Urgency

As the sole premier commercial thoroughfare in Huizhou County, Pinghuai Street boasted the county's finest brothels and taverns, its best weapon smithies, and even apothecary shops catering specifically to cultivators with medicinal pills. While the cultivation wares peddled here were far inferior in quality to those sold by the major merchant guilds, they were more than sufficient for the martial wanderers scraping by in the jianghu. In a Huizhou County governed by no curfew, Pinghuai Street served as the prime gathering ground for martial apprentices, cultivators, and visiting scions of the gentry alike—the county’s greatest den of indulgence. Here unfolded romantic ballads of chivalric wanderers flying into a rage for a beauty, as well as rumors of noble playboys squandering hundreds of taels of silver in a single night merely to win a courtesan’s smile. Two quarters of an hour earlier, before the dawn broke across the sky and before the upheaval began, Pinghuai Street had been as bustling as ever, contrasting sharply with the silence elsewhere in the county. Patrons who had spent the night in drunken reverie and debauchery emerged from the brothels, parting with laughter and banter. Resupply wagons rattled incessantly along the stone roadway, while disciplined, early-rising wanderers were already enjoying the day's first meal inside lavishly decorated taverns. Among the morning diners, an elder clad in opulent robes and a stunning, aristocratic woman sat quietly by a second-floor window of a tavern, watching the pedestrians stream past below. They made a strange pairing, as both wore iron masks carved with uncanny, weeping faces. Yet strangely enough, not a single soul around them spared them a glance. After watching for a long time, the elder withdrew his gaze and murmured with apparent wistfulness, "Having secluded myself in our sect for so many years, stepping into this mortal dust to take in the flavor of common life truly carries a unique charm. Still, the worldly customs have shifted quite a bit since I was young. These low-ranking martial apprentices seem to be everywhere now." The middle-aged noblewoman remained silent, her tranquil gaze peering through the eyeholes of the iron mask toward the firmament outside without uttering a word. Seeing that she offered no reply, the elder seemed to know what she was brooding over. In a raspy, muffled voice, he said, "Daoist Fu, now that we have already set foot in this domain, there is no use looking back in hesitation. Though this venture is perilous, Fairy Luo is here with us. As long as we proceed according to plan, that Xu Changtian should not be able to stir up any real storm." The striking woman snapped out of her reverie and looked across the wooden table at the elder, her voice soft and cool. "Since I have already come this far, I harbor no reservations. I merely find it peculiar why Lou Ji was left entirely to Fairy Luo alone." Their plan had actually been quite straightforward. They were split into three groups: the woman surnamed Luo was responsible for holding off Lou Ji; she and the withered elder were tasked with locating Jing Tingxi's daughter; while Taishi Ran and Fatty Zhou searched the county for Xu Changtian's whereabouts. It seemed sensible on the surface, but in truth, it was not. The linchpin to the entire assassination's success or failure lay in eliminating the Commander-in-Chief of the Black Scale Guards. With that thought in mind, the middle-aged woman gazed once more toward the sky. "The five of us came together—would it not have been far better to encircle and slay that woman collectively? The Prime Minister's Manor's reinforcements have yet to arrive. As long as Lou Ji dies, that Xu Changtian will be fish on a chopping block." The withered elder let out a low chuckle, his voice distorted by the Wailing Iron Mask into a plaintive wail. "Daoist Fu, Lou Ji is no ordinary cultivator. Besieging her carries far too much risk." Beneath the iron mask, the woman's willow-leaf brows knit slightly. Having spent years in the Southern Border, she knew little about this notorious commander of the Black Scale Guards. "Are you saying that our four Transcendent Realm experts and one Semi-Saint cannot encircle and kill her?" The withered elder shook his head, speaking in a leisurely tone. "It is not that we cannot bring her down, but that the woman excels in poison and