220: Chapter 4 Distant Travels 220: Chapter 4 Distant Travels “Xie Zhen!
You’ve finally come!”
While practicing her horse stance and boxing, Jiang Huang felt a stir in her heart as that half drop of Undying Spring gently trembled.
With an excited look, she lifted her head.
A barrier made of inverted Demon Fire was enveloping the front, slowly opening a slim gap.
Xie Xuanyi reached out to touch the little one’s head and asked softly, “How have you been these days?
How have they treated you?”
“Not too well.”
Jiang Huang thought for a moment, then said with a pained expression, “Every day I have to practice so many punches, take so many steps…”
“However.”
Scratching her head, while observing Xie Zhen’s expression, the little one cautiously said, “The food here is not bad, and that red-robed big brother, although he looks fierce on the outside, treats me well when we are not practicing boxing.”
“Big brother?”
Xie Xuanyi raised an eyebrow.
“He asked me to call him that, said it’s how they do it in the Demon Country,” Jiang Huang said with a mix of laughter and helplessness.
The Vermilion Bird had agreed to teach Jiang Huang partly because Zhao Chunyang made the request.
On the other hand,
being a Great Demon of the Yang God Realm, it had been imprisoned by Sword Qi for a cycle of 60 years and had already recognized and accepted the reality that it could not leave the Sword Palace in this lifetime.
As things stood now,
this little phoenix who had shown up on its doorstep, with exceptional talent and lineage, was indeed worth teaching, a fellow clansman of the younger generation.
“If he dares to bully you, tell Uncle Law Enforcement,” Xie Xuanyi said, turning around.
Within the flames of the barrier, a second figure slowly stepped through.
Law Enforcement had a gentle demeanor as he nodded to the little girl in front of him.
He knew that since this little girl was favored by his senior brother and sent here, she might become the Sword Palace’s “Mountain Guardian Spirit Beast” in the future.
Although she was from the Demon Country, she had a soul that was half exceedingly kind and pure, a promising seedling worth cultivating.
The Vermilion Bird Great Demon had “failed” to teach her.
But Jiang Huang still had many opportunities.
“Brother…”
Jiang Huang was a bit nervous.
She quietly clutched at Xie Xuanyi’s sleeve and asked softly, “Did I do something wrong?
When can I return to your courtyard?”
“…”
Xie Xuanyi fell silent for a moment.
He grasped Jiang Huang’s hand in return, shook his head and said seriously, “Jiang Huang has done nothing wrong.
It’s just that your brother has to embark on a long journey, and it may be some time before we see each other again.”
“Brother, you’re going on a long journey?”
Jiang Huang paused, murmuring, “Is it the kind of long journey like the one to Yuzhu Town before?”
“Perhaps the time will be even longer.”
After thinking for a while, Xie Xuanyi said slowly, “This journey might be fraught with many dangers…
Which is why I’m leaving you here.”
“I understand.”
Jiang Huang smiled radiantly, “That red-robed big brother told me, staying here I can cultivate, and by the time we meet again, I will become very powerful.
That way, brother, you won’t encounter dangers!”
Xie Xuanyi couldn’t help but laugh at his loss for words.
He hadn’t expected the little one to think this way.
But…
in that case, it saved him the trouble of further explanation.
“Da Sui Sword Palace is my home,” Xie Xuanyi said, looking directly into Jiang Huang’s eyes with calmness, “Here, no one will bully you.
If you ever feel unhappy, use this token to contact me.”
He took out a Sword Qi communication token and put it into Jiang Huang’s hand.
The little one pursed her lips and carefully clenched the token in her palm.
…
…
“You’re going on a long journey?”
Before leaving Golden Turtle Peak, Law Enforcement walked with Xie Xuanyi down a stretch of mountain road.
“Do I seem like someone who would settle down for quiet cultivation?” Xie Xuanyi asked with a smile.
Law Enforcement was relieved.
Back when Xie Xuanyi was cultivating at Da Sui Sword Palace, he often took Jiang Miaoyin out of the mountains for fun.
After he reached the Grotto Heaven, he started visiting various places to challenge other swordsmen, fighting his way up to the Yin God Realm.
