Passing Messages Through the Earth Book

So it turns out that Number Seven really is the Holy Son of the Heavenly Sect. I didn't expect to run into him here. Chu Yuanzhen's eyes flashed, and he became somewhat interested in Number Seven, whom he had never met before.

Back when Li Miaozhen was in Yunzhou suppressing bandits, the members of the Heaven and Earth Society knew that Number Seven had an extremely close relationship with her. Otherwise, they wouldn't have entrusted the fragments of the Earth Book to Li Miaozhen for safekeeping when they were being chased.

Considering the Heavenly Sect's system of having Holy Sons and Holy Daughters, it's not hard to guess that Number Seven is very likely the Heavenly Sect's Holy Son, Li Miaozhen's senior or junior brother.

However, Li Miaozhen herself remained tight-lipped about this and never mentioned it, so the speculation is just that—speculation—and has not been confirmed.

Now, after hearing Li Miaozhen's words, Chu Yuanzhen truly confirmed that Number Seven was indeed the Holy Son of the Heavenly Sect.

Phew, finally I can see a normal disciple of the Heavenly Sect. Chu Yuanzhen thought to himself.

He was fed up with Li Miaozhen. It was one thing for her to stand up for justice and eliminate evil, but she also liked to be generous with her money. What did she rely on to make a living in the martial arts world? It was nothing more than money.

At their lowest point, the three of them couldn't even afford to stay in an inn.

Li Miaozhen explained this by saying, "For us, what's the difference between sleeping outdoors and staying in a guesthouse?"

Chu Yuanzhen was speechless.

Xu Qi'an is so much better. If I traveled the world with him, I would definitely eat and drink well, taste all the local delicacies, see all the local scenery, and go to brothels or Imperial Academy of Music at night.

Let's go!

Li Miaozhen was the first to step into the inn. It was not mealtime, and there were only a few scattered drinkers in the lobby.

She went straight to the inn's counter and asked the innkeeper, "Has a very handsome young man checked in?"

Li Miaozhen was very confident that with that scumbag's appearance, the shopkeeper would definitely remember her if he had ever seen her.

The shopkeeper thought for a moment, then hesitated and asked, "What kind of handsome? How handsome?"

Li Miaozhen turned around and pointed at Chu Yuanzhen: "He's even more handsome than him."

The shopkeeper glanced at Chu Yuanzhen's appearance and shook his head. "Never seen him before. This young master is exceptionally handsome, a rare find in this world. How could there be a more dashing man?"

Chu Yuanzhen sheathed his longsword with satisfaction.

Li Miaozhen frowned, pondered for a moment, and asked, "Have any Daoist priests stayed at the inn recently?"

"Have."

Who is it?

The shopkeeper's gaze swept over Li Miaozhen's shoulder, then looked behind her, and said, "She's right behind you."

Li Miaozhen was startled and turned around to see a beautiful woman with a cold and elegant demeanor appear behind the three of them. She was wearing a feathered robe, a lotus crown, long and straight eyebrows, and rare light blue eyes. Her features were exquisitely sculpted.

"Master."

Li Miaozhen was overjoyed and hurried to the cold and beautiful woman, saying:

"Master, why did you come down the mountain? What are you doing here? It's been two years since I last saw you. Your disciple has missed you so much. It's truly fate that we can meet here."

Bingyi Yuanjun looked at her indifferently. "I've been tracking you all the way here. Wherever the Flying Swallow Heroine goes, her fame spreads. She's not hard to find."

She paused, then said without a trace of joy or sorrow, "Based solely on your words just now, punishing you with three years of solitary confinement wouldn't be an exaggeration."

Even after a ten-year separation, when members of the Heavenly Sect meet, they should nod in greeting with expressionless faces.

Li Miaozhen stuck out her tongue. "I'm still training, you know. Before reaching the third rank, this disciple cannot comprehend the Supreme Dao of Forgetfulness."

She quickly introduced her friends to her master, "This is Chu Yuanzhen, Registered Disciple the Human Sect, who was originally the top scholar in the Great Feng Dynasty. This is Hengyuan, a martial monk from the Azure Dragon Temple."

Bingyi Yuanjun glanced at them indifferently. "Sword Embryo, Relic."

The four sat down at the table, and Bingyi Yuanjun said calmly, "After two years of traveling down the mountain, have you grasped the essence of the Supreme Forgetfulness?"

Li Miaozhen's eyes darted around erratically as she said, "Ah, this disciple is still working hard."

Ice-Yi Yuanjun coldly said, "Extend your hand."

Li Miaozhen did as instructed, bewildered.

A pale golden light shot out from Bingyi Yuanjun's sleeve, tightly binding Li Miaozhen's wrists.

