The Great Tide Approaches

A moment later.

Deng Baiyi sat on the bed with a complex expression, looking at the white-clad young man leaning against the windowsill.

"This is what you meant by... sleeping together?"

"What else?"

Xie Xuanyi looked at the street scene outside the window and said calmly, "Jiang Huang is small, but she moves a lot in her sleep, so I'm afraid you'll have to put up with it tonight."

Opening the bed curtains, Deng Baiyi realized that there was another person in the room.

That's right.

This little one had been sleeping the whole time, and she had almost forgotten her existence...

"What about you?" Deng Baiyi carefully covered Jiang Huang with the quilt, feeling a little uneasy.

"I don't need to sleep."

Xie Xuanyi shook his head, "You've been traveling for days, so get some rest. There will be 'trouble' ahead."

"More trouble?"

Deng Baiyi became nervous. She had thought that arriving at Carp Tide City would be the end of the journey, but now it seemed that this was not the case.

"Just some 'small troubles'. Don't worry, I will fulfill the things I promised earlier. I will arrange your father's residence in the imperial city and find you a reliable teacher."

Xie Xuanyi lowered his eyes and said slowly:

"In the past few days, most of your acupoints have been opened."

"Before long, you will be able to advance to the second realm and personally refine Qi. This cultivation speed is considered good even in a major sect. If you get guidance from a famous teacher, you can quickly become a pillar of the younger generation..."

Hearing this, Deng Baiyi silently lowered her head, hiding the fleeting disappointment in her eyes.

Xie Xuanyi was trying to send her away...

Thinking of this.

The cultivation tips that Xie Xuanyi mentioned later.

Were like the night wind blowing through the hall, passing by her ears.

She hummed a few perfunctory responses.

Xie Xuanyi saw that Deng Baiyi was absent-minded and didn't say anything more. Although they were in the same room, neither of them spoke again.

The small room fell into a long silence.

Perhaps because she had been traveling for too long, Deng Baiyi, who was sitting on the bed and thinking wildly, soon fell into a deep sleep, mumbling in her dreams.

Sitting by the window, Xie Xuanyi shook his head, got up to draw the curtains for her, and then silently closed the door and left.

As night fell, Carp Tide City was brightly lit and even more lively.

Wearing a mask and changing his face, Xie Xuanyi walked alone in the bustling streets.

His current face was very ordinary.

Walking on the street, he would not attract anyone's attention.

Ten years since he left the mortal world.

Carp Tide City was still the same as it was back then.

There were many martial artists selling their skills here. These people had excellent physical training and were all wandering heroes with unique skills, smashing stones on their chests and breathing fire from their mouths. A crowd of tourists threw copper coins as rewards.

If it were ten years ago.

He would definitely be one of the onlookers in the crowd, throwing copper coins.

But now, Xie Xuanyi had no interest in watching at all.

His gaze passed over the streets and alleys, over the bustling crowd, and turned to the high tower in the east of Carp Tide City. Birds flew across the top of the sky, flames soared into the clouds, and the distant tide crashed against the dam... also impacting Xie Xuanyi's heart.

"Buzz!"

In his heart, the long-lost sound of a flying sword rang out!

The strongest connection in the world is the connection between a cultivator and their natal object.

Once refined.

The cultivator and the natal object are bound together.

Natal, natal... the meaning of these two words is heavier than a thousand pounds.

Xie Xuanyi's sword is called [Chen Ke].

If [Chen Ke] is here, he is here.

If [Chen Ke] is broken, he will die.

The sword cultivator is with the sword, the sword cultivator can die but not kneel, and the flying sword can be broken but not bent.

Xie Xuanyi headed towards the Carp Tide City tower, the surrounding noise gradually fading, the lights dimming, until he reached a dam. Ahead lay the inky tide, crashing and churning in the night, spitting out countless white foams, like roaring Mighty Lions.

Countless tidal waves crashed against the dam.

The wild waves rolled.

A strong wind hit his face.

Having arrived, Xie Xuanyi could no longer hear the sound of the flying sword in his heart-lake.

He frowned, carefully sensing...

The world was incredibly noisy.

His heart-lake was deathly silent.

There was no sound of Chen Ke.

"The high tide is coming."

A calm voice suddenly echoed in the darkness.

Xie Xuanyi looked to his side.

A figure stood before the stone railing of the dam, as if it were a stone statue, seemingly integrated with the night...

But the moment their eyes met, every hair on Xie Xuanyi's body stood on end.

Though standing in the darkness, he wore white robes and had white hair!

