Chapter 317: Chapter 317

“By the way,” Li Xun asked, “what’s the Western Union really planning here? How many people did they send this time?”

“Two.” Yan Shuiyue held up two fingers with a half-smile, half-sneer look on her face. “Six sects in the Western Union, and they only sent two people. Both from the Heavenly Demon Sword Sect. Not low-ranking though. Their sect master, Sevenfold Sage, came in person, and he brought one disciple with him… Hmph, what a waste of that guest compound our sect prepared for them on Donghua Mountain.”

“So that’s how it is,” Li Xun said. “Sevenfold Sage may have a high status, but he’s always been stubborn and opinionated. If he’s the one attending, that’s basically a public statement that they have no intention of cooperating. Wait, though. Wasn’t it supposed to be five sects? When did it become six?”

“The Falling Feather Sect,” Yan Shuiyue said with a snort. “Heaven knows what kind of madness got into Su Huaiyu. He insists on claiming his sect is ‘mid-region, leaning west,’ just so he can go kiss up to that stinking Luo Moshi’s… pfft. He’s at least separated from the real west by the Ghoul-Devouring, the Dharma Flower Sect, and the Shadow-Devouring Soul Sect Sect… If he’s west, then your Zuowang Peak might as well sprout wings and fly all the way over to Beiqi Mountain!”

Su Huaiyu…

Li Xun thought back to that deeply calculating man, and at last began to understand what he had meant back then. Looking at it now, Su Huaiyu probably did have some genuine feelings for Shui Die Lan. Even so, it was far more likely that he saw her as a bargaining chip, a way to secure his sect’s standing within the Western Union.

Forget it, no point thinking about all that crap.

What Li Xun was more curious about was the disciple Sevenfold Sage had brought along. Of course he wasn’t going to ask the man’s name outright, or poke around too much. He just casually tossed out a question about the location of Donghua Mountain and quietly committed the information to memory.

Hundreds of li away, the fire clouds seemed to have pulled back a bit at that moment. But that didn’t mean the fighting had eased up.

The information carried on the raging winds made it clear that both combatants were only growing more ferocious. The aftershocks alone were enough to reach this far, letting out eerie, wailing shrieks like ghosts crying and gods lamenting. Around the edges of the clouds, you could see rings and rings of swirling vortex trails forming.

Li Xun could not help marveling at the terrifying destructive power of Grandmasters. It was said that years ago, when all the major sects joined forces to surround the Demon Phoenix and Qing Luan, days of chaotic fighting caused nearly half of the Hundred Thousand Great Mountains to collapse. The core region, stretching ten thousand li in every direction, was leveled completely, and even now nothing grows there. Compared to that, the two fighting today were probably already holding back quite a lot.

Thinking about it, a question suddenly popped into his head. If the sects’ alliance meeting was doomed to end in nothing anyway, why the hell would the Demon Phoenix bother showing up just to stir the pot and create more trouble for no reason?

The thought flashed through Li Xun’s mind, but he did not dwell on it. He still knew far too little about Gu Yin and the Demon Phoenix. Forcing an interpretation now would only waste mental energy.

Yan Shuiyue had no idea how many thoughts had raced through his head in such a short time. She felt the conversation had grown a bit too heavy, so she decided to lighten things up. “Hey,” she said, “did you know that Hundred Ghosts actually has quite a bit of fate tied to you!”

Coming from a disciple of the Water Mirror Sect, the word “fate” carried a meaning beyond the ordinary. Li Xun’s heart tightened. On his face, though, he put on an expression of genuine curiosity, looking very interested.

“There’s something I never told you before,” Yan Shuiyue said. “Your eyes are different from normal people’s.”

She traced a really strange sigil in the air, as if it represented something specific.

After a brief pause, seeing how absorbed Li Xun had become, she continued with a smile. “In the secret art of the Water Mirror Sect, your eyes are called a ‘Blood-Eyed Demon.’ They’re incredibly rare, you know. Anyone born with eyes like that has spilled a lot of blood in their lifetime. Hehe, after all these decades, you should have some sense of that yourself.”

Li Xun gave a quiet “Mm,” but inside he was instantly on high alert about the Water Mirror Sect’s secret art. Techniques like this, something akin to reading faces or reading fate, seemed to ignore all outward disguises and strike straight at the core. Anyone confronted with methods like that would feel deeply uncomfortable.