“Flowers can bloom again, but people cannot return to youth.”
Halfway through the journey, Law Enforcement suddenly said, “Do you still wish to compete for the title of Sword Dao Leader once more?”
Xie Xuanyi was taken aback and replied with a chuckle, “Do you think that I’ve left the Sword Palace to tread the path of ‘Xie Xuanyi’ once again?”
Law Enforcement raised an eyebrow: “Otherwise?”
“When I was eighteen, I challenged swords across four realms because I was unsure…
whether I was the best of my peer in the Dachu Dynasty.”
Xie Xuanyi shook his head and continued, “Now, I no longer need to seek challenges to confirm my strength because I’m well aware that I am a person without equal under the heavens.
In this life, I no longer need the hollow reputation of the ‘Sword Dao Leader’ to justify, to crown me.”
“Tch.”
Law Enforcement chuckled.
This youngster’s arrogance was as strong as ever.
After obtaining the title of Sword Dao Leader, he actually looked down upon it?
“Still…
when you are in the jianghu, you cannot help but be involved.”
Xie Xuanyi also smiled and said, “Some troubles come regardless of whether I seek them or not.”
The Sword Qi competition, Prince Jiangning, was but a minor issue.
Now carrying the name of Xie Xuanyi’s disciple,
with the dawn of a great era,
countless troubles would swarm in.
“Although I have a deep friendship with your master, our temperaments are completely different,” Law Enforcement said, a rare listener to Xie Xuanyi’s words while expressing his own feelings.
“Several years ago…
while my brother loved traveling in the jianghu, I preferred to sit and cultivate in peace within the mountain gate.
At that time, both Dachu and Da Li were experiencing their golden age of fortune, and various clans and sects were enjoying their heyday.”
“Was there a ‘Sword Dao Leader’ at that time?” Xie Xuanyi asked with a smile.
“Certainly,” Law Enforcement replied with a smile.
“The world is full of empty titles, and in every era, cultivators fight for the top spot.
You and your master have similar personalities; you could have cultivated carefree within the mountain gate, but instead, you chose to seek out those troubles…
It took many years for me to understand that my brother was not wrong.
For cultivators to transcend, they must first immerse themselves in the world.”
“…” Xie Xuanyi listened quietly.
“The Yin God who wants to achieve the state of a Yang God needs to question the heart as well as the Dao,” the Law Enforcement officer reflected.
He continued with a sigh, “This step has stumped countless people.
In fact, it includes me.
Before reaching perfection in the Yin God Realm, my cultivation progressed very rapidly, even faster than that of my senior brother.
It’s just that at the final ‘question the heart’ hurdle, I was stuck for a whole twenty years.
Whereas my senior brother stepped over it with ease.”
“I once asked my senior brother, ‘What’s the point for a Sword Cultivator to leave the mountain and seek out those troubles?'”
“My senior brother told me.”
“To ascend the mountain is to battle the heavens.
To descend the mountain is to battle men.”
“To question the Dao is to battle the heavens.
To question the heart is to battle men.”
The Law Enforcement officer stopped in his tracks and said with profound meaning, “At the end of a Cultivator’s journey, the ultimate enemy will always be oneself.
Think about it, where did you get stuck all those years ago, questioning the heart or questioning the Dao?”
“…”
Xie Xuanyi fell into silence, deep in thought.
He earnestly asked, “How did you finally achieve the state of a Yang God?”
“I went down the mountain once and visited many places.”
The Law Enforcement officer smiled gently, his voice filled with the sweetness of nostalgia.
“I took the farthest journey of my life.
When I came back, with my state of mind complete, I achieved the state of a Yang God… That ‘question the heart’ journey, I had the company of Junior Sister Lian.”
Xie Xuanyi looked at the Law Enforcement officer’s expression, which seemed somewhat complicated.
He knew that the relationship between the Law Enforcement officer and the Venerable Lotus was out of the ordinary…
Had it reached the point where they traveled far together and questioned life in the secular world?
Advancing to the Yang God was no easy feat!
It was not simply a matter of completing the “question the heart” and “question the Dao” to ascend!
The tribulation to become a Yang God was treacherous, with a survival chance of one in ten.
This kind of “tribulation” mostly arises from the heart.
