Jade Capital City.
Plenty Gold Carriage House.
In the open plaza, hundreds of carriages stood in tidy rows, their horses occasionally snorting into the night air as they grazed calmly. This was the carriage shop of the Plenty Gold Company, situated within Jade Capital City where security was always guaranteed.
The few carters in charge of the shop, aside from routine patrols, mostly passed their time under the canopies, drinking and chatting.
"Neigh…"
From a distant corner, a horse near a cassia-wood carriage whinnied, breaking the stillness. But in such a busy place, sounds like these went unnoticed.
Inside that cassia-wood carriage, a jade talisman hidden beneath the carpet glowed faintly as Li Fugui emerged from it.
Now impeccably dressed and cleaned up, his new clothes bore no trace of the filth he'd gathered on his journey. This jade talisman of the Apricot Realm was a precious gift bestowed by Lord Shou before Li Fugui departed Jade Capital City for Changde Town to meet Zhu Yike.
Back then, Li Fugui thought such a measure was overly cautious. But now, Lord Shou's foresight was proving invaluable! The talisman had allowed him to teleport back to Jade Capital City after escaping the chaos in Changde Town.
"Phew…" Li Fugui exhaled softly, waiting silently.
He observed his surroundings carefully. Nothing seemed out of place—no undue attention from bystanders and no sign of surveillance from the white-clothed individuals. Cautiously, Li Fugui pulled out a communication bead.
Once inside the safety of the Apricot Realm, he re-established a spiritual connection with Lord Shou. This time, he had several important tasks to complete—each crucial. Any misstep could cost not only his life but also the lives of Lord Shou, Zhu Yike, Aunt Xiang, and many others still at Qingyuan Mountain.
"It must connect, it must…" he prayed silently, as he infused the bead with a trace of spiritual energy, waiting for the connection to be made.
Naturally, he didn't forget to discreetly activate the soundproofing array within the cassia carriage to prevent any eavesdropping. Lord Shou had assured him that this modified array was completely reliable.
"Beep."
It didn't take long for the connection to establish.
Li Fugui's heart lifted, and with great respect, he brought the communication bead to his lips.
"Excuse me, is this Lord Bazhun'an?" Li Fugui asked. The communication bead had been gifted to him by Lord Shou and enabled direct contact with Bazhun'an. In his years at the Flower Pavilion, Li Fugui had never even seen the Pavilion Masters in person, let alone dreamed of speaking to someone like Bazhun'an.
"Mm."
A curt response came from the bead.
Suppressing his excitement, Li Fugui quickly introduced himself: "I serve under Lord Shou's command. My name is Li Chengtian."
He paused before continuing, "Lord Shou asks, 'Do you remember the sword by Goose Lake?'"
The communication bead went silent for a long time. Only faint static could be heard.
Finally, Bazhun'an's voice responded, calm and terse, "Speak."
Was that it? Was that all it took for identity verification?
Li Fugui was curious about what 'the sword by Goose Lake' referred to but had no time to dwell on it. Following Lord Shou's instructions, he continued:
"You must also verify your identity."
A pause. Then a displeased grunt: "Hmm?"
Clearing his throat nervously, Li Fugui explained, "As Lord Shou instructed!" Steeling himself, he asked, "In the All Time Forgotten Sorrow Pavilion, there are three individuals. Among them, who is most fond of soaring high?"
Another long silence followed before Bazhun'an's voice returned, this time laced with a faint amusement. "Me."
Li Fugui took a deep breath and asked, "Why?"
"He blasted me."
Li Fugui blinked, setting the communication bead down momentarily to collect himself. He parted the curtain of the carriage, letting fresh air fill his lungs as he digested the gravity of this moment.
"Congratulations," Li Fugui said dryly, "you answered correctly, but there's no reward."
As soon as those words left his mouth, the bead seemed to grow heavier in his hand, suffocating him with its weight. Amid the crackling static, a chuckle escaped from Bazhun'an.
