Chapter 11:

Not long after dawn, Nan Xuyue sent someone to invite Xie Xuechen and Mu Xuanling, saying that the formation had been set up. Mu Xuanling had already carved the bracelet and worn it on her wrist. This formation could not conceal her appearance, but it could completely mask demonic and monstrous auras. Without the influence of demonic and monstrous energy, she seemed to lose some of her enchanting allure, yet appeared even more radiant, lively, and dazzling.

“Brother Xie, Miss Mu, the formation is ready and can be activated anytime,” Nan Xuyue smiled and nodded toward the two.

“Thank you for your effort,” Xie Xuechen replied earnestly.

Nan Xuyue subtly sidestepped, avoiding Xie Xuechen’s gesture of gratitude, and said with a smile, “But I have a rather impolite request.”

Mu Xuanling arched her eyebrows slightly and asked, “You want to accompany us to Yongxue City?”

Nan Xuyue turned to Xie Xuechen, “I wonder if Brother Xie would welcome me?”

Xie Xuechen frowned slightly in disapproval, “There may be dangerous situations ahead.”

“Exactly because of that, I make this request,” Nan Xuyue said. “Brother Xie is concerned there may be spies within the Immortal Alliance, and I would like to assist you in uncovering them.”

With Nan Xuyue’s intelligence, he indeed had the confidence to make such a claim.

“Brother Xie is simply worried that I lack cultivation and may struggle to protect myself,” Nan Xuyue smiled gently, his handsome face exuding confidence. “If I hadn’t made preparations, I wouldn’t dare volunteer. I’m not boasting, but even if I encountered a Fazhen Elder, I could hold my ground for a while using formations.”

After a moment’s thought, Xie Xuechen nodded in agreement.

“In that case, you may accompany us.”

Nan Xuyue gladly replied, “Very well. You two enter the formation first. I will have someone activate it, and when the spiritual energy erupts, we should arrive at Yongxue City in about twenty breaths.”

Yongxue City, located in the frigid western lands atop towering mountains, had a pale blue sky and air so clear it felt within reach.

As far as the eye could see, the land was covered in snow. The houses were built from black rock, scattered like brushstrokes across a white canvas. The people of Yongxue City were taller and more robust than those elsewhere, and the passersby wore thick furs, resembling fierce beasts in their imposing presence.

In such an environment, Mu Xuanling, wrapped in a thick fur cloak with her hood drawn, did not seem out of place. The heavy clothing also helped her avoid direct sunlight.

Due to the city’s protective barrier, Nan Xuyue’s formation could only transport the three of them to the city gates. When Xie Xuechen and the others entered the city, the guards immediately recognized Xie Xuechen’s identity. Their faces turned solemn with reverence and excitement, their voices trembling slightly as they loudly proclaimed, “Hail the Sect Leader!”

Xie Xuechen’s attack by the demonic race was still a secret known to only a few, so his return did not cause much commotion among the general populace. Xie Xuechen glanced around and saw that the city was orderly, which eased his mind slightly.

The guard’s voice attracted many onlookers. The citizens of Yongxue City stood at a distance, some in fear and others in admiration, bowing respectfully toward Xie Xuechen.

Xie Xuechen was the ruler of Yongxue City and their guardian deity. Even those not part of the cultivation world knew how remarkable their city lord was—feared by the demonic race and respected by the five sects of the Immortal Alliance. However, Xie Xuechen rarely appeared in public, so many were only now learning what their city lord looked like. Struck by Xie Xuechen’s godlike beauty, they were quickly humbled by his imposing presence, their minds involuntarily repeating—this was exactly how their city lord should look.

Xie Xuechen remained indifferent to their gazes. He instructed Mu Xuanling and Nan Xuyue to proceed slowly while he returned to the city lord’s mansion ahead of them. News spread quickly within the city, and as Xie Xuechen approached the main gate, he saw the wide stone doors slowly opening, with hurried footsteps rushing out.

“Lord Sect Leader! It’s truly you who has returned!”

The first to come forward were the elders of Yongxue City, followed closely by the leaders and elders of the other four sects.