The Law Enforcement officer and Venerable Lotus traveled far together, returned together, and successfully advanced to the state of a Yang God…
This showed that the two had become close enough to entrust their lives to each other!
“An extensive journey is indeed a good thing.
With your talents, returning to the peak of the Yin God is just a matter of time,” the Law Enforcement officer started softly.
This was the first time in many years that he had acknowledged Xie Xuanyi’s achievements in the presence of the man himself.
He smiled and said, “Since you’re living a second life, why not see…
how the scenery of this second life differs from your first?”
“Of course.”
Xie Xuanyi smiled, “This life, I also want to see a different landscape.”
The Law Enforcement officer escorted Xie Xuanyi to the exit within the clouds behind the mountain.
He should have stopped there and watched this least favorite junior of his depart for good.
But in the end, he couldn’t resist.
The Law Enforcement officer asked softly, “Where do you plan to go after leaving the Sword Palace?”
“First, to the Imperial City.”
Xie Xuanyi lowered his eyes slightly and explained, “I originally intended to go directly to the South Border to purge demons…
but after all, if I can’t kill the White Ghost, slaying numerous Evil Cultivators is of little significance.”
The person who had pursued him most fiercely back then was the Yin Mountain White Ghost.
Every debt has its debtor, every wrong its doer.
If the White Ghost was alive, even if Xie Xuanyi uprooted the Yin Mountain gates, it would be meaningless.
The Law Enforcement officer, somewhat surprised, squinted his eyes and asked, “Are you sure you want to go to the Imperial City?”
“Some things must be done.
Some people must be met.”
Xie Xuanyi said calmly and helplessly, “Everyone says I killed the Emperor, with incontrovertible evidence, leaving no room for argument…
but I always feel that the truth isn’t as they say.
I want to see the Imperial City for myself.”
“That might be for the best.”
The Law Enforcement officer heaved a long sigh.
He didn’t try to dissuade Xie Xuanyi from this notion.
The case of the Emperor’s assassination had indeed been shocking.
Even he wanted to know what transpired in the Moon Hidden Realm…
The day his senior brother revealed Xie Xuanyi’s identity, the Law Enforcement officer directly inquired about the truth behind the Imperial City incident.
To his utmost surprise, the unsolved case turned out to be one that even the original protagonist himself didn’t understand.
Xie Xuanyi had lost a portion of his memory!
If he wanted to uncover the truth…
Then no matter what, a trip to the Imperial City was necessary.
“You should be aware of how important the Imperial City is.”
The Law Enforcement officer thought for a moment and earnestly cautioned, “The Northern Hunt is imminent, and your identity is special.
Upon going to the Imperial City, be extremely careful.”
“There is no need to unravel the whole truth in one go.”
Xie Xuanyi nodded, smiling, “Don’t worry, I’m different from before.
I’ve taken a beating and, of course, I’ve learned to be smarter.
This time, in going to the Imperial City, my purpose is more to see what it has become now.”
…
…
This journey came to its end.
Xie Xuanyi stood at the exit at the back mountain of Golden Turtle Peak, looked at Tongtian, the Law Enforcement officer, thought for a long time, and then slowly bowed in respect.
“There’s no need for such formality…
Off you go.”
Seeing this bow, the Law Enforcement officer felt a mix of emotions, a blend of different sentiments.
He turned away, waved his hand, and signaled that Xie Xuanyi could leave.
Since joining the Sword Palace.
Xie Xuanyi and Tongtian, the Law Enforcement officer, had been like “mortal enemies,” old and young.
Xie Xuanyi had never knelt to Golden Turtle Peak nor paid respect to the Law Enforcement officer as to an elder.
Xie Xuanyi had thought that he would never reconcile with the Law Enforcement officer in his lifetime.
If not for the unexpected.
One old, one young, two obstinately arrogant people, would likely remain estranged till death.
Yet, fate is often so “absurd” and “comical”—
To achieve some impossible balances, perhaps only a few short days are needed.
To untie some unresolvable knots, perhaps only a gentle tug is required.
…
…
(The last day of the month!
Seeking monthly tickets!
The Imperial City arc is coming!
July Panda will update diligently~~)