Discovery

It was not at all surprising that Feng Jiuxuan was the first to return to the manor; the sword strike that had torn the sky asunder had already demonstrated his strength. Even if the higher-ups of the Overseeing Heaven Pavilion had prepared thoroughly, they would not have lasted a single exchange against him, to say nothing of an unheralded assassination. The moment Xu Yuan caught sight of that figure, he quietly took his feet off the table. Not out of fear, but primarily out of respect for an elder. He stood and bowed in greeting. "Uncle." "Uncle." The two quiet greetings echoed softly through the silent hall. After finishing her greeting, Xu Xinyao glanced somewhat oddly at Xu Yuan, who stood beside her as straight as a pine. In the past, even when her Third Brother saw their father at home, he would at most toss out a casual greeting. When had he learned to bow? Before long, however, Xu Xinyao's gaze locked onto the spherical object hanging from Feng Jiuxuan's hand. It was a head. Sacred blonde hair was stained with blood and grime, and the placid expression on his sharply chiseled, godlike visage told that he had departed without suffering the slightest agony. Carrying the head of the Emperor of Sien in that manner, Feng Jiuxuan walked slowly out of the wind and snow and into the brightly lit hall, paying no heed to the two juniors before him. *Thud.* Setting the Emperor of Sien down on the table, Feng Jiuxuan looked at his third nephew, his expression as calm as a placid lake: "Where is your father?" "Ran Jianli has arrived. Father is over there," Xu Yuan replied softly, his eyes scanning back and forth across the Emperor of Sien resting on the table. No blood flowed from the clean cross-section of the neck. It was extraordinarily smooth, standing upright when set upon the flat surface of the table. The sight was somewhat eerie, yet Xu Yuan was already accustomed to such things. The world outside was far from peaceful; even a bleeding-heart saint like Xu Xinyao had grown used to bloodshed during her travels. A severed head was nothing out of the ordinary. He stared at it mainly wondering if this Emperor of Sien might suddenly snap his eyes open and rise from the dead. According to Great Yan's cultivation system, anyone who reached the Origin Realm could survive even if reduced to just a head. As the strongest Saint of Sien, a mere decapitation should not have been fatal either... While Xu Yuan was lost in thought, Feng Jiuxuan was already gazing thoughtfully in the direction of the wetland lake within the Prime Minister's Manor. "I didn't notice Ran Jianli arriving earlier..." "Uncle." Xu Yuan hesitated slightly, interrupting Feng Jiuxuan as he pointed at the Emperor of Sien on the table. "Is he dead?" "He's dead." Hearing this, Feng Jiuxuan glanced back down at the Emperor of Sien, a rare glimmer of admiring amusement appearing in his narrow eyes. "He was formidable, but his body seemed only slightly stronger than that of a mortal." A strange look flitted across Xu Yuan's eyes. Even with Feng Jiuxuan's confirmation, and even though Di'an City had almost been laid to ruin tonight because of this Emperor of Sien, an indescribable sense of strangeness still lingered in his heart. He had been far too reckless. He had witnessed Orenli's shrewdness and cunning; an Emperor of Sien who commanded such awe from that woman shouldn't have been a brute who possessed only martial might. Yet looking at the thoroughly dead head before him, Xu Yuan was at a temporary loss. Right now, it was genuinely hard to tell whether the Emperor of Sien had simply been blinded by hubris or whether he had a contingency in place. This Emperor of Sien held the template of a major final boss, yet shortly after taking the stage, he was slain by Feng Jiuxuan, who possessed an equally monstrous boss template. It was just bizarre. At this thought, Xu Yuan's mind suddenly paused. He realized he had overlooked someone crucial. Where was Orenli? Even though the Emperor of Sien and Feng Jiuxuan had clashed fiercely enough to darken the heavens, Orenli wouldn't have died in the fallout of their battle. Looking up at Feng Jiuxuan, Xu Yuan quickened his pace of speech: "Uncle, where is Orenli?" Feng Jiuxuan, clad in bloodstained white robes, raised an eyebrow at the question and said softly, "At the cost of leaving an opening for a single strike, he teleported that woman away." *She escaped?* Hearing this, Xu Yuan found the situation even stranger. In other words, the Emperor of Sien truly had charged alone into the tiger's den to rescue Orenli. But what on earth could she possess that was worth him sacrificing his life to save her? "..." His mind raced as he tried to piece together these fragmented bits of information, but unfortunately, he failed. There was simply too little information. Though he had a few conjectures, they were baseless without solid ground; he needed more concrete evidence to support them. With that thought, Xu Yuan hesitated no longer. Looking toward Feng Jiuxuan, his gaze turned grave: "Uncle, what about the Emperor of Sien's body? It wasn't destroyed, was it?" Feng Jiuxuan regarded him in silence for a moment, then gave a slight lift of his finger. With a muffled thump, a headless body clad in purple-black robes appeared within the