Mo Qianqiu smiled. “I knew it. Your two senior fellow disciples looked down on me completely when they saw me, yet you eagerly spoke several words with me. You truly had ulterior motives.”
Zhao Lan smiled. “After all these years, Pavilion Master Qianqiu’s cultivation has grown considerably. Everyone thought you came to challenge Lord Chunning at the Immortal Inquiry Platform, but I knew that if you were to issue another challenge, it would naturally be to my master Haofu.”
Mo Qianqiu lowered his head, his lips pressed together, the corners slightly curved upward.
He seemed to have heard something extremely amusing, his shoulders shaking more and more intensely.
“Hahaha! Am I really that ignorant of my own abilities?” Mo Qianqiu pounded his chest and slowly raised his eyes.
In those eyes was a playfulness that held no worldly love or hatred.
Lord Zhao Lan remained silent, only watching Mo Qianqiu.
Mo Qianqiu’s wrist turned slightly, and the Qianqiu Sword reversed its direction.
“Where is the Pavilion Master going?”
“Back to sleep.”
“I’m afraid the Pavilion Master isn’t going back to sleep, but rather is worried that I’m creating a diversion while others might harm Lord Liche.”
Mo Qianqiu shook his head and sighed. “Chongluan Palace is sacred ground of the immortal sect. If anyone could harm the Immortal Saint here…besides Haofu of the Xiyuan Sword Sect himself, who else could accomplish that?”
“Don’t you want to see my master?” Lord Zhao Lan asked.
That night, thick clouds hung heavily, with only faint moonlight filtering through the dark layers.
Lord Zhao Lan’s face held a cold, eerie quality in this darkness.
“No,” Mo Qianqiu answered.
Then his expression sharpened as he headed toward Chongluan Palace.
Lord Zhao Lan curved his lips and said softly, “But my master wants to see you, Pavilion Master.”
After speaking, Lord Zhao Lan pointed at Mo Qianqiu, and the Zhao Lan sword shot forth like a hunting falcon, diving down straight toward Mo Qianqiu’s heart.
A sword formation expanded behind Mo Qianqiu, accompanied by the sound of spiritual energy vibrating, as if countless beings were roaring, swallowing up Zhao Lan’s sword formation.
In this moment of confrontation, sand and stones flew between the Xiyuan cracks, completely obscuring even that faint moonlight.
Mo Qianqiu turned back, his expression growing colder.
“Lord Zhao Lan, since when did Chongluan Palace learn to attack from behind? Is this how your Sword Master Haofu taught you?”
“The Pavilion Master surely knows that our sword master has been in seclusion for over a thousand years. Asking how he taught us – isn’t that making things difficult for him?”
Mo Qianqiu understood in his heart that Zhao Lan had lured him out of Chongluan Palace, but the purpose was still unknown.
Could it be to discuss getting his support in the Xiyuan sword competition?
But among the three brothers, Zhao Lan was acknowledged to have the highest cultivation and didn’t fear challenges.
Moreover, with his grievances against Xiyuan, everyone knew that asking Mo Qianqiu to reconcile with Xiyuan was impossible unless the Dongxu dried up and the Xiyuan leveled.
“Pavilion Master, do you know what’s special about this crack in Xiyuan?” Zhao Lan’s sleeve swept lightly along the Xiyuan’s direction.
Mo Qianqiu’s fingers tightened on his sword, his brow furrowed, and he silently thought “not good.”
“This is the place closest to the Demon Capital, with no living beings except you and me.”
The Qianqiu Sword borrowed its power from the spirits of all living things.
Without living beings, where would the spirits come from?
“That sword formation you just used had considerable power. But you’ve used up all the borrowed power from before, haven’t you?” Zhao Lan smiled while looking at Mo Qianqiu.
Mo Qianqiu knew that Zhao Lan’s cultivation was quite high, and unless he was willing, the Qianqiu Sword couldn’t borrow his spirit.
In Chongluan Palace where there were living things, even an ant or a blade of grass could lend Mo Qianqiu power.
But in all the world, the only place truly devoid of life was this Xiyuan crack.
“Who says I have no power to borrow?” Mo Qianqiu snorted lightly, facing sideways and looking mockingly at Zhao Lan.
Zhao Lan also smiled. “Could it be that Pavilion Master Qianqiu wants to borrow his own spirit? That’s not impossible, but when the spirit leaves the body, who will protect your physical form?”
