The Decaying World

Song Shihan was incredibly strong, so she could also quickly sense the other party’s immense aura and presence.

An Evil Soldier constantly emanated a terrifying aura into its surroundings.

A Fog Person had to actively suppress this aura to remain concealed. But with even a minor Secret Technique, one could easily sense the Evil Soldier’s power.

’This place... even has Fog People!?’ Song Yunhui’s heart leaped.

He finally understood why Lin Xiaoliu trembled all over whenever she mentioned her third brother.

This place... this power... it was already comparable to most of the potential of some small cities!

"Little Junior Sister, come find me for a drink when you’re free," Pang Jiu said, opening his eyes and smiling at Lin Xiaoliu.

"I will report to the Daoist Master, in full detail, that you’re trying to trick Xiaoliu into drinking again," Li Yuanyuan said, giving him a cold glance.

"Uh..." Pang Jiu froze. He laughed awkwardly, scratching his messy hair. "I was just joking. A joke, hahaha."

"Please follow me. The Daoist Master is inside," Li Yuanyuan said softly to the four of them, turning her back. She then ignored Pang Jiu completely.

The four of them followed closely. Even as they left, Song Shihan felt that the situation was surreal.

A Fog Person, of all things!

He was being told off by someone who wasn’t a Fog Person, yet he didn’t get angry at all!?

The fantastical nature of this place made her feel as if she were in a dream.

After passing through another small hall, the group finally arrived before a small, square courtyard.

Inside the courtyard stood a thick, leafy pear tree. From time to time, green leaves would spiral down with the wind.

Beside the tree was a stream that had been diverted from outside, but strangely, there was no sound of running water.

They could clearly see the water flowing, yet it was silent.

The group also noticed strings of white wind chimes hanging from the eaves behind the pear tree. They collided gently in the wind, creating a soft chiming sound.

"I’ve brought them," Li Yuanyuan said softly. She then bowed, turned, and left.

This left Lin Xiaoliu and the other three standing at the courtyard entrance, unsure of what to do.

"Why don’t you come in, Xiaoliu?"

A gentle male voice drifted from within the courtyard.

Only then did the four of them realize that a person was sitting cross-legged beneath the tree.

He was clearly right there, yet they hadn’t noticed him at all just a moment before.

It was a tall man, also dressed in white robes.

He was dressed in pure white, his black hair unbound, with some strands so long they pooled on the ground around him.

The man’s face wasn’t handsome in a conventional sense, but it possessed a strange, harmonious perfection.

He was a peculiar man who seemed unremarkable at first glance, but on closer inspection, you felt as if you were overlooking something important.

"Third Brother!" Lin Xiaoliu walked over, her body no longer trembling. A sweet, fawning smile spread across her face.

"It’s rare for you to bring people here. Tell me, what do you need my help with?" Lin Hui reached out and pinched her chubby, baby-fat cheeks.

"I..." Lin Xiaoliu didn’t hesitate and immediately told him everything that had happened recently.

"The Bright Heart Association... It’s all right. Don’t go anywhere for now. Just stay here with me," Lin Hui said gently.

Seeing Lin Hui so casually make arrangements for them, Song Yunhui grew anxious. By this point, he had already given up on the idea of fleeing with Lin Xiaoliu.

On the way here, just seeing the power the Lin Family wielded, he knew that a figure from such a faction would never allow him to take Lin Xiaoliu away.

So he had simply discarded the thought.

But abandoning that idea was one thing; seeing how dismissively Lin Hui treated the Bright Heart Association made him worried.

He knew from personal experience that the Bright Heart Association’s immense power wasn’t something one or two cities could stand against.

Behind them was a terrifying force that had been entrenched in the Federation for over a thousand years, a power that even dared to make a move against a prince like him.

If they didn’t take this seriously enough, they would likely suffer a great loss in the future!

"Don’t worry," Lin Hui said, seemingly having read his mind.

"I have already made arrangements. For the time being, you can all stay here at the Daoist Court. Let Xiaoliu be a good host to you."

He stood up. ’As for Song Yunhui and his mother, if they dared to use Xiaoliu, they should be prepared for some payback.’

’This is a perfect opportunity to keep them here, to study and observe them. I’ll see what’s so special about them that the Bright Heart Association is hunting them down.’

’Or rather, to see what they’re relying on to escape the Bright Heart Association’s grasp time and time again.’

"But..." Song Yunhui tried to say more, but his vision suddenly blurred.

He and his mother, Xu Yaya, were suddenly outside the courtyard. When he came to his senses, they were standing before the arched white gate they had just passed through.

The gate swung shut, leaving them outside.

A chill ran down his spine.

’If he could move me this far in an instant, it means he could take our lives in an instant, too.’

"Let’s go. The Lin Family has no idea how strong the Bright Heart Association is. They’ll regret this soon enough. We won’t rush things. We’ll just wait for an opportunity. No matter what, when the Lin Family can’t hold on any longer and chaos breaks out, we’ll rescue Lin Xiaoliu and escape at the first possible moment," Song Shihan transmitted to him. "There’s no point arguing with them now. Until they’ve seen the true terror of the Bright Heart Association for themselves, neither side will convince the other."

Song Yunhui nodded. He understood her reasoning.

The two turned around, just as someone arrived to lead them to their accommodations.

*

*

*

「Black Cloud’s Third Mountain」

Gongsun Xinlian stood beside a dark gold palace on the mountainside. A fierce wind whipped at the hem of her dress, but she remained motionless, like a statue.

