Chapter 257 - The Reversed Mark and the Waiting Questions
By the time the last resistance collapsed, the battlefield had become strangely quiet.
The surviving demonic cultivators had fought desperately after realizing that their Void-Shattering elder had abandoned the battlefield, but desperation could not repair shattered formations or replace the Nascent Soul cultivators who had already fallen.
Without the possibility of reinforcement, whatever discipline remained among them quickly crumbled.
The ancient artifact spirits continued pressing from the outside while Su Bai moved through the remaining formation gaps with his nine Natal Needles. By the time the final Nascent Soul cultivator fell, there was no longer anyone capable of organizing another defense.
Su Bai stood among the ruined formations and slowly exhaled.
His Qi had fallen considerably from its peak, and several lingering aches remained throughout his body, but his condition was far better than the battlefield suggested it should have been.
Nine Natal Needles returned to him one after another.
The ancient saber floated nearby, its blade still carrying traces of dark Qi.
"Not bad, young man."
The hammer immediately struck its flat side against the saber.
"Stop pretending you did most of it."
The saber vibrated indignantly.
Su Bai listened to them argue and found himself smiling.
He looked across the battlefield, remembering the changing formations, the Nascent Soul cultivators adapting to his techniques, the moment his Natal Needles slipped through their defenses, and even the coordinated attack that had finally forced him backward.
His smile widened slightly.
For several breaths, Su Bai simply stood there.
Eventually, his expression froze.
He slowly raised a hand and touched the corner of his mouth.
Su Bai’s eyes narrowed.
He thought carefully about the battle again.
The shifting formations had been interesting. Breaking them had been satisfying. Seeing his techniques work against opponents who could actually adapt had been even more satisfying.
His face gradually became solemn.
’I have become someone I hate.’
A battle maniac.
Su Bai had spent most of his life in this world carefully avoiding unnecessary danger. He generally believed that surviving until tomorrow was more important than looking impressive today.
Somewhere along the way, however, being surrounded by ancient monsters, Returnees, sealed abominations, and artifact spirits had apparently damaged his standards.
He had actually enjoyed fighting three Nascent Soul cultivators at once.
That was unacceptable.
Su Bai immediately suppressed the remaining satisfaction from his face.
’This needs correction.’
Enjoying the feeling of becoming stronger was understandable.
Enjoying the process of someone trying to kill him was clearly a behavioral defect.
He would reflect on it properly... later.
Still, the battle had confirmed something useful.
Humans were far easier for his Flaw-Piercing Needle Intent Seed to deal with than Returnees.
Stronger, smarter, and far more adaptable, perhaps. But also far more familiar.
He understood how their bodies, Qi, and techniques worked.
That was enough.
Su Bai looked across the corpses surrounding him.
His expression became slightly uncomfortable.
There were far too many.
He raised one hand.
Ash-gray fire emerged from his palm before spreading across the nearest bodies. Pale ash and cold radiance crawled across flesh and blood, consuming the lingering demonic Qi along with the remains.
Su Bai guided it carefully.
He had no intention of allowing the battlefield to become a source of corpse poison, blood techniques, or whatever other unpleasant things demonic cultivators could create from their dead.
Metallic objects, storage rings, weapons, and other durable items remained scattered across the ground as the bodies themselves disappeared.
Su Bai swept them up with his spiritual sense and stored everything away.
He would sort through the harvest later.
Just then, a presence descended from above.
Su Bai turned.
Yue Cangyu landed several dozen steps away.
The moment he appeared, several ancient artifact spirits shifted slightly around Su Bai.
They did not attack. They simply watched.
Yue Cangyu noticed the movement but showed no offense.
His gaze swept over the battlefield before settling on Su Bai.
For several breaths, neither spoke.
Yue Cangyu had seen most of what happened from several miles away.
Seeing the result from this distance somehow made it stranger.
A Golden Core cultivator stood in the middle of a battlefield that had once contained thousands of demonic cultivators.
Several Nascent Soul corpses were among the remains.
Ancient artifact spirits floated around him as though this arrangement had somehow become natural.
Yue Cangyu finally walked forward.
Su Bai cupped his hands.
"Senior Yue."
Yue Cangyu stopped before him and studied him carefully.
His hand came down on Su Bai’s shoulder.
"It seems your master understood you better than I did."
Su Bai raised his gaze.
Yue Cangyu smiled faintly.
"He told me that I should not expect you to remain trapped forever."
Su Bai’s expression changed immediately.
"Master came here?"
"He did."
Su Bai looked toward the direction of Azure-Jade City.
Questions surfaced almost immediately.
"Senior Yue, what happened while I was inside? Why were so many demonic cultivators waiting for the Sanctuary to open?"
Yue Cangyu did not answer at once.
His gaze moved toward the ancient artifact spirits.
The saber floated proudly. The hammer remained silent. Several unfamiliar weapons hovered farther behind Su Bai, each carrying an ancient presence Yue Cangyu could not easily mistake.
His eyes moved beyond them.
The Fallen-Star Sanctuary was no longer there.
The mountains, ruins, and devastated land that had once existed behind the sealed boundary had returned completely to the world.
Yue Cangyu stared for several moments before releasing a quiet sigh.
"It is a long story."
Su Bai waited.
Yue Cangyu looked at him again.
"And judging from what you brought out with you, yours is probably longer."
Su Bai followed his gaze toward the artifact spirits.
The saber immediately spoke.
"This great one’s story alone would require several months."
The hammer struck it.
"No one asked."
Yue Cangyu’s mouth twitched.
He finally turned away.
"We should not remain here. Too many factions have already been watching this region, and the Sanctuary reappearing completely will only draw more attention."
