Ming Lan, Yue Mingfeng, and the others had no intention of making enemies out of Heartless Sect. They'd even warned their disciples not to go overboard, so when the fight turned, Heartless Sect's people were able to retreat smoothly. In just a few breaths, they melted back into the darkness.
Only then did Li Xun dare to approach. He made a beeline for Lin Ge's side—after all, just moments ago, Lin Ge had easily dismantled Xin Jizi's moves with a couple of casual strikes. That left Li Xun both awestruck and respectful. He figured the safest place right now was right beside Lin Ge.
The clash hadn't lasted long. It didn't really count as a desperate life-or-death struggle, but even so, among the three senior immortals, only Lin Ge came out unscathed. Yue Mingfeng had suffered internal injuries, and Minglan was nearly drained from the fight.
As for the younger disciples—besides Li Xun, there were fourteen of them. Eight came away with light injuries. Qi Bi stood out, fending off three opponents by herself. She didn't land any major blows, but still managed to withdraw unharmed—a clear sign of her elite standing among the third-generation disciples.
When everyone regrouped, Li Xun was already in front of Lin Ge, apologizing profusely:
"Disciple was useless… ended up dragging Uncle-Master Yue into danger and could only run…"
"There's no need for that," Yue Mingfeng said, his sharp-featured face slightly pale but smiling warmly. "Senior Brother Lin, this disciple of yours is impressive! To get away from two Heartless Sect experts—that's no small feat."
He turned to Li Xun and added, "Don't underestimate those two who jumped out of the ground. They're called Gong Wu and Gong Liu—blood brothers, trained together in the Heartless Sect. They are among the Heartless Sect's strongest of third-gen disciples. The two of them together are no joke.
"You've only cultivated for eight years, and you managed to escape from them? That's basically a slap in their faces. You've every right to be proud."
Li Xun was secretly pleased, of course, but he kept his head down and didn't let it show.
Then Lin Ge spoke up, "Enough of that. You've only been cultivating for less than ten years, just learned to ride your sword. Who expects you to take on experts? Knowing when to retreat and not drag others down—that's already a smart move. That little pearl-throwing trick of yours just now? Not bad at all."
If Li Xun had kept moping around after receiving such rare praise from Lin Ge, he really would've been a fool. His face lit up immediately and he quickly stepped back with a grateful smile.
Lin Ge seemed in good spirits after praising Li Xun. He called over a few disciples and casually pointed out the flaws in their fighting techniques during the battle.
That's when the group realized—even while covering Minglan in the heat of battle, Lin Ge had still been paying attention to everyone's moves. And the advice he gave? Sharp and spot-on. That level of insight and vision? Truly worthy of someone known as one of the "Seven Swords of Lianxia."
Who said he'd been in decline for a century?
Of course, none of the junior disciples dared say that out loud. They only thought it quietly in their hearts. But the seniors, however, had no such reservations.
Minglan smoothed out his slightly disheveled beard and smiled. "Seeing Senior Brother's cultivation even deeper than before, it's clear this past century hasn't been wasted. I'm sure the Sect Master and the elders will be very pleased."
Yue Mingfeng nodded in agreement. Then as if suddenly remembering something, he pulled out a demon flood dragon pearls from his robe and handed them to Lin Ge. "Let's leave those with you, Senior Brother. Who knows if Heartless Sect will give up that easily."
Back when they first got hold of these three pearls, no one thought there was anything special about them. But now, with a little focused sensing, they could tell something strange was going on inside.
Lin Ge gave a slight shake of his head. "Most of the malice inside the pearls' been cleansed by the Jade Bixie. Heartless Sect probably won't make another move over it. Let Xun'er keep it. In two or three days, the remaining force in them will dissipate completely—shouldn't cause any more trouble."
In front of others, Lin Ge always called him "Xun'er," but when it was just the two of them, he dropped all titles and just spoke casually—it was a bit odd, honestly.
Li Xun still felt there was some risk involved, but since Lin Ge had said so, he didn't argue. He took the pearls and tucked it back into his robe.
Lin Ge glanced up at the sky and sighed. "Looks like we'll have to find another place to camp tonight." With a flick of his finger, a streak of sword-light shot out—a flying sword message headed straight for the sect, reporting everything that had gone down tonight. With the sect backing them, the Heartless Sect probably wouldn't dare act rashly again.