possesses an exceptionally bizarre Dao domain. Our cultivations are inferior to hers, making it exceedingly easy to fall into her traps. Having Fairy Luo pin her down alone is by far the safest course of action." The woman's eyes flickered behind her mask, and she released a soft breath. "You all are far too cautious." The withered elder scoffed softly, unbothered, and smiled. "Carefulness can sail a ship for ten thousand years. Whenever Lou Ji strikes, she almost never leaves survivors. We cannot afford not to be on guard..." Before his words could finish, an immense surge of qi erupted from the county yamen at the heart of Huizhou County, instantly drawing the gaze of both toward the origin of the disturbance. There, a beam of purple light had shot into the air. To keep their presence concealed, neither had channeled their cultivation techniques, and thus the light vanished from their sight the very moment it appeared. Immediately following that, a world-dimming beam cleaved through the void and swept across the firmament over Huizhou County! At the sight, the two seated by the tavern window fell silent for a moment. The withered elder chuckled. "Daoist Fu, Fairy Luo has made her move. We may begin as well." The woman frowned and pointed upward toward the sky. "Lou Ji seems to have hurled someone down. That... should be Xu Changtian, correct?" Having witnessed the scene himself, the elder countered with a light laugh, "Indeed. But can you pinpoint where he landed?" "..." The middle-aged woman replayed the visual carefully in her mind. Just now, she had indeed seen a figure thrown from the sky by Lou Ji, but that person had been enveloped by a hallucinatory qi. Even with her cultivation, she could not determine his point of impact. Judging by that qi signature, it seemed to be... a Dao domain? The instant the thought occurred to her, her heart skipped a beat. Looking across at the withered elder, she asked, "That qi signature just now, was it..." "It should be Lou Ji's Dao domain," the elder answered with a light chuckle. "Quite terrifying, is it not? That is the true might of the Black Scale Guards' commander." "..." The woman offered no retort. At this moment, she finally understood why Taishi Ran had chosen to let only the woman surnamed Luo engage Lou Ji. Lou Ji's mastery of the Dao domain completely upended common understanding. A Dao domain was the hallmark of the Transcendent Realm and the very root of its might; once unleashed, a cultivator was practically invincible within its perimeter. Yet the Dao domain had a fatal flaw: it centered on the cultivator and covered a minuscule radius. For pinnacle experts in the Transcendent Realm and Origin Realm, fleeing beyond that boundary was a matter of an instant. Yet Lou Ji was actually capable of directly casting her Dao domain onto another person's body from afar... If the woman were to face Lou Ji, the moment Lou Ji cast that ghostly technique over her while keeping her distance, she would be reduced to a sitting duck, taking a one-sided beating. Clashes between Transcendent Realm cultivators were essentially contests of Dao domain mastery. Her own Dao domain could not reach Lou Ji due to distance, while Lou Ji's Dao domain could be placed directly over her body... How could anyone fight that? A confrontation between an ordinary Transcendent Realm cultivator and Lou Ji was nothing short of an absolute slaughter. Gripped by inward dread, the middle-aged woman abruptly snapped her head up toward the southern sky. Thinking of the woman surnamed Luo currently locked in combat with Lou Ji, a note of worry crept into her voice. "Fairy Luo..." The withered elder lightly tapped his fingers against the wooden tabletop and said in a heavy voice, "Enough. Now is not the time to fret over Fairy Luo. As a Semi-Saint expert, she naturally possesses her own methods. Since things have started over there, we cannot delay any further." At this point, the withered elder offered a slight smirk. "Daoist Fu, you and Jing Tingxi were quite close back in the day. Extending that affection to his kin, wouldn't you wish to find his daughter sooner?" Reining in her wandering thoughts and hearing the mockery in his tone, the woman let out a cold huff. "You talk too much nonsense." The withered elder chuckled dryly and slowly pushed himself up from the table. "The sooner we find that girl, the sooner we can go and lend a