. It was as though I had plunged into an immense darkness, or returned to a state before I was even born, muddled and oblivious."
"And then?" Xu Ying asked.
Xiao Fengxian said, "Suddenly, one day, I woke up. When I opened my eyes, three thousand years had already passed. I flew through the sky, and everywhere I looked, the world was completely foreign. Everything I once knew no longer existed."
Her face darkened with sorrow.
Nothing remained—not her family, nor her friends.
That was why she had been so overjoyed upon seeing Xu Ying and had pleaded for his help; Xu Ying was the only familiar face she had left.
"You don't know who sealed you?" Xu Ying asked.
Xiao Fengxian shook her head. "I am different from you. I suspect I was sealed along with the entire world, whereas your case is special. You seem to have been sealed away deliberately. I must go!"
She added in a rush, "I sense danger drawing closer. I can't delay! My intuition is very sharp!"
Xu Ying said in haste, "Wait! Who was it that sealed this world? And who unsealed it?"
Xiao Fengxian had already transformed into a colorful phoenix, spreading her wings and soaring off, leaving a streak of rainbow light across the sky.
Her crisp voice drifted back from afar: "Young Master Xu, leave this place soon! Once that person notices the seal was disturbed, they will definitely come looking for you!"
Xu Ying watched her vanish into the distance, a profound sense of loss weighing on his heart. *Am I truly someone from three thousand years ago? Could she have mistaken me for someone else? Isn't my home in Xujiaping?*
He stood in silence for a long time, making no move to leave. Instead, he waited.
He wanted to see whether, as Xiao Fengxian had said, the person who sealed him would actually come here to investigate.
Xiao Fengxian soared through the sky at breathtaking speed, fleeting as light and shadow, trailing an auspicious cloud of seven colors behind her.
Suddenly, a swath of azure light blocked her path. Like a heavenly wall of unfathomable width and height, the azure glow stood spanned across the horizon.
Xiao Fengxian's heart skipped a beat. She flew upward, attempting to clear the barrier of azure light. Crisscrossing lines ran across the azure heavenly wall like the grid of a chessboard.
*This is a chessboard!*
A chill ran down Xiao Fengxian's spine. *Could this be a great divine ability that spans boundless distance in an instant?*
Alerted, she flew at full speed. Suddenly, a colossal finger descended from beyond the heavens, holding a white Go stone that pierced through the thick atmosphere and crashed down toward her!
The stone was as massive as a mountain. As it and the finger scraped violently against the atmosphere, raging flames ignited around them. Crashing straight down, it grazed past her and struck with a crisp clack, sending heavenly fire spraying across the gigantic azure board.
Xiao Fengxian beat her wings to dodge the piece, only to see another hand like white jade reach down from beyond the heavens. Two fingers held a black stone, lowering it onto the azure board!
Pushing her speed to the absolute limit, Xiao Fengxian darted left and right to evade the jade-white hand and the black stone, but yet another slender jade hand descended, holding a white piece!
Like an ant on a chessboard, she scurried in every direction, doing everything in her power to dodge the mountain-sized stones crashing down to crush her.
Yet the pieces fell faster and faster, multiplying across the board. With each stone as massive as a mountain, evasion became increasingly harrowing.
She could only strain every nerve to weave between the mountain-like stones, evading one lethal strike after another from above as best she could.
Just as despair began to consume Xiao Fengxian, a voice suddenly chuckled, "This game is finished."
The azure light and the chessboard instantly vanished into thin air. Her heart still fluttering with fright, Xiao Fengxian looked down toward the voice and saw an old man and a woman playing Go atop a distant peak. The board between them was none other than an azure jade board!
Xiao Fengxian flew toward the peak, landing while still a good distance away from the pair. Transforming into a little girl in colorful clothes, she bowed deeply and said, "I beg for my life!"
Without looking up, the white-robed old man waved a hand and said, "Begone. Do not meddle in matters that do not concern you next time."
