Never Meet Again

Wang Li looked at those flashes of Huaguang and narrowed his eyes slightly. His brows lifted, then fell again.

A trace of disgust, a trace of disdain flashed across his face before it returned to calm.

He stood with his hands behind his back, motionless at the edge of the cliff.

The night wind whipped up his robes, making them snap loudly.

Those streams of radiance had initially come swiftly, but the closer they drew to the lone peak, the slower their momentum became. Finally, while they were still several miles from the peak, only a single point of light slowly approached from among them.

That approaching glimmer carried an air of caution. When its cold, grim aura tore through the night, it initially felt like a great ship of dark steel sailing through the sky. Yet when it neared the cliff where Wang Li stood, it fully revealed its savage appearance—it was an enormous dark-gold Dharma Sword.

This dark-gold Dharma Sword was over two zhang wide, more than ten zhang long, and over a zhang thick. Its entire body gave off the feeling of a mountain's crushing weight.

Its blade was incomparably smooth, starlight gleaming over it like flowing water streaming along the sword body.

Yet only two cultivators stood upon such a giant sword.

The middle-aged cultivator standing at the center of the blade wore dark-gold Dharma robes as well, marked in many places with sigils of tiny dark-gold swords. His brows slanted sharply into his temples, his features were square and proper, and whenever his gaze shifted, it seemed as though cold, fierce sword light might burst from his eyes at any moment, creating an inexplicable pressure.

Behind him stood a young cultivator dressed in white Dharma robes. This young cultivator had handsome features and a tall, slender figure, while cloud patterns flowed across his white robes.

Standing beside that stern-faced middle-aged cultivator, he was quiet and modest.

Wang Li showed no surprise at the sight of the middle-aged cultivator, but when he saw the young cultivator in white, an imperceptible bitter smile touched the corner of his lips before swiftly vanishing.

Seeing that Wang Li appeared to have no intention of greeting him first, the middle-aged cultivator on the dark-gold giant sword immediately showed a trace of displeasure. He had originally intended to steer the sword's tip against the cliff edge and then step onto this natural stone platform. However, Wang Li stood at the cliff edge with his hands behind his back, and he instinctively felt that even if his giant sword drew close, Wang Li would not make way for him.

Thus, the giant sword shifted its direction slightly and approached directly from the side.

"Senior Sister has set up an array."

But at that moment, Wang Li's voice abruptly rang out. "Uncle-Master Hengyuan, the array Senior Sister set up certainly cannot withstand the power of your Giant Hao Sword Qi. But if your sword qi destroys the array she painstakingly arranged, and she jumps onto your sword to self-detonate her Golden Core, I probably won't be able to restrain her. The artifacts I use to suppress her self-detonating Golden Core have mostly been used up lately."

The middle-aged cultivator whom he called Uncle-Master Hengyuan froze at once, and the dark-gold giant sword also stalled in midair.

Looking at Wang Li, neither servile nor overbearing, he even instinctively felt that Wang Li had already guessed their purpose. Yet for some reason, Wang Li's attitude left him unable to vent his anger at all.

He fell silent for the span of a breath before looking at Wang Li and saying in the mildest tone he could manage, "I heard that while Old Ancestor Tong Hui of the Huayang Sect was undergoing his tribulation, you took advantage of the opportunity to seize Old Ancestor Tong Hui's Yin Thunder Umbrella. Then you went to Blackwater Market and sold it outright, exchanging it for a Purity Returning Spirit Pill and several million spirit sand."

Wang Li calmly looked at the middle-aged cultivator. "That is roughly correct. But saying we snatched the Yin Thunder Umbrella from Old Ancestor Tong Hui is inaccurate. In the end, Old Ancestor Tong Hui gave the Yin Thunder Umbrella to us."

The middle-aged cultivator could not stop his brows from furrowing, and his voice turned faintly cold. "One thing is the story; another is the truth I heard. You first took the Yin Thunder Umbrella by exploiting the situation, then pressed him with words and threatened Old Ancestor Tong Hui by closing in with self-detonation of a Golden Core. Only then did you obtain the Yin Thunder Umbrella."

"Uncle-Master Hengyuan, you are smarter than I am, so naturally your judgment is better than mine." Wang Li said earnestly, "If you heard the entire course of events, you should know that when Senior Sister self-detonated her Golden Core, I immediately acted to suppress it. In the end, the Yin Thunder Umbrella belonged to Old Ancestor Tong Hui. If he had been unwilling to give it to us, his Nascent Soul had already formed at the time. Even if he could not have taken advantage of my restraining Senior Sister's self-detonation, he would still have had ample time to retreat unscathed and settle accounts with us later. Yet not only did he bestow the Yin Thunder Umbrella upon us, he even granted us a rather fine artifact-refining method despite Senior Sister's rude words. This can only mean that Old Ancestor Tong Hui was in an exceptionally good mood. Since he promised us these things before so many cultivators under such circumstances, he naturally could not bear a grudge over it afterward, much less vent his anger upon the Profound Heaven Sect. I also know that Uncle-Master Hengyuan fears that Senior Sister and I will bring disaster upon the Profound Heaven Sect, but in truth, we will not."

