Tears Falling

Song Miyun hadn’t really left. She had gone into Jade Blossom Mountain to search for precious medicinal ingredients.

After all, Jade Blossom Mountain was one of the famed mountains under heaven; there was no way it contained no rare treasures.

Every day, Song Miyun came to see the princess once and used all kinds of medicinal herbs.

Her methods had always been bold, and with Yan Jue’s nine-tailed fox blood as well, the princess’s condition improved day by day.

Late at night.

Feng Ru slowly opened her heavy eyelids and woke on the bed.

“Oh my, Your Highness is awake.”

“The princess is awake; quickly, someone come!”

The maids beside her cried out in delight, and a crowd of servants immediately surged in through the doorway.

Feng Ru’s senses gradually returned. She got up at once, pushing aside the maids around her as she tried to leave.

Just as Feng Ru reached the door, someone stopped her. “Princess, His Majesty has ordered that you are not to go out at will.”

Feng Ru raised her brows. “I just want to take a walk. Is that not allowed either?”

The guard said awkwardly, “It truly isn’t allowed.”

Feng Ru’s face darkened. She turned back to the bed and had only just sat down when she suddenly noticed something pressing beneath her pillow.

Feng Ru pulled out the white object.

It was actually a letter.

Although the Phoenix King had placed her under house arrest, he was still ultimately fond of his daughter; everything else was still being sent into her room in a heap.

Feng Ru did not suspect anything. She glanced outside, then sat on the bed and began to open the letter.

The handwriting on it was neat and familiar.

The moment Feng Ru saw it, her pupils contracted slightly.

It was... a letter from her wife!

Though she did not know how it had reached her room, she had seen this handwriting countless times before.

It was unmistakably her wife’s.

By the candlelight, Feng Ru’s gaze slowly moved across the letter, as though she wanted to pierce it with her eyes.

The entire letter was full of reluctance about her sudden departure, along with a faint, soft complaint.

As Feng Ru looked at it, her hands began to tremble slightly.

At the entrance to the grand hall of the princess’s bedchamber, a sharp shout suddenly rang out.

Feng Ru stood at the doorway and forcefully shoved a guard aside. Her body had only just begun to recover; the damage to her phoenix bloodline had left her extremely weak, with almost no strength at all.

Feng Ru: “I want to go out!”

The guard braced himself and blocked her way. “Princess, it truly isn’t possible. This is His Majesty’s order.”

Feng Ru snapped, “He just wants me to marry Nan Ming! I don’t want to. Would he really kill me over that?”

The once quiet entrance to the palace instantly became noisy.

While Feng Ru was making a scene, she suddenly saw the crowd part to make way.

“Ru’er!”

Feng Ru’s body trembled slightly.

The man wore a dark robe woven with cloud patterns in brocade, his hair bound beneath a crown. His face was flushed with health, and he carried an imposing dignity without needing to be angry.

Just by walking slowly toward her, he exuded overwhelming pressure.

He was the ruler of the Phoenix Clan, Feng Zhaoyang.

Feng Ru glared at Feng Zhaoyang. “Your daughter only wants to go out for a stroll. Why do you have to interfere even with that? Are you afraid I’ll run away?”

The atmosphere instantly turned tense.

“Regarding your taking the marrow-cleansing medicine, Father won’t pursue it with you for the time being.” Feng Zhaoyang frowned at Feng Ru. “You’re truly living in blessings without knowing it. You possess the purest imperial blood; do you know how many people would give anything for that? And yet you used marrow-cleansing medicine to wash away your bloodline? You... you...”

The more Feng Zhaoyang spoke, the angrier he became.

“I told you long ago; the matters of the past are already gone like smoke. Stop thinking about them.”

“I’ve already spoken with the Nan family and brought the wedding date forward.”

“In three days, it will be the day you marry him.” Feng Zhaoyang flicked his sleeve and said coldly, “Just behave and marry him. Stop thinking all over the place!”

“Go and prepare yourself properly.”

After Feng Zhaoyang finished speaking, he left, leaving Feng Ru alone in place.

Large teardrops slid down Feng Ru’s cheeks. The letter paper in her hand had been crumpled into wrinkled sheets, and her fingernails dug into her flesh.

-

Feng Zhaoyang arrived in the main hall.

“Bring those two Five Dragons Sect Immortal Lords here.”

Yan Jue had only come this time to deliver the letter and help run errands; she did not know what was written in it, nor did she know what had happened in the princess’s bedchamber.

The two of them arrived very quickly. Feng Zhaoyang looked at them and rose to bow. “Many thanks to the two Immortal Lords for saving my daughter.”

