Chapter 135 — Strange Arts

Something stirred in Master Shui Jing's heart, and her two slender brows knit ever so slightly, unnoticed by anyone.

Dao Yan Zhenren did not have Master Shui Jing's years of acquaintance with Lu Xueling, and so saw nothing amiss in her. Smiling, he went on, "Xueqi, how did this journey to the southern frontier go—the visit to pay respects to Elder Yun, Valley Master of the Burning Cloud Valley?"

Lu Xueling was silent a moment, then recounted her experiences in the southern frontier one by one—save that she left out the scene of her midnight parting with Ming Li at the Tianshui Stockade.

Dao Yan Zhenren and Master Shui Jing sat without a word, listening slowly as Lu Xueling told it all. When they heard that this time Valley Master Yun Yifeng of the Burning Cloud Valley had still not shown himself, and that only Shangguan Lue, Li Xun, and the others had come out to explain, the two exchanged a glance, each with a strange look in the eye, but said nothing.

Later, as Lu Xueling recounted without expression the battle at the Miao Tribe's Qili Gorge in the southern frontier—Ming Li's appearance, the fierce struggle of all present—Dao Yan Zhenren's face turned cold at once, while Master Shui Jing seemed to think further, and knowing her disciple's heart as she did, she could not help glancing at Lu Xueling a few more times. She saw that when Lu Xueling spoke of Ming Li being struck from behind by Li Xun and wounded by the "Divine Sword of Thunder Summoning" she herself had wielded, her tone did not change, but a shadow of grief flickered once through her eyes.

Master Shui Jing sighed softly in her heart and closed her eyes.

When Lu Xueling had finished and stepped back to stand beside Master Shui Jing, Dao Yan Zhenren glanced at Master Shui Jing and gave a cold hum. "That wretch Zhang Qingyue—ten years ago we did not finish him, and now he has indeed grown into a menace."

Master Shui Jing opened her eyes, glanced at Lu Xueling beside her, whether by design or not, and said mildly, "All this is the working of fate. It cannot be forced."

Lu Xueling's face seemed to pale a little further.

Dao Yan Zhenren pondered a moment. "From what Xueqi has just said, in these ten years this man's cultivation seems to have advanced greatly."

Master Shui Jing nodded slowly. "Zhang Qingyue could, in an instant, drain the essence blood of a dozen Li warriors to death with the demonic power of the Blood-Devouring Bead, and after being wounded by Li Xun he turned at once and struck him down, so that even the Burning Cloud Valley's famed Pure Yang Jade Ruler could not withstand it. Such cultivation is no longer beneath—" She looked at Lu Xueling. "—no longer beneath that of Qi'er, or of Xiao Yichen under your own gate."

Lu Xueling's face was blank.

But Dao Yan Zhenren slowly shook his head. Master Shui Jing was taken aback. "What—does my senior brother think I have judged wrongly?"

Dao Yan Zhenren sighed. "That wretch was first struck from behind by Li Xun, then wounded by the Divine Sword of Thunder Summoning—yet not only did he not die on the spot, he could still leap up and counterattack. I reckon that what withstood the might of the divine sword must have been the true dharma of the Brahma Sound Temple, the 'Great Brahma Prajna,' and that he then used our own sect's Taiji Mystic Pure Way to break the mana array of the divine sword. When he closed on Xueqi—Xueqi says his eyes were like blood and the red glow of the Blood-Devouring demon staff blazed bright—he must have used the blood-devouring demonic power to subdue her. From all this, he has fused the true dharmas of three schools; his cultivation must by now surpass that of our disciples."

He glanced at Lu Xueling. "Only by then he was likely spent, an arrow at the end of its flight, and so could not strike again to harm Xueqi—otherwise, with the Divine Sword of Thunder Summoning broken, she would have been wholly without power to resist, in deadly peril. Xueqi, this man seems to have fused the three schools of Buddha, Dao, and demon into one body; his cultivation is strange and hard to fathom. If you meet him again, take the greatest care."

Lu Xueling's lips moved. Her fingers, gripping the Divine Sword Tianxuan, quietly tightened and then loosened again. "Yes," she said softly.

Master Shui Jing watched her, sighed inwardly, and said suddenly, "Qi'er, you have had a hard journey. Go back and rest first. I have matters to discuss with your Sect Master Uncle; I will return shortly myself."

Lu Xueling assented and looked toward Dao Yan Zhenren. He shook his head with a laugh. "See what a memory I have—old and muddled indeed. Xueqi, there is nothing more here. Go back to Xiaozhu Peak and rest well."

Only then did Lu Xueling withdraw. She bowed first to Dao Yan Zhenren, then said to Master Shui Jing, "Master, then I will go back first."

Master Shui Jing nodded. "Go on."

Lu Xueling bowed her head in assent and slowly withdrew; a moment later she vanished from the sight of Dao Yan Zhenren and Master Shui Jing.

Dao Yan Zhenren pondered a while, then sighed. "What a one, this Zhang Qingyue… alas, what a waste."

Master Shui Jing said mildly, "For that child to have turned out this way—we cannot escape some share of the blame."

Dao Yan Zhenren's brows knit, and his face darkened at once. "Junior Sister Shuiyue, what do you mean by that?"

Master Shui Jing's face was cold, but her tone did not change in the least. "Nothing. Zhang Qingyue abandoned the light and went over to the dark; we too were in some part at fault."

Dao Yan Zhenren said in a low voice, "Does Junior Sister Shuiyue mean that what I did in those years was wrong?"

Shuiyue glanced at Dao Yan Zhenren and saw his face uncommonly stern. She sighed and said slowly, "Senior Brother, do not think too much on it. Were it I, I would have done just the same as you. I said it before: Zhang Qingyue's course was the working of fate—so willed by heaven!"

Dao Yan Zhenren was silent a while, and his expression gradually eased; yet within the great hall the air seemed to grow somewhat awkward. After a moment he said slowly, "You heard just now—on this journey Xueqi still did not see Valley Master Yun Yifeng. What do you make of it?"

Master Shui Jing gave a humph. "That old fellow Yun Yifeng has always been secretive, forever stirring up mysteries. Who knows what he is about this time. But his cultivation is not to be made light of, and in the southern frontier I doubt there was anyone who could do him harm. So we need not worry overmuch. Still—"

Dao Yan Zhenren was startled. "What?"

Master Shui Jing looked at Dao Yan Zhenren. "This time you sent no other disciple, only Qi'er, alone to the Burning Cloud Valley in the southern frontier—and beforehand you did not even consult me!" With that her face turned cold, and she gave two cold laughs.

Dao Yan Zhenren frowned. "Junior Sister, I explained the reasons to you afterward, did I not? And you did not object."

Master Shui Jing rose to her feet and said mildly, "I did not object, but you know this disciple of mine has ever been fierce and stubborn. In all things it is better to leave a little room."

With that, without waiting for Dao Yan Zhenren to reply, she walked out of the hall on her own.

Dao Yan gazed after her back, then suddenly shook his head and gave a long sigh.

Mount Huqi.

The Cold Ice Stone Chamber.

Of the Nether King Sect, all stood within the stone chamber—from the Nether King himself down to Qinglong, Yousi, and the rest—with Ming Li and Xiaobai beside them, and in the most remote corner, Mr. Ghost in his black robes stood alone.

But at this moment no one had the heart to heed that dark figure; every gaze was fixed tensely on the great shaman standing beside the azure-glass cold ice stone platform.