Not Dead

The mountain forest, the full moon, four figures standing suspended in midair—all was quiet. Yet witnessing this scene, Xu Yuan was genuinely somewhat astonished. The instant he decapitated the old man, almost in the very next breath, the dense, nearly tangible killing intent and surging Source Qi of the two opposite him had locked onto him. Xu Yuan had not found this surprising. The way he had struck just now looked terrifying, but in reality, he had merely taken advantage of the fact that all their attention was fixed on Ran Qingmo to launch a sneak attack, killing a heavily wounded third-rank old man. Many people could have accomplished as much; it was only natural that it would not intimidate the two Grandmasters opposite him. What truly surprised him was that after their Source Qi surged for a single moment, the burly man and the plump woman opposite him deflated almost simultaneously. He had already prepared for a tactical retreat, leaving the direct confrontation to Ran Qingmo and the Saint's remnant soul, yet the two opposite him did not attack at all. In fact, their gazes toward him were tinged with a hint of terror. Xu Yuan could not understand this in the slightest. Yet the very next moment, he did. "Xu... Xu Changge?" The burly man's constricted pupils trembled uncontrollably, his voice carrying a tremor through the quiet mountain forest. The instant he saw this familiar, handsome face again, the deepest terror within the burly man's heart seemed to be stirred awake. In the early days of midsummer that year, led by their masters, their group had traveled to the grand gathering held once every seven years among the sects. Everything had gone smoothly. Countless geniuses displayed their brilliance at the Tianyuan Conference. Their generation of the Wanxiang Sect was exceptionally strong, for they possessed that Eldest Senior Sister of peerless beauty and talent. In Tianyuan City, Eldest Senior Sister naturally carried her strength and beauty from within the sect onto the tournament stage. Even now, more than a decade later, he still remembered Eldest Senior Sister's limpid, bright autumn-water eyes, and the faint, lingering fragrance that drifted when she spoke to him. Only half a month into the Tianyuan Grand Tournament, Eldest Senior Sister had already garnered countless admirers; even the Young Celestial Master of the Celestial Master Sect treated her with immense respect. Eldest Senior Sister advanced effortlessly, sweeping aside all opposition—until she met that youth in azure robes. Eldest Senior Sister was killed. Amid the dead silence of the spectating crowd, Eldest Senior Sister's head left a trail of blood on the platform and rolled softly off the edge, tumbling down before the stage. That peerlessly gorgeous face still bore an expression of shock and disbelief. Yet on the platform, the youth—his features still bearing a touch of boyish innocence, yet resembling a banished immortal—merely sheathed his sword calmly, then turned and walked away just as placidly. He had not even spared Eldest Senior Sister a second glance. As though what he had just slain was not a fairy of peerless grace, but merely a dead dog by the roadside. And at that very moment, that departing figure and that calm gaze were branded deeply into the burly man's mind. Not out of anger or killing intent, but out of unconquerable despair and pure dread. A silhouette that still struck terror into the heart even after more than a decade. The hazy memories surfacing in his mind caused the burly man to begin retreating step by step. He seemed to want to flee, yet seemed equally terrified of turning his back on the young man opposite him. The plump woman's voice also carried a slight tremor: "Xu Changge, w-why are you with Ran Qingmo?" "..." Seeing this, Xu Yuan hardly knew whether to laugh or cry. Well, no wonder these two had chickened out. Turns out they had mistaken him for Xu Changge. It seemed these two had seen Xu Changge in the past, but it must have been a very long time ago; otherwise, they would not have confused him with Xu Changge. His appearance merely shared a subtle resemblance in the brows and eyes with his eldest brother. After a second of silence, the burly man snapped out of his dread. He realized that the person before him could never be Xu Changge. If the person before him truly were the Eldest Young Master of the Chancellor's Manor, he would certainly disdain using a sneak attack to assert his might. After all, not long ago, Xu Changge had slain a second-rank demon boa and brought it back to the Imperial Capital. Yet with such looks, if not Xu Changge, who else could it be? Xu Chang'an? Another name surfaced in the burly man's mind. Hadn't the Chancellor's Manor's Second Young Master died several years ago? Thinking this, the burly man stared warily at the face so similar to the one in his memories. Taking a deep breath, he said in a low