Chapter 263

The two returned to Lanxi Town first. Song Chun Gui's faction and Li Zhi Qing's faction were facing each other, but Li Zhi Qing was very cunning and did not appear from the beginning to end as he was most likely hiding in Yunding. Therefore, even if everyone knew he did it, he could find a far-fetched excuse and put it all on the Red Ghost King's head. Most people didn’t dare to question him because he was about to be the leader of the Wuliang Sect.

What he was afraid of was Xie Bi An and Fan Wu She.

As soon as Xie Bi An and Fan Wu She returned, the Li family retreated. They took Song Chun Gui out of town and temporarily settled him in a farmyard.

It was easy to go to Yunding and kill Li Zhi Qing, but Song Chun Gui was in this kind of state. If Li Zhi Qing died, the Wuliang Sect would be in chaos. With several thousands of cultivators living here, the situation had to be stabilized first. Otherwise, the people around would suffer.

Xie Bi An planned to deal with Li Zhi Qing at the end.

"How’s Song Zhen Ren’s injury?" Xie Bi An stood by the bedside. He looked at Song Chun Gui, whose face was as white as paper, then looked at the grave expressions of the Chunyang Sect’s elders and asked worriedly.

Song Chun Gui's injury had been treated to the greatest extent, but his core had been dug out after all. Even some of his internal organs had been taken out by Jiang Qu Lian’s ghost claws, so it was not easy to save his life.

"His life is fine, it’s just that..." The elder retracted his hand which was taking his pulse and shook his head with a sigh.

For a cultivator, especially one who is extremely talented and young enough to reach the patriarchal level, losing one’s golden core is fatal.

If Song Chun Gui woke up, how could he face the cruel fact that his whole life's hard work had been reduced to nothing?

Xie Bi An sighed, "It’s not safe for Song Zhen Ren to be here. Li Zhi Qing will definitely want to get rid of him. Why don't we send him to Xianyue Pavilion for the time being? He is good friends with Lord Lan, and they can recuperate together. Xianyue Pavilion will definitely protect and take care of him."

A disciple of the Wuilang Sect came over and arched his hand towards Xie Bi An and said with tears in his eyes, "Thank you for your help, White Immortal. Even if Senior Brother Song loses his cultivation, we are willing to follow him forever, and we will definitely send him to Xianyue Pavilion safely."

An elder of the Wuliang Sect asked, "I wonder what White Immortal’s next plan is? Xu Zhi Nan has obtained the human core and will definitely be able to transform his body. Moreover, he is in cahoots with the Red Ghost King. Won’t the mortal and ghost realms suffer?”

Xie Bi An looked at Fan Wu She: "Where did he go?"

"The northwest. He’s probably going out of the Pass."

"Chidi City? He wants to lead the Cangyu Sect?"

"Now that he has a young and healthy body, the Cangyu Sect's magic treasure, and Hua Xiang Rong who’s the heir to the sect, he will certainly not let go of this power. Even if there are a few people obejecting in the Cangyu Sect, they will be silenced by him."

Xie Bi An knitted his brows deeply.

"Not only that." Fan Wu She eyes condensed into ice, "He still has the most precious treasure of the Chunyang Sect in his hand. He was originally the leader of Chunyang Sect."

Xie Bi An was shocked. Beside him, several elders and disciples of Chunyang Sect were also flustered: "You..." They were always afraid of Fan Wu She, so after they said “you”, they did not dare to talk to Fan Wu She directly.

"We have to rush to Chunyang Sect. Otherwise, Zhao Wen and the others will be in danger!" After Xie Bi An finished talking, he hung his head in silence for a long time before finally whispering, "No, the crisis in Jiuyou is far greater than that on earth."

"That's right, Jiang Qu Lian has already obtained the Book of Life and Death and the Golden Trunk Jade Policy. He will return to the Underworld and force Official Lord Cui to help him grasp the secret of the six paths of reincarnation. Once he gets his way, no one knows what will happen."