Xie Xuechen’s gaze swept over their faces, clearly noting each person’s expression and the flickers in their eyes.

“Everyone,” Xie Xuechen spoke slowly, and the surrounding noise ceased abruptly. “I appreciate the concern from the sect leaders and elders these past days. Let’s discuss the matter inside.”

Among the Five Sects of the Immortal Alliance, the highest authority was the Sect Leader, Xie Xuechen. Below him were the leaders of the five sects. However, in reality, the sect leaders were often preoccupied with managing their sects and thus neglected cultivation, making them not necessarily the strongest cultivators within their sects. The strongest figures were the elders. Each sect had its own council of elders, and the acknowledged strongest elders had the right to participate in the Immortal Alliance’s discussions alongside their sect leader. These five elders were known as the Five Elders of the Immortal Alliance. Before entering the Ten-Thousand Immortals Formation, Xie Xuechen had entrusted his arrangements to the Five Elders and the five sect leaders. When Xie Xuechen encountered trouble in the formation and failed to emerge at the agreed time, the Five Elders and sect leaders quickly gathered at Yongxue City to discuss the situation.

“Seven days after the Sect Leader entered the formation, when he failed to emerge at the appointed time, we knew something was amiss. We immediately entered the formation and discovered signs of fierce combat at the formation’s heart, suspecting an ambush by the demonic race. Since then, we’ve dispatched trusted disciples to search near the Ten-Thousand Immortals Formation on both sides of the realms and have also sent people to infiltrate the Demon Realm. However, the Demon Realm is heavily guarded, and we have not yet succeeded.”

The speaker was Fu Yuanting, the leader of Bixiao Palace. Fu Yuanting appeared to be in his early forties, with a refined and handsome appearance. Though he was actually over a hundred years old, the Fazhen Elders’ youth-preserving techniques allowed some to maintain appearances of youth even into their hundreds. Others, like the ascetics of Xuantiansi, paid little attention to their outward appearance and might appear as old men in their seventies or eighties.

For instance, the monks of Xuantiansi.

The cultivators of Xuantiansi were known as ascetics. They began their path of austerity upon opening their nine orifices, cultivating both body and mind. Their spiritual energy was especially thick and pure, yet they appeared unremarkable, often clad in gray hemp robes, with shaved heads and thin frames.

When Xie Xuechen encountered trouble, the Abbot Yilian of Xuantiansi and the Fajian Elder of the Five Elders of the Immortal Alliance both rushed to Yongxue City. Fajian Elder, over five hundred years old, appeared aged and frail but was highly respected within the Immortal Alliance. Like Xie Xuechen, he was deeply devoted to cultivation and had passed the leadership of his sect to his disciple two hundred years ago. While the others murmured among themselves, he remained silent, seemingly in deep meditation.

Abbot Yilian, with a compassionate smile, asked, “It’s good that Lord Sect Leader has returned safely. May we know what truly happened in the Ten-Thousand Immortals Formation that day?”

All eyes turned to Xie Xuechen.

“The Demon Sovereign laid a trap in the Ten-Thousand Immortals Formation. I was gravely wounded and captured, enduring seven days of torture in the Molten Abyss before narrowly escaping three days ago,” Xie Xuechen said calmly, making the extremely perilous events sound trivial.

“The Molten Abyss!” Everyone’s expressions turned astonished. “The Molten Abyss is a place of great terror, said to contain the bones of fallen gods, so fierce and malevolent that even the Demon Sovereign himself dares not linger.”

That Xie Xuechen survived seven days of torture in the Molten Abyss was even more unbelievable than the demonic ambush in the Ten-Thousand Immortals Formation.

Yet no one doubted Xie Xuechen’s words. Perhaps because he had displayed so many miracles, they had come to believe that anything was possible for Xie Xuechen.

“Besides the Demon Sovereign, three Demon Gods and the Grand Priestess also ambushed me in the Ten-Thousand Immortals Formation. However, I have gravely wounded them, and they are now in retreat for recovery. Though the Demon Realm appears heavily guarded, it is actually hollow within,” Xie Xuechen continued.

