You already know what to do, the ankh said. You just need to be willing to pay the price. You wish to expel this poison, but you’ll threaten his life in the process. It can’t be isolated, and blood vitality isn’t enough to preserve him. Therefore, only one means remains. You must fight death with life. Your own life.
Yue Bing bit her lip. If it were one of her brothers dying, she’d use her own life force in a heartbeat. But this man wasn’t her brother, and she’d need to shorten her lifespan just for the chance that he could save him. But what other options did she have? General Zhang and Luo Xuehua weren’t enough to fight the sect’s elders, not within the Violet Heart Sect itself. And judging by Elder Yan’s reaction earlier, they had little more than a half hour to act.
“I’m going to try something,” Yue Bing said. “But before I do, you need to make an oath.”
“What oath would you have me swear?” Elder Yan said cautiously. Cultivator oaths were no trifling matter.
“I need you to swear that you’ll do your utmost, even sacrifice your life to save this man called Zi Long,” Yue Bing said. “It must be the heaviest oath you can swear. Only then can I be assured of your resolve and your motives.”
“And I thought you’d tell me to do something difficult,” Elder Yan said, laughing softly. “I swear on my life itself that I’ll do my utmost to save Zi Long, even going so far as to sacrifice it. Should I utter any falsehood or break my promise, may heavenly lightning strike me to death and my soul never enter reincarnation.” As he uttered this grave oath, Yue Bing heard a trembling sound. It was the sound of thunder on a clear summer day.
“Brace yourself,” Yue Bing said, grasping the ankh.
The bloody cloud in the room suddenly surged into Elder Yan, and the bloody ankh glowed white. An intangible white cloud appeared around her, and as it did, all color left a quarter of her long black hair. These hairs were now white and brittle, just like the quarter of her life that she’d just spent. The white cloud then surged into Elder Yan’s body, which started shivering. The black substance that pervaded his every limb and organ began screaming out in pain. It railed within Elder Yan’s body as it sought to plunder anything that could stave off its demise. Anything that could fight off the invading life force.
“Struggle as you might, it means nothing,” Yue Bing said coldly. “There is only one result when death meets life: annihilation.”
The trembling soon subsided, and a rosy hue appeared on Elder Yan’s cheeks. Yue Bing threw some needles into his unconscious body and opened his acupoints. Then she placed twenty-four blue flags in the room along with a pile of high-grade spirit stones. The spirit stones disintegrated and transformed to a blue energy that directly shot into his starved meridians and into his dantian.
“Sword Master Jin,” Yue Bing called out. The door opened, and Sword Master Jin rushed in to see his friend Elder Yan recovering. “Metal moves water. I want you to use your metal qi to assist Elder Yan in cultivating. Hold nothing back—we’ll have a fight on our hands once he recovers.”
“Should I assist as well?” Luo Xuehua asked.
“Any more and his meridians won’t be able to take it,” Yue Bing said, shaking her head. “Besides, Sword Master Jin’s qi will also serve to strengthen Elder Yan’s body and meridians. We need to rehabilitate him as soon as possible.”
Luo Xuehua frowned. “Why have more of your hairs gone white?” she asked, running her fingers through the white locks on her head. “Why did you give up more of your lifespan for him?”
“And here I thought I could hide it from your blind eyes,” Yue Bing said, chuckling. “No matter, I was going to tell you anyway. Zi Long is in danger. The elders of the Violet Heart Sect will soon use an invasive soul art to extract information from him.”
Luo Xuehua, who was usually cold and reserved, suddenly trembled. Her fist clenched, and for the first time since they’d met, the icy lady seethed with rage.
Afraid of what might happen, Yue Bing placed her hand on Luo Xuehua’s shoulder. “I healed Elder Yan to give us hope. If we go without his help, Zi Long could die.”
Luo Xuehua’s fist relaxed, and her usual icy demeanor returned. Yet beneath this icy façade was a burning anger hidden behind a veil so thin, it could be ripped off at a moment’s notice. “If anything happens to Zi Long, the Violet Heart Sect will pay,” Luo Xuehua said coldly. “I’ll bury every last elder and disciple on this mountain. This I swear.”
