MOF Chapter 38

Chapter 38: Xie Yiling’s Doubts After the Calamity, Nangong Ci Catches That Teardrop…

The flames were unlike any ordinary fire; once they caught, they couldn’t be extinguished. They weren’t like Immortal Sect spells, but more like the flames of the Yin Butterflies.

Although the Yin corpses on the ground had lost their spiritual awareness, they still knew to seek advantage and avoid harm under human control. They rolled and thrashed on the ground, some even trying to grab the Immortal Sect disciples to die together.

How could the Immortal Sect disciples simply wait for death? They quickly reacted, distancing themselves from the Yin corpses and activating barriers.

Roars, each louder than the last, echoed continuously, reverberating through the skies above Shuo City. The tongues of fire devoured the Yin corpse horde, the air filled with the crackling sound of bones burning and the putrid stench of scorching flesh.

This move terrified everyone, and although they had doubts, they dared not voice them.

Behind them, Gui Wenxin narrowed his eyes slightly, sizing up Xie Yiling, pondering: Who is this person? He seems to have a close relationship with Daoist Fufeng. I’ve never seen the methods he uses either. If possible, I’d like to take both of them as masters.

Having unleashed the Yin fire, Xie Yiling’s face darkened as he walked towards Nangong Ci. He half-squatted, forcefully grabbing his hand, a few drops of blood splattering onto his wrist, which he ignored. He lowered his head, scrutinizing Nangong Ci’s expressionless face.

Nangong Ci raised his eyelids, seeing Xie Yiling. He pursed his lips, and after a long while, uttered two words: “Xie Ci.”

Xie Yiling looked at Nangong Ci’s face, paler than he’d ever seen it, holding his trembling hand. Suddenly, his eyes stung, and without warning, a single tear fell, landing right in the palm of Nangong Ci’s hand.

Nangong Ci caught the tear. He tugged at his bloodless lips, seemingly giving a faint smile. Then, he leaned forward, resting his head on Xie Yiling’s shoulder, nodded twice, and passed out.

The spirit array gradually lost its light, dissipating into the wind.

The Yin fire clung to the Yin corpses, incinerating their bodies. They screamed in the raging flames, gradually turning into ashes on the ground. The immense slaughter of the city was burned away.

The sunlight finally provided some warmth, but it was quickly taken away by gusts of cool autumn wind, leaving only lingering chill.

Ashes swirled, scattered by the wind, drifting to unknown places.

Xie Yiling carefully held Nangong Ci, almost embracing him, and supported him, intending to go down along the eaves, when suddenly someone blocked their path.

Gui Wenxin righteously declared, “I want to take you as my master!”

As soon as he finished speaking, Gu Huanzhi, with a forced chuckle, pulled him aside, “Senior Brother Xie, this person is Gui Wenxin, the eldest young master of Undecided World in Ghost City.”

Xie Yiling, rarely expressionless, said, “My master’s spiritual power is severely damaged. I ask Junior Brother Gu and the other disciples to patrol the city and its surroundings to guard against any remaining Yin corpses.”

Gu Huanzhi already had this intention, so he nodded in agreement.

Seeing the others leave, Gui Wenxin looked puzzled, “Why did you stop me?”

Gu Huanzhi saw that this person had even less tact than he did, so he didn’t bother arguing with him, diverting his attention, “The matter isn’t over yet. We still need to check all parts of Shuo City for any remaining Yin corpses. We must cut the weeds and eliminate the roots, leaving no hidden dangers.”

Gui Wenxin temporarily set aside the matter of apprenticeship and, together with Gu Huanzhi, led a large group of disciples to patrol the streets and alleys of Shuo City. After thoroughly investigating and confirming that no Yin corpses remained alive, they returned with their disciples.

Xie Yiling didn’t take Nangong Ci back to Cang Ling Du but chose a nearby inn.