Each word from Xie Xuechen was like a thunderclap, leaving the others stunned into numbness.

Single-handedly, he had nearly wiped out the Demon Realm and returned unscathed—had the Demon Sovereign truly intended to ambush Xie Xuechen, or was he merely providing him with a training ground?

Su Ningzhen, the leader of Mirror Blossom Valley, pursed her lips into a slightly sharp, cold smile: “Lord Sect Leader, well done!”

Everyone could sense the biting hatred in Su Ningzhen’s voice. Su Ningzhen was actually delicate and elegant in appearance, seeming to be in her early thirties. However, her disciples at the valley greatly feared her. She was known for her erratic temper and an unusual hatred for demons, especially half-demons. Her sharp eyes and thin cheeks, combined with her usual stern demeanor, gave her an even sharper and harsher air.

Su Ningzhen bowed to Xie Xuechen and reported, “I have something to report to the Sect Leader. It may be related to the recent disturbances in the Demon Realm. Yesterday, I received a transmission from one of my disciples, saying that outside Xiaocheng, they encountered a female demon whose techniques were both strange and formidable, indicating a high status in the Demon Realm. Lord Sect Leader, having once entered the Demon Realm, have you encountered this person?”

Xie Xuechen immediately realized that Su Ningzhen was referring to Mu Xuanling, and the informant was naturally Gao Qiumin.

He replied calmly, “No.”

A voice burst into laughter, and everyone turned to see a disheveled, green-robed cultivator lounging in his chair, lazily holding a gourd of wine. “With the Mirror Blossom Valley disciples’ skills, who wouldn’t seem formidable? They probably mistook a cat for a tiger.”

“He Xianwo!” Su Ningzhen sprang up in fury, brandishing her horsetail whisk at him. The seemingly delicate silver threads morphed into razor-sharp steel needles, hurtling toward He Xianwo’s face with thunderous momentum.

He Xianwo sneered, spitting the wine in his mouth forward. A wall of invisible spiritual energy surged forth, and the two forces collided midair, their shockwaves overturning teacups and flower vases.

“Great compassion in the Dao!” A thunderous voice rang through the air, suppressing the entangled forces.

Startled, Su Ningzhen withdrew her attack and nodded toward the speaker, “Elder Fajian, He Xianwo insulted Mirror Blossom Valley, and I had no choice but to act.”

As a Fazhen Elder, Fajian had hundreds of years more cultivation than He Xianwo, and was a revered figure in the cultivation world. Even someone as free-spirited as He Xianwo had to show him some respect. He set down his wine gourd and smiled, “Since Elder Fajian has spoken, I won’t say any more harsh truths.”

Though Su Ningzhen did not attack, the bulging veins on her hand revealed her fury.

He Xianwo was the leader of Lingju Island, a sect far out in the Eastern Sea, with little connection to Mirror Blossom Valley. However, Lingju Island was unique among sects for its expertise in raising spiritual beasts. On the island, humans and beasts lived in harmony, and many human and beast beings formed unions, producing half-demons. Su Ningzhen considered this a violation of the natural order and against the regulations of the Demon Inspection Bureau. She repeatedly petitioned the Immortal Alliance, urging Lingju Island to reform its customs.

He Xianwo, the leader of Lingju Island, was a free-spirited cultivator known for his charming looks and often appearing half-drunk and unrestrained, far from the image of a sect leader. Su Ningzhen deeply disliked his behavior, and during several Immortal Alliance meetings, she had confronted him with cold glares and sharp words. He Xianwo, half-listening, would simply laugh and say, “What does it have to do with you?”

As the leader of a sect, Su Ningzhen had never suffered such humiliation, and thus a grudge was born. But what truly turned them into enemies was an incident involving a Mirror Blossom Valley disciple who fell in love with a fox spirit from Lingju Island. Su Ningzhen used the excuse that the fox spirit lacked a proper spirit certificate and personally killed the fox spirit, then expelled the disciple from Mirror Blossom Valley. He Xianwo, usually a laid-back and easygoing person, flew into a rage for the first time, fighting Su Ningzhen. When Su Ningzhen was defeated, she retreated to Mirror Blossom Valley. In retaliation, He Xianwo burned ten acres of medicinal fields in Mirror Blossom Valley, making the two sects sworn enemies ever since.

