Late at night, Yan Jianlan and Lezheng Jiu rushed to the Qu family in the rain.
The once opulent Qu family estate was now ablaze with roaring fires, flames devouring everything. In moments, the entire Qu family, with all its spiritual arrays, was reduced to a pile of scorched ruins.
The heavy rain couldn’t extinguish the flames at all. Even when Xiezhi Sect members brought spiritual water to fight the fire, they couldn’t put out the strange blaze.
When Yan Jianlan arrived, he just saw the Qu family’s Tianyan ancestral hall, standing for hundreds of years, collapse with a thunderous crash.
Corpses and ruins were everywhere. Sheng Jiao stood in the rain, his pitch-black Xiezhi-patterned cloak billowing, one hundred and eight Tianyan Pearls scattered above the Qu family, searching for clues.
Yan Jianlan landed before him, his toes barely touching the water, sending up droplets. Frowning, he asked, “What happened?”
Lezheng Jiu looked at the ruins around him, silently taking a sharp breath.
The original culprits, Qu Minglian and Qu Xiangren, had already paid the price for their crimes at Yan Jianlan’s hands. He never intended to exterminate the entire Qu family, and when he learned this, his heart skipped a beat—his first thought was that Yu Tuishan was behind it.
After all, when Yan Ling stayed alone at the Xi family and was captured by Xiezhi Sect, his purpose was to ensure Xi Jue could escape smoothly to the Northern Territory, avoiding the great families setting up a net to capture “Kan Tianyan.”
Yu Tuishan was eccentric and mad, acting only by whim, never by right or wrong. Qu Minglian had brought Yan Jianlan such humiliation and torment. Even if the ringleaders were dead, Yu Tuishan would never let it go.
And that casual remark he made while eating medicinal cuisine…
“Something urgent.”
That must have been the urgent matter he referred to.
Sheng Jiao had cast a rain-avoidance spell, his brows heavy with coldness.
Even so, seeing Yan Jianlan in only a thin outer robe, Sect Master Sheng took off his cloak, his face grim, and draped it over Yan Jianlan’s slender shoulders.
Yan Jianlan stood obediently, watching him tie the sash: “Do you know who did it?”
Sheng Jiao’s hand paused as he tied the sash, expressionless. His lips moved as he was about to answer when Juan Xunfang suddenly rushed over from the side, whispering, “Sect Master, we caught him.”
Yan Jianlan’s heart skipped a beat.
Yu Tuishan… was he discovered?
Sheng Jiao turned expressionlessly, his robe trailing like a sword cutting through the rain, leaving a streak of white mist.
Yan Jianlan and Lezheng Jiu quickly followed.
In the empty space of the Tianyan ancestral hall ruins, Shang Yuan forcibly pressed a black-robed person to the ground—a wandering cultivator at the Nascent Soul stage.
Yan Jianlan quickly scanned him, silently breathing a sigh of relief.
It wasn’t Yu Tuishan.
Sheng Jiao stepped forward, using his spring rain sword scabbard to lift the person’s black hood, revealing a face that was vaguely insane, and the person exuded a familiar aura.
It was “Abandoned Immortal Bone.”
Shang Yuan used binding silk to forcibly restrain him, whispering, “His cultivation was just at the Golden Core stage, but after taking ‘Abandoned Immortal Bone,’ he reached Nascent Soul.”
But everyone present knew that although the Qu family had declined, they still had some foundation. Even if they only had half their Tianyan earth veins left, they couldn’t have been exterminated by a mere Nascent Soul cultivator.
Once Yan Jianlan realized the person caught wasn’t Yu Tuishan, his interest visibly waned. In the midst of this tragic scene, he even tilted his head and quietly yawned, eager to go home and sleep.
Over the years, he’d disguised himself as an ordinary person, but after experiencing so much suffering since childhood, how could his heart be normal?
Yan Jianlan wasn’t as cruel and bloodthirsty as Yu Tuishan, which was already a testament to his strong character, let alone feeling pity for the family of his enemies.
