Chapter 133 - The Moonlit Garden and the Red Sky
Chapter 133: Chapter 133 - The Moonlit Garden and the Red Sky
The five Radiant Sky Sect disciples left Quiet Jade Inn in the afternoon.
The streets of Azure-Jade City were more crowded than before.
The closer they came to the City Lord Mansion, the more serious the atmosphere became.
At the entrance of the City Lord Mansion, attendants were already waiting.
When they saw the Radiant Sky Sect disciples arrive, the attendants stepped forward and bowed politely.
"Honored guests of Radiant Sky Sect, please follow us. The gathering is being held in Moon-Reflection Garden."
Han Yuelin looked around.
"Are we late?"
The attendant smiled professionally.
"...not late."
That meant late.
The attendants led them through several corridors, past carved stone walls and quiet courtyards, before finally stopping in front of a round moon gate.
Beyond the gate was a garden.
The moment they entered, the noise of the outside world seemed to fade.
A clear lake rested at the center of the garden. Its surface was calm and dark, reflecting a pale moon that should not have existed in the afternoon sky.
White stone bridges arched gently over the water.
Jade lamps stood along the paths.
Pavilions were scattered among flowering trees, and long tables had been arranged neatly beneath hanging curtains of pale silk.
The place was beautiful.
The younger generation from the other factions was already there.
When the Radiant Sky Sect disciples entered, many gazes turned toward them.
For a moment, the garden became quiet.
Some looked at Liu Meng.
Some looked at Ji Ruyue.
Some looked at Qin Baoshan and Han Yuelin.
But many gazes still landed on Su Bai.
Some female cultivators whispered behind sleeves.
"He really does look gentle."
"Too gentle."
"Like he should be drinking medicine, not entering a mystic realm."
"Maybe that is the charm."
Su Bai heard a few words and pretended not to.
His expression remained calm.
Nearby, Chen Feng of Myriad Swords Sect saw them and could not help but sneer.
"Radiant Sky Sect really loves arriving late."
The moment he spoke, several people glanced at him.
Yan Lie of Scorching Sun Valley folded his arms and added coldly, "Do you think the world revolves around you?"
The five Radiant Sky disciples stopped.
They did not get angry. They did not argue.
Liu Meng stepped forward slightly and bowed sincerely.
"I apologize, everyone. Our inn is the farthest from the City Lord Mansion. We should have left earlier."
Chen Feng froze.
Yan Lie also froze.
The words they had prepared disappeared in their throats.
Liu Meng’s apology was too sincere.
There was no sarcasm.
It made the two people who had spoken look narrow-minded.
Chen Feng’s face stiffened.
Yan Lie opened his mouth.
Then closed it.
For the first time in a long while, Yan Lie felt that his anger had punched soft cotton and somehow injured itself.
The surrounding young cultivators looked away, some hiding smiles.
A few stood and greeted the Radiant Sky Sect disciples instead.
"The gathering has not formally begun."
"Please take your seats."
"Sister Liu, there is no need to apologize."
The atmosphere immediately eased.
Yan Lie secretly glanced at Liu Meng again.
For a brief moment, Yan Lie felt as if the fog around his heart had cleared.
Perhaps he had been too stubborn before.
Perhaps Tang Ziyan was not the only girl worth admiring.
Perhaps someone gentle like Liu Meng was better.
Then Liu Meng naturally returned to Su Bai’s side and asked softly, "Senior Brother Su, should we sit over there?"
Yan Lie’s expression darkened again.
The fog returned.
It returned with thunder.
Just then, Bai Zhi, the Holy Maiden of Glass-Lotus Holy See, rose gracefully. Her white robes were clean, her bearing gentle, and the faint holy aura around her made the nearby cultivators feel calm.
Except Su Bai.
Bai Zhi walked toward him.
"Fellow Daoist Su."
Su Bai’s expression remained unchanged.
Then he looked slightly to the side.
Tang Ziyan was there.
Her aura was cold.
Her breath carried poison.
Her sleeves probably hid enough needles to make a small sect reconsider its future.
Su Bai immediately made a decision.
He turned toward Tang Ziyan.
"Miss Tang, I have a question about the Tang Clan’s poison-preserving method."
Tang Ziyan looked at him.
"You do?"
"Yes."
"What question?"
Su Bai paused.
Then said calmly, "I am still thinking of it."
Tang Ziyan stared at him.
Bai Zhi stopped walking.
Her smile remained gentle. But her fingers tightened slightly.
She finally confirmed it.
Su Bai was avoiding her.
Again.
For the first time in Bai Zhi’s life, she felt the urge to curse. She did not even know what she had done wrong.
Her holy aura had soothed thousands of people. It had purified resentment, calmed wounded souls, and made hostile cultivators lower their voices.
Yet Su Bai saw her and went directly toward Tang Ziyan.
A Tang Clan disciple whose every breath seemed to be poison.
Bai Zhi looked at Su Bai.
Then at Tang Ziyan.
Her eyes became complicated.
Tang Ziyan noticed and slowly smiled.
It was not a kind smile.
Su Bai felt the atmosphere becoming strange and quietly sat down.
Soon, Liu Meng, Qin Baoshan, Han Yuelin, and Ji Ruyue also took their seats nearby.
The rest of the young generation settled down again.
For a short while, Moon-Reflection Garden returned to peace.
Tea was poured.
Fruit plates were arranged.
The lake remained still.
Then something changed.
It began with pressure. A cold dread descended over Moon-Reflection Garden.