The only ones capable of restraining these two were Xie Xuechen and Elder Fajian.

Elder Fajian did not look at the two who were secretly clashing. Instead, he turned his gaze toward Xie Xuechen seated high above and slowly asked, “Has the Sect Leader’s spiritual core suffered any damage?”

Everyone was shocked and turned their eyes toward Xie Xuechen.

Elder Fajian continued, “I mean no intrusion, but just now when I used the Tihu Xisheng technique to stop the two sect leaders, spiritual energy surged, naturally triggering the protective abilities of the spiritual core. However, there was no fluctuation of spiritual energy from the Sect Leader.”

Everyone held their breath, watching Xie Xuechen. He sat calmly above, his expression serene and indifferent. A single red mark on his forehead added a divine air to his handsome face. His phoenix eyes took in the expressions and thoughts of everyone present. After a moment, he spoke in a calm, emotionless tone, “I used a unique technique to restore my strength and escape the Molten Abyss, at the cost of sealing my spiritual core for ten days.”

Such techniques, which sacrificed future power for temporary strength, were not uncommon, so everyone quickly accepted this explanation, even finding it more reasonable.

Indeed, even Xie Xuechen couldn’t possibly leave the Demon Realm unscathed.

“How many more days until the Sect Leader regains his spiritual core?” Elder Fajian asked.

Xie Xuechen replied, “Seven days. For these seven days, I will need all of you to remain in Yongxue City.”

The others exchanged glances. Even if Xie Xuechen temporarily lost his spiritual energy, it wasn’t as if he needed protection from the other four sects.

Xie Xuechen sensed their doubts and slowly said, “Within these seven days, I ask that each of you identify the demon spy hidden among you.”

Another thunderclap.

Xie Xuechen did not dwell on the ripples his words had caused. He listened to everyone’s heartbeats, not missing a single anomaly.

Fazhen Elders could sense others’ probing, so if he didn’t explicitly state it, no one would dare to probe his aura or know that his spiritual core was sealed and his power lost. However, He Xianwo provoked Su Ningzhen, the two fought, Fajian suppressed them, and spiritual energy surged, affecting everyone present. At that moment, Xie Xuechen’s anomaly was noticed by others.

Was it He Xianwo, who deliberately started the conflict? Or Su Ningzhen, who struck first? Or Elder Fajian, who stunned the entire hall?

Mu Xuanling and Nan Xuyue walked side by side down the streets of Yongxue City—one a breathtakingly beautiful young woman, the other a refined and elegant young man. Their appearances and auras were completely different from the locals, drawing many curious glances.

The snow on the streets had clearly been cleared daily, posing no obstacle to pedestrians. After walking a few steps, Mu Xuanling turned back to wait for Nan Xuyue. Nan Xuyue smiled, walking unhurriedly, as if strolling leisurely in his own courtyard.

Nan Xuyue said, “Miss Mu, there’s no need to wait for me. Just follow this road straight ahead, and you’ll reach the city lord’s mansion.”

“I’m not in a hurry. I just wanted to see if you were in a rush,” Mu Xuanling looked at him mischievously.

Nan Xuyue couldn’t help but laugh softly. “Since Miss Mu isn’t in a hurry, why should I be? Besides, even if I wanted to hurry, I couldn’t walk faster. I’m afraid I’ll have to ask the young lady to accommodate this cripple.”

Hearing Nan Xuyue’s words, Mu Xuanling felt a bit awkward, as if she had been bullying him. She smiled and said, “Even though you walk slowly, your mind moves faster than others. Why don’t you ever accommodate us slow-witted folks?”

Nan Xuyue laughed, “It’s rare for Miss Mu to turn comforting words into such an unreasonable statement.”

“I’m not comforting you at all. You, the young master of Yunxiu Manor, the smartest man under heaven—I admire you too much to have the qualifications to comfort you,” Mu Xuanling teased. “Besides, you don’t need such cheap comfort or sympathy. They only seek superiority and self-righteous kindness from such acts of pity.”

