Gobbets of bloody foam rained down, spattering damply against Han Xianyun's forehead.
He reached up and touched his brow, coming away with another thick smear of blood.
Only then did he look squarely at Qi Yuan, his expression slightly dazed. "My wife?"
"Yeah, your wife. Sigh, I struck too hard, and your wife couldn't take it. What a shame. Hurry up and collect some so you have a keepsake," Qi Yuan said breezily.
Though bloody froth filled the air, not a single droplet landed on Qi Yuan. The crimson longsword had already vanished. He stood in the space like a transcendent immortal descended to the mortal dust.
Only, the words coming from this descended immortal were bizarre, rambling, and thoroughly incomprehensible.
Nearby, the wounded Yu Xiu struggled to his feet. He looked at Qi Yuan, his eyes brimming with awe and reverence. "Thank you, my lord, for saving my life!"
Yu Xiu's head was still buzzing, rattled from the shock.
Qi Yuan turned his gaze to Yu Xiu. "Could you tell me... about this hidden map?"
"I..." A look of confusion crossed Yu Xiu's face.
This lord, who was practically a god, actually didn't know...?
"My lord, my name is Yu Xiu. This matter cannot be explained in a few words, and now that the curse has been broken, this place will soon shatter. The next time I come out, I will definitely seek you out, my lord, and tell you everything."
Yu Xiu spoke faster, sensing that his time was up and he was about to return.
His body turned translucent, and then... vanished.
The entire space collapsed at that exact moment.
The surroundings shifted back into the filthy alleyway where Qi Yuan and Han Xianyun had been standing.
Han Xianyun clutched his head, still not fully awake. Dizziness washed over him, making him feel as though his mind had suffered a heavy blow.
Everything felt like a dream.
He looked at Qi Yuan in utter bewilderment. "Just now... we went into a special space. Was that just my hallucination?"
He wondered if he was losing his mind and imagining things.
After all, he was in terrible shape right now, heavy-headed and light-footed.
Of course, his current condition was really due to Qi Yuan roaring him awake earlier.
"Your wife is still smeared across your forehead. How could that be a hallucination? Don't tell me you want to be a scumbag and refuse to take responsibility?" Qi Yuan asked with a faint, teasing smile.
***
The sky was gloomy, and the gale howled.
Within an ancient fortress lay cluster after cluster of cramped, squalid buildings.
The fortress walls were carved with all sorts of bizarre creatures—monstrous, terrifying fish bearing six pairs of wings, and majestic beasts with human bodies and lion heads.
In the open clearing at the center of the fortress, a sudden spatial fluctuation rippled through the air, and a figure plummeted from above.
Within a dozen breaths, four people had gathered in the clearing.
"Yu Xiu? Weren't you taking leave in reality to break your curse while you were at it? How did you come back so soon?"
"Wait, what happened to your injuries? Is that... the work of Executioner Axe Mors?"
The two men and two women present stared at Yu Xiu in shock.
Among them, only a tall woman with braided hair wore an expression of pure worry.
"Something unexpected happened while breaking the curse." Yu Xiu clearly had no intention of revealing everything to the group.
"Sigh, we're about to be sent out on a mission soon, and you had to get hurt right now... What are we going to do on the next mission?" A burly man's eyes revealed a complicated, worried look.
The others felt the same.
The five of them were temporarily assigned to a single squad. Having one of their main combatants injured would severely impact their chances.
At that point, a scrawny man spoke up. "Forget the mission. At this rate, before the mission even starts, our... fortress is going to fall."
At the mention of this, the expressions of everyone present darkened.
The fortress was their sanctuary, shielding them from the outside world's corruption.
Lately, however, the fortress residents had been completing fewer and fewer missions.
The blood formation powering the fortress was running low on energy and growing steadily weaker.
It wouldn't be long before the terrifying monsters lurking in the night breached the fortress's blood formation.
When that happened, the casualties among the residents would be catastrophic.
And they would be reduced to wanderers, living from hand to mouth in constant peril.