Though the middle-aged cultivator's expression did not change, he was deeply surprised within. He looked at Wang Li, shook his head, and said, "Even if I believe what you say is true, even if Old Ancestor Tong Hui regards you and Lü Shenliang with special favor, it should still be true that you have angered the other cultivators of the Huayang Sect. Given Old Ancestor Tong Hui's status, since he personally spoke those words, he naturally cannot deal with you again. But the cultivators of the Huayang Sect will be the trouble in the future."

"If it truly causes trouble in the future, Senior Sister and I will bear it all ourselves." Wang Li nodded and said calmly, "After all, they also know very well that Senior Sister and I only cultivate on this lone peak within the Profound Heaven Sect, and have no connection with its other peaks. If they believe we forcibly took advantage of them, they will not deal with the other peaks of the Profound Heaven Sect either, since those other peaks gained nothing from this."

The middle-aged cultivator was instantly choked with anger.

In truth, now that things had reached this point, he had come to the lone peak under orders mainly to make Wang Li hand over some of the gains. After all, a Purity Returning Spirit Pill and five million spirit sand were no small sum to the Profound Heaven Sect.

Yet Wang Li had directly blocked every word he had intended to say next, leaving him exceedingly uncomfortable.

"Master."

At that moment, the young cultivator behind him slightly bowed and saluted him. "May I speak with Junior Brother Wang Li alone?"

The middle-aged cultivator's gaze flickered slightly, and his expression eased a little. "Fine."

The white-robed young cultivator moved like a white feather lifted by the wind, gently landing not far from Wang Li's side.

The middle-aged cultivator on the dark-gold giant sword also seemed unwilling to look at Wang Li any longer. He merely turned away indifferently, and the dark-gold giant sword retreated into the night behind him.

Only after the giant sword had become tiny even within the night did the white-robed young cultivator, standing motionless, look at Wang Li with a faintly wistful smile. "Junior Brother Wang Li, how many years has it been since we last met?"

"I can't remember." Wang Li smiled faintly as well. "Perhaps more than ten years."

The white-robed young cultivator quietly looked at Wang Li for a moment, then sighed softly. "We have still grown distant... Among that batch of fellow disciples back then, you and I were originally the closest."

Wang Li nodded. "That was indeed so at the time."

An indescribable emotion appeared in the white-robed young cultivator's eyes again. "Junior Brother, even if it is merely for the sake of our shared sect, I must remind you: if you wish to pass through this safely, you and Senior Sister Lü must ultimately surrender some of the benefits you obtained. The Sect Master and the others' patience has its limits. Before, they naturally had to fear Senior Sister Lü self-detonating her Golden Core and perishing with them together. But the future is different. As far as I know, the Sect Master has already reached the Sixth Level of Golden Core, and he has acquired a piece of Azure Wood Exotic Source to merge into his Profound Heaven Sword Qi. Before long, even if Senior Sister Lü wishes to self-detonate her Golden Core and perish with him, he will have sufficient means to protect himself."

"Thank you for your kind reminder, Senior Brother." Wang Li listened to these words, but his face remained utterly calm, like a pool of frozen autumn water without the slightest ripple. "But Senior Brother, do you remember when I entered Lone Peak?"

The white-robed young cultivator was slightly taken aback. After some thought, he said, "Fifteen years ago?"

Wang Li laughed. His smile was inexplicably bright. Rather than give the exact time, he said, "When I was not yet at the Second Level of Qi Refining."

The white-robed young cultivator lowered his head slightly. He understood what Wang Li meant.

At that time, Wang Li had been as weak as a true ant, yet he had come to Lone Peak even then.

The white-robed young cultivator turned around.

He took a deep breath, looked toward the not-so-distant peaks of the Profound Heaven Sect, and slowly exhaled. "Junior Brother, I am already at the Ninth Level of Qi Refining. At most, I should be able to attempt Foundation Establishment next year. You should understand that if you were willing to lower your head, your cultivation progress should not fall behind mine."

Wang Li smiled. "I am already at the Sixth Level of Qi Refining as well."

The white-robed young cultivator blanked.

He truly did not understand what Wang Li meant by that.

Could the Sixth Level of Qi Refining possibly be something to take pride in before the Ninth Level of Qi Refining?

Moreover, Wang Li's face had seemed strangely pale just now, as though his spiritual sense had suffered a tremendous impact. Could it be that after staying on Lone Peak with Lü Shenliang for so long, Wang Li's spiritual sense had also become abnormal?

But Wang Li's smile faded at that moment.

He was silent for a moment, then said softly yet seriously, "Senior Brother Chen, do not come to Lone Peak again in the future."

The white-robed young cultivator was startled at once and asked instinctively, "Why?"

"There is still some old affection between us. If we keep putting on false faces for each other, it will only be unpleasant. If you come and I give you no face, that will be even more unpleasant."

Wang Li did not look at his face. He merely looked at the ever-increasing spiritual lights gleaming from the peaks of the Profound Heaven Sect in the night. "So do not meet again in the future."

Hearing those light yet utterly resolute words, the white-robed young cultivator's breathing grew heavy, but he could not speak.

Then he heard Wang Li softly add, "If you come again, I fear Senior Sister will make a move."