35: Chapter 35 The Eve of the Storm

Soul Realm, East Courtyard.

The afternoon breeze passed through the canopy of the sweet osmanthus trees, dislodging a few leaves that fell beside a plate of freshly steamed pastries on the stone table. Mu Xiao lay at the edge of the table, resting her chin on her small hands. Spread out before her was a gold-traced booklet that Hun Qian had dug up from somewhere, which was a catalog of the Hun Clan treasury's collection. She was copying a drawing of a sword, said to have been used by an ancient Soul Emperor, onto paper with a charcoal pencil, her hand trembling. The patterns on the hilt she drew were thicker than the blade itself.

Yao Yao sat beside her, peeling grapes and popping one into her mouth for every one she peeled. When she reached the third grape, Mu Xiao mumbled, "Auntie, I'll eat after I finish drawing," her eyes never leaving the paper. Recently, she had become obsessed with various old items in the Hun Clan treasury, grabbing one every day to ask her father what this was or what that was. When Hun Feng couldn't answer, she would go find Hun Qian; when Hun Qian couldn't answer, she would go find Soul Yuan Tian. Finally, annoyed by her endless questions, Soul Yuan Tian threw the key to his side hall, which was filled with antiques, to her and told her to go look for herself.

Medusa walked out of the house, the hem of her light purple gauze skirt brushing against the threshold. She was carrying two cups of freshly brewed tea. She placed one beside Yao Yao and leaned against a pillar with the other, watching her daughter's focused expression, the corners of her lips curving up very slightly. She no longer wore her queen's formal attire in the East Courtyard, and her golden waist ornaments had been removed. She only used a thin silver chain to loosely cinch her waist, and her long hair was tied up casually behind her head. The cold, sharp aura had faded from her, replaced by a touch of domestic tranquility.

"Sister Cai Lin, your hair is braided beautifully today." Yao Yao popped a grape into her mouth.

"It's because you taught me well." Medusa took a sip of tea, her gaze falling on Yao Yao's hands, which were busy peeling grapes. Since the first day she arrived in the Soul Realm, this woman in the black dress had never given her a cold face, even when she herself had been irritable towards everyone. Having lived for so many years, she had seen countless reasons for people to approach her, but only Yao Yao's kindness had never required a reason from the start. Yao Yao helped her gain a foothold in the Soul Realm not because of the Young Master's orders, but simply because she felt she was worthy of the Young Master. She never mentioned this sentiment out loud, but she had long kept it in her heart.

Soul Realm, side hall, Lin Qingwan's residence.

Lin Qingwan sat in a rattan chair by the window, a dark sandalwood box carved with orchid patterns placed in front of her. The box was already very old, the copper plates on the corners polished until they shone; it was one of the dowries she had brought from the Lin family to the Hun Clan. She opened the box, and inside were two neatly folded red wedding dresses.

The first one was the one she wore when she married Hun Yuan, the fabric slightly yellowed, but the magnolia flower on the cuffs—the family crest of the long-extinct Lin family—was still embroidered with gold thread, as vivid as ever. Her fingertips rested on the petals for a long while before she carefully set it aside.

The second one was brand new. She had spent many nights sewing it by hand. The collar and cuffs were embroidered with the Hun Clan's emblem and the Snake-People Tribe's totem intertwined using the Hun Clan's unique dark gold thread. She had added an extra layer of extremely thin purple cloud brocade to the lining—Cai Lin was the queen of the Snake-People Tribe, so the wedding night should naturally feature her own tribe's colors. She unfolded the wedding dress to examine it closely against the light from the window, then picked up a needle and thread to add a few stitches to the waistline.

Then, she took out a palm-sized ice jade box from the bottom of the box, with a magnolia flower carved on its lid. She took off a very thin silver bracelet from her wrist and placed it in the box. That was the first piece of jewelry Hun Yuan had crafted himself when he married her, and she intended to give it to Yao Yao. Yao Yao had followed Hun Feng since she was a child, without any maternal family or dowry; since she was five, she only knew how to run after the Young Master. From that time on, Lin Qingwan had treated this girl as half a daughter, though she had never said it out loud.

