Chapter 1646: The Setting Sun Greets Me
Having traveled and tempered herself for so long, Su Hong was well-acquainted with sudden surprises. Her expression quickly returned to normal, yet her heart pounded with a rhythm so fierce she could hear it in her own ears.
Ghost Sound City. Due to the presence of their branch shop there, Su Hong roughly knew its location. It was incredibly distant from her current position; even a message sent through specialized channels would take years to arrive.
Moreover, that area was under the jurisdiction of a ghost cultivation power known as Mocha Palace. Ordinary cultivators rarely ventured there. How had Li Yan managed to cross paths with ghost cultivators?
“Bring it to me,” Su Hong commanded, her voice as calm and ripple-free as she could manage.
“Miss, the seal on the main jade slip is exceptionally strong. Only someone at the late-stage of Spirit Transformation or higher can break it…”
“Late-stage… Spirit Transformation?” Su Hong froze for a moment, an immediate question rising in her heart.
‘The only one who could call themselves an “old friend of wind and snow” should be that black-skinned rogue. But even if he ascended to the Immortal Spirit Realm, judging by the time elapsed, reaching the mid-stage of Spirit Transformation would be a miracle. How could he have reached the late-stage? Perhaps… he found another expert to set the restriction?’
Uncle Lian said no more. With a slight surge of magical power in his hand, a burst of light enveloped the jade slip, directly striking the restriction.
His true body was already a Void Refining powerhouse. After Su Hong returned to the Immortal Spirit Realm, their incarnations had been retracted. Since the Miss was traveling to the Far West of the North Ice Continent, he naturally served as her protector in his true form.
Under the impact, the restriction set by a Spirit Transformation cultivator dissolved and collapsed instantly. Uncle Lian then handed both jade slips to Su Hong, stepping back a few paces to stand respectfully to the side.
Su Hong quickly probed both slips with her Divine Sense. The content recorded in both was brief.
One was indeed an explanatory slip from the Trade House, stating that the other slip was to be delivered to her by someone identifying themselves as an “old acquaintance from the wind and snow.”
The slip Uncle Lian had unsealed was even more concise, containing fewer words than the explanatory note.
“In eight years, I will be at the Broken Army Sect in the Far West of the North Ice Continent. Please inform the sect.”
Though Su Hong had already been certain, her beautiful eyes brightened the moment she saw those words.
‘Far West, Broken Army Sect! It really is that fellow. Is this Broken Army Sect a subordinate sect of Ghost Sound City?’
In her joy, a possibility occurred to her, and she asked without hesitation, “When was this jade slip sent out?”
“Over eight years ago.” Uncle Lian was meticulous; he had already checked the origin and timestamp of the slip before coming.
“Oh? Eight years ago? Then investigate the Far West. See if there is a sect called Broken Army Sect. It should be a subordinate power of Mocha Palace!”
Su Hong immediately issued her orders. She knew nothing of such minor sects; only entities on the level of Mocha Palace were worth her attention. Since the Mocha Palace territory lay to the northwest, she naturally assumed the Broken Army Sect fell under its banner.
However, she wondered why Li Yan had set a timeframe of eight years. Her first thought was: would he be leaving that place after eight years?
When Li Yan found the Return-Home Trade House in Ghost Sound City, his rotation duty still had seven years left. Factoring in his return journey, he would arrive back at his sect in roughly that amount of time.
Su Hong, of course, was unaware of this. Her current branch was one of the larger ones situated in the central regions of the North Ice Continent. This made Li Yan’s specified timeframe seem strange to her—especially since the branch in Ghost Sound City hadn’t even known her whereabouts.
Had that shop not explained that a message restricted to an eight-year window might be obsolete by the time it was delivered?
Su Hong felt it didn’t matter. As long as she could find Li Yan’s foothold in the Immortal Spirit Realm, everything thereafter would be easier to investigate. Uncle Lian, likewise, knew nothing of such small sects. He acknowledged her order and left to search for information.
Six months later, Su Hong finished reading the intelligence regarding the Broken Army Sect. Only then did she realize that it was merely a newly ascended third-rate sect.
