Chapter 447: In What Year Did the River Moon First Shine Upon People?

Two sword lights darted like swimming dragons, their sound like thunder rolling; now they were in the east, now in the west.

Within an instant, a sky of thick clouds was sliced into a thousand chaotic shreds; cold light shot forth, blazing and glittering, truly dazzling to the eye!

Yet in the blink of an eye, the two sword lights had already pierced through layer upon layer of hills and valleys, vanishing into the distance; only then did Yuan Yuan Yangsheng withdraw his gaze, his face a mask of astonishment.

He slowly lowered the hand that had been holding back Xu Zhi from drawing her sword, then cast a sweeping glance around the golden carriage.

He saw that apart from Xue Jing, whose head was slightly bowed in contemplation, everyone else, including Xu Zhi beside him, wore expressions of blank bewilderment tinged with confusion.

Yuan Yuan Yangsheng's throat bobbed; finally, he slapped his own head and said nothing.

"Could that person just now have been True Person Wei of the Wei clan from Siye, a direct disciple of Chiming?"

After a long silence, a tall and thin Daoist in yellow robes hesitated for several moments before finally unable to restrain himself, he turned to the crowd and spoke:

"I heard this individual was born extraordinary; upon emerging from the womb, there was an omen of red light filling the entire city, and they were bathed by water carried by a blue bird.

That small bird flapping its wings behind the clouds just now must have been the blue bird, correct?"

Besides Chen Heng and his two companions, those heading to the Ang Cang Sect's banquet also included True Persons Xue Jing and Cai Qing, along with several of Yang Yang Kezhen's disciples.

The golden carriage was initially silent, but once Yang Yang Kezhen's yellow-robed disciple spoke, a subtle change appeared on everyone's faces.

Xue Jing helplessly turned his head to slant a glance at the yellow-robed Daoist, causing the Daoist to realize his slip of the tongue immediately; he hastily bowed in apology, grinned awkwardly, and shrank his neck.

In truth, regarding today's events, Xue Jing had already harbored vague suspicions in his heart; ever since he joined Chen Heng's sect, Chen Heng had entrusted him to handle several private matters.

One of those matters was related to that direct disciple of Chiming seen just now.

However, what Chen Heng had tasked him to investigate was not merely the situation of that Chiming direct disciple, but also information concerning Wei Shao, the current head of the Wei clan of Siye, and the Ai clan of Shangyu.

As for the former, it was manageable; since Xue Jing had studied the hundred schools and possessed an uninhibited nature, not only did he have excellent relations with cultivators of the Eight Profound Sects, but he even had several close friends within the Modaoliu Sect.

By simply organizing a few banquets and inviting some guests to accompany them, after three rounds of wine, he had clearly ascertained the overt situation of that True Person Wei, the Chiming direct disciple.

As for the latter.

After expending some effort and setting aside trivial matters, Xue Jing also learned that the Wei clan head, Wei Shao, had actually borrowed the Wind-Fire Rush Mat from Xu Huang Tian in order to break through a bottleneck and hope for further advancement in his Dao cultivation.

It must be known that Wei Wei Lingjiang's biological father was killed by Wei Shao, which was precisely why Wei Wei Lingjiang completely entered Chiming to study the Dao.

And Wei Wei Wanhua of the Wei clan played a significant role in all this.

Without her repeated protection, Wei Wei Lingjiang would likely have been secretly harmed by Wei Shao long ago; how could she possibly have survived until now?

Given this...

Just as Xue Jing bowed his head in thought, meeting Xu Zhi's surprised gaze, Yuan Yuan Yangsheng helplessly shrugged his shoulders, moved his lips, yet truly did not know what to say.

Since their parting at Daojun Fu Yu Lake, he and Chen Heng were only meeting again now.

Back when they first met at Gelu, Yuan Yuan Yangsheng had teasingly brought up the old matters of Daojun Fu Yu Lake, assuming that although the two might not have become Dao companions yet, good news should surely be imminent.

