[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-watching-the-immortals-fall":3,"chapter-watching-the-immortals-fall-watching-the-immortals-fall-chapter-160":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","Watching the Immortals Fall",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2260033,4410,"Chapter 160: Eight-Hundred-Li Urgent Report!","watching-the-immortals-fall-chapter-160",160,"\u003Cp>\"Fengzhou urgent report, eight hundred li! Civilians, clear the way!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Tianshu Academy student Ji You has established a noble family; let all within the prefecture know!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Fengzhou urgent report, eight hundred li! Tianshu Academy student Ji You has established a noble family...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>From dawn, when the documents were signed, until midday, countless notices were dispatched at breakneck speed from the Fengzhou government office, their cries rolling like thunder through streets and alleys.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Some were sent to local immortal sects, others to every county and prefecture within Fengzhou, still others to Shengjing; hooves clattered, shattering the silence of mountains and rivers, kicking up clouds of dust as they raced onward.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At this moment, from Yuyang County to Yecheng, spanning a thousand li, the event that decided Fengzhou’s fate had finally come to an end.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Five Immortal Villages were utterly defeated; the few remaining lower-realm cultivators had no strength left to fight.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Those immortal villages that had not joined the mountain ambush against Ji You now fell into unanimous silence, watching the riders galloping across the boundless barren land, their teeth clenched in frustration.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As Cao Jingsong had said, those who dared not strike last night, no matter how furious they felt, now dared not move again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thus, the sound of hooves, like iron striking iron, echoed across the entire Fengzhou land, deafening in its volume.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At this moment, in Yuyang County of Fengzhou, autumn leaves turned golden, dusk deepened with dark clouds; after the harvest, countless grains lay spread across the threshing grounds.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Before Fang Ruoyao stepped forward, she could not help but glance toward the Ji residence.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She had returned for half a month; a few days ago she could still see Ji You, knowing he trained in some kind of combined-harvesting sword art, but these past few days, she had received no word from him at all.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As his former fiancée, standing on the land where they grew up together, it was impossible for her heart not to ache with longing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet just then, she suddenly noticed a crowd approaching from outside the city, their faces grim as they headed toward the Memorial Arch Street, growing larger and larger, seemingly endless.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"What has happened?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fang Ruoyao furrowed her brow slightly, then stepped forward to follow them, arriving at the Memorial Arch Street, where she saw them all surge into the Kuang household.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the courtyard, Kuang Cheng stood beneath a tree with yellowed, withered leaves, silent.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Beside him stood Uncle Qing from West City, along with his elderly mother.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fang Ruoyao blinked in surprise, her gaze fixed on Uncle Qing’s mother, her expression stunned.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For she had heard just days ago that this year’s harvest had been terrible, and with so many mouths to feed, Uncle Qing had been forced to send his aging mother to the Elder Care Pavilion.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Logically, Uncle Qing’s mother should already have been entombed—but why was she here, in the Kuang household?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Kuang family must give us an explanation for this.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Indeed, though Kuang Cheng holds a high post in the capital, he is not our Fengzhou official; he has no right to act this way—it’s our own family matter.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Digging up the Elder Care Pavilion? That invites heavenly retribution!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Amid the furious crowd, Fang Ruoyao’s red lips parted slightly as she turned to look at Kuang Cheng.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Digging up the Elder Care Pavilion?!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She immediately called over a farmer and inquired about the matter, gradually learning why everyone had gathered at the Kuang household today.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Under crushing tax demands, many elders lost their ability to work yet remained alive, adding another share of tax burden.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thus, the Elder Care Pavilion custom had long existed in Fengzhou, now so commonplace no one questioned it; some even claimed that parents dying early brought blessings to their descendants.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But no one expected Kuang Cheng to pick up a hoe, climb the mountain, and dig the elders out.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The incident exploded so violently that the entire Yuyang County erupted in uproar.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Some said taxes were about to be collected; each additional person meant another share to pay—who would cover it?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In this world, even able-bodied laborers struggled to survive; how much less so the dying elderly?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They knew Kuang Cheng had always been kind-hearted since childhood, but never imagined he would return to do something so shocking.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Most crucially, Kuang Cheng had used his official status in the capital to threaten everyone in the county: for now, no more Elder Care Pavilions were to be built.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>How long would this “now” last?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Tax collection was imminent; for families still harboring elders, this was tantamount to driving them to death.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the heavy silence of the Kuang household courtyard, Kuang Cheng kept his gaze fixed, saying nothing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Others might not understand, but everyone in the Kuang family knew he had worn this same grim expression for days.