Mo Qianqiu stood motionless, raising his hand to lightly cover his chest. Beneath his clothes, he wore a small flute carved from spirit vine, only about the size of a bean pod.
“Don’t worry, I haven’t reached the point of borrowing my own spirit. However, Lord Zhao Lan, I still want to know – did you lure me from Chongluan Palace to the Xiyuan crack just to prevent me from borrowing spirits of living beings?”
Mo Qianqiu thought that since Zhao Lan’s purpose was unclear, he couldn’t carelessly use this final move.
“Pavilion Master, although you say you’ll never forgive my master, to him, you’re still the person he values most.”
“Oh? Is that so?” Mo Qianqiu looked at Zhao Lan like he was looking at a fool. “Xiyuan’s reputation is what he values most.”
“Not at all. Pavilion Master, why don’t you look back?” Zhao Lan pointed toward Chongluan Palace.
Mo Qianqiu turned his head to look toward Chongluan Palace in the distance. In the entire desolate and dark Xiyuan, it was like a firefly… so small it seemed a single breath could extinguish it.
But what was Zhao Lan asking him to look at?
Could something be wrong with Chongluan Palace?
“Pavilion Master, look more carefully. Those in Chongluan Palace can’t see it because they’re ‘only in this mountain.'”
A bad feeling surged in Mo Qianqiu’s heart. He gathered spiritual energy at his fingertips and touched his eyes.
—Open Wisdom Eye!
In an instant, he saw a huge evil formation carved by black demonic energy seeping up from ten thousand miles below ground!
And Chongluan Palace was at the center of this evil formation!
Chongluan Palace had been built into a cliff face, but now it appeared suspended above rolling waves of demonic energy, like a crucible placed over evil flames!
But this demonic energy had been hidden so deep that even those with cultivation like the Nanli Jingtian’s Sword Master Miaochen wouldn’t be able to see it without deliberately opening their Wisdom Eye!
“What are you trying to do—”
The Qianqiu Sword sensed Mo Qianqiu’s emotions and trembled continuously.
“My master was severely injured in the immortal-demon war over a thousand years ago and hasn’t recovered to this day,” Zhao Lan said unhurriedly.
“So–you’re planning to use Chongluan Palace as a soul-refining cauldron to refine all the sect leaders and their elite disciples! When did you start colluding with the Demon Capital?”
Was this Zhao Lan’s conspiracy, or was the entire Xiyuan involved?
Haofu.. did Haofu know or not?
Or perhaps, during these years of seclusion due to serious injury… had he already perished?
Otherwise, with his straightforward nature, how could he allow Zhao Lan to collude with the Demon Capital?
“Looking at your expression, Pavilion Master seems quite worried. But I wonder, who are you worried about?”
Mo Qianqiu thought he must quickly find out from Zhao Lan who was activating this great soul-refining formation. Not to mention if anything happened to immortal leaders like Mioachen Yuan and Kunwu, the four direction immortal sects would surely fall into chaos!
Once the righteous sects’ power was exhausted, wouldn’t the Demon Capital’s evil crowd do whatever they wanted?
More importantly… that little fool Lu Xiaochan was still watching the excitement in Chongluan Palace!
If Lu Xiaochan and Shu Wuxi were both refined… the Demon Capital would not only regain Chaos’s karma fire but would also refine the world’s purest cultivation!
Who then could stop the Evil God Chaos?
Mo Qianqiu deeply regretted bringing them into Chongluan Palace!
“The various immortal sects all believed you had ulterior motives toward Lord Chunning because you lost to my master on the Immortal Inquiry Platform. Additionally, since your Qianqiu Sword can borrow spirits from all things, they worried that one day their spirits might be accidentally borrowed by the Qianqiu Sword, so they said your sword was evil and you were evil too. Even if you don’t hate them, you should be indifferent to their life or death!”
Zhao Lan’s expression suggested he had seen through Mo Qianqiu’s thoughts.
“Pavilion Master Qianqiu, answer my question—are you worried about my master? Or your Lord Liche?”
Mo Qianqiu hadn’t expected even his deepest concerns would be known to Zhao Lan, and knew the situation was dire.
No matter who was activating this evil formation, he had to rush back quickly!
Mo Qianqiu retreated dozens of zhang on his sword, gathering spiritual energy from his dantian. His clothes fluttered as he searched for spirits through “spirit discrimination” even though there were no living beings for ten thousand li.