hall. The cut was just as neat, and likewise devoid of any spilled blood. The stark white bone of the cervical vertebrae was clearly visible, along with the flesh and meridians within the neck. Xu Yuan immediately let out a breath of relief. Glancing at the headless body and the bodiless head, Feng Jiuxuan chuckled softly: "Changtian, you mentioned before that the qi cultivated by practitioners from Sien gathers at the heart, so I tried to keep him as intact as possible." "Thank you, Uncle." Xu Yuan nodded and promptly leaned down. While he did not fully understand Sien's cultivation system, his observations of Orenli had yielded a few hypotheses. Now was the time to test them. He wanted to see what was so special about the heart of this Sien spellcaster. Extending his spiritual vision, he directed it toward the Emperor of Sien's body. The moment it made contact, however, his spiritual vision was bounced right off. "..." A jolt of shock ran through him, and Xu Yuan instinctively prepared to flee with Void-Treading Slash. His experience with Luo Xiran's adopted younger sister had already taught him that even in death, a Saint could leave behind plenty of lethal contingencies. A moment later, though, Xu Yuan realized this wasn't a trap left behind by the Emperor of Sien, but rather the purple-black robe he was wearing. Beside him, Xu Xinyao seemed to have noticed as well, her bright eyes carrying a hint of surprise: "Third Brother, this garment can actually ward off souls..." "Ward off souls?" Xu Yuan looked back at her. Xu Xinyao did not reply immediately. Rummaging through her pouch of treasures, she produced a jade pendant carved with a lotus flower before saying softly: "Just like this Azure Lotus Soul Refining Jade." As she spoke, she channeled Source Qi into the jade pendant. As the azure lotus pendant immediately radiated a faint fluorescent glow, Xu Xinyao remained standing right before his eyes, yet her presence began to flicker indistinctly. "The human-skin mask you have also contains similar array patterns, Third Brother." Having said that, Xu Xinyao turned her gaze toward Feng Jiuxuan and ventured, "Though... this robe's soul-warding effect seems to be even stronger." "Indeed," Feng Jiuxuan nodded slightly and spoke up. "Earlier, even my saint origin had difficulty locking onto him. I could only track him with my eyes." *The boss dropped loot.* Xu Yuan froze for a split second, the thought flashing through his mind. Then, catching the excited glint in Xu Xinyao's eyes, the corners of his lips curved up slightly as he said: "It seems Sien's array-pattern craftsmanship has its merits after all. You can examine it thoroughly later, Xinyao." Feng Jiuxuan asked with a touch of concern: "Changtian, if you wish to examine the corpse, do you need me to cut open the robe?" "No need." Xu Yuan answered firmly. Although this purple-black robe had lost its hood and suffered some tears from sword qi during the fight, it could still be used after some repairs. Thinking this, Xu Yuan reached out toward the severed neck of the Emperor of Sien. While the rest of the body was protected by the robe, the cut at the neck was completely exposed. Xu Yuan's fingertips lightly touched the severed neck. Outside in the dark, the wind and snow raged on. Inside the bright hall, all sound fell away, an abrupt silence descending without warning. The inscription lamps in the room dimmed for an instant, and the headless corpse on the floor suddenly moved. The Emperor of Sien's arm, resting flat on the ground, snapped up with lightning speed to clutch at Xu Yuan's head. "..." Feng Jiuxuan's brow arched slightly. In the span of a spark, the dark snow falling outside seemed to freeze for a fraction of a heartbeat. And then— *Plop.* An arm, severed cleanly along with the sleeve of the robe, dropped to the floor and rolled twice before coming to a stop beside Xu Yuan's feet. The inscription lamps flared back to light. Looking down at the severed hand that had landed before him, Xu Yuan's body stiffened. Everything had happened far too fast—so fast that he hadn't even smelled the scent of death. The prickling chill of raised goosebumps finally caught up to him. Xu Yuan looked up at Feng Jiuxuan, his breath tight and his throat bobbing as he swallowed: "Uncle... what just happened?" Standing off to the side, Feng Jiuxuan watched the thoroughly dead corpse for a few breaths. "Continue. I am watching." "..." Xu Yuan fell quiet for a moment, smacked his lips, and chose to trust his uncle. He could butcher you while you were alive; could you really turn the world upside down now that you're dead? The subsequent investigation proceeded without further incident. The golden blood within the Emperor of Sien's body was rather peculiar, seemingly possessing an inherent corrosion toward ordinary intent-souls. However, Xu Yuan's spiritual vision was able to pass through it unimpeded. Seconds turned into minutes. As his probing deepened, Xu Yuan's brow furrowed little by little. Soon, his spiritual vision reached the Emperor of Sien's heart. After Orenli had been captured, Xu Yuan had probed her heart and gained some understanding of the magic rings encircling it, yet when he clearly saw the magic rings around the Emperor of Sien's heart, he still could not help but inhale