The Golden Core cultivator was now so desperate for “Abandoned Immortal Bone” that he was completely insane, unable to answer any questions. Sheng Jiao coldly withdrew his sword, ordering Shang Yuan to take him back to Xiezhi Sect, to question him once he was more lucid.
Yan Jianlan finally spoke: “What did you call me here for?”
Sheng Jiao gave him a cold glance, his gaze briefly dropping to two corpses covered with black cloth, signaling Yan Jianlan to look for himself.
Yan Jianlan wasn’t afraid of the dead. Bored, he walked forward and kicked the black cloth aside with his shoe.
The gesture was far too disrespectful to the deceased, and the Xiezhi Sect members around him exchanged complicated looks.
Yan Jianlan glanced down and raised an eyebrow: “Is that all?”
The two corpses on the ground were actually those of Qu Minglian and Qu Xiangren.
Sheng Jiao said coldly: “Qu Minglian died five years ago. Qu Xiangren was turned into a wooden puppet by you three months ago.”
Yan Jianlan nodded casually: “So what?”
Sheng Jiao’s gaze grew colder: “…But these two corpses, their souls have only just dispersed.”
In short, they had just died.
But if Qu Minglian had only just died, then whose body had the Qu family found back then?
It was clearly connected to Yan Jianlan and Yu Tuishan.
“Oh.” Yan Jianlan said innocently. “I don’t know anything. I don’t even know where I left that wooden puppet.”
This was actually true—Sheng Jiao couldn’t find any fault with him.
The flames in the Tianyan ancestral hall were finally dying down, showing signs of shrinking. Juan Xunfang wrapped himself in spiritual power and rushed into the hall to check if the Tianyan earth veins still existed.
A moment later, Juan Xunfang emerged from the ruins, supporting a frail figure.
“Sect Master! Someone is still alive!”
Everyone looked over to see Qu Rao, the youngest son of the Qu family, being helped out by Juan Xunfang. His face was blank, his cheeks streaked with unshed tears, clearly terrified.
Juan Xunfang said: “He was hidden in a secret barrier in the Tianyan ancestral hall.”
Qu Rao wasn’t injured, but he seemed to have seen something that left him numb and dazed. Tears continued to stream down his face, and the rain seemed to wake him slightly.
He suddenly screamed, desperately shoving Juan Xunfang away, stumbling into a puddle, and broke down sobbing.
The Xiezhi Sect members looked at each other in confusion. Sheng Jiao frowned.
Yan Jianlan had been watching coldly.
Just then, a lazy voice came from nearby.
“Oh, missed one.”
Yan Jianlan frowned, turning to see Yu Tuishan in white robes sitting atop a high wall, holding a string of candied hawthorns, his legs swinging idly. Though he was soaked like a drowned dog, he’d remembered to cast a rain-avoidance spell on his candied hawthorns.
Sheng Jiao lightly pressed his thumb against his sword’s hilt, and the Winter Snow Sword slid out half an inch, gleaming coldly.
“Don’t be so tense, Sect Master Sheng,” Yu Tuishan said with a grin. “I haven’t done anything tonight. I’m completely innocent. Even if you use the Tianyan Pearl to convict me, there’s not a single ‘guilty’ mark.”
Sheng Jiao’s face remained cold and unimpressed.
Hearing the familiar voice, Qu Rao suddenly looked up. His gaze landed on Yu Tuishan’s skull-like face, and his resentment surged. He screamed, “Yu Tuishan! It’s you! You killed my entire family!”
Everyone froze.
Qu Rao, his face filled with hatred and tears, turned to Sheng Jiao: “Sect Master, please avenge my family! The cultivators who came to our Qu family were all wandering cultivators who had taken ‘Abandoned Immortal Bone.’ They were sent by Yu Tuishan to seize our Tianyan earth veins!”
Sheng Jiao looked at Juan Xunfang.
Juan Xunfang nodded, pale-faced: “The Qu family’s Tianyan earth veins have indeed been completely drained.”
They’d been stripped bare.
Yu Tuishan said innocently: “I didn’t kill anyone. I was just passing by, watching the show.”
