Chapter 1914

Liu Yuzhang gazed at the spot where Ji Feihua had just disappeared, his expression wavering, the corner of his eye catching Hu Xiaotian, seeing the worry filling Hu Xiaotian's eyes, he sighed and said, "We shouldn't have let her go alone into danger!"

Hu Xiaotian said, "Regret is too late now."

Master Xiangyin beside him said, "In my view, we should have charged in together just now and netted that old fraudulent beast and those white-haired beasts all at once."

Xia Zhangming said, "This place looks like a ruin, but actually mechanisms are hidden everywhere; finding the entrance isn't that easy."

Master Xiangyin rolled his eyes: "Kid, nothing in the world is difficult for one who sets their mind to it; if you want to find something, how could it be not findable?"

Liu Yuzhang said, "She's been in there so long; surely nothing could have happened? After all, she's alone."

Hu Xiaotian was also extremely worried, but he knew Liu Yuzhang was deliberately provoking; if he hadn't heard that strange remark just then, he wouldn't have agreed to let Ji Feihua venture into danger. He knew Ji Feihua's connection to the Heaven's Mandate, so he also believed the true intention of the mysterious underground figure choosing to meet Ji Feihua. Concern breeds confusion; at times like this, one must stay calm, knowing Liu Yuzhang is sly and deceitful—this cooperation is purely out of mutual interest, and he could turn on him at any moment, so we must be doubly wary of him.

Hu Xiaotian smiled and said, "I have confidence in her." He glanced around, then softly asked, "Where is Master Yuanmu? Why hasn't he returned yet?"

Master Xiangyin then remembered Yuánmù's matter, he slapped the back of his head with a big hand and shouted, "Damn it, how could this poor monk forget such an important thing? I'm going to find him!" After saying that, without consulting the others, he turned and ran down the mountain.

Hu Xiaotian gave Xia Zhangming a look; although Master Xiangyin's martial arts are formidable, Fan Yin Shan is so vast that relying on him alone to search would likely yield nothing in the short term; in this regard, Xia Zhangming's strength lies in his ability to ride the Snow Eagle and conduct a search from high above, which is relatively easier and makes the target easier to spot.

Xia Zhangming gave Liu Yuzhang a furtive glance, expressing his concern for him; Hu Xiaotian smiled faintly, indicating he needn't worry, and that helping to find Master Yuanmu promptly was the priority; only then did Xia Zhangming call the Snow Eagle to rise and depart.

Liu Yuzhang looked up at Xia Zhangming's retreating figure, full of envy, and said, "A strong commander has no weak troops; your retinue truly is a gathering of experts."

Hu Xiaotian said, "I can't compare to you, sir; with a turn of your hand you summon clouds and rain—both the Tianxiang Kingdom and Xichuan obey you completely."

Liu Yuzhang let out a harsh, grating laugh: "We don't have your breadth of mind and ambition; I only want to seek justice." As he said this, his eyes filled with endless resentment.

Hu Xiaotian said, "Are you still hiding many things from me?"

Liu Yuzhang laughed, "How could that be?"

Hu Xiaotian said, "Just who was it that let you down back then?"

Liu Yuzhang said, "Your curiosity is really something; it's not just one person who owes me an apology—those who have managed to survive owe it all to me."

Hu Xiaotian silently sighed; this remark fully exposed his petty, shameless face—everyone in the world owes him an apology, yet he always claims to be in the right.

Liu Yuzhang said, "Guess who she went to meet?"

Hu Xiaotian said, "No need to rush; when she returns, everything will become clear."

The extraterrestrial elder soaked in the pool water for a while, then let out a long sigh, his listless spirit seeming to perk up a bit: "Do you have something you want to ask?"

Ji Feihua said, "What kind of person was my father?"

The extraterrestrial elder turned his back to Ji Feihua; his large eye sockets flickered with a hint of luster as he slowly closed his eyes, two murky tears tracing down his wrinkled face: "He is the Heaven's Mandate you often speak of."

"What kind of person is Ling Jiazi?"

The extraterrestrial elder said, "I suspect she is the mastermind who caused our starship to crash back then."

Ji Feihua exclaimed in astonishment, "Isn't she already dead?"

The extraterrestrial elder chuckled, "Dead? Not that easy. When our starship crashed, we thought she had died, yet she survived; we later besieged her in the northern desert, paying a heavy price to think we had killed her, but she lived on."

Ji Feihua said, "If she's alive, why hasn't she shown herself until now?"

The extraterrestrial elder said, "Some forms of life lie beyond your comprehension; seeing my appearance, you're already quite shocked, aren't you?"

Ji Feihua gazed at the extraterrestrial elder's back; although it was her first time seeing someone like him, she felt no shock—instead, a sense of fellow-suffering welled up from her heart, perhaps because they share the same bloodline, or perhaps her innermost self feels the same loneliness as this old man.

