Secrets and a Sneak Attack

“Changtian, what did you see?” “Father, your cultivation is steadily rising.” “...” Rain tapped against the window lattices; the wind stirred the incense. Xu Yinhe sat upright with an unruffled expression. His low, steady voice carried not the slightest ripple: “Wrong.” Hesitating slightly, Xu Yuan stared intently at the middle-aged man before him. “What do you mean?” “Observing changes in my cultivation is no small feat in itself.” Xu Yinhe smiled faintly, and suddenly sealed his cultivation. At the same moment, Xu Yuan’s spiritual vision plunged into darkness. Just as he was taken aback, he heard his father speak in a measured tone: “However, my cultivation is not rising. It is restoring.” “...” The corner of Xu Yuan’s eye twitched. Xu Yinhe raised his cup and drained the wine before him, a hint of reminiscence surfacing in his eyes: “When I roamed the world alone, I once met that Wen woman at Tianmen Mountain. When I reached the summit of Xuantian Cliff, I saw her standing beneath that birch tree, looking out toward the Heavenly Gate on the main peak. “She said she was there to reminisce about an old friend, and that if she was disturbing me, she could leave at once. “That was the first time I ever faced a Saint, yet this Saint spoke with me as an equal.” “...” Xu Yuan remained silent. If what the Wen woman said was true, with her discernment, the moment she saw Xu Yinhe, she might have already judged that Xu Yinhe, who at the time had not even reached youth, could become someone who walked the same path as her. That was why she had conversed with him as a peer. However, going by the timeline Xu Yuan knew, his old man had entered the capital at sixteen and rarely left Di'an afterward. When he roamed the world and met that Wen woman, his father must have been only thirteen or fourteen, perhaps even younger. Xu Yinhe's deep voice continued: “She saw the path I walked in cultivation and tried to persuade me to abandon it. She claimed Dao charms were shackles upon cultivators, that the modern cultivation system was fundamentally flawed. Over that, we debated atop Xuantian Cliff for two days, yet neither could convince the other. “However, before she departed, I learned for the first time that Saint was not the end of cultivation, and she told me I could seek what lay beyond.” At that, Xu Yinhe slowly rose from his prayer mat and walked toward the desk deep within the room, his voice echoing in the empty study: “Back then, I thought of her as a fellow seeker of the Dao, someone I would surely meet again. But it was not until shortly after your birth, when I was preparing to seek the realm beyond Saint, that I heard from her a second time. “It was a letter she took the initiative to send me—a letter concerning what lay beyond Saint. “Through that letter, I perfected my method of breakthrough. Yet at the very moment of breaking through, I sensed a gaze looking down from the firmament. “To break through meant death.” “...” Xu Yuan sat beside the low tea table, his eyes lowered as he listened intently. The point in time his father described must have been when Li Yaoxuan was gravely injured and his mother lost her life. And at that moment, the voice coming from the dim depths of the study took on a faint tremor: “Because of that gaze from the heavens, I had no choice but to enter secluded cultivation to suppress my cultivation, creating a secret technique to contain the power of that breakthrough. During that very period, Li Yaoxuan was gravely wounded by the sects, your mother was plotted against and killed, Changge was forced to abandon my path, and when Chang'an passed away, I still could not act because the secret technique was not yet perfected. I could only watch helplessly. Even now, I do not dare undo the sealing technique.” The cold, dreary autumn rain fell continuously, shrouding the entire sky. Sitting behind his desk, Xu Yinhe’s face was veiled in the murky shadows. In the silence, Xu Yuan asked softly, “Was that encounter atop Xuantian Cliff her deliberate plot?” Xu Yinhe leaned back gently against the chair and said slowly, “Coincidences are rare in this world, but they do exist. No one can calculate events decades into the future with absolute precision.” Xu Yuan was quiet for a long while before saying, “The path she wishes to take shouldn't conflict with your ideals, Father.” “Indeed.” Xu Yinhe already knew this, his tone faint and sorrowful: “Perhaps during our first meeting atop Xuantian Cliff, had we discussed the realm alongside the Dao, the outcome today might have been different... but fate makes fools of us all.” With those words, silence fell between father and son. Listening to the rain for a while, Xu Yuan rose from the prayer mat, bowed to the dark figure in the depths of the study, and turned to walk out. Xu Yinhe said nothing, merely watching from the shadows in silence as the study door opened and shut. Stepping into the veil of rain, Xu Yuan lifted his eyes toward the overcast sky, his expression silent and impassive. Communication... Paths that could have overlapped had diverged because neither spoke at the beginning, eventually turning into bitter enmity like fire and water. Yet it was too late to speak of such things now. Whatever the original intentions, the blood debt between both sides had already been forged; only