Granted amnesty, Xiao Fengxian hastily took several steps backward, then sprang into the air, transforming into a phoenix and fleeing into the distance.
The woman playing Go against the old man wore black robes. She had a round face and a red mole between her eyebrows. She smiled and asked, "Has that old gentleman run off to serve tea again?"
The white-robed old man sighed. "Indeed. He is rather pitiful, scurrying back and forth every single day just to pour tea and deliver water. I heard that this time he prepared ten big bowls of Meng Po soup. Granny Meng finds him a nuisance for running back and forth so much, and has been badmouthing him behind his back."
The woman with the red mole could not help laughing. "Ten bowls of Meng Po soup? Is he watering an ox?"
The white-robed old man laughed heartily. "Down ten bowls of that tea, and even an immortal would collapse. That way, we too can rest easy."
The woman sighed, "Let us hope so. Otherwise, with all these daily alarms and panics, one would be scared sick even without an illness."
Xu Ying stood before the window of Wutong Palace, gazing outside, his mind surging with turbulent thoughts that refused to settle.
*Once the matter with Old Ancestor Zhou is resolved, I will go to Xujiaping!* he resolved silently. *Only by finding that place can I solve the mystery of my origins!*
In his memory, there was a route leading to Xujiaping.
Suddenly, a soft rapping came from outside Wutong Palace.
Passing through successive courtyards and halls, Xu Ying reached the palace gates. As he opened them, the scent of incense drifted into his nostrils. A sorrowful old man stood upon a tree branch outside, looking at him with a face etched in misery.
Xu Ying did not seem surprised. He smiled and said, "Old sir, we meet again."
The sorrowful old man sighed. "We could have met on Mount Wuwang, but alas, we missed each other. Fortunately, I have encountered Young Master Xu once more."
Xu Ying's eyes flickered. "Coming here this time, old sir, could you be planning to treat me to tea again?"
The sorrowful old man replied, "Young Master Xu is exceptionally bright; you guessed it in one try. This time, I have brought fine tea for you to taste."
Xu Ying gave a half-smile. "And if I refuse to drink it?"
The sorrowful old man let out a sigh. "Then I shall have no choice but to force it down your throat. Men!"
The sky convulsed violently as rays of golden light pierced down, illuminating the sky above Mount Jiuyi. Golden-armored giants stood atop the clouds, bowing as they peered downward.
Seeing this, Xu Ying stepped aside and invited him in. "Since I cannot resist you, I might as well not bother. Bring out the tea, old sir, and I will drink it."
He calculated in his mind that if the bronze bell were here, combined with the Pure Yang anomalous fire in his Realm of Xiyi, he might be able to tangle with this old man. As long as he stirred up a massive commotion, Zhou Qiyun would certainly show up!
With Zhou Qiyun present, this sorrowful old man surely would not be able to make much of a splash!
*Xiao Fengxian made such a huge disturbance just now; it shouldn't be hard for Lord Bell to find his way here,* Xu Ying thought.
The sorrowful old man set out the tea set. A flame appeared in his palm as he boiled a kettle of water, scalded the teaware, and poured tea for Xu Ying. The tea was crystal clear, quenching one's thirst at a mere glance.
Seeing the flame used to boil the water, Xu Ying was startled, immediately abandoning the thought of unleashing his Pure Yang anomalous fire. For the flame the sorrowful old man used to heat the water was none other than Pure Yang anomalous fire!
Evidently, using the Pure Yang anomalous fire against him would be utterly useless!
*There was such a huge ruckus here just now; Zhou Qiyun ought to come check it out!* he thought to himself.
"Have some tea, Young Master," the sorrowful old man said, using a stalk of emerald bamboo to slide the teacup forward.
Xu Ying picked up the teacup and smiled. "Last time you treated me to tea, old sir, it didn't seem to have much effect. This tea looks no different from the last batch. Aren't you worried it will fail again?"
