Chapter 267: Emergence (1)

Splendorbloom Secret Realm.

The Dome Palace remained hidden amid the clouds and mist blanketing the mountains. The faint fluctuations of ancient formations were the only trace of the prosperity that had once existed here.

Beside the devastated Cherry Leech Lake, the enormous fallen cherry tree lay with its withered branches draped over the Leech King’s corpse. If no one ever came again, this silence might endure until the end of time until the secret realm itself collapsed.

Amid that seemingly eternal stillness, a pale, delicate foot gently stepped onto the edge of the broken bridge’s covered walkway.

It belonged to a barefoot young woman dressed in palace robes. She stared at the enormous cherry tree and the Leech King lying tangled together in the distance, a complicated look in her eyes.

As she stood lost in thought, a tall woman appeared beside her.

A veil concealed the woman’s face, but her figure was slender and statuesque. She wore an elaborate ceremonial gown of pure white, its spotless train stretching ten feet behind her. She was holy and noble.

The barefoot girl gazed across Cherry Leech Lake. “Master, that is the Beguiling Divine Sakura.”

The woman in white remained utterly impassive. “Xu Changtian used the illusion it created to shake you off?”

The barefoot girl lightly bit her lip. “Yes. He and I were trapped inside that illusion together for more than ten years.”

The woman’s golden eyes flicked toward her. “Matters of the heart are yours to resolve. Your master cannot help you with that.”

The barefoot girl lowered her voice. “I’m sorry, Master.”

The woman’s voice was cold and clear, seemingly devoid of all emotion. “Xu Changtian is rather unusual. Not only is he invisible to divination, but he can also influence those around him. You cannot be blamed for what happened here.”

Tian Yan’s fist tightened slightly. She hurriedly asked in a low voice,

“Master, has Xu Changtian’s engagement to Li Qingyan begun affecting you as well?”

Ordinarily, someone who could not be perceived through divination would not interfere with the divination of others. To deal with such a person, one could simply deduce the futures of those around them instead.

But Xu Yuan was like a drop of ink spilled into a clear pool.

And now, he was on the verge of dyeing the entire pool known as the world black.

Tian Yan herself had already been contaminated by Xu Yuan.

Ever since they parted, she had been unable to perform another divination.

And now, her master seemed close to following in her footsteps.

The woman’s elaborate white gown fluttered gently as her body rose soundlessly into the air. A heart-stopping light flickered within her golden pupils.

“Tian Yan, I once wondered what the darkness heralding the arrival of the Great Calamity truly meant. I imagine it must look much like the sight before my eyes now.”

“Come. Take me to the place where Tian Rui fell. Once we leave this place, we will no longer need to hide ourselves.”

The barefoot girl said nothing. Her slender body silently lifted from the ground, and she began flying deeper into the secret realm.

Yet the instant she rose, a streak of sword light appeared from nowhere and swept past her. An almost imperceptibly thin line of blood slowly appeared across her pale throat.

PSHH! Her head flew into the air, and blood erupted from her neck like a fountain.

Even after severing her head, the sword strike showed no sign of weakening. Like a laser, it continued onward and sliced the building behind her diagonally in two.

Time seemed to freeze.

A handsome man with an indifferent gaze stood with sword in hand, as though he had been beside them all along.

Within that frozen instant, the Pavilion Master turned her radiant golden eyes toward him.

The man’s detached gaze met her divine one in midair. The next moment, he seemed to be struck by some invisible force.

He raised his sword diagonally to block it, but it failed. His entire body was hurled backward with a thunderous crack, smashing straight into a building more than two hundred yards away.

The Pavilion Master gestured to Tian Yan. “Leave the secret realm first. Your master will handle this.”

Before she had even finished speaking and before the dust could rise, a colossal sword beam tore through the building, split the air, and came hurtling toward them.

Its target was not the Pavilion Master, whose white palace gown billowed in the air. It was Tian Yan, who had only just returned to life.

The newcomer clearly understood that he needed to dispose of the weaker one first.

As the sword beam closed in, Tian Yan’s expression tightened. “Blink.”

In an instant, her slender figure appeared dozens of yards away.

Unfortunately, the sword beam did not simply fly past her. It bent at an impossibly sharp angle and shot toward her head once more.

There was nowhere left to dodge.

Tian Yan was just about to use her death-substitution art again when the terrifying sword beam suddenly exploded ten feet away from her, scattering into motes of white light before vanishing without a trace.

Tian Yan let out a breath and instinctively glanced toward her master. She had saved her.

The Pavilion Master, however, did not look at Tian Yan. Her brilliant golden eyes remained fixed on the man standing amid the ruins.

Sunlight poured down. His white robes were purer than snow, and his black hair cascaded like a waterfall. He approached one measured step at a time, the spirit sword Deep Verdant in his hand glowing with a cold, sinister light.

Only then did the destruction wrought by the sword beam and the deafening crash of his body tearing through the building finally reach their ears.

BOOM! The moment she saw this, Tian Yan did not hesitate. After transmitting the location to her master, she spun around, became a blur, and raced straight toward the exit.

Deep fury burned in her beautiful eyes.

She had no idea who this man was, but there was probably only one bastard in the world who would send someone into this place.

Besides, the man in white bore a faint resemblance to Xu Changtian.

As Tian Yan fled, she ground her teeth so hard they creaked. “Xu Yuan, you damned bastard! The next time I see you, you’re dead!”

Feng Jiuxuan silently watched her graceful figure disappear into the distance and made no further attempt to stop her.

The girl was no weakling. If he continued trying to kill her, the mysterious Sage hovering above might manage to injure him.

After a long silence, Feng Jiuxuan looked up at the mysterious Sage.

“Feng Jiuxuan.” The Pavilion Master gazed down at him, her voice holy and noble.

“Tian Yuan.”

After that simple exchange, silence descended once more.

Two white-clad figures faced each other across the distance.

One hovered in midair, her palace gown dancing in the wind and golden light shining within her eyes.

The other stood upon the ground, his sword radiating an icy gleam.

As the atmosphere gradually froze over, Tian Yuan suddenly spoke. Her emotionless voice rang softly through the air. “Were you deliberately stationed here, waiting for us?”

“No.” Feng Jiuxuan held his sword loosely at his side. He was just as surprised to encounter two members of the Heavenwatch Pavilion in this secret realm.

Xu Yinhe had searched for them for so long, yet Feng Jiuxuan had somehow stumbled across them here.

Understanding dawned in Tian Yuan’s heart. Her voice remained cold and clear. “It seems the location Xu Changtian gave you was not particularly precise.”

Feng Jiuxuan said nothing. His eldest nephew’s directions had been so vague that he had already spent seven or eight days wandering around the secret realm.

The medicinal garden had long since fallen into ruin, while the various materials and pills stored in the warehouses had decayed beyond use.

Aside from a few cultivation manuals he had found in the library, along with a spirit-infused puppet, he had not discovered so much as a single Sumeru Ring.

Still, judging by how casually this Sage had mentioned Xu Yuan’s name, that nephew of his had clearly concealed a few things from him.

At the very least, his eldest nephew had never mentioned that the Heavenwatch Pavilion also knew about this place.

After a brief silence, Feng Jiuxuan went straight to the point. “You know the way?”

“Naturally,” Tian Yuan replied.

“Work together?”

Tian Yuan was equally direct. “I came here only to retrieve a single item. There is no reason for the two of us to fight here.”

Feng Jiuxuan sheathed his sword. “Lead the way.”