Chapter 315: Chapter 315

A ferocious wind came ripping through from heaven and earth. It swept from the base of Beqi Mountain all the way up into the ten-thousand-zhang-high sky. Surged forward like a tidal wave of rage, it forced everyone to a halt. Right after that, chaotic torrents of primordial qi came crashing in behind it. Unless you had solid cultivation backing you up, forget flying on a sword.

This was just the aftershock. Even a third-generation disciple who’d achieved a decent level of mastery could sense it. Buried inside that chaotic mess of qi, two auras coming from the two supreme grandmasters.

True Person realm cultivators like Ming Ji, Miaochang, and Ji Bucuo went about it in a far more refined way. They tuned into the subtlest, most mysterious ripples inside that storm of energy, using them to reconstruct the actual scene unfolding far away. And from there, started piecing together exactly who the two people fighting were.

Li Xun did the same, though his method was still rough. Truth be told, he didn’t even need to bother with that. Just using his eyes was enough to be certain about one of the fighters’ identity. As for the other one, a quick mental deduction was all it took to figure out who it had to be.

Tsk. Looks like the authentic Heart Demon Refinement Technique really works. That kind of brutal injury, and in just two or three months, she’s already completely healed, back to her old self… But her temper must’ve exploded right along with it. Otherwise, why the hell would she go through all this drama?

There was no doubt about it. The two clashing hundreds of li away could only be the Heavenly Phoenix Demon and Mistress Tianzhi.

He stole a glance at Ming Ji and saw a flush of color rise on her jade-smooth cheeks. Her eagerness for battle was impossible to miss.

Li Xun had no doubt that in a few hundred years, Ming Ji would stand shoulder to shoulder with those two grandmasters and eventually defeat them in open combat. There was no mystery to it. Ming Ji was pure, through and through.

What really caught Li Xun’s interest, though, was something else entirely. Why had the Demon Phoenix shown up? Did she really not know that this Water Mirror Assembly was meant to unite the various sects, so they could jointly face the upheaval the Rogue Cultivators’ Alliance was about to bring down on this world? Appearing so openly like this, was she making a show of force, or did she have some other agenda?

With those thoughts churning in his head, Li Xun actually lost all interest in the fierce battle raging far away. His gaze started drifting, casually scanning the changes happening all around him.

Beqi Mountain had never been short on cultivators. Swept up by this tsunami-like surge of primordial qi, no one knew how many of them broke out in a cold sweat. Below, sword lights flickered as at least a thousand cultivators took to the air, flying toward the distant battlefield to get a clearer picture of what was happening.

Amid them all, one person flying itoward them stood out immediately. A single sharp glance was enough for Li Xun to recognize who it was. His heart gave a little jolt, and for some reason, a faint wave of unease rippled through him.

The newcomer also caught the attention of Ming Ji and the others.

From a distance, she cupped her hands in greeting. “Greetings, seniors and fellow cultivators. I am Yan Shuiyue, reception envoy of the Water Mirror Sect. My respects to you all.”

And she drifted closer, smiling warmly. It had only been a little over a month since they last met. She was dressed in simple white robes, a folding fan in hand, approaching at an easy pace. She was using a cloud-riding technique. It wasn’t fast, but it lent her a light, graceful air. Dressed as a man, she looked especially dashing and free-spirited. Gone was any trace of the pathetic, half-naked desperation from back when she had to strip and flee for her life.

Although this place was still several thousand li from the Water Mirror Grotto-Heaven, it was already considered part of the Water Mirror Sect’s sphere of influence. Yan Shuiyue’s appearance here was nothing out of the ordinary.

The Water Mirror Assembly brought together sects from both the righteous and unorthodox paths, with countless grudges and conflicts between them. Without careful arrangements made in advance, a clash like the one between the Demon Phoenix and Mistress Tianzhi would likely have blown the entire Water Mirror Grotto-Heaven apart.

The Water Mirror Sect’s preparations had clearly been made with great care.

Still, when Li Xun saw this young woman, he could not help feeling a little tense.

The feeling seemed to come out of nowhere, but after a moment of reflection, he realized it had already taken root the day before. Ever since that Ink-Silk Clam Pearl had suddenly appeared, it had been hard for him not to feel something.

Seeing Yan Shuiyue also naturally brought back to mind the “secrets of fate” she had let slip a month earlier.

Even though the Ink-Silk Clam Pearl had not fallen into his hands, its sudden appearance at this moment still lined up, at least in part, with Yan Shuiyue’s calculations.

If that was the case, then a good number of the “possibilities” she had worked out would likely become reality. And that was not a comforting thought at all.

Yan Shuiyue’s dark, sparkling eyes darted around, taking in everyone. Only then did she greet them properly. “Pavilion Master Ji, Fairy Ming Ji, True Person Miaochang… ah! Senior Brother Spirit Bamboo, you’re here too!”

Her tone suddenly turned light and bouncy, warm and familiar. Li Xun could not tell whether he should feel relieved or start worrying more. He could only nod and smile in return, counting it as a greeting. Yan Shuiyue seemed to realize she had been a bit too informal. With a playful flick of her tongue, her expression turned impishly innocent, as if all the smooth professionalism of a sect envoy had been tossed into the clouds.

But when faced with someone so young and unguarded, how could anyone feel annoyed? When she apologized to the group, all she received were indulgent smiles, even from Fat Ji.

Sly little lass, Li Xun thought. He knew well that his was exactly the outcome Yan Shuiyue wanted.

With the Mingxin Sword Sect, the Boundless Heaven Sect, and the Four-Empty Thousand Treasures Pavilion all arriving at once, even the slickest, most seasoned usher would be driven half mad by a situation like this.

