28: Chapter 28 A Sudden Storm Strikes, Shocking the Continent

Central Plains, the new hall of the Starfall Pavilion.

The colorful streamers from the victory banquet still hung from the hall rafters, not yet taken down. The banners of the Ancient Clan, Lei Clan, and Yan Clan were planted side-by-side in the flag holders in front of the main hall, snapping loudly in the morning breeze.

Inside the hall, dragon saliva incense shipped from the Pill Tower burned in the censers. Wisps of blue smoke rose, bathing the hall's lights in a hazy, warm golden glow.

The map of the Sky Mansion Alliance's territory had been redrawn only three days ago. The marks of the three clans, circled in cinnabar, still shimmered with fresh ink, looking significantly stronger than the old Sky Mansion that had been crushed by the Hun Clan two months prior.

Xiao Yan had risen from the banquet before dawn and gone to the back mountain to cultivate alone, leaving the revelry and socializing to Yao Chen and Gu Dao.

Gu Xun'er followed him to the hall entrance and gently draped a newly made cloak over his shoulders, her pale green eyes filled with silent concern.

He turned back, patted the back of her hand, and without saying anything more, stepped into the bamboo forest of the back mountain.

The atmosphere inside the hall was relaxed now; the tension of the past few days seemed to have been diluted by the grand occasion of the three clans joining the alliance.

Lei Clan Chief Lei Ying clinked wine bowls with Yan Clan Great Elder Yan Jin again and again. His bell-like eyes were already slightly intoxicated, and his loud voice caused dust to shake down from the hall rafters.

Yan Jin remained his usual taciturn self, though a rare smile hung at the corner of his mouth.

Gu Dao sat at the guest of honor seat, slowly sipping a cup of clear tea. No joy or anger could be seen on his face, but the very fact that he was sitting there drinking tea indicated his stance—the Ancient Clan was determined to stand with the Sky Mansion Alliance this time.

At the Flower Sect's seating area, one woman was particularly eye-catching.

She sat upright in the seat of the Flower Sect's Supreme Elder. A moon-white martial outfit outlined her slender, upright figure. Her long hair was tied high into a neat ponytail that reached her waist, swaying gently as she turned her head.

She looked to be in her early thirties, her features delicate yet heroic. A faint arc hung at the corner of her lips, neither intimate nor distant.

What was most unique was her temperament—not as aloof and elegant as Gu Xun'er, nor as cold and stunning as Medusa, but rather a composure and clarity born from having experienced the ways of the world. She was like a cup of cold tea: slightly bitter upon entering, but with a long-lasting, sweet aftertaste.

Fairy Qing, Supreme Elder of the Flower Sect, a Ban Sheng cultivator, held a transcendent status in the Flower Sect and rarely appeared in public.

But today, with the alliance being rebuilt, Flower Sect Sect Leader Yun Yun was at a critical moment in her seclusion and could not attend in person, so she had entrusted the heavy responsibility of representing the Flower Sect to her.

Fairy Qing held her teacup without drinking. When her gaze occasionally swept over the white-haired old man beside the main seat, a complex emotion would flash in the depths of her eyes.

That was Yao Chen—the legendary Alchemist of the Pill Tower, the leader of the Sky Mansion Alliance, and the man she had almost married in her youth.

Back then, when Yao Chen was betrayed by Han Feng, his physical body destroyed, and his soul imprisoned, she had used the power of the Flower Sect to search for him for decades to no avail, ultimately burying this past love in the deepest part of her heart.

Now that Yao Chen had been resurrected and returned, the two faced each other across the hall filled with lights. Neither took the initiative to break this tacit silence.

But someone did. A gentle, smiling voice came from the banquet, not loud but clear and crisp, carrying across half the hall: "Sister Qing, you haven't been to the Starfall Pavilion in years. Your willingness to grace us with your presence this time is truly thanks to Sect Leader Yun Yun."

The woman speaking sat not far from Yao Chen. A black plain robe set off her skin, which was as fair as porcelain. Her long hair was loosely tied behind her head with just a jade hairpin, and a few stray strands hung by her ears. Her temperament was as gentle as water.

Her features were not stunning, but she was the kind of person who became more pleasant to look at the longer you observed her. The smile at the corner of her lips was steady and composed. There was not a hint of hostility in her gaze toward Fairy Qing, only the indifference of an old friend meeting again.