Qu Rao was almost too upset to speak: “It was you! As soon as you arrived, our xiangwen cultivation was suppressed, and we couldn’t fight those cultivators whose powers had skyrocketed. You…”
Yu Tuishan laughed, lazily stretching his fingers toward Qu Rao, like the sharp claws of a wild beast.
“Heaven above,” he said softly, his tone flippant and utterly disrespectful toward Tianyan, even a bit mocking, “The Qu family matter has nothing to do with me.”
After he raised his hand, Qu Rao’s Tianyan xiangwen seemed to boil, burning his body as if it were about to explode.
“I told you,” Yu Tuishan said, playing with his eyes, “The Qu family—none can live.”
Whatever he gave, he could take back instantly if he wished.
Just moments ago, he’d said the Qu family matter was unrelated to him, but now he was saying none could live, his contradictory words and his grotesque, evil skull-like face making everyone shiver.
Was Yu Tuishan really going to kill someone in front of Sheng Jiao?
Yan Jianlan’s eyelid twitched. He was about to say something, but as Yu Tuishan began to clench his fingers, the Winter Snow Sword pierced through the heavy rain, a streak of icy white light reflected in Yan Jianlan’s eyes.
With a thunderous crash, Sheng Jiao stepped forward, his Great Ascension stage spiritual power gathering into a single point of sharpness, silently slashing toward Yu Tuishan on the wall.
The sword’s hum only rang out after the strike, making Yan Jianlan’s ears ring.
In the next instant, Yu Tuishan’s clenched fingers were forcibly stopped, his soul force blocking Sheng Jiao’s Great Ascension stage sword intent. The two most extraordinary xiangwen, “Kan Tian Dao” and “Kan Tian Yan,” collided in midair, causing the Tianyan earth veins throughout Central State to boil.
The earth shook.
Yu Tuishan seemed to have an endless supply of Tianyan spiritual power, allowing him to resist the killing intent of the Great Ascension stage.
“Sheng Jiao,” Yu Tuishan whispered, “I don’t want to kill you. Don’t force me.”
From the beginning, he had known about Yan Ling and Sheng Jiao’s meeting, their understanding, and their love. He remembered the countless nights Yan Ling had gleefully shared his dreams for the future with him.
“After this is over,” Yan Ling said, his tone completely different from his usual self, unable to hide his joy, “let’s find a place where no one knows us and live in seclusion. I’ll take Sheng Jiao with me, so he won’t have to suffer under the Sheng family’s torment anymore.”
Xi Jue had heard it countless times. But knowing Yan Ling loved to talk about it, as if sharing these dreams every day gave him hope to keep living, he cooperated by saying, “Hmm? And then?”
“Then,” Yan Ling said happily, “we’ll open a medicine shop, and plant an osmanthus tree in the backyard. We’ll be ordinary dao companions, living in harmony like a pair of musical instruments.”
Like Lezheng Jiu, Xi Jue looked down on Sheng Jiao, the “saw-mouthed gourd.” He couldn’t understand why someone so quiet and unromantic was seen by Yan Ling as perfect, even praised for being “adorable.”
Adorable how? Adorable for having no money in his pocket? Adorable for not bothering to talk?
But Yan Ling seemed blinded, thinking Sheng Jiao was the best thing in the world.
Later, when Yan Ling met Rang Chen, everything changed.
The light in his eyes dimmed completely. Even after avenging his great grievance, he remained listless and dejected.
After returning to the Northern Territory from Central State, Yu Tuishan originally wanted to urge him to seek out Sheng Jiao, but Yan Jianlan couldn’t muster any enthusiasm for anything. The only thing that could rouse him was buying a ghostly shop in the most remote alley, opening a clinic, and planting an osmanthus tree in the backyard.
But he was always alone.
Yu Tuishan could control the Tianyan spiritual power across the entire Thirteen States. Though he couldn’t manipulate “Kan Tian Dao,” if he exhausted all his strength and sacrificed an entire Tianyan spiritual vein, he might even scatter the “Heavenly Dao lord’s” soul.
But Yan Jianlan truly liked Sheng Jiao. Yu Tuishan had no choice but to endure, even if Sheng Jiao was a stumbling block on his path. As long as they didn’t conflict, he could hold his nose and bear it.
