Yun Hui stared in a daze at the jade identity token in his hand. When he made out the runes etched on it, his pupils dilated.
"It really is the jade token that Senior Brother gave her! That day, Senior Brother said that if in the future the Fairy has anything she needs our help with, she can use this jade token to contact him through Yun Gu Sect!"
Zhao Lingyi's cheeks flushed briefly as he gripped the jade token. "Although I cannot help her directly now, this Fairy has brought us extremely important news! The elder of Ming Xia Sect, Kuang Lei, has fallen!"
When he spoke those words, both Yun Dehe and Yun Hui's expressions changed simultaneously. "Is this true?"
"Absolutely. The drop of blood inside this jade token belongs entirely to Kuang Lei," Zhao Lingyi said with certainty. He had already thoroughly studied what Yao Ranran had sent.
It was not that he blindly trusted Yao Ranran. Enemies lay in ambush on all sides, ready to strike at any moment.
For the sake of tens of thousands of disciples in Yun Gu Sect, he could not afford to falter and give the demon cultivator sects any opportunity!
Yun Dehe lay weakly on the bed, a spark of hope lighting his eyes. "Kuang Lei… was he killed by her? What message did she bring?"
Zhao Lingyi said, "Please, Master, do not blame me. Upon receiving this news, I contacted Tower Master Qin of Suohong Tower without your permission."
Yun Dehe moved his wrinkled eyelids and smiled. "I trust your judgment. The matter this Fairy reported must be urgent, yes?"
"Yes. Kuang Lei is dead, and he had led hundreds of disciples from Mingxia Sect to Shiyan City, Yanlong County. Now that those disciples know of Kuang Lei's demise, chaos has broken out among them."
Yun Dehe's eyes gleamed. "So the spirit veins of Wanxiang City that Kuang Lei was guarding no longer have disciples protecting them?"
Zhao Lingyi smiled. "Exactly. That is why I informed Tower Master Qin. The lost spirit veins of Wanxiang City will be back in our hands tonight!"
"That is truly wonderful!" After several defeats, this was the first piece of good news Yun Dehe had heard.
Yun Hui seemed dazed, as if his soul had been shaken loose. The news left him frozen, struggling to believe it.
"What about the divine Phoenix blood that Senior Brother mentioned when he arrived?"
Zhao Lingyi smiled gently. "Junior Brother, you no longer need to worry about the sect master's health. In the hands of Fairy Ranran, there is a living divine Phoenix!"
"What? Cough, cough!"
Yun Dehe, near death, startled upright.
It was as if Zhao Lingyi's words had revived him. He straightened his spine and gripped Zhao Lingyi's shoulders.
"Ling Yi… are you telling the truth?"
In a short span of time, Zhao Lingyi had been asked many times whether this was true. He did not show the slightest impatience, sharing in their anticipation. "Master, I have confirmed it. The Phoenix has indeed appeared and has accepted Fairy Ranran as its master!"
Yun Dehe seemed struck by immense joy. His chest no longer ached, his legs no longer numb.
"So… so I still have a chance to continue cultivation!?"
"Of course!" Zhao Lingyi nodded firmly.
Yun Dehe's expression shifted several times. His usually stern face was suddenly full of tears, threatening to fall.
Yun Hui asked in astonishment, "The Phoenix blood is priceless. Even if she has a divine Phoenix, why would she allow us to use it?"
Tears rimmed Yun Dehe's eyes. Wiping them, he said, "Yes, Ling Yi, she is our benefactor, yet we have never truly helped her!"
Zhao Lingyi fell silent, recalling past events. His master's words made sense. The jade token had originally been given to her as gratitude. Now it had returned to them, yet they were asking her for help once more. He had never been so shameless in his life…
"Perhaps we can try to trade with spirit stones?" Zhao Lingyi suggested hesitantly.
Yun Dehe sighed. "Phoenix blood is not something that can be measured with spirit stones. No master would part with Phoenix blood for spirit stones, not even in ancient times."
Zhao Lingyi could not watch his master's lifespan run out and die. He condensed spirit light around the transmission talisman and sent it flying.
"We must at least try. That Fairy is not heartless!"
Yun Hui stared blankly as the talisman flew toward Shiyan City. Could the divine Phoenix, which had vanished for tens of thousands of years, really appear just like his father said?
What had his previous madness been for?
All his despair and suffering now seemed like a cruel joke…
Longyin Village
Pu Yehai shook off the villagers following him and climbed Lone Star Peak for the first time. He looked across at the quiet Black Mountain and, imitating Xiao Rong's usual habit, tossed a rope with a hook across.
A dilapidated Taoist temple stood there. Spider webs still clung to the gate.
Apart from a mismatched Hundred Flowers Swing at the entrance, everything inside seemed so simple and old it felt uninhabited.
Pu Yehai frowned and did not linger. He quickly made his way to Yao Ranran's room.
An old wooden table, a simple wooden bed, a thin quilt…
Nothing else.
Pu Yehai was struck by her simplicity. He searched every corner and every room but found no key to the array. He furrowed his brow, scanning with fierce divine sense, yet still found no treasure controlling the formation.
"Could she be carrying it with her?"
Pu Yehai glanced at the peak of Lone Star Peak and swiftly scanned the small wooden house.
"Why is everything so mundane?"
He sifted through the papers at the bottom of a chest. Drawings of a woman in countless radiant, beautiful poses filled his eyes.
"Is this Divine Transformation Zūnzhě her Dao companion? Or a lover?"
Pu Yehai paused, then dismissed the thought.
The artist's skill was remarkable. The woman in the drawings was enough to make his heart stir.
But this woman just happened to be Yao Ranran!
Pu Yehai, a faint anger in his expression, destroyed all the drawings.
"Today I kill Yao Ranran, destroy this village. No matter which Divine Transformation Zūnzhě she belongs to, they cannot save these people!"
He left in fury.
Given Kuang Lei's violent temper, since he did not dismantle the array in time, he must have acted on his own.
There was no reason to waste time here.
He shot toward Longyin Village like an arrow released from a bow.
Unseen by him, Yao Ranran and her companions returned, avoiding his path.
"Why are they so… calm?" Pu Yehai watched the villagers laugh and walk together back to the village, bewildered.
"Where are Kuang Lei and the people of Mingxia Sect?!"
A cold wind blew, tugging at his robes.
Pu Yehai saw the lights gradually extinguish. Jiang Shengxiang helped Grandma Zhang back inside, wiping his eyes repeatedly.
"Illusion? Is it an illusion?
Yao Ranran, and her little tree… and the woman?"
Pu Yehai circled Longyin Village several times. With more lights extinguished than visible, he could not see the remaining cultivators.
"Where are they hiding?"
Only the withered leaves whispered answers.
At the village entrance under the starry night, he stood alone, a solitary figure.
The pale yellow candlelight stretched his shadow long across the ground…