Chapter 44: Zhao Xuhe, With Nowhere to Turn

Skeleton Mountain, White Bone Cave, outside the market town.

A fleeing light hid among the forest and mountains, revealing three figures; two of them were none other than Wu Zhichong and Duanmu Yuan, who had previously attacked the market town but fled in disgrace.

The third person was an old man with white hair.

"Elder Ouyang."

Wu Zhichong spoke cautiously, fearing that the elder before him, who had reached the peak of Qi Refining, might do something irrational; ahead lay a dragon's pool and a tiger's den.

"Rest assured, this old man knows the weight of the matter."

Ouyang Feng's expression was stern; although his eyes gazing at the market town were filled with bone-deep hatred, his tone was extremely calm, without the slightest fluctuation.

"That demon is a ninth-grade formation master who has set up inner and outer arrays around this market town; it is not something ordinary people can break, so it is no wonder he has been able to roam freely until now and even established the so-called reputation of the 'Blood-Robed Pavilion Master'. However, he is not truly at the peak of Qi Refining; in the end, he is building a castle in the air."

"But Elder Ouyang, the Tai Xiao Mirror has also fallen into that person's hands."

Wu Zhichong quickly agreed, then spoke in a low voice: "The Tai Xiao Mirror is mysterious and unfathomable; if that demon can manipulate it, he would not be inferior to one at the peak of Qi Refining."

"I have naturally considered this matter as well."

Ouyang Feng sneered: "After all, the Tai Xiao Mirror is a spiritual treasure of our Divine Martial Sect; how could a demon use it just because he took it? If he dares to use it, so much the better!"

"I have already invited Master Yang Yezi, who originally forged the Tai Xiao Mirror. The Tai Xiao Mirror falling into the hands of a demon has enraged him greatly; he has already agreed to come to Skeleton Mountain to reclaim the spiritual treasure and set things right. With him here, if that demon dares to use the Tai Xiao Mirror to fight me, he will be seeking his own death!"

Although Ouyang Feng was furious, he had not lost his reason.

Moreover, with the precedent of Ouyang Haoze before him, he could not charge into the array again; after thinking it over, it was better to lure Lu Yang out from within the array.

"When does this person usually leave the market town?"

"Uh..."

Facing Ouyang Feng's inquiry, Wu Zhichong and Duanmu Yuan looked at each other, speechless.

Seeing this, Ouyang Feng immediately frowned and said dissatisfied: "Were you not staking out outside the market town for a long time? How is it that you don't even know such a small matter?"

"Replying to the Elder, this person has not left the market town up to now."

"... Not?"

Ouyang Feng was stunned: "Did you not spread the news of the Wraith Ghost Secret Realm inside? Does he not know that Skeleton Mountain is currently full of opportunities everywhere?"

The two looked aggrieved: "We spread it long ago."

"Then it must be that the reinforcements from the Initial Saint Demon Sect have not yet arrived; the demonic path is weak, so he dares not leave?"

"In fact, the Demon Sect's reinforcements arrived three months ago and have been acting wildly throughout Skeleton Mountain; only this person has not left from beginning to end."

"Ah?"

After hearing the report, Ouyang Feng finally showed a look of confusion.

"I will not go out."

Inside the Blood-Robed Pavilion, Lu Yang and Feixia Fairy sat facing each other; while politely declining Feixia Fairy's invitation, he handed a cup of spiritual tea to her.

"Junior brother is truly..."

Looking at Lu Yang, Feixia Fairy's beautiful face suddenly seemed dazed.

Once upon a time, she had been extremely disappointed by this junior brother's timidity, but it turned out he advanced step by step, establishing the illustrious reputation of the Blood-Robed Pavilion Master.

It must be known that for any cultivator, life is a struggle against heaven; one wrong step means the end of one's lifespan and death.

Even with the so-called reincarnation, first, one may not have the opportunity for immortality after reincarnating, and second, one may not even be oneself after reincarnating, so it is difficult to rely on it.

Yet upon meeting again this time, Lu Yang was just as in the past.

