Embers of Sword

Chapter 647 Martial Luck
The smoke and dust on the mossy hill, mixed with the lingering smell of blood, were dispersed by the sword energy.

The chronic illness transformed into a thin golden thread, which circled several times in the air before slowly settling between the brows of the young swordsman in black. With a soft tinkling sound, it returned to its source.

Xie Xuanyi coldly looked at the man who was kneeling with his head on the ground.

The glow emanating from the teleportation array slowly dissipated.

Yuan Jimo's forehead was pierced by the sword energy, and blood flowed out continuously from it...

This is a fatal injury.

But Xie Xuanyi did not let him die just like that.

Setting off is one thing, but setting off is another.

Some people are so generous that they can be given a death.

But Yuan Jimu... does not belong to this category.

When Xie Xuanyi drew his sword, the tip of the sword contained a wisp of the Dao of Life, mixed with an extremely faint vapor from the Spring of Immortality.

He can kill, but he can also save lives.

This vitality spread within Yuan Jimo's skull.

"Ho..."

The man kneeling on the ground, who was preparing to face death, suddenly widened his eyes and let out a hoarse shout after sensing this life force.

He is not dead.

But the pain that followed was more agonizing than death!
Xie Xuanyi waved his sleeve, his chronic illness already sheathed, but a sudden gust of wind swept through the mountain path and forest. As the wind passed, a sharp killing intent pierced through and fell... A "Rain of Annihilation" that was extremely precise gathered above Yuan Jimo's head.

……

……

After half a stick of incense.

Several horse-drawn carriages drove along the Tailing Mountain Road.

Today, the capital city is in turmoil, with power shifting and the Imperial City Administration extremely busy. It is Qian San from Fangyuanfang who has rushed to Tailing to "clean up the mess."

"Thank you, Brother Xie—"

Divine thoughts could be heard from afar.

Qian San tucked his hands into his sleeves, gave a respectful bow from afar, and smiled broadly.

He glanced casually at the Mossy Ridge Mountain Path and saw Yuan Mou, who was shrouded in the rain of the Path of Annihilation and curled up tightly. He couldn't help but raise his eyebrows and reveal a gloating expression.

He had already witnessed the terrifying power of this Annihilation Rain once before in the Southern Border Tomb...

Yuan Jimu was indeed a "lucky one," able to enjoy this rain all to himself before his death.

"Manager Qian."

Xie Xuanyi nodded and returned the greeting.

"Brother Xie, you're too kind..."

Qian San smiled and spoke earnestly.

Xie Xuanyi saved his life during the previous turmoil in the southern border region, and he has not yet had a chance to thank him.

Many changes followed.

Qian San was too busy taking care of himself.

Now that the situation had finally settled, he stepped forward and bowed again, saying sincerely, "Last time in the Southern Frontier, I owed you my life. If you ever need my help, Brother Xie, just ask. I will go through fire and water for you."

Why bother with so many words between us?

Xie Xuanyi shook his head and smiled, saying, "How is Chen Jingxuan doing?"

"Everything is fine."

Qian San slowly said, "The master has already dealt with the 'Smoke Evil' at Yanyun Lake. The library has been preparing for today for many years, and the members of the evil faction of Renshou Palace and the Imperial City Guard have long been on the list. The people involved have been taken to the dungeon for investigation and sentencing, which will take about a few more days."

"That's good."

Upon receiving this news, Xie Xuanyi felt slightly relieved.

"Thank you brother."

Qian San looked towards the mossy ridge and said in a deep voice, "The master instructed that Yuan Jimu's 'soul' needs to be extracted before he dies. The library has a secret technique; as long as we take a fragment of his soul, we can slowly dismantle it with the help of the [Hun Yuan Yi]."

"Hmm... I'll keep him here."

Xie Xuanyi said calmly, "I've been waiting for you to come."

There was no rush to send Yuan Jimu on his way.

On the one hand, it is necessary to make them suffer greatly.

On the other hand, we need to wait for the Book Tower to arrive and collect the soul... This guy's soul sea contains too many secrets, some of which Yuan Jimo will never tell, and even with the help of [Soul Search], we cannot find out. In this case, we need to use [Hun Yuan Yi] and [Surveying the Heavens].

"Wow!"

Xie Xuanyi stepped forward, casually waved his sleeve, and dispersed the rain of annihilation.

Yuan Jimo, kneeling on the ground, had his clothes and armor completely torn to shreds.

Not a single patch of his skin or flesh was intact...

This extremely tragic and gruesome scene fell into the eyes of Qian San and Xie Xuanyi, but neither of them showed any pity.

In the early years.

Those "innocent" people who were imprisoned in the dungeon by the Imperial City Guard suffered no less severe punishments than this.

Some people die in a more tragic way than Yuan Jimu is now.

As the rain of destruction ceased, Yuan Jimo was speechless. He trembled all over, looking like a withered, emaciated ghost... It must be said, this guy's vitality was incredibly tenacious, almost rivaling those heretical cultivators and pseudo-saints of the Southern Frontier...

"How can this person still live?"

Qian San couldn't help but exclaim in amazement.

