“Does the Monarch know of this person, Hen Jiliao?”
Chen Wanxiu’s tone was extremely formal, causing Hua Yanyun’s expression to grow solemn as well.
“Of course I know. Hen Jiliao was a great figure of the demonic path more than ten thousand years ago. In the end he died under the joint siege of the orthodox path. A famous powerhouse of my clan at the time, Lord Hua Liantian, also took part in that joint siege.”
“So why are you asking about this?”
Hua Yanyun sat up straight, a pair of beautiful eyes fixed tightly on Chen Wanxiu.
“Since the Monarch knows, then this humble one will speak directly.”
“I have already calculated He Shu’s location. She is in Grief Valley Immortal City. But I advise the Monarch that it would be best not to seek them out right now, whether by sending people or by going personally.”
Chen Wanxiu spoke only half the matter.
Hua Yanyun listened with furrowed brows.
She truly did not know what medicine Chen Wanxiu was selling in his gourd.
Noticing the change in Hua Yanyun’s expression, Chen Wanxiu continued speaking.
“Is the Monarch now quite puzzled as to why I would advise against going to Grief Valley Immortal City?”
Hua Yanyun nodded.
“Exactly. Just speak plainly. Just what is there in Grief Valley Immortal City that even I, the ruler of an entire nation, cannot handle?”
Her answer was crisp and cut straight to the heart of the matter.
“The Monarch need not be anxious. Please allow me to explain in detail.”
“Back then, Hen Jiliao, as a Mahayana demonic cultivator, truly possessed demonic might that none could match. He blood-sacrificed tens of thousands of living beings, drawing the jealousy of heaven and the resentment of men.”
“Left with no choice, the major orthodox forces of the southern region joined together to form a punitive alliance. Led by three Mahayana cultivators, they besieged Seal Heaven Mountain and only then managed to kill that demonic fiend.”
“Although it was a victory for the southern region’s orthodox path, the price paid was extremely tragic. Even the Mahayana realm Clear Wind Scholar perished in the great battle.”
“According to historical records, before his fall Hen Jiliao laughed madly and shouted to the heavens, ‘The Blood Path shall flourish, its lingering poison lasting ten thousand years,’ after which his breath ran out and he died.”
After listening to the story Chen Wanxiu told, Hua Yanyun already had some faint guesses.
“So you mean to say that Hen Jiliao did not actually die?”
“Not so. Hen Jiliao truly is dead. But while calculating He Shu just now, I unexpectedly captured the presence of someone deeply connected to Hen Jiliao.”
“That person is a Blood Path Nascent Soul.”
***
Grief Valley Immortal City, Good Days Inn.
He Shu and the others understood nothing of the Wisdom Path.
They were complete outsiders and naturally had no means of dealing with the thin starlight mist upon their bodies.
They could only wait for the one calculating their positions to stop of his own accord.
“Someone is calculating our locations. We must leave Grief Valley Immortal City at once and hide as far away as possible!”
No one needed to guess.
The person calculating their positions was definitely connected to Hua Yanyun.
After the starlight mist dispersed, the five people exchanged glances and each saw the gravity in the others’ eyes.
Since their location had already been exposed, there was no further need for concealment. Swift escape was the key.
Thinking thus, He Shu was the first to flip out the window and fly away.
Four figures streaked through the air above the immortal city. Bai Liuli took the lead, followed by He Shu, then Shen Qingci.
As for He Qingyuan and Mu Xinlian, whose cultivation was the lowest, they rode the same flying cloud and followed behind the three.
Flying through the midair, He Shu clenched her teeth, countless thoughts racing through her mind.
Yet at that very moment, Bai Liuli ahead of her suddenly shouted, “Stop at once!”
“What?”
He Shu heard Bai Liuli’s shout. Her mind had not yet turned the corner, but she stopped instinctively all the same.
The group of five halted in midair.
None chose to continue forward.
Instead they looked toward Bai Liuli with questioning gazes.
“What is it? What happened? Why stop so suddenly?”
“Look over there.”
A faint golden flowing light circulated within Bai Liuli’s eyes.
She extended a single finger and pointed into the distance.
Yet following the direction she indicated, the others discovered nothing at all.
Finding no anomaly, Shen Qingci furrowed his brows, yet he always felt that Bai Liuli would not act without reason.
“What is there? What have you discovered?”
Shen Qingci spoke up in inquiry, waiting for Bai Liuli’s reply.
Seeing Shen Qingci question her in this manner, Bai Liuli also realized that her earlier behavior had been improper.
Spirit Butterfly Valley was shrouded year-round in soul-confusing mist.
Ordinary cultivators suffered extreme restrictions to their vision within that mist.
Bai Liuli, however, was not only a cultivator of the Light Path but also possessed tenth-layer Golden Core cultivation.
Thus the soul-confusing mist covering Spirit Butterfly Valley affected her almost not at all.
And so Bai Liuli flicked a sleeve and cast a supporting spell upon the group, allowing their sight to pierce through the soul-confusing mist as well.
“This…!”
“This is!”
With the spell’s support, the group was finally free of the soul-confusing mist’s influence and could clearly see the azure barrier standing between heaven and earth in the distance.
The azure barrier was a seamless whole, like a great pot lid covering the entirety of Grief Valley Immortal City within it.
“Damn it! When was the immortal city’s grand array activated?!”
The reason an immortal city was called an immortal city was precisely because it possessed outstanding defensive power and could firmly hold a region.
And the greatest component of an immortal city’s defensive power was the city’s grand array.
The immortal city grand array was maintained by dedicated personnel in daily times.
Every hundred years it underwent renovation, inspection of gaps, and repair of damaged places.
“The defensive power of an immortal city grand array can be called heaven-defying, and the lowest grade is still Nascent Soul level!”
He Shu and the others looked at the quietly circulating immortal city grand array, yet their hearts felt as heavy as if a mountain had been pressed upon them.
The activation of the immortal city grand array meant they had already become fish upon the chopping block.
The Grief Valley City Lord was a great cultivator of the third layer of Nascent Soul.
His combat power was absolutely stronger than Lin Hanjing’s.
Facing even one Lin Hanjing, the group had already been in a wretched state, to say nothing of the Grief Valley City Lord who held absolute geographical advantage.
***
Chen Wanxiu snapped his fingers.
A stream of colorful smoke rose from the table before him.
The smoke gathered together and formed a very blurred human-shaped outline.
This person wore a great black robe, his frame withered as dry wood, a hood upon his head, and a ferocious white-bone mask upon his face.
“This is the Blood Path Nascent Soul I unexpectedly sensed.”
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