hand." The woman rose as well, her slender fingers trailing over the polished wooden table as she asked, "Though Huizhou County is small, it remains a county seat. Shall we channel our arts and scour it directly with our intent-souls?" The withered elder pondered briefly, cast a glance toward the two women clashing high in the firmament, and gently shook his head. "Right now, Lou Ji and Fairy Luo should still be probing one another. Lou Ji surely has attention to spare on the city below. You saw her methods just now; we had best remain discreet for now so as not to let her sense our qi." A trace of contemplation surfaced in the woman's eyes as she murmured, "That is sensible. If so, do we head to the county yamen first, or the Exotic Beast Bureau?" The county yamen and the Exotic Beast Bureau—one was where Lou Ji had stayed this morning, while the other was where their black eagle pavilion was stationed. Both stood a chance of being the place where Jing Xuelan was imprisoned. While they still needed to maintain secrecy, the two could inspect both locations first. After a moment's reflection, the elder said in a low voice, "We shall go to the Exotic Beast Bureau first. Jing Xuelan's cultivation is formidable; the common dungeon of Huizhou County would hardly suffice to hold her." "Without delay, then. Let us move." As the most luxurious flying apparatus of the Tian'an Chamber of Commerce, the black eagle pavilion bristled with countless warding seals, and the secret chamber at its lowest level was reinforced with a temporary restriction laid by Lou Ji. Yet to two Transcendent Realm experts like the withered elder and the middle-aged woman, seals of such caliber might as well have not existed. The two strode unchallenged to the door of the deepest secret chamber of the black eagle pavilion. The instant they stepped inside, their eyes locked onto a young woman clad only in a breast wrap and undergarments atop a stone table at the center. Ethereal and fair as an immortal, she lay unconscious with eyes closed, quiet as a maiden at rest, her limbs bound in iron chains. Beholding the scene, the withered elder did not step forward at once. Instead, he turned to the woman beside him and asked, "Is this girl Jing Xuelan?" Looking at the young woman, a trace of reminiscence surfaced in her eyes, accompanied by an intricate tone. "She should be. Her brow and eyes bear some resemblance to that person." Hearing her complex sentiment, the withered elder's tone took on a hint of amusement. "Heh, you remember him quite vividly indeed. It has been several decades since you and Jing Tingxi..." "Spare me your sarcastic banter." The woman shot him a cold backward glance. "Rather than spouting nonsense, you would do better to check whether that woman Lou Ji left behind any contingencies here." The withered elder gave a genial chuckle. "Ah, in life, there are always one or two people one can never forget. This old man understands you." As he spoke, his expression turned grave as he swept his gaze across the chamber. Before long, his eyes settled on the untidied bottles and jars, his murky gaze narrowing involuntarily. "Was that woman Lou Ji testing medicine on Jing Xuelan?" Observing more keenly, the middle-aged woman immediately noticed the red brand etched against Jing Xuelan's snow-white skin. Her brows drew together slightly as she warned, "Old man, that mark beneath Jing Xuelan's neck... looks like the red-spot plague that broke out in the Northern Border recently." "..." The withered elder's pupils contracted violently. News of the horrific plague spreading through the Northern Border could never escape high-ranking figures of the sects. After all, this plague that stripped people of their sanity had inflicted substantial losses upon them as well. Moreover, because no reports had emerged of Transcendent Realm experts contracting it, he could not be certain whether such an uncanny, contagious plague was effective against them. Still, carefulness kept the ship afloat. A heavy silence hung in the cramped, quiet chamber for a while before the withered elder spoke again, vigilance stark in his eyes. "As I recall, there is currently no cure for this plague." Beneath her mask, the woman pressed her red lips together and murmured, "You said it yourself—currently. Besides, you saw Fairy Luo's reaction earlier. We must give her an explanation." The withered elder let out a faint