Chapter 275 Wang Luo of the Ziyang SectOne peak after another trailed the Thousand Summits Mountain, with each looking boundlessly vast. Zhiluan flew disorientedly in the air while carrying Xiao Chen, not knowing where he was going. In the end, he landed in front of a mountain cave while panting.
“Damn it! I wasted nearly ten percent of my Life Span! Kid, you’re such a harbinger of misfortune! I’ve been having nothing but bad luck after meeting you.”
Once his breathing evened out, he looked at the pale-looking Xiao Chen and said proudly, “Oh, alright. We’re even now. From now on, we’ll go our separate ways!”
Like a child, he stood with a paw behind his back and another paw stretched out. “See you! Scratch that. Let’s never see each other again!”
He was about to leave when Xiao Chen suddenly coughed up blood and collapsed unconscious. Zhiluan turned around and said, “Kid, don’t try and buy my sympathy by faking unconsciousness. I’ll have you know that…”
Xiao Chen didn’t know how long he spent in the snowstorm. When he woke up again, he surmised that an entire night must have passed. The wound on his chest had begun healing. He looked at Zhiluan beside him and asked, a bit out of breath, “Weren’t you leaving?”
Zhiluan raised his head. “Hmph! Of course, I left! But I didn’t know where I was going so I came back!”
Xiao Chen spotted the white-colored snow fruits lying beside him. “Did you pluck all these?”
Zhiluan crossed his paws in front of his chest and raised his head to say, “I found them on the way!”
Xiao Chen said no more and sat cross-legged. What he needed now was to reinstate his powers as soon as possible. He might not be as lucky if he runs into assassins again.
He also had a good guess as to who sent those assassins yesterday. It was either the Ling or Zuoqiu family, both with deep grudges against him.
His complexion greatly improved after half a day and his powers had restored to the level of peak of the Foundation Building Realm. He peered out of the cave and saw that the snowing had ceased as well. However, he was still frowning with worry.
Did Xin’er manage to survive the calamity that day? Where was she now? He looked at Zhiluan beside him and asked, “Can you still fly?”
Zhiluan retreated at once. “What are you up to? I only managed to fly yesterday after using ten percent of my Life Span. I haven’t even recovered from that.”
Xiao Chen stood up and looked out of the cave. “Let’s go. If we stay here any longer, assassins might ambush us again.”
Zhiluan produced a rag out of nowhere and wrapped the snow fruits on the ground in it. He tied the baggage around his neck, so it sat on his back.
Just like that, the human and the cat came to depend on each other for survival. They continued treading through the snow for two whole days, where they evaded another group of assassins. However, the snowy mountain seemed endless. No matter how they walked, they still couldn’t reach the end of their journey.
“I can’t do this anymore. I’m going to die of exhaustion…”
Xiao Chen turned around to look at him. “Oh please. You’ve been riding on my shoulder all along, alright?”
“Stinky brat! Can’t you let me whine a bit?” Zhiluan was hopping mad. He jumped off Xiao Chen’s shoulder.
They continued walking for another mile or so with Zhiluan walking behind Xiao Chen. Suddenly, Zhiluan yelped, “Meow! Meow!”
Xiao Chen spun around impatiently. “Great Immortal, what do you want now?”
Zhiluan, shuddering with fear, pointed to a snow-covered tunnel. “There’s! There’s a dead body!”
Xiao Chen sighed helplessly. “It’s one thing to be scared of the living, but you’re also scared of the dead. Just what on earth are you not afraid of?”
“No, no, no! This dead man bears strong grievances! He’s emanating Malicious Grudge! I can tell with just one glance!”
Xiao Chen frowned. The so-called Malicious Grudge was the deep-seated grudge of a dead person, who emanated the grudge at the cost of never being able to reincarnate. If such Malicious Grudge were left to fester over time, it would gather the Negative Qi of the world, Tainted Qi, and Malevolent Qi, turn into an evil monster, and seek out its enemy for revenge.
He walked over to the dead body for a look and saw that the body was nearly submerged in snow, leaving only half the head visible. Judging from the body’s expression, it was obvious that the person had died with great grievances.
He sighed. “Since you’re already dead, your soul should enter the Six Paths of Samsara. Why emit Malicious Grudge and harm yourself and others?” He then cast a seal with his fingers and quietly recited the Mystic Cyan Exorcising Incantation. A golden light entered the dead man’s midbrows and dispersed the lingering Malicious Grudge on him.
