The scholar knew nothing of this background, and Xi Wuchou offered no explanation. Sword in hand, he mounted his horse and set off for Yin City, nearly a thousand li away.
But who was this Xi Wuchou, who dared pursue his quarry to the very gates of the Prince of Zhenbei, commander of a hundred thousand frontier soldiers, to kill his son?
He was no imperial noble, no scion of a distinguished house, no true disciple of a great sect, nor any high official of Phoenix Pool.
He was merely a commoner with a sword.
And that only made his courage and righteousness shine all the brighter.
Yet when it came to his life's experiences, no true disciple or noble scion could compare.
Indeed: honored guest of the Eastern Sea, foremost sword of Heaven's Gate; revered throughout the Western Desert, named upon the Crane List. An old ghost taught him the sword, the Immortal Bestowed Eye; one call in the Divine Capital, and Bian answered first!
Though these titles might not have earned so much as a smile from the Prince of Zhenbei, when Xi Wuchou said he would kill someone, there was no reason to let that person live.
Pei Ye could not help interrupting again. "Enough, I know he's impressive. Get on with the story."
Zhang Siche pursed his lips, still reluctant to leave the subject, then continued.
When Xi Wuchou arrived in Yin City, news of the Prince of Zhenbei's new heir was spreading through the streets. After making a few inquiries, he headed straight for the prince's residence.
Perhaps Heaven had eyes after all. The Prince of Zhenbei happened to be away on an inspection tour that day, and a banquet was being held at his residence so friends and acquaintances could meet the young man.
Sitting in the darkness, Xi Wuchou watched the cups pass back and forth. A pale-faced young man with slender brows sat obediently beside the knees of an old lady in splendid robes. He had found his target.
After waiting quietly for a long while, he saw the man leave the banquet. Xi Wuchou followed unseen, then tapped his shoulder. "Young Master Gao."
Gao Muzhen turned and saw a man of exceptional bearing. Though his clothes were unlike those worn at the banquet, he looked perfectly at ease, as if this princely residence were no place to feel constrained.
Gao Muzhen was newly arrived and still treading carefully, so he smiled. "Forgive my ignorance, brother. May I ask which family's young master I have the honor of meeting?"
"Wanxiu of Kui Residence Mountain. Do you know her?"
Gao Muzhen's expression changed abruptly. "Brother... what do you mean?"
"So you really did it?"
Gao Muzhen's thoughts raced. He did not know which family intended to use this scandal to trip him up. He might conceal one of the deeds he had committed in the first half of his life, but not all of them. Denial was useless now, so he lifted his head. "That woman tried to assassinate me. Do you actually know the circumstances, brother?"
The man before him nodded and gave a faint smile. "I've come to finish what she started."
Gao Muzhen's heart clenched. Close-fitting clothes, a sword, the dust of travel... all those details that did not fit flooded his mind at once. The man before him had already drawn his sword.
The villain was about to lose his head when a voice rang out: "Stop!"
Pei Ye looked up with a frown. "Why stop there?"
Zhang Siche leaned against the wall. "It's your turn again. Come back and hear the rest."
Half the people in the cavern were already gone. No pairs remained leaning against each other. Every survivor was bloodied, silent, and hardened.
"[Nineteen] wins. Next pair: [Twenty-one], [Twenty-four]."
Pei Ye rose. The flowing deep-blue liquid had long since restored his body to peak condition. This opponent was a young man about his height, with a paper-white face, a thin torso, and equally long arms and legs. He resembled the little insect called an "oil seller" that skated across the water.
The man walked out silently with his head lowered, never once looking at Pei Ye. Pei Ye followed close behind.
Passing along this path again, Pei Ye began trying to piece together these shocking scars of destruction and the name "Zhu Gaoyang."
Such power, capable of tearing mountains apart and severing rivers...
By Pei Ye's own intuition, if a grandmaster like Jing Ziwang felt a tier below divine beasts such as Qiongqi and Black Chi, then Zhu Gaoyang bridged that gap.
If someone said Zhu Gaoyang could pin Chi's head against a mountain and hammer it with his fists, Pei Ye would not have found the image particularly jarring.
No wonder the Immortal Platform had sent him to deal with the Immortal Hunter's descent into the world.
At that thought, he simply called into his belly, "Hey, you probably couldn't beat this Zhu Gaoyang, could you?"
Black Chi was silent for a moment. "It's not as though I couldn't fight him at all."
Oh, saving face.
Pei Ye considered this, then changed the subject. "Is he the helper you mentioned that day?"
"Probably, but I've never met him. I only sensed someone elsewhere sharing the pressure on me."
"Oh."
"..."
"Little Chi."
"Mm."
"I'm sorry."
"It's all right."
"Can you come save me?"
"...Where do you think Qiongqi went after leaving?"
"Hmm... it got stronger after eating Lord Jing, didn't it? Are you running away with your tail between your legs?"