She closed the box and bent down to pick up a stack of neatly folded new clothes from the corner of the wall—those were the ones she had sewn for Mu Xiao. From the first month Mu Xiao arrived in the Soul Realm, she had made clothes for her by hand. At first, she only made one, but then she added them one by one until today, when they filled Mu Xiao's entire wardrobe. She unfolded the smallest little dress to look at it, the fine lines at the corners of her eyes filled with tenderness. This courtyard had been lonely for too long, and now, finally, there were the sounds of a home.

Hall of Hun Tiandi.

Hun Feng stood before the sand table, which displayed the complete defense distribution map of the Soul Realm and its surrounding areas. Soul Yuan Tian stood with his hands behind his back on the left, and Hun Qian stood on the right, holding a battle report jade slip. There were only three people in the hall.

"Arrange the defenses on the day of the wedding according to the highest regulations within the clan." Hun Feng's finger traced slowly along the path from the main entrance of the Soul Realm to the main hall on the sand table. "Elder Hun Tu will personally guard the main entrance, Hun Qinger will hold the main hall, and the outer perimeter of the East Courtyard will be left to Hun You and the Assassination Department to watch. All non-core guards will receive triple the reward as per the rules, but the rotation schedule remains unchanged."

Soul Yuan Tian raised his dark green, aged eyes, his voice as hoarse as gravel: "Young Master, there is a section of old wall between the third and fifth sentry posts on the path from the main entrance to the main hall, where the spatial structure is not very stable. This old man suggests deploying an extra restriction there."

"No need. Not only do we not need to reinforce it, but we should also extend the shift change interval of the third sentry post from half a cup of tea to a full cup of tea. Just leave that section as it is; defend the other areas as usual."

Hun Qian frowned slightly, but he saw the expression he was most familiar with on Hun Feng's face and swallowed his words of dissuasion, simply bowing and responding, "Understood." Every time the Young Master wore this expression, it meant someone was about to suffer.

Hun Feng withdrew his finger, his tone as flat as if he were talking about tonight's dinner: "Xiao Yan will definitely come. If he doesn't come, he wouldn't be called Xiao Yan. Since he wants to come, let him make a fuss outside the main entrance—the more movement on the periphery, the better the show on Xiao Zhan's side will be."

Soul Yuan Tian remained silent for a moment: "Does the Young Master want to finish him off on the day of the wedding?"

"Finishing him off isn't the point, after all, I promised Cai Lin I wouldn't kill him. But Xiao Yan's existence itself is the biggest variable in the Hun Clan's unification of the continent. I don't want to wait until he rises to power later to take action. If he dares to break into the Soul Realm, he will naturally run into Hun Qinger's Ice Soul Dou Qi and your Gate of Dead Silence—at that time, whether he lives or dies will no longer be a matter of whether I stop it or not."

Starfall Pavilion, back mountain.

The light of four types of Heavenly Flames dyed the entire bamboo forest into a four-colored sea of fire. Xiao Yan stood shirtless in the center of the bamboo forest, his xuan heavy ruler stuck horizontally in the scorched earth beside him. The speed of his hand seals was nearly twice as fast as it had been several days ago. A dark gold palm print blasted out from his palm, smashing into the mountain wall a hundred feet away—the mountain wall shattered, and the rubble was melted into magma by the residual heat of the Three Thousand Burning Flame before it could even hit the ground. This was the fifth successful execution of the fifth seal of the Emperor Seal Art, and a very faint emperor pattern had already appeared on the dark gold palm print; it was a sign that the Ancient Emperor Seal was nearing completion.

He gasped for breath after withdrawing his palm, sweat dripping down his chin onto the scorched earth, sizzling. The power of the Ancient Emperor Seal was indeed astonishing, but with his current Dou Qi reserves, he could perform it at most twice in a battle; after twice, his Dou Qi would be depleted. If he couldn't escape by then, there would be no way out. Relying on the Ancient Emperor Seal alone was not enough—to break into the core area of the Soul Realm and snatch a living person from under the noses of Hun Qinger and Soul Yuan Tian, he needed a means to withstand the soul pressure of an Eight Star Dou Sheng. Looking across the entire Fighting Qi Continent, there was only one race capable of withstanding soul pressure of that level.