His expression became more serious.
"Some of them may already be on their way."
Su Bai understood immediately.
Whatever had happened outside during his absence had clearly gone far beyond a few demonic cultivators waiting for the Sanctuary to open.
Remaining here while discussing what he had found inside would only invite more trouble.
"Please lead the way, Senior."
Yue Cangyu nodded.
They left the battlefield.
The artifact spirits followed.
Several of them floated openly behind Su Bai, which made avoiding attention impossible.
By the time they entered Azure-Jade City, cultivators along the streets were already staring.
A few recognized Yue Cangyu and immediately lowered their heads.
Others focused almost entirely on Su Bai.
More specifically, they focused on the ancient weapons following him.
Su Bai pretended not to notice.
The saber appeared to enjoy the attention considerably more.
"This city has good eyes."
The hammer quietly replied, "They are staring because you won’t stop vibrating."
Su Bai continued walking.
Yue Cangyu glanced sideways at him.
There was something he had noticed almost immediately.
Despite following him willingly, Su Bai had never completely relaxed.
His spiritual sense remained contained, but Yue Cangyu could tell that the young man was still paying attention to their surroundings.
The artifact spirits were doing the same.
Yue Cangyu understood.
After surviving inside the Fallen-Star Sanctuary for so long, trusting someone merely because they had met before would have been foolish.
Without saying anything, he reached into his sleeve.
A jade slip appeared in his hand.
He passed it to Su Bai.
Su Bai looked at him before accepting it.
The instant his spiritual sense touched the jade, a familiar presence emerged.
Su Bai stopped walking.
There was no mistaking it.
Lu Canghai.
A small portion of his master’s personal spiritual imprint had been sealed inside the jade.
Alongside it was a message.
[Disciple, Yue Cangyu can be trusted. If you manage to come out while I am away, follow him. He can explain what happened outside.]
Su Bai stared at the message. His shoulders relaxed slightly.
Yue Cangyu noticed.
"Your master expected you to be suspicious."
Su Bai put the jade slip away.
"Master knows me well."
Yue Cangyu laughed quietly.
"That was obvious."
They resumed walking.
Only after they entered the quieter inner district did Yue Cangyu remember another matter.
His expression became serious.
"Junior Su."
Su Bai looked toward him.
"The mark from that demonic cultivator. How are you feeling?"
Su Bai blinked.
Earlier, Yue Cangyu had seen the dark seal enter Su Bai’s body.
For several breaths afterward, the young man’s eyes had glowed faintly.
Yue Cangyu had expected some reaction.
Instead, Su Bai had simply continued killing people.
"Did it affect your spirit?"
Su Bai’s expression became slightly strange.
"Not negatively."
Yue Cangyu stared at him.
Su Bai considered how much explanation was necessary.
"Senior does not need to worry. It appears I benefited from it."
Yue Cangyu remained silent for a moment.
His gaze slowly moved over Su Bai.
He remembered the poisoned dagger. He remembered the curse. He remembered the comfortable expression Su Bai had shown afterward.
Finally, Yue Cangyu laughed.
"Of course you did."
Su Bai gave him an innocent look.
Yue Cangyu decided not to ask.
He had already accumulated enough questions for one day.
Su Bai, meanwhile, turned part of his attention inward.
The mark was still there.
That had worried him when it first entered his body.
It had attached itself directly to his spirit, establishing a thin spiritual connection that refused to disappear.
Ordinarily, the purpose was straightforward.
Whoever controlled the corresponding method could use the mark as an anchor to recognize him, lock onto his presence, and potentially follow that connection across great distances.
The attachment itself remained intact.
Its purpose did not.
The moment the hostile influence tried to settle into his spirit, the Reversal Body had reacted.
Su Bai had expected the mark to disappear.
Instead, something stranger happened.
The spiritual connection remained, but the direction of its influence reversed.
The enemy had intended to place an anchor inside Su Bai that they could sense.
Now Su Bai could feel the other end.
The sensation was extremely faint.
It did not provide him with a location, a face, or even a clear distance.
But somewhere beyond his perception, there was a direction.
If someone attempted to actively use the mark against him, Su Bai suspected that thread would become much clearer.
His lips almost curved upward again.
Su Bai caught himself.
’No.’
He immediately restored his calm expression.
He had just decided to correct his increasingly dangerous personality.
Getting excited because an enemy had accidentally given him a way to find them was clearly not helping.
Still...
He would keep the mark.
Removing something this useful would be wasteful.
...
Soon, they reached the City Lord’s Mansion.
The guards immediately opened the gates.
Yue Cangyu led Su Bai through several courtyards and into a private office protected by multiple formations.
The ancient artifact spirits followed them inside.
Once the doors closed, Yue Cangyu activated the room’s isolation formation.
A faint barrier covered the walls.
Only after confirming that nothing outside could easily listen did he take a seat.
Su Bai sat across from him.
For the first time since leaving the Fallen-Star Sanctuary, there was no danger around him.
Only questions.
Yue Cangyu placed both hands on the table.
His gaze settled on Su Bai.
"I suppose we should decide who explains their disaster first."
Su Bai thought about everything that had happened inside the Sanctuary.
He looked at Yue Cangyu.
"Senior should probably go first."
Yue Cangyu raised an eyebrow.
"Why?"
Su Bai’s expression remained completely serious.
"Mine may take longer."
Behind him, the ancient saber laughed loudly.
Yue Cangyu stared at Su Bai for several breaths.
Eventually, he leaned back in his chair and sighed.
Yue Cangyu’s amusement faded.
"The situation changed after the disciples returned from the Sanctuary."
He paused.
"And it started with the people who managed to bring things out of it."