Nalan Jie

A heavy iron long blade carved an arc through the air, and the sand and dust on the ground were swept up by the fierce wind, turning into a sandstorm that rolled outward.

"Whoosh—"

The old man, still hale enough, sank his strength and swung the Jet Black Long Blade. Its weight of over a thousand jin sat steady in his hands, stirring up wind, sand, and waves of earth across the courtyard, faintly sketching the shape of a beast.

Yet within that grand momentum, his face carried the pallor of someone newly recovered from a grave illness. His body, already somewhat collapsed and wasted, wore only a white inner shirt, washed until it had turned a cold gray.

His disheveled, withered beard and hair were even more eye-catching, making him look like a prisoner allowed out for exercise.

"Clang!"

"Hah... hah..."

Nalan Jie swung one final blow, then thrust the long blade hard into the ground. His originally steady, mighty aura instantly collapsed, and he leaned on the hilt, panting without stop, his expression seeming even darker.

Brand Poison...

The old man clutched his chest tightly, easing the pain, and gritted his teeth as he straightened.

Even Pill King Gu He has no way to remove this damned thing... Am I, Nalan Jie, truly going to die at the hands of that beast?!

The thought that he might fall in such a stifled, humiliating way filled Nalan Jie with unwillingness. At his current age, if everything went smoothly, it was not impossible for him to make an attempt at the Dou Emperor level before his death.

More importantly, he absolutely could not fall now.

The Misty Cloud Sect was now fully managed by those stubborn old fossils, and their intention to stir up the winds and clouds by relying on Sect Master Yun Yun's cultivation realm was plain for all to see.

Jia Xingtian had little time left, and the Jia Ma Imperial Family had no worthy successor. Before long, they would certainly make a move.

It was precisely because of this that the forces that had lain dormant all across the empire for so long were all beginning to stir. There were no small number of Dou Ling and Dou Wang who had been developing in the shadows.

The situation with the Mittel, whose reach extended throughout the land, was also hard to say. The Ice Emperor, who had once had hopes of striking the Dou Zong realm, had been without news for a long time. Without the protection of that great figure, they would likely be dragged into the turmoil as well.

As for the Xiao Clan?

To be kicked out of the game right when the chaos began might, perhaps, count as a kind of fortune...

Nalan Jie let out a deep, drawn-out sigh as though his breath had been cut off.

Nalan Su. That disappointing son of his was only a Dou Ling now. If he managed to so much as brush against the Dou Wang realm within twenty years, then Nalan Jie would count himself wrong.

If the state of the world changed, the Nalan Family, who had clung tightly to the imperial family generation after generation, would likely be the first to be swept into the storm.

The only comfort was that a genius had appeared among the younger generation, and had even risen all the way to the position of Young Sect Master.

Although placing bets on both sides drew far too much criticism, what else could he do? Jia Xingtian, Yun Yun, Hai Bodong—any one of them could suppress and kill him with one hand. Without the strength of a Dou Emperor, he could not even stay outside the situation.

"Sigh~ I only hope Yanran can amount to something..."

Nalan Jie's eyes were filled with exhaustion.

"Marshal!"

A figure clad entirely in black soft armor rushed over from the treetops in the distance, landed, and knelt, his expression panicked. "This subordinate... this subordinate has something important to report!"

What matter could be so urgent? Nalan Jie frowned as he looked at the Dark Guard. Surely it could not be another disturbance at the border? "Speak."

"Young Sect Master Nalan has returned to the sect..." When it came time to say it aloud, this Dark Guard looked at his face and began stammering, unable to explain himself clearly.

Returned to the sect? When had she left the Misty Cloud Sect?

Nalan Jie was slightly stunned. "It is merely coming and going from the sect. Why report it to me?"

"She... came back from Wutan City..."

The Dark Guard's voice suddenly dropped.

Wutan City!

The moment those three words entered his ears, Nalan Jie's drooping eyelids suddenly lifted. A surging crimson color dyed its way across his head and face, pouring into his eyes. "She! Went to the Xiao Clan?!"

The sand and dust that had only just settled were blasted apart by his furious roar, then driven out of the courtyard by the erupting waves of Dou Qi.