A tremor went through the sorrowful old man's heart. He had harbored this suspicion for some time, worrying that the Meng Po soup had lost its efficacy.
"Drink it while it is hot, Young Master Xu." His expression remained impassive.
Xu Ying's expression shifted uncertainly, the cup lingering in his hand without moving.
The sorrowful old man said, "Could Young Master Xu be waiting for Zhou Qiyun? His injuries have yet to heal; he would not dare appear before me. As for the other master on this mountain, Emperor Sheng Shen Zhangwu Xiao, he too is wounded. An emperor does not expose himself to danger—how could he dare come over lightly?"
Xu Ying stared at the teacup, his heart pounding in turmoil. Gritting his teeth abruptly, he threw his head back and drained it in a single gulp!
When he set down the cup, the sorrowful old man's brow relaxed slightly. Raising the teapot to pour another cup, he said, "I brought several golden-armored warriors with me. Had you refused to drink, they would have pinned you down and pried your mouth open to force it in. But since you are willing to cooperate, I am spared having to resort to such measures."
Xu Ying laughed heartily. "It's just a few mouthfuls of tea, no need to trouble yourself, old sir. Conveniently enough, I was feeling rather thirsty anyway."
He snatched the teapot, yanked off the lid, and tilted his head back to drink greedily.
Seeing this, the melancholy vanished from the old man's face, replaced by a delighted smile.
Xu Ying drank the entire pot of tea dry and said with a smile, "Last time you treated me to tea, old sir, you told an entertaining story about Chen Mianzhu, Emperor of the Southern Dian Kingdom, who transformed into a white-robed immortal and was eaten clean. Why is there no story this time?"
The sorrowful old man beamed with joy, the wrinkles on his face visibly smoothing out. "Well then, while we wait for the medicine to take effect, I shall tell another interesting tale."
He said with a squinting smile, "This grotto-heaven and blessed land is called Chaozhen Taixu Cave-Heaven. In ancient times, Qi Refiners used to gather qi and cultivate here, taking it for a blessed land. In this cave-heaven, there were also traces left behind by an immortal who had ascended, leading everyone to believe one could ascend from this place. Everyone wanted to use those traces of ascension, borrowing the power of the Heavenly Tribulation to blast open a path to the Immortal Realm. Haha!"
He opened his mouth in an exaggerated gape, splaying his ten gaunt, spindly fingers. "They all died, do you know that?"
He laughed until tears streamed down his cheeks. Reaching out with a slender finger, he wiped the old tears from the corners of his eyes and chuckled, "All dead, not a single one survived. Later, someone who had cultivated Immortal Pupils arrived. Possessing a viciously sharp eye, he took one look at that radiant glow of ascension and said that the glow was no ascension light at all, but the very first unlucky bastard who tried to cross his tribulation here, blasted to pieces. That brilliant glow was formed from the fragments of his corpse and Primordial Spirit."
His expression returned to calm—a calm that was chillingly eerie. "Young Master, don't you find that laughable?"
Xu Ying had already slumped onto the tea table, snoring softly and sound asleep, peaceful as an infant.
"Quite laughable, isn't it?"
With a profound look in his eyes, the sorrowful old man packed up the tea set, rose, and walked out of Wutong Palace, turning back to shut the palace doors.
Just then, a bronze bell came flying toward the palace. Spotting the bell, the sorrowful old man raised his sleeve to mask his face.
The bronze bell crashed through a tree-branch window into Wutong Palace, bouncing and clattering wildly along the way as it yelled, "Ah Ying! Ah Ying, are you all right?"
The sorrowful old man smiled, just about to leap down from the parasol tree, when he heard Xu Ying yawn and wake up: "Oh, it's you, Lord Bell. Why did I fall asleep?"
The corner of the sorrowful old man's eye twitched. The smile froze on his face, slowly melting back into misery.
*Something terrible has happened,* he thought silently.
Chapter 74