Zhao Lan closed his eyes and sighed. “If you were worried about my master, you would have asked where he was. You didn’t ask, showing you don’t care. Your desire to rush back regardless of everything shows you care about Lord Liche. What a pity, my master still can’t forget about you.”
After speaking, Zhao Lan’s spiritual energy surged as he swung his sword forward, suddenly rushing to Mo Qianqiu’s front with a cold flash of sword light accompanied by huge spiritual waves crashing forward!
Mo Qianqiu blocked horizontally with his sword, like a mighty mountain rising from deadly ground, forcefully withstanding this strike from Zhao Lan’s sword.
In the instant the two swords collided, Zhao Lan’s sword formation whirled up, with the essence of mountains and earth flowing into his sword, its power so great it pressed down on Mo Qianqiu.
“For the Pavilion Master to resist Xiyuan’s mountain power with individual strength shows your cultivation has indeed progressed! Fortunately, there are no living spirits to borrow here, otherwise I, Zhao Lan, would fall here.”
Spiritual energy winds came from all directions, like layer upon layer of towering mountains crushing down, threatening to pulverize Mo Qianqiu.
Mo Qianqiu gritted his teeth, thinking he had been too careless to fall into Zhao Lan’s trap.
I’ve kept you hidden in my heart for a thousand years, but must finally use you…
Mo Qianqiu pulled out that small flute from his collar and placed it to his lips. However reluctant he was, thinking that if he didn’t rush back to Chongluan Palace, Lu Xiaochan would surely be refined, he had to blow the flute forcefully!
That flute sound was neither music nor shrill, just a lingering breath flowing out, pure and light.
A wind blew through the deadness of the Xiyuan crack, as if all living things had gained breath.
This breath entered his sword body, then formed an array from the sword tip. The formation was full of spiritual energy, not only breaking through Zhao Lan’s sword formation’s restraint but instantly pressing to Zhao Lan’s front, destroying everything in its path, unstoppable.
“Ah—” Zhao Lan’s sword formed a defensive array but couldn’t resist this mighty sword formation!
His skin and flesh were refined by Mo Qianqiu’s sword formation, his dantian crushed by the formation, and he spat out a mouthful of blood.
Eyes wide, Zhao Lan was completely incredulous.
He fell at the edge of the Xiyuan crack, tightly gripping his sword, unable to rise for a long time.
Mo Qianqiu’s expression was cold and stern as he looked down at Zhao Lan, as if looking at a dead man.
“No…impossible…what did you…what did you borrow?”
“Just a breath.”
Mo Qianqiu turned and rushed toward Chongluan Palace without regard for anything else.
Lu Xiaochan, you fool, please don’t let anything happen!
He clutched his chest, remembering over a thousand years ago when he accompanied Liche in searching for white purple-yang flowers in the Thousand Autumn Ruins.
That day, the sun blazed overhead, yet the white desert of the Thousand Autumn Ruins was very cold.
In the desert, there was a pool like a mirror, and at its edge grew a large patch of purple flowers.
These purple petals were all dotted with water drops, particularly eye-catching in the white desert where no other colors could be seen.
A young man was lying among the flowers, looking extremely serious between his brows, searching for something unknown.
Mo Qianqiu sat beside the flower patch, resting his chin in his hand, watching the young man’s upturned posture and couldn’t help laughing.
He suddenly had a mischievous idea, grabbing a handful of sand, bringing it to his lips, and gently blowing, using his spiritual energy to create a small sandstorm.
The entire patch of flowers was pressed down, and the young man in the flowers was blown flat, getting a mouthful of sand.
When the wind passed, the young man angrily got up, grabbed a handful of sand, rushed to Mo Qianqiu’s front, deliberately grabbed his collar and threw it in.
“Ouch! You want to die!” Mo Qianqiu quickly undid his clothes, jumping up and down trying to shake out the sand.
The young man stood with hands on his hips, coldly watching. “Who wants to die? We agreed that when no one’s around, I’m your master! Not only do you not help your master find white purple-yang flowers, you’re even making trouble on the side!”
“I just thought it was funny seeing you bent over lying in the flowers!”
“Funny?” The young man wasn’t pleased and stepped back, looking like he was about to form a medical spell. “I see you’re full of mischief! Let master purify you!”
Though medical spells don’t harm people, the purifying power could still make one uncomfortable.