Xie Bi An clenched his fist and said word for word, "I must stop him." He understood that this time would be the last battle. He looked at the crowd, "Everyone, I believe all of you have understood the situation today. If we fail, the human and ghost worlds will definitely be doomed eternally. We are going to defeat Jiang Qu Lian. I hope you guys can gather the last strength of the immortal cultivation world to stop Xu Zhi Nan from monopolizing the earth."

The crowd looked at each other. With the current gloomy scene of the immortal cultivation world, how were they going to fight against the reborn Xu Zhi Nan?

Xie Bi An was disappointed, but he could also understand the fear of these people. Taking a broad view of the immortal cultivation world, who else has the ability to turn the tide and take charge of the overall situation?

"If Xu Zhi Nan becomes the leader of the Immortal Alliance, the immortal cultivation world will turn into a shura battlefield where people eat each other's cores." Fan Wu She swept his gaze sharply over the crowd and threatened, "This is a time of life or death."

"Your Holiness has a point, but just depending on us ..."

"If senior brother Song had not…had not become like this, he would have led us to fight against that evil monster, but now..." A group of Wuliang Sect cultivators were overwhelmed with grief.

"White...Immortal..."

A frail voice suddenly sounded.

The crowd turned their heads in surprise and saw that Song Chun Gui had somehow woken up.

"Senior Brother Song!"

"Senior brother, senior brother is awake!"

The crowd was at a loss and looked nervous as if they were too anxious to hide something. They were afraid that Song Chun Gui would find out that he had lost something important. Although it seemed amusing, it was really heart-rending.

But Song Chun Gui was surprisingly calm. He looked at Xie Bi An and blinked his eyes weakly.

Xie Bi An hurriedly went to the window: "Zhen Ren, now..." What should he say? Asking "are you okay?" is clearly nonsense.

Song Chun Gui's lips were pale. His eyes were lax, yet they tried very hard to gather light. He said with a weak breath: "You...rest assured...I, have a heavy responsibility…I, don’t dare to forget."

Xie Bi An looked at Song Chun Gui blankly and was shocked momentarily. The man in front of him has lost the very important golden core of an immortal cultivator, but his heart of Dao had long since grown into his flesh and bone marrow. Cultivation cultivated the heart, who could say that he lost his “cultivation”?

Xie Bi An gently held Song Chun Gui's hand and said solemnly, "Zhen Ren, the earth is entrusted to you." He got up and bowed to Song Chun Gui with his hands folded in front, then turned around and left.

Fan Wu She was chasing after Xie Bi An out of the door. Seeing his shoulders were undulating with force, he silently accompanied him by his side.

After a long time, Xie Bi An turned his face. His gaze was firm and clear: "Wu She, return the Shanhe Sheji Map to me."

Fan Wu She gazed at him quietly.

"It’s my Zong Clan’s heirloom. I can control it."

"Big brother, I won't give it to you not because I covet this magic treasure, but because I'm afraid you'll use up all your spiritual power for it and put yourself in danger instead. The ancient divine treasure's demand for spiritual energy is not something our mortal bodies can withstand. I also rely on the Yin energy injected by the Heavenly Secret Talisman to maintain such a high consumption."

"I know the consequences. I've tried it before, but I need it." Xie Bi An looked straight into Fan Wu She's eyes, "I need the power to fight them." He aggravated his tone, "Give it to me."

Fan Wu She sighed softly. He took a few steps closer and put the Shanhe Sheji Map into Xie Bi An's hand, but did not let it go, "Promise me one thing."

"...Say it."

Fan Wu She teased: "This time I’m not asking you to give your heart to me. Don’t make this expression."

Xie Bi An said with shame and anger: "This is not the time. Cut to the chase."

"Big brother, promise me that you won't leave me alone again."

Xie Bi An was stunned, and then he felt sad.

"Promise me."

"I promise you."

Fan Wu She let go of his hand. Xie Bi An looked down at the ancient scroll in his hand. That unremarkable appearance didn’t look like a divine object that could transform nature at all.

"Big brother, I'm going to take you to a place to meet someone."