sigh. "Very well. Guard my flank. I shall probe the area with my Dao domain to see if it is safe. If it is, we will relocate her temporarily." With those words, a scorching flame flared in the elder's murky eyes, and the temperature inside the cold, dry chamber spiked drastically, as if an invisible inferno had enveloped the entire room. The stillness lasted only an instant before the anomaly arrived right on schedule. A sinister aura began radiating outward, centered on Jing Xuelan... Seeing this, no panic showed in the elder's eyes as he remarked, "That woman Lou Ji is indeed meticulous. She truly left a trap here." "Can it be neutralized?" "She left a Dao domain inside Jing Xuelan's body. If someone touched the girl unguarded, even the two of us would likely fall prey to it. But now..." The elder chuckled, his hands forming an incantation seal. "Her true body is far off in the heavens. The Dao domain formed from this meager scrap of leftover qi is nothing more than rootless duckweed. It cannot harm me in the least." Even as he spoke, the searing heat reminiscent of a molten purgatory surged toward the bizarre aura seeping from around Jing Xuelan! Returning to the present. "Join this old man and strike together, all of you!!" The withered elder's lunatic laughter echoed across the county seat, the flames clinging to his wrinkled hands burning hot enough to warp the very space around them. "Jing Xuelan has been found! All four of us need to do now is destroy this city and flush out Xu Changtian, and everything will be over! Hahahaha!" Crazed cackles resounded without end as the flames in his hands were hurled continuously toward the city below. With every bloom of flame that crashed down, an explosive blast roared within Huizhou County, amidst the relentless weeping and shrieks of ordinary mortals. Faced with a catastrophe wrought by an expert of this caliber, an instantaneous, painless death had become the kindest possible fate for common folk. High in the air, far from the churning epicenter of the inferno, the once-dignified noblewoman now cut a somewhat disheveled figure. Scorched by the blaze, the sleeves and waist of her elaborate court dress were torn and charred. Her pale, lotus-root-like arms and voluptuous waist were exposed, stinging pain from light burns constantly flaring across her flesh. The withered elder's technique struck indiscriminately, and the Three Yang True Flame he cultivated prevented her cultivation method from instantly mending her injuries. Yet at this moment, the woman had no leisure to attend to these minor wounds. Incessant rumbles and raging flames dyed the firmament crimson. Beneath the Wailing Iron Mask, the woman glared fixedly at the deranged elder not far off, her gentle countenance dark with fury. Watching the raving lunatic, thoughts raced through her mind as she frantically weighed her options. When entering the black eagle pavilion, they had exercised ample caution regarding any trap Lou Ji might have left, yet the elder had still inevitably succumbed. Just as the elder had exerted his qi, about to completely disperse the Dao domain Lou Ji had left inside Jing Xuelan, a pink flash of light had detonated within the cramped secret chamber... Charm God Cherry Blossom. That venomous woman Lou Ji had concealed Charm God cherry poison within the Dao domain! The Charm God cherry poison refined by Lou Ji was nothing like what an amateur Soul Condensation cultivator like Xu Yuan could muster. The instant it erupted, the aphrodisiac poison had surged backward along the elder's deployed Dao domain into his physical body, plunging him into a momentary daze. The woman had immediately attempted to rescue him, trying to use her Source Qi to yank him out of the pink aura's reach, but she had failed. The moment her Source Qi brushed against the pink glow, the poison had instantly clung to it and surged toward her own body. Had she not retreated, her mind would have been corroded by the poison, trapping her there as well. Just before fleeing the chamber, she had caught sight of Jing Xuelan on the stone slab slowly stirring from her slumber—and those opening, beautiful eyes had been filled entirely with murderous intent and madness... By the time she saw him again, the elder had descended into absolute frenzy. "Bastard!" The woman could not help but let out a sharp cry of fury, a spherical arc of light swiftly condensing