340: I've worried myself sick over you!

Several days later.

Inside Number One Tower Under Heaven, sandalwood incense wafted.

Lu Jiuyuan sat upon the golden throne, his fingers gently tapping the armrest, listening to Frost of the Qin report on the recent affairs of the Society below, his expression calm.

"Master, Junior Brother Wind has arrived outside the main altar, seeking an audience with Master."

Frost of the Qin reported, a hint of imperceptible joy in his tone.

Though the three Senior Brothers and Junior Brothers had different paths, their friendship remained. Wind's return naturally made him happy.

"Let him in," Lu Jiuyuan said faintly.

A moment later, Wind, clad in white, entered the grand hall.

His face was still handsome and elegant, but beneath the gentle demeanor in his brows, a deeper sorrow lurked.

He came to the steps, lifted his robes, and knelt, his movements fluid and sincere.

"Unfilial Disciple Wind, greets Master!"

His voice was clear, tinged with guilt, "Disciple was once foolish, misunderstood Master's profound intentions, and left the Society without permission. Please punish Disciple!"

Lu Jiuyuan's gaze fell upon Wind, as if it could penetrate his skin and see the deep scar in his heart caused by the death of Mingyue.

He did not immediately bid Wind to rise, but allowed the silent pressure to permeate the grand hall.

After a long while, he slowly spoke, his voice carrying a peculiar penetrative power that went straight to Wind's heart:

"Wind, rise."

Wind obeyed, rising and standing with his head bowed, not daring to look directly.

"I know the wound in your heart." Lu Jiuyuan's words made Wind's body tremble slightly:

"Mingyue's death left too deep a scar in your heart. First Kong Ci, then Mingyue. I know you resent me, your Master."

"Disciple would not dare!" Wind quickly said.

"Not daring does not mean it's not there."

Lu Jiuyuan hit the nail on the head, "Your nature is benevolent, you value affection and righteousness, this is your strength. Mingyue of Wushuang City was your first true heart's awakening, truly unforgettable.

That heart-wrenching pain, that regret for your own powerlessness, still lingers in your heart, never truly let go, is that not so?"

Wind was silent; Master's words were like sharp swords, dissecting the calm he tried so hard to maintain.

"Who among men in the Mortal World does not have pain in their heart? Who has not had a moment of powerlessness! The word 'heart,' which one doesn't become stronger after being wounded a thousand times?"

Lu Jiuyuan stood up, walking down the steps one by one, coming before Wind.

He patted his shoulder: "Your paths are all ones that I, your Master, have walked before!"

He stopped in front of Wind, his gaze like a torch: "I know you have found the Snow Drinker Saber and inherited the Six Absolute Arts of Arrogant Coldness, and your saber techniques are initially formed.

But your saber is still too dull, lacking decisiveness, lacking sharpness."

Wind looked up, his eyes filled with confusion and contemplation.

"Go, go to the Gate of Life and Death," Lu Jiuyuan commanded directly, "There is a person there known as 'The Second Saber Emperor.'

His Seven Absolute Arts of Severing Affection are specifically created to sever emotions and righteousness. Go challenge him, and witness his heartless and ruthless saber techniques."

"The Second Saber Emperor? Seven Absolute Arts of Severing Affection?"

Wind murmured, these two names he had never heard of.

"This person's saber techniques are overbearing; although he has strayed onto a deviant path, his saber techniques are still barely passable.

His daughter, Second Dream, is also an extraordinary woman, and you are fated to meet her."

"Master, Disciple's heart only holds Mingyue, there is no room for anyone else!" Wind said softly, his eyes a little sad.

"Oh, haha, silly boy, don't speak so boastfully!"

Lu Jiuyuan said with a laugh, "This journey is not for you to learn The Second Saber Emperor's heartless Dao, but for you to compare, to experience. The difference between a saber of emotion and a saber of heartlessness.

There are many challenges to face in the future, and you all are too weak!"

"Disciple... obeys!" Wind took a deep breath.

"Very good." Lu Jiuyuan nodded slightly, "Remember, the saber is the saber, and the heart is the heart."

"Yes! Disciple will not fail!" Wind bowed again, this time, his back was ramrod straight.

"Alas, for your sakes, I truly worry myself sick! Go, go!"

After Wind left, Number One Tower Under Heaven returned to silence, with only the lingering scent of sandalwood.

Lu Jiuyuan stood with his hands behind his back by the window, gazing at the surging sea of clouds.

Just then, his brows moved slightly. Without turning his head, he spoke faintly, his voice echoing in the empty hall:

"Since you're here, why hide? Xu Fu, you old ghost, have you forgotten even the simplest rules?"