Yan Jue did not take the credit and only smiled. “The one who truly saved the princess was the physician from Lotus Island, who left yesterday.”

“Lotus Island has always kept itself out of worldly strife. I imagine they also didn’t receive any news of Luan Terrace’s search for a divine doctor this time.” Feng Zhaoyang shook his head. “Even so, if not for the Immortal Lord’s introduction, I’m afraid we would not have found such a miraculous healer.”

After a few pleasantries, Feng Zhaoyang changed the subject. “May I ask what reward the two Immortal Lords want?”

As the Phoenix King for so many years, Feng Zhaoyang naturally understood the principle that nothing in this world came for free.

The Five Dragons Sect and Luan Terrace had always minded their own business; there was no reason for them to suddenly come visiting.

Yan Jue naturally would not tell the Phoenix King about delivering the letter. Instead, she directly brought up the other important purpose of this trip. “This one wishes to borrow the Phoenix Clan’s phoenix fetus.”

The moment she said that, the hall fell into a deathly silence.

Feng Zhaoyang frowned slightly.

The Phoenix bloodline had always been precious, and the phoenix fetus was precisely what could bestow the world’s rare phoenix blood.

Over the years, how many immortal sects had come seeking the phoenix fetus? Every single one had been turned away by Feng Zhaoyang.

He hadn’t expected these two Five Dragons disciples to also be here for the phoenix fetus.

Feng Zhaoyang: “The two Immortal Lords saved my daughter; I am deeply grateful. If you want spirit stones, gold, or silver, any of that is fine.”

“But this phoenix fetus is the Phoenix Clan’s most precious treasure. Forgive me, but I cannot give it to you.”

-

At the Inn of the Guest Arriving Restaurant beneath Jade Blossom Mountain.

The restaurant was busy with people coming and going. Tables were filled with all kinds of exquisite dishes, yet no one touched them.

Yan Jue took a snow-white long needle from her Qiankun bag.

This was a poison-testing needle specially made for her by Duan Luxi when she returned to Five Dragons Mountain this time.

The material used was a fang from the taotie serpent monster deep in the Yuxu Sea.

If the needle encountered poison, it would turn black.

Yan Jue held the needle and carefully tested every dish on the table for poison. Only after confirming there was no problem did she put the poison-testing needle back into her Qiankun bag.

Qi Xianqing lowered her eyes and looked at the nearest plate of plain pastries, holding her chopsticks as she thought about something.

Yan Jue frowned. “He already said he wouldn’t give it to us. We can’t exactly steal it, can we?”

The Demon Lord had sent them here to gather the medicinal ingredients for the longevity pill. They had already found two of them; only the phoenix fetus, qiongjing grass, and nine-tailed fox heart remained.

The reason they had come to help Liang Tingmian deliver the letter this time was also because the place where they could obtain the phoenix fetus was in Luan Terrace.

Who could have expected them to stumble so badly right at the start?

Qi Xianqing comforted her. “The phoenix fetus carries the blessing of blood. To the Phoenix Clan, it truly is an extremely precious thing.”

Yan Jue couldn’t help complaining inwardly. “Then do we still have a chance to get it?”

“There’s always a way.” Qi Xianqing paused, then slightly narrowed her eyes. “If it really comes to that, we can just have the princess give it to us.”

When traveling outside, Qi Xianqing always knew far more than Yan Jue.

The Phoenix King, and even the entire Phoenix Clan, regarded the phoenix fetus as though it were priceless.

But within the Phoenix Clan, the only person Qi Xianqing could think of who might not be of one mind with the others was the Phoenix Princess living outside with a lover, Feng Ru.

Though doing this was not very moral, they still had to try this route.

The two of them were eating when someone suddenly passed by their table.

The Drifting Ice at Yan Jue’s back suddenly trembled.

Yan Jue jerked her head up.

That person wore a gray short jacket and had short, thick limbs; he sat down at a table not far away.

Drifting Ice buzzed violently, as if it would explode in the next moment.

Yan Jue felt a little uneasy.

She had now almost completely grasped Drifting Ice’s characteristics.

Whenever someone tainted with murderous blood aura passed by, Drifting Ice would shake madly.

That person...

Qi Xianqing noticed Yan Jue’s movements. “What is it?”

Suddenly, Qi Xianqing’s eyes turned sharp. She whipped around and caught something.

Under the bright lamplight, three gleaming golden beads lay in Qi Xianqing’s palm.

