Chapter 209

Has the master not replied again?

Chi Jiuyu waited a while longer, until he confirmed the master wouldn't send another message, then put away his phone.

He casually picked up a fruit and ate it, spitting out radiant light as he walked toward the kitchen.

Xu Xing found it perfectly normal.

As for Jiuyu, anything she did wasn't surprising.

He lowered his gaze.

Outside the outer gate of Ling Yin Fang, within that strange space, Huo was still chattering away.

A round table before him was laden with fine wine and delicacies.

If Yuan hadn't remained mostly silent, this scene might have seemed like two long-separated friends reuniting.

But…

It was about time to pull him out.

After all, he's my fellow townsman.

This long stretch of time has already given Huo ample face.

Not to mention, once Ning Ruo finishes her business and comes out, she certainly won't continue to ignore it.

Ning Sister Sister Sister Wan Zhu is her disciple.

Not interfering with her decision doesn't mean she doesn't value this disciple.

Of course, Huo himself had also realized this.

After drinking a cup of wine, Xiao Fan beside him hurriedly refilled it, then set it down with a blank expression.

Yuan glanced at him, unable to suppress a flicker of pity.

He had heard of Xiao Fan's origins—a boy braver than most, yet transformed in a short time into this state by Huo.

"Yuan, are you worried about my disciple?" Huo smiled.

"No," Yuan said coolly.

"Don't worry; the trials I gave him were a bit too harsh, just lingering side effects—I'll take him for a few walks, he'll recover."

Look, he doesn't even listen to people.

Yuan felt increasingly exasperated.

Mingyu and Ning Sister Sister Sister Wan Zhu remained motionless; their cultivation realms ensured no issues, even if Huo kept babbling endlessly.

Yet after saying that, Huo paused, lifting his gaze upward.

Time's about up; if I delay any longer, I won't be able to explain myself to the Elder Lingzu.

"Yuan," his tone suddenly turned cryptic, "to be honest, I'm quite curious about your origins."

In these final moments, Huo wanted to ask one thing he'd long wondered about.

Upon hearing this, Yuan frowned.

"Long ago, I wished to investigate, but before I could act, Xiang Yuanjun intervened and severed the mark I placed on you."

"Of all paths, the Way of Cause and Effect is unmatched; since she severed it, I can no longer reestablish the connection."

Huo's voice echoed, layered and overlapping, as if rising from all directions.

"So, what do you intend to do?"

Yuan's heart prickled with unease.

At this moment, he suddenly wished Huo would just keep rambling nonsense.

"I'm truly curious…" Huo's eyes glimmered with dark light, "where exactly do you come from?"

In truth, he had another question unspoken.

Why, after I tried countless times and failed to answer the secret phrase, did Brother Dao answer it immediately?

Does that mean…

After Xuanjian City, he had already suspected.

Until recently, when he visited the Alliance of Righteous Sects and discovered the vanished Azure Jade, his curiosity reached its peak.

"And that line—'Bashan Chu Shui qilang di'…" Huo's voice suddenly rose sharply, "what's the next line?!"

The surroundings flickered between light and dark; shadows within seemed to twist into countless writhing forms.

Shit! You really went and tried it too! "You're a True Immortal—can't you even deduce the next line?" Yuan said quickly.

He had personally experienced True Immortal power.

He realized his earlier act of leaving poetry as a secret phrase held little meaning.

Never mind direct decryption.

If a True Immortal wished, even brute-force enumeration would yield the answer effortlessly.

"That's cheating," Huo said solemnly.

You've got some morals, Yuan thought, his mouth twitching.

"Aren't you cheating too, right now?" "No," Huo shook his head slightly, "I'm merely asking for the answer key."

"…"

The next instant, Yuan found his mouth moving involuntarily, opening and closing.

"Twenty-three…"

Just as Yuan was about to speak the next line after "Bashan Chu Shui qilang di"…

Hum~ Everything froze in an instant; crimson light pierced the shadows like dawn's radiance, ignoring space, surging forth in an unstoppable tide.

"No! At least let him say the next line!" Huo cried out.

The crimson light halted; a voice only he could hear rang out.

"Twenty-three years cast aside."

Twenty-three years cast aside? Huo froze in confusion, and before him, Yuan, Ning Sister Sister Sister Wan Zhu, Ming Yu, and the others were swept away by a flash of red light, vanishing instantly.

Gazing at the empty seat across from him, his expression was inexplicable.

So, Brother Dao really...

In the next instant, an extremely faint red light flashed—Huo's eyes flickered with bewilderment, then quickly returned to normal.

Hm?............

"I knew he wouldn't behave so obediently."

Xu Xing slowly withdrew his gaze, the long sword in his hand glowing entirely crimson.

"Eh?! Master Uncle, why did you take out 【Moon Shadow】?"

Chi Jiuyu carried a pot of steaming milky-white broth, beside him floated a pale gold-and-green long sword, supporting two plates of translucent, glistening fish slices.

Moon Shadow?! Upon hearing that name, the pale gold-and-green long sword tensed instantly, radiating intense anxiety.

A sword showing fear? This scene was quite amusing indeed.

"Did Brother Xu Xing act?"

Ning Ruo stepped out from behind the man and the sword, her high-collared sweater outlining a graceful figure.

"Yes, he went too far, and the time was about right," Xu Xing nodded.

"If you used Moon Shadow, it probably wasn't that simple."

Ning Ruo bypassed the man and the sword entirely, sitting down beside Xu Xing.

Chi Jiuyu: "..."

She had wanted to sit beside Master Uncle and guard her Master a little longer! But she remembered how kind the Elder Lingzu had been to her since just now...

Even with her boldness, she now felt too embarrassed to force herself between them, so she sat down opposite the two.

The pale gold-and-green long sword set down the fish slices, then hovered proudly beside Chi Jiuyu—but the spiritual feedback it sent was uneasy and tense.

Tsk! It hasn't learned a single bit of its master's calmness and composure!

Xu Xing took the bowl Ning Ruo handed him.

"I cut away some of his reckless thoughts; without Moon Shadow, it would've been troublesome."

If someone like Huo discovered his homeland...

Neither Yuan nor Xu Xing wished for such a thing to happen.

So he simply severed part of Huo's thoughts—those concerning the origins of the Sword Ancestor and Yuan.

As for his suspicion that he isn't from the Tai Xuan Realm...

Xu Xing didn't care much about that; let him know, if he wants to.

"Has Brother Xu Xing really reached this level?"

Huo is a True Immortal.

Ning Ruo now felt the same as Ba Zun had.

The gap of half a step...

"Only he could do it so easily. If it were any other Daoist, it wouldn't be this simple."

Recently, Huo fell into Gu's trap in the Tai Xuan Realm; his condition wasn't good.

Only because it touched Xu Xing's bottom line did he act this way.

He wouldn't strike at other Daoists without cause—that's his nature.

Third update, please subscribe.

The power suddenly went out; I wrote this chapter on my phone.

There may be many errors—please point them out if you see any, and I'll fix them promptly.

Thank you.

I can only delay the bonus update by one more day; I'm very sorry.

So I'll add another update the day after tomorrow, as compensation (bowing manually) (End of Chapter)