Chapter 397: No Heavenly Secrets to be Seen

"Qin Zhangshi has an order: open the Sect Gate Array."

"Open the Sect Gate Array?"

"Yes, open the array immediately. Do not obstruct the carriages coming from the west."

On a cool autumn afternoon, the disciples responsible for guarding the sect gate received the message from the Zhangshi Yuan and couldn't help but feel surprised.

Because the Heavenly Tian Shuyuan's Sect Gate Array was never fully opened, nor were carriages allowed inside; even when the envoys of the three great Xian Sects came a few days ago, they had parked their chariots at the Nishan Sacred Path.

This couldn't help but make people wonder who was coming.

However, despite their confusion, the guarding disciples took the order arrow and opened the sect gate in advance to wait.

Before long, five carriages coming from the West City arrived with a roar, driving along the Nishan Sacred Path into the academy without stopping for a moment, then speeding all the way toward the Inner Tian Shuyuan, entering the ten-thousand-acre forest, and heading toward the Zizai Hall amidst a flurry of sand and dust.

When the carriages stopped at the White Grass Lawn, Ding Yao and Zhuo Wanqiu jumped off the carriage shafts and arrived before the third carriage.

Kuangcheng Yan Shuyi had already gotten off, with Yuan Caiwei following closely behind, while Ji You lay in the carriage, no different from before—still with eyes tightly closed, without a shred of aura leaking out.

"Appraisal Master..."

"Send him into the hall."

"Yes."

Ding Yao and Zhuo Wanqiu responded and helped Ji You out, and together with the crowd that ran over, they carried him toward the deep hall.

At this time, Kuangcheng Yan Shuyi, who should have followed, paused slightly before the hall door.

As the sound of footsteps from the empty hall grew more distant, her eyelashes fluttered slightly, and she turned and headed down the mountain, leaving Nishan alone.

The disciples guarding the mountain gate were guessing the identity of the people in the carriages when they suddenly saw the Spirit Sword Mountain Little Appraisal Master coming down the mountain from the academy, and couldn't help but be slightly stunned.

By the time they regained their senses, they discovered she had already left Nishan and was heading toward the city.

They were somewhat surprised that the Little Appraisal Master was at the Heavenly Tian Shuyuan, but even more surprised that today's Spirit Sword Mountain Little Appraisal Master seemed different from the past; she was no longer that cold, arrogant, and confident person—instead, that incomparably beautiful face was filled with timidity and panic.

At the same time, Ji You had already been sent into the hall.

Zuo Qiuyang had been waiting in the front hall for a long time; seeing Ji You now, his Dao heart couldn't help but tremble.

To be honest, even though Cao Jingsong's message was very clear, he still did not believe the so-called "soul returning to the Heavenly Dao" of Ji You.

Because his Master had been extremely concerned about Ji You when he ascended, he felt that Ji You would not die, and even if he did, it shouldn't be so silent.

But only when he truly saw Ji You did he discover that the soul was indeed gone from the opponent's body.

More accurately, he felt that what he saw was not Ji You, but merely an empty shell, just like the porcelain vase in this hall—gorgeous on the surface but empty inside.

How could this be?

"Place him on the bed in the back hall."

You Yingqiu also looked at Ji You with a solemn face, observing for a moment before giving the order.

Ding Yao and Zhuo Wanqiu nodded upon hearing this and immediately, together with the others, carried their Young Master toward the back hall.

Ji You, having lost his aura, would not have any resistance, just like a doll that could be manipulated at will, and he was sent to the back hall without much effort.

"Truly, the soul is gone..."

"The aura is also gone, the pulse is dead silent."

Zuo Qiuyang and You Yingqiu first examined Ji You in their own ways, and the more they looked, the more solemn they became.

"What did Sect Leader Yuan say?"

They looked at Yuan Caiwei, and saw this daughter of the Pill Sect speak in a hoarse voice, informing them of everything her father had said.

After hearing this, Zuo Qiuyang did not say anything more, rose and moved a few steps away, while You Yingqiu ordered the disciples in the hall to close the door and sat cross-legged before Ji You.

With the soul gone, the Pill Sect naturally had no way.

They wanted to use Heavenly Secret Arts to observe the Heavenly Secrets, feeling it was the last hope.

You Yingqiu gathered her spirit, silently reciting, and the next instant, an endless mystical aura erupted from her body, and her eyes instantly bloomed with a surging silver light.

It was a light different from the color of the soul, pure and clean, and in just a flash, it caused a resonance of heaven and earth, circling the entire Zizai Peak.

At this time, in You Yingqiu's Heavenly Eyes, countless things began to dissipate; the hall, the bed, the crowd surrounding her—all were scattered into long lines, stretching far away in an instant.

This was the supreme secret technique of the Heavenly Tian Shuyuan's inheritance, a technique of insight pointing directly to the Dao; the practitioner could strip away the appearance of all things and glimpse the "Dao" and "Reason" intertwined behind them.

