The moon shone bright, and the stars were sparse.
Ye Xi took his leave of Ye Qingge and stepped outside. Night had already fallen, and a cool breeze stirred.
He looked out over the mountains, where scattered campfires flickered.
Some places were brightly lit. Those belonged to great sects that used no campfires, but instead summoned magical treasures to light the night.
The treasures hung overhead like moons, shining with brilliant light.
One entry in Immortal Great Emperor's Diary had packed the entire area within hundreds of miles of Cangwu Mountain with people.
It was quite a lively scene!
"The day after tomorrow is the decisive battle with the An Clan!"
Ye Xi murmured, hesitating for a moment before flying into the darkness.
The next instant.
He was already atop a ten-thousand-zhang peak. He cupped his hands toward the ground and said, "Mistress! Your disciple, Ye Xi, has come to pay his respects!"
The mountain wilderness was silent.
The only answer was the faint chirping of insects and the rustling branches swaying in the wind.
Ye Xi had no choice but to try again. "Mistress..."
But before he could finish, the earth beneath his feet shuddered. With a loud crack, a fissure split open.
Rolling black mist billowed out of the crevice.
From within the darkness, a pair of sharp eyes fixed on Ye Xi, and a voice rang out:
"I told you long ago, I'm not your mistress!"
"Are you trying to get yourself killed, boy?"
Ye Xi only smiled, unfazed. "Mistress, I often hear Master talk about you..."
"He says you're the gentlest, kindest, and most understanding person he's ever met. You may speak harshly, but deep down, you're pure and kind."
Ye Xi paused, then continued, "He also says you're sharp-tongued but soft-hearted..."
The indistinct figure within the black mist swayed faintly.
Her pale violet eyes softened a little.
"That's enough. Stop talking!"
Great Emperor Zhitong cut straight to the point. "What exactly do you want me to do?"
Ye Xi's face lit up with delight. After a moment's thought, he explained some of his plans.
Half an hour later.
As Ye Xi prepared to leave, he took out a box and handed it to Great Emperor Zhitong. "Mistress!"
"Before Master left, he prepared this gift especially for you. He told me I had to give it to you in person!"
Great Emperor Zhitong fell silent. For a long while, not a sound came from within the black mist.
At last,
she took the box and opened it. Inside was a single red bean seed.
Great Emperor Zhitong looked puzzled. "Why would he send me a red bean seed out of the blue?"
Ye Xi only smiled. Then he softly recited:
"Red beans grow in the southern lands; when spring arrives, how many branches will they adorn? I hope you gather them in abundance—for they are the thing that bears the deepest longing."
As Ye Xi's voice faded, two streams of tears had already run down Great Emperor Zhitong's face.
Great Emperor Zhitong murmured, "I hope you gather them in abundance—for they are the thing that bears the deepest longing."
"But back then, why did you..."
Ye Xi waited a moment before replying, "Mistress, though I don't know what happened,"
"Master must have had his reasons back then, right? When he returns, he'll explain everything to you."
After speaking, Ye Xi cupped his hands once more and drifted away.
In the blink of an eye, he vanished into the night.
He thought to himself, I'm really going all out for Master and his mistresses' happiness!
A long while later,
Great Emperor Zhitong gazed at the red bean in her hand as if it were a priceless treasure. Only after a long time did she give a cold snort and say:
"Fine. Let's see how you talk your way out of it when the time comes!"
Three days passed in the blink of an eye.
At dawn,
the eastern horizon had only just begun to pale when the An Clan's three ancestors emerged from seclusion.
An Shanyuan led the An Clan's strongest cultivators, all of them standing ready.
In half an hour, the An Clan would face a life-or-death showdown.
The outcome would determine whether the entire clan lived or died!
Dressed in a dark robe, An Yujun calmly surveyed the crowd and smiled.
"Let's go. Since the An Clan dared to propose this duel, we shouldn't keep our fellow cultivators waiting."
Figures shot up into the sky above the An Clan's grounds.
Then, like a swarm of locusts, they flew toward the distant, seemingly endless mountain range.
The duel would take place on a plain several hundred miles from Cangwu Mountain.
The plain stretched as far as the eye could see.
It was perfect for watching the battle—and for both sides to unleash their full might!
By now, the once-empty plain was already surrounded by a sea of people, with forces from every direction gathered there.
Yuan Ruoyu, Ye Qingge, and the others were among the crowd.
Superpowers like the Jade Pool Holy Land and the Liyue Immortal Dynasty naturally occupied the central area.
Those farther back could only use their spiritual power to get a glimpse.
Of course, in a battle of this level, standing too close carried its own risks.
When Mahayana Realm cultivators went all out, even the shockwaves of their battle were more than ordinary cultivators could withstand.
