Atop a lofty peak, four figures stood upon a curved terrace.
Gazing into the distance from this vantage, a vast panorama of mountains and rivers unfurled beneath them, while the howling, frigid winds buffeted their splendid, multicolored robes.
A flat-chested, beautiful woman, a hunchbacked old man leaning on a walking stick, a dashing middle-aged man of handsome bearing, and a fat man.
Though their appearances were entirely distinct, their solitary shared trait was that the auras of all four atop the summit were as deep and continuous as oceanic tides—unfathomable.
Standing in silence, the four braved the freezing wind for about half a quarter of an hour.
"Tsk."
A sudden click of the tongue broke the silence, laden with coarse irritation.
"Taishi Ran, you rascal called us all the way to Wanli Peak with the Heaven Pavilion Token just to drink the northwest wind with you?"
At his words, the other three turned their gazes toward the sound.
It was the rotund, middle-aged fat man.
The layers of fat on his cheeks squeezed his eyes into narrow slits, from which gleamed a distinctly chilly gaze.
Seeing the three looking over, the fat man swept his narrowed eyes across them in turn.
Everyone caught in his gaze frowned slightly.
The beautiful middle-aged woman, in particular, immediately showed undisguised disgust the moment his eyes fell upon her.
A vortex of air materialized around her out of nothing, swirling bits of gravel as her gossamer white dress, embroidered with exquisite patterns of birds and flowers, fluttered in response.
As a grand artifact-forging sect, the Iron Black Sect possessed the Forest Soul Divine Eyes, a technique this fat man cultivated that granted the divine ability to see through objects straight to their core.
Seeing the woman react so fiercely, a trace of helplessness flickered in the fat man's chilly, squinted eyes, though he offered no explanation.
The nature of his technique had led many people to hold prejudices against him.
Over the years, he had grown accustomed to it.
Amidst the silence, "Heh."
With a soft chuckle, the dashing middle-aged man spoke in an unhurried voice:
"There is another friend yet to arrive. Please be patient, Elder Zhou."
Elder Zhou raised an eyebrow at that. Glancing across the others again, he remarked with genuine interest, "Heh, another? And just which fellow Daoist have you summoned this time, Taishi Ran?"
Taishi Ran gave a faint smile and murmured, "I wonder if Brother Zhou has heard the name Jing Tingxi?"
"..."
The moment the name left his lips, the pupils of the other three shrank at once.
The name was not the least bit unfamiliar to them.
After all, everyone present had lived through that very era.
Jing Tingxi was a name that had stood unrivaled in their day.
A wild youth from nowhere who had run roughshod over the realm by relying on a demonic art, and who had even taken first place in the Tianyuan Grand Tournament under an alias.
Had it not been for Xu Yinhe's meteoric rise back then, he would have practically reigned supreme over an entire generation of prodigies.
Yet Jing Tingxi had been like a streaking meteor; after a brief, brilliant flash, he had suddenly vanished without a trace.
Among the upper echelons of the sects, rumors whispered that he had relied on his peculiar secret art to attempt an assassination of the late Emperor.
However, palace security was far beyond merely tight—blessed by a Saint, guarded by grand arrays, and permanently garrisoned by powerhouses trained in military arrays.
Jing Tingxi naturally fell short and was struck down on the spot by the imperial palace's experts.
Yet now, it seemed...
At this thought, the old man frowned and spoke up, "Brother Taishi, are you saying Jing Tingxi did not die inside the imperial palace back then?"
Taishi Ran chuckled softly, the mountain wind catching the smile at the corners of his mouth. His tone was gentle: "He did not. Back then, he only fled with grievous injuries."
The beautiful middle-aged woman had a refined, dignified countenance. Her delicate brows knitted slightly, and her cherry lips parted, exhaling a faint fragrance tinged with a hint of anticipation: "Brother Ran, is Jing Tingxi also participating in this expedition?"
"Naturally not."
Taishi Ran shook his head, his tone placid. "He is already dead."
Hearing this, the woman cast her eyes down and let out an inward sigh.
The fat man, however, scowled in annoyance and snapped, "Taishi Ran, are you playing with us? If he's dead, why bring him up?"
"Brother Zhou is as frank and hot-tempered as ever."
Taishi Ran did not take offense, merely remarking with a light smile, "Mentioning him naturally has a connection."
Saying so, he let out a chuckle.
"Though Jing Tingxi is dead, he still left behind no shortage of intimate confidantes and close friends in this world."
Having said that, Taishi Ran cast a glance at the beautiful woman.
Everyone present caught Taishi Ran's glance.
The old man pretended not to notice.
A playful smirk crept into the fat man's eyes.
This woman, now so poised and dignified, had once been famed far and wide for her beauty and charm, boasting romantic dalliances with many prodigies of her day.
Peerless prodigies like Ran Jianli, Xu Yinhe, and Jing Tingxi—she had thrown herself at all of them.
Of course, the first two had clearly spurned her advances, but the last was renowned for his romantic escapades, so the two of them had likely shared some delightful memories.
Naturally, her current husband knew nothing of these past exploits.