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet by dismantling others’ Elder Care Pavilions and banning new ones, he owed the people an explanation; silence was no solution.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"He’s become an official in the capital—I can no longer control him...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I’ve asked him these past days why he’s doing this, yet he won’t utter a word—he’s as if possessed!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Kuang patriarch slammed his hand on the table, his face flushed with rage, his beard trembling with fury.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing even the Kuang patriarch oppose his grandson, the crowd outside grew even more incensed, hurling accusations.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Amid the chaotic household, countless clamorous voices poured into his ears, yet the scholar remained silent.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just then, a thunder of hooves and the clanging of bronze gongs rang out along the main street of Yuyang County, instantly silencing the crowd.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hearing the sound, Kuang Cheng’s eyes flew open; he leapt to his feet, shoved through the crowd, and sprinted out of his home.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The crowd surrounding the Kuang residence followed, surging en masse to the Memorial Arch Street, where they saw three riders gallop into the city, their cries echoing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Fengzhou urgent report, eight hundred li!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Tianshu Academy student Ji You has established a noble family in Fengzhou; Fengzhou will no longer pay tribute to outside immortal villages!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Fengzhou urgent report, eight hundred li!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Tianshu Academy student Ji You has established a noble family in Fengzhou; Fengzhou will no longer pay tribute to outside immortal villages!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As the words fell, the Memorial Arch Street fell utterly silent—then erupted in chaos; even Fang Ruoyao’s eyes widened as she realized where Ji You had been these past days.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>On her way here, she had overheard a few people discussing the establishment of a noble family.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What risks it entailed, what deadly peril it carried—she dared not even imagine.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet in barely half a month, he had become the sole patriarch of Fengzhou’s first native immortal family.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fang Ruoyao stood transfixed for a long while, then suddenly saw her father rush out of the mansion in full official robes, reverently receiving the message from the Fengzhou government, then turning to look at her amid the crowd, his expression deeply complex.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Four years ago, on this very street, under similar crowds of onlookers,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>her Fang family, surrounded by servants wielding clubs, had forced him to sign the betrothal cancellation at the nearby clinic.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Now everyone could not help but look at Kuang Cheng—as if looking at Ji You.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For the two of them had been nearly identical youths, doing nearly identical things.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"It’s done...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You truly are you, Brother Ji...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Kuang Cheng, with sleeves clean of worldly gain, murmured softly to himself.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Meanwhile, more detailed news, carried swiftly by emissaries from other sects, had already spread to the other eight prefectures.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This speed far outpaced even Fengzhou’s eight-hundred-li urgent report.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Ji You established a noble family.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Didn’t it turn into a battle?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"It’s over—everyone’s dead...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Cao Jingsong and Pei Ruyi, aided by Ji You’s spirit sword, held off four enemies; Ji You drew the battlefield wide, attempting to kill a Rongdao cultivator...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"When he emerged from the mountains, his white robe was drenched in blood...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Chu He, though his hands were severed in their autumn duel, lost fairly—he had no right to complain...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>On the sixth day of Liqiu, Chu He returned home defeated; ever since, the world had buzzed with debate.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Amid the exclamations of awe, there were always dissenting voices.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Like praise always breeds a few sharp criticisms, twisting angles to highlight their own uniqueness.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So some claimed that during the first autumn duel, Chu He’s second son had held back, saving his true strength for the second or even third round.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But Ji You, wary of the millennia-old family’s hidden depths, exploited this mindset—severing his hands in the first round, denying him any chance to unleash his full power.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Otherwise, the outcome of the autumn duel might have been uncertain.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Worldly rumors always vary according to one’s position.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But now, after the night’s outcome at Yecheng Mountain, all such opinions—true or false—were irrelevant.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Twenty-three members of the Five Immortal Villages died, including five Rongdao cultivators; none survived.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ji You departed from Yuyang County and successfully reached the Fengzhou government office, signing the documents.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the first year of Taiyuan, in the eighth month, before tax collection began, Fengzhou’s first native noble family was established.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Bai Ruilong, Ban Yangshu, and Wen Zhengxin had not slept all night, anxiously awaiting news from Fengzhou, their hearts in turmoil.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lord Bai Ruilong had even lost the will to visit the Sword Grove to see his son, wearing an expression of gravity he had never shown since birth.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They were in Shengjing, unable to see the dusty plains of Fengzhou.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Especially since the shift from negotiation to war had come too swiftly, leaving no time to react.