Arrival

The sea of fog surged. The young woman descending from the heavens held a radiant golden divine light in her eyes. The majestic Source Qi overflowing around her whipped at her black-and-white, waist-cinched luxurious robes, making her appear like an immortal maiden descending into the mortal dust. Looking up from where he stood, as the astral winds whipped about, one could catch occasional glimpses beneath the hem of her skirt of her fair, flawless bare legs and feet. Faced with the interrogation of this washboard Saintess, Xu Yuan very naturally took a step forward, putting some distance between himself and Xia Qing beside him. Meeting her slightly chilly gaze, he smiled and said, "I was just wondering where to look for you, and here you are..." "Xu Changtian." Tianyan's emotionless voice cut him off directly. "I asked you: why are you with this woman?" "..." His attempt to change the subject having failed, Xu Yuan froze for a fleeting moment, though without showing the slightest panic. What a joke—even if he really had an affair with this auntie beside him, he could talk his way past this washboard, let alone now when they were completely innocent and had nothing going on between them. Pondering for a moment, Xu Yuan looked up at Tianyan suspended beneath the mist of the sky, stroked his chin, and grinned. "Are you concerned about my private life?" "Don't play dumb with me!" Tianyan's willow brows shot up, her voice carrying a tinge of vexation. "Xu Changtian, don't forget there's a limit to thinking with your lower half! Three days ago, this woman wanted us dead!" "..." Hearing this, a flicker of surprise passed through Xu Yuan's long, narrow phoenix eyes. This washboard Saintess wasn't acting jealous; she was worried for his safety. After all, considering the Bellsound Black Domain Xia Qing had displayed earlier, if he didn't have the enhancement of Tianyan's Heavenly Eye divine art, he would most likely lose all ability to resist the instant he was caught within it. Thinking of this, Xu Yuan already had his response prepared. Chuckling softly, he sent a voice transmission: "What are you worried about? Haven't you experienced my methods yourself?" "..." Tianyan blinked, a faint blush rising on her cheeks. The so-called "methods" naturally meant drugging. At the very beginning, she had been tortured by this bastard to the brink of ecstasy and death... Then again, the Charm God cherry poison paired with this bastard's Dao Charm, combined with his meticulous mind, wouldn't make controlling a person too perilous... Thinking this far, Tianyan felt somewhat relieved, but no sooner had her brows relaxed than they furrowed again. Her divine soul swept over the red-robed young matron below, and her golden eyes immediately narrowed halfway. Prolonged illness makes the patient a physician. Having been tormented without cease by the Charm God cherry poison for seven years, she instantly recognized the woman's condition. Source Qi sealed, intent-soul disrupted. In other words, once the charm poison flared up, this woman had absolutely no power to resist... Her heart tightening slightly, Tianyan subtly swept her radiant golden eyes over the two below. He hadn't changed clothes, and his attire appeared fairly neat. As for this woman... Hmm? Why were this old crone's clothes different from what she wore before? Her heart trembled. Tianyan's fists clenched beneath her sleeves. She instinctively wanted to lose her temper, yet the words caught in her throat, not knowing where to begin. She had no standing. She possessed no status that allowed her to interfere in his private life or vent the discontent in her heart. Biting her lip, Tianyan let out a cold humph. "Fine methods indeed. I just never expected our Eldest Young Master Xu would still have such leisurely elegance in the depths of such a crisis, keeping a woman like this by his side. Over these past three days, I suppose it hasn't just been 'three days'?" The girl's voice was like clear water rippling across a secluded pool, yet by the end, she sounded as if she were speaking through gritted teeth. Well, she was jealous after all. Seeing her awkward, sulking expression, Xu Yuan instinctively wanted to tease her a bit, but held himself back. The timing wasn't right. They were still trapped in a perilous situation; it was hardly the place