394: The reason why they were able to evade the Heavenly Emperor's notice

Qin Xuanji seemed to daze for a moment before nodding naturally, his tone relaxed.

"Of course. Does Big Brother not believe me?"

Qin Wudao slowly turned around, his gaze falling like two physical beams of sword light.

Under such a serious gaze, the smile on Qin Xuanji's face gradually faded, eventually turning into a helpless sigh.

"Fine," he shrugged, "as expected, I still can't hide it from you, Big Brother?"

As he spoke, he raised his hand and lightly peeled something from the side of his face—

As if tearing off an invisible thin film, his appearance underwent a subtle change.

"There, it's done." Qin Xuanji spread his hands, his tone sincere.

Qin Wudao did not speak, but continued to look at him, his brow slightly furrowed.

Although he couldn't see clearly, his intuition told him—something was wrong.

Sure enough, under this gaze, the expression on Qin Xuanji's face finally couldn't hold up.

After revealing a wry smile that said "I really can't do anything about you," he peeled off two more layers.

His originally delicate and somewhat scholarly features became sharper, his eyes seemed to deepen, and his temperament shifted from gentle and restrained to revealing a trace of indescribable detachment and mystery.

"It's really gone now."

Just as his voice fell—

Buzz!

Qin Wudao's daoji sword, still in its scabbard, shot out without warning, piercing straight toward Qin Xuanji's face!

This strike was fast, accurate, and ruthless, carrying a hint of irritation from being toyed with.

The scabbard passed through the head without any physical contact, only creating a ripple.

The figure dissipated like a reflection in water, while the sword plunged heavily into the scorched earth in the distance.

It was fake.

"What are you doing, Big Brother? Let's go."

Qin Xuanji's voice came from behind Qin Wudao.

Qin Wudao's pupils suddenly constricted. He didn't turn around immediately, but stared fixedly at the dissipating phantom in front of him, his knuckles whitening as he gripped his sword.

When did he...?

During the confrontation just now, that aura, that reaction, the shockwave from the Sword Intent collision... it was clearly a real person.

But when and how did he switch?

He hadn't noticed a thing.

Footsteps sounded from behind him. Qin Xuanji had already walked several yards away. As if guessing the confusion in his heart, he spoke without turning his head, his voice drifting with the wind:

"All Manifestations Are My Mark."

"Rocks, flowing water, or even a wisp of Spiritual Qi drifting between heaven and earth... anything I reach can briefly become one of my Incarnations."

"The downside is that within a single 'gaze,' I can only manifest one Incarnation."

"The advantage is... the Incarnation and I can swap positions at any time."

He paused, his tone carrying a hint of helpless joking:

"At first I thought it was useless, but as I practiced... I accidentally... practiced it to the point of being everywhere."

Qin Wudao stared intently at his back, but in the blink of an eye—the figure walking away disappeared.

Almost simultaneously, a palm lightly landed on his shoulder.

"What do you think of this Life-Bound Technique?" Qin Xuanji's smiling voice sounded right by his ear.

Qin Wudao's shoulder sank as he shrugged off the hand, letting out a light snort from his nose.

"The way of a rat."

Qin Xuanji wasn't annoyed either, nodding repeatedly with a tone so sincere it was almost perfunctory:

"Yes, yes, yes, a rat, a rat."

"However," Qin Wudao didn't stop walking, looking straight ahead, "since you can only swap positions, it's not unsolvable."

"Next time, I'll just blast you along with the entire area."

"Oh?" Qin Xuanji turned his head, a playful light flashing in his eyes, "What, was that Heavenly Punishment not big enough? I've been guarding against that move all along."

"And Big Brother."

He paused, lowering his voice slightly:

"I've only told you about the ability of my Life-Bound Technique; don't go spreading it around."

Qin Wudao was silent for a moment, only letting out a very faint cold snort from his throat.

"Rat."

"That's enough! Who was the one who said they wouldn't use swords or laws, and then couldn't handle losing in the end?"

After he finished speaking, there was a moment of silence.

Qin Xuanji looked into the distance. The black smoke from the fall of the xuntian seat was still slowly rising on the horizon, like a scar branded onto the sky.

He then looked at Qin Kuangge and Qin Qingzheng in the distance, who were supporting each other.

The playful expression on his face gradually settled, and his voice softened:

"This... is also good."

"The Family has had it too easy these years. So easy that it makes people forget that comfort itself is the slowest-acting poison."

"This 'defeat,' this pain... is exactly a potent medicine."

He paused, his tone carrying a hint of expectation:

"Let them see the gap with their own eyes, and experience for themselves what powerlessness and desperation are. Before true destruction descends, experiencing enough setbacks first... this is the most necessary lesson for the Family's future."

"Keep it up, everyone."

"At this level... it's still far from being enough."

"You're not enough either," Qin Wudao suddenly spoke up while listening.

"Shut up, Big Brother! If I get serious, I'll definitely take you down in seconds."

With that, the two said no more, turned toward Qin Wangchuan's direction, and stepped across the scorched earth together.

Along with Qin Kuangge and Qin Qingzheng, the four arrived outside the ruins of Qiyun City.

Fortunately, the city had long been evacuated. Besides Qin Wangchuan and Qin Hongchen, an elderly figure still stood amidst the ruins.

Upon seeing him, the group immediately knelt to pay their respects:

"Old Ancestor."

Only Qin Wudao remained standing, squinting his eyes as if trying to discern something carefully.

"Old Ancestor?"

"Stop looking." Qin Xuanji pushed him down.

Qin Taiyi's dharma body had a solemn expression, his gaze falling on the exposed bones at the severed neck of the headless female corpse on the ground—there, a warm and pure pale golden luster, vastly different from ordinary bones, was faintly circulating.

He gazed for several breaths before slowly spitting out those four words:

"Full-body immortal bone."

Qin Hongchen trembled violently.

Qin Wangchuan's head lowered further—he had already thought of this answer.

In all the heavens, the only thing that could completely hide from the Heavenly Emperor's gaze was this.

Qin Xuanji and the others also looked solemn. No one present failed to understand the meaning behind those four words.

Full-body immortal bone, an existence with no fate, jumping outside the Karma of the Three Thousand Continents.

This also meant—this thing could never be born naturally; there must be someone pulling the strings behind the scenes.

"The immortal bones of the Three Thousand Continents have all fallen into the hands of my Qin Family. It's impossible to create a second set. It's the Foreign Races."

"No secret technique to assist, no Supreme Bone to neutralize, and on top of that, using inferior fillings—they used Sacrificial Bones."

"A defective product made by blending Sacrificial Bones and immortal bones."

"The only use for this defective product is to obscure the Heavenly Secrets, attempting to... insert themselves into my Qin Family."

"This has been premeditated for a long time."