“I gave him some ‘good things’ to help prolong his life.”

Xie Xuanyi's words were concise and to the point.

Qian San clicked his tongue and didn't ask any more questions: "Brother Xie, there's nothing special about the process of collecting soul fragments... Next, you'll need to use 'Soul Search'."

While talking.

He took out a long box woven with gold thread from his sleeve.

"it is good."

Xie Xuanyi nodded, stretched out his palm, and placed it on Yuan Jimo's forehead.

boom!
next moment.

A surge of powerful divine sense welled up... If possible, Xie Xuanyi hoped that the Soul Search would succeed.

But just as I had anticipated.

This guy's soul sea was extremely fragile, and it seemed to be protected by a special restriction. The moment my divine sense entered it, it caused the soul sea to collapse—

Yuan Jimu let out a miserable howl, and his eyes rolled back.

His divine sea shattered with a crack—

Xie Xuanyi frowned.

"Shh!"

Qian San, standing to the side, calmly opened the golden thread box, made a hand seal, and silently chanted. A bloody gash appeared between Yuan Jimo's eyebrows, and a ray of dark light swept into the golden thread box. The box closed in response, and Qian San stopped the spell and put the golden box away.

"Is this the end?"

Xie Xuanyi was somewhat surprised.

"ended."

Qian San smiled and said, "This Yuan fellow has a lot of secrets about Renshou Palace. Given the Empress's style of doing things, she would never leave such a scourge behind. Therefore, the outside world's [soul search] will most likely end in failure... You will use the [Hun Yuan Yi] to reverse the cause and effect."

Xie Xuanyi looked at Yuan Jimo's corpse, lost in thought.

"The gentleman has always kept those things from ten years ago in mind."

Qian San paused, then added, "After Yuan Jimo's Shenhai is dismantled, we should be able to obtain many details of the 'Moon Concealment Case' from ten years ago."

"..."

Xie Xuanyi opened his mouth, about to say something.

Suddenly, an extremely affectionate shout rang out from not far away.

"Brother!"

The carriage curtain was lifted.

A small, thin figure in red with pigtails flew over and crashed heavily into Xie Xuanyi's arms.

"Jiang Huang?"

Xie Xuanyi looked at the carriage with some surprise.

A woman in a Taoist robe sat in the shadows that stretched inwards from the lifted carriage curtain.

Tang Fengshu and Xie Xuanyi exchanged a glance, nodded slightly, and lowered the carriage curtain again, thus concluding that they had met.

The Battle of Beihai has ended.

Xie Xuanyi entrusted Jiang Huang to her and Chen Jingxuan.

now.

She returned Jiang Huang, thus fulfilling her mission.

"Brother Xie, I have some trivial matters to attend to here, so please excuse me for taking my leave first."

Seeing this, Qian San smiled knowingly. He spoke tactfully and then withdrew. The carriage came and went in a hurry.

"Brother, are you alright?"

Jiang Huang ignored all that nonsense. She tilted her head back, reached out her palm, and pinched Xie Xuanyi's chin and then his shoulder.

Although she is "young", she is not stupid.

Although it was only a dozen or so hours since we parted ways at the Beihai Reed Marsh.

But she knew.

Something very serious must have happened at the Great Sword Palace...

My elder brother and my other elder brother don't want me to go back!
"It's okay."

Xie Xuanyi was somewhat helpless. He squatted down and let Jiang Huang pinch his cheeks, then asked with a smile, "Look... no skin or flesh has fallen off."

Yes, that's right.

Jiang Huangzai carefully checked Xie Xuanyi's body, and after confirming that he was safe and sound, the little guy breathed a long sigh of relief and revealed a relieved smile: "When we said goodbye in Beihai earlier, I thought we would never see each other again..."

The demon race also has a heart-lake connection.

The more gifted a demon is, the more acute its senses are.

"..."

Xie Xuanyi knew that Jiang Huang's premonition at the time was not false.

He paused for a moment, gazing at the innocent little girl before him, and asked softly, "Jiang Huang, do you feel anything is different?"

After the death of the Holy Empress.

He sent all his cultivation treasures to the north.

If the descendants of the Phoenix Clan truly possess a connection and resonance with one another...

Perhaps the Phoenix Treasure Trove hidden deep within Jianghuang's Divine Sea has already been opened.

"Where...is it different?"

Jiang Huang was stunned.

She looked at Xie Xuanyi, scratched her head, and asked in confusion, "What's different?"

The two, one big and one small, stared at each other for a few breaths.

"nothing."

Xie Xuanyi smiled, reached out and patted Jiang Huang's head, and said softly, "Do you want to see Brother Cijing? I'll take you back to the Sword Palace."

"My elder brother certainly does wish for that."

Jiang Huang chuckled, grabbed Xie Xuanyi's sleeves with both hands, and whispered, "But could you please not rush back?"

Xie Xuanyi raised an eyebrow.

"It's not easy to get out of the house..."

Jiang Huang lowered her voice: "Since you and your elder brother are both safe and sound, can we not rush back?"

Xie Xuanyi asked, "What do you want?"

"I'd like my brother to show me around."

