Chapter 199
Chen Huai'an frowned slightly, but unfortunately, there were no disciples from the Sword Pavilion on Shengxuan Mountain to answer his questions.
After pondering for a moment, he decided to fly towards the Lingxi Valley dojo.
…
At the Lingxi Valley dojo.
The white jade platform was bathed in a soft golden glow.
Yun Baiyu was channeling spiritual energy in his palms, soothing the frightened disciples one by one.
Suddenly, the eastern sky split open, revealing a rift in the clouds, and a cold sword aura shot down like a falling star— it was the ancestor of the Sword Pavilion arriving on his sword.
Before the sword sheath even touched the ground, the chilling intent of the sword had already caused the peach trees at the edge of the dojo to shed their blossoms in a flurry.
“Chen Jianzun has graced us with his presence, illuminating the valley,” Yun Baiyu rose and bowed gracefully to Chen Huai'an.
“No need for such formality,” Chen Huai'an glanced around and couldn’t help but chuckle.
All the disciples of Lingxi Valley were wearing swords at their waists.
What’s going on? When did the disciples of Lingxi Valley start practicing swordsmanship?
However, he wasn’t here to investigate why the disciples were wielding swords. He got straight to the point:
“Has the Valley Master Yun seen any unusual phenomena at the entrance of the secret realm?”
“Oh, so Jianzun is here to inquire about this matter.” Yun Baiyu raised his delicate brows, adjusting his sleeves, and said with lingering fear, “Just now, a powerful wave of energy shot in from the west, breaking through the protective array around the secret realm, and it flew right over our Lingxi Valley dojo before crashing into the entrance of the small secret realm… Fortunately, it didn’t hit any sect’s dojo, so I suppose that’s a small blessing in disguise.”
…
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Chapter 213: The Identity of Zhao Zhenlong
“It… it crashed into the entrance?” Chen Huai'an narrowed his eyes, realizing that this was no simple matter.
He quickly checked the survival rate of Li Qingran in the main storyline of the game and found it still at 100%, which eased his mind a bit.
Alright, maybe he was just being overly sensitive.
Even if that beam of chaotic energy filled with violent power and reversed Dao rhythms struck the secret realm, it shouldn’t land on Li Qingran.
After all, the secret realm was like a small world; the chances of being hit by that beam were like finding a needle in a haystack.
Moreover, was there really anything about Li Qingran that warranted such concern?
Wasn’t it just her exceptional dantian, her single water spiritual root, her single sword spiritual root, and her Taiyin Dao body…
“Hiss.” Chen Huai'an inhaled sharply.
It seemed… Li Qingran indeed had many aspects worth worrying about.
With his continuous investment, the already gifted Li Qingran had transcended the definition of a genius. With all these advantages, she was practically a walking cheat code. Compared to her, the so-called once-in-a-thousand-years talents from the three holy lands seemed almost laughable.
“Chen Jianzun, are you worried that the disciples of the Sword Pavilion might encounter any accidents in the secret realm?” Yun Baiyu’s gaze flicked over Chen Huai'an’s furrowed brows, and he couldn’t help but smile reassuringly, “Don’t worry, the disciples of the Sword Pavilion are strong and united. As long as they don’t run into the prodigies from the three holy lands in the small secret realm, they’ll be just fine. Plus, with you overseeing the Sword Pavilion, any ill-intentioned rascals will think twice before acting.”
“Hmm, you make a good point.” Chen Huai'an didn’t feel the need to explain further to Yun Baiyu.
As long as he confirmed that Li Qingran was safe, the other disciples of the Sword Pavilion should be fine as well.
Now that he was at the Lingxi Valley dojo, he took out Zhao Zhenlong’s skull.
“Friend Yun, do you recognize this?”
Yun Baiyu stared at the skull in Chen Huai'an’s hand, puzzled, and cupped his hands, “I would appreciate it if Jianzun could clarify.”
“This is Zhao Zhenlong’s skull.”
As soon as he said this, the color drained from Yun Baiyu’s face, and his eyes, fixed on the skull’s hollow eye sockets, gradually misted over.
“Chen Jianzun, are… are you serious?”
“Of course, I am.” Seeing Yun Baiyu’s pale complexion and trembling lips, Chen Huai'an had already guessed the general identity of Zhao Zhenlong.
“This skull was obtained after I fought a fallen disciple of the Burning Clean Sect. This disciple had refined it into a Dao artifact. Out of curiosity about the identity of its owner, I used a secret method to deduce the heavenly secrets and learned that his name is Zhao Zhenlong and that he is a disciple of the Pure Hao Sect, which has some connection to your Lingxi Valley.”