Then the voice came again, soft but sharp, "Are you Li Fugui?"
Li Fugui froze, his heart skipping a beat.
Avoiding a direct answer, he hurriedly changed the subject, saying, "Lord Shou is trapped in Changde Town. He wonders why there hasn't been any support at such a critical moment. Are you all just sitting around?"
Bazhun'an's amused chuckle echoed again. "What else did he say?"
"Kui Leihan won't help us, and the so-called peerless genius you spoke of hasn't made a move. He's done waiting. Are you sealing your sword, or is it your brain?" Li Fugui's voice trembled as he spoke.
"And what else?"
"And the Holy Emperor Qilin is a puppet of the Bei Clan's Holy Emperor. Do you really not know, or are you pretending to be ignorant, sending us to our deaths on purpose?"
"Anything else?"
Li Fugui gulped, wiping the sweat from his brow. "Lord Shou said you'd better answer the previous question first… or he won't let you off…"
"I genuinely don't know," Bazhun'an replied, amusement still in his tone.
"Right! You know nothing but still sent me to die! You must have a tumor in your brain!" Li Fugui's voice quivered, caught between terror and the absurdity of the situation.
Bazhun'an chuckled again. "If I had said 'I know,' what would Lord Shou have said?"
"It wouldn't be pleasant, trust me. You're better off not hearing it…" Li Fugui couldn't bear to repeat the string of curses brewing in his mind. His life already hung by a thread, and after tonight, that thread felt dangerously thin.
"What support does Lord Shou need?" Bazhun'an asked, his tone suddenly serious.
"Lord Shou said…" Li Fugui hesitated. Then, with a trembling voice, he relayed the final message: "He wants you to drive Sky City straight into Elder Dao the Flamboyant's face and finish him off. He's done playing games."
"Say something practical," Bazhun'an commanded.
Li Fugui swallowed nervously, unhesitatingly betraying Lord Shou. "Lord Shou's bottom line is that you don't need to send others. But at the very least, you must return Master Siren to us."
"I'll consider it," Bazhun'an replied coolly.
"This isn't something to consider!" Li Fugui added urgently, trying to mimic Lord Shou's tone. "Lord Shou is in grave danger!"
"Anything else?"
"No, that's it. But you must hurry, or Lord Shou won't hold out for long!" Li Fugui added, trying to drive home the urgency.
"I'll consider it," Bazhun'an repeated. The communication bead fell silent for a moment before his voice returned, colder this time. "Your name is Li Fugui, isn't it?"
Li Fugui's heart sank, fear gripping his chest as he quickly pulled the bead away. "Hello? Lord... Bazhun'an?" he stammered, feigning a bad connection.
"Are you Li Fugui?" the voice insisted, sharper now.
Li Fugui's face turned pale. Clutching his throat, he stammered, "Did... you hear me? Lord... Bazhun... something?"
The other side went silent.
Sensing the danger, Li Fugui hastily severed the communication, his face ashen. He sat in the carriage, dazed, his thoughts spiraling.
After what felt like half a day, Li Fugui finally shook his head, trying to resolve his jumbled emotions. "To think he knows me…" He chuckled bitterly, but time wasn't on his side.
Without hesitation, he retrieved a Blood Tree's Yin Branch and infused it with spiritual energy. "Please, Senior Dragon Apricot, assist me."
This was Lord Shou's second plan! According to him, the Blood Tree's Yin Branch could connect with Yama's Five Decays of Heaven and Man. Though Five Decays had already died once, Lord Shou believed that summoning him could upset Dao Qiongcang's meticulous plans.
"Hum…"
The branch glowed faintly with a golden light. At the same time, Li Fugui felt a chilling sensation, as if he had plunged into an icy cellar. His thoughts were drawn to an eerie, distant place.
"Senior Dragon Apricot, please protect me," he whispered in fear. The presence of a dead saint was overwhelming, and the reputation of the Body of Decay terrifying.