in her hand. The withered elder was completely insane now, and their plan was entirely ruined. She had to make an immediate decision. Whether to slay the mad elder on the spot, or follow his lead to make the best of a bad situation, razing the county below to flush out Xu Changtian. Just as the thought surfaced, a hushed voice transmission rang directly within her mind. "Daoist Fu, what happened to Old Man Tian?" It was Taishi Ran. Huizhou County was only so large; with such an enormous commotion erupting here, Taishi Ran and Fatty Zhou had naturally noticed it. Yet the two had not lost their composure to reveal themselves directly, opting instead to scout the situation via voice transmission first. Hearing Taishi Ran's transmission, the woman temporarily suppressed her murderous urge and briefly recounted what had just transpired. Taishi Ran's decision came almost in an instant, ruthless and simple: "Go rescue Jing Xuelan first. Pay no heed to Old Man Tian—let him massacre the city to flush Xu Changtian out. "Matters have reached this stage; we can only push him forward as our scapegoat. With his cultivation, he can level Huizhou County in the span of a cup of tea. Once we kill Xu Changtian, we will join hands to put him down." "..." Hearing this, hesitation flickered through the woman's eyes. The Fenglan Sect backing Old Man Tian possessed considerable clout; acting this way was equivalent to casting the Fenglan Sect aside as an abandoned pawn. Yet soon enough, she chose to heed Taishi Ran's advice. In the current predicament, this was the only viable path—the only way to minimize the Overseeing Heaven Pavilion's losses. Casting a deep glance at the demonic elder slaughtering commoners in the sky, the woman flashed into motion, hurtling directly toward the location of the black eagle pavilion below... The withered elder's madness had transformed Huizhou County into a living purgatory in an instant. Amidst the chaotic streets where pedestrians wept and fled in terror, a carriage sat quietly parked by the roadside. Peering through the window, Xu Yuan felt his thoughts churning in turmoil. The unfolding scene had caught him off guard, his plans disrupted once more by shifting circumstances. Yet his customary rationality quickly steadied him, allowing him to rapidly reorganize his next course of action. First, he had clearly heard the elder's voice thundering through the heavens. The assailants were here to assassinate him, and they sought Jing Xuelan. From that single detail, Xu Yuan could already confirm the identity of the black-gowned woman. The Grand Elder of the secluded Luo clan, one of the confidantes of the Burial Village chief, one of original protagonist Qin Mo's benefactors and future mothers-in-law in *Cangyuan*—Luo Bingli. At this thought, Xu Yuan subconsciously glanced down at the Blood God Stone jade pendant against his chest. He wondered if this woman surnamed Luo was related to his sworn sister. This assassination had been initiated by the Overseeing Heaven Pavilion, and ten thousand years ago, the Luo surname had been one of the seven clans of the Overseeing Heaven Pavilion. The stray thought flashed by, and Xu Yuan promptly suppressed it. Such matters were trivial right now. What mattered was that in *Cangyuan*, Luo Bingli was the biological mother of Jing Xuelan, one of the main heroines. From this angle, his choice to return to the black eagle pavilion to look for Jing Xuelan had been the right move. As long as he held Jing Xuelan hostage, Luo Bingli would hesitate to act rashly for fear of harming her. Just as he was to Xu Changge, his father, and his maternal uncle. Rubbing his temples firmly, Xu Yuan cast another glance at the crazed elder raging in the sky. Though he did not know the details, the elder had likely fallen into his older sister Lou Ji's trap and become infected by that dreadful plague carried by Jing Xuelan. Still, judging by his behavior, he had not entirely lost his mind. After all, had he been thoroughly consumed by the plague that turned people into pure hedonists, he would not be obsessing over killing Xu Yuan right now—he would have run off seeking amusement long ago. Yet judging by his declaration of "all four of us," there were at least three more assassins lurking in the shadows... "Third Young Master." Amidst his contemplation, Qianxi's voice suddenly drifted into the carriage, laden with anxiety. "If