A sound of rushing wind came from the distance.
Everyone looked up, their faces brightening with even greater excitement.
They were thrilled!
The An Clan had arrived. The duel was about to begin!
Quite a few cultivators looked at the An Clan with admiration. In circumstances like these, they had actually dared to show up and fight.
Before this, many had wondered whether the so-called duel was just a ploy by the An Clan.
Perhaps they were only trying to buy time to move the secrets of Cangwu Mountain...
But now, everyone believed it: the An Clan truly meant to challenge every force that had come, relying on the strength of the entire clan!
Such courage was worthy of admiration.
The An Clan slowly descended along one side of the open plain. Every one of them looked grave, as if facing a formidable enemy.
An Shanyuan stepped forward, his voice infused with spiritual power.
"Today is the day of our agreed duel. The An Clan keeps its word and has come to fight!"
An Shanyuan took a breath and continued, "This will be a fair duel. Life and death are on the line!"
"At the same time, I hope you fellow cultivators will remember: if the An Clan is fortunate enough to win, you will each leave and never bring this matter up again!"
As his words fell, most of the allied forces nodded repeatedly.
If the great experts chosen by so many factions lost to the An Clan, what right would they have to demand that anyone reveal Cangwu Mountain's secrets?
"Since that's settled, let's begin!"
An Shanyuan slowly withdrew. One of the An Clan's ancestors rose into the air.
A peerless aura burst forth. An Yuheng shouted, "An Yuheng of the An Clan! Who dares to face me?"
Yuan Ruoyu narrowed her eyes as she studied An Yuheng, her expression grave.
The An Clan's three ancestors had once been famed figures in the Cultivation World.
Each had been a prodigy who led an entire era.
It was only in recent years, as the An Clan rose to prominence and the three ancestors spent most of their time in seclusion, that many had forgotten their renown.
A moment later,
the Jade Pool Holy Land's Great Elder, Cang Yuan, rose into the air as well, his aura climbing higher and higher.
"Cang Yuan of the Jade Pool Holy Land. I've come to cross hands with you, Fellow Daoist An!"
The two faced each other from dozens of yards apart, their gazes clashing.
The crowd had agreed that Cang Yuan would be the first to fight.
In that instant, the noisy crowd fell completely silent.
The silence was almost frightening!
Everyone present held their breath without realizing it, their eyes fixed on the two figures in the sky.
This first duel carried enormous weight!
"Who do you think will win?"
"Hard to say!"
"I'm betting on Cang Yuan. He's the Jade Pool Holy Land's Great Elder, with countless cultivation resources at his disposal, and he's a peerless talent in his own right!"
"Don't be so sure. Every one of the An Clan's three ancestors was once a towering figure!"
"Besides, the An Clan rose quickly and has no shortage of resources either!"
After a brief lull, the crowd erupted like a thunderclap.
In an instant, voices surged everywhere.
All kinds of loud, overlapping discussion rose without end.
Ye Qingge watched the two figures, her expression icy. No one could tell what she was thinking.
Yuan Ruoyu looked just as solemn.
But in a corner of the sky, atop a single leaf,
Ye Xi was sitting there in high spirits, eating hotpot. He seemed entirely unconcerned about the duel.
Qiao Xi rolled her eyes at him. "You're in the fight too. You're about to take the field, and you're still thinking about a feast?"
Ye Xi answered as if it were obvious, "If I don't eat my fill, where am I supposed to get the strength to fight?"
"..."
Qiao Xi was speechless. You're a Mahayana Realm expert, for heaven's sake. If you need a full stomach to find the strength to fight, the rest of us might as well drop dead.
She looked at Ye Xi, a complicated glint passing through her eyes...
At first, Qiao Xi had thought Ye Xi was the scion of some cultivation clan. Only later had she discovered that he was a great Mahayana Realm expert!
And she had looked into it: there really wasn't a single cultivation clan with the surname Nicholas.
Qiao Xi found the man before her increasingly impossible to fathom. He was a complete mystery.
Her thoughts were in a tangle.
Ye Xi looked up at her and said, "Eat up. Why aren't you eating? It'll get tough if you overcook it! You have to eat it while it's tender!"
Meanwhile, the two figures facing off on the plain finally moved.
An Yuheng let out a cold laugh and shook his head. "Be careful, Fellow Daoist Cang Yuan!"
As his voice fell, his aura surged even higher!
An astonishing pressure crashed down like a landslide and a tidal wave.
At that moment, everyone was stunned!
This pressure belonged to a Great Emperor!
An Yuheng of the An Clan wasn't a late-stage Mahayana Realm cultivator—he was a Great Emperor in the Tribulation Transcendence Realm!
Before you continue