As his voice faded, the air in the center of the grand hall twisted, like ripples on water, and a figure appearing to be forty or fifty years old, dressed in a wide black robe, slowly emerged. It was Emperor Shi Tian, also known as Xu Fu.

Before Lu Jiuyuan, he didn't bother with any pretenses or masks.

"Hehehe..." Xu Fu said with a hint of cynicism, "Mr. Lu is indeed Mr. Lu."

Lu Jiuyuan slowly turned, his eyes beneath his red hair calm and unperturbed, as if Emperor Shi Tian's appearance was no surprise to him:

"My World Society is not a marketplace teahouse, where you can come and go as you please.

The last time I let you leave, it was because I was too lazy to pursue you.

This time, you've come uninvited. If you don't give me a satisfactory explanation, I'll chop your old bones into mincemeat."

"Why so much anger? Come, let's go out for a cup of tea and chat..." Xu Fu was completely unfazed by Lu Jiuyuan's attitude.

"I've found information about that family!"

Lu Jiuyuan's eyes narrowed slightly, his red hair moved for a moment without Wind, then returned to calm.

He did not refuse Xu Fu's suggestion, merely glanced at him indifferently, and with a flicker of his body, he shot out of Number One Tower Under Heaven's window, like a feather, gracefully landing in a secluded Cloud-Gazing Pavilion behind the main altar.

On the stone table inside the pavilion, a set of purple clay tea ware was already prepared, and spring water was bubbling on a small brazier.

Xu Fu's figure appeared almost simultaneously inside the pavilion. He sat down opposite the stone table without ceremony and skillfully began to warm the pot, place the tea, and brew it, his movements flowing like clouds and water, with an elegance refined over a thousand years.

"Speak, what have you found?"

Lu Jiuyuan flicked his sleeve and sat down, not looking at Xu Fu brewing tea, his gaze fixed on the surging sea of clouds outside the pavilion, his tone brooking no argument.

Xu Fu pushed a clear, emerald green cup of tea towards Lu Jiuyuan, then picked up another for himself. He gently sniffed the tea's aroma before speaking unhurriedly:

"That family of three, indeed, as you said, has existed for thousands of years. I expended great effort, poring over ancient texts, and finally found some clues."

He took a sip of tea and continued, "That old ghost, the one who first obtained the Dragon Turtle's essence blood, his whereabouts are the most elusive.

Every hundred years or so, he appears in the Mortal World, leaving behind the name Laugh Three Times of the Twelve Terrors.

As for those two turtle sons, they're not human!

That land of Dongying was originally a nation formed when I led three thousand boys and girls there to intermarry with the local wild people and monkeys. Now, it has become the lair of those two turtle sons."

"Stirring up trouble in the garden I cultivated, and I didn't even know! Do these three bastards really not consider me, Xu Fu, a person? This is simply outrageous!"

Lu Jiuyuan chuckled, "Since you've already found out, then I might as well tell you more clearly, lest you blunder about and alert the enemy."

"Laugh Three Times has two sons, both inheriting his Dragon Turtle Bloodline. The elder is named Laugh Commands the Sky, and the younger is named Laugh Commands the World."

Lu Jiuyuan put down his teacup, his fingertip lightly tracing the stone table, invisible Qi energy outlining simple contours:

"These two brothers have vastly different personalities, yet neither is easy to deal with.

The elder, Laugh Commands the Sky, is violent and arrogant, believing in the supremacy of power. His martial arts follow a path of extreme Yang and rigidity, overbearing and unparalleled. He calls himself 'Great Demon God,'

He resides in Dongying year-round, cultivating the 'Four Absolute Arts of the Primordial Heaven' created by Laugh Three Times, drawing upon the natural forces of heaven and earth, with Wind, thunder, fire, and rain all at his command, their power capable of destroying the world."

He paused, looking at Xu Fu: "As for the younger, Laugh Commands the World, he is the complete opposite. This man is cunning, adept at Tolerate, and ambitious.

He infiltrated Dongying under an assumed name, and with some of the mysterious martial arts passed down by his father and his own intelligence, he founded the 'Hidden Blade Flow'.

On the surface, it is a major sword sect in the Dongying Martial Forest, but in reality, he secretly controls various forces in Dongying. Even the changes in the imperial family and the rise and fall of the shogunate have his shadow behind them.

He calls himself 'The Grand Boss,' and presides over the Hidden Blade Flow's headquarters, 'Xuanhua Hall,' strategizing and managing Dongying as if it were an impenetrable fortress.

His martial art, 'Myriad Dao Forest Luo,' is all-encompassing, capable of fusing Internal Energy and martial arts of different natures, and even, to a certain extent, discerning human hearts, making him extremely difficult to deal with."