Jiang Huang blinked and pleaded, "It's really boring to cultivate and practice boxing every day in the back mountain of the Sword Palace."

Where do you want to go?

Xie Xuanyi smiled and asked in a broad voice.

"Let's go to the places we've been before."

Jiang Huang carefully observed Xie Xuanyi's expression and said cautiously, "On the way back from Beihai, we passed through Carp Tide City. Mr. Chen and Master Tang were both too busy, so I didn't dare to speak."

"You want to go to Carp Tide City, to Northern County?"

Xie Xuanyi hesitated for a moment, then slowly said, "That's not a problem... but right now, I have a few trivial matters to deal with first."

"Brother, can you take me with you?"

Seeing that Xie Xuanyi did not refuse, the little guy's eyes lit up.

Xie Xuanyi could only smile helplessly and nod in agreement.

……

……

In the northern suburbs of the imperial city, mountains rise and fall, forming a ring around the head of a pearl.

This is the location of the renowned "Dragon Vein of Martial Fortune" of the Great Chu Dynasty.

Maple leaves flutter down, turning the mountains and forests a deep red.

Xie Xuanyi led Jiang Huang through the mountains and forests, the red leaves rustling softly.

Xie Xuanyi stopped in his tracks.

At the edge of the forest, deep in the woods, stood two figures with their backs to the camera.

One old and one young, one in red and one in white.

“…Brother.”

Jiang Huang gripped Xie Xuanyi's sleeve, her voice trembling with unease.

She sensed a terrifyingly powerful force emanating from the old man in the red robe not far away.

Is this the Yang Shen Realm?
And it's not just any ordinary Yang Shen realm cultivator!
"don’t worry."

Xie Xuanyi patted Jiang Huang on the shoulder and said softly, "Wait for me here."

The two figures in the forest were Ye Zu and Zhou.

Previously, when the Great Eagle Sword Palace slew the Demon Queen...

Xie Xuanyi sensed three forces from the outside world that were drawing away from the dragon vein!

A force originating from Beihai was initiated by Chen Jingxuan.

One of them comes from the Taoist sect and should be controlled by the Great Master Junshan.

There's a third one...

Logically speaking, Qin Zu was already dead, and Wu Zhexian had also perished in the southern border region.

This dragon vein of martial fortune should have lost its owner.

But a figure vaguely appeared in Xie Xuanyi's mind, and now that he had come to the mountains, it confirmed his thoughts.

Two stone tombstones stand at the end of the maple forest.

The stone tablet is engraved with the honorific titles of Qin Zu and Wu Zhexian, and the characters are vigorous and powerful. It was personally made by Ye Zu.

At the end of the maple forest.

A stone wall emitted a faint golden light, with the four characters "Da Chu Wu Yun" engraved on it. This was Qin Zu's usual meditation and cultivation place, protected by the Martial Sect's grand formation, and outsiders were not allowed to enter...

now.

Qin Zu died, and Wu Zetian was banished to heaven.

With the vast Wuzong sect under his command, only Zhou was left to shoulder the main responsibility.

Not to mention the Martial Sect... the entire Great Chu Martial Arts has declined and weakened.

"Xiao Xie."

Ye Zu turned around, looked at the young man behind him, and said softly, "...You've come."

He was not surprised by Xie Xuanyi's arrival.

The old man's gaze passed over Xie Xuanyi and landed on the little girl with pigtails who was nervously clutching her sleeves. He then asked in a meaningful voice transmission, "Is this the phoenix?"

"Yes."

Xie Xuanyi nodded. No matter how well Jiang Huang concealed her demonic aura, it couldn't hide from a great cultivator of Ye Zu's level.

"You should know about your master's affair with the Demon Queen, right?"

Ye Zu thought for a moment, then spoke up.

For a great spiritual practitioner of his age, many secrets are not secrets at all.

The matter concerning the Demon Queen and Zhao Chunyang...

He did know a little bit.

Xie Xuanyi sighed softly, "Senior Ye, I know."

"It's good if you know."

Ye Zu said gently, "This little girl looks good. Her appearance is different from the Demon Queen's. She's not crazy. But just because she's not crazy now doesn't mean she won't be crazy in the future... When Yuan Huang first arrived in the Imperial City, she was granted freedom by the Emperor for a period of time. She could freely enter and leave the four borders and leave the Imperial Palace at will."

"Is there anything else going on?"

Xie Xuanyi had never heard of this old story.

"Who hasn't done some ridiculous things?"

Ye Zu smiled calmly: "The Emperor believes he has already conquered this phoenix. Even if he gives her freedom, she will not leave him."

"..."

Xie Xuanyi remained silent.

"In fact, the Emperor was not wrong. Yuanhuang later gained great freedom and did not leave Da Chu."

Ye Zu said meaningfully, "But this madwoman almost destroyed the thousand-year foundation of the Great Chu. Dust to dust, ashes to ashes. Now that the overall situation is settled, future generations will judge right and wrong... I wonder if the Emperor Taihuang knew in the afterlife, would he feel remorse for the troubles Yuanhuang created?"

(End of this chapter)