Chapter 516: The Scent of Osmanthus

Xu Qing was silent; he knew the source of Kong Xianglong's desolation and sorrow.

Back in the Forbidden Immortal Land, after hearing his Master's analysis, Xu Qing had felt something similar. Whether it was the Palace Master, the Prefecture Overseer, or the entire Fenghai Prefecture, they were all, in truth, merely chess pieces.

Before the Palace Master died in battle, he had clearly already known all of this.

But he had spent his life in blood and iron, wielding the sword for the human race, walking through tumultuous years. Thus, dying for the human race, the Palace Master had no regrets.

The only things he could not let go of were his homeland, his loved ones, and the soldiers under his command. So, after guessing at certain things, he used his own death to do his utmost to save Fenghai Prefecture without affecting the overall situation.

"As long as the mountains and rivers of Fenghai remain, why should I begrudge this head of mine?"

Xu Qing had recalled this sentence many times; within it lay the determination in the Palace Master's heart before he died in battle.

And the facts were indeed so; after the Palace Master died, the Seventh Imperial Prince's army arrived, smoothly resolving everything and becoming the hero of the human race.

Kong Xianglong had also realized this, hence his complexity and silence.

Yet in the end, his choice and that of his grandfather were similar.

As soon as the Captain said those words, Master raised his head, a ripple appearing in his eyes.

Master took a breath, having made a guess. He immediately took the translucent mask of concealment immortal arts from his storage bag, placed it respectfully to the side, and rose to bow.

The direction toward which the Captain bowed remained as it was.

The Captain smiled, stepped forward, picked up the mask, and stuffed it directly into his mouth. With a movement of his throat, he swallowed it whole. After letting out a satisfied burp, he winked at Master.

After First Master finished speaking, the mask drifted back to the ground, motionless.

Master was suspicious; the somewhat turbulent mood from before was also suppressed by the Captain's words and actions. He looked toward this corner.

"Doubting me? You don't understand the Palace Master at all."

But later, when the truth was told to Master, he didn't feel it in detail.

At this moment, after speaking, he looked at the sky outside. Just as he was about to speak, his voice transmission jade slip vibrated.

It didn't take long before Master finally locked onto this familiar scent among the many odors.

Master muttered, but the next instant, his pupils dilated and he suddenly lowered his head, staring fixedly at the plain elixir in his hand. His expression revealed disbelief, and his breathing became unprecedentedly rapid.

"Eldest Senior Brother, the Palace Master here..." Master pondered, looking at the Captain.

Until the sky inside grew bright, seeing that Master was still silent, the Captain coughed and spoke loudly.

"The scent of osmanthus!"

At this moment, the scent emanating from the box was the scent of osmanthus, exactly the same as the scent inside this plain elixir!!

"Hmm... also, don't come back too quickly, otherwise you'll leave a trail and be discovered. How about this, you two come back in a month; by then, I should be about done refining."

"Palace Master, you scared your disciple to death! I was worried about your safety. There was really no other way, so I had to resort to this desperate measure. Now that I know you are fine, I am at ease."

"Little Junior Brother, is the mask the Palace Master gave you still there?"

"You two find a time to return to the Blood Child Sect soon. I've had quite a harvest this time. Refining this thorn will allow me to get a great treasure for each of you. This is a divine thorn, a truly genuine divine object, and a special one at that!"

"Eldest Senior Brother, are you overthinking it..."

"Also, it's hard for me to be distracted during this time, so none of you cause trouble. And that mask, Boss, you swallow it and use your stomach to hide the aura!"

But I never said it from beginning to end, because I was worried about upsetting Master.

The Captain also had a solemn expression and bowed with cupped fists.

Master immediately looked over. The Captain took it out, his eyes lighting up. He instinctively licked his lips and gave Master a cheeky grin.

"This is the scent that existed inside the empty wish box..."

Inside the Forbidden Immortal Land, I saw the appearance of these two large and small white jade hands. The large white jade hand was obtained by the Palace Master studying divine test subjects. As for who the small white jade hand belongs to, it goes without saying.

"Palace Master, Palace Master, come out, I see you!" The Captain bowed excitedly toward a corner.

A bow of respect.

Hundreds of millions of people have eaten it! The Captain blinked, turned to another direction, and continued to bow.

The scent of osmanthus became clearer and clearer.

Saying this, the Captain left impatiently, heading straight for the Prefecture Capital's Executive Palace. On the way, he took out a peach, bit into it, and then raised his hand to look at the eye that had grown on his palm.

Along the way, the Captain didn't speak either. Until they returned to the Sword Pavilion, they sat cross-legged there, and the Captain patted Xu Qing on the shoulder.

The Captain didn't speak.

Master's expression was strange. The Captain's eyes revealed surprise. After thinking for a moment, I looked sharply at Master.

The Captain looked at the mask and gritted his teeth hard.

"Finally escaped. It's just taking a thorn, is it worth searching like this?"

"This is... the scent of osmanthus?"

Previously in the deep pit, when the Captain swallowed the plain elixir, the medicinal fragrance emitted was mixed with some other scents. Master felt something was wrong at the time, as if he had smelled it somewhere before.

"There are many kinds of herbal scents..." Master pondered. In order to find this familiar scent, he smelled it a few more times, carefully distinguishing it.

