Chapter 150 Administration of Heaven

Xiao Chen struggled to push himself up and looked around. The walls of the cottage were bare and empty, save for the strange and odd-looking herbs and spices hanging around. He took a long swig of breath; his first since a long time, and took in the scent of medicine and herbs. But there was no one around him. Gui Xian's disembodied voice rang again. "Lie down and don't move around," he snapped before his spectral form appeared.

Xiao Chen immediately realized that Gui Xian was merely a soul. He had only just regained consciousness, hence he failed to pick up his presence. He clasped his hands together in salute. "Were you the one who saved me, senior? How should I address you?"

Gui Xian giggled. "They call me Gui Xian," he replied, "I suppose you can also address me as such."

"I see. It's Senior Gui Xian," Xiao Chen said, his head nodding, "Was I out for long?"

"No more or lesser than forty-nine days, boy."

"Forty-nine days eh..." Xiao Chen murmured to himself. He remembered how None-flower Dust had saved only him at the stronghold of Widespread Wintriness Sect. Yunya Zi must have taken Murong Xian'er back to the Skygale Sect by now.

He must go immediately to the Skygale Sect, Xiao Chen realized. He was about to push himself up when Gui Xian stopped him. "You were repeating a name when you were unconscious. A name called Xian'er? She must be important to you?"

"I have to save her!" He would never forgive himself if Murong Xian'er was sacrificed for some insidious schemes. He rolled off the bed. "Ah! What a reckless young man!" Gui Xian berated him, "Try walking for a few steps. Let's see if you have enough strength to rescue others."

Indeed, Xiao Chen was still too weak; in only two steps, he felt shaky and powerless. Gui Xian's ghostly figure appeared beside him to help him to a seat. "There's no helping it. You have just woken up after a grave injury after all. You need to rest for at least three days before you fully regain your strength."

Impatient and brash, Xiao Chen would never have wanted to delay Murong Xian'er's rescue if he could help it. But Gui Xian was right: he needed rest. With no other choice, he began his recuperation as bidden by the ghost physician. On the third day, Xiao Chen went outside. He smote furiously at the face of a cliff. The impact of his stroke shook the whole valley that birds and beasts were frightened, scurrying to and fro with fear.

"For the love of Heavens! First, there's None-flower Dust, and now you! Please do not try to demolish my humble abode!"

Xiao Chen turned to face the ghostly form of Gui Xian approaching him. The former smiled impishly. "My apologies, Senior Gui Xian," said Xiao Chen, "To have distressed you." Not only Gui Xian had saved him from death, rather, his powers had also increased substantially, reaching Lv 9 of the Foundation Building Realm. It would not be long before the Core Forming Realm, he mused with elation.

"Whatever," Gui Xian muttered with a note of resignation, waving him off. "Go save this Xian'er of yours."

Xiao Chen nodded. It was imperative he made haste. He had hardly been idle for the past three days. Gui Xian had revealed to him that they were in a remote valley at the far western edges of the East Continent. He would have to traverse tens of thousands of miles to reach the stronghold of the Skygale Sect at the eastern side of the Continent, a journey that would take at least two days even with a Flying-cloud Stone.

But Xiao Chen noticed Gui Xian's dismal frown before leaving. The ghost physical seemed troubled. "What is wrong, Senior Gui Xian?"

Gui Xian gave no reply, sighing only instead. "I have wished to leave this place myself," he said, after pausing for seconds, "I expect my enemies to have found me by now. It may be time for me to burn everything off, after so long of staying here. Still, I have grown fond of this place..."

Xiao Chen realized his sorrow and reluctance. He needed to save Xian'er as quickly as possible, but he could not leave without finding out Gui Xian's plight; not after the ghost physician's kindness toward him. "Who are these enemies of yours, senior?" Xiao Chen asked. Gui Xian was a person with sufficient skills of his own to protect himself. The enemies must be powerful and strong, to be able to drive him into hiding.

Gui Xian shook his head. "It is a debt of mine toward them. Something that you should not concern yourself with..." But before he could continue, his body shuddered and his pale spectral face grew even deathlike. "Heavens... They are here..." He gasped with horror.

All of a sudden, Xiao Chen too felt a strange, tingling sensation that made his hair stand. A voice, distant and hollow, boomed over the lagoon of the valley, "You have long eluded us, Liu Yuanyu. Would you still refuse to keep your promise?"

"Who is there?" Xiao Chen growled. But he had barely finished when two figures landed on the ground with a thud. They were both clad in black hooded cloaks, with dark mists swirling at their faces, obscuring their features from being observed. Not only were their movements agile and nimble, but Xiao Chen could also feel their unmistakably strong soul power.

"Despite my best efforts, still you manage to find me," Gui Xian muttered, sighing. "Come with us then, if you will!" One of the hooded men hissed.

Xiao Chen placed himself in front of Gui Xian defensively. "Apologies, gentlemen," he said dispassionately, "Senior Gui Xian has shown me great kindness. I cannot let you take him away."

"And who do you think you are? You'd best mind your own affairs," said the other man in black coldly who immediately shot him a cold glare.

"Please leave us," Xiao Chen said again, shaking his head, "As I said before, I will not allow Senior Gui Xian to be taken away."

"And pray to forgive our disrespect and brusqueness, if you still wish to interfere," said one of the hooded men, hurling himself immediately at Xiao Chen, brandishing two jet-black chains out of thin air.

Xiao Chen released a strike of his own with his two palms, sending two projectiles in the shape of golden dragons that sprouted out of his arms and hit at the two chains, propelling them back as the dragon silhouettes' roars thundered loudly.

But he could not help feeling puzzled by the techniques of the assailant which were specially for the incapacitation of soul bodies. This might explain Senior Gui Xian's fear for these people and how he could sense their presence.