Perhaps soon he, Yuan Yuan Yangsheng, would get to attend two wedding banquets; after passing through three lifetimes, he would still need to make a trip to Xudu.

But at that time, Chen Heng had only smiled; Yuan Yuan Yangsheng could not quite define that smile, merely feeling something was amiss, so he changed the subject and never brought it up again.

At this moment, Yuan Yuan Yangsheng suddenly heard a rushing sound of wind.

As the clouds and mist parted, a small blue bird flew over strenuously, craning its neck to cry out twice, as if signaling something.

Yuan Yuan Yangsheng pondered for a moment, nodded to the golden carriage's artifact spirit, then straightforwardly released the barriers, allowing the blue bird to land inside.

Under Xu Zhi's slightly guarded gaze, the blue bird merely rolled once upon landing before transforming into a plump young girl in green robes; her appearance was well-behaved, looking indeed spirited and lovely.

"Old Yuan, you are here too? It has been so long since we met; is Heaven really this coincidental?"

Seeing Seeing Qingzhi spotted Yuan Yuan Yangsheng, her eyes darted, and she recalled the friendship they had built while playing at Daojun Fu Yu Lake.

Having been in this outer universe for some time, she had finally encountered an old acquaintance; unable to suppress her joy, she disregarded the awkwardness of the situation, stood on tiptoe, and reached out to pat his shoulder:

"It has been a long time since Daojun Fu Yu Lake; you are doing quite well now, judging by what you are wearing, you have struck it rich!"

"A direct disciple of the Kui Imperial Prefecture under Gu Zhi Jie Tian these days; how is that? Yuan Mou said long ago that I was no creature of the pond; was I not boasting to you before?"

Yuan Yuan Yangsheng lowered his body slightly to allow Seeing Seeing Qingzhi to reach his shoulder, and he could not help but chuckle.

The two thus engaged in warm small talk for a while, causing many people in the golden carriage to look as though they wanted to speak but held back.

When they had finally finished their idle chatter with difficulty, Yuan Yuan Yangsheng wore a troubled expression and pointed toward the distant sky.

"Over there?" he asked tentatively.

Seeing his gesture, Seeing Seeing Qingzhi's face fell, and she spoke hesitantly.

"Perhaps, it should be..."

Seeing Seeing Qingzhi let out a bitter sigh, wavering uncertainly: "Most likely they are sparring?"

No sooner had her words fallen than the pile of clouds at the sky's corner suddenly exploded; rolling golden flames and Lei Ting filled the ground and sky, causing the utmost celestial winds to shake unstably and toss about without rest!

The peaks of several mountains beneath the clouds had their corners sheared off; shattered rocks rained down into the river, splashing up columns of white waves; even from a great distance, the momentum was astonishingly huge, sufficient to boil waters and upheave mountains!

"This is also sparring?" Yuan Yuan Yangsheng laughed bitterly.

"..."

Seeing Seeing Qingzhi felt as if something were stuck in her throat, unable to speak.

The atmosphere in the area immediately returned to silence, and just then, Seeing Seeing Qingzhi's stomach growled twice; Yuan Yuan Yangsheng hastily gave orders, directing several Wusheng Wusheng Tongzi to bring food forward.

"Actually, I am not greedy, I just get hungry easily; the snacks I brought in my sleeve pouch were already eaten empty; well, since things have come to this..."

Seeing Seeing Qingzhi hung her head and sighed, squeezing out a few words from her throat.

"Since things have come to this?" Yuan Yuan Yangsheng pressed.

"Since things have come to this, let us eat first."

Seeing Seeing Qingzhi stuffed several pieces of cake and biscuit into her mouth, glanced again at the sky's corner, and said dejectedly.

Wind and thunder shook like an earthquake, fire sharp as a blade's edge.