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Now, hearing Ji You had signed the noble family documents, they sat in the courtyard outside Ji You’s residence, gazing at the distant clouds.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Dammit, now I really have to pay to work.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the courtyard, most female cultivators—Lu Qingqiu, Lou Siyi—recalled the image of that man etched deepest into their hearts.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then they dressed him in bloodstained robes in their minds, placing him in the murderous night, imagining his strike against a Rongdao cultivator, lips bitten, secretly longing to bear his child.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But in the Administration Courtyard and some inner disciples, another matter drew greater attention—details revealed by the Fengzhou emissary.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Ji You killed eighteen Tongxuan cultivators, then pressed forward and encountered two Rongdao cultivators pursuing him—one wielding a blade, the other a steel whip.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Three times. Not four.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I saw four times. Could’ve been five or six.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Either way, the village lord with the blade and the one with the steel whip nearly struck Ji You multiple times—but their weapons suddenly veered off, as if blocked by something unseen, failing to land true; otherwise, Ji You might have been gravely wounded.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When the three administrators heard this, they fell silent for a long while, stunned.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After that, they could no longer hear what the disciple said next.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At the same time, within the inner courtyard of the Heavenly Book Academy, He Lingxiu and others who had gone to the outer courtyard to watch the Autumn Duel also heard those words, their eyes slowly widening.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The weapon suddenly veered off course, as if blocked by some unseen force.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This description was not unfamiliar to them; merely imagining it, they knew it resembled exactly what Chu He used—the [Huntian Art], the technique passed down through his lineage…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>How could this be?!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And the repercussions of this event extended far beyond the shock among the cultivators of Qingyun Realm at his slaying of a Rongdao cultivator, or the disbelief stirred by the details.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Simultaneously, countless waves of malice arose.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At noon, under the bright sun in the inner courtyard, a group of disciples were chatting about this matter when a tutor arriving from the Longevity Hall confronted them and scolded them for half an hour.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Also within the inner courtyard, in the Purple Bamboo Zen Grove, another tutor angrily denounced the new student as having the heart of a wolf and the ambition of a tiger.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In Qingyun Realm, among the human race’s thousand-year history, clans, immortal sects, and immortal estates had long since become intertwined through marriage and blood ties—“one hair pulled, the whole body moves” was no empty phrase.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Some tutors themselves came from powerful clans and had murky, inextricable ties with those immortal estates.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So, not long after, certain clans within the Five Halls began to spread word that they would absolutely not admit Ji You into their halls.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Those immortal estates claimed bandits lurked in the mountains to ambush Ji You—really, if they died, they weren’t unjustly killed. Over these years, whether sect or clan, they’ve always acted this way, hiding behind veils.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“But what Ji You did went too far.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“If you’re going to hide your actions, death is normal—but what did Ji You say? He said he came solely to kill, and forbade anyone from retreating.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“This isn’t just about life and death anymore—he’s striking hard at the faces of the clans behind those immortal estates.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Most importantly, he cut off their heads and carried them out of the mountains, dumping them in Fengzhou’s prefectural capital.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“When honor is at stake, many cannot bear it—just like when the ruins incident occurred, the Heavenly Book Academy sent out a host of expendable disciples to die, yet being besieged by Lingjian Mountain was a loss of face.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He Lingxiu murmured to several fellow cultivators beside her, her brow slightly furrowed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Before Ji You left the mountain, He Lingxiu had personally invited him to join the Zizai Hall, promising him treatment no less favorable than that of a direct disciple.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But even the Zizai Hall had several clustered clans with deep ties to the immortal estates of Fengzhou; after the Yecheng Mountain incident, some elders in the hall had black faces since dawn.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Among them, Elder Luo’s face was the blackest.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Luo Pingshan was a distant relative of their Luo clan, who had once cultivated at the Heavenly Book Academy; according to the message-delivering disciples, he had begged for mercy in the mountains.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That alone had already shamed the Luo clan and brought disgrace upon this elder.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But what this Elder Luo found even harder to accept was that even his distant nephew’s plea for mercy had been ignored—and he was still killed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Ji You, under the pretense of returning home as a recruitment tutor, actually intends to establish a clan in Fengzhou Prefecture—this move is utterly unexpected, catching everyone off guard.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Had I known, I would have joined Po Yue Estate long ago and slain this boy within the mountains!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“True, he has established a clan—but fundamentally, he remains a rustic private cultivator, alone in this world, utterly unaware of how terrifying the wrath of our clans can be!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No sooner had Elder Luo finished speaking than his scalp prickled with dread, a sudden, overwhelming fear surging through his heart, making it tremble violently.