Mo Qianqiu quickly waved his hands. “No, no, no! Master Xiaochan, show mercy, your disciple knows his mistake!”
This young man was the Lord Liche of those years. He had searched half a day without finding white purple-yang flowers and was already feeling frustrated. After being teased by Mo Qianqiu, he no longer had the thought to continue searching, but wanted to play-fight with Mo Qianqiu instead.
Who knew Mo Qianqiu’s expression would suddenly change, and Qianqiu Sword would unsheathe!
Lu Xiaochan opened his eyes wide, shouting, “It was just a joke—you’re drawing your sword……”
In an instant, the spirits of these purple-yang flowers were borrowed into the Qianqiu sword formation. Lu Xiaochan watched this formation and suddenly realized something, turning around to see a huge sand snake, opening its mouth wide, about to swallow Lu Xiaochan in one bite!
All its cheek barbs were open – if struck by those barbs, Lu Xiaochan would look more spectacular than a hedgehog.
Lu Xiaochan ran frightened toward Mo Qianqiu’s direction, and the Qianqiu sword formation instantly locked onto the sand snake’s throat!
Mo Qianqiu’s fingertip sent forth the Qianqiu Sword, piercing through the snake’s throat and out through its back!
The sand snake let out a cry of grief, falling and rolling on the ground.
Mo Qianqiu’s spiritual energy continuously circled, the sword formation tightened, and severed the sand snake’s head.
Lu Xiaochan stood dumbly watching until Mo Qianqiu directly refined it.
Legend said the sand snakes of Thousand Autumn Ruins possessed the bloodline of the ancient spirit beast Teng Snake, appearing and disappearing mysteriously in the sand sea, extraordinarily fierce.
“Dis… disciple! You’re amazing!” Lu Xiaochan clapped on the side.
“Master’s flattery isn’t bad either!” Mo Qianqiu answered.
“But the field of purple-yang flowers I worked so hard to find is all gone…”
“What you want are white purple-yang flowers. Since they’re called purple-yang flowers, they’re naturally purple, how could they possibly bloom white flowers!” Mo Qianqiu shook his head and withdrew his sword.
But Lu Xiaochan smiled and said, “Who says they can’t bloom white? Things that are different may be easily destroyed, but they do exist. Looking at you, I think you’ll become a white purple-yang flower in the future.”
“What?” Mo Qianqiu laughed, “You’re comparing me to a flower?”
“I mean, there are countless disciples in the immortal sects of the world. If they were all purple-yang flowers, they would be precious, but I wouldn’t feel heartbroken without them. But you alone are that white purple-yang flower – though different and easily criticized, you are the most precious. If I were to make the ‘Spirit-Building Pill’, I would absolutely need a white purple-yang flower.”
“What is the ‘Spirit-Building Pill’?”
“It’s something that, after eating it, even if your physical body is damaged one day, your elixir core won’t be destroyed, and you’ll have a chance at rebirth.”
“Why do you always refine such strange pills?”
“Strange? Those who don’t plan ahead will have immediate worries!” Lu Xiaochan patted Mo Qianqiu’s chest, then suddenly thought of something, “Wait, your Qianqiu Sword borrows the spirits of living beings, but what if there are no living beings?”
“In this world, where is there a place completely devoid of life? Even in Supreme Lord Yehua’s Yechuan, you can find some snakes and insects that enjoy extreme heat.”
“What about the Demon Capital? The Demon Capital is full of evil spirits – can you borrow the spirits of evil beings? Be careful not to lose control of your power!”
Lu Xiaochan tilted his head, as if truly contemplating this question.
“Alright, Master, tell me, what should I do?”
Mo Qianqiu had never considered this question before. In his view, if he ever reached a point where there were no living beings to borrow from, that would be his fate.
“Let me think! Ah, I’ve got it, I’ve got it!”
“Got what?” Mo Qianqiu really didn’t believe he could find a solution.
Lu Xiaochan lowered his head, searching through the bottles and jars hanging on his body, until he finally found a spirit vine that had already wrapped around his waist two or three times, absorbing quite a bit of his spiritual energy.
Lu Xiaochan picked off a section, took out the small file he usually used for digging soil, poked a hole in the spirit vine, then placed it to his lips.
“What are you doing?” Mo Qianqiu was intensely curious, always feeling that Lu Xiaochan had countless strange ideas.
He didn’t answer Mo Qianqiu, but instead blew a breath into it.