"That's a Wuying-rank monster—even stronger than Executioner Axe Mors! A small fortress like ours can't hold out against that at all!" The woman with braided hair was also fraught with worry.
"Who knows what the higher-ups are planning," someone sighed.
Yu Xiu clutched his wound. "Sister Na and I are going back to tend to my injuries. We'll talk later."
Without standing on ceremony, the braided woman hoisted Yu Xiu onto her shoulder, and the two headed toward their cramped room within the fortress.
Once inside the room, Yu Xiu verified that no one was around before finally letting out a sigh of relief.
An Liangna looked at him anxiously. "Yu Xiu, what on earth happened to you? Was this wound really left by Executioner Axe Mors?"
It felt as though she had a hundred thousand questions burning in her mind.
She and Yu Xiu were intimately close. She knew his strength better than anyone, and was privy to a few of his trump cards as well.
She knew that if Yu Xiu had undergone execution, there was no way he could have escaped so easily.
"Nana, do you think someone in reality could kill Axe Mors?" Yu Xiu asked, recalling the scene from the execution space.
"How could that be possible? Axe Mors is at least considered Wuying rank. In a large-scale mission, it would count as a major boss. The real world is full of ordinary mortals." An Liangna clearly did not believe anyone in reality could slay Axe Mors.
Yu Xiu fell silent for a moment before speaking. "Axe Mors was slain by someone in reality with a single strike..."
He recounted everything, starting from telling Qi Yuan's fortune to the events that followed.
When An Liangna finished listening, pure shock filled her eyes. "How is that possible?!"
In the real world, bloodlines had hard limits; it was impossible for a blood martial artist to appear.
Without a blood martial artist, how could anyone contend with Axe Mors?
"Besides, based on what you said, he didn't have any death qi on him, which means he definitely isn't from our side," An Liangna said, utterly bewildered.
"I heard that some massive change seems to have occurred in reality. Maybe it's related to that," Yu Xiu said slowly, having remembered something.
"A massive change?" An Liangna was silent for a moment, then added, "No matter how powerful reality becomes, what does that have to do with us? This place is..."
Yu Xiu fell silent at her words.
Yes, An Liangna was right.
No matter how strong reality was, it couldn't affect them.
Here, they could rely only on each other and their companions.
***
Longtai City, inside a hotel room.
Before Qi Yuan stood a massive screen.
On the display, the robot Zero-One wore a smile.
"Filmed three videos today... yesterday's revenue was... purchased wedding candies... the cat shed five hundred and seventy-two hairs..."
It continued reporting its work to Qi Yuan.
Qi Yuan nodded in approval.
"How is the investigation into the Wild Dragon Martial Master and the Blood Compass going?" Qi Yuan asked.
This was what mattered most to him right now.
It concerned the path to advancing to Spirit Dao Martial Master, as well as breaking through the martial arts limit.
"No information could be found on the Wild Dragon Martial Master or the Blood Compass. However, through our searches, we found information on Blood Compass Island. Blood Compass Island was located deep in the Central Ya Ocean. Seventeen hundred years ago, an earthquake struck the Central Ya Ocean, and Blood Compass Island sank into the ocean depths, never to be heard from again."
"An island from seventeen hundred years ago? Can its exact location still be found today?" Qi Yuan asked.
If it could be found, he would just go be a diver and take a quick look.
"There is too little data to locate it." Zero-One looked troubled, as if being unable to resolve Qi Yuan's difficulties was a painful matter.
However, Zero-One continued, "Regarding the Yu Xiu you mentioned, using the portrait you provided, I searched through numerous records and combed through global surveillance backups. In the end, I found some information. Yu Xiu, a native of An County in the Qinyuan Kingdom, died in a car accident... thirty-four years ago. Going by age, he would be fifty years old today."
"He's dead?" Qi Yuan was astonished.
Suddenly, he remembered the term "death qi" that Yu Xiu had mentioned.
*Could it be that to enter the place Yu Xiu stays in... one has to die?*
Qi Yuan guessed to himself.
