174: Chapter 174 The Rain is Like a Knife!

Yun Feiyang carried Ruan Songting's corpse to the ancestral grounds behind the mountain.

There was an open space behind the mountain, planted with several rows of old cypress trees, under which were buried the cenotaphs of the past Ancestral Masters of Xingluo Valley.

He laid Ruan Songting down and turned to head down the mountain.

When he came back up, there was another corpse on his back.

It was Zhao Nanzhou.

He placed Zhao Nanzhou in the spot closest to Ruan Songting, wiped the blood from his face, and went back down.

The third trip, the fourth trip, the fifth trip.

Alone, he walked from the Sect Master's Peak to the Inner Sect Square, from the Inner Sect Square to the Outer Sect mountain path, carrying every corpse he could find up to the grounds behind the mountain one by one.

Elder Qian, Fang Jing, Senior Sister Song, Chen Xiaodie, Zhou Xiaoshuan.

Those whose names he could call, and those whose names he could not.

For two days and one night, he never closed his eyes.

Yun Feiyang held a shovel, digging pits one spadeful at a time.

He dug very slowly.

Each time he filled in a spadeful of soil, he would carve a name onto the stone slab beside the pit.

Once the names were carved, rain began to fall from the sky.

At first, it was a light drizzle, pitter-pattering against the cypress leaves.

By the time he had buried everyone, the rain had grown heavy, pouring down like a deluge.

The last grave was Ruan Songting's.

Yun Feiyang knelt before the grave, hands pressed into the soaked soil, rain mixed with mud coating his body.

He spoke.

"Foster Father."

His voice was scattered by the rain, and he called out again.

"Foster Father, I am here."

No one answered him.

The stone slab before the grave was carved with "Tomb of Ruan Songting, 17th Valley Master of Xingluo Valley", the strokes crooked and blurred by the rain.

Yun Feiyang raised his head, and the rain lashed against his face.

"I, Yun Feiyang, swear an oath to the heavens today."

His voice rose sharply, drowning out the sound of the rain.

"The blood debt the Daoxuan Immortal Sect owes Xingluo Valley, I will collect it, one by one."

"Xingwan, I will definitely bring her back."

"Gu Changsheng's head, I will cut it off with my own hands and place it here."

He knelt on one knee, slamming his right fist into the mud.

"Those who violate this oath..."

"May they be destroyed by heaven and earth!"

"Rumble..."

The moment his words fell, a thunderclap rolled across the sky.

It was as if heaven and earth were responding to this oath.

Yun Feiyang knelt in the mud and water, soaked through, rain dripping down his chin and into his collar.

He knelt for a long time.

When he stood up, the madness in his eyes had receded, replaced by a coldness like stagnant water.

"Going to find Gu Changsheng now is suicide."

He wiped the rain from his face and glanced down the mountain.

"Xingwan is still alive, which means Gu Changsheng does not intend to kill her; she is bait used to lure me."

"If I do not appear, she will be safer."

Yun Feiyang took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the surging killing intent in his chest.

"In my previous life... in the depths of the southwest of the Eastern Region, there was an ancient Secret Realm that was only discovered seven years later."

"Inside, there is a Taisui Spirit Ginseng; after consuming it, one can break through to the Celestial Phenomenon Realm within three months."

"I cannot wait seven years."

He turned around and took one last look at the graves behind him.

"Wait for me to return."

A green light shot into the sky, disappearing into the torrential rain.

Daoxuan Immortal Sect, Changsheng Peak.

Zhongli Yuan stood outside the main hall, sleeves folded, waiting for a quarter of an hour.

The hall doors pushed open, and Gu Yi walked out.

"Consultant Zhong, the Young Lord wants you to enter."

"Many thanks."

Zhongli Yuan lowered his head and crossed the threshold, his gaze fixed on the floor tiles, not daring to lift it.

He had only returned to the sect two days ago, and this was his first time seeing Gu Changsheng since his return.

When he left last time, he felt he understood the methods of this Saint well enough.

Entering the hall this time, he realized he had been terribly wrong.

Gu Changsheng sat behind the table, holding a Jade Slip in his hand, reading.

He did not even lift his head.

Yet, just this casual posture made Zhongli Yuan's knees go weak.

