Chapter 165 The Expectations of the Heartless Palace

Chu Lingjiao said, "Here we are. Please stay here for now. I'll send my junior sisters to bring you two some supplies later." She then turned around and returned using the same path they had come in.

Xiao Chen ignored what she said. Feeling as if his soul had left his body, he gave the wooden fence a gentle push. The flowers, trees, house, roof tiles, and a cluster of Imperial Concubine Xiang's bamboos in the corner were all so familiar to him. He felt as he had once come here.

When he reached for the tear-like spots on the bamboos, he felt as if he could hear the sound of cheering, talking, and laughing of yesteryears in this place. He felt like he could see himself performing a sword-dance with Weiyang. However, the illusions vanished the moment his fingers touched the bamboo.

"Weiyang!" he cried, using the language from countless millennia ago. He dashed with all his strength, his hand reaching out to grab something he didn't even know. Even so, he was never able to touch the fleeting figure in his memories. What remained was the rustling sound of the wind-swept bamboo leaves.

Noticing how strange he was acting, Li Muxue asked softly, "What's wrong?"

Xiao Chen recovered his senses and shook his head. Even if Weiyang had truly come here countless millennia ago, it was all in the past and their reunion was far in the indefinite future. He sighed and walked to the courtyard on the cliff. Amid the cold wind coming from the bottom of the mountain, he said softly, "Where the sun sets in the west, the Heartbroken Cliff..."

Li Muxue walked behind him. She had never seen him look this sad. Perhaps she had never once entered this man's heart.

"You have memories you're not willing to mention and someone you'll never forget, don't you?" she asked softly.

Xiao Chen turned around and said quietly, "I'm sorry, Muxue. No one in this world can ever replace her..."

He recalled how Weiyang fell into his embrace after taking the fatal attack for him. Back then, she told him, "You owe me one last favor... I want you to live well..."

He also remembered how she jumped off the Cliff of Fallen Divinity. He muttered sorrowfully, "If a second life exists where you're not a Mystic Cyan Sect disciple and I'm not the Demon Emperor's daughter... When that time comes, let's watch the streams flow forever and the sunset at dusk..."

"So what if I've eaten the Love-killer Pill? So what if countless millennia has passed? I can't forget! I can't!" An anguished bellow echoed throughout the valley. His every word was like a sharp blade piercing Li Muxue's heart.

She knew she could never be the person that Xiao Chen was longing for but she couldn't bear watching him looking this sorrowful and heartbroken. She took a step forward and said gently, "Brother Xiao..."

After taking a deep breath, he walked over to her and gently placed her head on his shoulder. He said softly, "I'm sorry, Muxue. You'll never be as important as she is but you'll always be more important than my life..."

The hair on their temples fluttered and intertwined in the breeze. It was as if their fate had yet to exhaust in their past life and was continuing in the present.

Sometime later, two Heartless Palace disciples came over with supplies and told them to stay put. They weren't allowed to roam the valley as they pleased.

Xiao Chen agreed and immediately carried two quilts into the house. His room was furnished simply with a small wooden table, a small bed, as well as a zither base on the couch. After tidying up his room, he went to the small house next door to help Li Muxue with the clean-up.

They kept busy for nearly two hours. By then, it was already dark out. The flame of an oil lamp inside the house flickered. After telling Li Muxue to get some rest, Xiao Chen returned to his room and collapsed on the bed. Before long, he was fast asleep.

When it was nearly midnight, he suddenly detected a slight chill infiltrating the house. He opened his eyes in a daze and realized he had forgotten to close the window before going to bed. It was hazy outside as if a layer of mist had enveloped the area. Having lost his drowsiness, he quietly got up from the bed, pushed open the door, and made his way to the center of the courtyard.

The thin layer of mist shrouded the courtyard. He could faintly hear sounds coming from the southern corner of the place. When he strolled over, he realized it was the rustling of the wind-swept bamboo leaves. He sighed and sat down.

After calming down, he immediately started using the Mystic Cyan Cultivation Method and opened all of his meridians. A pale white True Qi flowed through his body with traces of invisible black True Qi flowing along with it, threatening to swallow the white Qi at any time.

This continued for two hours. Xiao Chen opened his eyes. His cultivation was stagnating at Level 9 of the Foundation Building Realm. It seemed like it would be a challenge to break free of this shackle and enter the Core Forming Realm. Perhaps, he would only truly be the best fighter of the younger generation after entering the Core Forming Realm.

Even though his battle with Patriarch Guanshan was closing in, that wasn't his biggest worry. He was more concerned about the Thousand Feathers Sect. He had a feeling that the sect was hiding its purpose. It was mostly thanks to Xiaoyue that Patriarch Guanshan's resurrection became such heated news in the Violet Manor.

With his mind in such a chaotic mess, he wasn't willing to ponder too deeply about it. He got up and returned to his room. In the morning, a burst of noise woke him up. He saw Li Muxue pushing the door and entering his room. "I think there's trouble in the Heartless Palace!"

Xiao Chen immediately flipped out of the bed and ran out of the courtyard. At the end of his sight, he saw shuffling silhouettes over at the Heartless Palace. Aside from the Heartless Palace disciples, there were also quite a number of people in strange attire. It seemed like an invasion was taking place.

"Let's go and take a look." He pulled Li Muxue along and ran over.

When they were nearby, they saw three people who seemed to be the leaders of the invaders. One was in his fifties and was gripping a long sword. Another had white hair and beard and was holding a human skeleton crutch. The last one was dressed like a Taoist but was emanating an evil aura.

These three were Everlasting Spring Rogue, Old Monster of Mount Ding, and Depraved Man, all famous in this area. Old Monster of Mount Ding raised his head and laughed. "Everyone knows that Heartless Mystic Sword is a cultivation method that is descended from ancient times. It should be shared among the people, yet your master is hogging it to herself. Never mind that, she isn't even making good use of it! If she doesn't hand over the secret manual today, I'll wipe out your entire sect!"

The moment he finished talking, he pointed with his human skeleton crutch. Two streams of red light radiated from the sockets of the human skeleton and instantly reaped the life of a Heartless Palace disciple. The other disciples became terrified after seeing this.

Xiao Chen felt a chill. These three had far stronger cultivation than the two men yesterday. Moreover, the Heartless Mystic Sword that they were talking about appeared to be some sort of ancient cultivation method.

Chu Lingjiao felt her insides go cold. While it was true that her master found the secret manual here, she had never practiced the profound cultivation method recorded in it. Neither did she allow other disciples to learn it. However, there was no shortage of people coveting the manual and it had become a looming danger for the Heartless Palace. In the past, many had invaded the valley but all were exterminated without exception. However, her master was now meditating behind closed doors because of her severe injury. What should they do now?

She was currently leading 10 more of her fellow disciples to perform a sword formation. She said coolly, "How dare you!"

Old Monster of Mount Ding raised his head and laughed heartily. "If we're not daring, where would we find the courage to invade the Heartless Palace?" He pointed his human skeleton crutch at Chu Lingjiao and once again, emitted two streams of red light. Xiao Chen hastily cast an incantation and the Unsullied Sword appeared in his hand. He swung his sword, flinging a sharp Sword Qi that immediately neutralized the two streams of red light.

Quite a few people had heard of Xiao Chen demonstrating his power and chasing the Fiend Duo of the Northern Underworld away yesterday. They sighed in relief to see him rushing to their aid.