"Spirit-Binding Rope?"

Li Miaozhen was taken aback, completely unprepared for this turn of events, and asked in astonishment, "Master, what are you doing?"

Bingyi Yuanjun's expression was cold, and her tone was equally emotionless. "By order of the Heavenly Venerable, capture Li Miaozhen and bring her back to the sect for further study of the Heavenly Sect's sacred texts."

Chu Yuanzhen and Hengyuan looked at each other, unsure of what to do.

"Why?"

Li Miaozhen was completely baffled.

Bingyi Yuanjun remained expressionless. "Disciples of the Heavenly Sect are detached from worldly desires and emotions. Although they experience worldly trials, they cannot be tainted by too much karma. The Heavenly Venerable believes you have deviated from the Heavenly Sect's doctrines and need to reread the scriptures. You will be released only when you have attained enlightenment."

When disciples of the Heavenly Sect descend the mountain for training, the correct approach is to observe the joys and sorrows of the mortal world from an outsider's perspective.

No, Li Miaozhen is happily wallowing in the mire of the mortal world.

I told you, Li Miaozhen is an anomaly in the Heavenly Sect. She clearly cultivates the Supreme Detachment of Emotions, yet she's obsessed with chivalry and justice. She's doomed sooner or later. Chu Yuanzhen next to her has nothing but complaints in his head.

Li Miaozhen retorted, "Disciple, disciple is cultivating the mind in the mortal world."

Bingyi Yuanjun nodded. "Let's return to the sect and explain to the Heavenly Venerable. But before that, I need to help Senior Brother Xuancheng capture the Holy Son."

Hmm? Holy Son? The Heavenly Sect is even going to capture their own Holy Son?

Chu Yuanzhen was puzzled and couldn't help but look at Heng Yuan, only to find that the other man had the same question in his eyes.

Bingyi Yuanjun got up, took Li Miaozhen's hand, and walked outside.

"Master, Master, I don't want to go back to the sect. I still have a year to train. How can you be so sure I can't transcend emotions? Please plead with the Heavenly Sect for me."

Li Miaozhen was led along, staggering forward, constantly begging for mercy.

Hengyuan hurriedly stood up and said in a deep voice, "Senior, Li..."

Before he could finish speaking, Li Miaozhen stopped him.

The Flying Swallow Heroine transmitted her voice:

"Don't try to stop her, she will kill you. Those who have attained the highest level of detachment will not kill because of joy, anger, good or evil. In their eyes, there is no difference between good and evil people."

"But if they see you as an obstacle, they will kill you without hesitation, regardless of your identity. Don't stop her. But don't abandon me either; if I go back to the sect, I'm afraid I'll never be able to leave."

Hengyuan asked telepathically, "What should we do then?"

Li Miaozhen gritted her teeth. "Go find Xu Qi'an. Although that guy is crippled, he still has the air of a third-rank official. He won't die easily. There's still a chance. Master still wants to capture that Li Lingsu guy, so he won't take me back to the sect for the time being."

Bingyi Yuanjun led Li Miaozhen out of the inn, summoned a flying sword, and the master and disciple leaped onto the sword's spine, riding the wind away.

Seeing this, Chu Yuanzhen quickly summoned his Law Artifact sword and, together with Hengyuan, stepped onto it, following Bingyi Yuanjun at a distance.

A fierce wind blew in my face, the vast earth lay beneath me, rivers meandered like silver ribbons, and mountains stretched out like sand dunes.

Chu Yuanzhen transmitted his voice, "Master Hengyuan, please contact Xu Qi'an immediately."

"Amitabha Buddha, this humble monk is already making contact."

Master Hengyuan responded.

Zhangzhou.

Zheng Family Cemetery.

Xu Qi'an tied the mare to a tree trunk by the path, leaving Mu Nanzhi, Li Lingsu, and the puppet Hengyin wearing a cloak and a bamboo hat behind, and continued on his way alone.

After leaving Leizhou, they immediately returned to Zhangzhou to retrieve the mare from Chairman Yang. Then they went to Zheng Xinghuai's hometown, a relatively poor county under the jurisdiction of Zhangzhou.

The Zheng family was a powerful clan in the area. Before Zheng Xinghuai rose to prominence, the Zheng family was nothing.

Later, Zheng Xinghuai rose through the ranks, eventually becoming the Provincial Governor of Chuzhou. Only then did the Zheng family rise to prominence, becoming a prominent clan in the area, and they even built a cemetery for him.

Zheng Xinghuai's tomb is easily visible; it's the most luxurious and imposing.

With the conclusion of the Chuzhou massacre case, Zheng Xinghuai was given a grand funeral. The county magistrate of Pingkang County, quick-witted as ever, immediately ordered the construction of City God and elevated Zheng Xinghuai to the status of City God.