Suddenly, a low wind echoed in his ears, and before his eyes, an ancient tomb appeared. "Please, I don't want to see this!" Li Fugui panicked, trying to shut his eyes, but the vision lingered.
Just then, the golden light flared again, banishing the eerie wind and the tomb from his mind. The Blood Tree's Yin Branch trembled, and a weak voice echoed through the air.
"Xu... Xiao... Shou?"
Li Fugui shuddered, quickly pulling out a sound recording bead and playing Lord Shou's message: "Qingyuan Mountain, come if you seek revenge. I'll be waiting."
He swiftly cut his connection to the branch, storing the ominous artifact in a separate spatial ring, ensuring the ring was unbound from his blood.
Afterwards, he cleansed himself thoroughly using saint water from the Apricot Realm, washing away the lingering bad luck. Donning fresh clothes and a black cloak, he changed his appearance and wore a mask. Then, he took out a teleportation portal disc.
"Activate!"
The portal hummed as the Spatial Teleportation Array Wheel activated, transporting him to the underground market north of Changde Town. He still had one final task: delivering a sound recording bead capable of summoning the demi-saint Ye Xiaotian. His instructions were simple—find someone in Changde Town, be it an assassin or any other shady character, to pass it on. He would not do it himself.
This was Lord Shou's third plan.
Li Fugui landed, immediately sensing the shift in the air. From a distance, Qingyuan Mountain was glowing, a blinding light piercing the dark sky. The mountain's surface was covered with intricate divine path patterns.
"What is this?" Li Fugui muttered, his heart sinking. The battlefield had moved, the fight extending all the way from Changde Town to Qingyuan Mountain.
He extended his spiritual senses cautiously, soon finding the aftermath of a fierce battle in Changde Town. The town lay in ruins, wails echoing through the air as a few survivors clung to life.
"Crying?"
Without a sound, Li Fugui slipped into the town, his instincts sharp. He spotted a burly man, Cao Erzhu, sobbing bitterly outside Cao's Blacksmith Shop, clutching a large wine barrel.
Other than him, the town appeared deserted.
Recognizing him from intelligence reports from the Flower Pavilion, Li Fugui sighed, "Cao Erzhu…"
According to the latest intelligence from the Flower Pavilion, there was little information about the blacksmith shop, but it was speculated that Cao Erzhu might not be the brightest…
This was just intelligence after all.
During his time at the Flower Pavilion, Li Fugui had been misled by false reports countless times, narrowly escaping disastrous outcomes on more than one occasion. The reliability of such intelligence was always questionable.
Still, it was often said:
Fortune favors the bold!
Taking a deep breath, Li Fugui lowered his breathing to an almost imperceptible rhythm, straightened his mask, and, with a sweep of his black cloak, pulled out a small black square box, slipping it into his chest. Instantly, his aura transformed—he now exuded the presence of a lofty and indifferent ruler of the night.
"For different people, one must use different means," he murmured to himself.
The Box of Empty Force granted its holder an unparalleled aura, but only against spiritual cultivators below the Higher Void level. It had no real power, and should it be exposed, it would spell immediate death.
Meanwhile, at the ruins of the blacksmith shop, Cao Erzhu sat with the wine barrel, weeping bitterly.
He had never imagined that a simple trip to Qingyuan Mountain would result in his father's severed head being returned, stuffed into this very barrel. The shock and grief overwhelmed him.
"Who could've done this?" he muttered through his tears. "If I ever find out, I'll tear them apart with my own hands!"
"Tap, tap, tap…"
The sound of faint footsteps approached from behind, stopping just beside him.
Lost in his sorrow, Cao Erzhu didn't notice the figure until a calm voice spoke, startling him.
"Kui Leihan is dead?"
Cao Erzhu turned sharply, his eyes narrowing in suspicion. Before him stood a figure draped in black, mask and cloak hiding his features. The aura of this person radiated a power that felt far beyond any spiritual cultivator he had encountered.
