After Sheng Jun Chapter 7 (Part 2)
Translated by Sylver (ko-fi)
Chapter 7 Perfect Coordination (part 2)
Shang Luxing smiled awkwardly, thinking to himself that he was also startled. He looked helplessly towards the instigator beside him, and Yue Fu's gaze followed, landing on Zhong Ming's frost-cold face.
Under everyone's gaze, Zhong Ming stood empty-handed, his expression unchanging. "The ancient bloodline has resonated."
"......"
Above the valley, strong winds brushed past both sides.
The "Torch Dragon" in the red mist rapidly approached and enlarged before their eyes. The enormous spiritual power was entangled with some kind of sinister formation - even a Nascent Soul realm cultivator who rashly approached might be cut by the air currents.
It was indeed quite a terrifying mass of energy, no wonder it frightened everyone at first glance--but it still wasn't enough. The energy contained within ancient divine beasts was the power of primordial chaos, capable of moving mountains and filling seas. How could it merely stir up some harmless strong winds?
A sword intent broke through the barrier, and Jiang Xingzhi had already returned to his true form, charging into the red mist.
His palm transformed qi into a blade, condensing into a bright edge.
He dared to assert that this evil thing was not the Torch Dragon.
When an "outsider" suddenly invaded its territory, the snake-bodied beast with a human face rolled its massive body restlessly, quite rudely baring its fangs. A piercing roar echoed through the valley as its serpentine body coiled and dove downward--
Amber pupils calmly reflected those fangs and red tongue, as the surrounding spiritual power was drawn by the strange formation within the snake's body.
Jiang Xingzhi raised his sword and struck.
Slash! Blood mist sprayed.
The Mahayana sword intent unsheathed after a long time, one strike, as pure as new-fallen snow.
…..
Inside the guest hall of the front mountain.
Zhong Ming gazed at that proudly solitary figure in the blood mist, the sword light in his eyes reflecting the sky, bright as starlight.
While he stood there in his own peaceful moment, chaos erupted around him.
This sudden change came unexpectedly, and after their initial shock, people slowly came to their senses. "What... what happened......"
"Did the Divine Lamp bisect the auspicious beast?"
"Alas, they came from the same root--no wait, how can divine beings from the same root have such a vast difference in strength?"
Finally, someone realized the problem, and several dozen to hundreds of gazes "swooshed" toward the banquet host.
Clang, the bell fell to the ground. Yue Fu Zhenren was pale, his lips trembling. The elders and protectors behind him were silent as cicadas in winter, discreetly stepping back a few paces.
Tong Yu Zhenren's eyes flickered with complex emotions, his thoughts turning hundreds of times in an instant before he quickly made a decision.
He suddenly spoke in rebuke, his expression pained, "Yue Fu! You said there was an auspicious beast manifesting on your main peak, that it was Heaven's will for you to revitalize the Kouyue Sect, and for this I was willing to give up the position of Sect Master--but how could you, for your own selfish desires, commit such deception, misleading everyone?"
There was an uproar below, and Yue Fu Zhenren's eyes widened, "Very good Tong Yu, clearly, in this matter--mmph!"
Before he could finish speaking, Tong Yu Zhenren struck his crown with a palm, knocking him unconscious to be carried away. Tong Yu Zhenren apologetically addressed the crowd, lamenting his poor management and how he had failed the various sect elders, promising to give everyone an explanation, and so on.
As for that half-finished "clearly," clearly what? Clearly knew about it, or clearly participated in it... everything ended with Yue Fu Zhenren being carried away.
The farcical drama came to an end.
Jiang Xingzhi flew back from the distance, stepping into the guest hall.
His indigo robes stirred a gentle breeze, his high-bound long hair and clean face untouched by any dust or blood. The ethereal qi blade had long dissipated, leaving only an exquisitely carved glass lamp in his arms.
The crowd's gazes were three parts admiration, five parts awe, and seven parts reverence--out of ten points, with five bonus points.
"Divine Lamp Daren, what exactly was that thing?"
"Is it dead? Surely it's completely dead, right?"
"I was blown by the wind it created earlier, why do I feel a bit of a headache now?"
Jiang Xingzhi: "......"
Jiang Xingzhi patiently answered, "An evil being, completely dead, it's all psychological."
"So it was an evil being!" The crowd burst into chaos again.
Tong Yu Zhenren could only frantically settle the guests from various sects, both apologizing and resetting the banquet.
Jiang Xingzhi glanced at the noisy guest hall, sighed inwardly, and turned to leave through the hall doors. A disciple stepped forward at the entrance, "Divine Lamp..." but was stopped by a hand, "No need to follow."
Away from the commotion behind him, Jiang Xingzhi walked along a small path to a hillside with an open view.
Looking out, the mountains meandered through layers of clouds, and the valley had returned to peace and tranquility after the blood mist dispersed.
He gazed at the distant sea of clouds, lost in thought. It would be a lie to say he wasn't disappointed. He had thought that with the Torch Dragon's appearance, he might find a chance to return to a thousand years hence, but it turned out to be just a farce put on by a small sect.
His steps had returned to the starting point; where should he go next...
Jiang Xingzhi looked up at the sky, feeling a headache.
Just as he was thinking, the sound of boots stepping on grass leaves came from behind. He turned around to see Zhong Ming walking towards him, "Brother Bai."
"Were you hurt?"
"Just a mix of formations and some kind of controlling evil art magic spirit," Jiang Xingzhi said. "Those below Soul Split realm would struggle to handle it, but it's far from matching the Mahayana realm."
Zhong Ming nodded, as he had expected.
Jiang Xingzhi expressed amazement, "But it's surprising that you understood my meaning."
At the time, he had only muttered "not enough" to himself, yet the other immediately knew what he meant and even helped send him skyward.
Zhong Ming looked at Jiang Xingzhi's profile, his clean and handsome half-face set against a backdrop of mountains and thin clouds, elegant and refined. After a while, he said softly, "Of course I would know."
After fighting for hundreds of years, he understood Jiang Xingzhi better than anyone else in the world.
Jiang Xingzhi turned his head to look at him upon hearing this.
After a few breaths of eye contact, he suddenly clapped his hands in realization, "I almost forgot, you're also a Mahayana!" Any subtleties he could detect, the other person would naturally understand as well.
Zhong Ming: "......"
Zhong Ming rubbed his brow and took several deep breaths.
Jiang Xingzhi showed concern, "Brother Bai, are you feeling unwell?"
Zhong Ming gritted his teeth, "Heart disease."
He silently repeated to himself several times "this is Jiang Xingzhi, you understand better than anyone how much water is in his head" before suppressing his emotions.
Fearing that continuing this topic would only lead to more heart pain, Zhong Ming changed the subject, "You must have come for the Torch Dragon, why were you seeking it?"
Thinking about how they had been in this together these past few days, Jiang Xingzhi didn't conceal anything this time, "Brother Bai should know, the Torch Dragon controls the four seasons."
Zhong Ming's gaze fell on his half-profile, "And so?"
Jiang Xingzhi smiled, his face showing a rare gentleness. His gaze passed over the mountains to some unknown distance, "I have a place I want to return to, and people I want to see."