Chapter Seventy-Seven: The Contest of Treasure and Art (Part Four)

I cried out, “Xiao Zi!”

Her eyes were blood-red, her face deathly pale, with traces of blood at the corners of her mouth. She looked around with a vicious, hateful glare, her entire appearance twisted and terrifying. Upon hearing my call, she turned to glance at me, but her expression was blank, as if she didn’t recognize me at all. She even bared her teeth at me in a ferocious snarl, as though she intended to devour me.

How had she become like this?

It must be...

The Qiao family, as the foremost noble house of the Ancient Feather Dynasty, possessed unfathomable resources. These twenty-some individuals were merely the tip of the iceberg, yet even so, they were enough to instill awe and dread in all present.

From a shadowed corner came the faint murmur of whispered conversation, drifting past Jinse as she walked by. The words brought a subtle smile to her lips, and the approving look she cast toward Madam Cao was full of satisfaction.

The Grand Master in red appeared calm, but when Bai Qinghe struck with his fist, he moved as well. With a flick of his staff, an attack—already prepared—was unleashed. A cross-shaped beam of white light slashed toward Bai Qinghe, an act as underhanded as it was ruthless.

The towering man stood nine feet tall, his back broad as a tiger’s, his hands powerful and sinewy. His name was Hu Meng, the chief disciple of Elder Qingyun. He had already attained the third tier of the Celestial Realm, his magical power boundless, his spirit formidable.

There were only two possibilities: either the ancestor of the He family had deliberately withheld this information back then, or this “Mist”—this labyrinth—had only formed recently, and did not exist when the ancestor passed through.

“Dinner?” Isn’t it a bit early for dinner to be served? In the palace, supper was usually brought at seven. It was only half past six now. Lanxi hesitated briefly, thinking perhaps the Emperor had ordered the meal early out of concern she might be hungry. She let the thought pass.

Su Yan was fuming, unable to believe that the officials and military commanders here could be so degenerate.

At that moment, Jiang Yunxian’s body trembled slightly. He had thought he would never again see Hua Shangxue, and the burden of the promise he failed to keep would haunt him for life. Yet fate proved otherwise—he could not go forth to search for her, but after nearly five years apart, she had found her way here.

So Lanxi had truly crossed over to another world. This was the Great Zhou Empire, in the year Zhouyuan 1125. No one knew how many dynasties had come before, nor could it be compared to the Gregorian calendar—there was simply no way to know what year it was in the Common Era.

Zhang Xian first recounted these matters to Wu Yunyao, so she would have some sense of what to expect. Tonight, they would have to face off with the Lotus Sect and see it through to the end.

At last, after driving around, they found a restaurant with hardly any customers. Of course, had Zhuang Qingqing seen the menu prices, she would have immediately understood why the place was so empty.

But as she turned her head, Huo Lingfeng’s lips caught hers perfectly. His warm lips pressed tightly to hers, swallowing even her breath.

Though it was the last to appear, it brought a touch of joy to the waning summer and early autumn. It truly deserved to be called summer’s final singer. Let me compose a song of praise for it!

So I resigned before the New Year in 2018, but since then, I’ve done little but remain paralyzed by inertia. I’ve truly come to understand the darkness of society, and that all living beings suffer. Goodness, truth, and beauty are ever more rare. Now, money is everything, reality is stark and unyielding, and I have become the very person I once despised.

Lingkong sensed that just moments ago, this powerhouse from the Zhao family had marked his own clothing.

Moreover, the pills he carried must have been of exceptional quality, for those behind rarely saw this youth taking any to restore his energy.

These cultivators, suddenly overwhelmed by such intense killing intent, were startled out of their wits! They immediately clustered together, gazing warily in every direction, yet saw nothing amiss.

Amidst the boundless wilderness of time, across ten thousand years, neither arriving early nor late, when we meet, all there is to say is, “So, you are here as well?”