It was not a suppression of Realm.

It was something seeping from the marrow of his bones, indescribable.

It was as if the person sitting before him was not a young man in his early twenties, but an old monster who had lived for tens of thousands of years.

Zhongli Yuan's gaze only swept over Gu Changsheng's profile, and his whole body swayed.

It was as if his Soul had been grabbed by something.

He hurriedly lowered his head, a layer of cold sweat breaking out on his back.

Damn it, it's only been a few days since I left, how has this master changed again?

"Why are you standing there? Speak your business."

Gu Changsheng turned a page of the Jade Slip, his tone casual.

Zhongli Yuan swallowed, cupped his hands, and bowed.

"Your Highness, your subordinate was ordered to go to the Xingluo Valley of the Great Chu Dynasty to bring back Ruan Xingwan."

"Mm."

"After your subordinate arrived at Xingluo Valley, I told them to hand her over."

Zhongli Yuan paused and rubbed his hands.

"The Valley Master, Ruan Songting, refused to hand her over, saying he would rather die than comply."

"Your subordinate tried to persuade him three times, but he drew his sword and attacked."

"Later, your subordinate... wiped out Xingluo Valley."

After finishing this sentence, Zhongli Yuan bent his waist even lower.

"Ruan Xingwan has been brought back and is locked in the side hall on the east side of Changsheng Peak."

He raised his head and cautiously glanced at Gu Changsheng.

Gu Changsheng put down the Jade Slip and looked at him.

"You had to run over to report wiping out a mere Xingluo Valley?"

Zhongli Yuan's smile froze on his face.

"Your subordinate... your subordinate thought this matter involved Your Highness's plans and did not dare to act on my own authority, so I came specifically..."

"Kneel."

Two words, plain and simple.

Zhongli Yuan's knees felt as if someone had kicked them from behind, and he "thumped" onto the ground.

"Your Highness, forgive me! Your subordinate spoke too much! I will never bother Your Highness with such trivial matters again!"

He kowtowed three times, his forehead hitting the floor tiles with a dull thud.

Gu Changsheng picked up the teacup, took a sip, and set it on the table.

"Get up."

Zhongli Yuan did not dare to get up.

"I told you to get up."

Gu Changsheng stood up, walked to Zhongli Yuan, and reached out to pull him up from the ground.

"You handled the matter well."

Gu Changsheng patted Zhongli Yuan's shoulder, a smile hanging on the corners of his mouth.

"Ruan Xingwan needed to be brought back alive, and you brought her back."

"Well done, you should be rewarded."

Zhongli Yuan bowed, saying "Thank you, Your Highness," while the sweat on his back had already soaked through his inner garment.

Gu Changsheng was smiling.

The smile hung on his lips, looking gentle.

But there was nothing in those eyes.

It was not cold; it was empty.

Like a bottomless well, you throw a stone in, and you hear no echo.

Zhongli Yuan had seen many big shots in his life; he had even served Mountain Masters and Masters of the Guixu Realm.

No one's gaze had ever made his Soul tremble.

This one could.

"Get lost."

Gu Changsheng withdrew his hand and walked back behind the table.

"Yes! This subordinate will withdraw!"

Zhongli Yuan backed out of the hall doors, his steps as fast as if he were fleeing for his life.

The hall doors closed.

Gu Changsheng leaned back in his chair, tapping his right index finger on the table twice.

"Gu Yi."

The figure flashed out from the shadows.

"Young Lord."

"Do you think Yun Feiyang will come to save her?"

Gu Yi thought for a moment.

"Ruan Xingwan is extremely important to him. Since the Young Lord wiped out Xingluo Valley, this person must hate the Young Lord to the bone. Your subordinate is worried he will recklessly break in."

Gu Changsheng laughed.

"He will not come."

Gu Yi looked up.

"This person's talent is among the top tier I have ever seen, and his shrewdness is deep enough."

Gu Changsheng toyed with the teacup in his hand.

"He will endure."

"First he will find a place to lick his wounds, then find an Opportunity to break through to the Celestial Phenomenon Realm. Only when he has the capital to wrestle with me will he appear."

Gu Yi frowned.

"Then Ruan Xingwan..."

"Do not touch her."

Gu Changsheng raised his hand to stop him.