It did not press on the body first. It pressed on the heart.
The laughter stopped.
The teacups stilled.
The silk curtains stopped moving.
Every young cultivator in the garden fell silent at almost the same time.
Tang Ziyan’s hand moved to her chest.
Her breathing became heavy.
Beside Su Bai, Liu Meng’s face paled slightly. Her fingers tightened around the edge of the table.
Qin Baoshan immediately straightened.
Han Yuelin’s lazy expression vanished.
Ji Ruyue’s hand moved toward her sword.
Across the garden, Yan Lie’s flame aura flickered violently.
Chen Feng’s sword Qi shivered.
Several female cultivators gripped their sleeves.
Bai Zhi’s holy light rose instinctively, but even her expression changed.
The pressure was not strong in terms of cultivation realm.
But it carried the feeling of calamity. The feeling that something old, rotten, and buried had opened its eyes.
Su Bai sat quietly.
He was not crushed.
In truth, the feeling that reached him was different.
Where others felt dread, Su Bai felt a faint stirring.
Su Bai frowned slightly.
He turned his head.
Tang Ziyan was still clutching her chest. Her face had lost some color, but her eyes remained sharp.
Liu Meng’s breathing was uneven, yet she was already adjusting her Qi.
Su Bai’s fingers moved slightly.
He wanted to help.
But before he could act, the pressure began to settle.
The young geniuses recovered one after another.
They were elites after all.
The first wave had caught them off guard.
Once they adjusted, their foundations began to show.
Zhuge Jing, who had been silent until now, opened his eyes.
His gaze swept across the garden.
Then stopped.
"The lake."
His voice was not loud, but it carried clearly.
Everyone looked toward the lake.
The reflection on the water had changed.
The pale moon rippled.
Then a second moon appeared beneath it.
The jade lamps lit by themselves one after another.
The white stone bridge stretched farther than before.
The pavilion behind them began to fade.
Someone stood up abruptly.
"What is happening?"
The lake surface folded.
The garden paths twisted.
The moon gate vanished.
The silk curtains dissolved into mist.
For one breath, the world seemed to become a reflection.
Then the reflection shattered.
When everyone looked again, Moon-Reflection Garden was gone.
The lake was gone.
The tables were gone.
The City Lord Mansion was gone.
They stood in an unfamiliar ruined valley beneath a dark red sky.
Broken stone pillars jutted out of the ground.
Black cracks spread across the earth.
A dry wind carried faint red mist through the ruins.
In the distance, collapsed walls leaned against each other like the bones of a dead city.
The young cultivators moved almost instantly.
Some drew swords.
Some activated talismans.
Some released spiritual sense.
Some gathered around their own sect members.
Yan Lie’s flames burst up first.
"Is this an ambush!?"
His voice echoed through the ruined valley.
Chen Feng drew his sword.
Several Myriad Swords Sect disciples immediately formed a defensive line.
Tang Ziyan’s fingers slid into her sleeve.
A faint violet glint appeared between them.
Bai Zhi raised one hand, holy light spreading around the nearby disciples.
Liu Meng quickly checked the air.
"This mist..."
Ji Ruyue said coldly, "Do not inhale too much."
Qin Baoshan stood in front of the Radiant Sky Sect disciples.
Han Yuelin looked at the red sky.
Then at the missing gate.
Then at the spreading mist.
"I knew I should have kept cultivating."
Su Bai looked around.
Zhuge Jing’s feather fan slowly opened.
His eyes moved rapidly as he studied the space.
"Layered space."
A nearby cultivator’s face changed.
"Layered space? Then this is not the City Lord Mansion anymore?"
Another person shouted, "Could it be the Fallen-Star Sanctuary? Did the unstable entrance drag us inside?"
The moment those words came out, several faces changed.
Fear spread faster than the red mist.
Zhuge Jing’s brows furrowed.
Then he spoke in a calm, scholarly voice.
"Do not let an unverified word become a blade against your own heart. In uncertain terrain, wild guesses kill faster than enemies."
The cultivator who had spoken immediately shut his mouth.
Zhuge Jing looked around again.
"First confirm the boundary. Then confirm the danger. Panic can wait until after facts fail us."
Su Bai glanced at him.
That sounded difficult to say quickly.
But it worked.
The younger generation calmed slightly.
Just then, the ground trembled.
A broken stone tablet rose from the cracked earth nearby.
Dust slid from its surface.
Ancient characters lit up one by one in dull red light.
Everyone turned toward it.
The words appeared clearly.
[Outer Sanctuary Breach Zone]
[Ashen-Blood Miasma Level: Rising]
[Survival Route: Find the Boundary Pillar]
The silence that followed was heavier than the pressure from before.
The Fallen-Star Sanctuary.
For a moment, no one spoke.
Then Yan Lie cursed under his breath.
Chen Feng’s face tightened.
Tang Ziyan’s eyes became cold.
Bai Zhi’s holy light grew brighter, but there was confusion in her gaze.
She sensed danger. But not killing intent.
That was wrong.
Zhuge Jing stared at the stone tablet.
His fingers moved beneath his sleeve, calculating rapidly.
The result was unclear.
...
At the same time, outside the ruined valley, Moon-Reflection Garden remained peaceful.
Inside the main pavilion, a large projection floated in the air.
The ruined valley was displayed within it.
Every movement of the younger generation appeared clearly.
Yue Cangyu stood before the projection with his hands behind his back.
His expression was cold.
His face was stiff.
There was no trace of the gentle host from the banquet.