Boomerang

"It's so soft, even too soft to pick your teeth with!"

Li Shaojun's familiarity with the Fish Intestine Sword was probably limited; the sword only shrank to the length of a finger during dinner, and remained a short sword for more than a short while.

Zhang Xuezhou threw the Fish Intestine Sword into the basin of water before slowly walking out of the Zhang residence.

Li Shaojun publicly stated that he needed to go into seclusion due to illness, and Cai Ma did not leave Yunyi Daoist Temple.

Zhang Xuezhou had to go to Yunyi Daoist Temple to find the person.

He wandered around for a while, but found it difficult to walk without the Tengyun technique, so he eventually waited by the roadside until night fell.

When it was so dark you could hardly see your hand in front of your face, Zhang Xuezhou spread his arms like jade wings and leaped into the air.

As they sped through the Chang'an City and drew ever closer to the imperial city, Zhang Xuezhou sensed a purple light flickering in the distance above Anle Palace, clearly a warning sign.

Then, a vast expanse of purple purple qi rose up, like the awe-inspiring roar of a tiger in the mountains, bringing a sense of oppressive tension to all beasts.

Just as Zhang Xuezhou was hovering in the air and about to stop, he felt dizzy and almost blank in his mind. When he suddenly focused his mind, he felt a wave of wind as big as a mountain crashing down on him, as if he had been whipped by an iron whip. Zhang Xuezhou felt a sharp pain in his body.

"Uh-huh!"

A jade-colored light flashed across his body. When Zhang Xuezhou was struck hard, he was forced to retreat rapidly. In the distance, a faint groan came from Divine Lord Zhenyuan as he forcibly withdrew his attack.

Clearly, not only did Zhang Xuezhou react quickly and manage to dodge, Divine Lord Zhenyuan, who was far away, also realized that the target of his righteous attack was incorrect.

Do you really like showing up in the middle of the night?

The voice of Divine Lord Zhenyuan chanting came, and Zhang Xuezhou spread his jade wings and turned back.

I need to speak with Cai Ma!

Zhang Xuezhou out a soft exclamation.

Divine Lord Zhenyuan acted too swiftly; even Zhang Xuezhou was almost killed.

He suddenly felt a sense of understanding for Li Shaojun's frustration.

It would be hard for anyone to accept being suddenly slapped to death in the middle of their excitement.

Divine Lord Zhenyuan slapped Li Shaojun to death, but has not yet mentioned the reason to Zhang Xuezhou, so Zhang Xuezhou is not in a position to question him directly.

He greeted Divine Lord Zhenyuan, and then quickly landed in Yunyi Daoist Temple.

"Holy Son..."

Standing amidst the wind and waves, Divine Lord Zhenyuan glanced several times at the dimly lit Yunyi Dao below, but ultimately did not follow. Instead, he stirred up the wind and waves once more, his body rising into the air.

When he landed in the area of the Anle Palace, he once again stirred up the aura of Law Power as requested by Princess Dou, causing a purple mist to swirl around him.

It seemed like a provocation, a warning, or perhaps a deterrent.

Divine Lord Zhenyuan had no interest in discerning the reasons why Dou Taizhu had instructed him to make a fuss, but he was curious as to why Zhang Xuezhou had gone to see Cai Ma in the middle of the night.

"Could it be that they're discussing a century-long agreement, so that Cai Ma can return to the Sacred Land sooner?"

After pondering for a few seconds, Divine Lord Zhenyuan felt that Zhang Xuezhou was indeed a warm-hearted person, getting down to business after only two days back in Chang'an City.

Zhang Xuezhou's fall into the Cloud Wing Daoist Temple in the darkness did not cause any abnormalities.

Perhaps knowing that the routine patrols of Anle Palace these past two days had been extremely rigorous, and that there were also unusual noises from the storms, the guards responsible for patrolling Yunyi Daoist Temple did not dare to make a sound. They even lowered their heads and dared not get involved in this level of conflict.

Zhang Xuezhou walked several dozen steps, then knocked on the room where the light was still on.

When the door creaked open, Zhang Xuezhou saw Cai Ma peeking out, looking slightly flustered.

"Why are you in such a panic?" Zhang Xuezhou asked.

"Oh, it's you!"

Cai Ma raised her head slightly, and only after confirming that no one was behind Zhang Xuezhou did she breathe a sigh of relief.

"Come in quickly!" Cai Ma said, "I've recently encountered a very strange thing, and I'm really panicking!"

"Strange?" Zhang Xuezhou asked in surprise as he entered the room.

"Do you believe that people can come back to life after they die?" Cai Ma asked.

"How?"

"If someone is killed, like Divine Lord Zhenyuan did," Cai Ma gestured before saying, "Do you believe that person can come back to life?"

"It seems you know very well why Divine Lord Zhenyuan wanted to kill Li Shaojun," Zhang Xuezhou said. "Tell me, what bad thing did Li Shaojun do, or did he know something he shouldn't have known?"