But now…
Yu Tuishan’s killing intent surged, but he forcibly suppressed it, his golden eyes growing colder: “I don’t want to kill you.”
Sheng Jiao’s Winter Snow Sword parried sharply. One hundred and eight Tianyan Pearls howled, swirling around Yu Tuishan. After spinning for a while, just as Yu Tuishan said, not a single one was marked “Guilty.”
Yan Jianlan, covering his bleeding ear, said coldly: “Stop!”
Yu Tuishan’s killing intent instantly vanished. With a clang, he pushed Sheng Jiao’s Winter Snow Sword aside, creating a sound like metal striking stone. Golden sparks flew from his palm as Tianyan spiritual power hissed out.
Sheng Jiao sheathed his sword and landed silently, his gaze cold.
“Stop, I will.”
Yu Tuishan stood on the wall, grinning as he prepared to fly away. But as if remembering something, he suddenly turned back, his lips curling into a smile.
Sheng Jiao suddenly felt a bad premonition.
The next instant, Yu Tuishan showed no spiritual fluctuations, not even moving. He simply touched his lips and said, “Ba.”
Qu Rao, just saved by Sheng Jiao, suddenly opened his eyes wide, stumbled, and collapsed. His Heaven-level xiangwen instantly turned into golden mist, escaping from the back of his neck.
His xiangwen and spiritual roots were now ruined.
The Tianyan Pearl suddenly spun out a “Guilty” character.
No one expected Yu Tuishan to dare ruin Qu Rao’s xiangwen right in front of the Xiezhi Sect sect master. Though it didn’t take his life, a person without xiangwen and spiritual roots was weaker than an ordinary mortal, destined for illness and perhaps an early death.
But Yu Tuishan dared.
Qu Rao had gained his Heaven-level xiangwen through Yu Tuishan’s Tianyan spiritual power. Now that he was displeased, it was only natural to take it back.
Sheng Jiao’s face darkened. He raised his hand sharply, and the Binding Silk shot toward Yu Tuishan.
“Zeng—”
The Spring Rain Sword suddenly left its sheath, blocking the Binding Silk. The two spiritual powers collided with a sharp, piercing sound.
Yan Jianlan, blood streaming from his ear, the spirit pearl on his earring shattered, stood impassively in front of Yu Tuishan. The Spring Rain Sword cleanly severed the Binding Silk. His eyes cold, he confronted Sheng Jiao.
Sheng Jiao looked at him coldly.
Yu Tuishan laughed loudly, departing with ease after his mischief.
Juan Xunfang, just beginning to think of stopping him, was stopped by Yan Jianlan’s cold words: “Master Juan, hold your ground.”
Juan Xunfang halted.
“The Qu family was exterminated,” Yan Jianlan said, holding the Spring Rain Sword. Though only at Void Return realm, his aura seemed to rival Sheng Jiao’s. He said with a faint smile: “Shouldn’t Xiezhi Sect focus on capturing the real culprit?”
Juan Xunfang: “You!”
The real culprit was clearly Yu Tuishan! Though he didn’t personally kill, the “Abandoned Immortal Bone,” Tianyan as an antidote, suppressing the Qu family’s xiangwen cultivation—each factor pushed the extermination of the Qu family forward.
How could he be innocent?!
Yan Jianlan looked at the single “Guilty” Tianyan Pearl on Sheng Jiao’s wrist, knowing Sheng Jiao wouldn’t convict him on just one bead. Tianyan itself couldn’t kill Yu Tuishan.
To resolve this, they’d have to pursue the wandering cultivators who actually did the killing, not Yu Tuishan.
Sheng Jiao knew this too, which was why he hadn’t chased.
Yan Jianlan said calmly: “…Sect Master Sheng, isn’t that right?”
Sheng Jiao’s gaze was icy as he stared back.
Lezheng Jiu watched, dumbfounded.
But… wasn’t it supposed to be…
Facing storms together, sharing joys and sorrows?
How could they turn swords on each other in such a short time?
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(advanced chapters available on kofi)
wannaberecluse On SRTT Chapter 50.1