Xuan Yi—the current Chief Elder of the Pill Tower, a Ninth-Rank Alchemist Master, and the partner Yao Chen publicly acknowledged after his resurrection.

The relationship between her and Fairy Qing was very subtle. To call them romantic rivals would imply they were at each other's throats, which they never were; to call them friends felt like there was an indescribable, thin veil between them.

Fairy Qing turned her head to look at her upon hearing this, her ponytail swaying behind her shoulder. The arc of her lips deepened slightly: "Sister Xuan Yi is right. Before Yun Yun went into seclusion, she specifically instructed me to attend. Although the Flower Sect is a sect of female cultivators, the affairs of the Sky Mansion Alliance are the affairs of the Flower Sect—this has not changed since the day Yao Chen was resurrected."

Yao Chen lifted his teacup and took a sip. His old eyes, beneath white brows, circled between the two equally outstanding women, and he wisely chose silence.

Lei Ying's hand holding the wine bowl froze in mid-air. He tilted his head and watched for a long time, unable to tell if this group of old lovers and the current girlfriend were here for a meeting or to reminisce. He simply bumped his wine bowl against Yan Jin's arm and muttered in a low voice: "Old Yan, I don't understand this romantic drama. Let's just drink."

Yan Jin, for once, took the initiative to raise his bowl to meet him. Their bowls clinked, and each downed half a bowl.

Gu Dao put down his teacup and was about to get up to discuss the next stage of defense with Yao Chen when his gaze inadvertently swept over the plaza outside the hall—and then, his movements froze.

A soul mark, exclusive to the Hun Clan's secret lines, landed quietly on the communication jade slip he had placed on the windowsill. The jade slip shattered silently into powder, leaving only a scarlet emergency report light screen that flashed and vanished in the night.

At the same time, Lei Ying's communication adjutant pushed the door open and knelt on one knee beside him. The first sentence he reported in a low voice caused the wine bowl in Lei Ying's hand to smash onto the ground with a clang.

Yan Jin silently pressed the command talisman at his waist; the phantom of the Yan Clan's intelligence envoy appeared at the hall entrance and dissipated instantly.

The four of them had different expressions upon receiving the urgent reports, but in the end, they exchanged a mutual look at the entrance of the conference hall.

When Xiao Yan stepped out of the back mountain bamboo forest, a thin layer of sweat from his morning practice still hung on his forehead. He had just reached the entrance of the small study beside the hall when he was stopped by the attendant beside Yao Chen.

He threw on the outer robe handed to him by Xun'er and hurried into the conference hall. He saw that most of the lights in the hall had been extinguished; only a few people remained seated around the long table that had been temporarily moved into the conference hall—the tea beside Yao Chen had long since gone cold; Fairy Qing sat as straight as a sword; Gu Dao had just pushed a second shattered table into the corner, cracks spreading in a spiderweb pattern from the center, almost tearing through the entire piece of dark ironwood tabletop; Lei Ying sat with empty hands clenched into fists on his knees; and Yan Jin was cracking his knuckles, making faint clicking sounds.

"What happened?" Xiao Yan sat down, his gaze sweeping over the grim expressions on their faces. A sense of foreboding already filled his heart.

Gu Dao did not answer. He simply pushed a recording jade slip, just sent back from the Ancient Clan's secret lines, toward Xiao Yan. The recording jade slip felt scalding hot in his palm.

Xiao Yan took the jade slip and injected Dou Qi into it. A soul light screen slowly unfolded before everyone. His brows furrowed tighter and tighter as the images progressed, and his knuckles turned white as he gripped the handle of the xuan heavy ruler.

The Spirit Clan, the entire clan annihilated. The Spirit Realm, from the entrance of the realm to the ruins of the main hall, had all been incinerated by some kind of extremely high-temperature flame.

In the images from the recording jade slip, vast swathes of ruins were covered in varying shades of ghostly blue scorch marks—the unique energy residue left after burning by a Heavenly Flame, shimmering with an eerie fluorescence under the imaging of the soul light screen.

Scattered among the broken walls and ruins were the remains of the Spirit Clan members. Their charred bones were twisted into various grotesque angles. The bloodstains on the ground had long been evaporated by the high temperature, leaving only dark red traces winding through the cracks in the stone bricks.

The image finally froze on the core piece of evidence—several fragments of a broken sword engraved with the Ancient Clan's emblem, carefully picked up from the ruins and placed on the bluestone steps in front of the Spirit Clan's main hall.