for flirting and banter. At the very least, they needed to deal with that yin ghost down below first. With this in mind, Xu Yuan gave a soft chuckle, tapped his foot, and rose beside Tianyan, reaching out to wrap an arm around her slender waist. Smack! Unsurprisingly, his hand was slapped away. Tianyan glared at him coldly, but framed by her exquisite, breathtaking features, it looked rather adorable. Xu Yuan leaned a little closer, beaming as he gazed at Tianyan's small face. "Hey... am I really that twisted in your mind?" Tianyan cast him a sidelong glance and said neither warmly nor coldly, "A taste for married women—I recall a certain someone seemed awfully excited when mentioning that term back then." "..." After a moment of silence, Xu Yuan stopped beating around the bush and said frankly, "After we fled in separate directions last time, I turned back and reached a cooperation with Xia Qing and Tang Ruofu. Beyond that, there is absolutely nothing between her and me." Hearing this, the jealousy in Tianyan's eyes vanished in an instant. Her beautiful eyes widened as she demanded sharply, "Xu Changtian, have you gone mad? You should have already witnessed Tang Ruofu's Dao domain! Under those circumstances, how could you dare turn back?!" "Heh..." Listening to her scolding, a warmth actually welled up deep in Xu Yuan's eyes. When a girl truly loved you, your safety outweighed everything—even lingering suspicions of infidelity. He hadn't told Tianyan about the plan to persuade Tang Ruofu and Xia Qing. Having spent seven years together, he knew her disposition all too well. Perhaps influenced by the Heaven-Deducing Art's ability to deduce the future, Tianyan had always been one to act only after planning was complete, holding utter abhorrence for high-risk gambles. Back when Tang Ruofu had displayed overwhelming, crushing strength, Tianyan would never have tolerated him taking such a risk. Raising his arms, he pulled the young woman directly into his embrace, and this time Tianyan did not resist. Gently stroking Tianyan's sleek, long black hair, Xu Yuan chuckled softly. "Don't worry, didn't it succeed in the end—hiss! Why are you pinching me?!" Tianyan's hand showed no mercy as she pinched the soft flesh of his waist. Biting her lower lip, she glared at him with resentment in her eyes. "Xu Yuan, why do you always take matters into your own hands without asking?! It was like this in Jiuyan City, like this at Huaiming Cliff, and now you're still doing it!" Xu Yuan's expression twisted in pain. "Ow, ow! Let go first! Wait—no, at least hear me explain!" Seeing this bastard's agonized look, a wave of satisfaction washed over Tianyan. A smile tugged at her lips as she twisted the flesh of his waist a full three hundred and sixty degrees. "Sure. Once you finish explaining, I'll let go." "Hiss—Tianyan, are you out of your f—ahem, all right, here's how it happened..." "..." "..." In the frost-covered forest draped in sub-zero cold, for a time only Xu Yuan's intermittent explanations echoed. By the time the entire story had been laid bare, the time it took to drink a cup of tea had passed. Xu Yuan's face was flushed red with pain, while Tianyan's small face was completely placid. This washboard Saintess hadn't held back in the slightest. Not only had she channeled Source Qi, it felt as though she had secretly used the Heaven Character True Words as well. "...And then Tang Ruofu went to assassinate that Saintess. That's essentially it. Can you let go now?" "Humph." Tianyan gave a soft humph and pulled her hand back from his waist. After thinking for a moment, she suddenly asked again, "So, over these past three days, nothing happened between you and that woman down there?" "What?!" Xu Yuan rubbed the bruised, purplish flesh on his waist and snapped in annoyance, "If you want to know, go ask her yourself." Hearing this, Tianyan glanced toward Xia Qing below with her golden eyes. The moment their eyes met, Xia Qing's gaze turned sultry. Biting her lip, she averted her eyes with a blushing face. "..." Xu Yuan. Seriously, auntie, your husband's life or death is still up in the air right now, and you're in the mood to pull this stunt? Cursing internally, Xu Yuan directly retorted aloud: "Tianyan, if you don't believe me, just strip this big sister bare and inspect her yourself. It's not like she can