life and death remained. Xu Yuan walked forward without expression. The autumn rain soaked through his clothes, water dripping from his long hair like beaded curtains. He walked quietly out of the inner courtyard, out of the Sword Pavilion, and arrived at the sword grounds, where he found Xu Changge, who had long been waiting. Xu Changge stood quietly in the rain, his green robes unstained by dirt or water. He turned back slowly, about to speak, but froze slightly upon seeing Xu Yuan's expression. His brow furrowed, a trace of concern flashing deep in Xu Changge's eyes. Stepping forward, he asked, “Changtian, what did Father say to—” Shhh— Before he could finish, a long sword was thrust into the ground right before Xu Changge's feet by Xu Yuan, sinking three inches into the earth. The jade-like blade hummed softly. Xu Yuan stood drenched in the rain, staring at him without a word. Xu Changge stared at his third brother for several breaths. With a flick of his toe, he caught the three-foot jade sword in his hand and lowered his eyes to examine it. Xu Yuan said calmly, “That was the sword Grandfather used back then. It shouldn't break easily.” Xu Changge fell silent for an instant, his eyes narrowing slightly. “Are you sure?” High atop the Sword Pavilion, a figure clad in snow-white robes looked down. Feng Jiuxuan gazed down at his two nephews from his high vantage point. His expression was silent, but a faint, indistinct trace of anger lingered in the depths of his eyes. In the next instant, when that familiar middle-aged man in black appeared beside him, Feng Jiuxuan immediately thrust a sword finger straight at him. Whoosh— Xu Yinhe tilted his head to evade it. A strand of hair was severed, washed away down the beaded curtain of water cascading from the upturned eaves of the Sword Pavilion. Fixing his placid, well-like gaze on his brother-in-law for a moment, Xu Yinhe then looked down at his two sons on the sword grounds below. Feng Jiuxuan's detached voice simmered with suppressed anger: “What did you just say to Changtian?” Xu Yinhe answered calmly, “Some matters of the past.” Feng Jiuxuan's brow furrowed even deeper. “Merely past events? Why would Changtian end up like this?” Xu Yinhe fell silent for a moment, then said, “This was Changtian's choice.” Feng Jiuxuan brought out his sword, his hand gripping the scabbard until it creaked: “Xu Yinhe, you had best not play riddles with me right now.” “...” After a moment of silence, Xu Yinhe watched his eldest son pick up the jade sword below and asked, “Brother-in-law, what do you think of Changge's temperament?” “...” Feng Jiuxuan did not speak, his hand resting on the crossguard, exposing an inch of cold blade. Xu Yinhe's tied-up hair fluttered in the unrelenting autumn rain. “Ever since he was young, Changge's temperament took after you, his uncle.” Feng Jiuxuan drew another inch of his blade. “So what if he takes after me?” Xu Yinhe turned his gaze back to the white-robed man before him, his obsidian eyes like an abyss, giving away nothing of his thoughts. Word by word, he said: “Brother-in-law, the situation has changed. If Changge continues like this, he will die.” Feng Jiuxuan's pupils contracted slightly. The dragon head on Xu Yinhe’s black robe stitched with gold thread radiated silent majesty as he said slowly, “Changge witnessed the deaths of Qian'er and Chang'an with his own eyes. He has always tried to take everything upon his own shoulders, wanting to shield Changtian from every danger.” At this point, Xu Yinhe glanced at Feng Jiuxuan. “On your trip to the Western Desert, you should have already seen the people we will face. If Changge continues down this path, what are the odds he survives?” “...” Feng Jiuxuan remained silent, pressing the exposed two inches of blade back into the scabbard. Indeed, his eldest nephew had no rivals among his peers. But as all rules gradually collapsed, the people Xu Changge had to face were no longer his contemporaries. Perhaps given enough time, Changge could become a second Feng Jiuxuan, fearing no one under heaven, but... there was no longer time for him to grow. Changge's temperament was too unyielding—and the rigid breaks easily. Had the Overseeing Heaven Pavilion Master not been rushing to the Western Desert, Changge would most likely have died outside the Heavenly Master Manor. Taking a deep breath, Feng Jiuxuan casually dispersed the long sword in his hand and murmured, “Changtian wants to beat Changge to his senses?” Xu Yinhe did not reply immediately. Only after a long while did Xu Yinhe ask with conflicted hesitation: “Brother-in-law, do you think Changtian is a match for Changge?” “...” Feng Jiuxuan. The bleak autumn wind howled. The two peak Saints fell silent together. After quite some time, Feng Jiuxuan finally said with hesitation: “...He should have some chance of winning.” “That is good then.” “Though even if he loses, it won't be too embarrassing.” “...” Xu Yinhe. The autumn rain continued to fall. The two peak Saints fell silent once again. Feng Jiuxuan suddenly suggested, “If all else fails, why don't you and I secretly help Changtian? Changtian will definitely cooperate with us.” “...” Xu Yinhe. “...” Xu Yuan. Hearing this voice transmission from Poser Unit 01, the solemn mood Xu Yuan had been cultivating almost instantly shattered. Wait, was he really