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Heavenly Book Academy teaches the Book of Heaven; no matter which Dao a cultivator emphasizes, they must always supplement it with Heavenly Mechanism.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Elder Luo realized that at this very moment, as he harbored this thought, an ominous premonition had subtly formed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In other words, if he truly acted as he had just declared, he would likely invite trouble.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He was already a Wujiang cultivator, holding high status even within the Zizai Hall; few in the world could trouble him, let alone some remote corner like Fengzhou.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Elder Luo took a deep breath, finding it unbelievable.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Meanwhile, during the time it took for the eight-hundred-li urgent report to arrive, Ji You had already bathed and changed clothes in the prefectural capital, now standing in the courtyard wearing a scholar’s robe, gazing upward as if fixed on something.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At this moment, several of He Zhang’s daughters peered through gauze windows, their faces flushed with curiosity and shyness as they watched him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What is he looking at?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The clouds?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What’s so special about clouds? Why doesn’t he come look at me?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Hey, little sister, don’t be so forward.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Amidst their chattering whispers, a peerless sword qi suddenly erupted from the northwest, piercing the heavens, slicing across the sky in an instant before returning southward, leaving behind a long, unbroken scar across ten thousand li of clouds.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Clang!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A teacup shattered.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Cao Jinsong and Pei Ruyi, who had been drinking tea in the side hall, suddenly burst out of the pavilion, staring at the horizon, their eyes filled with horror.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Is there a fully-reached Upper Fifth Realm cultivator in the city…?!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Pei Ruyi held her breath: “Perhaps… he’s just passing through?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Cao Jinsong’s face grew grim: “This is Fengzhou—not Zhongzhou!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A fully-reached Upper Fifth Realm cultivator was a foundational force even within immortal sects; Fengzhou had no clans at all—how could such a supreme being hide here?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Remember, though last night’s battle was fierce, to an Upper Fifth Realm master, it was no different than children fighting with sticks.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Had he wished, last night he could have simply waved his hand—and all three of us would have exploded instantly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Realizing this, Cao Jinsong and Pei Ruyi’s scalps prickled; they had never imagined that during their arrogant display last night, they had been standing on the edge of a blade.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But why, then, had that supreme being not acted last night?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Other Upper Fifth Realm cultivators in the city, too, had sensed that terrifying aura, and could not help but look up, clenching their fists tightly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So yesterday, there had been a fully-reached Upper Fifth Realm cultivator in Fengzhou!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Too bad he didn’t act—if he had, Ji You, even with three heads and six arms, could never have escaped Yecheng Mountain!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But this is the foundation of the Nine Provinces’ clans—no matter how strong Ji You is, he remains alone; how can he stand against this vast world?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The emergence of this aura was clearly a warning.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It said: Establishing a clan is acceptable—but don’t go too far!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hearing the commotion, He Zhang, the Prefect of Fengzhou, stepped out of his study, staring at the long scar across the sky, then at the shock and gravity on Cao Jinsong and Pei Ruyi’s faces, his heart sinking.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So even after signing the documents, Fengzhou’s first clan remains so unstable?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Of course—he’s still alone…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Ji You, you can’t stay here long. Go pack your things—we’ll depart for the Academy this afternoon.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Could it be… that I summoned him?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At these words, Cao Jinsong and Pei Ruyi froze; even He Zhang’s eyes widened.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Everyone knew Ji You came from a mortal landlord family in Yuyang County, then lost his household entirely, barely surviving from meal to meal.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So they found it impossible to believe Ji You could summon a fully-reached Upper Fifth Realm cultivator to stand guard.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Cao Jinsong stared at him for a long while: “Are you joking? That’s a fully-reached Upper Fifth Realm!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“True.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Are you some secret bastard?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ji You listened, thought for a moment, and silently replied: Not a secret bastard—but close enough; he was the secret husband.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Is this the aroma of soft rice?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Delicious. I like it. I eat it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Meanwhile, atop the Xuanjian Peak of Lingjian Mountain, Ding Yao and Zhuo Wanqiu hurried up the mountain.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lingzhou and Fengzhou lay far apart, north and south; their news arrived far slower than from the northern three sects—but by afternoon, they had heard the rumors and rushed up the mountain.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet as they reached the summit, they found an aged swordsman standing before the hall: Qi Changlao, the Sword Master of Tianjian Peak.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This was the sword Ji You had gifted to their Jia Master; now his daughter had joined Xuanjian Peak, making them practically family.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The two approached and bowed slightly: “Greetings, Elder Qi.