Within the evening clouds, two sword lights of astonishing momentum traveled with extreme speed; from within them, various divine abilities were wildly unleashed, fighting with intense ferocity; the slightest error would bring the peril of total defeat.

After several consecutive flashes and shifts to evade the harassment of the Five Qi Peng Qian Kun Ring, Wei Wei Lingjiang took a light breath and closed her eyes.

When she opened them again after a moment, fierce light blazed within her pupils, vast and grand.

The qi mechanism around her body changed abruptly; mysterious qi spread out, seeming to envelop heaven and earth, and continued to climb, like a seed breaking through the soil to sprout, growing higher and higher!

Wei Wei Lingjiang raised a finger and pointed; whether magical treasures or divine abilities attacking before her, all were simultaneously checked, their momentum inexplicably reduced by several tenths.

At the same time, Chen Heng felt his spine as if bearing Zhongshan; not only did his movements become slightly sluggish, but a strange, inexplicable sensation also arose within his body, obstructing the circulation of magic power.

Then, after several dozen exchanges, Wei Wei Lingjiang's figure blurred, suddenly vanishing from her original spot, causing the Moon Wheel Mirror to strike empty air.

When she reappeared, she had remarkably closed in to within three zhang of Chen Heng.

For a cultivator, this distance could be described as being right under one's nose, making even flashing and shifting quite inconvenient!

The sudden change before their eyes happened in merely the blink of an eye.

The Five Qi Peng Qian Kun Ring was first stunned, then immediately a startled thought arose.

"Master, beware! This is Chiming's supreme great divine ability, Zheng Tian—"

Before this voice transmission could finish, a brilliant sword light erupted violently, like a white rainbow crossing the sky, fiercely knocking the still-speaking Five Qi Peng Qian Kun Ring flying to crash into the wilds below the clouds.

Then, amidst the crumbling, scattering five-colored misty clouds, Wei Wei Lingjiang wore a complex expression; holding only her sword, its tip radiating dense, cold light, she suddenly thrust forward!

Contrary to her expectations, after that thrust was delivered, there was not the slightest obstruction; it easily plunged into flesh and blood.

"..."

Wei Wei Lingjiang's pupils contracted sharply; disregarding the backlash, she panicked and retracted her force, lifting her head in disbelief to see the person opposite lower his gaze for a look, his brows and eyes seemingly slowly relaxing a fraction for some reason.

His breathing sound was right within arm's reach; the warmth at his chest was clearly separated only by the sword hilt, yet suddenly a scalding heat, as if burning the hand, surged forth.

"How dare you!"

Covered in mud and water, the Five Qi Peng Qian Kun Ring flew up into the sky in a fury, letting out a furious roar as a wild surge of magic power swept over, blasting the bewildered Wei Wei Lingjiang until her figure swayed, unable to control herself.

The two then fell from the sky together; amidst the whistling, biting wind, Wei Wei Lingjiang watched Chen Heng's robes billow and flutter, like a crane plummeting down.

They pierced through layers of mist; that cold mist was moist like water, revealing a layer of blurred light in the frost-white night, splashing across the sky when shattered, resembling schools of fish swimming leisurely within the clouds.

Amidst the inverted heaven and earth, Wei Wei Lingjiang suddenly felt somewhat dazed.

"Why didn't you dodge?"

Wei Wei Lingjiang asked with a hoarse voice.

At this moment, the qi scattered and the clouds parted; a full moon hung in the sky, and the winds in all directions were still.

After many years, Wei Wei Lingjiang heard Chen Heng's voice once more; as their gazes met, Wei Wei Lingjiang saw Chen Heng shake his head slightly, his voice pausing briefly as it left his lips, so close it was nearly touching their brows and lashes, yet seeming also separated by a vast, indistinct distance.

He said:

"Senior Sister, this single sword thrust cannot kill me."

As his words fell, a spray of water bloomed in the river below the clouds, startling the gulls into flight.