resist anyway." "..." Xia Qing. "Enough, hold your tongue," Tianyan said with a sigh, keeping her voice low. "Since you've already reached a cooperation, stop tormenting this big sister." Having heard what transpired, she had already realized what Xu Yuan intended to do. If the plan succeeded, not only could it incapacitate an Overseeing Heaven Pavilion Saintess, but it would also add a pair of "Jinghe and Yuchu" being hunted by the Overseeing Heaven Pavilion to the world, drawing some of the Pavilion's attention away from them. If it failed, they would simply dispose of Xia Qing without incurring any risk. With that, Tianyan glanced at Xu Yuan and said softly, "Xu Yuan, go deal with that yin ghost down there." "Why don't you go?" Xu Yuan rolled his eyes, still harboring a grudge over the pinch. Seeing this, amusement danced in Tianyan's eyes as she said, "Over the past three days, I've encountered seven high-tier yin ghosts. The Source Qi I exhausted has left me barely able to suppress the charm poison in my body. If you'd like to drag around two burdens—both Xia Qing and me—I wouldn't mind making a move." Hearing her half-joking words, a solemn gleam passed through the depths of Xu Yuan's eyes. Compared to cultivators of the same rank, yin ghosts were generally a cut below in strength. However, unlike cultivators who could only comprehend a Dao domain upon reaching the Transcendent Realm, yin ghosts developed their own ghost domains upon advancing to the equivalent level of a cultivator's Grandmaster realm. Because of this, the most troublesome part of dealing with a high-tier yin ghost wasn't how to kill it, but how to drag its true form out of its ghost domain. Yet beneath the "wallhack" of Tianyan's Heavenly Eye divine soul, a yin ghost's true form had nowhere to hide. Even with such an advantage, Tianyan had still exhausted a massive amount of Source Qi to engage them. Those seven yin ghosts... were likely all at the Origin Realm level. Encountering a high-tier yin ghost once in the outer reaches of Zhujian Valley could be written off as a coincidence, but an occurrence happening seven times in a row was certainty. Thinking this, Xu Yuan slowly drew the three-foot azure-bladed sword from his Sumeru ring. He was now certain that because of something they carried, he and Tianyan had been targeted by some entity in the deepest depths of Zhujian Valley. In fact, that entity might have already been watching them from the shadows for quite some time... The thought flashed through his mind, and Xu Yuan stepped through the void, vanishing from the spot and kicking up a gust of wind against the ground. When he reappeared, he was already before the true form of the yin ghost that had taken a strike from the "Slash" True Word. To the naked eye, this was a humanoid mist creature. Yet when swept with intent-soul, its appearance shifted completely, turning ferocious and terrifying. Just like its ghost domain, this yin ghost possessed long hair and a featureless face, its entire body encrusted in ice crystals. Its skin, resembling frozen ice sculptures, took on a livid purplish-blue hue, while its withered limbs were twisted and deformed. Judging by its aura, it was not particularly strong, somewhere between Master and Origin Realm, and Tianyan's "Slash" True Word had clearly withered its aura substantially. Only when Xu Yuan drew his sword did the yin ghost belatedly let out a screech of rage and lunge at him. The surging chill and the ink-splash sword light sweeping through the air intertwined for a fraction of a second, raising ripples of a cold wave before instantly subsiding into silence. Without the slightest power to resist, this high-tier yin ghost—resembling a frozen corpse—had its throat pierced by Xu Yuan's single strike, pinned dead to the ground. Curiously, however, even though its neck was impaled by the three-foot azure blade, the yin ghost had still not lost its ability to move. Seeing this, Xu Yuan's brows furrowed slightly. The next moment, Xia Qing's warning voice drifted down faintly from a branch in midair: "Jinghe, high-tier yin ghosts do not have lethal organs like the human cultivator's sea of consciousness or dantian. If you want to kill them completely, the only way is to disperse their soul entirely." As her words fell, "Heh-hahaha..." Accompanied by a chilling, sinister