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Qi Zhengyang nodded, his white beard fluttering in the wind.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Our Jia Master is still in seclusion—Elder Qi, what brings you here?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No sooner had she spoken than the door to Yun Ding Tian Que opened; Yan Shuyi stepped out, wearing the Jia Master’s immortal robe, crowned with a lustrous crystal immortal cap, her long lashes curled upward, her skin pale and exquisite.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though she had not yet broken through, her aura now radiated even greater divinity than before.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Her graceful figure and peerless beauty were truly unmatched under heaven.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ding Yao and Zhuo Wanqiu exchanged glances, thinking: The Jia Master had clearly ordered no one to disturb her when she entered Wujiang seclusion.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet she herself had broken that rule—already sneaking out three times.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The first was to hear of the Heavenly Book Academy’s Autumn Duel, sending Zhuo Wanqiu to observe; the second, when Zhuo Wanqiu returned with some mind-corrupting items.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The third, one night, when Cui’er descended to visit family, she took her shift and discovered the Jia Master barefoot, emerging from her sealed chamber, watching those mind-corrupting items all night.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Today was her fourth time breaking seclusion.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Elder Qi, you’ve traveled far.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Qi Zhengyang waved his hand: “Jia Master, you flatter me. I merely stood atop the mountain all night, unable to assist—‘hardship’ is too strong a word.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yan Shuyi’s lashes trembled: “You couldn’t assist?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I never got the chance to act—he had already won.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Elder Qi narrowed his eyes, gazing toward the ten-thousand-li clouds above the peak: “That final sword—I showed him only once. I never expected him to truly learn it. Truly, a born sword seed.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yan Shuyi paused, her brow slightly furrowed: “Please, Elder Qi, don’t insult him.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Qi Zhengyang blinked, then waved his hand: “Jia Master, you misunderstand—I meant sword seed, the sword of Lingjian. I speak of one with a clear sword heart, naturally attuned to the Dao of the sword—that is a sword seed.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yan Shuyi listened, then narrowed her eyes, and her roundness subtly lifted.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Elder Qi departed, floating away like the wind.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But the young Jia Master of Lingjian Mountain did not immediately return to seclusion; her lashes trembled as she drifted into thought, thinking: That man I’ve only seen three times has grown stronger.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Before, he was merely pinching her cheeks, biting her toes, hugging her—now…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The young Jia Master couldn’t help but look down at her roundness.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ding Yao and Zhuo Wanqiu had finally caught on, exchanging glances: So the Jia Master had sent Elder Qi to Fengzhou.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So if that’s the case, the Master’s fourth mid-cultivation exit was still because of him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The world all believed the Young Master was a rustic self-cultivator, a lone man, and many looked down on him, sneering and mocking—this attitude persisted even after he entered the Inner Court.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet they did not know that if everything were laid bare, nearly all of Spirit Sword Mountain stood as his behind-the-scenes clan.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But setting aside this connection, the Young Master is no ordinary man.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Eighteen Qi-Transcending, five Fusion Dao—remember, this isn’t some ruin, but real, solid Fusion Dao realm…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As the two were pondering, they suddenly felt a tremor in their hearts, then noticed their swords trembling violently within their scabbards, rising with murderous intent.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But soon, they saw their spirit swords gradually quieting in their scabbards; when they looked up again, their Master—like a goddess descending from heaven—had flushed cheeks.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Oh, by the way, Master, there’s a letter for you.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ding Yao suddenly remembered something, pulled a letter from her bosom, addressed to Yuan Caimei of Yu Danzong: “This letter arrived three days ago. I knew you were in seclusion, so I didn’t report it.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yan Shuyi snapped back to attention, her beautiful eyes falling on the letter: “Is this the reply from last time?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I didn’t read it, but it should be.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After the Autumn Fight incident, Yan Shuyi wrote Yuan Caimei a letter, with a hint of boasting.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Later, Yuan Caimei replied with a letter, which remained in Ding Yao’s possession.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The young Master now opened the envelope and glanced inside—the letter held only a few lines, barely more than ten characters.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yan Shuyi read each word slowly, her brow furrowing, a flicker of confusion and displeasure crossing her eyes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When the Heavenly Book Academy came to Spirit Sword Mountain seeking Dao, they stopped by Yu Danzong on the way; Ji You claimed Yuan Caimei had read first what should have been his first to read.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yan Shuyi thought it was some stranger’s handsome chest, so she wrote to him to say she’d seen it too.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But what is this reply?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Not just that?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What else had that woman, Yuan Caimei, seen?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>(End of Chapter)\u003C\u002Fp>",4079,"2026-06-19T15:28:39.995Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","f23f12c3237492660fe3e5bcb3ff9b6b86ecc32e0c265914e0f6f66d11374385","watching-the-immortals-fall-chapter-161","watching-the-immortals-fall-chapter-159",430,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fwatching-the-immortals-fall-cover.jpg"]