Furthermore, it was not a subordinate of Mocha Palace, but rather a subsidiary of its rival, the Moji Dao Sect. There was indeed a Supreme Elder there at the Spirit Transformation stage named Li Yan.
“So, you ran off to the nearest branch of the Return-Home Trade House. Eight years… eight? The Moji Dao Sect has a ten-year rotation period for its third-rate subordinate sects. It seems your ‘eight years’ meant you were leaving Ghost Sound City to return to the Broken Army Sect!”
It had to be said that although the Return-Home Trade House’s reach was not overly long in the North Ice Continent, its influence remained formidable. Even for a third-rate sect so far away, Su Hong had obtained precise information in just half a year.
“That Abacus Sect is also a small sect under the Moji Dao Sect. No doubt you entrusted them to inquire about the Trade House. Since that’s the case, let’s go see you.”
Su Hong stood up, her sleeves sweeping the table as the jade slips vanished. Her long, snow-white neck turned like a swan’s, and a smile bloomed in her eyes. Her mood today was excellent.
She planned to travel without stopping, utilizing various powers the Trade House could contact to transfer her along the way. Otherwise, relying on flight alone, it would take countless years to reach the Far West.
Li Yan’s intended seclusion was set for thirty years. He calculated that by then, he would have accumulated enough supreme-grade Spirit Stones.
Afterward, he would find that market town to see if there was any feedback on the messages he had sent. Then, he would escort Mu Guyue back to the Black Demon Tribe. In the Sacrificial Nether Realm, he could also search for other paths to the lower realm or see if the Return-Home Trade House had a branch there.
However, in the twelfth year of Li Yan’s seclusion, a faint ray of rosy light suddenly pierced through the horizon, flying straight toward the Broken Army Sect.
The light circled once before landing at the mountain gate. As the glow faded, three figures were revealed.
In the center was a charming, peerless woman with a graceful figure and skin as fair as snow. Her dark hair was coiled high, giving her an air of elegance and nobility.
Su Hong looked at the gate before her. It had a bit of grandeur, with the three large characters “Broken Army Sect” inscribed upon it.
‘Traveling with a Void Refining expert and constantly using transfer arrays, it still took over twelve years. I’ve finally found your nest!’ Su Hong thought. She had truly traveled without rest; this place was even more remote and difficult to find than she had imagined.
“Senior, may I ask what brings you here?”
The leading Golden Core cultivator guarding the gate sensed their presence and immediately assumed a respectful posture. The peerless woman in the center was at the Nascent Soul stage, while the two elders behind her were solemn and intimidating. He could not discern their cultivation levels at all, a sign that the gap between them was immense.
“I am an old friend of your sect’s Elder Li Yan. Please inform him that Su Hong has come to visit,” Su Hong said, getting straight to the point.
“Elder Li? Senior, Elder Li has been in seclusion for many years…”
“Just inform him. It was your Elder Li who sought me out. Once you report this, he will not only refrain from blaming you, but he will likely reward you. However, if you fail to report it and I leave, the responsibility will be yours when Elder Li finds out!”
Su Hong glanced at him, her aura of authority clear. She had ten thousand ways to make someone like him obedient.
The guards felt their hearts sink. The woman’s voice was gentle, but her words struck their vital points. Moreover, these disciples were accustomed to receiving guests; they could see that the two unfathomable elders were merely her attendants. If such powerhouses were willing to serve her, her background was surely extraordinary.
“Seniors, please wait a moment!” the Golden Core leader said, bowing before turning to whisper urgently to a disciple behind him.
Inside a cave dwelling, Li Yan, who was in the midst of cultivation, suddenly frowned. The restriction outside had been triggered.
His Divine Sense swept out, seeing a disciple standing there with an anxious look, staring at the gate.
“What is it?”
The disciple heard a calm voice echo in his mind. Unable to tell if the elder was pleased or angry, he hurriedly bowed.
“Elder Li, there is a woman named Su Hong at the gate. She has brought two individuals of profound cultivation, claiming you were looking for them…”
“Wring!”