*Don't tell me I have to commit suicide to complete this Spirit Dao Martial Master quest?*
After thinking about it, Qi Yuan shook his head vigorously.
He had a psychiatric certificate, but he wasn't crazy.
He couldn't bring himself to commit suicide.
Still, thinking about yesterday, he had used Han Xianyun's bloodline to enter that hidden space.
Didn't that mean that once his own bloodline concentration reached the threshold, he could also enter similar hidden spaces?
*Looks like I still need to be a diver and catch some mutated sea monsters in the ocean,* Qi Yuan mused.
The blood essence from the Witch Sect was a chaotic hodgepodge. Consuming it had indeed improved Qi Yuan's martial arts cultivation and talent, but in reality, taking too much of it risked letting secondary factors overshadow the primary ones.
"Time to change clothes and head out for some sightseeing."
This time, he planned to stay in Tianyue City for about a week before starting the matches for the Martial Arts Tournament.
During this week, he would tour a few martial arts attractions—such as Wuyun Pavilion, which was inscribed with various martial arts marks.
Before parting ways yesterday, Han Xianyun had agreed to accompany him to Wuyun Pavilion and serve as his tour guide.
A free guide was a free guide; it would be a waste not to use him.
About an hour later, Qi Yuan appeared outside Wuyun Pavilion.
After three months of growth, his hair had gotten quite long, giving him the air of a handsome classical nobleman.
When Han Xianyun spotted Qi Yuan, his face lit up with excitement. He waved repeatedly and trotted over. "Mr. Qi!"
After returning home last night, Han Xianyun had slept off his dizzy headache.
Upon waking, his mind had cleared, and he had grown exceptionally excited.
Evidently, Qi Yuan was... that ruthless figure who had wiped out the Wugui Kingdom's military camp with a single sword strike.
A legendary, omnipotent immortal cultivator.
No wonder Qi Yuan hadn't been worried at all yesterday when Han Xianyun fretfully remarked that martial arts would cease to exist once immortal cultivation was revived.
He was an immortal cultivator; why would he worry?
Martial arts were probably just a toy to him, an experience to pass the time.
What should one do when facing an immortal cultivator?
Han Xianyun had asked himself that very question this morning.
Without the slightest hesitation, he had found his answer: kiss up to him!
If he buttered him up enough, Mr. Qi might casually wave his hand and grant him an incredible wife.
That would be an absolute jackpot.
"You're fully prepared, bags and all," Qi Yuan commented casually.
"If I'm going to be Mr. Qi's guide, I have to be thoroughly prepared!" Han Xianyun said warmly.
"Are people not allowed into Wuyun Pavilion? I see guards stationed outside." Qi Yuan glanced over and saw that cordon tape had been put up around Wuyun Pavilion, with quite a few black-suited bodyguards standing not far off.
"Wuyun Pavilion is free and open to anyone. It's probably some trust-fund playboy booking the whole venue. Don't worry, I'm a playboy too. It's no big deal," Han Xianyun replied nonchalantly.
Scenes like this were very common in the Qinyuan Kingdom.
The common folk were used to it and raised no objections.
After all, jokingly speaking, the debt of gratitude owed to the nobility could never be repaid across lifetimes.
Practically speaking, what good would objecting do?
On television, in textbooks, and even in the constitution, the nobility didn't even bother pretending.
The Seven Martial Stars families even held immunity from the death penalty.
"Isn't using privilege like this a bit improper?" Qi Yuan hesitated.
He never used privilege.
For instance, back in the Canglan Realm, whenever he wanted to visit a sect's Library Pavilion, he could have used privilege to force them to open it.
Instead of abusing privilege, he relied on his immense personal charisma, supplemented by the warm hospitality of those sects.
The moment he arrived, they would throw the Library Pavilion open for him.
"How about I move them with my personal charisma?" Qi Yuan wanted to handle things the Canglan Realm way.
"Leave a small matter like this to me!" Han Xianyun thumped his chest in guarantee.