"Patriarch, we’ve clarified the situation with the Hundred Seas Merchant Alliance. The ones who used the sudden sea storm as an excuse to cut off fifteen shipping routes weren’t a single merchant fleet, but a coalition of five," reported the steward, Blood Ancestor Gongsun Muyan, from behind her.

"And the storm? What’s the status of the investigation?" Gongsun Xinlian asked, turning back with a frown.

"The storm is real, but according to past precedent, a storm of this intensity should still be barely navigable. It doesn’t quite add up," Gongsun Muyan replied.

"What was the outcome from Extreme Desire Heaven?"

"We sent people to try and quell the storm, but strangely, our attempts only made it expand. As we prepared to send a second wave, an issue arose with the Black Army. Progress on repairing the Relic Array has stalled. Of the five Divine Craftsmen from the Artisan Federation responsible for the repairs, two have gone missing and three have fallen gravely ill and died. Without the mobile Relic Array, the Black Army’s combat strength is greatly reduced, and they can’t form an array to suppress the storm... so..."

"What about the Taixu Martial Academy?" Gongsun Xinlian asked again. "If several of the deans worked together, quelling the storm shouldn’t be a problem, right?"

"The academy is investigating a series of student disappearances, a case which involves the family of Elder Taixu Yuanpan and has major repercussions. Of the three deans powerful enough to help, one is still visiting the Outer City, one is investigating the case, and the last must remain to oversee the main academy’s array. So..."

"Fine, fine. It seems I’ll have to go myself," Gongsun Xinlian said impatiently.

’A storm of this scale can only be handled by the top-tier Blood Ancestors, but they’re all swamped and can’t get away. I could ask a Deputy City Lord, but that would cost money...’

’The Deputy City Lords aren’t free labor. No one lifts a finger unless they get something out of it.’

’I’ll just do it myself. Better to save the money where I can...’

Gongsun Xinlian sighed to herself.

She shed her long dress and donned a suit of Black Armor for travel. With a flash, she shot into the air, flying straight toward the storm she had just been briefed on.

Flying at an incredible speed, she saw the massive gray storm looming over the Jade Sea within just a few hours.

The gray storm looked like a giant wad of cotton candy, with arcs of blue-purple lightning flashing within it from time to time.

"This scale is massive... An ordinary Blood Ancestor really couldn’t handle this," Gongsun Xinlian muttered, roughly estimating the storm’s scope.

Raising her hand, a viridian halo of light formed in her palm.

Verdant branches grew from the halo, twisting and extending, their tips sharpening until they rapidly formed a giant spear four to five meters long.

"Descent of the Heart God!"

She gripped the spear and pointed it at the storm from afar.

BOOM!!

In the next instant, both she and the spear exploded into countless green motes of light.

The motes of light spread frantically across the surface of the sea in all directions.

Just then.

From the depths of the Jade Sea below, WHOOSH! Three gray shadows shot out, lunging straight for the green motes of light.

At the same time, the wind and clouds swirled high above the sea, and the sky rapidly dimmed.

A gigantic gray hand descended from the heavens, its palm large enough to cover the entire sea region, and slammed down to grab the countless green motes of light.

"You’re courting death!" Gongsun Xinlian’s voice boomed from within the motes of light.

The motes of light rapidly converged, coalescing into a giant green flower bud.

The bud slowly bloomed, and a massive beam of green light, composed of innumerable specks of green pollen, shot out from its center.

*

*

*

「Three days later.」

「Black Cloud Moon Tower」

"What? Third Sister still isn’t back!?" Baoxin Tower Zhang Yao frowned, his brow deeply furrowed as he sat on his throne.

His Big Brother, Xie Chang’an, had left only a few days ago to suppress another restless god-cluster in the southwest, and he still hadn’t returned.

And now Third Sister, who had gone to quell the storm, had been gone for three days without returning.

This wasn’t like her. Even if the storm was large and kept reforming after being dispersed, it shouldn’t have taken her this long.

Zhang Yao looked at the Blood Ancestor who had come to report, feeling irritated.

He had also been busy with his own bloodline clan’s affairs recently. Two children from his clan had gone missing, and they were still investigating and searching everywhere.

For the matter to have reached his level meant that the lower ranks were completely helpless. The situation was out of control.

Thus, it was naturally of the highest severity.

Acutely, Zhang Yao sensed something was off. ’How could it be such a coincidence? So many things erupting all at once in such a short time.’

After a moment of thought, he looked down at the Blood Ancestor.

"What’s the situation with Qingfeng Dao?"

"Qingfeng Dao remains quiet and is keeping to itself. We haven’t detected any unusual activity," the Blood Ancestor replied swiftly.

Zhang Yao nodded. He didn’t actually agree with his Big Brother and Third Sister’s decision, but since they were united on the matter, he couldn’t easily object.

In truth, he had always felt that taking in Lin Hui of Qingfeng Dao had attracted far too much trouble and attention, which was not a good thing for Black Cloud City.

Moreover, he always had a strange sense of distrust toward Lin Hui.

There were too many things about the man that he couldn’t see through.

Therefore, he had always been wary of Qingfeng Dao, secretly keeping a close watch on it.

"And the Bright Heart Association?" Zhang Yao asked again.

"The Bright Heart Association has offered to help investigate the storm situation, but they require a promise from you in return," the Blood Ancestor answered.