Chapter 43
“What’s taking him so long?” the grand elder said. “Doesn’t he understand how important this is?” He and four other elders were waiting impatiently in the grand elder’s residence. The second elder was absent, of course. Given his ill health and his character, there was no way he’d participate.
“Should we continue to wait?” the fifth elder said. “Seventh Brother has always been a careful individual. He wouldn’t dare be late unless it was something important.”
“I agree,” said the sixth elder, who usually fought the fifth elder on every point. “He also rarely commits to anything, but when he does, it’s difficult to deter him.”
“You’re both right,” the grand elder said. “I just can’t help but be worried. With Second Brother’s fading health and Master’s untimely death, and Zi Long snatching the inheritance… I just can’t help but think the deck is stacked against us.”
“First Brother,” the fifth elder said, “do you think there’s some merit to what Zi Long said? About Master having been killed?”
“Of course I think he’s right,” the grand elder said in frustration. “But an outsider is still an outsider, and we can only trust ourselves. All we can do is take the inheritance by force if Zi Long continues to be stubborn. As for the damage to his soul… we’ll spare no expense on aiding his recovery. It may also be possible that he can use the Seven Emotions Soul-Refinement Art to improve his condition. Once I have the key and heart force inheritance, I believe I can help bestow him with enough heart force to cultivate it.”
He sighed. “He seems like a good kid, but you know just as well as I how difficult it is to spot deception. The sect’s history is filled with backstabbing and betrayal, with hidden plots and unsolved mysteries. One last push and we might just fall off a steep precipice and never recover.”
“As long as you know that you’ve wronged him, Brother,” the fifth elder said. “Let’s be sure to properly investigate Master’s death after this is resolved. But I’m worried. Who could have entered the sect and snuck past our combined defenses? Even you wouldn’t be able to do it, given how each of us reinforced the barrier to protect Master’s cultivation. The culprit must either be a middle-core-formation cultivator or have spent an inordinate sum of money to bypass them.”
“Perhaps the guardian spirit knows the truth,” the grand elder said. “Asking it will be our first order of business.”
The clock ticked, and each of them counted the seconds. A half hour passed, and there was still no word on the seventh elder. Soon, it wasn’t just the grand elder who was nervous.
“Should we have someone search for him?” the third elder said.
The grand elder sent a message outside his cave, and a guarding disciple entered and bowed. “How may I assist the elders?” he asked.
“We need you to find the seventh elder,” the grand elder said. “Mobilize half the sect if you have to. He must be found within the next quarter hour.”
The guard looked at him awkwardly. “If it’s simply finding the seventh elder, I know where he is. Two hours ago, he went to Elder Zi Long’s cave and then returned to his own. He’s been there ever since.”
The grand elder slapped a cup of tea off his chair, frightening the guard and the other elders. “You’d better not be lying to me,” he said gravely. “Let’s go see what important matter is holding up brother dearest. If it’s something trivial, I’ll beat him within an inch of his life.”
The elders filed out behind him, and they soon arrived at the seventh eld
er’s cultivation cave. The first elder knocked fiercely, sending the power of a core-formation cultivator into every fist strike. No answer.
“Mu Qian, what’s holding you up?” he yelled. Silence.
“The timing is too coincidental,” the third elder said. “Let’s break in. We can always build him a new door later.”
The grand elder nodded and wasted no time. He pulled his palm back, causing a violet glow to surround it. He thrust it out and struck the door, causing it to shatter into a hundred pieces. The dust cleared, and the five elders rushed in. They spread out and searched the cave, only to return to the lobby shortly after.
“I found nothing,” the fifth elder said. “If he was here, given his love of tea, the kettle would still be warm. But it’s stone cold, meaning that he hasn’t been here for at least an hour or two.”