Qi Xianqing had already reached the middle stage of the fifth realm, the Heart Stirring Realm; her five senses were astonishingly keen, and she could clearly hear the conversation at the neighboring table.

But three breaths had already passed, and the people at the neighboring table had repeated themselves three times.

Qi Xianqing’s gaze flashed, landing on Yan Jue. Yan Jue still held the posture of looking back, as if she had been staring over there in a daze and had not moved at all.

With Qi Xianqing’s long experience outside, three breaths earlier, she had already fallen into some kind of advanced illusion.

A faint swishing sound came from behind her.

Qi Xianqing shifted and dodged the golden bead that had attacked from behind, then leapt straight out through the window.

In the darkness of night, streaks of blue-gray airflow flashed and shot beneath her feet.

Qi Xianqing’s Divine Sense quickly locked onto the figure on a tree branch in the distance.

Again.

The whereabouts of the Immortal Spirit Physique had long been disclosed by the Five Dragons Sect to the demon race, so wherever Qi Xianqing went, she was trailed by evil creatures from the Cliff of Severed Malice.

Qi Xianqing’s expression was as cold as frost and snow. With a single motion of her right hand, Zhuying shot out instantly, like an arrow loosed from a bow, flying toward the black shadow on the opposite tree.

At the same time, countless golden pellets shot toward her. Qi Xianqing slowly drew a line through the air with two fingers and cut all of them down.

“Whoosh...”

A strange sound suddenly rang through the air. A sharp arrow was fired from the grass behind her, flying straight at Qi Xianqing.

This time, Qi Xianqing was already prepared. Her body sprang up into the air, flipping backward in a graceful arc.

While flipping back, Qi Xianqing caught the arrow with one hand.

Qi Xianqing wore a heart-protecting mirror; that was likely no longer a secret.

So those monsters had changed tactics and made every hidden weapon aim at her legs instead.

Qi Xianqing frowned slightly. In the blink of an eye, she had already followed the black shadow on the tree into the forest.

The shadow darted forward and vanished into the boundless darkness.

Having experienced several assassination attempts, Qi Xianqing had long since become absolutely vigilant about everything around her.

But the demons of the Cliff of Severed Malice were not easy prey either. The stronger Qi Xianqing became, the faster they ran.

Qi Xianqing stepped briskly into the grass when she suddenly heard a faint sound behind her, something moving quickly toward her.

There was more than one demon following her.

Qi Xianqing threw the arrow backward with a flick of her hand; the arrow, carrying immense force, pierced straight through the chest of the person behind her.

Thunk.

Something heavy hit the grass with a dull thud.

That demon probably never even understood how it died.

Qi Xianqing turned abruptly and indeed saw a snake corpse lying in the grass.

Around the snake demon’s waist hung a bright copper token engraved with the words Cliff of Severed Malice.

A chill crept into Qi Xianqing’s eyes. The Cliff of Severed Malice’s tactics were becoming less and less interesting.

Qi Xianqing stood up; the grass beneath her feet rustled softly.

Something was wrong.

Qi Xianqing spun around sharply, and at the same time a pale red formation suddenly lit up behind her.

A crimson python dropped from the tree, its bloody maw biting straight for Qi Xianqing’s neck.

Qi Xianqing raised her sword and slashed hard. A streak of blue light flashed; the snake’s head was severed, and then another sound rang out behind her.

Qi Xianqing turned and discovered that, at some point, snakes had filled the area behind her.

Tiny snakes of all colors propped up their bodies from the grass and stared silently at her, their scarlet forked tongues flicking out.

She had stepped into a trap.

The demon that had just fled was not the real assassin; these little snakes before her were.

Qi Xianqing did not panic. Instead, she calmly analyzed the situation.

She had once read books in the Library Pavilion and had heard of a demonic sect technique called the Serpent Cage.

If the target accidentally entered the formation and could not get out within a short time, they would be attacked by the poisonous snakes inside it.

But when she left the inn just now, she had already been inside an illusion.

Now, if nothing unexpected had happened, she was still inside an illusion.

This illusion was far too real. Qi Xianqing could not even determine its exact boundaries. If she wanted to force her way out, there was usually only one method.

That was to use her strongest divine power to attack the illusion; if the power exceeded the upper limit the illusion could bear, then everything around her would naturally vanish.

At the same time, the snakes in the grass began their attack. The closest one, a blue-green venomous snake, struck first, and fluorescent green venom splashed through the air.

Qi Xianqing lifted her sword in both hands, and a vast surge of electricity instantly spread in all directions.

