If Madam Jing Shui’s words turned out to be true, then just how high of a cultivation level was needed to refine such a heaven-defying array?
No one had ever counted the exact number of sparrow spirits buried in the North Land, but for tens of thousands of years, the sparrow spirits in the North Land continuously supported this region, which was home to tens of thousands of cultivators. No one ever wondered what would happen if the all sparrow spirits in the North Land suddenly dried up one day.
In just three years, the sparrow spirits would be completely exhausted.
“That evil Qi dragon is a little too powerful.” Yan Tianhen said slowly, “The Dragon Emperor told me earlier that his people discovered that a considerable part of the sparrow spirits in their sparrow mines had their spiritual Qi sucked dry, but they couldn’t find the reason until now. It seems that Tu Feng was the culprit all along.”
Lin Xuanzhi frowned. “We need to find a way to resolve this situation. Otherwise, if we just let it progress like this, the North Land will soon become the evil spirits’ world.”
“It’s not just the North Land.” Yan Zhonghua remarked, “Since Tu Feng can tear open a hole in the North Land, it’s very likely that he can also activate the evil dragon array in regions all over the Nine Lands. It seems like it’ll be imperative for us to find his tracks and take the initiative to strike.”
Madam Jing Shui smiled. “I’m afraid it’s not that simple.”
Yan Tianhen asked, “What do you mean?”
Madam Jing Shui explained, “Over the years, Tu Feng has spent the vast majority of his time on creating this array. Tu Feng is a very cautious person. The reason he dared to launch a coup d’etat against the Royal Heavenly Palace is simply because he believes that even if he fails, he will still have a safe path of retreat. Thinking in hindsight, his backup plan is probably this Devouring Heaven Array.”
Yan Tianhen asked, “To what extent has he mastered the Devouring Heaven Array?”
Madam Jing Shui replied, “He can absorb the entire Nine Lands’ sparrow spirits simultaneously now. If you don’t believe me, you can wait and see.”
After she finished speaking, Madam Jing Shui stood up and straightened her clothes. She looked dignified. “That’s all I know. If you have time, you might as well pay a visit to Myriad Dao Academy’s Twelve Evil Spirit Temples first. Maybe there will be something you want inside.”
Yan Tianhen also stood up while looking at Madam Jing Shui. “Thank you for giving us all this information. Speaking of which, you don’t have to look for hiding spots. When all’s said and done, the Royal Heavenly Capital is still safer than the outside.”
“You said you were a good person earlier — I didn’t believe it. But now I believe you.” Madam Jing Shui looked back at Yan Tianhen and smiled. “However, even if you are willing to let me go, your father will never let me live. And even if I leave the Royal Heavenly Capital alive, I will still die at the hands of Tu Feng’s gu tomorrow.”
She continued, “Tu Feng never trusts anyone; everyone under his control had to swallow his evil gu. Death is the only outcome for a traitor once discovered. I’ve already sensed my body gradually rotting, and even worse, I can already smell the smell of rotten corpses. I don’t want to die in front of others. I just want to find a place no one else knows about and die alone. In this world, no one will remember me.”
This was her choice. As a woman, her entire life was a failure. But as an older sister, she was successful.
It’s a pity that she wouldn’t be able to witness her dearest younger sister put on a wedding dress and marry the husband of her dreams. Madam Jing Shui left alone to meet her inevitable death.
Yan Tianhen didn’t try to persuade her to stay anymore. They had no time for lament; there were always more important matters to do in this world than mourning someone’s death.
Yan Zhonghua looked at Yan Tianhen and said lightly, “Are you really carrying the heavy burden of eliminating the evil spirits alone? Your dad and I are here, and Huarong’s parents are also here. Myriad Dao Academy’s countless elders are also here. Even if you weren’t here or Huarong wasn’t here, this world still wouldn’t simply die.”
“Your father is right.” You Ming nodded in approval. He swept Yan Tianhen a glance. “It’s not like we can put all the heavy burden on you just because you understand evil Qi cultivators the best, right? Exterminating evil spirits is not a responsibility that one person must bear. In the end, we still can’t let one person bear everything.”
“You guys…” Yan Tianhen was stunned and smiled gently.
Youshan Lingyu had no father or mother. He’d been all alone ever since childhood, right up until he became a disciple of Spirit Sect, with Dao Zu as his master. Even with so many senior martial brothers, he still never got to experience a parent’s warmth. There were many times when he envied other people. They could go home after cultivation, had parents to support them when they were bullied, and could even spend the new year with their families.
He once wondered that if he had parents, then when he was forced to become the enemy of everyone in the world, would there be two more people beside him who would unconditionally help him?
Yan Tianhen said, “Then let’s return to Myriad Dao Academy tomorrow and take a look.”
Yan Zhonghua said, “We can take a look in passing. We should inform the Nine Lands as soon as possible about Tu Feng’s plot, especially the North Land. They must protect their sparrow spirits in advance.”
Yan Tianhen nodded and suddenly remembered that Duan Yuyang and the others were still in the Royal Heavenly Capital, so he asked with some confusion, “Since Yuyang Gege came to the Royal Heavenly Capital, why didn’t they come find me?”
Lin Xuanzhi looked at Yan Tianhen and said with deep meaning, “Originally, they wanted to visit you, but they had other scruples, so they decided to meet you again after sending their old friends away.”