this continues, His Highness will soon be in grave danger." At her words, Xu Yuan's heart tightened slightly. The only card he currently held was this Qianxi, whom he had borrowed from Li Junqing. If she ran back to protect Li Junqing, he could only pray that his sister in the sky held out or that his uncle arrived quickly... After all, those bastards from the Overseeing Heaven Pavilion were paying immense respect to his status as the Calamity of the World. Deploying four Transcendent Realm experts and one Semi-Saint just to assassinate a mere Soul Condensation cultivator. Even Xu Changge had probably never enjoyed such treatment. With his heart pounding slightly faster, Xu Yuan spoke up, "I know. Qianxi, how many qi signatures can you detect over by the Exotic Beast Bureau?" "Two, both in the Transcendent Realm," Qianxi replied crisply. "And it seems they have already traded blows." Xu Yuan narrowed his eyes. "Including Grandmasters. Are you certain you can only sense two qi signatures?" Qianxi did not comprehend the reason behind his question, but she still answered in a low voice, "To answer the Young Master, this concubine is certain there are only two Transcendent Realm cultivators over there." Hearing this, Xu Yuan steeled his resolve, took a deep breath, and gritted his teeth. "Take me to the county's Exotic Beast Bureau immediately!" "What?" Qianxi's voice hitched. "I said, take me to the Exotic Beast Bureau!" "..." Qianxi hesitated. "Third Young Master, may this concubine ask the reason?" Xu Yuan's answer was blunt. "There is someone there who can make the Semi-Saint pinning down my sister hesitate. Only by securing her do we stand a chance of breaking this dead end!" "Are you certain?" "In a life-or-death crisis like this, who can be a hundred percent certain?! Only by doing this do we have a chance to survive, and the same goes for your prince!" "..." Qianxi fell silent. She had naturally heard the elder's words earlier. Aside from the black-gowned Semi-Saint woman and that elder, three terrifying entities of the same rank as her lurked in the shadows within Huizhou County. An assassination of this scale had already exceeded her wildest imagination. After a heartbeat of silence, Qianxi's slender silhouette materialized inside the carriage without warning. Uttering no further word, she calmly reached out her delicate hands to encircle the man's waist. Since His Highness had commanded her to obey this Third Young Master, she would follow his orders. In a flash, both figures vanished from the carriage, leaving behind only the curtain fluttering softly in the wake of the stirred breeze... Under the full-force rampage of a Transcendent Realm expert, a quarter of the vast Huizhou County had been laid to waste in a short span of time. The area surrounding the Exotic Beast Bureau in the south was the worst-hit disaster zone; for li around, an ocean of fire raged, and the foul stench of charred flesh hung thick in the air. Dodging the Three Yang True Flames hurled down by the raving elder, the middle-aged noblewoman arrived once more above the black eagle pavilion. Looking down, astonishment flashed in her eyes. From her high vantage point, she saw two women and one man stepping out from the pavilion onto the massive deck atop the black eagle's back. The man was handsome, dressed in brocade robes, his eyes flickering with a crimson gleam as he glared grimly upward. Beside him stood a woman in crimson attire, holding an unconscious maiden under her arm—none other than Jing Xuelan, who had been locked inside the secret chamber. Yet strangely enough, while her eyes could clearly see them, when she swept the area with her qi, the space registered as completely empty. Standing upon the deck, Xu Yuan gazed calmly at the uninvited guest who had suddenly arrived, though his heart was racing. In the illusion, he had frequently gambled with his life alongside Tianyan merely to survive; he never expected that after returning to reality, as the princeling of the Chancellor's Manor, he would still have to gamble with his life. Meeting the gaze of the woman behind the Wailing Iron Mask for an instant, Xu Yuan parted his lips, his voice amplified by Source Qi to reverberate across the devastated ruins of Huizhou County: "Xu Changtian is here. "To the gentlemen and ladies who came to assassinate me, this young master believes that we can have a talk now."