Chapter 222: Die Knowing

The brilliant lightning flashing deep in the wasteland could be clearly seen dozens of li away.

The poison rats who had come hoping to pick up scraps after spotting the Fire Phoenix Valley’s commotion were terrified to find a pack of top-tier cultivators fighting inside and fled straight away, heads down.

After the mist sea dispersed, the hundred-li region around became a dead, uninhabited wasteland.

Yet the disturbances beneath the ground continued.

Boom… boom…

Boom…

The roar of qi blasts and the explosions of fire techniques echoed through the underground space, sounding like a fire serpent rampaging beneath the earth.

As the sound drew closer to the surface, a spot on the desert suddenly swelled and bulged—

BOOM—

Soil and stone exploded into the air, along with a golden-red pillar of flame; at night, it looked like a volcano erupting, lava spewing forth!

A figure tumbled out of the blazing flames, crashing into the ground and leaving a crater; his sword had melted into a half-burnt iron rod, his body charred black, his robes barely recognizable, and as soon as he touched the earth, he leapt up and staggered away in flight.

Ssshhhh~

Sand and fire rained down, scattering across the desert to form over a hundred small fire spots.

After the exploded hole fell silent, an old man clad in black-and-gold Daoist robes burst upward from the fissure, surrounded by crimson auras that added a scorching heat to the entire desert.

The Imperial Fire Talisman, once held in hand, now glowed entirely golden-red and floated beside him; the carved image of the Vermilion Bird on its back appeared alive, manifesting a phantom fire bird that flew alongside.

Lu Yan clutched the unconscious Xi Yanjun in his left arm, his eyes like a hellfire forge born from slaughter, swiftly scanning the vast plain.

Not spotting Xie Jinhuan lying in wait, he looked down at the several sword and knife wounds on his body and muttered angrily:

“A rank-seven rogue and a gang boss of no consequence—dare they steal my treasure…”

Though his words were contemptuous, the divine power expended in this battle exceeded what he’d used in the past decade and more.

The fortune he carried had been seized by others and passed down through generations; to waste it like this might mean he couldn’t even pass it on to his disciple—his heart bled.

Yet his sect master truly had divine foresight: he’d said “first fortune, then misfortune,” and so it came to pass.

Had he seized the chance the first time, rushed in, and seized the opportunity, Xie Jinhuan—still in the midst of refining it—would have had no room to maneuver and would have been forced to abandon the treasure and flee; Lu Yan could have taken it and left.

But his momentary carelessness led him into a chain of traps, nearly costing him half his life and leaving him covered in goosebumps from disgust…

Thinking of this, Lu Yan felt his Dao heart destabilize, his fury surging skyward!

Yet Lu Yan was no fool; during the struggle, he noticed no one was covering the rear, and realized Xie Jinhuan had already fled.

As for why these southern martialists had come here chasing him—he didn’t understand.

They opened with two lethal strikes; when they saw Xie Jinhuan hadn’t pulled any tricks, they sensed something was wrong.

But they were ruthless too: seeing an old, lonely man dragging along a burden, they grew bold with malice and set their sights on his Imperial Fire Talisman and Lingguang Divine Gift.

With no other choice, Lu Yan had to risk his life to repel them first, then pursue the cunning brat.

Now that he saw Xie Jinhuan had completely vanished after feasting on the spoils, Lu Yan burned with rage and wanted to storm into Luojing and demand an explanation.

But that was clearly unrealistic: celestial artifacts belong to the capable; as an elder, being toyed with by a junior and then daring to show up and demand justice? He wouldn’t even need Lu Wu to move—a single spit from the heroes of the realm would drown him.

To settle this account, Xie Jinhuan would have to walk straight into the Northern Zhou’s arms—but that was impossible…

Lu Yan swiftly absorbed the surrounding heavenly energy to restore his qi sea; after a moment of vigilance, seeing no more fools dared approach, he landed on the ground and gradually suppressed his aura.