that untrustworthy? The fight hadn't even begun, and they were already planning to fix the match for him? Did this maternal uncle of his not witness the scene of him instantly slaying a Saint? Taking a deep breath, Xu Yuan suppressed the urge to send a voice transmission back. Looking at Xu Changge not far away, he gave a cold nod: “Rest assured, you are definitely no match for me now.” Xu Changge had no idea that his father and uncle were plotting against him from atop the pavilion. Holding the jade sword engraved with the phoenix kite, he was quiet for a moment before giving a faint laugh: “Then let your elder brother see just how much you have grown after breaking through to the Transcendent Realm.” With that, Xu Changge flicked his wrist. The Fengyuan Sword immediately cut a chilling ripple through the air; in that split second, the sword spirit within recognized him as its master anew through their shared bloodline. In the next instant, without the slightest warning, Xu Changge thrust his sword straight at Xu Yuan. Xu Yuan, who had yet to circulate his technique, could vaguely see that Xu Changge had used only a single thrust. Yet that streak of sword light split as it shot through the air. One. Two. Countless. Countless rays of sword light rolled forward, blotting out the sky. Silently, Xu Yuan closed his eyes. When he opened them again, blood-red pupils had appeared. Under the enhancement of the Blood Yuan Heart Calamity Art, tens of thousands of details instantly flooded his vision. These countless piercing lights seemed to arrive all at once, but at the instant they reached him, their speeds suddenly shifted—some accelerated, while others slowed down. Trying to break his Void-Treading Slash? The thought flashed through his mind, but Xu Yuan simply stood in place, showing no intention of moving. In the next moment, Xu Yinhe frowned slightly on the roof of the Sword Pavilion and instinctively went to raise his hand, but Feng Jiuxuan grabbed his wrist: “Don't move.” Swish, swish, swish, swish! Xu Yuan didn't use Void-Treading Slash to dodge. The countless sword rays thrust out by Xu Changge pierced clean through his body without any hindrance. Boiling hot blood flowed down with the rain, staining the sword grounds below crimson... Xu Changge's heart stopped. He stared blankly at this scene. Bang! The hard ground beneath his feet shattered, and his figure vanished. When he reappeared, Xu Changge was already right in front of Xu Yuan. Leaning down to inspect his brother's injuries, he cursed in fury: “Xu Changtian, what on earth are you—” WHAM!!!! Before he could finish, Xu Yuan drove a fist right into this poser's face. A solid, direct hit. The force was so immense that the spreading shockwave instantly blasted away the sheets of falling rain! In what felt like frozen time, Xu Changge's feet left the ground. That handsome, dashing face contorted from the punch smashed into his cheek, his dark eyes wide with shock and disbelief. Time resumed. BOOM— Xu Changge's body instantly turned into an afterimage, flying backward and crashing into the nearby Sword Pavilion, kicking up a plume of dust. Xu Yuan casually brushed nonexistent dust from his robes and patted at the holes in his clothes. Then he glanced down at the fist he had used to send the poser flying, his face still frozen in a stern expression, keeping from smiling. God, that punch felt amazing! So satisfying his mind felt completely uncluttered! As that thought flashed by, Xu Yuan suddenly realized he had forgotten to record it. He hurriedly pulled out the two shadow-recording stones his sister-in-law had given him from his Sumeru ring and tossed them into the air. Having done that, Xu Yuan slowly turned his gaze toward the dust beneath the Sword Pavilion and said in a calm, cold voice: “Xu Changge, are you trying to tickle me?” “Is this Changtian's Dao charm?” Looking at his eldest son who had been punched flying, Xu Yinhe fell silent for a moment before murmuring, “Such rapid regeneration is almost on par with an aberrant ghost.” Feng Jiuxuan turned his face away without a word. He had seen the battle in Zhenxi Prefectural City with his own eyes. From the moment his third nephew took that sword thrust head-on, he had guessed what was going to happen next. This kid really has no shame whatsoever... Still, after a brief silence, Feng Jiuxuan said softly, “Shameless as it is, Changtian can be considered to have reminded Changge that he can go all out.” Xu Yinhe had only read the reports from the Western Desert. Hesitating for a moment, he asked, “You mean Changtian's regenerative ability has no limits? But Changge's sword intent...” “Sword intent has no effect on Changtian's self-healing.” Feng Jiuxuan looked at his third nephew and said softly, “What Changtian just used to heal himself was the Dao charm of Life.” “...” Xu Yinhe fell silent for an instant, the corner of his lips curling into an imperceptible smile. “Is that so? So it is the Dao charm of Life and Death?” “Mm.” Feng Jiuxuan gave a soft hum of agreement. Then, staring at his third nephew below who was brimming with self-satisfaction, he raised his voice slightly so that it echoed in every corner of the Sword Pavilion, and into the ears of Xu Changge rising from the rubble: “Even for me, his uncle, trying to kill Changtian now would take some doing.”