Truth be told, these kinds of treasure-snatching skirmishes were practically a daily occurrence in the Tongxuan Realm. For seasoned cultivators like Lin Ge, this kind of thing had long since lost its novelty. He wasn't going to lose sleep over it. But for Li Xun, it was his first real taste of inter-sect conflict—dangerous, sure, but eye-opening too.
Luckily, no one was hurt badly enough to be unable to ride their swords. Under Lin Ge's lead, the group flew several hundred li through the night and finally landed in a remote mountain forest. Lin Ge told everyone to rest up, then took Li Xun with him to set up a protective formation, just in case.
After that earlier battle, everyone had seen firsthand just how powerful Lin Ge really was. No one dared slack off anymore—they were way more obedient than usual.
As for Li Xun, setting up protective formations was his absolute favorite thing. With his growing experience, even Lin Ge rarely offered pointers in this area.
And Lin Ge did seem to be in a good mood tonight—he actually let Li Xun take the lead on the design, while he himself handled the grunt work of channeling his true breath and installing the formation.
Opportunities like this didn't come often. Li Xun was full of energy, circling the area with Lin Ge as they worked. Together, they wove the formation tight as a drum—nothing could get in or out, sky or ground. Li Xun felt this was easily one of his best works in recent days. With Lin Ge's deep reserves of true breath powering it, even if Xin Jizi came back for a second round, he wouldn't be breaking through anytime soon.
Once they were done, Li Xun looked at the finished formation, feeling a surge of satisfaction—he was actually a little reluctant to leave it behind.
Lin Ge stood nearby, watching with a smile. For once, the moment between master and disciple was unusually warm and peaceful.
Li Xun knew how to read the room, too. He understood that a few well-placed compliments at a time like this would go over far better than usual. So as he admired their work, he tossed out a few lines like, "Master's true breath is truly profound and pure," and "Your sword techniques were absolutely masterful."
When he brought up how Xin Jizi was forced to retreat after just two moves, Lin Ge chuckled and interrupted his flattery. "Since you saw the whole thing, tell me—how do you think I beat him?"
Li Xun blinked. This was a test. He knew better than to give some careless answer. After thinking it over, he said, "Master's offense was fierce—you took the initiative between the first two moves, and your cultivation clearly surpasses Xin Jizi's. That's how you were able to win."
Lin Ge nodded slightly. "Not bad. You saw the key points. But you've also been training in the Lingxi Art. Didn't you notice anything unusual about my true breath when I struck?"
"Unusual?" Li Xun scratched his head. "Your sword forms… I've never studied those ones before, so it's hard to say what was out of the ordinary… Ah!"
Suddenly, something clicked in his mind. "Master—your true breath…"
That was it—the "unusual" part. It was the quality of Lin Ge's true breath.
According to theory, Lingxi Art refines one's true breath over time, making it lighter and subtler, until it takes on the qualities of "threads of floating silk" and the pinpoint accuracy of "one touch of insight."
But the two strikes Lin Ge had just unleashed—his true breath was overwhelmingly powerful, not subtle at all. It was nothing like what a master of Lingxi Art should display.
A faint, self-mocking smile played at Lin Ge's lips. "If Ming Ji were here… maybe she couldn't bring Xin Jizi down in three moves, but give her a hundred, and she'd definitely kill him.
"If me and her faced someone ten times stronger than Xin Jizi, a top-tier expert of the True Person level, neither of us would stand a chance. Ming Ji would walk away without a scratch… but me? I'd be lucky to fight them to mutual destruction."
Li Xun didn't fully understand.
But Lin Ge suddenly changed the subject. "Back when you were climbing Zuowang Peak, did you ever come across that sheer cliff face? If you couldn't climb them, what would you have done?"
As Li Xun mulled over his master's words, he answered absentmindedly, "Of course I'd look for another way—find a path I can climb…"
"Exactly," Lin Ge said. "That's the proper way. But if you take the long route, won't it cost you time? And if you could climb that cliff, wouldn't it save you a lot of effort?"
"Well, sure… Master, are you saying—"
Lin Ge let out a long breath, then smiled, a little self-deprecatingly. "That's right. I'm the kind of fool who doesn't take the long way around. I go straight up, no matter what's in front of me. Now I'm halfway up a cliff, with no way forward and no way down. For now, I might seem higher than you—but once you find the right path, it won't take long before you leave me far behind. Meanwhile I'll just be stuck in midair, unable to move forward or back...
"This is what it means to seem like you're advancing, while actually falling behind. That's the dead-end I've walked myself into. But your Aunt-Master Ming Ji—she's on the true path. Do you remember what I once told you?"