The camera slowly zoomed in, and the Ancient Clan's emblem became clearer and clearer in the soul light screen; every line seemed to be issuing a silent accusation to everyone present.

"The Spirit Clan, totaling about eleven thousand people, from Clan Chief Ling Kun to the most ordinary clan member, none were spared." Gu Dao's voice was hoarse and heavy. "Three days later, the Stone Clan was also completely annihilated. The Stone Clan Chief, Shi Dang—a Seven-Star Dou Sheng, someone with skin so thick and flesh so tough that even I would have to exert some effort to deal with him—was refined alive by some kind of extremely tyrannical devouring power. On the scattered fragments of cultivation manuals found on the outskirts of the ruins, the traces of the Ancient Clan's exclusive Profound-tier Dou Technique were left behind." His gaze moved from Xiao Yan's face to the others. "And at the scene, scorch marks of the Golden Emperor Sky Burning Flame were also found, as well as medicinal herb scorch marks from the Sea Heart Flame. To be able to leave these three types of traces simultaneously—"

"Absurd!" Lei Ying slammed his palm onto the armrest, cracking the second newly replaced long table. His bell-like eyes were filled with suppressed anger. "I have been to the Stone Clan ruins. The scorch marks of the Golden Emperor Sky Burning Flame are intertwined with the remnants of the Ancient Clan's secret 'Meteor Heart Palm'. In the entire continent, only your Ancient Clan could leave both these types of traces simultaneously. I have known Gu Yuan for nearly a thousand years and do not believe he would commit such an act of genocide, but the evidence is laid out here—Yao Chen is a veteran Alchemist of a thousand years; he personally went to the outskirts of the Stone Realm to collect samples. The temperature at which those medicinal herbs were scorched matches perfectly with the Heavenly Flame illustrated manual passed down by the Pill Tower's founder—it is the Sea Heart Flame. If the Ancient Clan wishes to prove its innocence, it had best explain clearly right now."

Yao Chen slowly put down the medicinal herb sample he had collected from the outskirts of the Stone Clan ruins. His aged face appeared exceptionally weary under the glow of the lights. The old injury left by the soul piercing was still throbbing with pain, but when he spoke, his voice remained as steady as a rock: "I, this old man, pledge on the thousand-year reputation of the Pill Tower—the medicinal herbs outside the Stone Clan ruins were indeed scorched by the Sea Heart Flame, and the level of the scorch marks is consistent with the sample left when Han Feng offered medicine to Mu Gu back then. But I can also pledge that the Ancient Clan does not possess the Sea Heart Flame. The Sea Heart Flame was originally found by me for my disciple Han Feng. After Han Feng betrayed his master and defected to Mu Gu, he offered it to the Hall of Souls, and it was intercepted by Hun Feng in the Corpse Burial Mountain Range a few months ago. Therefore, the person currently holding the Sea Heart Flame is the Hun Clan's Hun Feng, not the Ancient Clan. However—" He paused for a breath, and a trace of deep helplessness flashed in his old eyes, which had seen all the vicissitudes of life, beneath his white brows. "My word alone is not enough to convince the masses. Other factions will only believe what they see with their own eyes, and what they have seen with their own eyes are the fragments of the Ancient Clan's emblem and the traces of the Ancient Clan's cultivation techniques."

Yan Jin also slowly stood up. This Yan Clan Great Elder had always been a taciturn person, even at the victory banquet, he had just kept his head down and drank. But when he spoke at this moment, the coldness in his voice made everyone present slightly change their expressions: "The Yan Clan has been on good terms with the Ancient Clan all these years out of respect for Gu Yuan's honor. But if the Spirit Clan and Stone Clan were annihilated by the Ancient Clan, then the Yan Clan has been drinking and dining with the murderer. I need an explanation; otherwise, the Yan Clan will withdraw from the Sky Mansion Alliance today."

The hall was deathly silent. The wind blew in from outside the hall door, causing the colorful streamers hanging from the rafters to flap loudly. Gu Xun'er stood behind Xiao Yan. For the first time, a trace of barely perceptible anxiety appeared in her eyes, which were as clear as an ancient well. She gently tugged on Xiao Yan's sleeve and lowered her voice: "Brother Xiao Yan, the Ancient Clan could not have done such a thing. I have seen those broken sword fragments; they are old items that the Ancient Clan lost on the spatial battlefield three thousand years ago, and it is recorded in the clan's archives. Someone is framing us."