"Who are you?!" Cao Erzhu growled, his voice a mix of grief and suspicion. Could this person be the one responsible for his father's death?
The man in black sighed, crouching beside him. "I regret hearing such news. Not long ago, I had planned to visit your father."
Cao Erzhu stiffened. The man seemed sincere, and there was no malice in his presence.
"I know what you're thinking," the man continued, his voice calm. "But with my power, I couldn't have killed your father. At most, I could've fought him to a draw… unless something went terribly wrong."
Cao Erzhu's anger faltered, giving way to despair once again. "Then who killed him?" he sobbed, clutching the barrel tighter.
The man in black observed him for a moment before speaking again. "Only the Ten High Nobles can contend with one another," he said cryptically, his cloak shifting in the wind.
Cao Erzhu's weeping subsided, confusion taking over. "Ten High Nobles?"
"I don't know who killed your father," the man continued, pointing to a strange handshake pattern engraved on the wine barrel. "But this… this is the only clue."
Cao Erzhu looked closely at the pattern. He had seen it before. "This is… Divine Secret?"
"Yes, from a Divine Sorcerer," the man nodded.
Cao Erzhu's thoughts raced as he recalled Yu Zhiwen mentioning she was a Divine Sorceress. The mark on the barrel suddenly connected with a memory from Qingyuan Mountain—the strange uncle who left a similar mark on his hand, which could only be washed off with Penetrating Divine Sense.
"Divine Sorcerer… Hallmaster Dao!" the black-clad man stated, emphasizing the name.
"Hallmaster Dao?" Cao Erzhu repeated, struggling to comprehend.
Producing a portrait from within his cloak, the man in black showed it to Cao Erzhu. "This is a powerful individual. Merely speaking his name could provoke his response."
Cao Erzhu stared at the portrait—it was indeed the same person he remembered. His anger surged, his fists clenching.
Could this man have killed his father?
The black-clad figure shook his head. "I can't say for sure if this person was the killer, but only a handful in this world could have the power to do it. And as you are now, you wouldn't stand a chance against him."
Cao Erzhu ignored the warning, his resolve hardening. He didn't care about the odds—he needed to face this person, to know the truth with his own eyes.
"Do you know where he is?" Cao Erzhu demanded, grabbing the portrait and looking at the man desperately.
The black-clad figure stood slowly, his tone deliberate. "Come with me. I can help you grow stronger. When the time comes, you'll be able to seek revenge properly."
Suspicion flickered in Cao Erzhu's eyes. He had heard similar promises before and grown wary. "Are you a bad person?" he asked bluntly.
The man chuckled softly. "Never mind," he said, turning to leave.
"Wait!" Cao Erzhu called after him, desperation edging his voice. "Please, tell me where I can find him!"
The man paused, glancing over his shoulder at the mountain glowing in the distance. "Far in the sky, yet right before your eyes," he said enigmatically.
Cao Erzhu followed the gaze, his eyes locking onto Qingyuan Mountain. "He's there?"
The man smiled faintly. "I never said anything."
But Cao Erzhu had already made up his mind. "I understand."
The black-clad man turned back briefly. "Since fate brought us together, I'll give you something."
He flicked his hand, sending a small bead floating toward Cao Erzhu.
Cao Erzhu hesitated, but the man assured him. "It's just a sound recording bead. If you don't trust it, you can destroy it."
After a moment's pause, Cao Erzhu took the bead, feeling its weight in his hand.
"In times of peril, infuse it with spiritual essence. It may save your life… or do nothing at all," the man said softly. "Fate is like the wind—capricious and fickle."
As he walked away, his figure seemed to blend with the wind, leaving only his words lingering in the air.
"Fate is like the wind," Cao Erzhu whispered, clutching the bead. He felt a glimmer of hope.
The black-clad figure vanished into the night, leaving only an ethereal echo behind:
"Perhaps we'll meet again… call me Lord Li."