A phrase flickered to life in Li Xun's mind—six simple characters that had stuck with him ever since: "Learn from Fourth One, not from me."
Something about the atmosphere suddenly felt… off. Heavy. Li Xun opened his mouth, wanting to say something to lighten the mood.
But Lin Ge raised a hand before he could speak. Then, without another word, he turned and walked alone into the woods, his voice drifting back through the trees like mist: "That's all I can teach you. From now on, go learn from the Fourth… As for me—"
The sentence was never finished. Only a long, lingering sigh echoed through the forest, brushing through leaves and branches like a ghost.
Li Xun's heart suddenly skipped a beat—twice, hard and fast. Almost immediately, the Jade Bixie amulet he carried released a cool energy that wrapped gently around his spirit. Just like that, the strange feeling vanished.
Their journey continued. The Heartless Sect never showed up again. In fact, their own sect sent a flying sword message, telling them that the matter had been officially taken over—no need to worry.
With the threat behind them, the rest of the trip felt more like a sightseeing tour than a mission. Occasionally, they'd hunt down demons or evil spirits as part of their training. And it was during one of these excursions that Li Xun finally got his first kill.
Lin Ge sent him—alone—to face a vicious ghost with two to three centuries of cultivation. Beforehand, Lin Ge even confiscated his Jade Bixie, and made it clear no one was allowed to help.
Li Xun spent two full hours grinding it down using only the intricate techniques of the Shadowed Bamboo, Rising Mist sword style. He didn't just survive—he came out unscathed, earning rare praise from everyone.
After that, Lin Ge no longer stopped him from participating in exorcisms and dangerous missions. It became part of his training. Though Li Xun's cultivation didn't grow much in terms of raw power, his combat experience and grasp of sword technique improved significantly.
Then one day, as they soared high among the clouds, Lin Ge suddenly seemed to remember something. He made a hand gesture, signaling the group to descend. They all rode their swords down and landed on a towering peak.
Everyone figured Lin Ge must've noticed something unusual. But once they were on the ground, all they saw were clouds drifting thick around the cliffs—nothing strange in sight.
Just as confusion started to spread, Lin Ge stepped toward the edge of a cliff and called Li Xun over. "This is Tiandu Peak," he said. "Do you know what's nearest to it?"
Li Xun blinked. He looked down into the cloud-thick valley but didn't understand what he was supposed to see. Lin Ge chuckled softly, then swept his sleeve. A surge of sword-qi exploded out, parting the sea of clouds like a blade cutting silk.
And in an instant, the view below came into full focus.
Li Xun gasped.
With his level of perception, he could now clearly see the terrain for dozens of li below.
Through the scattered clouds, beyond jagged mountain ridges, where earth met horizon—there it was. A sprawling city, its silhouette muted bluish-black against the land like an ancient beast at rest.
Eight years of buried memories surged up from his heart.
He stared, wide-eyed, unable to speak for a moment. Because that place… that was where he had once lived for eight whole years, wearing robes of silk, walking among the halls of princes.
"Songjing…"
The capital of the mortal empire—Songjing.
"So that's Junior Brother Xun's hometown?" chirped Qi Yun, her tone bright as she lifted her gaze toward the distant city. Her eyesight far surpassed Li Xun's—while he could only make out the rough outline of the city walls, she could see straight into the city streets. "So many people down there!"
At this time, the mortal empire was in a period of great resurgence. National strength was at its peak, the four seas at peace. As the most prosperous city in the mortal realm, the capital Songjing held over two million residents. This single metropolis alone matched the entire population of the Tongxuan Realm.
Most of the disciples had spent their time in the mortal realm flying over remote mountains and wilderness. Sword-riding was quick, and it left little time to feel the bustle of mortal life. Now, standing this close to the mortal capital, they couldn't help but be intrigued by the novelty of it all.
But Li Xun… knew exactly what Lin Ge was doing. This wasn't just a stop to admire the view—it was his master quietly giving him the chance to go home.
Only now did he realize how deeply Lin Ge cared for him. That care, though rarely spoken aloud, ran no shallower than any father's love for a son.
Yet what rose in Li Xun's chest now wasn't gratitude—it was bone-deep dread.
These cultivators beside him, marveling at mortal splendor… they had no idea. No idea that beneath this glittering city lay a demonic being, a terrifying devil whose power pierced the heavens. Perhaps even now, that demon's blood-red eyes were already turned toward them, watching their every move with hunger.