voice: "Second Young Master Xu, to think you have feigned death for so many years only for us to cross paths here. What an uncanny encounter." His voice rang out clearly, falling upon the ears of everyone present. "..." Xu Yuan raised an eyebrow. The man was reasonably quick to react. If it really were his eldest brother, the person who died just now certainly would not have been only that old man. However, this fellow would rather believe Second Brother was not dead than even consider him for a second. Soon, however, the plump woman beside him corrected the burly man's error. She snapped in a low voice: "Idiot! Xu Chang'an couldn't possibly still be alive!" The burly man glanced at her. "Then who is he? In this world, who else looks so much like Xu Changge besides Xu Chang'an?" "..." Xu Yuan was speechless. "Xu... Xu Changtian?" The plump woman's voice held a trace of hesitation. "..." The burly man fell silent. The gaze he turned upon Xu Yuan became rather strange and grim. It made no sense whatsoever. The plan had clearly been proceeding smoothly, yet out of nowhere it had turned into this. Not only had that old fellow from the Tianyuan Sword Sect's disciple popped up, but now there was also a young master from the Chancellor's Manor. Still, at least it was not Xu Changge. In merely an instant, the burly man's gaze grew resolute once more: "Number Three, we cannot let them leave. If word of this reaches the Chancellor's Manor and the Tianyuan Sword Sect, we will be as good as finished." If those two colossal behemoths learned of their conspiracy, they might not make a move against the Wanxiang Sect due to a lack of evidence, but the plan into which they had poured millions of taels of silver would go completely down the drain. This was something the sect could never accept. By now, the plump woman had also calmed down. She said in a chilling voice: "You don't need to tell me; I know." Xu Yuan sighed faintly, chuckling in a low voice as he asked: "It seems you still intend to fight?" The two opposite said nothing more, yet their killing intent and Source Qi gathered once again. Seeing this, Xu Yuan sighed. "Ran Qingmo, do it." Wasting so much breath talking with them had not been in vain, of course. His own strength was simply too weak. The soul power of the Saint's remnant soul could enhance his physical attributes, but it could not conjure Source Qi out of thin air. And with his seventh-rank cultivation, wanting to use a high-powered sword technique like that one was clearly unrealistic; thus, before each use, he needed the Saint's remnant soul to employ a soul-power secret art to help him condense a massive amount of Source Qi beforehand. However, condensing Source Qi took time for the Saint's remnant soul, which meant Xu Yuan could not unleash his high-powered sword techniques in rapid succession as he had in the illusion. Now, having babbled with them for so long, his cooldown had finally refreshed. And the instant Xu Yuan's words fell, over there, she—clad in ink-black robes—suddenly moved. Ice Cloud Steps condensed beneath her feet as she darted toward the plump woman. Xu Yuan's gaze narrowed as he leveled Qingyu before him. Void-Stepping Slash. A vanishing in an instant, a reappearance in an instant. His target: the burly man. The burly man's pupils constricted slightly. The knotted muscles across his body bulged dramatically, and his speed exploded in tandem! A body cultivator... Seeing this, the term subconsciously surfaced in Xu Yuan's mind. Even so, his blade still struck, tracing through the air to sketch out brilliant petals. Only this time, without the advantage of a surprise first strike, it failed to deliver a fatal blow to the burly man. Even so, it still carved a deep sword wound across his chest. Blood erupted instantly. Disregarding the wound, the burly man threw a punch straight toward Xu Yuan's face, accompanied by the whistle of breaking wind. Seeing this, Xu Yuan's eyes narrowed. A spiraling bone drill suddenly shot out from the blind spot behind him, flying straight toward the burly man's fist. Though a body cultivator, the burly man was far from stupid. Keenly sensing the lethal sharpness of that bone barb, he twisted his body at a bizarre angle, barely dodging it in the nick of time. While Xu Yuan clashed with the burly man, a sword cry resonated from the other side. Though merely an instant had passed, Ran Qingmo was already on the verge of cutting down the plump woman! Yet right at that moment, an abrupt turn of events unfolded on the battlefield. Without any warning, just like Xu Yuan's sudden appearance earlier, a jet of viscous black substance shot abruptly out from the mountain forest below, rocketing straight toward Ran Qingmo! Catching sight of it from the corner of his eye, Xu Yuan's brows twitched slightly. Why... wasn't he dead? The one attacking from the ground was none other than the old man he had just decapitated!