Realizing that they did not have the upper hand, the other man in black garb charged at Gui Xian, trying to attack him directly from the back. Xiao Chen rushed quickly at him using the Immortal-override Steps, leaving on a mirage in his wake, while he intercepted the other intruder. Their blows met with a loud bang, and the intruder was being thrown backward by Xiao Chen's superior power.

The man staggered to maintain his balance. Noticing that Xiao Chen had used a movement technique similar to the Coalesced Colors Equal to Dust, he hissed frostily, "Are you a student of the Thousand Feathers Sect?"

"I am no student of the Thousand Feathers Sect," denied Xiao Chen, shaking his head, "I have vowed to not let Senior Gui Xian be taken away. But if you two wish to escalate things any further, rest assured that I will do my utmost to stop you both."

He channeled all of his True Energies, releasing them in one go that his powers rippled from him with a shockwave so strong that Gui Xian's three cottages almost collapsed. The spectral physician was greatly surprised; the eruption of power came not from Xiao Chen's True Energy, but in fact, his Soul Power.

The two hooded men too were surprised themselves, even though their features were masked. One of them gasped, "Your soul..."

Xiao Chen's Soul Power was powerful beyond anything they had ever seen. The hooded men shared a quick look and whispered hushly to each other until one of them spoke. "Your soul is powerful," he said to Xiao Chen, "Still, there is only so much that one can do. But if you have need of us, please do not hesitate to contact us, the Administration of Heaven."

Xiao Chen's squinted at the revelation. Indeed, as he previously suspected, the two men are one of the Soul Wardens of the mysterious organization, the Administration of Heaven.

The Administration of Heaven was a secretive organization that dealt with souls. This included granting a person a wish in exchange for his or her soul.

"Very well then. Consider this a courtesy from the Administration of Heaven to you," said one of the Soul Wardens, "Liu Yuanyu shall remain free, at least for now." With that, the two hooded men immediately vanished into wisps of dark fumes and were gone.

Xiao Chen waited for their presence to truly dissipate before he turned to face Gui Xian. "They're gone now, Senior," he said, "Where would you go from here?" He could almost guess the reason of the Soul Wardens' visit, but he knew better than to prod.

Gui Xian remained silent for seconds, save for the sour look of sullenness as the painful memories of his past returned to him. "I, Liu Yuanyu, was once known as the most potent physician in the Middle Continent," he admitted, "But I had mistakenly saved the life of a dying man. Little did I know that my kindness had instead incurred the wrath of the man's nemesis; a man who harbored deep hatred unto the man I saved. He hated me for what I did and butchered all thirteen members of my family..."

He choked, unable to continue any longer. What brutality, Xiao Chen mused. "What happened next?" He asked again.

"Naturally, I wished revenge for my dead loved ones. But I did not realize at the time that the person was extremely influential himself in the Middle Continent. Not only did my plans for vengeance failed, but I had also troubled many of my friends badly. Until one day, I met someone. He told me that he would arrange for the death of that person, so long as I promise to hand over my soul to them after my death."

Xiao Chen nodded quietly in response; the rest of Gui Xian's story could not be clearer. The Administration of Heaven was indeed a powerful organization with wide and terrible reach. He heard Gui Xian sighing again and the ghost of the old man continued his tale. "But when the deed was done and its cost came due, I regretted making the promise. To hand over my soul would mean that I will never be able to enter into Samsara for a rebirth. I wanted to wait for my loved ones and to see them attaining rebirth..."

Tears of sadness trickled down his creased face. "There are things that we humans have no control of, Senior," Xiao Chen consoled him, sighing to himself, "You can only pray for the serenity to accept them."

Gui Xian shook off his tears and smiled weakly, "Don't you try outsmarting me, you rascal. Wait up. I have something for you." He turned and went inside one of his cottages and came back moments later with a cloth bundle.

"Go east after exiting this valley. You'll reach a little town twenty miles. There's a transport agency there where you will be able to hire a Flying-cloud Stone. Take this money and Spirit Stones. You'll need them."

Xiao Chen was reluctant to accept the gift, but he knew that he would need them. He smiled benignly, "Thank you so much, Senior."

"I have matters to take care of," Gui Xian waved him off, "Go with haste. But be careful. Your quest to the Skygale Sect abounds with danger."

"Thank you for your words of caution, Senior." Xiao Chen bowed and said his thanks, skirting by the edges of the lagoon and slowly walked out of the valley. He traveled for twenty miles, just as how Gui Xian had bidden him to, and found the little village that was filled with crowded people. He looked for the transport agency and negotiated a ride to Jing Province for ten Tier Two Spirit Stones.

He rode on normal Flying-cloud Stone that could bear about thirty passengers. The flying conveyance made several stops at different cities and towns, dropping and collecting passengers that traveled around.

During his journey, he overheard snippets of news about his exploits at the stronghold of the Widespread Wintriness Sect. But the news that began to spread was hardly pleasant.

"Have you heard about the monster Xiao Chen? There were rumors of him wreaking havoc at the stronghold of the Widespread Wintriness Sect! Some people were saying that Senior Yunya Zi, who was trying to protect everyone else, was gravely injured by him!"

"Ah! Justice will befall that monster soon! I'll be the first to cast the first stone if I were to encounter him!"

Xiao Chen listened quietly to the twisted stories about him, with anger boiling within. He had used the forbidden techniques only because he was forced to. But this had enabled the insidious parties to twist and distort facts to their favor and brand him as an evil monster out to destroy innocent lives. Yunya Zi's sinister scheme of trying to erect the Blood Soul Formation was not only kept under wraps, instead, but he was also being hailed as a hero!