Nalan Jie's beard and hair flew wildly, sharp with force. Blood Qi similar to Xiao Yan's actually steamed from his body, only the red glow on him carried a dark crimson hue, constantly releasing a foul, mixed, bloody aura.

"Speak! Whatever else you know, tell this old man everything!"

The Dark Guard only felt as though he were facing a primordial vicious beast, and in a trembling voice, he spilled out the entire incident from beginning to end.

"Pfft..."

A mouthful of rebellious blood surged to his throat, but Nalan Jie forcibly choked it down. Like a walking corpse or wooden puppet, he stiffly stepped half a pace forward.

The Sect Master had given tacit permission, let her decide for herself, and never asked again...

Another half step.

A Da Dou Shi and a Dou Zhe disciple had accompanied her...

Another half step.

She had taken the Qi Gathering Powder saved from Yanran's cultivation...

Nalan Jie abruptly stopped in place and struggled to raise his head toward the distance, letting the sunlight stab into his eyes.

A visiting card...

Misty Cloud Sect! "Pfft—"

"Marshal!" The Dark Guard hurriedly caught the old man as he toppled over.

A mass of black blood sprayed out. Nalan Jie's face was already tightly covered in pitch-black deathly aura, and the Brand Poison he had barely managed to suppress surged back upward, seizing nearly half his meridians in one breath.

His life hung by a thread.

"Marshal, I'll go find someone right now!" The Dark Guard was thrown into a panic.

Smack!

Nalan Jie grabbed his clothes in one hand, his eyes staring fixedly, even carrying a trace of the will to seek death. But after a long while, he slowly let go and waved at the Dark Guard.

He had to live. No matter what, he had to cling to life.

The Nalan Family still needed him to hold the fort.

"Dou... Emperor..."

Nalan Jie glared toward the rolling mountains in the distance, foul black blood seeping through his teeth.

"Yanran."

Yun Yun opened her eyes. Seeing that the girl before her was distracted, she did not think too much of it. "I heard you only brought two or three people with you for the annulment of marriage?"

"Yes..."

Nalan Yanran's voice drifted, her eyes dodging away.

To have such an important matter wrapped up so hastily—if Grandfather found out, he would probably be unhappy.

"You, honestly~"

Yun Yun sighed and shook her head.

Nalan Jie was notorious for his bad temper. After losing so much face this time, he would probably stir up quite a few troubles, and cleaning up afterward would not be easy.

Forget it. She should send over some compensation as a gesture.

"Elder Yun Leng."

"Present!"

Yun Leng stepped forward and bowed, and in the gap between his movements, he even winked at Nalan, his face full of smiles.

"?"

Nalan Yanran only found it baffling.

Looking around again, she saw that many old men were gazing at her with incomparably warm eyes. Even those who had opposed her becoming Young Sect Master now had their eyes shining.

Little did she know that, in the eyes of these stubborn old fossils, Nalan, as the Young Sect Master of the Misty Cloud Sect, had fiercely slapped the empire's die-hard Nalan Family across the face. That meant she had dealt a heavy blow to the imperial faction's arrogance.

It could also count as a counterattack against the empire's troops stationed in the Imperial Capital.

"Go to Pill King and request a Dou Ling Pill. Send it to the Nalan Residence today."

"Yes!"

Yun Leng first bowed and accepted the order. After a pause, he raised his head slightly again. "And the name this pill should be listed under is..."

Yun Yun swept him a glance.

"Put it on the public account for now. When the time comes, deduct the surplus from my cultivation expenses and fill the gap."

How could she not know what Yun Leng was thinking? It was nothing more than wanting her to have more personal entanglements with Gu He, giving him more chances to pursue her, while also using the opportunity to squeeze out more benefits.

If she requested the pill in her own name, who knew what unpleasantness might arise.

Even if these methods were all for the Misty Cloud Sect's benefit, she still could not stand them.

"I obey the Sect Master's command."

Yun Leng was somewhat disappointed, but at the thought that he could go see Nalan Jie's stifled expression, his mood immediately brightened again.

Hmph! That old thing...

He was actually still clinging stubbornly to his fantasies about the empire. Wouldn't it be better to attach himself under my Misty Cloud Sect sooner? If someone from the Hall of Souls called Nalan Jie, would it—

Nalan Jie-heh-heh-heh-heh-heh-heh-heh...