The Void Ancient Dragon.

He took out a dragon-scale-shaped ancient jade from his storage ring. It was a token Zi Yan had left for him when they parted at Ancient Dragon Island, and he had never been willing to use it. Zi Yan had only recently quelled the rebellion of the three major Dragon Islands, and the Void Ancient Dragon Clan was still undergoing reconstruction; he had originally been unwilling to drag her into his personal affairs. But now he had no choice. He crushed the dragon scale, and a streak of extremely thin golden light shot into the sky, disappearing into the depths of the void in an instant.

Ancient Dragon Island, main hall of East Dragon Island.

Zi Yan was dozing off, resting her chin on one hand on the Dragon Emperor's throne, a trail of glistening drool hanging from the corner of her mouth. Since the rebellion of the three major Dragon Islands was quelled, she, the new Dragon Emperor, had been either reviewing the reconstruction documents sent by the various islands or mediating the endless arguments between the elders of East Dragon Island and West Dragon Island every day. She felt like she was being driven crazy.

Then she sensed the fluctuation of that dragon scale shattering.

She opened her eyes abruptly, a sharp, cold glint flashing in her golden pupils. The several Dragon Island elders who were still arguing in the hall were all silenced by her sudden aura. Before they could react, she had already disappeared from the Dragon Emperor's throne, leaving behind only a golden afterimage slowly fading in the air and a resounding sentence: "Whoever wants to be this Dragon Emperor can be it, I'm going to help Xiao Yan fight!"

Starfall Pavilion, back mountain.

In less than half a day, the void above the back mountain was torn open by a small, fair hand from within. Zi Yan jumped out of the spatial rift, her purple-gold dragon scale soft armor shining in the sun. Her aura as a late-stage Four-Star Dou Sheng was more condensed and heavy than when she was quelling the rebellion on Ancient Dragon Island. She was stunned for a moment when she saw Xiao Yan shirtless and covered in sweat, then looked him up and down: "I thought you were dying, but you're secretly practicing here? Tell me, what could make you use your only token?"

Xiao Yan briefly explained the matter of the wedding in the Soul Realm. He did not embellish it, but told the story exactly as it was: Medusa and Xiao Xiao being taken away by Hun Feng, Xiao Zhan still being imprisoned in the Hall of Souls dungeon, and his plan to sneak into the Soul Realm to save them on the day of the wedding.

Zi Yan was silent for a moment after listening, then put her hands on her hips, her golden pupils almost spitting fire: "That guy surnamed Hun not only snatched Sister Cai Lin and Xiao Xiao but also wants to hold a grand wedding? How do you plan to go?"

"The spatial barriers around the Soul Realm are extremely dense, and ordinary teleportation arrays cannot penetrate them. I need the Void Ancient Dragon's innate spatial traversal ability to help me tear open a gap and open a hidden passage from the inside on the day of the wedding." Xiao Yan said in a deep voice, "But I will not bring the Dragon Island army—the spatial turbulence around the Soul Realm is too dangerous. Hundreds of lives for one path is not worth it."

Zi Yan slapped Xiao Yan on the shoulder, almost knocking him into the magma pool beside them: "Nonsense, do you think my Void Ancient Dragon's innate spatial traversal is just for show? No matter how dense the Soul Realm's spatial barriers are, can they be denser than the Ancient Dragon Island's Ten Thousand Dragon Locking Void Array? Leave this to me. But remember—I'm helping you because you are my Xiao Yan, not because of some Sky Mansion Alliance. You must make up for this meal you owe me when you get back." She spoke carelessly, but the deep solemnity in the depths of her golden pupils could not be hidden.

Starfall Pavilion, Pill Hall.