"Who? We don’t even have time now. We must go back to Fengdu as soon as possible."

"You must meet this person. I did not want to tell you now, but..." Fan Wu She swept a glance at the Shanhe Sheji Map, "Although you promised me, I still don’t feel at ease. I want you to have more reasons not to gamble with death."

Xie Bi An looked at him suspiciously, "What the hell are you talking about?"

"Come with me. It's important."

Fan Wu She rose into the air on his sword. Xie Bi An hesitated for a moment, but he still followed.

Before dark, the two of them arrived at a small village, which was far from the town, quiet and simple. There were only a few families in the village.

Xie Bi An was even more puzzled: "Why did you bring me here?" It's not like there were any important people in this place.

Fan Wu She went straight to a house at the end of the village. Xie Bi An could only follow him.

In front of them was a common farmhouse. The chimney on the roof was smoking, and the fragrance of rice wafted into their noses. In the yard, several children were playing, and an old man was sitting in a deck chair watching them.

That old man most likely had poor eyesight and did not notice them, but the children saw them. They had never seen two such people who were noble and beautiful like immortals. They all froze with fright.

The old man sensed that something was wrong and shouted a few times.

Xie Bi An's gaze swept over the children, and there was something inexplicably strange in his heart.

A peasant woman ran out quickly. She was still carrying a spatula dripping with oil in her hand: "What's going on here? This..." She looked at the two men with wide eyes and was at a loss for a moment. These two people were obviously immortals. In such a remote and desolate place, they would not see a few cultivators in their entire life, let alone with appearances like celestial beings.

"Wu She, who exactly did you bring me here to see?" Xie Bi An's voice trembled slightly. He had a hunch of something.

Fan Wu She pointed to a little boy who was still wearing split pants* and asked that peasant woman, "What is this child's name?"

The peasant woman froze for a long time before she came back to her senses. She said hurriedly: "R-replying back to Immortal Lord, this child follows the name of the Heaven Master. His name is Zheng Nan."

Xie Bi An's heart ached.

After Zhong Kui's death, the people were so overwhelmed with grief that they consciously observed mourning for him for seven days, and many of the boys born in the following years were named Zheng Nan.

Xie Bi An looked at that boy with big bright eyes and red cheeks. Zheng Nan, this child was also named Zheng Nan. He looked at Fan Wu She and asked with his eyes, but his eyes were slightly blurred.

Fan Wu She nodded and said softly, "It's him."

Xie Bi An took a deep breath, "Why do you want to find him?"

"I knew you wanted to find him. You just didn’t dare to ask Official Lord Cui."

"..."

"Two Immortal Lords, I don't know what you two came to my humble home for. Is there anything…" The peasant woman rubbed her apron nervously.

Fan Wu She pointed to Zheng Nan: "This child has immortal bones. I want to take him as a disciple."

"Wu She!" Xie Bi An said angrily, "Don’t be so hasty."

"What, doesn’t big brother want to?"

"I..."

Yet that peasant woman's eyes glowed as if a golden mountain had fallen from the sky. She knelt excitedly: "I-Is this true? Immortal Lord, o-our family has never produced immortals. Does my youngest child really have immortal bones?" For ordinary people, even if they could enter the immortal sects as disciples, it was enough to bring glory to their ancestors. If they succeeded in small things and formed a core, that would mean the “ascension” of the whole family.

"Really."

The peasant woman hurriedly kowtowed, and dragged Zheng Nan over, "Quick, kowtow to the Immortal Lord."

Zheng Nan was ignorantly dragged and knelt to the ground by his mother.

Xie Bi An rushed up with vigorous strides and picked Zheng Nan up: "No."

Zheng Nan was not afraid of strangers at all. He grabbed Xie Bi An's hair with his dirty little hands. He grinned and started to laugh.

Xie Bi An's eyes were hot, and he lightly called in his heart. Master.

 

----

PS: finally the family REUNITES~~

By 宛婼攸竹

 

split pants*[开裆裤]--- open-crotch pants (for toddlers)

 

Edited on 13 July 21 (Emzie)

 

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