And wait a second. Blood-Eyed Demon. He was sure he had heard that term somewhere before.

Yan Shuiyue still had not noticed anything off and went on. “And here’s the funny part. There’s actually someone else in this world with the exact same eyes as yours. Ha. Obviously I’m talking about Hundred Ghosts! It scared me half to death when I realized it. Hmm… you two get along so terribly. Could it really just be one of those ‘like repels like’ situations?”

She laughed without a care in the world. Li Xun, on the other hand, had no idea what expression he was supposed to wear.

The name “Hundred Ghosts” hit him like a bolt of lightning, turning his thoughts stark white. For a split second, he nearly reached out and snapped Yan Shuiyue’s neck. He caught himself just in time, his fingers twitching twice before relaxing again. Only then did he realize his palms were already slick with sweat.

Of course. The term “Blood-Eyed Demon” was something Yan Shuiyue had used to judge Hundred Ghosts.

Li Xun could even picture it. if Hundred Ghosts hadn’t shown up first and let Yan Shuiyue jump to her conclusion, there’s no way she would have so casually spilled the “Blood-Eyed Demon” secret like that. Who knows when that little piece of leverage might come back to stab him right through the heart… The Water Mirror Sect really was fucking terrifying!

His thoughts kept spinning. After a moment, he asked cautiously, “Is there anything special about this Blood-Eyed Demon?”

“Well,” she said, “the books describe it as ‘Blood-Eyed Demon, endless cycles of slaughter.’ So yeah, it’s not exactly a good omen. But the workings of fate are never fixed. It’s kind of fifty-fifty. As long as your heart stays upright, having a bit more killing intent isn’t really a problem. The worst of it is that when a heavenly tribulation comes, things might get a little tricky.

“But the cultivation path you follow is the purest of the Daoist tradition,” she went on. “There are established methods for surviving tribulations. No need to be scared. When your Immortal Master Zhong Yin ascended, didn’t he run into a ‘Blood Fiend Yin Tribulation’? And didn’t he split it apart with a single sword, easy as can be?”

Yan Shuiyue sounded completely relaxed, but her face switched expressions in a flash. Now she looked totally puzzled and full of questions. “Speaking of which, that’s actually really weird. Zhong Yin walked the world, cutting down demons and destroying evil. He had plenty of killing karma, sure, but he also amassed enormous merit. How could he have drawn a ‘Blood Fiend’ tribulation at all? Tsk. Honestly, it’s a good thing it was Zhong Yin. If it had been anyone else, and they hadn’t reacted in time, once that ‘Blood Fiend’ fully unfolded, it would have been no different from a full-blown Forty-Nine Great Tribulation.”

At that point, it suddenly dawned on her. She looked up and saw how awful Li Xun’s expression had become and realized she had put her foot in her mouth. She hurriedly tried to patch things up with an awkward laugh.

“Hey, don’t worry, don’t worry. A ‘Blood Fiend Yin Tribulation’ doesn’t just fall on someone out of nowhere. Usually it only comes for people who’ve done a ton of seriously heinous crimes… or if you accidentally meddle with the secrets of fate and bring trouble on yourself later on. Mm, yeah, Zhong Yin probably fell into the second category. Kind of like the founding ancestor of the Shadow-Devouring Soul Sect, right? Didn’t he fail his tribulation and end up annihilated because he released that Net Throat Demon? As for you,” she added quickly, “your cultivation isn’t even high enough yet. Forget interfering with heavenly secrets. Even if you wanted to do something truly terrible, you couldn’t reach that level!”

It had to be said, Yan Shuiyue’s attempts at comforting people were painfully bad.

Li Xun had no desire to let his mood get any worse. He shot Yan Shuiyue a glare, then turned his face away, planning to ignore her for a while.

Yan Shuiyue stuck out her tongue and didn’t dare say anything more. But she was the kind of person who could never sit still. After behaving herself for only a short moment, she couldn’t help widening her eyes and looking Li Xun up and down, taking in his features and clothing. She quietly counted on her fingers, clearly planning to use Li Xun as practice material to review what she had just learned.