Along with that mighty lightning came flame; it was the red lotus karmic fire she had brought out from Suyang Immortal Mansion that day.

Thunder and fire together!

Zhuying in Qi Xianqing’s hand instantly swelled to the height of two people.

Sword Art; Shaking the Earth.

Zhuying expanded wildly in the wind. Qi Xianqing slashed with her right hand, and Zhuying swept horizontally toward the snake swarm.

Blood splattered everywhere; the dozen venomous snakes that had just bared their fangs were all severed at the neck in an instant.

Qi Xianqing’s expression remained icy. Her robe hem snapped in the fierce wind. “Rise.”

At the same time, the immortal sword Zhuying continued growing upward into the sky.

Boom—

A blue-gray sword glow flashed across the firmament, and sure enough, ripples spread through the void. Qi Xianqing’s sea of qi surged wildly as she poured all her true qi into Zhuying.

With another forceful push, Zhuying trembled violently and suddenly tore through the void.

Everything around her disappeared in an instant.

Qi Xianqing’s eyelashes fluttered lightly. When she opened her eyes, what met her gaze was Yan Jue’s refined face.

And the bustling guest inn around them.

Yan Jue frowned and waved a hand in front of Qi Xianqing. “Senior Sister, what’s wrong?”

Qi Xianqing had been in the illusion for a long time, but in reality, only a moment had passed.

Qi Xianqing raised a hand and pressed her fingers to her brow. “I was just caught in an illusion.”

Yan Jue froze; her expression suddenly sharpened. “Again from the Cliff of Severed Malice?”

Qi Xianqing: “Mm.”

She picked up a few vegetables with her chopsticks and put them in Yan Jue’s bowl. “Eat first.”

Those demons from the Cliff of Severed Malice were only causing a small commotion; they could not do anything to Qi Xianqing, and she did not take them to heart.

Qi Xianqing’s expression settled slightly as she thought about something else.

Yan Jue frowned a little.

So that was why Qi Xianqing had seemed so dazed just now.

To die inside an illusion was equivalent to the death of one’s true body.

If not for Qi Xianqing’s quick reaction just now, she might already have died in the illusion.

Qi Xianqing was just about to speak when she suddenly felt a sharp pain in her back.

Yan Jue froze, then immediately saw that a thick patch of blood was slowly spreading across Qi Xianqing’s back.

Qi Xianqing’s brows drew in slightly. Although she had already been very careful, she had still been injured in the illusion.

...

Yan Jue and Qi Xianqing returned to their room and took out the high-grade defensive array disc they had brought with them.

Because Qi Xianqing was the Immortal Spirit Physique and also the chief disciple of the Five Dragons Sect, the sect had given her exceptionally abundant resources.

The defensive array disc now in Yan Jue’s hands was a high-level array disc that only great powers above the sixth realm could set up. If it were bought at the Five Dragons Market, it would be very expensive.

Yan Jue held the array disc in her hand, silently reciting the incantation. Then she saw a faint golden halo spreading out from above the disc.

Crackle, hiss—

A sound suddenly came from behind her.

After setting up the defensive formation, Yan Jue instinctively turned to look.

Qi Xianqing was alone on the bed, head lowered as she unwrapped the ointment in her hand.

Under the candlelight, her complexion was somewhat pale.

Although Qi Xianqing liked teasing her, when things actually happened, she still preferred to bear them alone.

Some wounds, some pain; she was still used to shouldering them by herself.

Yan Jue looked at her, and her heart ached.

Sitting on the bed, Qi Xianqing only felt the wound on her back burning with pain. Just as she had finished opening the ointment in her hand, someone took hold of her hand.

Yan Jue’s hands had always been warm, gently resting over hers.

Qi Xianqing paused slightly and looked up at her.

“Let me help you,” Yan Jue said, looking at her. “It’s not very convenient for you to do your own back anyway.”

Under the dim candlelight, the girl’s phoenix eyes were narrow and long, her amber pupils clear as water.

Yan Jue hesitated, her gaze darting around as she said in a small voice, “Don’t forget, we’re dao companions now.”

She knew Qi Xianqing was very independent, and whenever something happened, she liked to take it all on herself.

But now, Qi Xianqing clearly was no longer alone.

Qi Xianqing looked at Yan Jue; light flickered in her eyes. Her left hand, hanging at her side, tightened unconsciously.

It was a little unfamiliar.

Qi Xianqing looked at Yan Jue, a rare softness showing in her eyes. “Then thank you, Ah Jue.”

Yan Jue’s heart pounded wildly. Sitting upright behind her, she slowly began to undo her clothes.