Chapter 337: An Acquaintance
Inside the dim confinement chamber, damp stone walls were covered in moss, and the only source of light came from a palm-sized ventilation window at the top. Shen Qingwu was curled up in a corner, his once-upright body now withered and gaunt, strands of gray-white hair mixed into his disheveled long hair.
His lips were cracked, and his ten fingers were dug deep into the ground, leaving ten bloody marks on the hard stone floor.
"It has been 1 year… senior, I really cannot hold on anymore…" The hoarse voice echoed within the stone chamber.
At the instant he was about to lose consciousness, those hollow eyes suddenly flashed with an unusual glint. The murky pupils sharply contracted, then relaxed, and a sharp light completely mismatched with his age surfaced within them, as if an entirely different soul had taken over.
"Heh—"
A long exhalation exploded through the stone chamber. The previously limp body suddenly tensed, joints cracking loudly.
"Shen Qingwu" slowly stood up, his movements smooth and fluid, nothing like those of a prisoner who had been confined for 1 year.
He lowered his head to examine his withered hands, then suddenly reached back to touch his hips, a trace of surprise flashing through his eyes.
"Tsk tsk, worthy of a young man," the hoarse voice carried a hint of delight. "Even wounds the size of a bowl have completely recovered."
He rolled his neck, bones producing crisp sounds.
Then he abruptly raised his head, those sharp eyes staring straight at the iron door as his voice rose sharply. "Guards! This old man wants to see whoever is in charge!"
The sound waves reverberated through the chamber, shaking the cobwebs in the corners.
That voice was full of vigor, without the slightest trace of weakness.
Even more eerie was that, though still hoarse, it carried an irresistible authority, as if it were born to command.
Outside the chamber, the 2 disciples guarding the confinement room shuddered, nearly dropping their weapons.
They looked at each other in shock. This outer sect disciple who had been locked up for 1 year and was on the verge of death had suddenly… become a completely different person.
…
"Quick… quickly go invite Elder Li!"
In less than half an incense stick of time, Li Hanzhou's figure appeared before the stone chamber.
His black law robe fluttered without wind, and the enforcement token at his waist emitted a cold gleam.
The moment he pushed open the iron door, a chilling aura rushed toward him.
"You are the one in charge?" The hoarse voice sounded from within the darkness.
Li Hanzhou narrowed his eyes. In the center of the chamber, the outer sect disciple who should have been dying was standing with his hands behind his back.
His gaunt body was perfectly straight, his once-murky eyes now blazing with sharp light, faint black qi swirling around him.
"A mere Longevity Realm…" Shen Qingwu grinned, revealing stark white teeth. "To temper the physical body to this extent is not bad. You can be considered a talent." His tone suddenly shifted. "But what I am about to say is not something you can decide."
Li Hanzhou sneered. "Oh?"
"This seat is the Upper Realm Heavenly Demon Venerable, at the Half-Step Immortal Venerable Realm," Shen Qingwu said calmly. "I possess a heaven-shaking secret about the Upper Realm and wish to make a deal with your sect." He flicked his fingernail disdainfully. "You are not qualified to hear it."
The temperature in the stone chamber plummeted, frost instantly spreading across the walls.
Li Hanzhou's gaze swept over the other party like a blade.
After a long while, he let out a cold snort. "You had better be telling the truth."
…
Li Hanzhou stood outside the confinement chamber, a strand of cold light gathering at his fingertips.
With a light flick, the cold light transformed into a paper crane that flapped its wings and flew toward the Immortal Spirit Holy Land's main hall.
The paper crane passed through the sea of clouds and landed before Xiao Chen's desk.
"Hmm?" Xiao Chen frowned slightly and reached out to catch the paper crane.
Li Hanzhou's voice then echoed in his mind. "Shen Qingwu claims to be the Heavenly Demon Venerable, Half-Step Immortal Venerable…"
Li Hanzhou recounted the entire matter to Xiao Chen.
Xiao Chen's fingers lightly tapped the desk.
Naturally, he knew about Shen Qingwu, as the matter had already spread throughout the Immortal Spirit Holy Land as a laughingstock.
However, he recalled that Xiao Linger had once said there was something strange about Shen Qingwu, and that the immortal artifact called Time Wheel Fate Mirror was currently in Chen Xingcai's possession.
An existence capable of possessing an immortal artifact made his words somewhat credible.
Moreover, it involved the Upper Realm.
Xiao Chen rose and walked toward the hall entrance. In the next instant, he vanished from where he stood.
Since it concerned the Upper Realm, it was best to let Master make the decision himself.
…
Within Immortal Spirit Valley, Chen Changan slowly opened his eyes.
He had just withdrawn his divine sense from the Spirit Realm when he heard a voice outside the wooden house.
"Master, this disciple has an important matter to report."
Xiao Chen's voice sounded outside the pavilion, carrying a trace of gravity.
Chen Changan lightly tapped the tabletop, and the bamboo door opened soundlessly.
"Chen'er, what is it?"
Xiao Chen stepped in quickly and recounted Shen Qingwu's matter in full.
When he heard the words "Heavenly Demon Venerable," Chen Changan's brows lifted slightly.
"Someone from the Upper Realm?" he murmured. "Then he has come at just the right time."
Ever since returning from the Upper Realm, he had been hoping to learn more about it. If the Heavenly Demon Venerable truly came from the Upper Realm, it suited his intentions perfectly.
With a light flick of his sleeve, before the ripples in the teacup had even settled, there was no one left in the room.
…
In the side hall of the Outer Sect Administration Hall, Li Hanzhou had already ordered a refined room to be prepared.
Incense smoke curled gently, and the tea was warm. There was not the slightest trace of the confinement chamber's chill.
Shen Qingwu—or rather, the Heavenly Demon Venerable—stood by the window with his hands behind his back, his fingers unconsciously rubbing the window lattice.
Suddenly, a slightly lazy voice sounded behind him.
"So you are that so-called… Upper Realm Heavenly Demon Venerable?"
The Heavenly Demon Venerable turned around unhurriedly, a trace of arrogance still hanging at the corner of his mouth.
But when he clearly saw the newcomer, his pupils shrank to pinpoints, and his mouth opened uncontrollably.
"Ho—Holy Lord?!"
His entire body stiffened, as if struck by lightning.
That face, sealed away in the depths of his memory for countless years, had appeared vividly before his eyes.
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