Xiao Yan did not turn back, only giving a slight nod. But his gaze fell upon Gu Dao's livid, aged face, and a highly ominous thought surged in his heart—Sea Heart Flame. He knew all too well who held the Sea Heart Flame now. The Sea Heart Flame scorch marks at the Ling Clan ruins and the herbal scorch marks outside the Shi Clan ruins were left by the same Heavenly Flame, and that Heavenly Flame had been intercepted by Hun Feng from right under his nose at the Corpse Burial Mountain Range. This was Hun Feng's open conspiracy—using the Heavenly Flame that Xiao Yan had once tried to reclaim to, in turn, frame the Ancient Clan. He could even imagine the calm and unhurried expression on Hun Feng's face while arranging these scorch marks, exactly the same as when he had said to him in the Demon Flame Space, "Xun'er is truly devoted to you."

But he could not speak of it. Because speaking would only make the situation worse—everyone present knew of his personal feud with Hun Feng, and also knew of his special relationship with Gu Xun'er. Once he spoke up to defend the Ancient Clan, Lei Ying and Yan Jin would not think he was stating facts; they would only think he was protecting his future father-in-law. At that point, not only would he be unable to clear the Ancient Clan of suspicion, but it would also severely damage the internal trust in him within the Alliance. Therefore, he could only clench his fists, letting his nails dig into his palms, and force the truth that had rolled to his throat back down.

Gu Dao took a deep breath, his white hair fluttering without wind. He braced his hands on the long table and slowly stood up, his gaze sweeping across everyone present like a blade, finally landing on Xiao Yan's face, his voice deep and resonant like an ancient bell: "The Ancient Clan's thousand-year reputation will not be slandered. This old man will immediately return to the Ancient World to report to the Clan Chief. Within three days, the Alliance will receive the Ancient Clan's formal proof of innocence. Before this old man returns—"

"Elder Gu Dao," Xiao Yan finally spoke, his voice very calm, as if stating the simplest of facts, "I will go with you to see Senior Gu Yuan. The matter of the Ling Clan and the Shi Clan is not just the Ancient Clan's affair; it is the affair of the entire Alliance. I have words I must ask Senior Gu Yuan in person." He paused, then turned his head to look at Yao Chen, "Teacher, as for the Sky Mansion Alliance—"

"Go with peace of mind." Yao Chen nodded, his aged palm patting Xiao Yan's shoulder, "With this old bag of bones here, the Alliance will not fall into chaos." He looked back at Fairy Qing. The moment their eyes met, Fairy Qing nodded slightly without speaking, but that extremely light, subtle nod was enough for Yao Chen to understand her meaning—the Flower Sect would not withdraw.

Lei Ying picked up his wine bowl and downed it in one gulp, the bottom of the bowl thumping heavily against the table with a dull sound: "Xiao Yan, go ahead. Since the Lei Clan has joined the Alliance, we have no intention of retreating halfway. No matter who did this, I will personally twist his head off."

Yan Jin was silent for a moment, then finally nodded slowly: "The Yan Clan will not withdraw from the Alliance for now, but the Ancient Clan needs to provide an explanation."

Xiao Yan bowed to everyone one by one, then turned to Gu Xun'er. Xun'er had already stood up, her green clothes like a lotus, black hair like a waterfall. The trace of anxiety on her cold, clear face had quietly faded, replaced by a composure and firmness that belied her age. She did not say much, only walking to Xiao Yan's side and gently taking his hand, their fingers interlacing.

Meanwhile, in the Soul Realm, at the Hall of Hun Tiandi.

When Hun Feng stepped into the great hall, Hun Tiandi was half-reclining on the giant chair made of soul-devouring iron, his left hand supporting his chin, his right index finger tapping the armrest one by one. Suspended before him was a mirror formed from soul mist, displaying a bird's-eye view of the Ling Clan ruins. The distribution angles of the Sea Heart Flame scorch marks, the placement of the broken sword fragments, the few footprints deliberately left blank outside the Shi Clan ruins—every detail was repeatedly magnified, rotated, and compared in the mirror, and Hun Tiandi watched with relish. Void Swallowing Flame stood at his side, arms crossed, his eyes burning with black flames also fixed on the mirror; judging by the frequency of the black flames' churning, he was in a very good mood. Hun Qinger leaned in a corner, her fingertips still twisting that ice-crystal lotus, only this time she was twisting it a bit faster than usual—that was her habitual action when in a pleasant mood. Soul Yuan Tian and Elder Hun Tu stood on the left and right, the aura of the two Eight Star Dou Sheng profound as an abyss, their gazes also fixed on the mirror.