"Mm-hmm. Better than all of you fighting to become mothers."
"Ah, if only you'd really formed a pact with that Ming Qitian from the other day. Then maybe both of us could be saved."
"You sound like the sort of man in a storybook who sells his wife for wealth and glory."
"Huh? You've read storybooks?"
"...I don't know where these memories came from either. Perhaps my soul wasn't born in this body."
"If I get out, I'll help you ask around and find out whether other Immortal Hunters also come into the world with memories already in their heads."
"Thank you. I remember having another name."
"What?"
"I'll tell you later."
"Oh."
"I also remember something I must accomplish."
"You'll tell me later?"
"No, I can tell you now. Do you want to hear it?"
"Sure. Why wouldn't I?"
"All I remember is that I have to..."
"Do what?"
"Kill the Supreme One True Dragon Immortal Lord."
"..."
"Scared?"
"I'm just an ordinary person who doesn't even have a dantian seed."
"Everything will be all right. Everything will come."
Chapter 43: The Second Kill
Leaving his conversation with Black Chi there, he arrived once more at the familiar arena.
With experience behind him, Pei Ye stepped in first this time. Looking up, he saw that the pearl overhead had grown larger and more fathomless.
As he watched his opponent enter from the other side, the liquid within him surged again, noticeably more violently this time. A strange thought suddenly came to Pei Ye: If I cut open a blood vessel now, would deep-blue blood flow out?
There was no more time for idle thoughts. The two men facing each other finished "arming" themselves in an instant and lunged fiercely at one another.
To live another hour, to receive that exalted seed, each had to kill the opponent before him.
The man's unusually long limbs now proved their worth. He moved on all fours, like a spider or a flea, his movements following an entirely different course from those of someone standing on two legs. His hands could serve as feet, and his feet as hands, leaving Pei Ye distinctly uncomfortable.
After taking a "kick" from an arm, Pei Ye activated Quail Head without hesitation.
This was his signature means of maneuvering through danger. Though it was immensely precious and ought to be saved for later, if he died here, there would be no later to consider.
With Quail Head lending its power unstintingly, his opponent's movements were broken down step by step. This ability from the celestial official Quail Bird was as powerful as ever. Not only did it grant an overwhelming advantage against those of equal cultivation, Pei Ye even suspected it could support a kill across realms, such as seventh growth against eighth growth.
Unfortunately, Pei Ye had faced such absurdly powerful opponents over the past few days that ever since he left the wine cellar, its brilliance had seemed dimmed.
Now, in an evenly matched fight, it displayed the effortless mastery of Cook Ding carving an ox. Once he had grown a little accustomed to his opponent's habits, Pei Ye caught and guided a hand aside, slipped past the attack, and stamped down with ruthless precision, snapping the man's shinbone.
A spider with a severed limb, a flea missing a leg-with his opponent injured like that, victory followed naturally.
Watching the tentacles extending from his belly feast once more inside his opponent's abdomen, Pei Ye could not help marveling.
Quail Head really is useful. Its only flaw is that it doesn't last long enough.
After reaching the third stage, the liquid available for him to command doubled again. This time, Pei Ye felt more distinctly that the "true qi" within him should be about equal to Lin Lin's, roughly equivalent to an ordinary martial artist's Fifth Growth Meridian Tree.
The cocoon of light had also grown more intricate and darkly profound, one step closer to maturity.
Pei Ye speculated about the Torchworld Cult's intentions. Once the final host emerged, it would have to merge with that seed, which was currently with Qiongqi.
Black Chi had said Qiongqi's behavior was nothing like that of a normal Immortal Hunter. Did those sudden leaps in strength and uncanny, almost indefensible abilities come from this seed?
But what Qiongqi was using had yet to hatch. Once the seed entered the cocoon of light and hatched, whom did the Torchworld Cult intend to have command it? And how would they command it?
A term suddenly flashed through his mind, and Pei Ye drew a breath.
It was that cool, pleasant female voice.
"Have you heard of a book circulating in this region-or, perhaps, a miraculous martial art?"
"It may be called the 'Dantian Seed Immortal Method.'"
Pei Ye pondered the connections between these pieces of information. On his way back, he once again saw the marks Zhu Gaoyang had left.
More than whatever the Torchworld Cult was plotting, the question of when Zhu Gaoyang would arrive directly concerned his chances of survival.
Pei Ye put himself in Zhu Gaoyang's position and considered how he might thwart the Torchworld Cult's plans.
There were only two avenues: the seed and the cocoon of light. He could kill Qiongqi or come destroy the cocoon.
Killing Qiongqi needed no further discussion. But if he intended to come to this valley, neither too early nor too late would do. Too early, and the cocoons would still be scattered among many people, making them difficult to deal with. Too late, and he would effectively be standing by while the Torchworld Cult succeeded.
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