At that time, every blade of grass and tree in her eyes was no longer an ordinary object, but a manifestation of the laws of heaven and earth, an extension of the veins of the Dao.

And when her gaze met a person, she could see the endless lines of cause and effect wrapped around them; the karma of the past, the fate of the present, and the possibilities of the future were all as clear as the lines on one's palm.

Ji You was also a line in her eyes, straight and long.

Then she beckoned gently, and the line representing Ji You began to shrink toward her rapidly, flowing through her palm inch by inch.

A person's life is extremely long, and cause and effect are even more complex and vast; wanting to see all the connections puts immense pressure on the practitioner's soul.

But You Yingqiu knew she didn't need to see that much.

They were unwilling to accept Ji You's death, just wanting to find a glimmer of hope, and she didn't believe Ji You would return so suddenly, so she only needed to look at his life line.

She wanted to see his future to confirm whether that glimmer of hope existed.

Shu-shu-shu—

The long line Ji You transformed into kept winding around her palm; unknown how much time passed, the line suddenly tightened, and what followed in an instant was a void of darkness.

Seeing this, You Yingqiu couldn't help but fall into silence, only slowly opening her eyes after a long time.

"How is it?"

"He has no future."

Cao Jingsong already had internal injuries; hearing these words, a wisp of fresh blood spilled from the corner of his mouth.

The light in Ding Yao and Zhuo Wanqiu's eyes instantly faded, and Yuan Chen suddenly shouted "Sister" and rushed toward Yuan Caiwei, who was suddenly standing unsteadily.

Here, only Zuo Qiuyang still had his brow tightly furrowed.

The revelation left by his Master when he ascended was that if they didn't know what to do later, they should look at what Ji You would do; but if he really died like this, how were they supposed to look?

While pondering, Zuo Qiuyang's eyes suddenly stunned slightly, discovering something wrong.

"Wasn't it said that the Little Appraisal Master also came along? Where is the Appraisal Master?"

"Appraisal Master..."

Ding Yao and Zhuo Wanqiu, who were already on the verge of tears, hurriedly looked back, only to discover that their Appraisal Master was truly not in the Zizai Hall, and their eyes couldn't help but become bewildered.

That's not right; their Appraisal Master had clearly followed all the way here, not willing to leave the Young Master for even half a step, so why was she not in the hall now?

The two were stunned for a moment, then quickly walked toward the outside of the hall, first looking at the carriage in the White Grass Lawn, then flying all the way to the Heavenly Tian Shuyuan's sect gate, but they didn't see any trace of the Appraisal Master.

The two stood stunned on the Nishan Sacred Path, staring at the vast Shengjing.

Although their Appraisal Master had been to Shengjing many times, every time she came, she was actually sticking to the Young Master and hadn't been to many places, so the place she was most often in was the Young Master's residence; therefore, they felt the Appraisal Master surely wouldn't have gone too far.

While pondering, the two suddenly exchanged a look, simultaneously thinking of a place, and then flew toward the city.

The sun tilted slightly downward, and the sudden rise of the autumn wind added a touch of coolness to the city.

Before long, two figures landed before the door of the Wulu Firm.

And when they pushed open the wooden door, they saw the Spirit Sword Mountain Little Appraisal Master waiting quietly before the threshold of the main hall, without saying a word.

"Finished looking? Did they say when he would wake up?" Kuangcheng Yan Shuyi saw the two find her and couldn't help but ask.

"Appraisal Master..."

"Sleeping for a long time should also have a time limit—one year, two years, or ten or eight years; there should always be a time. Anyway, he's just a stranger I've met a few times, I'm not afraid of waiting too long, really."

Ding Yao and Zhuo Wanqiu lowered their heads simultaneously upon hearing this, then shook their heads in response.

It wasn't that he would wake up, nor was it about how long he would sleep; this shaking of the head meant he would not wake up.

Hearing this answer, the Little Appraisal Master fell into silence.

Her way of getting along with Ji You had always been strange—distant yet close, full of disdain, but in fact, she was really a bit attached to him, so she had never thought he would have the possibility of leaving her.

How could this be? Everything was clearly going so smoothly.

Kuangcheng Yan Shuyi's eyes fluttered, unable to understand no matter how she thought about it.

And seeing her reaction, the tears that Ding Yao and Zhuo Wanqiu had held back the entire way finally couldn't help but fall "pa-pa".

They felt they shouldn't have come; the Appraisal Master had been guarding the Young Master the whole way, perhaps she had known the result in her heart long ago.

But the Appraisal Master was truly timid and didn't want to hear others say it out loud, which was why she had suddenly left; but even if she hid here, she still couldn't escape such bad news.

【I was meditating in the mountains when I suddenly saw a flash of spiritual light, so I followed it to see, and ended up here.】

【My meaning is, how many children does the Appraisal Master want to have?】 ===== CHAPTER 398 =====