After all, her husband was her disciple, barely forty years old.
The woman naturally knew what the three were thinking. She gave a cold snort, her voice shedding its gentle poise: "If Jing Tingxi's close friends are willing to lend their aid, does our objective have something to do with his death?"
Taishi Ran gazed toward the horizon, answering without haste, "You could say that."
"Could say that?"
"Indeed."
A sharp glint flashed through Taishi Ran's eyes, yet his tone remained smiling. "After all, our trip could be seen as exacting vengeance on the culprit who killed Jing Tingxi."
Elder Zhou rubbed his fleshy jowls. "Oh? When Jing Tingxi disappeared back then, he was already at the Transcendent Realm. Who in the world today could kill him?"
Taishi Ran turned his head and gave the fat man a deep, probing look, whispering softly:
"The Prime Minister's Manor."
"..."
The moment those words were uttered, the atmosphere atop Wanli Peak froze instantly into a pin-drop silence.
Seemingly oblivious to the heavy tension, Taishi Ran took a step toward the cliff's edge in his flowing-gold boots. Gazing down at the verdant forest below, he spoke as if to himself:
"The Pavilion Master told me that after Jing Tingxi vanished back then, he went to Burial Village. There, he nursed his wounds; there, he became a Saint. And then... and then they were exterminated."
The hunched old man tightened his grip on his cane, his aged voice turning exceptionally solemn: "This old brother has heard of Burial Village. The powerhouses harbored within were surely no fewer than those of a major sect. Brother Taishi, could you tell us why Xu Yinhe would go through such trouble to slaughter them all?"
Taishi Ran suddenly broke into a grin.
"Did you know that back in those days, the personal friendship between Xu Yinhe and Jing Tingxi was as close as brothers?"
Silence. No one answered.
"Quite so. Had the Pavilion Master not deduced such secrets, not a soul in this world would ever know."
Taishi Ran shook his head and chuckled:
"Back then, the reason Jing Tingxi infiltrated the palace was entirely due to Xu Yinhe's scheming.
"Xu Yinhe took advantage of Jing Tingxi's temperament and cultivation technique to engineer a conflict between Jing Tingxi and the late Emperor. Then, conspiring alongside Li Yaoxuan, he helped Jing Tingxi sneak into the palace and gravely wound the late Emperor..."
A glint of realization crossed the fat man's eyes.
With Xu Yinhe's assistance, no wonder Jing Tingxi had managed to infiltrate the deep imperial palace while merely at the Transcendent Realm.
Yet after a brief pause, he furrowed his fleshy brows and asked, "But if Xu Yinhe planned to such an extent, why was Jing Tingxi able to escape? Surely his death in the palace would have better served the interests of those two."
Taishi Ran shook his head with a soft chuckle: "Brother Zhou, did you pay no attention to court politics back then?
"If Jing Tingxi had died, how could they pin this bloody debt onto the Crown Prince at the time? The Crown Prince was on duty at the Bureau of Military Affairs that very night."
With that, a meaningful look surfaced in Taishi Ran's eyes:
"By committing improper acts beforehand, he provoked the late Emperor into summoning Li Yaoxuan to the palace that very night. Then he orchestrated the assassination, allowing Li Yaoxuan to risk his life to save the Emperor, before aiding the assassin's escape."
Hearing these hidden secrets, a flicker of hesitation appeared in the old man's turbid eyes: "With such coincidences lined up, wouldn't the late Emperor have grown suspicious?"
"..."
Seeing the looks on their faces, Taishi Ran recalled his own reaction upon first hearing this, and chuckled:
"Naturally, he would suspect something—but that was part of the plan within their plan.
"Xu Yinhe and Li Yaoxuan were exceedingly cunning. The improper acts Li Yaoxuan committed were deliberately full of inconsistencies, looking just like someone had framed him.
"Moreover, the late Emperor's summons of Li Yaoxuan was a secret decree, and no one knew of the relationship between Xu Yinhe and Jing Tingxi. The moment Li Yaoxuan lay gravely wounded on the brink of death, all that suspicion shifted into distrust of the Crown Prince.
"Had Li Yaoxuan not risked his life to save him, the late Emperor would have died right then and there.
"After all, could there truly be a crown prince for seventy years?
"As for what came next, you should all know. Li Yaoxuan gained the standing to contend as an equal against the Crown Prince, while the Crown Prince's position became precarious under suspicion. His power was chipped away step by step, driving him to take a desperate gamble and launch an armed rebellion against the palace."
His words fell away, followed by an enduring silence.
"Heheheh..."
The hunched old man let out a dry, raspy chuckle. Gripping his cane, he cupped his hands toward the southern sky in a salute. "The Pavilion Master's cultivation is truly transcendent. Without such means, these secrets would likely have remained hidden from the world forever."
His salute finished, the old man asked softly, "So, did Xu Yinhe wipe out Burial Village because he learned beforehand that the Pavilion Master intended to expose these events from decades ago, moving early to weed them out by the roots?"
A gleam flashed in Taishi Ran's eyes as he shook his head:
"No matter how godlike Xu Yinhe's methods are, given the meticulousness of the Pavilion Master, how could he possibly have detected it?