Yao Chen stood before the pill furnace, the furnace fire reflecting on his aged and focused face. Not far behind him, Fairy Qing sat on a stone stool in the corner of the Pill Hall, holding a cup of tea that had long since gone cold, her white moonlight-colored martial attire stained with a few faint medicinal stains on the cuffs. She had been sitting in the Pill Hall for nearly an hour, and Yao Chen had neither told her to leave nor to stay. The two of them just sat there, separated by a pill furnace and a room full of medicinal fragrance, neither speaking first.

In the end, it was Yao Chen who gave in first. He opened the furnace lid to check the quality of the pills, then put the best ones into a jade bottle and placed it beside her: "Although the old injury you sustained at the Pill Tower has long since ceased to be an issue, you should still be careful. This batch of medicine is of good quality; keep it for the female disciples of the Flower Sect."

Fairy Qing took the jade bottle, her fingertips gently rubbing the bottle: "I waited for you to return for a long time back then. Later, when I heard you were imprisoned by the Hall of Souls, I searched for you for a long time."

Yao Chen's hand stopped on the edge of the pill furnace. Fairy Qing stood up and put the jade bottle into her sleeve, stopping for a moment when she reached the door of the Pill Hall: "I don't have to wait this time. You have already returned."

Xuan Yi was sitting on the stone steps outside the door. She was holding a plate of freshly cut spiritual fruits, and seeing Fairy Qing come out, she moved aside naturally. Fairy Qing sat down beside her, took the spiritual fruit she handed over, and took a bite. The two of them sat side by side on the stone steps, neither mentioning the old man who was still dazed in front of the pill furnace.

Starfall Pavilion, back mountain medicinal garden.

Xiao Yi Xian squatted in the field, loosening the soil for a seven-core begonia. The cuffs of her plain white dress were rolled up to her elbows, and her ten fingers were covered with mud and tiny flower petals. Six petals of the seven-core begonia had already unfolded, and the seventh had just revealed its tender tip. She straightened her waist and wiped the fine sweat from her forehead with the back of her hand, her gaze passing over the restriction light curtain of the medicinal garden and falling on the bamboo forest in the back mountain that had been riddled with holes by the Heavenly Flames.

Xiao Yan hadn't been to the medicinal garden for several days. She knew he was practicing desperately, and she also knew the reason for his desperation. She didn't disturb him, but carefully packed the poisonous herbs she had cultivated to restrain soul bodies into jade boxes one by one. Some of them were for Xun'er and the others to protect themselves—a toxic bead that could release poison mist at a critical moment to cover their retreat, a bottle of paralysis powder that could numb the perception of high-level Dou Sheng, and a poison soul flower that could nourish the soul. To others, it was deadly poison, but in her hands, poison was medicine.

After packing the last jade box, she stood up and looked in the direction of the four-colored sea of fire in the back mountain, remaining silent for a long time.

Starfall Pavilion, back mountain, night.

Gu Xun'er walked through the bamboo forest to Xiao Yan's side and took an ancient jade token from her bosom, placing it in his palm. It was the Ancient Clan Supreme Elder Token, and with this token, he could mobilize all the undercover agents of the Ancient Clan lurking on the periphery of the Soul Realm.

"Father tacitly approved it. He said this is what he owes you." Xun'er's voice was very soft, as if she were talking about a trivial matter, but her eye sockets were slightly red, and her fingers were trembling slightly. She knew the weight of this token—the Ancient Clan's undercover agents had been lurking on the periphery of the Soul Realm for thousands of years, and once used, it meant that all these thousand-year-old dark lines would be exposed, and the Ancient Clan's centuries of hard work would be destroyed in an instant.

Xiao Yan gripped the token tightly, looking down at Xun'er's red eyes, and reached out to pull her into his arms. She was trembling slightly, but the force with which she hugged his back was tighter than any other embrace. He kissed her gently on the top of her head and whispered a sentence in her ear. The night wind blew into the entrance of the cave, ruffling the stray hair on Xun'er's forehead. She didn't answer, just buried her face in his chest, leaving her tears on his lapel.