Thud~

Xi Yanjun hit the ground and regained consciousness, blinking in confusion as he found himself back on the surface; his uncle was covered in wounds—he scrambled up, eyes wide with alarm:

“Uncle, what happened…”

SLAP—

Lu Yan had once thought Xi Yanjun a promising disciple, but after witnessing the mentality and courage of the southern juniors, he now saw him as a useless waste; he swung his hand and sent the boy flying eight zhang away:

“Go back to Northern Zhou on your own. If you die on the way, you’ll die on the cultivation path anyway—I’d be saving you the trouble either way.”

“Huh?”

Seeing his guardian abandon him, Xi Yanjun’s face paled; he opened his mouth to ask—but then remembered certain irrational fragments…

Oh god…

Xi Yanjun opened his mouth, then dared not utter a sound; he cautiously scanned his surroundings and quietly crept northward…

——

On the other side.

Xu Guan held a broken half-sword, staggering across the desert; after fleeing over a hundred li and seeing no pursuers, he collapsed onto the ground, hiding in a rock fissure; his body was pitch-black, naked, his hair and eyebrows gone, looking like a corpse crawled from a bonfire.

“Huff… huff…”

Though he had long heard that Lu Yan, the sect leader of Wuling Mountain, was the strongest fire cultivator beneath the sect master, Lu Yan still belonged to the Daoist sect of Northern Zhou.

As a southern martialist, Xu Guan had never encountered him; only after this clash did he realize Northern Zhou’s second-ranked Daoist matched the likes of Long Poyuan and Duan Yuechou—not the tail-end of the Seven Heroes like him.

Though Lu Yan couldn’t draw on heavenly energy underground and moved awkwardly, his own qi sea still allowed him to unleash Eight Gates Burning Array, Vermilion Bird Counterstrike, and Li Fire Protection Charm.

Add to that the Imperial Fire Talisman and Lingguang Divine Gift—he was a fire porcupine; stab him once and you’d lose half your life yourself; on the surface, he wouldn’t even dare touch him—he’d be drowned in blazing true fire.

But thankfully, the underground’s restrictions were severe enough that he’d survived…

Xu Guan had originally hoped to seize the opportunity and advance further, but after this battle, he only wanted to retire from the martial world and live as a wealthy merchant; at his age and with his wealth, he could indulge in wine pools and meat forests for decades.

But alas, once you enter the cultivation path, you either achieve immortality or perish utterly; since ancient times, how many have retired peacefully?

As Xu Guan breathed softly to refill his qi sea, his peripheral vision suddenly caught something wrong.

He looked up—and saw a figure standing at the edge of the fissure!

The figure was an old man wrapped in a black-green cloak, leaning on a dragon-headed cane; beneath his hood, his face bore an air of ancient weariness, yet upon closer look, he wasn’t truly old; his black eyes resembled inked dragons lurking in the abyss, silently watching him.?!

Seeing this appearance, Xu Guan’s soul trembled; without a moment’s thought, he thrust his sword toward his own brow.

Hum~

Too late—his right hand had barely raised the sword when it froze mid-air.

Xu Guan struggled desperately, but felt as if a python had seized his soul; his arm refused to obey.

“Such a fine body—destroying it would be a waste.”

“S…Sikong Qian!”

Xu Guan’s eyes were filled with bone-deep terror as he stammered:

“I’m a righteous cultivator! You were taught by Ye Sheng—if you capture righteous cultivators to make puppets…”

Sikong Tianyuan leaned on his cane, speaking solemnly:

“Prejudices run deep. I, the master of the Poison and Charm Sect—why would I care for a few puppet brats? Your paltry cultivation—even if you followed me, who could you possibly fight?”

“…”

Xu Guan had grown up in Daqian, and his image of Sikong Tianyuan was that of a cruel, wicked witch cultist.

