Chapter 206: They Are All Xie Jin

At the peak, the Book and Sword Pavilion.

The Sect Master ’s study of Mount Zihui, located at the highest point of the Book and Sword Pavilion, was unoccupied as Nan Gongye was frequently away; the sword platforms stood empty, and the bookshelves were filled with countless volumes.

The white-haired Daoist nun appeared silently at the door, not disturbing the disciples who were burning the midnight oil, and slipped quietly into the study.

Seeing the tidy, solemn room, she stepped back out, carefully checked the surroundings, confirmed she hadn’t entered the wrong place, then reentered with her hands on her hips!

After all, this had once been the office of True Person Qixia, filled with trophies seized during demon-slaying expeditions and complete sets of obscure histories and strange tales.

Now look at it—every wall lined with scriptures of various sects, a large desk against the wall, standard Daoist ascetic style, just missing a plaque on the wall reading “The Right Path of Mortals Is One of Decay,” just looking at it felt like sitting in a cold dungeon…

But decades had passed, and this place no longer belonged to her.

True Person Qixia didn’t mind the younger generation’s renovation style; she even thought Nan Gongye’s eldest disciple was quite respectable, more like a true Daoist patriarch than she ever was. She hurried to the bookshelf, pulled out the volume recording the sect’s vital affairs, and called out:

“Night Immortal?”

“Mmm~”

The familiar, sultry voice came from her side.

Ye Hongshang stood beside the books, clad in a long red flame-colored dress, arms crossed, studying the white-haired little Daoist nun frantically flipping through pages to cram knowledge:

“Finally remember your sister?”

“How could I ever forget you, Sister? I just woke up… eh?”

True Person Qixia was about to explain, but suddenly frowned—her memory felt wrong.

She remembered climbing Mount Zihui as a child to cultivate, working hard despite mediocre talent, yet never reaching immortality; she prayed to heaven for guidance, and in a half-dream state, heard a voice say: “South.”

Then she set off without hesitation toward the south, wandering aimlessly, with no direction or purpose—only chasing the “Immortal’s Dream,” enduring countless hardships until she reached the edge of the world…

And then her memory simply cut out.

When her memory resumed, she was already roaming the southern lands, slaying demons with an umbrella and a sword, under Night Immortal’s guidance as an “Immortal Bandit,” plundering the realm to enrich herself, having looted the entire Witch Sect rebellion…

She regarded Ye Hongshang as her sister and mentor, their bond like the only kin she had in this world—but she couldn’t recall how it began, and something important seemed missing…

True Person Qixia frowned, straining to recall, then briefly checked her body:

“Did I get bound by a Soul-Sealing Curse?”

Ye Hongshang nodded slightly: “Yes, I’m bound too. I tried to break it last time, but there’s a high-level restriction in place—I couldn’t undo it at all.”

“Is that so?”

True Person Qixia, a true Daoist patriarch, couldn’t possibly be bound by a Soul-Sealing Curse—she immediately raised her hand and pressed her fingertip to her third eye; a shimmering light surged forth as she attempted to break the seal.

Then True Person Qixia recalled her past on the Immortal Isle and her subsequent choices, while A Piao simultaneously regained her memories.

A Piao: “Seal it, seal it…”—telling True Person Qixia to seal it too.

The living woman and the ghost stood side by side by the bookshelf, repeating the exact same dialogue seven times in a row!

The scene looked like a ghostly loop—they struggled for a full half-hour…

…

True Person Qixia pressed her fingertip to her third eye, felt a brief dizziness, and then it was over—as if nothing had happened. She frowned, lowering her finger to examine it:

“Who’s the old devil behind this? Why can’t I break it?”

Ye Hongshang was already used to it:

“Let the past stay past. If you remember all the dirty things you did before, it might damage your Dao heart. We’ll deal with it later.”

True Person Qixia refused to believe any peak-dwelling devil could bind her so helplessly—she tried again, several more times.

Each time, the moment her fingertip touched her third eye, it ended instantly—as if nothing had happened!

Seeing she truly couldn’t break it, True Person Qixia’s eyes widened in surprise:

“Incredible technique! Night Sister said you tried before—were you awake back then?”

“Yes. Early last month, grave robbers accidentally found the Demon-Sealing Tomb. This kid came, killed the robbers, pulled out the Zhenglun Sword, then spent a month resealing the Demon-Sealing Coffin…”

True Person Qixia listened, carrying a stack of books, and sat down behind the desk.

But Nan Gongye was over 1.8 meters tall—she was only 1.6 meters, and her feet didn’t reach the ground!

“Huh? This eldest disciple is really tall…”

True Person Qixia paid no mind to her dangling legs, continuing to flip through the sect’s history:

“What’s Xie Jin’s origin? How did he know my cultivation chamber, and why did he come to guard the tomb?”

Ye Hongshang, leaning on her towering figure, crossed her arms, her hips resting on the desk’s edge, revealing black silk stockings and red-heeled shoes beneath her dress:

“He probably had some strange encounter in the south, like you did. There are many reclusive greats in this world—this can only be investigated once you recover your memories.”

True Person Qixia was intensely curious; she didn’t believe anyone could pretend to be a great before her—she raised her fingertip again to her third eye, determined to break the Soul-Sealing Curse and see who was playing such a grand game.

Not only did she waste several precious minutes, but now she held a pen in her hand, and on the paper before her were written several large characters:

Hard to Be Foolish!

?

True Person Qixia studied the handwriting—she realized it was her own. She finally gave up on breaking the curse and asked instead:

“What’s the relationship between this man, me, and those two girls outside?”

Upon hearing this, Ye Hongshang’s soul-stealing eyes flickered with something strange.

