Estranged

Capital to see the puja of the fifteenth day of the seventh month?”

Hé Qingmo frowned, his expression a bit more heavy: “For Shijie Meng Li.”

This disciple of the Celestial Abode Shenxiao, Meng Li, had left the mountains to travel one day, but had subsequently gone missing.
Although her soul lantern didn’t die out, not a trace of her could be found, up until the day Changming discovered that she had become the exclusive property of Fu Xiaoshan, the owner of the Weak Waters of the Nine Layers of the Abyss.
After Meng Li’s death, Yun Hai found the Fenshui Pearl in her, and shattered the barrier of the Weak Waters.

Changming had already informed Hé Qingmo about this when they were leaving the Nine Layers of the Abyss.

“But afterwards, I realized that the sword I’m wearing at waist would frequently contact me.
At first, I thought it to be a demon, but after I returned to my sect and asked shizun to check it, it was discovered that it was shijie Meng Li’s fleeting soul.”

Changming’s expression changed slightly.

Hé Qingmo continued: “Her fleeting soul responded to the breath of her fellow disciple in the Nine Layers of the Abyss.
But the breath was too weak at that moment, so she couldn’t communicate with me, and only managed to hide inside my sword temporarily.
Only after I had returned to my sect and shizun attached her soul to the soul lantern did she manage to appear in the flesh for a short period of time.
Shijie Meng Li said that the reason she was wandering through the Nine Layers of the Abyss back then was not because she had entered by mistake or out of curiosity, but because she had overheard a secret accidentally, and was chased by those people.
In the end, she had no choice but to hide in the Nine Layers of the Abyss.
The ones chasing her were people from the Wanlian Buddhist Temple.”

Changming: “What was the secret?”

Hé Qingmo uttered slowly: “Longxiang Fozuo Shengjue of the Wanlian Buddhist Temple is a half-demon.”

Shengjue was the strongest cultivator of the Wanlian Buddhist Temple, his cultivation unfathomably profound.
Some people said that he had reached the level of a grandmaster; others claimed that he had already transcended this level.
There were very few grandmasters in the world, and the Wanlian Buddhist Temple had as many masters as there were clouds in the sky, so Shengjue had few chances to fight with others.
The last time he had challenged someone to a fight was his battle with Yun Weisi.
Being a fozun of the second greatest Buddhist sect, he was as well-respected as the successor of the temple master.
If his being a half-demon was revealed to the world, his status would definitely take a tumble, and even his whole sect could be dragged down.

There were more than enough demons living in the human world incognito, and many of them had integrated with mankind.
Of course, there were cultivators with demon blood, but they encountered disapproving sidelong glances almost wherever they went, so they had to cultivate at places that were removed from the secular world, like the Yellow Springs or the Nine Layers of the Abyss.
For example, at the Seven Star Rivers of the First Layer of the Abyss, Changming had witnessed the battle between Bei Shu, who had rebelled against the Qingyun School, and Tai Luo, who was a half-demon.

Hè Xiyun felt that what she had just heard was a dreadful secret, but it was too awkward for her to simply turn away and leave, so she could only continue listening, embarrassed.

Hé Qingmo said: “Shijie Meng said that while she was being chased, she accidentally dropped her sword to be picked up by her enemies, so she asked me to find a chance to retrieve it.
I bid farewell to my shizun and went travelling.
Two days ago, I heard that the Wanlian Buddhist Temple is hosting a puja on the fifteenth day of the seventh month, so I decided to come take a look in passing.”

Changming asked: “Who was chasing Meng Li?”

Hé Qingmo: “Shijie Meng didn’t recognise them, but she noted that they had buddhist beads and a cane.
It was probably someone from the Wanlian Buddhist Temple, otherwise, they wouldn’t have started chasing her immediately just because Shijie Meng had learnt Shengjue’s secret.”

Changming: “I also came here to take a look at the buzz around the puja.
This being the case, why don’t you travel with me?”

Hé Qingmo said: “With Senior by my side, naturally, I’ll feel safe.
But wasn’t Senior travelling with daoyou Yun, where is he?”

Changming: “On Mount Zhehe, not far away from this place.
Rumors have it that a few days ago a miraculous stone shower happened there, turning it into Boiling Earth and Concealing Sky.
He said he wanted to see it himself.”

Hé Qingmo: “I’ve heard about it as well.
Mysterious lights flash there from time to time, and a spiritual curing treasure has appeared.
Who knows, maybe daoyou Yun will get lucky, and manage to obtain this legendary tool.”

Had he not been investigating Meng Li’s death, he would have probably been at the Zhehe Mountain now as well.

Hè Xiyun remained silent, but the others noticed that her expression was getting more and more odd.

“Daoyou Hè, are you alright?” Hé Qingmo said.

“I… think I’ve heard daoyou Zhang’s voice,” Hè Xiyun frowned.

Save me.

Save me…

It sounded neither far away nor close, impatient and terrified, so she could only imagine what his situation was like.

At first, Hè Xiyun thought it to be an illusion.
She looked around, but didn’t find a shadow of Zhang Jie.

But the voice sounded even more urgent, even a bit desperate.

Although Zhang Jie’s cultivation couldn’t be called high, he could definitely go through the Jianghu alone.
What kind of peril could force him to cry out?

“Daoyou Zhang? Where are you!”

Hè Xiyun couldn’t help shouting.

But Zhang Jie’s sobs suddenly died down.

…

Xu Jingxian was gasping for breath.

She wanted to take the thin silk off her waist and fly directly to the top of the mountain in front of her.

But she couldn’t do it.

Because that would be beating the grass to scare the snake, so Yun Weisi had forbidden it.

She could only go after him obediently.

Three days ago, a mysterious light had taken form on the Zhehe Mountain, and a purple dawn covered the sky.
In half a day, the common people started gossiping that an immortal had descended to the earth there, bringing a treasure with them.

However, cultivators knew that it wasn’t an immortal descending to the earth, but stars raining from the heavens, and miraculous stones falling to the ground, forming a phenomenon called “Boiling Earth and Concealing Sky”.
The inconspicuous Zhehe Mountain turned into a place concealing treasures, and cultivators from everywhere came seeking the treasures of the Boiling Earth and Concealing Sky to get their share of the profits.

Whether it was a divinie tool or a spiritual herb—if they could get anything, they would make a spurt of progress, and advance to a whole new level.

Xu Jingxian clearly knew about the benefits.

If it wasn’t for the Yangzhen Grass, Yun Weisi probably wouldn’t even have given her a look.

“Do you know why I brought you with me?”

Xu Jingxian heard Yun Weisi’s question.