"Xu Fu, these two have cultivated for over three thousand years, almost twice your age, so their strength is naturally above yours..."

"You know all this so clearly? Who exactly are you, to know such secrets?"

Xu Fu was utterly shocked, his hand holding the teacup frozen in mid-air, the tea slightly trembling, "Have you read the heaven's cry scripture?"

Lu Jiuyuan heard this and let out an ambiguous chuckle. He did not answer directly, but instead turned his gaze back to the vast, surging sea of clouds outside the pavilion, as if it contained all the answers in the Universe.

"heaven's cry scripture?"

He slowly repeated the name, his tone carrying an ineffable ethereal quality: "Cangjie created characters, ghosts and gods wept and wailed, revealing heavenly secrets, hence it is called 'heaven's cry scripture'.

Legend has it that whoever obtains it can understand the past and future, and comprehend all the mysteries of the world..."

He paused, then turned his head, his eyes beneath the red hair as deep as a star-filled sea, looking directly into Xu Fu's surprised and uncertain eyes:

"Xu Fu, you've lived for seventeen hundred years, do you still believe there's truly a book in this world that can hold all the 'answers'?

Even if there is, are the answers written in that book necessarily true? Or rather, even if you see the answers, can you change the outcome?"

Xu Fu was stunned by his question, his brows tightly furrowed: "What do you mean? Without the heaven's cry scripture, how could you know so much about the affairs of the Laugh family? Such secrets cannot be deduced by ordinary means!"

"Know so much?"

Lu Jiuyuan shook his head slightly, "What I know is merely the tip of the iceberg, a few key nodes in the Karma chain.

The true vastness far exceeds what you and I can imagine."

"Enough, let's not discuss how you know for now." Xu Fu put down his teacup, his tone once again becoming steady, carrying a hint of the chilling coldness of a thousand-year-old monster: "I came here not only to confirm the matters of that family, but also to present a 'gift'."

"Oh?" Lu Jiuyuan raised an eyebrow, signaling him to continue.

"Over in Dongying, besides those two cowardly bastards, there's also an Iron-skinned Toad who doesn't know his place, preparing to jump out and cause trouble."

Xu Fu's lips curved into a sneering arc, "Godless of the Godless Absolute Palace has gathered a group of Japanese pirates and ronin, and is preparing to invade the Central Plains in force.

His vanguard has already secretly infiltrated."

Lu Jiuyuan's eyes moved slightly; he did not interrupt.

Xu Fu continued, "This Godless, he does have some small cleverness. He knows that with you and Nameless guarding the Central Plains, a direct assault would be futile. So, he plans to play dirty."

He paused, a hint of playfulness flashing in his eyes, "He obtained a peculiar poison, colorless and odorless, named 'Soul-Corroding Powder'.

He plans to send people to infiltrate your World Society and his Chinese Pavilion, to poison your and Nameless's food."

"The goal is to first cripple Nameless, this martial arts myth, and you, the Master of the World Society.

Then seize your World Society, force the Supreme of the Martial Forest to abdicate, and take control of the Divine Land."

Xu Fu watched Lu Jiuyuan, trying to discern some change in his expression, but found that he was completely unfazed by this.

"Godless? Soul-Corroding Powder? Indeed, he's just a clown!" Lu Jiuyuan smiled and nodded, "I know about them!"

"What do you plan to do? From your actions, it seems you want to train Wind and Cloud, using the power of their destinies to make them future aids." Xu Fu looked at him and asked:

"This time, will you directly kill them, or will you play along with their scheme, using your feigned death to ignite Wind and Cloud's hatred?"

"They are not worthy!"

Lu Jiuyuan shook his head, his tone calm, yet carrying an indifferent arrogance that looked down upon the world, "Even if I were to feign death, I would have to die at the hands of you, Laugh Three Times, or those two turtle sons. A mere Iron-skinned Toad, how could he be worthy?

A clown, just crush him."

"Then you'd better hurry. That Iron-skinned Toad's eldest son has already entered the Central Plains, and the Iron-skinned Toad himself, their large ships are probably about to reach the port!" Xu Fu said with a laugh:

"Almost there?"

"They'll be here very soon!"

"A group of trash, how dare they set foot on my Divine Land! I'll be right back!"

Before his words finished, he actually stood up directly, his figure already like a golden-red lightning bolt tearing through the sky, suddenly disappearing from the Cloud-Gazing Pavilion, leaving behind only rings of air exploding in the sky and Xu Fu's slightly astonished expression.

Xu Fu looked in the direction Lu Jiuyuan had disappeared, and after a long while, he let out a low chuckle, with a hint of schadenfreude: "To leave at will, to kill at will, without any delay, what an overbearing personality.

What terrifying speed."

...