Yan Tianhen looked quite baffled. “What old friends?”
Lin Xuan replied, “Feng Jiushao and Prince Jinghua.”
Yan Tianhen: “…”
Yan Zhonghua’s eyes moved slightly. “Speaking of which, I’ve already invited Prince Jinghua and the West Phoenix Monarch to King Ye’s Palace for a drink. They will arrive in four hours.”
Yan Tianhen felt a little guilty. He rubbed his nose and turned around. “About that, I still have something to do, so I won’t be returning to King Ye’s Palace tonight.”
Just when he was ready to run away, he was pulled back by Lin Xuanzhi.
“There’s no use in hiding. We’ll meet them sooner or later.”
“You can’t say that.” Yan Tianhen was full of awkwardness. “They’ll want to hack me to death when they see me.”
Lin Xuanzhi replied, “I’ll be there too. I won’t let them hack you to death.”
Yan Tianhen thought about it but still shook his head in resistance. “Feng Jiushao always keeps his word. He’s so ruthless that he dares to hack at even himself. I can’t take this risk.”
Lin Xuanzhi said, “If he really wants to hack someone, then let him hack me.”
Yan Tianhen: “…”
King Ye’s Palace was brightly lit.
As the two heroes who killed 20,000 enemy troops as soon as they arrived at the Nine Lands, they were naturally worthy of being received by King Ye himself.
Prince Jinghua came with Duan Yuyang, Yuan Tianwen, and the others.
Yan Tianhen originally wanted to hide. Finally, under the authority of both King Ye and You Ming, he had no choice but to personally come out and greet the guests.
Prince Jinghua finally returned to the Nine Lands for the first time after countless years, and he even returned with Feng Jiushao, whose souls and spirits were finally completely gathered. Naturally, his mood was sunny and bright. Not even the reappearance of evil Qi cultivators could ruin his mood at all.
King Ye welcomed them at the door.
Seeing Prince Jinghua and the others, King Ye greeted them, “I’ve been looking forward to meeting you for a long time. I’m grateful for your help that day. Otherwise, it would’ve been a difficult battle.”
Prince Jinghua was dressed in white, with white hair and an elegant face. When he heard those words, he just waved his hand and smiled. “We just lent a hand in passing. Speaking of which, we also have debts to settle with evil Qi cultivators. It’s our duty to destroy evil spirits.”
Yan Tianhen, who was standing silently behind Yan Zhonghua: “…”
He could only hope that these two visitors wouldn’t recognize him.
Feng Jiushao just cupped his hands. “I’ve heard a lot about you.”
Yan Zhonghua responded, “Same to you.”
Feng Jiushao turned his head slightly and looked at Yan Tianhen, who was keeping his head down while trying to have Yan Zhonghua block him entirely from sight. “I’ve heard Lian Hua say that Prince and my son have a good relationship, and Prince even saved my son’s life.”
Yan Zhonghua turned his head back to look at Yan Tianhen and pulled Yan Tianhen forward by his collar. “This child has always been very outgoing before. How come he suddenly became introverted today? He didn’t even greet anyone — you know Yuyang and Tianwen at least, right?”
Yan Tianhen awkwardly raised his head and looked at Duan Yuyang, who had an evil smile on his face. “Yuyang Gege, Tianwen Gege, long time no see.”
Duan Yuyang nodded. “Indeed, it’s been a long time… No wait, how come I recall that we just met a while ago?”
Yan Tianhen gave a soft cough. “I actually haven’t seen these two gentlemen before, but I’ve heard about your matters. I do have a pretty good relationship with Maomao. And, uh… It’s already late. If we have something to say, we might as well go inside and talk slowly. My father has prepared a lot of food.”
Prince Jinghua looked at Yan Tianhen, his eyes narrowing slightly. “The feeling Prince Ye gives off is somewhat similar to that of an old friend, but I can’t think of which friend for the time being.”
Feng Jiushao’s eyes stayed on Yan Tianhen and wandered around, studying him for a moment. “Prince Ye is really a dragon and phoenix among men, quite like a disciple of the former Spirit Sect of ancient times.”
Yan Tianhen: “…”
Shoot, I have a bad feeling about this.
Yan Zhonghua, on the other hand, didn’t notice the biting edge behind those words. He took the guests into the residence and discussed the matter of evil Qi cultivators with Feng Jiushao. Feng Jiushao held Prince Jinghua’s hand the entire time and never let go.
Yan Tianhen deliberately slowed down his pace and secretly tugged on Duan Yuyang’s sleeves. Yuan Tianwen, who was behind them, glanced at them but didn’t say anything.
Yan Tianhen asked in a whisper, “What’s the situation? Did they recognize me?”
Duan Yuyang said, “They probably have their suspicions. However, your appearance has changed a lot. If you keep a low profile, you may be able to hide. But they’ll definitely recognize Chang Sheng if they meet him.”
Yan Tianhen: “…What?”
Duan Yuyang rolled his eyes at Yan Tianhen. “Besides Chang Sheng, do you think anyone else can look that beautiful?”
Yan Tianhen: “…”
Can’t refute that.
Yan Tianhen apprehensively went to the pavilion where the banquet was held, pretending to be calm. Not even he himself knew just how many enemies he had. In any case, as long as they were alive during the ancient era, then they most likely held a grudge against him.