“But the guard saw him enter the cave,” the fourth elder said. “He came here just after seeing Zi Long.”
“That makes no sense,” the third elder said. “Why would he go see Zi Long in the first place? Did he go there to warn him? First Elder, what’s wrong?”
The grand elder was panting heavily. He was leaning on the wall, which crumbled as he grasped it. The tension was palpable, and no one dared say a single word.
“He seemed to bond with Zi Long better than any of us,” the grand elder said, breathing heavily. “Did he agree with me just so I’d let my guard down? Did he do it to buy Zi Long time to escape?”
“You’re saying that he left his chambers after fooling the guards?” the fourth elder said.
“If he did that, why return to his chambers?” the fifth elder said. “If it were me, I’d have used an illusion as a decoy while I escaped down the spire. Getting past regular disciples to escape the sect should be possible.”
“You say it like it’s easy,” the grand elder said. “Mu Qian was the least skilled among us in illusions, and his heart force was rather low compared to the rest of us. In fact, Master only took him in because he managed to receive enlightenment on the Seven Emotions Soul-Refinement Art, and because he was extremely hardworking. It would be far too difficult for him to exit the sect formation without alerting us.”
“Unless he’s stronger than he let on,” the third elder pointed out.
“Even if he was, how could he avoid my detection?” the grand elder retorted.
“You may be a core-formation cultivator, but you’re not infallible,” the third elder said. “Besides, would you really bother inspecting each of us every single day? We tend not to probe each other out of respect. If he set his mind to it, hiding his cultivation would be easy.”
“We’re talking about him silently breaking through to core formation without alerting us,” the fifth elder cut in. “That’s basically impossible.”
“Wait, I just thought of something,” the grand elder said. “He doesn’t need to be a core-formation cultivator. If he wanted to hide them both, it would be very difficult. But what if he used master’s essence-concealment mask to hide Zi Long and only needed to cloak himself?”
“Didn’t Master lose it?” the fourth elder said. “It wasn’t in the bag of holding we found.”
“Maybe he didn’t,” the grand elder said. “Maybe he gave it to Mu Qian in secret and lied to cover it up. It’s just the kind of thing Master would do.”
“That makes even less sense, and I’m confused now,” the third elder said. “Why don’t we just take a look at Zi Long’s cultivation cave first before rushing to conclusions?”
“What you say makes sense,” the grand elder said. “Let’s go!”
They burst out the door and flew one cave down. Just as the grand elder was about to open the door, a loud voice echoed up the spire.
“Stop right this instant!” the voice said.
The grand elder and the other elders present looked down with wide eyes. A vigorous man with long black hair and a thick beard was approaching. He wore violet robes and was carrying a petite lady in blue cultivation robes in his arms. A man with a sharp demeanor stood beside him while two hooded individuals floated behind them; one was a woman wearing a white cloak, and another wore a hooded red cloak.
“I don’t know who you are, but even if Sword Master Jin is with you, you need to scram off this mountain this instant,” the grand elder said.
“Not even a day has passed, and you can’t recognize your own brother?” the man said, smiling.
The fifth elder, who was standing beside the grand elder, ran down toward him. She flew toward the elder and hugged him deeply. “Second Brother, you’re healed!” she exclaimed.
Everyone’s eyes widened. Their second brother had been old and sickly for so long that they’d forgotten that he was barely over a hundred years old. Moreover, he’d been stuck at the peak of foundation establishment for so long, but the man before them was clearly floating in the air—the mark of a core-formation cultivator.
“I’ve come here to stop your madness,” Elder Yan said. “I lacked strength before, so I didn’t interfere. But now that my health has recovered, it’s time that I stand for what is right. Zi Long is innocent, and I’ll die before I let you lay a hand on him.”
Chapter 44
“Brother Long?” a voice called. “Brother Long?” A small, simply clothed boy popped out from behind a wall. He saw his elder sister, Zi Xin. Unlike Zi Long, her clothes were elaborate, and her aura strong. She was a genius cultivator, the pride and joy of her family. Their family.