After all, from their earlier conversation, the relationships seemed to be:

Bing Tuozi was Nan Gongye, True Person Qixia was her master, Linghu Qingmo was her disciple…

Hua Ruyue was Bu Yuehua, Lin Wanyi was her disciple, Zi Su Immortal was her disciple’s junior…

Nan Gongye and Bu Yuehua were sworn enemies…

And Lin Wanyi, Nan Gongye, Linghu Qingmo—all were patrons Xie Jin dared not offend. Bu Yuehua had even given him the Jiazi Lotus and cheap medicinal herbs, and was also Lin Wanyi’s master and patron.

So they were all wings helping Xie Jin take flight!

Unless they got broken…

Ye Hongshang had been trying to untangle it for a long time, but couldn’t make sense of it—she gave up. Xie Jin had his own fortune; meddling too much might earn her sister’s resentment. She replied:

“He’s just someone with a karmic connection, very close to Mount Zihui. Recently he’s been slaying demons everywhere, gaining great fame and winning the favor of countless Immortals.

“Just treat him as a junior, and treat Nan Gongye and the other girl as outsiders. Don’t pry into children’s affairs.”

True Person Qixia, merely by Xie Jin’s appearance and bearing, knew his romantic prospects were excellent—she didn’t press further, flipped through the entire sect history from beginning to end, and now understood the general situation since the border closure until now.

True Person Qixia had slept too long; before entering her meditation, she already knew that upon awakening, everything would have changed, and all familiar disciples would be long dead.

But entering meditation was merely closing and opening her eyes—decades felt like yesterday. Now, seeing names marked with “passed away,” her heart still ached.

Yet the Daoist path on the mountain hadn’t changed much.

The peak-dwelling devils who dominated the land were still the same familiar faces.

The leading figures of the Great Gan court were still the young talents she’d once assessed.

The only variable was the descendants of the Corpse Ancestor, who, after a century of hibernation, were slowly gaining strength.

True Person Qixia found no unexpected earth-shattering changes—she was about to put down the sect history, but when she turned to the latest page, she saw written:

Xie Jin favors the thirteenth-generation descendant Linghu Qingmo; to show sincerity, he defeated the senior disciple of Fan Yun Temple at the Imperial Astronomical Bureau, representing Mount Zihui in thwarting the Buddhist sect’s plot to enter Danyang…

The Snow Eagle Ridge is hosting a Martial Gathering. Mount Zihui, under orders from the Imperial Astronomical Bureau, will serve as the Daoist representative and proceed to Sanjiangkou to monitor the martial world’s movements…

?

True Person Qixia carefully examined the text and asked:

“Is Linghu Qingmo my disciple or my granddisciple?”

Ye Hongshang blinked: “Granddisciple. She’s exceptionally beautiful.”

“Is that so?”

True Person Qixia picked up the scroll listing disciples and searched:

“Entered at six, reached sixth rank at fourteen, fourth rank at eighteen, upright and incorruptible… otherwise fine, but her talent is rather ordinary…”

Ye Hongshang was speechless: “Ordinary? You were seventh rank at sixteen—she could beat ten of you at the same age.”

“Can’t compare to me. To normal people, this girl is impressive—but Xie Jin is only one year older and already at first rank. The talent gap is so vast—if they become Dao partners, in a hundred years he might outlive her, possibly giving rise to a demonic obsession.”

True Person Qixia finished speaking and flipped to the previous generation of disciples:

“Nan Gongye would suit Xie Jin better—handsome and beautiful, perfectly matched…”

“?”

Ye Hongshang’s gaze shifted slightly and interjected:

“You’re the Ancestor now. One word from you, and every disciple of the Dan Ding Sect will treat it as a sacred decree. If you have this intention, why not arrange the match yourself?”

True Person Qixia knew no one here personally—she analyzed everything from an outsider’s perspective. Hearing this, she immediately shook her head:

“No way. Marriage requires mutual affection. If I arrange Nan Gongye with him, Linghu Qingmo will hate the Ancestor forever.

“Since the bond already exists, Mount Zihui mustn’t hold them back. Take me to meet this girl—see if I can offer some guidance.”

Ye Hongshang knew what True Person Qixia possessed, but had never dared to use others’ resources before. Hearing this, she pulled out a crystal ball with her left hand, showing Wei Yin winning eleven matches in a row:

“By the way, help your sister first—deal with this man tomorrow…”

True Person Qixia frowned, putting down the books:

“What kind of talk is that? So distant! Do you have to wait until tomorrow to deal with someone? Where is he?”

As she spoke, she rolled up her sleeves and rushed out, ready to ask a Daoist friend to help her cultivate!

Ye Hongshang quickly stopped her: “Hey hey! This is a tournament! Xie Jin must win fairly and squarely. You can’t just go kill someone with no grudge!”

True Person Qixia sat back down, looking troubled:

“A tournament? Then this won’t be easy. He seems to possess the Five Directions’ Divine Blessings—Xie Jin doesn’t have such fortune. Strength overcomes all—he’ll lose no matter what he’s taught.”

Ye Hongshang spoke solemnly: “Mount Zihui has six hundred years of heritage—can’t it outmatch Snow Eagle Ridge’s three generations of accumulation?”

True Person Qixia understood, and shrugged:

"The Zhenglun Sword is in his hands, and he dares not even use an umbrella. The Five Directions' Blessings must be nurtured slowly; tomorrow is out of the question. His cultivation techniques and divine powers can't compete with raw power overwhelming all. What else can I give him?"

Ye Hongshang exhausted himself trying to help Xie Jinhuan, and after a moment's thought, he said:

"His demeanor and past are much like yours. Try helping him open his Dragon Vein. I sense he has the same potential as you—only it hasn't been awakened."

"Really?"

Qixia True Person doubted but said no more; he leapt down from his chair and walked out...

———

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(End of Chapter)