The incense is now extremely popular.

"Lord Zheng, I've come to see you."

Xu Qi'an laid out food in front of the grave: a pot of yellow wine and two cups.

He drank a cup, then poured another at the grave, remaining silent as time flowed by.

Whose grave is that?

Taking advantage of the opportunity, Li Lingsu tried to find out Xu Qian's true identity from these clues.

"A respectable person."

Mu Nanzhi said.

"A respectable person?" Li Lingsu's eyes darted around. "Madam, may I hear about him?"

With his damned charm, the lady would certainly not refuse.

I'm not in the mood.

The princess rolled her eyes.

"Oh, is Madam in a bad mood today?" Li Lingsu chuckled dryly.

Soon, the pot of wine was finished. Xu Qi'an glanced at the tombstone, hesitated for a moment, then used his finger as a pen to write a line of small characters:

"Fame and fortune are but a piece of paper; they are nothing more than dust in the wind."

This was written by Zheng Xinghuai in grief when he witnessed the destruction of Chuzhou City into ruins, his life's work wiped out in an instant.

This scholar, whose life was full of hardships, ultimately paid for this sentence with his life.

Xu Qi'an bowed three times to the tombstone.

After paying his respects to Lord Zheng, he planned to return to Yongzhou to participate in the "Martial Arts Conference," which was still twenty days away from the appointed time.

Between Leizhou and Yongzhou lies Zhangzhou, so one can travel there at a leisurely pace, perhaps gathering a few small dragon energies along the way by relying on one's own sensitivity to dragon energy and the aggregation effect.

At that moment, it felt like his brain had been slapped hard.

This indicates that someone has contacted him for a "private chat".

Xu Qi'an ignored him, but the slaps continued one after another, and the other person seemed very anxious.

He immediately and carefully took out the fragment of the Earth Book, tucked it into his sleeve, and immersed a Primordial Spirit into the fragment.

The hazy world reflected in the mirror is bathed in a soft, chaotic light emanating from eight halos.

One of them flickered in and out of focus, its halo rippling.

"Master Hengyuan?"

Xu Qi'an's Primordial Spirit transformed into "tentacles," connecting with the halo representing number six.

"Lord Xu, something terrible has happened!"

Seeing that Xu Qi'an had responded, Hengyuan breathed a sigh of relief.

What is it?

"Fellow Daoist Li Miaozhen has been captured by her master."

A series of question marks flashed through Xu Qi'an's mind, "Master, please explain the cause and effect more clearly."

Hengyuan said:

"After you left the capital, I, Benefactor Chu, and Fellow Daoist Li traveled together to search for your whereabouts while also upholding justice. But this afternoon, Fellow Daoist Li encountered the Heavenly Sect's coded communication signal."

"That was left behind by her master. Fellow Daoist Li later met her master again, and while they were chatting, that expert from the Heavenly Sect suddenly took out Law Artifact rope and subdued Fellow Daoist Li."

Why is that?

Xu Qi'an was taken aback, as if he had heard a friend say, "I booked a room with a pretty girl, but when she was taking a shower, she pulled out something bigger than me."

That's pretty much how absurd it is.

"That esteemed master from the Heavenly Sect said that Fellow Daoist Li had strayed from the Heavenly Sect's doctrines. To prevent her from sinking into worldly depravity, she must be taken back to the mountain to re-study the Heavenly Sect's sacred texts. But Fellow Daoist Li said that once she was taken back to the Heavenly Sect, she might never be able to leave the mountain again. This parting might be forever."

I knew Li Miaozhen was an anomaly. A holy maiden of the Heavenly Sect, she somehow managed to cultivate herself into a legendary female warrior. Xu Qi'an's face twitched as he tried to swallow the pill, exchanging thoughts:

"So, she hopes I can save her? Hmm, the fact that you and Chu Yuanzhen didn't intervene means that Miaozhen's master is at least a third-grade Yang God. In my current state, how can I save her? Besides, I don't even know where you are."

Hengyuan said:

"There is still a chance," said that the expert from the Heavenly Sect. "This time, she will not only bring back Fellow Daoist Li, but also the Holy Son. Next, she will go to find the Holy Son. Fellow Daoist Li said that the Holy Son is in a Jianghu force called the East Sea Dragon Palace in East Sea County."

"Lord Xu, you must meet up with the Holy Son before the Heavenly Sect finds him. This is extremely important; we must find the Holy Son and prevent him from being captured as well, otherwise, there will be no more chances."

"What a coincidence, that scumbag is right next to me." Xu Qi'an transmitted his voice, "Please pass on a message to her for me."

Hengyuan asked, "Please speak, Lord Xu."