“Sister Xin?” Zi Long called out cautiously. “The others… are they gone?”
The little girl nodded. “It’s just me.”
Zi Long scampered out into the open and clasped both hands and bowed. “Many thanks for coming to see me, Sister Xin,” Zi Long said. “This lowly one is honored by your presence.”
“We’re both kids in the same family,” Zi Xin said, pouting. “Why do you have to use honorifics all the time?” She laid down her basket on a small table and opened it. A wonderful fragrance wafted toward the hungry Zi Long, and his stomach growled. “Here, come eat.”
Zi Long salivated, but then he hesitated. He was hungry, of course. Despite being a child in a rich family, he was illegitimate. The main wife, who managed the finances in the family, ensured that his direct family didn’t have enough food and cultivation resources. If it were only Zi Long, he would have his fill. But his younger brother was growing, and he’d be damned if he let him go hungry.
The thought of a proper meal flashed through his mind, but fear accompanied it. Who knew who was watching? Zi Long bowed but shook his head respectfully. “This lowly one isn’t hungry. We have more than enough food supplied to us by the family.”
“Are you sure?” Zi Xin said, frowning.
“Of course,” Zi Long said. “Would I lie to you?”
“Fine, accompany me while I eat,” Zi Xin said. “I can’t stand those insufferable fools in the family.”
The afternoon passed by as it always did. While the other members of the family were learning, Zi Xin took a break from her arduous training regimen. Once she was done, she had Zi Long “dispose of” the remainder of the food in the basket. He brought them back to his family under the pretense that his brother liked the pastries inside. But as he went back home, he hid himself and ate half before bringing the rest in. The less they knew, the better.
So that’s where it all started, isn’t it? A voice said.
“Yes, that’s where it all started,” Zi Long admitted. He was standing behind a pane of glass and watching his reflection with interest. “I told many lies that year. It was also where I learned not to stand out. For the most part.” An image flashed on the screen. Zi Long did well on an exam, and as a result, they’d found an excuse to punish his brother and his mother. Punishing him personally had never deterred him.
Since then, he’d sunk into mediocrity despite being talented. Lying came to him as simply as breathing. Whenever he did well, he learned just the right things to say, the right peopl
e to compliment. For all the good it did him. The elders in the family eventually caught on to him. He survived the purge with Zi Xin’s help, but the rest of his family did not.
“I suppose that’s why I’m always satisfied being second,” Zi Long said. “Or third, or fourth. Being first never did her any good either.”
The screen changed again. This time, he was older. He was fourteen years old and hiding on a rooftop as he witnessed a marriage procession. Zi Xin’s marriage procession. She didn’t look happy about marrying the forty-year-old son of the city lord. Two years later, she had her first child. She died during childbirth, and he had little doubt that they could have saved her.
But you crave the limelight, don’t you? The violet mist said.
Yes, I suppose you’re right, Zi Long answered. He tapped the screen, and it returned to the picture of a six-year-old boy. He was writing an exam, and he’d studied hard for it. He told his mother he’d get top marks, and she’d encouraged him with a complicated expression he hadn’t recognized at the time. Now he did. It was a mixture of fear for his future, but gratitude for having such a hardworking son.
The next day, he took the exam and got a perfect score. He got praise and adulation from the chief examiner in the city, greatly embarrassing his brothers and sisters. The feeling was unlike any other.
You want status, a good reputation, the violet mist said.
“I want it all,” Zi Long admitted. “And if it’s in the cards, I’ll get it. But I’m not beholden to it, not a slave to it. And despite what happened before, I don’t fear it.”
Or do I? Zi Long thought. Do I fear recognition? Is that why I passed on leading the group and gave it over to Ling Dong?
No, that wasn’t the case. He’d given Ling Dong the reins because the job of a leader wasn’t to calculate. To lead, you needed heart. Ling Dong’s heart may not be stronger than his, but it wasn’t hidden behind a web of lies. His brother deserved his position, and he would never hold that against him.
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