"Even after decades without contact, compared to a stranger, Jing Tingxi naturally leaned toward trusting a former brother-in-arms. It was only after the Pavilion Master informed Jing Tingxi that he took the initiative to contact Xu Yinhe to demand an explanation, resulting in this outcome."
Hearing this, the other three froze for an instant.
Not because they were shocked by Jing Tingxi's choice, nor by Xu Yinhe's cold-blooded ruthlessness, but because they wondered why the Pavilion Master would act this way.
Couldn't the Pavilion Master deduce the future?
The powerhouses gathered in Burial Village were practically equivalent to a top-tier major sect in this world.
A Saint, along with several Transcendent Realm and Origin Realm experts.
Wouldn't recruiting such figures be far better than letting them be encircled and slaughtered?
Observing the confusion in their eyes, Taishi Ran let out a slow, quiet breath: "Are you... puzzled why the Pavilion Master acted as she did?"
The hunched old man possessed keen political acumen and immediately shook his head: "Everything the Pavilion Master does has its reason. It is only natural that we fail to comprehend it."
Taishi Ran gave a dry chuckle: "When I asked the Pavilion Master back then, she only said it was the optimal choice among countless futures, for one chess piece was more important than all the powerhouses in Burial Village combined."
Here, a sigh appeared on his handsome face: "Yet now, ink has shrouded the future. That optimal solution likely no longer exists."
With those words, silence descended once more upon the summit of Wanli Peak.
Having heard such secrets, the remaining three said nothing further, braving the freezing wind as they digested the revelations.
Minutes and seconds ticked away; drifting clouds gathered and scattered across the vault of heaven.
The sun high overhead gradually dipped westward, its golden rays painting vast swathes of fields and forests crimson.
Just as it was about to sink beneath the horizon, a surge of Source Qi fluctuated from the edge of the sky bathed in golden sunlight.
Having stood in the cold wind all day atop the peak, the four looked up in unison.
This Source Qi was neither strong nor weak, offering no clue to the newcomer's cultivation—likely because they had deliberately suppressed their qi signature while traveling.
Before long, a woman in a black gown arrived atop the summit.
Framed by her black gown and the setting sun, her skin was as pure as snow, and an alluring charm in her eyes drew gazes involuntarily.
Yet upon seeing the newcomer, all except Taishi Ran felt a jolt in their hearts. With their level of cultivation, they were completely unable to see through her realm!
Above the Transcendent Realm...
Descending onto the peak, the woman walked forward, her shapely jade legs flashing intermittently through the folds of her gown.
Drawing near, her amber eyes shone magnificently. Her voice was clear as a silver chime, yet entirely aloof: "I ran into some complications en route and arrived half a day behind schedule."
Taishi Ran offered an elegant bow with hands clasped: "Half a day matters not. That person should still be some distance away."
The black-gowned woman swept her eyes over the figures behind Taishi Ran and asked in a low voice, "Is this all the manpower for the mission?"
Taishi Ran smiled slightly. "Does Fairy Luo feel it is insufficient?"
The woman replied impassively, "That woman surnamed Lou hasn't shown her face in Guangyang Prefecture for quite some time. It is very likely she is traveling south alongside him."
"..." Taishi Ran narrowed his eyes.
"Heheheh..."
In the brief silence, the fat man smiled warmly, sharp light gleaming in his squinted eyes. "Brother Taishi, now that everyone has arrived, could you finally tell us the purpose of this venture?"
The woman surnamed Luo frowned slightly and glanced at Taishi Ran. "They do not know the objective?"
Taishi Ran raised a hand to signal patience, then turned around and murmured, "The three of you, our objective this time is quite simple: to assassinate a blood relative of Xu Yinhe."
"..."
The fat man froze. He opened his mouth, but no words came out; his gaze transformed into one reserved for a madman.
A heavy silence fell, broken at last by the beautiful middle-aged woman, who asked with furrowed brows, "Taishi Ran, is this the Pavilion Master's intention, or your own?"
Taishi Ran did not give a direct answer: "You could consider it my intention, or you could consider it the Pavilion Master's."
With that, he drew a bagua instrument plate engraved with intricate formations from his Sumeru ring, speaking unhurriedly: "Though the Pavilion Master did not instruct me explicitly, she gave me this."
"The Lingtian Instrument?"
The old man narrowed his turbid eyes. "If I recall, that item is used to inspect the roots and bones of mortals, searching for the exceptionally gifted."
"Indeed, but that is only one of its uses."
Taishi Ran shook his head and lowered his voice: "This secret treasure's other function is to detect those who possess the Heavenly Yan divine soul. It is a divine artifact used by past Pavilion Masters to monitor the Saintess and Holy Son."
The fat man spoke with solemn gravity, "What do you mean by that?"
Taishi Ran chuckled softly, his smile gentle: "The Saintess passed the Heavenly Yan Divine Soul Chapter to that blood relative of Xu Yinhe, and the Pavilion Master handed this artifact to me. Brother Zhou, what do you think the Pavilion Master intends?"
Chapter 370