Chapter 789: The Allure of Mourning
A faint, self-satisfied smile touched Master Xiao's lips as he watched the utter shock ripple across his disciple Xiao Fan's face.
The old cultivator reflected on his own arduous journey. He, a man of once-mediocre talent, had been cast adrift in the Secular World for sixty long years, nursing grievous injuries. To have finally reached the Foundation Establishment realm in a world so starved of spiritual elixirs and medicines was a feat worthy of praise.
Of course, his success was inextricably linked to this small spiritual vein hidden deep within the mountains. Though the spiritual energy of the Secular World was thin and diluted, a few pockets of relative abundance could still be found in the remote wilderness, far from the touch of man.
"Your Master was once an outer disciple of the Yunhai Sect, a hegemonic power in the Xuanhuang World," he began, his voice a low, gravelly rasp. "But because our sect offended the Heavenly Emperor Palace—one of the ten great sects of the Xuanhuang World—we were annihilated. The Heavenly Emperor Palace hunted down every last one of our disciples."
"I was gravely wounded and forced to flee, drifting from place to place. By a stroke of fortune, I stumbled upon a dilapidated spatial passage leading to this Secular World. I risked being torn to shreds by the chaotic turbulence of the void and, by some miracle, fell here."
"It took me decades just to heal my wounds and finally break through to the Foundation Establishment realm."
"For all these years, I have cultivated diligently in the depths of these mountains, never once taking a single step outside."
Listening to his master's tale, Xiao Fan was secretly astonished. The Xuanhuang World was real. Cultivators with divine abilities, capable of moving mountains and overturning seas, truly existed.
"But Master," Xiao Fan asked, a knot of confusion forming in his mind, "if you drifted here from the Xuanhuang World and spent decades cultivating in seclusion, how did you come to have a grudge with Yanxia's Shen Clan?"
A cold sneer twisted Master Xiao's features.
"The ancestors of the Shen Clan were originally from the Heavenly Emperor Palace. A thousand years ago, when the spiritual energy of this world completely withered, the last batch of cultivators departed for the Xuanhuang World. They left behind many disciples and descendants who were not chosen to be taken along."
"The roots of Yanxia's Shen Clan trace directly back to the Heavenly Emperor Palace."
"My injuries finally healed a few days ago. The timing is perfect. It is time to emerge from the mountains and annihilate the Shen Clan, to vent the hatred I carry from the massacre of my Yunhai Sect."
"I could not tell you these things before, lest the information leak and bring disaster upon us. Back then, my wounds were not healed, and even at the Foundation Establishment realm, I could barely muster a single strike. But now… now that I am fully recovered, I am invincible in this mundane world. I have no more concerns."
As he spoke, Master Xiao's eyes glinted, fixing on Xiao Fan with a burning intensity.
"Fan'er, are you willing to help your old master seek vengeance against the Shen Clan and the Heavenly Emperor Palace?"
"My own talent is ordinary," he admitted, his voice softening slightly, "but yours is extraordinary. You have the potential to one day step into the Nascent Soul realm. Moving mountains and overturning seas will not be mere empty words for you."
Hearing this, Xiao Fan's expression filled with hesitation. "Master, Brother Shen Anyu saved my life…"
"Hmph!" Master Xiao snorted in derision. "It's more likely he was the one who set you up. Yao Qi was a mere Half-Step Celestial Master. How could his desperate, dying attack have possibly injured you?"
"But… there's no proof that Brother Shen Anyu harmed me…" Xiao Fan's face was a mask of conflict. He was not one to forget a kindness.
"Have you forgotten your Master's kindness, then?" Master Xiao's expression darkened. "You were abandoned in these mountains by your own parents. If I had not happened upon you and saved you, you would have been devoured by wild beasts long ago! Have you forgotten the years of painstaking effort I spent raising you?"
Seeing the struggle and hesitation warring in Xiao Fan's eyes, the old man's face softened once more, his tone becoming comforting.
"Besides, do you not wish to resolve the hidden danger of the Curse of Black Light? Do you not wish to restore your masculine vitality so you can marry and have a family? Your Master is a cultivator, and I will teach you the methods of cultivation. These are but minor problems for us."
After a long, heavy silence, Xiao Fan finally spoke, his voice low.
"I will follow Master's arrangements in all things."
'Shen Anyu, I'm sorry,' he thought, a pang of guilt piercing his heart. 'But Master's kindness is greater. He has given me more.'
At that moment, a secret, shameful hope bloomed within him: he hoped that Shen Anyu had secretly tampered with things during his fight with Yao Qi. If that were true, he would bear no burden at all.
