Embers of Sword

Chapter 168 Losing everything in exchange for a life
A scolding.

The two venerables looked extremely ugly, but they did not dare to make any more moves.

In the past ten years, the Taoist sect of the Da Chu Dynasty retreated into seclusion, the Sword Palace was closed, and the martial arts world was peaceful... so much so that the likes of the Jiangning Xie family hogged the limelight and became a little carried away.

But at this moment, Bai Yu and Hei Yao woke up.

This is the Sword Palace, not the royal palace.

"Thank you, Lord Mountain."

The incense master came over with a smile to smooth things over. He put his hands together, bowed, and said, "No matter what... the assassination case is the fault of the palace. These two venerables are indeed lacking in courtesy. I apologize to you on your behalf. I heard that the Jiangning Palace has prepared a generous gift overnight and is just waiting to meet with you to negotiate. What do you think?"

talking.

Without making any noise, he handed the token to Xie Xuanyi.

"..."

Xie Xuanyi still didn't answer.

He looked at the incense master in front of him and smiled softly: "Prince Jiangning is waiting in Xie Mansion now?"

Taoist Candle sighed, "Of course."

"Since you're already waiting, you don't mind waiting a little longer."

Xie Xuanyi stood up, went to the backyard of the mansion, flicked his sleeves, and motioned the incense master to go with him.

The two Venerables, Black and White, were stopped in place by Jiang Qihu.

……

……

"Little Master Xie, you are not meeting King Jiangning, but meeting me first... I am really flattered."

The two of them went to the backyard together.

The incense master still had that smiling face.

Xie Xuanyi had some impression of the Taoist in front of him.

Taoism is a powerful sect with many branches. Among them, the strongest and most influential one is naturally Tianxiazhai.

However, the incense and fire fast can only be regarded as the lowest among the Taoist fasts.

The inheritance of Zhu Daoren's lineage is to find dragons and point acupoints, and they are not good at fighting.

"Don't worry, calling you over here is not a good thing."

Xie Xuanyi put his hands behind his back.

Although his current identity is just a 17-year-old young junior in the Cave Heaven Realm, the cultivation world has never judged people by their age.

Now, the incense-burning master respectfully calls himself the Little Mountain Master.

Xie Xuanyi accepted it naturally and was extremely calm.

After these words were spoken, the corners of Taoist Candle's mouth twitched slightly, but his smile remained undimmed. "Young Master Xie, are you dissatisfied with the quality of the 'Viewing Mountains and Seas' lamp?"

"Come in, that's enough."

Xie Xuanyi said expressionlessly: "But if you want to leave, it's a long way off."

"..."

Taoist Zhu raised his eyebrows.

The smile on his face was a little stiff: "What does this mean?"

"There are some things that you and I both know very well. Do you really need me to point them out?"

Xie Xuanyi said calmly: "As a Taoist, sneaking into the Sword Palace and secretly spying on the fortunes of the various peaks is a sin."

"Bewitching the Crown Prince of Jiangning and stirring up trouble in the Sword Palace is the second crime."

"…Secretly harboring assassins, deceiving superiors and subordinates, and fabricating chaos—this is the third crime."

"Any one of these three crimes is enough to bring disgrace to Xianghuo Zhai and bring disgrace to the Taoist sect."

Xie Xuanyi paused and asked calmly, "You don't think that giving a lamp of Guan Shan Hai is enough to atone for your sins, do you?"

The backyard was extremely quiet for a moment.

The smile on Taoist Zhu's face gradually faded. He knew why Xie Zhen wanted to have a talk with him first.

"Little Master Xie, please don't throw dirty water on the Taoist sect without any evidence."

"It's not directed at Daomen, it's just at you."

Xie Xuanyi asked meaningfully, "Do you think that if you died in this courtyard today, would the Sword Palace need to show any evidence to the outside world?"

Cold sweat broke out on the incense burner's forehead.

Xie Xuanyi had already seen that something was wrong with Taoist Zhu.

Before stepping into the courtyard, the Taoist lowered his posture to the lowest level.

A dignified incense master, no matter how insignificant he is, is still a master. The level of his status and nobility is far beyond the comparison of the two protectors of the palace... The reason why he has such an attitude is certainly not because of "respect" for himself.

Xie Xuanyi still has self-awareness.

Last night, Zhao Chunyang came out of seclusion, first fighting Wu Zexian, and then fighting Qin Zu... Although this is a secret, it will be made public sooner or later.

This news must have reached the ears of some people.

Judging from the performance of the incense master, Xie Xuanyi was almost certain that this guy knew that the head of Chunyang was in the Dasui Sword Palace and was watching every move in the courtyard.

really.

