Volume 5 Chapter 37

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Volume 5 Chapter 37: The Truth (Part Three)

The "Shadow Tear Worm" is a peculiar insect, remarkable for the fact that its tears, when turned into a material and dripped onto a bronze mirror, reveal the last hundred days of scenes and sounds the worm experienced. It’s incredibly fascinating. Since this unique insect flies silently, it’s nearly impossible for even cultivation experts to detect it with their full Divine Sense, making it a favored choice for sending highly secretive and important messages.

This exotic insect is not only peculiar but also extremely rare and valuable. Even many prestigious sects might not have it in their collections.

However, Nalan Xia manages the "Treasure Pavilion," specializing in collecting various rare treasures, so she naturally has this unique insect. She intended to use it to convey Zhang Xusheng’s words and actions to the two elders, ‘Tian’ and ‘Earth.’

Unfortunately, the exotic insect was now crawling helplessly in Zhang Xusheng’s hand, its wings flapping vigorously but unable to lift off even a bit. Ultimately, this rare insect, worth thousands of spirit stones in the cultivation world, was crushed to dust in Zhang Xusheng’s fist. When Zhang Xusheng opened his palm again, a flash of flames appeared, and the remains of the "Shadow Tear Worm" vanished completely in the fire.

"It seems you’re tired of our conversation too. Fine, let me personally send you on your last journey."

With that, Zhang Xusheng slowly stood up and casually walked towards Nalan Xia.

Zhang Xusheng’s voice was filled with a heavy sigh.

"Actually, I really wanted to have a good chat with you. After all, there aren’t many old friends left, and even fewer who can talk with me. It’s truly a shame."

Watching Zhang Xusheng approach step by step, and seeing her hoped-for "Shadow Tear Worm" discovered, despair filled Nalan’s eyes.

Among those who had been with Zhang Xusheng, Nalan Xia perhaps understood him the most. She knew that when Zhang Xusheng appeared, he already harbored the intent to kill her. She had tried; as long as the "Shadow Tear Worm" flew out of Zhang Xusheng’s control, she could threaten Zhang Xusheng and force a compromise through her control of it, but she failed.

"Why?"

Silently observing as Zhang Xusheng stood before her, Nalan Xia softly asked, her body relaxed, as if she had given up resisting.

"Why? Naturally, it’s to eliminate ‘Ming.’ ‘Tian’ and ‘Earth,’ the two elders, are formidable opponents. I put a lot of thought into dealing with them," Zhang Xusheng said, looking down at Nalan Xia with a smile. "The timing of my attack on ‘Treasure Pavilion’ was calculated. There’s an operation from the Righteous Alliance against ‘Treasure Pavilion’ too. By removing ‘Treasure Pavilion,’ those from ‘Ming’ would only think it was the Righteous Alliance’s doing, which perfectly stirs conflict between them. And to the people of ‘An,’ the destruction of ‘Treasure Pavilion’ seems like the work of ‘Ming.’ Back when I abandoned ‘An,’ many people, like you, doubted me, but after ‘Treasure Pavilion’ was destroyed, they could only set aside their doubts and rely on me against ‘Ming.’ Plus, ‘Ming’s’ accumulation over the years will greatly aid my future actions. Aren’t these reasons enough? I thought you might figure it out."

Hearing Zhang Xusheng’s words, Nalan Xia gave a sad smile and whispered to herself, "You’re just the same as before, completely without feelings. To you, everything and everyone is merely about profit and loss, just a game to win or lose. And those tools? They’re ready to be discarded at any time."

Zhang Xusheng’s smile remained unchanged as he said, "You still understand me well."

But then Nalan Xia suddenly looked up with an unprecedented seriousness in her eyes, staring intently into Zhang Xusheng’s eyes. She slowly said, "I’m not asking why you destroyed the ‘Treasure Pavilion.’ I’m asking, why have you done all this over the years? You’ve achieved immortality, so what is everything you’re doing now for? What’s your purpose? What are you pursuing?"

Hearing Nalan Xia’s question, Zhang Xusheng’s ever-present smile faded slightly. It seemed this was a question he didn’t know the answer to, as if it hadn’t even crossed his mind until Nalan Xia asked.