Waiting for the sheep to deliver themselves to the slaughter.
"Junior Brother Xun? Xun? What's got you so stunned? Are you so happy you've gone dumb?" Qi Yun teased, giving him a playful shove. The touch snapped him out of his daze.
He quickly composed himself, feigning an awkward laugh to cover his misstep. After brushing off Qi Yun's teasing, he turned to Lin Ge and gave a formal bow. "Thank you for your kindness, Master. This disciple…"
His voice caught. He couldn't finish the sentence. A lump had risen in his throat, sudden and strange. Even he was startled by how real it all felt—was his acting that good? That tears could come on command?
Lin Ge, however, showed none of the tenderness from earlier. His expression was as indifferent and composed as always. "You may stay home for two days," he said calmly. "After that, we leave. Once the Water Mirror Conference is over, you may return for a full month to fulfill your filial duties… After that, I doubt you'll get another chance."
His tone was cold, even detached—but the affection behind his words was plain as day to everyone listening.
Li Xun stood there, momentarily dumbfounded. He had planned to dodge this visit entirely, maybe pretend he was too busy, pull the old "passing by without stopping in" trick. But Lin Ge's arrangement was flawless—gentle yet firm, making refusal impossible.
Even Minglan and Yue Mingfeng nodded in approval, saying it was a thoughtful plan. A few fellow disciples, more familiar with Li Xun, began congratulating him with grins and good-natured teasing.
In just a few moments, the atmosphere shifted completely. With all eyes on him, cheering and encouraging, Li Xun didn't even dare think of backing out.
And so, the plans for the next two days were set in stone.
Minglan stroked his beard and smiled. "In that case, there's no need for us to ride our swords. We can simply walk down the mountain—and enjoy the sights of the mortal world while we're at it."
The suggestion was unanimously agreed upon. The group happily sheathed their swords and began to descend the peak on foot.
It was late autumn. The mountain air was cool and dry, crisp with the season. Leaves fell in swirling drifts. Few travelers ventured this far, and this peak—so sheer even apes wouldn't climb it—was desolate. They walked quite a while without encountering a single mortal soul. Only when they reached the thoroughfare at the base would they truly step back into the world of men.
There was no hurry. They moved at leisure, pointing out rivers and ridges with cheer. Spirits were high—especially when they passed through a forest of maples beneath Tiandu Peak, the scarlet leaves painting the slopes in a blaze of red, so beautiful it made them pause in awe.
But Li Xun felt only a growing heaviness in his chest. While everyone else smiled and admired the view, he had to bear the burden of the Blood Wanderer's looming threat while while struggling to keep a pleasant face for the others, the effort was draining. They hadn't even walked far, and he already felt exhausted, his expression growing pale.
Thankfully, the others simply took it for homesickness. No one pressed him.
Only Lin Ge noticed something deeper. He caught a glimpse of Li Xun's face and smiled faintly, but in his heart, a subtle thought stirred.
At his level of cultivation, although he did not cultivate any secret techniques to read the past and present, spontaneous intuition was something that often happened. Often, due to a small intuition, he could foresee misfortune or fortune and took steps to avoid or embrace it. It can be considered a type of mysterious skill that is attained without deliberate cultivation, and it helps to avoid disasters and misfortune.
And now… he had that faint stirring.
Once triggered, it could not be dismissed. He felt the muscles of his face stiffen.
In the unseen weave of fate, something vast and ancient had begun to move. A ripple echoed through the air above him, quiet but unmistakable.
And in that moment—
"Such beautiful leave-no, a feather!"?" Qi Yun suddenly called out.
Lin Ge's heart clenched. He snapped his head upward—
There it was.
A single feather, glowing red like molten jade, drifted down from the sky. Delicate. Exquisite. Impossible.
As though moving in a dream he'd had a hundred times before, Lin Ge reached out and plucked it from the air.
The moment his fingers touched the shaft, a familiar aura surged into him. Then, a lick of flame ignited from the tip of the feather. In an instant, it consumed the whole thing—leaving no ash, no trace, not even warmth in the air.
Lin Ge stood frozen.
Above them, the sky had begun to change.
A tide of flame-red swept across the heavens from the distant horizon. It looked slow… but in the blink of an eye, it was upon them. Rolling, churning, boiling across the sky like an ocean of fire.
The clear blue sky—
Was burning.
A red like blood.