Some people, you know their identity without even meeting them...

Without a doubt, this was the "mysterious Daoist" who had made a deal with Deng Baiyi.

Xie Xuanyi stepped back, throwing a talisman as his opening move!

With a deafening "boom,"

A huge burst of fire erupted in the darkness. This Primordial Breath Talisman containing Phoenix blood ignited in the night, the rolling flames expanding into a ball ten zhang in diameter. But the figure in the center didn't dodge, enduring the scorching flames. Not only did he show no sign of pain, but his eyes even held a hint of a smile.

"Xie Xuanyi, aren't you a sword cultivator?"

This mysterious Daoist was younger than Xie Xuanyi had imagined. Although he had a white beard and white hair, he appeared to be only middle-aged.

The white-robed Daoist spoke softly, "The Daoist Sect's art of talismans isn't very effective against me."

The next moment.

Golden Qi shot out. Xie Xuanyi retreated, pointing his fingers at the figure standing in the darkness.

"Swish, swish, swish!"

The amount of Qi in the acupoints was extremely small.

But Xie Xuanyi was determined to use it, managing to squeeze out a little.

With a crisp "bang,"

The flying sword formed from Golden Qi instantly pierced through the void, arriving directly before the white-robed Daoist. Facing this attack, the white-robed Daoist no longer resisted head-on, but slightly tilted his body, dodging it. The flying sword instantly returned, colliding with the white robe, emitting a violent sound of metal clashing.

The Daoist was like a willow catkin, drifting with the wind, lightly skimming a long distance, before landing on the surging river.

He asked with a smile, "The killing intent of this sword is almost overflowing, what's with the animosity between you and me?"

Xie Xuanyi was expressionless.

He stared intently at the white-robed Daoist before him, coldly saying, "What you and me... Are you and I acquainted?"

"Some people remain strangers despite a lifetime, while others become friends at first acquaintance."

The Daoist was still full of smiles, speaking softly, "There is more to this world than just black and white... Xie Xuanyi, even if we can't be friends, we don't necessarily have to be enemies."

These words did not improve Xie Xuanyi's expression.

He still stared intently at the white-robed Daoist...

Xie Xuanyi's rationality told him.

This white-robed Daoist was an extremely dangerous existence, his cultivation realm unfathomable.

Yet his heart-lake did not sound an "alert."

This was terrifying.

The white-robed Daoist smiled, "As a last resort, even if you don't like me, I did save your life after all. Now that we've met, why resort to swords and blades?"

"So..."

Xie Xuanyi clenched the golden Qi sword in his palm, coldly saying, "The layout in Jade Pearl Town, the one who has been scheming until now, is you?"

Ever since waking up in Jade Pearl Town, every step he took felt like a puppet with its strings being pulled.

He had always suspected that this was the work of the white-robed Daoist... Originally, Xie Xuanyi was worried that the mastermind was deeply hidden, unwilling to show his face no matter what.

But as it seemed now.

This guy was much more "frank" than he had imagined.

"How can this be considered scheming?"

The white-robed Daoist wore a sorrowful expression, sighing with emotion. "Thinking back to that battle ten years ago, after fighting for a thousand li, you were already at the end of your rope, your body's acupoints shattered. Under those circumstances, even if you hadn't thrown yourself into the sea, you were as good as dead. Tell me, how great is the debt of saving your life? It wouldn't be excessive for me to take some things as repayment... would it?"

Xie Xuanyi frowned.

The white-robed Daoist smiled. "You obtained the true teachings of Lotus Peak of the Great Grain Sword Palace, your soul techniques are unparalleled in the world, allowing you to foresee the future... You already know in your heart whether what I said earlier is true or false. If I really wanted to scheme against you, why would the warning from the thread of fate disappear after leaving Tai'an City?"

Indeed.

After killing Xu You, the unease from the thread of fate had vanished.

But that wasn't enough to put Xie Xuanyi at ease.

He was certain that this was the first time in his life he'd seen this face...

To be able to save him from death ten years ago.

To bring the dead back to life, to restore flesh to bones, even a Golden Immortal of the Great Firmament wouldn't be able to do much better!

How could he not have heard of such a person?

"You... who exactly are you?"

Xie Xuanyi stared at the white-robed Daoist, asking the deepest doubt in his heart.

"A pleasure to meet you for the first time."

The white-robed Daoist bowed slightly, offering a greeting, and said softly, "This humble Daoist is Lu Yuzhen, a name of little significance, not worth mentioning."