"I have no idea!"

"If you don't tell me, I'll have Li Shaojun come looking for you in the middle of the night!"

Cai Ma was terrible at lying. He could be a silent, expressionless Daoist acolyte most of the time, but when Zhang Xuezhou questioned him, Cai Ma's face showed an extremely unnatural change.

"You didn't even tell me that Li Shaojun came to see me in the middle of the night," Cai Ma replied weakly.

"Mastering the art of fate must be difficult, right?" Zhang Xuezhou laughed. "I know a little bit of a shortcut!"

"You know a shortcut? How did you train? That's impossible! How did you manage to advance your life technique to the Earth Immortal level in such a short time?" Cai Ma asked anxiously.

"Let's talk about Li Shaojun first," Zhang Xuezhou asked. "Why did Divine Lord Zhenyuan want to kill him?"

"This... this..."

Cai Ma hesitated, recalling Divine Lord Zhenyuan's instructions and the shortcut Zhang Xuezhou had mentioned. She felt a complete Celestial Person struggle.

Promises must be kept, but the temptations offered by Zhang Xuezhou were simply too great.

"I can't say," Cai Ma contorted with pain. "If I say something that causes you trouble, the Divine Lord will definitely reprimand me, and might even complain to the Emperor!"

"This trouble is my fault?"

Zhang Xuezhou's heart sank. He realized that Li Shaojun might know something he shouldn't know, which led Divine Lord Zhenyuan to take such drastic measures.

However, Zhang Xuezhou and Divine Lord Zhenyuan only recently began to interact closely, and their past interactions were extremely limited, with few secret exchanges.

If we further narrow the scope to interactions with Li Shaojun, there is almost no overlap.

Not only did Li Shaojun not expect this before he died, but Zhang Xuezhou also did not expect that this boomerang would hit him.

"Even if Li Shaojun knows everything about my relationship with the Divine Lord, it doesn't seem like it's grounds for death. The Divine Lord Zhenyuan doesn't seem to have any reason to overstep my bounds?"

Zhang Xuezhou ultimately felt that the long-standing influence of the Kunlun Sacred Land was problematic; everyone's way of solving problems was too simplistic and brutal, and it seemed that there was no other option but to kill others.

Although Divine Lord Zhenyuan has a good temper, he is not without his own wickedness, even though Zhang Xuezhou was almost beaten to death tonight.

"When you have conflicts with others in the future, you must think twice before you act, and never resort to violence at the drop of a hat..."

The personality of an elderly person is already fixed and difficult to change, so Zhang Xuezhou eventually taught Cai Ma a lesson.

After giving him a lecture, he decided to seek the help of Divine Lord Zhenyuan as an intermediary whenever he had the chance, so that Li Shaojun would not be beaten again if he showed up in the future.

"I'd love to fight to the death, but I'm no match for them. I'd be more likely to get beaten to death!"

Seeing Zhang Xuezhou push open the door and leave, Cai Ma felt utterly terrible.

She felt she had missed a great fortuitous opportunity tonight, and that it would be difficult to get Zhang Xuezhou to talk about the art of quick life repair in the future.

If he could gain an extra six hundred years of lifespan out of thin air, Cai Ma felt he could tolerate a few minor flaws, since everyone's Technique Method has weaknesses these days.

There is no perfect Technique Method, and therefore no flawless art of destiny.

Once the lifespan of one's destiny technique has been reached, everything else is not a problem.

"The Divine Lord said there's a problem with the Holy Son's Life-Extending Technique, but the only function of the Life-Extending Technique is to prolong life. Once that lifespan is reached, everything else is fine. Could it be that the lifespan derived from the Holy Son's Life-Extending Technique is affecting his body, causing illness and weakness, or perhaps his skill in the Technique Method is insufficient? But I don't have these problems. I don't care about illness, and I don't have any Technique Method power. This deficiency seems to perfectly suit me..."

Cai Ma rambled on for a while, then thought of Li Shaojun, who had been killed by Divine Lord Zhenyuan, and the way Li Shaojun stood up covered in blood.

She finally decided to return to the Western Kunlun Holy Land.

On one hand, Li Shaojun's fate is uncertain, and the current situation is extremely strange. The matter may implicate her, and she may have no choice but to leave.

On the other hand, Cai Ma believes that the reason why Zhang Xuezhou and Divine Lord Zhenyuan quickly cultivated their life techniques is most likely due to the Western Kunlun Holy Land. She has no answers here, but she may find the answers if she returns to the Western Kunlun Holy Land.

Another reason is that the time for the century-long agreement is drawing ever closer.

If they didn't set off early, and something unexpected happened, Cai Ma felt she wouldn't make it in time.

The Western Kunlun Holy Land does not support idlers. Contributing to the Sacred Land is not only her obligation, but also a necessary sacrifice for Cai Ma to obtain higher treatment and fortuitous opportunity.