"Good! Good! Good!" Master Xiao stroked his beard and laughed, a hearty, booming sound that echoed through the small dwelling. "We, master and disciple, will cultivate together! I will now formally teach you the methods of our sect. You will become a disciple of the Yunhai Sect! First, we will annihilate Yanxia's Shen Clan. Then, we will find a way back to the Xuanhuang World, seize our opportunity for revenge against the Heavenly Emperor Palace, and rebuild the Yunhai Sect to its former glory!"
…
"What a strange coincidence. A blessing in disguise, really…"
Shen Anyu's eyes narrowed slightly. He had been listening to the entire exchange, and a deeper understanding of the so-called destined enmity between a Child of Destiny and the Great Villain of Destiny settled into his mind.
So, even if he had done nothing to Xiao Fan, the boy would have eventually turned against him anyway.
As for the Shen Clan's ancestors hailing from the Heavenly Emperor Palace in the Xuanhuang World… never mind Shen Anyu himself, even his parents were likely unaware of such ancient history. He could almost picture the scene: Xiao Fan and his master would come knocking on their door, and his family wouldn't even know why they were being targeted.
After all, a thousand years had passed. Too much information had been lost to the tides of dynastic changes and endless wars.
However, Shen Anyu felt no particular fear of the impending revenge from Xiao Fan and his master. Instead, a faint smile graced his handsome face.
He had just been wondering where he might find information about the Xuanhuang World. Now, this Master Xiao, who had arrived through a dilapidated spatial passage, presented a perfect breakthrough.
As for Master Xiao's strength, Shen Anyu couldn't care less.
Why did cultivators have to leave the Secular World in the first place? Because the spiritual energy was too thin! Why did the world's power systems splinter into martial artists, spellcasters, ninjas, sorcerers, and curse masters? Because there wasn't enough spiritual energy to sustain true cultivation!
Master Xiao had cultivated for decades, and his cultivation was… just so-so.
He probably couldn't even compare to Zhang Zhiyun when she was wielding the Yin Corpse Devil Sword.
"After I deal with Zhang Zhiyun, I'll deal with you two, master and disciple," Shen Anyu mused to himself with a soft chuckle. "Still want to annihilate the Shen Clan? Heh…"
He shook his head, a flicker of amusement in his eyes. He parked the car in front of Hangzhou Airport and walked inside.
Shen Anyu spotted the person he was there to pick up at a single glance.
An exquisitely beautiful young woman was walking toward the exit, surrounded by a phalanx of bodyguards in black suits.
She had well-proportioned limbs and honey-toned skin. Her figure was lithe, with the noticeable lines of lean muscle that spoke of regular, intense exercise. She moved with the grace of a sleek, female leopard, exuding an aura of healthy, vibrant beauty.
Yet, her every movement, her every gesture, carried the refined grace of a classical lady from a bygone era. It was clear she hailed from a prominent family, her distinguished background evident in the very air she carried—only such an environment could nurture a beauty of her caliber.
But at this moment, the young woman's eyes were dim, and her lovely face was etched with a deep, soul-deep sorrow.
The pure white mourning dress she wore only served to accentuate her grief, making her appear all the more delicate and pitiable.
There was an old saying: to see a woman at her most alluring, see her in mourning.
This beautiful young woman, draped in pure white, drew countless gazes. A few people even tried to raise their phones to take a photo, but they were all swiftly and silently blocked by the bodyguards at her side.
"Nannan, please accept my condolences," Shen Anyu said as he walked up to her. He looked at Yu Guannan's mournful expression, his own face a perfect picture of pity and heartache, his voice impossibly gentle.
"Brother Shen!" Yu Guannan raised her beautiful, tear-filled eyes to look at him. This woman, who had always been so strong, could not help but throw herself into his arms, a gut-wrenching sob tearing from her throat as tears streamed down her face.
Yu Guannan had thought she was strong. For the past few days, she had handled her family's funeral arrangements, receiving relatives and friends who came to pay their respects, all with systematic and orderly composure.
But!
Grandfather, father, mother, uncle, elder uncle, eldest brother, second brother, cousin…
Seeing all her closest relatives reduced to a row of cold, ceramic urns arranged neatly before her eyes… how could a woman who was only in her early twenties possibly bear it?
She could endure it at first. But then, at the dinner table, her parents and brothers were absent. In the vast, luxurious manor, she was the only member of the Yu family left.
The grief was so immense it was almost suffocating.
But she couldn't show it. The Yu family now relied on her, and her alone, to carry on. The family's name could not be allowed to fall. She had to be strong.
It was only here, in front of Shen Anyu—the man she believed she would entrust her entire life to—that Yu Guannan finally allowed a crack to appear in her armor, revealing the vulnerability beneath.
Shen Anyu wrapped his arms around Yu Guannan's lithe and delicate body, holding her as she wept. And as he did, a fleeting, triumphant smile flashed in the depths of his eyes, unseen by anyone.
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