In that moment when Zhang Xusheng was stunned, Nalan Xia suddenly sprang up, unleashing an incredibly powerful aura. With a wave of her hand, endless icy energy swiftly attacked Zhang Xusheng.

Perhaps Zhang Xusheng’s strength far exceeded what she could contend with, but she refused to give up. As long as there was a sliver of a chance, she would strive for it.

As the seemingly limitless icy energy struck Zhang Xusheng, Nalan Xia suddenly realized that her admiration from back then had completely vanished from her heart.

For cultivators, preserving life and pursuing the path to immortality has always been of utmost importance.

After Nalan Xia unleashed all the icy energy on the stunned Zhang Xusheng, she hesitated not at all. Despite lacking legs, she floated in mid-air, continuously forming hand seals. Countless icy energies shot towards Zhang Xusheng. In merely moments, the entire palace transformed into a shimmering white world of ice. The floor, walls, and ceiling were covered in thick ice and snow, and Zhang Xusheng himself was encased in several feet of frost, his body frozen in the pose of deep thought, utterly immobile, trapped in the frost.

Seeing the scene before her, Nalan Xia slowly landed on the ground, her eyes fixed on Zhang Xusheng, who was trapped in the mysterious ice. She was breathing heavily; the attack had only lasted for a short while, but it had used up all her Spirit Qi. Even though it was just a few strikes, it drained her completely.

The ice that held Zhang Xusheng wasn’t just ordinary ice; it was transformed from Nalan Xia’s mystical ice Spirit Qi. Not only is it one of the strongest materials in the world, but the cold within it can freeze a cultivator’s Spirit Qi and harm their body.

Despite this, Nalan Xia was still uneasy. After catching her breath and recovering some Spirit Qi, she quickly flew out of the palace without delay.

"It seems that even I don’t understand my thoughts. Doing these things feels instinctive, but I’m not sure why. Nevertheless, thank you for the question; it made me think of many things I’ve overlooked."

But just as Nalan Xia was leaving, before she stepped outside, Zhang Xusheng’s soft voice was heard again. When she turned to look, the mysterious ice that had trapped Zhang Xusheng was gone, and Zhang Xusheng was walking towards her with a smile, as if Nalan Xia hadn’t attacked him at all.

Nalan Xia felt a chill in her heart and flew out even faster. To escape, she even sacrificed some of her life force to quickly recover more Spirit Qi.

Yet Zhang Xusheng continued to walk leisurely towards Nalan Xia. Although he appeared slow, his true speed was fast. Despite her efforts to flee, in an instant, Zhang Xusheng’s smiling face, which sent a shiver down her spine, reappeared before her.

"In mortal legends, all wicked people go to a place called hell when they die. I wonder if it’s true. You’re not a good person, and neither am I. Maybe you could go first, and the rest of us, including me, might not take long to follow. So don’t worry about it being too dull there."

Zhang Xusheng said with a smile.

…

When Nalan Xia was personally buried by Zhang Xusheng in the deep ice of North Iceland, on the other side, Xu Qingfan and his companions witnessed the purple-clad figures searching through the wreckage of the "Treasure Pavilion" after it was struck down, and then quickly retreating.

Xu Qingfan wasn’t sure if it was just his imagination, but as the purple-clad figures withdrew, the leader seemed to glance deliberately at where they were hiding, as if he was aware of their presence, but paid them no mind and hurriedly left, as if afraid of wasting time.

After the purple-clad figures had been gone for some time, and once Xu Qingfan and the others were sure it was safe, they finally emerged from their hiding place. They exchanged silent glances, each sighing heavily, perhaps because they felt powerless to prevent the destruction of the "Treasure Pavilion," and so there was a sense of defeat in their sighs.

Master Guanghui raised his finger towards the sky, and a golden light shot from his fingertip into the sky, lingering for a long time, as it was a signal to summon the lower disciples waiting in the distance.

When the lower disciples arrived, Venerable Xuan Yuan slowly said, "Let’s go see if there’s anything useful left in the ruins of the ‘Treasure Pavilion’, and then hurry back to report the strange occurrences here to the elders."

Xu Qingfan and the others nodded and then headed toward the direction of the "Treasure Pavilion" ruins. While the purple-clad figures seemed to have thoroughly searched the entire "Treasure Pavilion" before leaving, there’s always a chance they might have missed something.