Nan Xuyue looked at Mu Xuanling carefully, then smiled. “Although Miss Mu is a half-demon, you see people very clearly. May I ask you a bold question?”

Mu Xuanling said, “Please go ahead.”

“What are your intentions in getting close to Brother Xie?” Nan Xuyue’s clear and intelligent eyes fixed on Mu Xuanling, not missing the slightest flicker in her gaze.

Without hesitation, Mu Xuanling replied, “Because I like him, of course.”

“Oh?” Nan Xuyue said meaningfully. “Do you know that Brother Xie has an informal engagement with Gao Qiumin of Mirror Blossom Valley?”

Whether it was due to her background from Mingyue Manor or her status as a senior disciple of Mirror Blossom Valley, Gao Qiumin’s identity was well-matched with Xie Xuechen’s. Moreover, Gao Qiumin possessed exceptional talent, being born with the nine orifices, a rare gift. Seven years ago, Xie Xuechen had risked his life to save Gao Qiumin, and since then, Gao Qiumin had been deeply in love with him. Xie Xuechen, being so young yet already a Fazhen Elder, had a thousand-year lifespan. It was rare for cultivators to spend a thousand years alone, so eventually, they would seek one or a few cultivation partners.

Mu Xuanling, however, waved her hand dismissively. “But Xie Xuechen doesn’t like her.”

Nan Xuyue smiled. “Are you so confident that Brother Xie will like you?”

Mu Xuanling thought for a moment and replied earnestly, “If it’s difficult for him, he doesn’t have to like me. If he’s willing to protect the world, I’ll protect him.”

Mu Xuanling’s words left Nan Xuyue momentarily stunned, for he could sense that she meant every word.

A selfless devotion without expecting equal return…

A folding fan concealed the young master’s thoughts, and no one could guess what he was thinking.

Suddenly, a sharp scream shattered the street’s tranquility, and a golden light landed before the city lord’s mansion.

Mu Xuanling and Nan Xuyue turned toward the figure at the gate. Just from her attire, they knew she was a female cultivator from Mirror Blossom Valley.

“I am Gao Qiumin from Mirror Blossom Valley. I have urgent matters to see my master!” Gao Qiumin’s voice was urgent.

Nan Xuyue and Mu Xuanling exchanged a glance and quietly approached.

“The Sect Leader is holding an Immortal Alliance meeting. No unauthorized persons are allowed inside!” The guard at the gate said sternly.

Upon hearing this, Gao Qiumin’s face lit up with joy. “The Sect Leader has returned?”

This time, she had brought three junior disciples to the Two Realms Mountains. Ostensibly to search for beasts, but in reality, she was following her master Su Ningzhen’s orders to find Xie Xuechen’s whereabouts. Capturing the Treasure-sniffing rat was an unexpected bonus. Later, when attacked by a half-demon girl, she vaguely suspected it might be related to Xie Xuechen’s disappearance. She immediately used a transmission formation to inform her master and flew ahead to Yongxue City to reunite with her.

She never expected that Xie Xuechen had actually returned!

“Yunxiu Manor’s young master, Nan Xuyue, requests an audience with Sect Leader Xie.”

A gentle voice came from behind. Gao Qiumin snapped out of her thoughts and turned to see the two figures standing slightly behind her.

One was an exceptionally handsome young man, the other a breathtakingly beautiful young woman.

Gao Qiumin’s gaze did not linger on the young man. Her eyes locked onto Mu Xuanling, her pupils revealing shock and horror.

Mu Xuanling also stared straight at Gao Qiumin. Today, Gao Qiumin was not wearing her veil. Mu Xuanling clearly saw her face.

A face of extraordinary beauty, rarely seen in the world. But… it was too similar.

Mu Xuanling and Gao Qiumin’s faces bore a five-part resemblance.

Suddenly, Mu Xuanling recalled what Nan Xuyue had said—that she looked like someone from the past. Could that person be Gao Qiumin?