"Well done." Hun Tiandi spoke first, his voice carrying a hint of undisguised approval, "The scorch marks at the Ling Clan ruins are distinct in layers, and the temperature of the Sea Heart Flame was controlled just right—too hot and it would burn through the stone layer and reveal flaws, too cold and it wouldn't leave sufficiently clear traces. The angle of the broken sword fragments at the scene was also well placed, just caught in the gap of the third step of the main hall stairs; investigators would have to crouch down and search carefully to find them. Too conspicuous and it would be suspected as a frame-up, too hidden and one would worry it wouldn't be found—this balance was struck perfectly."

"The broken sword fragments were specially forged by Hun You and the Assassination Department according to the old style of the Ancient Clan from three thousand years ago. There were seven such fragments lost by the Ancient Clan on the spatial battlefield back then, and I had Hun You forge eight—leaving an extra one in the deepest part of the Shi Clan ruins, so that the investigators would think finding this piece was luck and suspect nothing." Hun Feng stepped forward and placed the already prepared action summary jade slip in his hand on Hun Tiandi's desk. This jade slip recorded the entire process from intelligence preparation to the final cleanup at the scene; every distribution of scorch marks, every placement of physical evidence, and every point that might be questioned by investigators had a detailed contingency plan attached, "The only evidence the Ancient Clan can currently use to prove their innocence is the origin of the Golden Emperor Sky Burning Flame within Gu Xun'er—but the Golden Emperor Sky Burning Flame cannot leave traceable scorch temperatures like ordinary Heavenly Flames; the Emperor Flame aura that comes with the Heavenly Flame upon awakening will wipe out all external energy tracing. Even if the Ancient Clan were to show off Xun'er's Heavenly Flame to the entire continent, it would only prove that she herself did not participate in the extermination, not that the Golden Emperor Sky Burning Flame had not been borrowed or copied by others in the Ancient Clan through special means, not to mention that the Ancient Clan has collected over a hundred Heavenly Flame secret scrolls in the Scripture Pavilion over the last three thousand years. They are destined to swallow this bitter pill."

"Have you found the whereabouts of the last survivor of the Ling Clan?" Hun Tiandi asked nonchalantly.

"There was indeed a Three-Star Dou Sheng from the Ling Clan who escaped through a secret passage. I had Elder Hun Tu keep him at the edge of the Gate of Dead Silence for three days, deliberately letting him see all the physical evidence at the scene clearly, and then pursued him all the way to the outskirts of the Spirit Realm. Finally, it was Hun You who personally finished him off at the edge of the spatial turbulence, adding a strike of the pink flame of the Purification Lotus Demon Flame to the fatal wound—this pink flame is extremely difficult to distinguish from the color of the Golden Emperor Sky Burning Flame in spatial turbulence. When investigators examine the wound, they will mistake it for the scorch mark of the Golden Emperor Sky Burning Flame, but in reality, I had already let Yao Yao leave a trace of the Purification Lotus Demon Flame on the bone whip as a disguise. The corpse was dumped in the Central Plains as planned and was recovered simultaneously by the joint injury examination team of seven forces. This ensures that every force can see the Ancient Clan emblem fragment and the Heavenly Flame scorch marks with their own eyes." Hun Feng said this with a cold, faint smile on his face, "Gu Dao slammed two tables, but simply could not produce any evidence to prove it was the Hun Clan who did it."

"Because what is the use of him knowing it was the Hun Clan?" Hun Tiandi finished the second half of the sentence for him, the smile at the corner of his lips carrying a rare bit of appreciation, "Without evidence, even if the whole world knows the Ancient Clan is being framed, they can only swallow this bitter pill."

"Exactly." Hun Feng bowed slightly, "Moreover—the Ancient Clan's backyard will soon be on fire again. The dark thread of Elder Gu Qian that was buried earlier is about time to be reeled in."

Hun Tiandi tilted his head to signal him to continue. Hun Feng took the third jade slip from his sleeve and placed it on the desk. This jade slip contained all the evidence of the black money that Gu Huan, son of Elder Gu Qian, had taken over the past three years—every account transaction had a clear source of origin attached, including copies of account books leaked from within the Ancient Clan, video jade slips secretly recorded by Hall of Souls dark agents when Gu Huan's subordinates were trading in the Pill Tower black market, and even records of soul transmissions between Gu Huan himself and several black market merchants. When Hun You was adding scorch marks outside the Shi Clan, he had also conveniently delivered the final piece of evidence against Gu Huan back to the Soul Realm.