“Here, keep this. Inside is my breath, containing a strand of my spirit.”
Mo Qianqiu was stunned.
“Carry it with you. If one day you face danger and can’t borrow the spirit of any living beings, take this out and borrow my power! With my six hundred years of cultivation, even the power of a single strand of my spirit is far stronger than these flowers and grasses!”
Mo Qianqiu took the section of spirit vine, which still carried a touch of warmth.
He never imagined that in just a few months, on his way to Wuyi Jingtian, he would watch helplessly as Lu Xiaochan’s body was consumed by the Chaos karma fire.
He clutched the spirit vine tightly, as if as long as it remained, Lu Xiaochan’s soul would still exist.
That was Lu Xiaochan’s last breath in this world.
Who would have thought that the preparation Lu Xiaochan made for him over a thousand years ago would truly come in handy tonight, saving Mo Qianqiu’s life!
The Qianqiu Sword cut through the wind at high speed, Mo Qianqiu only wished that even if the Soul Refining Formation was activated, Shu Wuxi could still protect Lu Xiaochan’s safety!
Unexpectedly, from the bottomless crevice, spiritual energy suddenly surged, and a massive sword formation arose from the dead ground, like a vast and boundless heaven net, coming straight for Mo Qianqiu.
Mo Qianqiu’s eyes widened as he retreated on his sword, but he was still a step too late!
Such a magnificent sword formation, containing all the essence of mountains and rivers—it was Haofu’s Zhongxiao Sword!
It could uproot mountains and rivers, with the pressure of ten thousand jun!
Mo Qianqiu’s sword formation was engulfed and instantly dragged into the endless abyss!
At this moment, he suddenly realized—Lord Zhao Lan was just bait earlier, with the purpose of forcing him to use up Lu Xiaochan’s breath of life, leaving him truly with no power to borrow now!
Besides Mo Qianqiu himself, only Xiyuan Sword Master Haofu knew the true purpose of the spirit vine on his body!
He had been outmaneuvered by Haofu!
Mo Qianqiu plummeted from the night sky into the Xiyuan, suddenly swallowed by darkness.
At this moment, Lu Xiaochan was navigating through the void on his Wuhen Sword, unable to find an exit.
No matter where he went, he couldn’t see a single living being.
What was going on? Even in the void of Chongluan Palace, it couldn’t possibly be this desolate!
Faintly, Lu Xiaochan saw a weak spiritual light!
There was someone ahead! Perhaps it was a disciple of Chongluan Palace who might know how to leave this chaotic void!
Lu Xiaochan rushed forward, while that glimmer of spiritual light also moved extremely fast.
Countless voids passed by Lu Xiaochan one by one. Though directions were indistinguishable here, Lu Xiaochan had a feeling he was rushing downward!
He could already faintly see layers of evil energy overlapping, forming a vast formation.
Though he couldn’t see the full picture of this formation, he knew it was no ordinary array!
Chongluan Palace was the territory of a sword sect, and even though it was built to guard against the evil beings below the Xiyuan rift, these evil energies clearly showed signs of counter-invasion!
Was it truly because Haofu was severely injured and could no longer contain them?
Should he continue forward?
That flickering spiritual energy might be bait from the Demon Capital!
But if he didn’t go, even in this void, he couldn’t escape, and everything remained unclear and confusing!
Don’t be rash, endure a bit longer!
Lu Xiaochan gathered his thoughts and stopped pursuing.
But what he never expected was that a sword formation attacked from behind, and when he turned around, he saw it was True Lord Faning!
Lu Xiaochan mounted his sword and formed a formation, but was pushed back by this sword formation, falling backward and breaking through this layer of void!
Lu Xiaochan’s eyes widened—how could it be True Lord Faning?
In an instant, Lu Xiaochan was swallowed by darkness!
He felt his body rapidly sinking and immediately summoned the Wuhen Sword to hold him.
Except for his own heartbeat, Lu Xiaochan couldn’t hear any sound.
Where exactly was he?
Lu Xiaochan’s back turned cold—this was the first time…..he had lost Shu Wuxi’s protection and was all alone.
He felt some kind of energy circling and probing around him, and Lu Xiaochan immediately formed a formation to wrap himself in.
Don’t be afraid, Lu Xiaochan, don’t be afraid.
Don’t fear.
It’s just life and death—you’ve experienced pain before, been lonely before, died before.