The streets were ravaged by the Yin corpses. Even houses that were closed and locked were besieged by Yin corpses and directly broken into.

For example, the door of the inn in front of them was riddled with holes, the scratch marks of Yin corpses deeply etched into the wood, clearly visible.

The inn appeared deserted. When Xie Yiling entered, he politely asked, “Is anyone there?”

He originally thought that everyone in the inn had been frightened away by the Yin corpses, but a weak voice came from the corner inside, “Guest… are you here for food or… lodging?”

A reflective bald head poked out from behind an overturned table in the corner, startling Xie Yiling.

Seeing a customer, Qian Tong habitually wanted to adjust the small square hat on his head, but his hand met empty air. He bent down, looking around, and picked up the hat from under another overturned table, placing it neatly on his head.

Xie Yiling looked closely. The man had a sneaky, rat-like appearance, but his clothes were meticulous. He didn’t forget to dust off his long robe while speaking to him.

With his movements, an abacus hanging from his waist clattered.

Qian Tong’s face formed a welcoming smile, but the fear from the earlier Yin corpse scare hadn’t completely subsided, so the expression on his face was a mix of crying and laughing, truly wonderful.

Xie Yiling withdrew his gaze and said, “I’d like a room.”

“Yes! Yes, yes!” Qian Tong bowed and led the way.

Xie Yiling noticed his legs were still shaking as he went upstairs, and couldn’t help asking, “Are you the owner of this inn?”

Qian Tong nodded, “That’s right. Is there anything else you need, Immortal Lord?”

Xie Yiling shook his head, steadied Nangong Ci, and asked him, “Why didn’t you run?”

Qian Tong explained with a smile, “Immortal Lord, you don’t know, this inn is my livelihood. Where could I run to?”

Xie Yiling thought for a moment and said, “If you keep the green hills, you won’t have to worry about firewood. If you encounter danger in the future, it’s best to save your life.”

Qian Tong nodded and bowed, praising Xie Yiling, but didn’t respond to a single word of what he said.

As they spoke, they reached the second-floor room.

Qian Tong specifically chose a room with sunlight and ushered Xie Yiling into the room before backing out.

The wound in Nangong Ci’s palm had stopped bleeding. Xie Yiling sat on the empty couch and began to regulate his spiritual power.

After regulating his spiritual power, he approached Nangong Ci, sitting on the edge of the bed. He used the Southern Return Immortal technique to protect Nangong Ci’s spiritual meridians and slowly circulated his spirit.

Spiritual power flowed through his limbs, filling his entire body.

Nangong Ci’s long eyelashes trembled slightly, feeling a familiar aura surrounding him. His palm twitched slightly, causing a sharp pain. He couldn’t help but frown.

Xie Yiling noticed the change in Nangong Ci’s expression and reminded him, “Don’t move.”

Nangong Ci immediately calmed down.

At this moment, the sun was shining brightly outside the window. After a night of life and death, there was a moment of peace.

Xie Yiling slowly withdrew his spiritual power, seeing that Nangong Ci had fallen asleep at some point. His face was much better than before, still pale, but basically his original skin tone.

Xie Yiling’s hand very slowly reached out, landed on Nangong Ci’s face, and gently stroked it. After touching his face, he licked his lips with some inexplicable guilt and then moved down to his neck.

The warmth from the skin and the steady beating of his chest reassured Xie Yiling.

Just as he was considering whether to lie down and rest with Nangong Ci, he suddenly sensed something and looked up at the door.

The door was pushed open, and a beast-like thing rushed in quickly, sparks faintly visible on its body as it ran.

“A Si. Stop.” Afraid of waking Nangong Ci, Xie Yiling subconsciously stopped him.

“Xie Ci, brother, help! There’s a bad guy trying to hit me!”

Hearing this, Xie Yiling quickly got up, grabbed him, and hid him behind his back. Immediately afterward, Gui Wenxin’s figure appeared at the door, followed by Gu Huanzhi, who had been trying to stop him, as well as Shen Wangu and Gu Ziyan, who seemed unaware of what was happening and followed blankly.