a sharp breath of cold air. Densely packed annular patterns condensed around it, so numerous that one could hardly count how many loops there were at a single glance. These magic rings did not appear to be mere energy bodies... By the time he withdrew his mind from the Emperor of Sien's corpse, he suddenly noticed another person had appeared in the hall. His father had returned from Ran Jianli's side. "Father." Clad in a black robe, the composed and imposing Xu Yinhe stood beside Xu Yuan, his deep voice quiet: "How is it?" Solemn-faced, Xu Yuan lowered his eyelids in thought for an instant before rising to his feet: "Because I know nothing of array patterns, I cannot speak to the specifics. But the one thing I can confirm is that the magic rings around the Emperor of Sien's heart appear to be physical." At these words, a flicker of surprise surfaced in the eyes of both Xu Yinhe and Feng Jiuxuan. After a brief silence, Xu Yinhe asked, "What about the imperial princess of Sien?" A wry smile tugged at the corner of Xu Yuan's mouth. "The magic rings around Orenli's heart are in an energetic state." Hearing this, Xu Yinhe's placid eyes mirrored contemplation as he murmured softly, "A transformation that comes with advancement?" Xu Yuan shook his head and said quietly, "Rather than a transformation from advancement, I'm inclined to believe Orenli is special. Otherwise, the Emperor of Sien would have had no reason to risk his life to save her." After a moment's pondering, Xu Yinhe shook his head and murmured, "Conjectures without evidence are ultimately hollow." "We could capture that woman again," Xu Yuan suggested quietly. "Given Lou Ji's temperament, she surely planted a tracking mark when that woman was locked in the Black Prison. It has only been an hour; catching up to her shouldn't be difficult." As he spoke, Xu Yuan cast a cautious glance toward Feng Jiuxuan. Xu Yinhe fell silent for a moment before replying softly: "Earlier, I went to speak with her about tonight's events, including that imperial princess of Sien. She did indeed do so, but the mark was dispelled shortly after the fighting broke out." "..." Xu Yuan was stunned for a moment. Earlier, that boy Li Junqing had been played by Orenli in a similar way, but how could a veteran like big sister Lou Ji commit such an amateur mistake? After some consideration, Xu Yuan probed, "Setting aside the difference in cultivation systems, with Orenli's capabilities, she shouldn't have been able to detect Lou Ji's methods, right?" Xu Yinhe nodded and said quietly, "Which is why I suspect someone else intervened." Xu Yuan's brows instantly drew together. "Someone else? Someone capable of discovering and dispelling Lou Ji's tracking mark?" "Yes," Xu Yinhe replied. Xu Yuan felt the situation growing complicated. He asked quietly: "A Saint from the imperial clan, or one from the Sect Alliance?" "..." Xu Yinhe did not answer, but Feng Jiuxuan spoke up at this moment, casting his eyes toward the corpse on the floor: "The fluctuation in qi dynamics when he teleported the imperial princess of Sien was far from weak; in all likelihood, he sent her directly outside the city. A long-distance teleportation like that is entirely beyond a Saint's range of perception. Furthermore, when practitioners of their system circulate power, it is difficult for our intent-souls to detect any Source Qi fluctuations." "Which means the other party knew her landing point in advance?" Xu Yuan's expression turned odd. "Don't tell me Sien had another Saint waiting to receive her?" The moment the words left his mouth, Xu Yuan realized the logic did not hold up at all. First of all, the Emperor of Sien had only just arrived in Great Yan; it was unlikely he knew the empire's current state, let alone set coordinates for a teleportation landing point. Even if he did know, had there really been another Saint of Sien waiting on the outside, why hadn't he made a move earlier? At this thought, Xu Yuan suddenly froze. He thought it might be the unknown "ally" Orenli had contacted within Great Yan who had made a move. Looking up at his father beside him, Xu Yuan parted his lips to speak, but Xu Xinyao, who had been quietly listening the whole time, suddenly ventured in a timid voice: "Father... could it perhaps just be a coincidence?" "..." "..." The moment she spoke, Xu Yuan's train of thought stopped in its tracks. He instinctively followed Xu Xinyao's line of reasoning. And then he realized that everything clicked into place. With such a massive commotion tonight, numerous powerhouses were bound to be watching from the periphery. It was not at all impossible for Orenli to have been caught by one of them. Yet Xu Yinhe's expression showed no change at her words. In his position, every move carried immense ramifications; he could never jump to conclusions based on unsubstantiated speculation. The hall lapsed into silence for a moment before Xu Yinhe bypassed the subject entirely, looking down at the corpse as he asked: "Changtian, you said earlier that the magic rings around this person's heart are physical?" Hearing this, Xu Yuan gathered his scattered thoughts, a smile touching his lips as he murmured: "Yes. And Father, just now, among those around his heart, I discovered a spatial magic ring made of Boundary Void Stone."