Xiao Chen flicked his sleeves and swept away the snow covering the dead body. Considering his attire, the man must be a disciple of a sect. He couldn’t have died for more than a few days. Xiao Chen then noticed a jade pendant tied to his waist. The pendant was carved with the words “Wang Luo”.
“How did it go? Did you notice anything?” Zhiluan asked while hiding behind him.
Xiao Chen shook his head. This dead man must be a disciple of one of the sects under the mountain and was familiar with his way around the mountain. He pressed his fingertips and formed a tiny dot of white light. He plunged the light into the man’s midbrows. He was using the secret technique of the Mystic Cyan Sect, seance.
Moments later, he gained some fragmented memories: Ziyang Sect, Master Zi Yang, and Junior Zi Sha, Mo Hengyu… and what happened that day.
He heaved a quiet sigh. He never expected a woman to be behind the feud between two disciples of the same sect.
While he was sighing, a bright idea came to him, and he promptly retrieved his makeover tools from his Divine Vessel. His current face-morphing skill was as good as flawless. Moments later, he had turned himself into Wang Luo.
“This man’s sect mates would surely come and find him in a few days. We can just leave with them then. Moreover, we can also avoid the assassins.”
Zhiluan frowned. “Sounds like a far-fetched plan…”
Xiao Chen kicked him aside. “Don’t fuss around. Oh, and don’t talk too much when we get off the mountain if you don’t want to be turned into a pill ingredient.” He took Wang Luo’s jade pendant and then summoned the snow to cover the corpse.
His priority now was getting into contact with the Daoist League of the Five Continents. Only then would he know if Huangfu Xin’er was fine.
Two hours later, the human and the cat walked to another expanse of snowy land. Suddenly, they heard shouting from a distance. “Junior Brother Wang Luo! Junior Brother Wang Luo…”
“Meow! Don’t these people have common sense? You’ll cause an avalanche if you keep shouting!”
Xiao Chen signaled for him to be quiet and used his True Energy to amplify his voice. “Senior Brothers, I’m here!”
A team of four had come for him, three male and one female disciples in total. Xiao Chen knew their names from Wang Luo’s memories. Their cultivation was fairly ordinary and low, in the beginning to middle stages of the Foundation Building Realm.
Li Heng said worriedly, “We finally found you, Junior Brother Wang Luo! Master is going berserk at home. Remember not to tell him that it was Junior Sister Zi Sha who told you to pluck the snow lotus herb on the Thousand Summits Mountain when we get back. Or else Master won’t let her off easy.”
Xiao Chen nodded. “Got it.”
The others were perplexed at his reaction after hearing Junior Sister Zi Sha’s name. Why wasn’t he reacting as he usually would? He ought to be worrying about her and asking if she was alright.
Li Heng noticed Zhiluan beside Xiao Chen’s feet and asked in bewilderment, “What’s this?”
“Oh, nothing much. Just a Leopard Cat Spirit that I met on the mountain. Let’s go down the mountain.”
On their way down, Xiao Chen asked, “Oh, right. Do you know the way to Tianyuan City?”
“Tianyuan City? What’s Tianyuan City?”
“Then do you know the Daoist League of Five Continents?”
“Daoist League of Five Continents? What’s that? I’ve never heard of it. Master is well-experienced and knowledgeable. Maybe he’d know something.”
Xiao Chen chuckled and said no more. Just where exactly was he sent to? Was he currently far away from the Middle Continent?
When they were near the foot of the mountain, Li Heng said, “I wonder if the lady has woken up.”
“Which lady?” Xiao Chen asked.
Zhao Yuling said, “While searching for you yesterday, we found an unconscious and severely injured lady in the snow…”
Xiao Chen interrupted her in a panic. “What does she look like? What is she wearing?”
Zhao Yuling frowned. Why was he so agitated when hearing about another lady? Sure enough, all men in the world fancied the new and despised the old.
Li Heng smiled. “Ah, that lady is really as pretty as a fairy. She has a red flower mark between her eyebrows and a red flower hairpin on her hair. She’s also wearing red clothes…”
Xiao Chen was pleasantly surprised. That ought to be Huangfu Xin’er. He asked, “How are her injuries? Is it serious?”
Li Heng’s brows furrowed. “She’s heavily injured. Her five viscera and six bowels are all shattered. Our sect mates have already carried her back to the sect…”
“What…?”
Xiao Chen felt the world around him spin and his feet staggered. Even her five viscera and six bowels were shattered…
“What’s wrong, Junior Brother Wang Luo?” Li Heng immediately supported him by the arm.
Xiao Chen shook his hand. “I’m fine. Let’s hurry up and return.”