chuckle, the yin ghost pinned through the neck on the ground suddenly moved. With a squelch, the yin ghost moved its body half a foot to the left of its own accord. Its cervical spine was instantly severed by the sharp blade, half its neck cleaved open, its head slumping sideways with only a few strands of flesh connecting head to torso. Watching this gory and uncanny scene, Xu Yuan didn't hesitate for a moment. He slashed his blade violently downward through its neck. Infused with Source Qi, the three-foot azure blade sliced through the yin ghost like a hot knife through tofu, cleaving it in two. Black blood and decayed viscera splattered across the ground, yet even so, this yin ghost did not lose its mobility. Its two halves swarmed like maggots onto Xu Yuan's razor-sharp azure blade. Frowning slightly, Xu Yuan released his grip on the hilt, tapped his foot, and leaped backward. Never let a yin ghost touch your body—this was a rather obscure piece of common knowledge. As soul bodies coalesced from negative emotions, if yin ghosts were allowed to make physical contact, one's intent-soul could easily be corrupted by those emotions. Commonly known as ghost transformation. Having put distance between them, Xu Yuan circulated his Source Qi. His qi signature surged violently, and a blaze of flame swept up from the azure blade he had released. Jinghe's Pure Yang Physique in a sense exerted a restraining effect on yin ghosts. The searing flames belonging to the Pure Yang Physique leaped and danced across the azure blade, spreading in an instant onto the soul body of this ice-encrusted yin ghost. The twisted, bizarre laughter it had been emitting abruptly turned into a shrill wail of agony. In mere breaths of combat, the half-step Origin Realm yin ghost was already drawing its final breaths. Once its ghost domain was broken and its true body exposed, a yin ghost—nightmarish and terrifying to mortals—was nothing more than a plaything in the hands of a cultivator of equal rank. With such fatal flaws, it was no wonder that in later generations these yin ghosts would be reduced to livestock bred and raised by the human race. With these thoughts in mind, Xu Yuan vanished from the spot once more with a flash step, returning to Tianyan and Xia Qing's side, watching the yin ghost struggling amidst the scorching flames below. At that moment, Xia Qing spoke again: "Jinghe, Tianyan, let us leave this place for now." "What?" Xu Yuan asked in bewilderment, pointing at the azure blade stuck in the yin ghost's body. "I haven't retrieved my sword yet." A hint of a smile touched Xia Qing's eyes as she explained softly, "My Yaoyue Sect has dealt with these yin ghosts for centuries. Before a high-tier yin ghost is destroyed, it releases a potent wave of negative emotion that permanently corrupts and alters the temperament of surrounding creatures. This emotion might be fear, bloodlust, or even lust." Hearing this, Xu Yuan immediately turned his gaze toward Tianyan. [You killed so many of them earlier, why didn't you tell me this?] Tianyan looked calm and indifferent, giving a light snort. "I didn't know. That sort of thing doesn't work on me." Figures, the Heaven-Deducing Art again. The corner of Xu Yuan's mouth twitched, though he now somewhat understood why the Overseeing Heaven Pavilion was unwilling to purge the massive ghost mist of Zhujian Valley. Killing them yielded zero rewards and inflicted a permanent debuff. With a sigh, Xu Yuan glanced at the three-foot azure blade he had used for several years and murmured, "Let's get out of here first. We'll come back to fetch it in a bit..." "..." Before he could finish, his words ground to a halt. The air seemed to freeze. Xu Yuan suddenly discovered a slender, graceful figure in a black dress appearing beside the yin ghost. Her appearance was jarringly abrupt. Under the gazes of the three, the black-dressed woman strolled languidly to the side of the yin ghost on the verge of soul scattering. In one fluid motion, she drew out the azure blade, twirling and inspecting it in her hand for a few moments. Then, holding the blade, she slowly turned her eyes back toward them. A pair of golden pupils. Radiant golden pupils identical to Tianyan's. Gazing at Xu Yuan standing on a branch a hundred zhang away, Tianye smiled brightly. "Jinghe, shall I bring it over for you?"