Just as he was about to seek out whoever was in charge, a voice called out.
"Young Master, you're here?" An elderly man who looked like a butler walked over, his face glowing with delight.
"Uncle Wang, what are you doing here?" Han Xianyun asked, suspicious. "The person booking Wuyun Pavilion isn't my big brother, is it? Perfect! Open the back door for me. I have a friend who wants to go in too!"
Realizing it was his own family, Han Xianyun figured this would be even easier to handle.
Right at that moment, a large group of people walked over.
Leading the group was a middle-aged man alongside an exotic, beautiful woman.
The middle-aged man showed a flicker of surprise when he saw Han Xianyun. He then turned to the woman beside him and said, "Princess Huansha, this is my younger brother, Han Xianyun. He is a martial artist at the martial arts limit. Since you are interested in martial arts, my brother can serve as your guide and explain Wuyun Pavilion to you."
Princess Huansha was a princess of the Liulisi Kingdom, currently visiting Longtai City in the Qinyuan Kingdom for sightseeing.
Han Xianyun's elder brother, Han Kang, had been tasked with accompanying her and ensuring her safety.
Seeing his younger brother here, Han Kang decided to have him take over the duty of accompanying her.
Han Xianyun was left speechless. "Big Brother, I'm accompanying my friend."
Turning to Princess Huansha, he said, "My apologies, Princess, but I don't have time today."
Accompanying a princess of some minor kingdom, or accompanying an immortal cultivator?
Did he even need to think about it?
The immortal cultivator, of course!
Could the princess grant him an incredible wife?
Obviously not.
Han Kang froze slightly at his brother's refusal.
Although his brother was used to being loose and carefree, he never dropped the ball on important matters.
He had never once refused Han Kang's instructions.
Yet today, he had turned him down right to his face.
Han Kang's displeasure was already stirring.
"Is this friend... from the martial arts circle?" Han Kang looked at Qi Yuan. "How about this friend returns to Wuyun Pavilion tomorrow? I'll have my brother accompany you then."
Han Kang's tone brooked no argument, carrying the domineering air of a superior.
"I came today, so why should I come tomorrow? Is Wuyun Pavilion your family's property? Why don't you come back tomorrow instead?" Qi Yuan retorted, unwilling to back down.
Before Han Kang could speak, a man wearing gold-rimmed glasses beside him, who looked like a secretary, spoke up.
"Wuyun Pavilion... actually can be considered our property."
Qi Yuan choked on his words.
He had walked right into that one.
"This..."
He felt rather unhappy.
In this game, restrictions hemmed him in at every turn.
He resolved then and there that once he had enough money, he would buy Arch Star outright.
If he encountered something like this in the future, he could fire back with total dominance:
*"What? Wuyun Pavilion is your property? Sorry, Arch Star is all mine."*
Unfortunately, Arch Star didn't belong to him yet.
Right now, he was just a weak, helpless, bullied commoner standing around like a scrub, unable to retaliate after being thoroughly mocked.
Just then, Princess Huansha's eyes showed a flicker of interest. "Are both of these gentlemen martial artists? I have always admired your country's martial arts. How about I tour Wuyun Pavilion together with the two of them? What do you all think? Besides, we are all young people; it will be much more relaxing."
Princess Huansha's suggestion immediately stirred a murmur through the crowd.
Han Kang paused, thought it over, and then said, "Very well."
The others raised no objections either.
After all, Wuyun Pavilion was filled with their own personnel.
As long as security on the outside held, there wouldn't be any issues.
Han Kang looked at Han Xianyun and Qi Yuan, his tone stern and carrying a hint of pressure. "Once you enter Wuyun Pavilion, remember to protect Princess Huansha. Do not let anything happen to her."
Han Xianyun turned to Qi Yuan with an awkward expression. "Mr. Qi, what should we do?"
"Whatever. After all, it's someone else's property," Qi Yuan said helplessly, feeling utterly weak and helpless.
Chapter 310