Yan Shuiyue, however, took a different route. With a single remark, she turned what should have been an exhausting, high-pressure hosting job into a stage where she could act however she pleased. Even if she slipped up, no one would blame her. All she had to do was play a little cute and innocent. Why wouldn’t she take that deal?

Of course, Yan Shuiyue was not just a pretty face putting on an act. She was quick with words and sharp in the head. In no time, she neatly sorted out living arrangements for the three sects in Water Mirror Grotto-Heaven, then smartly called over two fellow disciples to help out.

After a flurry of chatter, she finally found her opening and said, “A senior brother from the north just sent word. The ones fighting over there are the Demon Phoenix and Mistress Tianzhi. Is this what a true top-tier battle looks like? Come to think of it, even back at the North Pole, I never saw anything like this!”

Just like that, everyone’s attention was drawn back to the distant clash. Yan Shuiyue finally got a breather and let out a long sigh. Her eyes flicked toward Li Xun, and she crept closer in a decidedly sneaky way. Under Li Xun’s deeply furrowed brow, she leaned in and whispered mysteriously, “Hey. Be careful, all right?”

Li Xun’s heart gave a sudden jolt. He managed to steady himself in time and replied evenly, “Careful about what?”

“So it’s been this long and you’ve actually gotten dumber?” Yan Shuiyue looked just like she had back in the day in Nightlsess City. That proud, brash little girl with yellow hair. She was smiling brightly, completely unguarded.

“Obviously, I mean you should watch out for your enemies. Yesterday, one of your old friends from the Shadow-Devouring Soul Sect showed up. Tsk. Kicked a Golden Armored Guard from Grand Thousand Radiance City to death with one blow! It caused a huge stir.”

“An old friend? Hundred Ghosts?”

Yan Shuiyue nodded hard. Li Xun suddenly felt a wave of dizziness. Before he could even process it, Ling Zhe leaned over from the side, flashed Yan Shuiyue a toothy grin, then asked in surprise, “That Hundred Ghosts guy… he’s the one who’s always mentioned in the same breath as Junior Brother Xun, right? Sister Shuiyue, is that man actually that strong?”

Yan Shuiyue shot Ling Zhe a look like he’d just said something incredibly stupid. And she was also pissed off with how he addressed her. She snapped back: “Why don’t you try kicking a Golden Armored Guard to death yourself? The Grand Thousand Radiance City’s Fallen Golden Light Armor can’t even be split by ordinary flying swords, let alone shattered a kick! Didn’t you see how ugly Divine General Yu Lei’s expression was? Yet he didn’t even dare to fart.”

Her way of blurting everything out earned her a round of stifled chuckles from the others. Yan Shuiyue realized she’d gone too far. A flush crept up her pretty face, turning her cheeks pink, but she stubbornly stuck her neck out and kept going. “I’m just being nice here, okay? You have no idea how scary that Hundred Ghosts actually is. He… uh, I mean…”

She had spoken too fast and nearly let slip something she had personally experienced. She caught herself just in time, but the scare left her breaking out in a cold sweat. She hurriedly changed course. “General Yu Lei is a big name, right? And he brought three hundred armored guards with him. Among all the sects, he had the largest entourage. And yet Hundred Ghosts came and went like lightning, killing one of his men in an instant… Yu Lei couldn’t even vent his anger. Imagine how embarrassing that was. I’m telling you, Hundred Ghost thing must’ve cultivated some evil technique. He’s way stronger than the stories make him out to be.”

In the end, she still couldn’t help letting a bit slip. It was enough to serve as a warning to Li Xun. But Li Xun had no headspace for that just now. What caught his attention instead was her phrase “came and went like lightning.”

That description… felt… like. He was still turning it over in his head when Ming Ji up ahead turned around and looked at him. “Instantly killing a Golden Armored Guard with exceptional single-target defense. Even with surprise on my side, I could only barely manage that. Has Hundred Ghosts’ cultivation really reached that level?”

Hearing Ming Ji admit inferiority, something suddenly clicked in Li Xun’s mind. On the surface though, he just shook his head. “Hundred Ghosts is a master at Netherfire and corpse-puppet driving techniques. Beyond that, he’s all about those nasty forbidden arts. Speed’s never been his strong suit… at least it wasn’t before. If it had been, I wouldn’t even be alive to tell you this today.”

Ming Ji frowned and pressed on. “Didn’t you fight him just over a month ago? Back then, there was still no change in his cultivation?”

Only then did Li Xun remember that he had told Ming Ji before that, on his way to the Star River, he had crossed paths with Hundred Ghosts in the southwest. He quickly added, “In recent years, when Hundred Ghosts and I clash, it’s mostly been through forbidden techniques…”

He suddenly remembered something. His chest tightened, and his eyes flicked over to Yan Shuiyue.

The girl was listening intently to his exchange with Ming Ji. When she noticed his look, she even smiled back at him.

Letting out a quiet breath of relief, he hurried to patch things up. “Especially about a month ago, the southwest was a complete mess. Hundred Ghosts seemed to have troubles of his own. Our encounter was brief. We broke off as soon as it began, and I didn’t get the chance to really test him.”

“Yeah, yeah, the southwest was total chaos back then,” Yan Shuiyue chimed in, unintentionally backing Li Xun up. “My master and I almost didn’t make it back alive.”

Ming Ji didn’t think much of it. She gave a small nod, then cautioned him again. “Since Shuiyue says Hundred Ghosts’ cultivation has shot up so dramatically, you need to be even more careful. He’s been your sworn enemy for decades. Now that his strength has advanced, the first person he’ll think of is probably you. Whatever happens, don’t let your guard down.”