"Elder Gu Qian is the leader of the peace faction in the Ancient Clan Elder Hall. After Gu Dao led the Three Immortal Guards to reinforce the Starfall Pavilion, he had been enduring without acting, not because he had given up, but because he was waiting for an opportunity for the Ancient Clan to make a mistake. Now that the entire continent is questioning the Ancient Clan for exterminating the two clans, the evidence of Gu Huan's crimes has 'coincidentally' flowed at this critical juncture to the Ancient Clan's Discipline Hall, the envoys of the Yan Clan and Lei Clan stationed in the Ancient World, and the private communication tokens of all the Ancient Clan elders—even if Elder Gu Qian wanted to suppress it, he couldn't. He should have known the day he laughed from start to finish at the Ancient Emperor Hall that I am a person who holds a grudge."

Hun Tiandi listened and was silent for a moment. Then he smiled. It was not the light, indifferent, half-smile from before, but a genuine, heartfelt smile. He put down the ancient scroll in his hand, stood up from the main seat, and walked to Hun Feng. His eyes, deep as the void, were full of appreciation, and he reached out to pat Hun Feng on the shoulder, with a force that was neither too light nor too heavy—a gesture that had appeared only a handful of times in his thousand-year career as Clan Chief.

"Feng'er, you are indeed different after returning this time. The Hun Clan does not need a brute who only knows how to fight and kill, but an operator who can make the entire continent follow our script. The means of exterminating the Ling Clan and the Shi Clan were clean and neat, the layout to frame the Ancient Clan was watertight, and even the timing of the fire in the Ancient Clan's backyard was calculated just right—this kind of mind is more than a notch stronger than your father's back in the day. Speak, what reward do you want?"

Hun Feng raised his head, meeting Hun Tiandi's eyes full of approval, and his lips curled slightly: "No reward is necessary; the Soul Origin Pills that the Clan Chief gave before have not been used up yet. However—" He paused, his tone suddenly becoming a bit lighter, as if chatting with an elder about a trivial matter, "There is indeed one thing I would like to discuss with the Clan Chief. The supplies for the Snake-People Tribe—I would like to add another thirty percent next time. The cold in the Magical Beast Mountain Range is extremely severe after entering autumn, and the Snake-People Tribe is naturally afraid of the cold. Your Cold Jade Amulets and Red Flame Ore are not valuable things, and they are just right for use when encountering a big drop in temperature. Also, I would like to borrow a fire-attribute seal from Lord Void to lock in the fire energy leaking from the Red Flame Ore, so as not to cause trouble for others during transportation."

Hun Tiandi waved his hand, leaned back into his main seat, and picked up the ancient scroll that seemed never-ending. His tone returned to his usual lazy and casual manner, but the smile at the corner of his mouth had not yet faded: "You can handle such small matters yourself; there is no need to report to me. Soul Mie Sheng manages the material allocation of the Hall of Souls' External Affairs Department; you can just go find him for approval." He turned a page of the book, and as if suddenly remembering something, added, "By the way—I heard you have been running to the East Courtyard every day recently? That daughter of Xiao Yan, is she calling you Daddy?"

Void Swallowing Flame leaned back against the chair, a trace of faint amusement flashing in his black flame eyes. Soul Yuan Tian lowered his old, dark green eyes, pretending to look at the void outside the door, but his withered mouth twitched noticeably. Elder Hun Tu simply turned his face away and coughed. Hun Qinger's fingers twisting the ice-crystal lotus paused, her ice-blue eyes landing on Hun Feng's face, a barely perceptible arc appearing at the corners of her lips.

"The child is just babbling nonsense." Hun Feng said, his expression unchanged.

"Hmm, the child is just babbling nonsense." Hun Tiandi repeated, the teasing tone in his voice impossible to hide, but he did not continue to ask, only lowering his head again to look at his ancient scroll and waving his hand to signal that Hun Feng could leave.

Hun Feng turned and strode toward the outside of the hall, his dark black robe lifted by a corner by the cold wind of the Void Ferry at the hall entrance. Yao Yao had long been leaning against the stone pillar outside the hall waiting for him; seeing him come out, she tucked the newly repaired bone whip into her waist and chased after him in her strappy sandals.