Before the disciple could finish, the space before him distorted violently. Li Yan’s figure appeared instantly.
“What did you say her name was?”
The sudden appearance terrified the disciple. Under the pressure of Li Yan’s aura, he began to suffocate. His face turned pale, and his magic power froze; he couldn’t even speak.
Seeing the man’s state, Li Yan realized he had lost his composure in his urgency. However, the news was so unexpected that even with his iron will, he could not restrain his emotions.
“Su… Su… Su Hong!” the disciple stammered, swallowing hard.
Li Yan found it hard to believe. How many years had it been? Even if Su Hong had received the message, how could she have arrived from the lower realm so quickly?
There was no branch of the Return-Home Trade House in the Far West. This meant Su Hong could not have transferred directly here; she would have had to fly most of the way. And wasn’t she in the lower realm? How did she get his message and come up?
He had left messages for both her and the Wangliang Sect as a double insurance. As long as one reached the bottom, Zhao Min and the others would know he was alive! But it hadn’t even been twenty years.
Li Yan quickly retracted his aura. Without waiting for the disciple to speak, he swept him up and flickered toward the mountain gate.
Outside, Su Hong was leisurely observing her surroundings. The Broken Army Sect seemed decent enough; in her estimation, the cultivators here weren’t the type to be overly bellicose.
Suddenly, her vision blurred. A youth in azure appeared before her. He casually set a man aside and looked at her.
In Su Hong’s eyes, the youth’s figure came into sharp focus. He had short, ink-black hair like steel needles and dark skin. His appearance was utterly ordinary—the type that would vanish in a crowd. However, his eyes were strikingly distinct, like stars in a dust-free autumn night.
The moment he saw Su Hong clearly, a pair of arching smiles broke out in those pure eyes.
“Miss Su, it truly is you. I hope you have been well!”
A smile also bloomed on Su Hong’s face, her presence like a resplendent peony in full bloom. She blinked her eyes and, under the stunned gazes of the gate disciples, spoke a sentence that left them speechless.
“You… you really didn’t die!”
Inside Li Yan’s cave dwelling, after he had invited the three to the seats of honor, protectors Lian and Ning merely nodded to him. They did not sit, choosing instead to stand behind Su Hong.
Through the memories of their former incarnations, they knew much of Li Yan’s past. They were also curious as to why their Miss had traveled to the upper realm specifically to find this man.
Seeing they wouldn’t sit, Li Yan still bowed to them.
“Greetings, Seniors. Many years have passed. I did not expect to behold your true forms here. This junior is truly fortunate!”
At the gate, Li Yan had gauged their cultivation and was startled to find they were both at the late-stage of Void Refining—powerhouses with exceptionally deep and steady auras. It wouldn’t be surprising if they stepped into the Body Integration realm any day now.
From this, Li Yan knew that the two he had met in the lower realm were certainly incarnations or strands of divine sense. This made his impression of the Return-Home Trade House even more unfathomable. For Su Hong to have protectors who were half a step away from the Body Integration realm was terrifying. Such attendants would be high-ranking figures even in the Moji Dao Sect.
“You aren’t bad either. Mid-stage Spirit Transformation,” Uncle Lian commented before falling silent.
“Congratulations, Elder Li. Your cultivation speed is truly something. This junior has been chasing after you, yet I find myself unable to even see your back!” Su Hong’s melodic voice rang out with a smile. Li Yan could only chuckle.
“By the way, Miss Su, you received my jade slip? When did you come to the upper realm? And how did you get here so fast? I thought it would take another decade or two for my message to yield any response!”
As soon as he sat, Li Yan began his barrage of questions. He had so much to ask her. For several centuries, he had been completely cut off from all news of his kin in the lower realm.
“Naturally, I received it. But first, you must tell me—how did you end up in the Immortal Spirit Realm?” Su Hong replied simply, her bright eyes flickering. She knew what Li Yan wanted to ask, but seeing his urgency, she thought of how hard she had searched for him. A hint of mischief flashed in her eyes as she turned the conversation back to him. Besides, she truly wanted to know how he had reached this realm.