Master's mind was in turmoil. He found the source of the error. Years ago, when he and Master went on a mission, this empty wish box had been held in his hand.

"Little Junior Brother, why hasn't Master come yet?"

"Little Junior Brother, let me tell you a secret. Do you know why I am so keen on helping female cultivators solve the problem of having too many gifts? It's because years ago, there was an old man you don't know—I know who it is, but I won't say. Anyway, that old man went to give a female cultivator a gift, and after giving it, in the middle of the night, he actually took me to take back the gift he had given..."

"Shut up!" Before the Captain could finish speaking, a roar that seemed to contain anger and embarrassment came from the translucent mask.

And the plain elixir, over these years, has been an item that almost every cultivator and mortal in the entire Prefecture Capital must have!

He chose to bless this human war so that it could achieve a great victory.

In that way, his grandfather's death would also be more worthwhile.

Until a night passed and the morning of the seventh day arrived, the mask moved slightly and drifted up from the ground. Amidst the relief of Master and the Captain, First Master's hoarse voice came from within.

Master shook his head.

The Captain sighed. I know some things that the Palace Master told me, so I could guess the turmoil in Master's heart at this moment, and thus silently accompanied him here.

Afterward, we waited for a long time, but didn't see any changes in the mask, so we looked at each other.

"Wrong!"

At this moment, after the intensity, I remembered this matter. Although I didn't feel anything, out of a cautious personality, I still opened the elixir bottle and smelled it in front of me, wanting to determine what kind of herb it was.

Xu Qing sighed softly, silently left here with the Captain, and went to the Sword Pavilion.

"Master's judgment was not wrong, but the matter here should be more than just this... I have seen that white jade hand before!" Master recalled carefully and became more certain of this matter.

Xu Qing raised his head, a glint of cold light in his eyes, and suddenly spoke.

Using it as a mirror to check his appearance, confirming he was still so excellent, the Captain's eyes shone, and his speed became faster.

"Little Ah Qing, I'm leaving first. Little Taotao is looking for me."

But no matter how the Captain bowed, everything here remained as usual.

"Haha, Master, I actually didn't see you, old man. I just felt an extra wisp of aura here. You also know that I am very sensitive to this."

Hearing First Master's words, Master and the Captain finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Looking at the Captain's back, Master's eyes revealed a blessing. Afterward, he withdrew his gaze and looked at the empty Sword Pavilion. The inner turmoil previously caused by the Candlelight matter had now turned into calm.

"Little Junior Brother, based on my understanding of the old man, I believe the old man should be right beside us."

Master gasped. The Captain quickly gave Master a triumphant look, then put on a mournful face and knelt down in front of the mask with a thud.

Master hesitated, looking at

the Captain.

In Master's mind, the sigh that echoed in his heart before the Time Bottle merged appeared. After a long while, he closed his eyes, just about to meditate to stabilize his own cultivation, but soon he opened his eyes and took the plain elixir bottle given by Kong Xianglong from his storage bag.

After speaking, under Master's observation, the Captain coughed dryly and spoke loudly.

"Rest assured, the Palace Master is not as good as me at doing big things, but when it comes to running away... I have never seen anyone better at it than me. Think about it, what kind of person studies divine test subjects containing the power of time and can actually comprehend concealment?"

"Believe me, Little Ah Qing, the Palace Master just likes to peek. Before you were in the sect, I experienced it deeply. I guess the Palace Master might have been waiting for us in this Sword Pavilion long ago, or relying on some method to sense us."

Master lowered his head and didn't continue speaking; no expression could be seen on his face.

"—A month later, when returning to the Blood Child Sect, I need to talk to Immortal Zixuan."

Master's expression suddenly became solemn. The Captain's face also changed, and he immediately stopped talking. The seven people couldn't help but feel worried, and without a word, they waited silently.

The Captain's gaze froze.

"Let's do this first, I need to find a place to go into seclusion, we'll talk when we return to the Blood Child Sect."

"Little Ah Qing, you..."

"The old man can still give these instructions and is lively, which means he is fine."

In Master's mind, heavenly thunder faintly echoed. In order to confirm he hadn't smelled it wrong, he simply crushed a plain elixir and put the powder in front of his nose, carefully distinguishing it.

The Captain originally just wanted to find a topic, but now as he spoke, his eyes also widened, vaguely feeling that what he said seemed very reasonable. So he took a breath, suddenly stood up, and walked over to look.

After a long while, Master stood there blankly, the medicinal ash on his fingers falling off.

"You shut up, I am running for my life!!" Inside the mask, First Master roared.

This scent was extremely severe. After obtaining the divine body, Master couldn't detect it; only with his current physical body could he vaguely smell it.

The Captain was also filled with emotion. I didn't lie to Master; I really thought the Palace Master was fine.

"Little Junior Brother, I have a way, I can only bring out my trump card!"

The process was very agonizing. Master was extremely worried in his heart, and the Captain's face on the side was also filled with solemnity, vaguely revealing some ferocity.

The Captain had a very certain look, but as time passed, the sky outside went from morning to noon, and then to dusk, but the mask still didn't have any changes, nor had the Palace Master arrived here, and they hadn't received any voice transmissions. ===== CHAPTER 517 =====