“Young Master Gui, hey, Young Master Gui!” Gu Huanzhi pulled at Gui Wenxin’s sleeve to prevent him from entering, but Gui Wenxin walked forward as if possessed.

A Si immediately shouted, “It’s him, Xie Ci, brother, it’s him!”

“Little brother,” Gui Wenxin suddenly gave him a salute, “I don’t have any malicious intentions. I just think your skills are truly amazing, and I wanted to broaden my knowledge.”

He lifted his clothes and shook them. Xie Yiling saw that there was already a burnt hole in it. It was very clear who was responsible.

A Si snorted, “Why didn’t you say so earlier? You scared me so much that I turned back into my original form, and I can’t change back for a while.”

It turned out to be a misunderstanding.

Xie Yiling put A Si down, turned to the others, and said, “My master is still resting. If you have anything to say, why don’t we talk somewhere else?”

Gu Huanzhi nodded repeatedly, “Okay, let’s go outside.”

After saying that, the others exited the room.

Xie Yiling glanced at Nangong Ci, seeing that he was still sleeping. He gently poked his face and quickly withdrew his hand before walking out.

Outside the door, A Si stood upright, placing his two paws in front of his chest. Gui Wenxin stared at him curiously and suddenly asked, “Do you accept disciples?”

“Ah?” A Si took a step back and jumped away.

“You can’t learn his skills,” Xie Yiling said, closing the door and walking over.

Gui Wenxin looked at him, “Are those five ghosts you raised?” His eyes contained a bit more scrutiny. He carefully looked at Xie Yiling’s appearance, then recalled A Si’s original human form, dismissing the absurd idea that the two might be father and son.

Xie Yiling said, “I picked them up.” He looked at Gui Wenxin and his group, thinking about the Yin corpse incident in Shuo City.

The most urgent thing was to eliminate Wen Liangchen and the others, eradicating the hidden dangers.

Seeing Xie Yiling’s serious expression, Gu Huanzhi knew he wanted to discuss serious matters, so he started the conversation, “Since everyone is here, why don’t we take this opportunity to talk about the purpose of Wen Liangchen and the others causing trouble in Shuo City?”

Xie Yiling took the cue, his tone becoming serious, “They spread the Seven Yang poison and refine living people into corpses, causing chaos in the Immortal Sect. There must be a reason for all of this.”

Indeed, the many things happening now were almost identical to what had been experienced in Mo City.

Shen Wangu and the others fell into thought, vaguely feeling that something was wrong.

Xie Yiling asked the question in his mind, “Why was Water-Ink Immortal Estate their primary target back then, and not other Immortal Sects?”

The others who were listening also became puzzled. Gu Huanzhi thought for a moment and said, “We already know that the purpose of Wen Liangchen and the others doing all of this is to seek the art of rebirth, and a spiritual artifact is the most likely way to achieve rebirth.”

At these words, everyone was awakened.

“Border Spirit!” Shen Wangu said decisively, “They must be after the Border Spirit!”

Gui Wenxin said, “So back then, although they slaughtered Water-Ink Immortal Estate, they didn’t obtain the Border Spirit, so now they want to make a comeback?”

“Then why did they specifically choose Cang Ling Du this time?” Xie Yiling asked, observing the expressions of the others, knowingly asking, “Could it be that there is a spiritual artifact in Cang Ling Du, like the Border Spirit?”

Shen Wangu’s expression changed slightly. He swallowed his saliva and replied, “There used to be, but it was handed over to Ghost City for safekeeping several years ago.”

The others looked at Gui Wenxin in unison, who looked calm and frank, “I haven’t seen that spiritual artifact either. My father was responsible for sending it to the spirit chamber. Like everyone else, I only know the name of the spiritual artifact.”