Indifferent, tranquil, as if nothing in the world mattered to him.

Such a temperament, rare among cultivators, suddenly made Feixia Fairy think of a saying: "Water benefits all things without contending, so nothing can contend with it."

But if a person lives a life without contending, how can one seek the Dao?

In the next life?

Thinking of this, Feixia Fairy could not help but sigh: "... I am ashamed; I fear I will never reach the lofty state of mind of junior brother in this lifetime."

"Senior sister overpraises."

Lu Yang smiled slightly: "Did I not say before coming that this time we will not discuss great matters, only the Dao? I will teach senior sister formations, and senior sister will teach me talisman arts."

"I will naturally impart everything I know."

Feixia Fairy lightly pressed her red lips, her pale hand lifting the veil, revealing a face of unparalleled beauty; beneath her thin gauze robe, her figure was majestic, her buttocks curved like the moon, and even her voice unconsciously became soft and delicate: "Speaking of which, I have not yet thanked junior brother for the grace of saving my life previously..."

The next day, the sun was high in the sky.

Inside the market town, a young man with a downcast appearance was pacing in his cave dwelling, his face full of struggle; it was none other than Lu Yang's old friend, Zhao Xuhe.

"How could this be? How could this be?"

At this moment, Zhao Xuhe had reached a peak of urgency: "The news of the Wraith Ghost Secret Realm is now known to all; if I do not act now, I will have no chance!"

Thinking of this, Zhao Xuhe's spiritual energy suddenly exploded; he was no longer at the sixth layer of Qi Refining as when he first arrived at the market town, but had broken through to the seventh layer, the late stage realm; precisely because he had broken through the bottleneck that had trapped him for years did he have the thought of going to the secret realm to explore and gamble for an opportunity.

But having the thought does not mean having the strength.

Without the opportunity on Panlong Island, he could only cultivate the Yin-Yang Great Joy Sutra of the Heaven-Mending Peak; his true energy was merely fifth grade, and his divine abilities and magical treasures were inferior in every aspect.

Under such circumstances, fighting for opportunities is seeking death.

After thinking it over, Zhao Xuhe finally gritted his teeth, took out a jade slip that had been sealed for a long time, infused magic power, and contacted the person he had not seen for a long time.

A halo of light spread from the jade slip; after a long while, a voice emerged: "Who is it?"

The voice carried laziness and a bit of dryness, yet made Zhao Xuhe feel especially nostalgic; he could not help but say in a low voice: "Feixia... it is me, Xuhe."

That is right, he and Feixia Fairy had a past.

However, to say they had a past, it was actually just that they were former acquaintances; but after he was chosen as the son-in-law by the Heaven-Mending Peak Master, he cut off contact with her to avoid suspicion.

He thought they would never cross paths again, but unexpectedly, he now had to beg her help.

Zhao Xuhe clenched his teeth and said in a low voice: "Feixia, I want to ask you for a favor; my path to the Dao is now hopeless, and I plan to leave the market town for one final gamble."

He knew that Feixia Fairy most admired the act of burning one's boats to seek the Dao.

So only by saying it this way could he move her.

"But I have no contribution points right now, and no means to purchase magical treasures or divine abilities. In this situation, even if I had the heart to burn my boats and sink my ships, I'm afraid it would just be a futile death."

"So... so... for the sake of what we once had, lend me a little..."

As he spoke, Zhao Xuhe could not help but recall the little moments he had shared with Flying Mistress Fairy in days past, and a certain indescribable hope rose in his heart.

But the next second, a basin of cold water was poured down on him.

"I'm sorry, I don't know what you're talking about."

The originally warm, gentle voice instantly turned icy cold, and she said indifferently: "Also, please don't contact me again in the future."

"I am currently discussing the Dao with Junior Brother Lu. I don't want him to misunderstand."

Crack!

The next second, the jade slip shattered.

Zhao Xuhe stood dumbly in place, not coming back to his senses for quite a while. Only after a long time did his face gradually contort, and from between his teeth he spat out a roar:

"No——!!!"

(End of this chapter)