"Some life forms are like plants—wildfire cannot exhaust them, spring wind brings them back; you may think they are dead, yet under suitable conditions they revive. Some life forms have substance but no shape, like clouds and mist, untouchable, not existing as visible physical entities, yet that does not mean they do not exist. Once they encounter a suitable host, they can infiltrate the host's body, occupy it and complete parasitism, thereby living in the world with the appearance of a normal human. We call them the Phantom."

Ji Feihua said, "Could it be that you're referring to the Demonic Seed Art?"

The extraterrestrial elder said, "The Demonic Seed Art has existed for only about a hundred years since its creation; this world should lack the capacity to develop such a technique."

Ji Feihua frowned tightly, speaking low: "If Ling Jiazi is the person you speak of, then who fathered Qiqi with her?"

The extraterrestrial elder said, "Are you perhaps wondering about her relationship with your father?"

Ji Feihua fell silent.

The extraterrestrial elder said, "Your father was one of the most outstanding among our juniors; he originally had a chance to rewrite his fate, but he unfortunately encountered Ling Jiazi. With his wisdom, only a handful could delude him; if it weren't for this, I would not doubt Ling Jiazi's identity."

Ji Feihua said, "Is my father's death related to her?"

The extraterrestrial elder said, "Do you know how mantises reproduce?"

Ji Feihua bit her lip; she of course knew that mantises reproduce by the female eating the male. The elder's words clearly hinted that her father died at Ling Jiazi's hands. Ji Feihua said, "But I personally saw him being seized by the court and executed by lingchi..." This is the deepest wound in her heart, still unforgettable to this day.

"What you see with your own eyes may not be true, and how could you know that the one taken away was indeed your father?" The extraterrestrial elder sighed long: "To eliminate her, I broke my vow never to leave the northern desert, made many concessions, and paid a heavy price. I had thought that after disposing of Ling Jiazi, the world would return to peace, yet I never expected that removing one Ling Jiazi would spawn even more ambitious schemers. Only now do I realize that nothing can be changed by human power."

Ji Feihua said, "Why do you see me alone, and what for?"

The extraterrestrial elder slowly turned his head—his neck unlike that of ordinary people, able to rotate a full 180 degrees—his eyes fixed on Ji Feihua as he said, "I sense that you have mastered the Void Power; you are the daughter of Chuyuanhai, and you have the chance to end all this."

Ji Feihua gazed silently at the old man, saying nothing.

"Find the Phantom and kill her!"

"You've dealt with her so many times and she never dies—do you think I can manage it?"

"There is a method that will surely work." A long arm reached out, its hand like a bird's claw spreading open to reveal a crystal in the palm, clear and azure like seawater.

Hu Xiaotian and Liu Yuzhang anxiously waited for two hours before finally seeing Ji Feihua's figure reappear. Seeing her unharmed, Hu Xiaotian could not help but rejoice, striding up to her and asking with concern, "How are you? Are you alright?"

"Liu Yuzhang's concern, however, was what had happened below: 'Who did you meet?'"

Ji Feihua gave Liu Yuzhang a cold glance, ignored him, and told Hu Xiaotian, "We should leave this place as soon as possible."

Hu Xiaotian guessed she must have undergone some unexpected experience down there, so he didn't press further.

Liu Yuzhang was still unwilling to give up; despite all his painstaking planning of a joint assault on Fan Yin Si, aside from killing a few barbarian monks, he had gained nothing else, and the whereabouts of those two skulls remained unknown. He shouted, "Did anyone find out where the skulls are?"

At that moment the ground beneath their feet began to tremble faintly; Ji Feihua said, "If you don't want to die, leave this place first and we'll talk later!"

Liu Yuzhang felt the tremors intensifying beneath his feet, realizing a great calamity was imminent; Hu Xiaotian summoned the Flying Roc, Ji Feihua spread her wings and took off first.

Hu Xiaotian leapt onto the Flying Roc's back and said to Liu Yuzhang, "Get on!" This wasn't out of concern for Liu Yuzhang, but because the Senior Eunuch was still useful to him, and he couldn't bear to watch him die.

Liu Yuzhang likewise had to temporarily suppress his doubts, clambering onto the Flying Roc's back; the beast took flight, and as it just rose into the air, Fan Yin Shan shook violently—snow cascaded down the slopes, the broken walls and ruined halls of the mountaintop palaces collapsed one after another; not long after, a huge chasm appeared where the halls once stood, the surrounding rocks and snow tumbling into the abyss, snow mist swirling above the peaks. Though both Hu Xiaotian and Liu Yuzhang were top-tier masters, the sight of mountains crumbling and the earth splitting shook them to the core. Liu Yuzhang sighed, yet also felt a lingering dread—if Hu Xiaotian hadn't made him mount the Flying Roc, even with his superb martial skills he would likely not have escaped this calamity.

Hu Xiaotian gazed at the expanse of white below, thinking silently, "Destroying the evidence—those thousands of white-haired monsters are probably buried with it as well. Who exactly lies down there? How many secrets are hidden? Perhaps only Ji Feihua knows." (To be continued~^~)