Chapter 120: Conversation

The sun hung high in the sky.

Sunlight pierced through the clouds, casting mottled patterns of light and shadow through the dancing gaps in the leaves. A gentle breeze, carrying the faint warmth of the sun, brushed against everyone's faces.

Willows swayed, and green grass fluttered.

"Cangqiu, why didn't you kill him!"

A low voice, thick with suppressed anger, shattered the harmonious atmosphere. Chen Chi, mounted on his purple-black horse, glared at Su Yuanbai, who stood unscathed at the foot of Qingtang Mountain, his eyes filled with disgust and vexation.

Zhong Cangqiu ignored him. He lifted his gaze to Su Yuanbai and said, "Because you are strong, you deserve to become stronger, and I might be the one who can make you so."

"Stronger? To be honest, I have no interest in becoming stronger," Su Yuanbai replied, lowering his eyes to flick a speck of grass from his red crane-patterned robe.

The Yefan sword at Zhong Cangqiu’s feet had returned to the form of a three-foot blade. He looked at the nonchalant Su Yuanbai and said, "There is no denying that you are strong now, but you must understand one thing: you are absolutely not invincible."

Su Yuanbai raised his eyes slightly, arms crossed over his chest, leaning back lazily with a faint smile on his face as he watched Zhong Cangqiu.

"Five thousand years ago, the arrogant God-Emperor ascended the Jianmu tree to reach the heavens, breaking the ancient barrier between gods and men. This caused celestial energy to leak downward while turbid energy rose. Consequently, ancient beasts that were meant to sleep forever in the depths of the earth began to stir, and the long-hidden immortal cultivators of old gradually reappeared.

"Not to mention that a year ago, the God-Emperor met his demise, causing the Heavenly Realm to spiral out of control. Now, gods and immortals descend to the mortal world without restraint, and the celestial stars are in total chaos."

Zhong Cangqiu looked at the silently smiling Su Yuanbai with sincere eyes.

Su Yuanbai looked into Zhong Cangqiu’s golden irises—if his intuition was correct, these were divine eyes. "And so?"

"Since you have obtained the Dharma body of the ancient beast Zhu Yan, you are a player in this game. You must realize that your future enemies will no longer be mere men, but the gods and Buddhas worshipped in temples, the legendary figures spoken of in mortal tales," Zhong Cangqiu said, extending his left hand toward Su Yuanbai.

Su Yuanbai looked down at the hand offered in a gesture of goodwill, smiled faintly, and said, "Perhaps they will not be my enemies?"

"It seems you do not wish to work with me," Zhong Cangqiu sighed, withdrawing his hand.

Su Yuanbai remained silent.

"But I do not wish to be your enemy either. I will not make things difficult for these people," Zhong Cangqiu added calmly, glancing at those whom Mu Rongyan had brought back.

Chen Chi suddenly rode his horse up to Zhong Cangqiu, gritting his teeth as he said, "These wretches made me fall from my purple-black horse, and you’re just going to let them go?! What about the humiliation I suffered? Is it all for nothing?"

"Quiet." Zhong Cangqiu glanced back, his golden eyes cold as he stared at Chen Chi.

Chen Chi shuddered.

The purple-black horse beneath him suddenly fell apart, turning into neat, sliced chunks of horseflesh. This time, not even a glint of sword light was seen; it was as if the horse had simply split apart out of thin air.

Yue Yong appeared beside Chen Chi, bowed slightly to Zhong Cangqiu, and then grabbed Chen Chi by the collar, pulling him back.

Su Yuanbai looked at the Yefan sword in Zhong Cangqiu's hand, having caught a glimpse of the black, destructive energy. "I will not make things difficult for you either."

"In that case, shall we part ways here?" Zhong Cangqiu asked calmly.

Su Yuanbai nodded slightly.

Zhong Cangqiu studied Su Yuanbai once more, as if trying to etch his image into his mind. "I hope that when we meet again, we may be friends."

With that, Zhong Cangqiu turned and walked toward Mu Rongyan.

Mu Rongyan flicked her sleeves, and streams of water emerged from her cuffs, transforming into droplets that fell to the ground. The restraints binding Cui Dandan, Cui Ya, and Xie Xiushi were instantly soaked through, yet they were no longer bound.

Cui Dandan and Cui Ya helped the semi-conscious Xie Xiushi to his feet and retreated behind Su Yuanbai.

"We cannot let them go. If we do, the people of Mengfu City will suffer, and I fear Nanyuan County will never know peace again," Cui Dandan whispered to Su Yuanbai.

Su Yuanbai glanced at her, asking calmly, "Do you think I care about such things?"

Cui Dandan looked into Su Yuanbai’s pitch-black eyes; they were equally indifferent.

"My mistress is tired and delirious; please, Immortal, do not take offense," Cui Ya quickly pulled her mistress back, bowing repeatedly to apologize to Su Yuanbai.

Zhong Cangqiu watched this scene, then swung himself onto his purple-black horse. The Yefan sword returned to his waist, and a mist began to gather along its blade.

Zhong Cangqiu did not notice the faint, blood-red veins within the mist—veins that resembled intricate floral patterns.

"Return to Junhuang County," Zhong Cangqiu said calmly.

Yue Yong placed the still-trembling Chen Chi onto a purple-black horse and looked at Zhong Cangqiu. "Young Master Zhong, there are some things you should not take too far."

"You must also remember one thing: you may be my subordinates, and he may be my brother, but when I am displeased, any of you can be a dead man."

Zhong Cangqiu looked down at the bamboo-green-clad Yue Yong, his golden irises growing increasingly cold, with golden light shimmering like mist across the whites of his eyes.

Seeing this, Mu Rongyan spoke up, "Young Master Zhong, do we still need to visit the Ghost Star Official at Eyang Ridge?"

Zhong Cangqiu looked back at Xie Xiushi behind Su Yuanbai. "A trace of divinity is missing; there is no need to go now. Only when they have restored that divinity will it be time for us to act."

"Young Master Zhong, how should we handle the soul incense? Shall we use it as a lure to draw out demons and capture them for our use, as we did in the other eight counties?" Mu Rongyan asked, holding up a purple-gold alms bowl.

Zhong Cangqiu glanced at the bowl, then back at Su Yuanbai. "The only powerful monster in Nanyuan County is that mutated centipede spirit. Bring it back to Junhuang County; keep it for when the demon-bone temple in Junhuang is completed."

After giving his orders, Zhong Cangqiu rode his purple-black horse away.

Chen Chi, now sitting on his mount, had finally calmed down. He looked at Zhong Cangqiu’s retreating back, a flicker of imperceptible jealousy in his eyes, before riding off to follow him.

"Yue Yong, I know you are a retainer of the Chen household, but the affairs between the two young masters are never for us to interfere in," Mu Rongyan said, looking down at Yue Yong.

Yue Yong looked up at her and said calmly, "My master has shown me great kindness; I will not sit idly by."

Mu Rongyan sighed softly and rode away on her horse.

Yue Yong followed behind at a steady pace. Though his steps seemed slow, he maintained a constant distance of ten paces behind the galloping horses.