“Zhao Zhenlong, he… he is my Dao partner, the father of Su Xin…” Yun Baiyu’s fingers tightened around his sleeves, and tears fell as he lowered his gaze, “Could Jianzun let me examine the skull closely?”
“Of course.” Chen Huai'an handed the cracked and scarred skull to Yun Baiyu.
This skull was no longer usable, and even if it were, he felt it was only right to return it to Yun Baiyu.
After all, it was the remains of her deceased husband; returning it to its rightful owner was a good deed.
Yun Baiyu gently caressed the skull, almost as if she could see Zhao Zhenlong’s figure through it. She quickly confirmed that this skull indeed belonged to Zhao Zhenlong, and Chen Huai'an’s words were not exaggerated. But why had Zhao Zhenlong, who had long been a guest elder of the Yaochi Holy Land, been so indifferent to her and their daughter for decades, only to leave behind a skull upon their reunion?
“Since Zhao Zhenlong is your Dao partner, why is he not seen in Lingxi Valley?” Chen Huai'an thought to himself, as expected.
Although Yun Baiyu appeared very sorrowful now, his curiosity was burning fiercely, unstoppable.
“He was exceptionally talented and caught the attention of the real people from Yaochi, Burning Clean, and Zhenwu. In the end, he chose to enter Yaochi for three years, but after those three years, he never returned, leaving only a letter to tell me and our daughter that he had formed a Dao partnership with an elder from Yaochi and asked us not to disturb him…”
Yun Baiyu took a breath, the faint red at the corners of his eyes resembling the cold frost that clings to autumn leaves, about to fall.
“Oh, so he’s a heartless man.” Chen Huai'an suddenly understood.
“Actually, Lingxi Valley didn’t prohibit male cultivators before. It was because this incident caused great psychological trauma to Su Xin, and she had tested it herself, which is why she developed such a hatred for men, even forbidding the disciples of Lingxi Valley from forming Dao partnerships to avoid similar harm.”
Chen Huai'an nodded in understanding.
After all, there are very few loyal men like him in this world.
In the ruthless world of cultivation, where the law of the jungle prevails, it’s not like modern society, where desires are shackled.
Strength equates to lawlessness.
“Chen Jianzun, do you know where that fallen disciple of the Burning Clean Sect has fled to?” Yun Baiyu wiped away the tears at the corners of his eyes, his expression serious as he seemed to have pulled himself out of his sorrow, his brows slightly furrowed, “Although Su Xin and I both hate him, we still hope to understand the reason for his tragic death.”
“He’s dead.” Chen Huai'an patted the sword sheath, “I killed him with one sword strike.”
Yun Baiyu was taken aback.
That was a fallen disciple of the Burning Clean Sect.
His strength was definitely not just at the Transformation stage.
An old monster at least at the Harmonization stage was killed by Chen Jianzun with a single sword strike.
The nonchalant tone was as if he had casually dispatched a dog on the street.
So, how much power was this ancestor of the Sword Pavilion hiding?
Yun Baiyu felt fortunate for his previous decision. At that time, Chen Huai'an’s sword strike had been merciless, and her choice had been to take a step back for a broader perspective, rather than adopting a more aggressive approach. Now that she thought about it, had she acted more aggressively back then, perhaps Lingxi Valley would have already been expelled from the Cangyun Realm.
Seeing Yun Baiyu lost in thought, Chen Huai'an assumed this beautiful valley master was silently blaming him for erasing a crucial lead, so he suggested, “Although that old dog is dead, didn’t Zhao Zhenlong go to the Yaochi Holy Land? You could find an opportunity to ask which elder he got close to. Since he is a Dao partner of a Yaochi female cultivator, they should know some details.”
Yun Baiyu nodded at this, a bitter smile tugging at the corners of his mouth, “That’s all we can do…”
How difficult would it be to find a female cultivator from the Yaochi Holy Land to inquire?
In the years since Zhao Zhenlong had sought a new love, she had taken Yun Suxin to search for him, but they had always been met with closed doors at Yaochi.
Moreover, the elders of Yaochi had warned them that Zhao Zhenlong had already become a guest elder at Yaochi and had formed a close bond with one of their elders.
Zhao Zhenlong’s actions were indeed unscrupulous, but he was already a guest elder of Yaochi.
If they kept coming to Yaochi looking for someone, it might tarnish Yaochi’s reputation, and then Lingxi Valley would be in trouble.
After being warned twice, no matter how much Yun Suxin protested, Yun Baiyu no longer went to Yaochi to look for anyone.
Additionally, having once been injured and spent some time recuperating at Yaochi, she realized that the revered holy land everyone longed for was not as beautiful as it seemed on the surface.
There was almost no camaraderie among the disciples, and the relationships between cultivators were very selfish and cold.
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