Now hearing this, he thought back carefully—and realized it made sense.

Sikong Tianyuan’s opponents were sect masters; even with this “Seven Heroes puppet,” could he withstand even a few cuts from Wei Wuyi?

Even if the sect master ignored his broken puppet, what could he kill?

Thinking of this, a glimmer of hope flickered in Xu Guan’s eyes:

“Then… what does Sikong Qian intend?”

“Your body’s foundation is strong; the poison insects nurtured from your primordial blood can injure even the masters of major sects.”

“?”

This was even worse than becoming a puppet…

Xu Guan’s face was blackened beyond recognition, yet he was utterly pale:

“Sikong Qian! Raising poison insects on righteous cultivators…”

Sikong Tianyuan shook his head:

“You conspired with sea pirates to ambush and kill countless righteous youths famed across Daqian—how dare you call yourself ‘righteous’? If I hand you over to the Daqian court, do you think you’ll live or die?”

“…”

Xu Guan fell silent, then frowned sharply:

“Was this your setup? Did you know everything?”

Sikong Tianyuan stroked his cane, speaking openly:

“This boy is a threat—he’s disrupted many of my plans. Though the damage was minor and things still follow the old scheme, if I don’t eliminate him early, he may still disrupt everything.”

“I thought you and Yan Lang, two top-tier martialists, with Jiang Qizi lying in wait like a heron—Xie Jinhuan had no chance. But I never expected you two useless fools to be toyed with by a yellow-haired brat, and then go after Lu Yan…”

?

Xu Guan thought this old dog was truly vile; the moment he stepped out of Daqian, he’d become a scapegoat; now his eyes burned with fury:

“How did you know my and Xie Jinhuan’s whereabouts?”

Sikong Tianyuan replied calmly:

“Sanjiangkou is no bigger than a palm—everything can be seen at a glance. You took lodging in the county; Liang Yue of the Black Yan Gang met with you multiple times; then Liang Yue was followed by Bu Yuehua; Bu Yuehua made contact with Xie Jinhuan.

“Afterward, Liang Yue left with you; Bu Yuehua boarded a boat with Xie Jinhuan. Xie Jinhuan returned to the capital, then vanished.

“Black Yan Gang and Bu Yuehua have spent the past year probing the Phoenix Tomb in the southern frontier—the opportunity truly emerged. Do you think it’s hard to guess where you’d go next?”

Xu Guan stared in disbelief, asking:

“You were in Sanjiangkou too?”

“The scene was so grand—I happened to be watching from the shadows.”

“With your cultivation, why go through such trouble? Why not just assassinate him yourself?”

Sikong Tianyuan shook his head and looked up at the sky:

“Heaven watches all deeds. On the cultivation path, never make yourself the pawn—especially when dealing with prodigies of extraordinary background.”

For instance, right now you think you can walk over anyone, but then you meet Lu Yan; Lu Yan thinks he can walk over anyone, never expecting old man I am watching from behind the scenes; I believe I have no rival in the Southern Frontier, but who knows if some old devil lurks in the shadows, secretly protecting this boy?

Even if this boy has no protector, given his uncanny, almost divinely aided foundation, I cannot be certain this news won’t reach outsiders’ ears.

Entering the game, you might win a hundred times, but one loss means death and the end of your Dao. But if you stay out of the game, you still have a second chance, a third chance—there will always be a time to win.

…

Xu Guan heard these words and knew he had no chance of survival; he gritted his teeth, desperate to bite down even as he died, yet he could not even struggle.

Sikong Tianyuan raised his Chi Dragon staff and pointed it at Xu Guan below:

“I have already let you die with understanding—why waste energy on futile struggles?”

Boom~

A muffled crash!

Xu Guan did not see any qi blast scatter, but a soul-shattering impact, like a mountain collapsing, slammed into his third eye, plunging him into darkness…

———

If seeking or 2

(Chapter End)