How could Li Xun not notice what she was doing? Still, it wasn’t like he could cover the girl’s eyes. So even though he felt uncomfortable all over, he could only let her be. On the outside, he still had to put on the calm, upright air of a gentleman, which was exhausting in its own way.

“Huh?”

That little cry made Li Xun shut his eyes and let out a long, weary sigh. When he finally turned back, he snapped, “Now what?”

Yan Shuiyue met his glare, clapped her hands, and laughed. “I just realized something else you have in common with Hundred Ghosts!”

Dear heavens, Li Xun thought. For the first time, he honestly felt like grabbing his head and running for it. On the surface, though, he still had to ask, “And what would that be?”

Yan Shuiyue giggled and spat out two words. “Being fake.”

“Fake?”

That was quite an accusation. Li Xun didn’t know whether to be annoyed or amused. He knew Yan Shuiyue absolutely couldn’t stand Hundred Ghosts, but surely she wasn’t going to take it out on him too. Even if, technically speaking, that would be perfectly in line with the way of heaven.

“Fine,” he said. “Go on, then. In what way am I fake?”

“You’re fake right down to your face.” She flicked open her folding fan with a flourish, looking smug. “I just learned a new face-reading technique. By studying the contours of a person’s muscles and bones, you can tell whether their appearance is genuine or altered… I tried it just now, and sure enough, I found something.”

Hearing that, Li Xun actually calmed down instead. He gave a smile. “This face of mine is one hundred percent real. No disguises, no face-changing techniques.”

“I know that much,” Yan Shuiyue said, drawing out her words and smiling sweetly. “But I also know that when you were young, before your physique fully settled, you must have altered your appearance. Tsk tsk. Turns out you’re actually pretty vain about your looks, huh!”

“Nonsense,” Li Xun shot back, sounding more than a little annoyed. “Why would a grown man mess with his face?”

Snap. Yan Shuiyue closed her fan and scolded him. “You’re the one talking nonsense. I can see it clear as day. The muscle patterns at your neck don’t quite line up with your facial structure. It’s the mark of someone who altered their looks and then let natural growth finish the job, ending up with what you have now… I can even tell that it had to be before you turned eighteen,” she added. “That’s a secret technique from my sect. There’s no way it’s wrong.”

Seeing how certain she was, Li Xun actually froze. It took him a good while before he finally shook his head. “If I say there isn’t, then there isn’t. I wouldn’t mess with you over something this pointless anyway… wait a second!”

All of a sudden, someone came to mind. That woman flashed through his thoughts, and his chest tightened. So tight he almost couldn’t breathe.

Thankfully, the feeling faded just as quickly. Li Xun forced himself to calm down, then frowned. “When I first formed my Golden Core, an elder from the sect once covered up my appearance because of… some matter. He said that once I advanced to the Transformation of Infant stage, my looks would be completely restored. Could it be that…”

“That’s complete nonsense!” Yan Shuiyue exploded, jumping three feet into the air. She was suddenly all fired up and ready to fight on his side. “He was obviously lying to you. Even brocade fabric gets creases if you crumple it up, and that’s just cloth. Let alone the human body. Even if you’re insanely gifted, going from Golden Core to Transformation of Infant would still take, what, ten years at the very least? By then your muscles would have long since settled. Even if you rebuilt your body from scratch, there’s no way you could change it back exactly the way it was. Hey, was it because you’re too handsome and he got jealous? Who was it? Tell me, who was this guy?!”

Li Xun’s face darkened, cold and heavy as still water. He said nothing at all. Yan Shuiyue actually felt a chill looking at him. All her bluster died in her throat.

Just when she had finally shut up, Li Xun smiled again. “Whatever. This face I’ve got now… isn’t so bad, is it?”

“Hey, you’re not actually scared now, are you? Even if it was a sect elder, he still couldn’t just—”

“Doesn’t matter,” he said. “That elder’s already long gone. I can’t exactly get into a grudge match with… right?”

He deliberately mumbled right over those two words in the middle. Yan Shuiyue had her own take on what he meant by that. She mulled it over for a second, figured that made sense, then just shut her mouth with a pissed-off huff. From there, the two of them found themselves with nothing left to say, and the rest of the way passed in silence.