A murderous remark came to the surface.

Taoist Zhu did not refute, but cautiously asked: "What else does Master Xie want?"

In this way, Xie Xuanyi became more certain of his guess.

The incense master has a direct connection with the big shots in the imperial city... Judging from the time, even if the news from last night was spread now, it would not reach the ears of many people. This guy has quite a lot of connections.

"all."

The two words uttered by Xie Xuanyi stunned the incense master.

"all?"

The incense master looked at the young man in disbelief.

"Spend everything in exchange for a life."

Xie Xuanyi said calmly: "...That's what he meant."

"???"

As soon as these words came out, Taoist Zhu broke out in sweat, and the back of his Taoist robe was soaked.

He looked up at the ceiling of the courtyard with some fear and horror.

The sun rises, and the rays of light are as sharp as swords.

The breeze blew by, but it felt like a sword brushing against your face, making people shudder.

Without saying anything, Taoist Candle took out his waist bag, opened the cave, and took out all his savings, including talismans, elixirs, treasures, calligraphy and paintings, antiques... everything you could think of. These items were piled up in the backyard like a small mountain. After doing all this, Taoist Candle did not hesitate. He took off his Taoist crown and hairpin.

Just as he was about to take off his Taoist robe, Xie Xuanyi frowned and reached out to stop him.

"…You don't have to take off your robe."

Xie Xuanyi had never expected that after the headmaster was brought out, Candle Taoist would be frightened like this. Was this incense master actually going to take off his robes?
"This robe is a ninth-grade treasure..."

Taoist Candle looked up and asked nervously, "Do you really not need to take it off?"

"Get out of here."

Xie Xuanyi waved his hand and scolded coldly.

Taoist Zhu immediately turned into a long rainbow and fled without even looking back.

……

……

After a while, Xie Xuanyi returned to the front yard, playing with Taoist Zhu's Taoist cap and hairpin in his hands.

The two Venerables Black and White were a little confused.

Both of them saw the long rainbow just now.

What's going on here?
What did Xie Zhen say to Taoist Zhu... As the master of incense and temples, he actually left his Taoist crown and hairpins here. Could it be that he also took off his Taoist robe?

"You two can leave your tokens and go back now."

Xie Xuanyi was not very interested in these two people. With just one sentence, he ordered them to leave.

Although these two people are in the Yin God realm, they have already become the "protectors" of the palace... They probably don't have any treasures that they value.

After seeing the rainbow light that caused Taoist Zhu to flee in panic, Hei Yao and Bai Yu were already eager to return home. They left their tokens and hurried away.

Xie Xuanyi held the token of the Prince of Jiangning's Palace, but did not send it directly into his soul.

As mentioned before.

Prince Jiangning is waiting.

Then let him wait a little longer -

He brought Benhu to the backyard and asked him to pick out a few treasures he liked as a thank you gift for his companionship. Then Jiang Qihu said goodbye, and Xie Xuanyi was the only one left in the whole courtyard. Xie Xuanyi poured out the Broken Sea Pill and used the medicinal power of the Broken Sea Pill to consolidate the Golden Body Realm to which he had just been promoted.

This practice took several hours.

From sunrise to sunset.

At dusk, the afterglow falls everywhere.

Xie Xuanyi used up the twenty Sea-Breaking Pills from Venerable Bai Yu before he slowly opened his eyes. This bottle of Sea-Breaking Pills completely stabilized his meridians and blood.

Xie Xuanyi felt that his whole body was full of energy and blood, and he felt much more relaxed.

Only then did he pick up the token.

A ray of divine thought was injected into the token.

……

……

The courtyard of the Prince of Jiangning's Palace is filled with fallen flowers.

A middle-aged man in a black and gold cloud-patterned robe, with a tall crown on his head and a golden sword on his waist, looking as majestic as a sharp sword, sat in the courtyard, with a token suspended in front of him... King Jiangning Xie Zhisui sat here all day, waiting for the message from the token.

Hei Yao and Bai Yu have reported back everything that happened in Dasui Sword Palace.

Xie Zhisui knew that the token had been delivered to Xie Zhen.

Now... just waiting for news from Xie Zhen.

I never thought that I would have to wait for a whole day.

Just as Xie Zhisui was about to leave, the token vibrated and the space around him began to distort.

The fallen petals in the Jiangning Palace were blown by the wind.

In front of his stone table, there appeared a leisurely-looking young man in black.

"……finally come."

Prince Jiangning let out a long breath.

He has a full breath, a restrained spirit, and his eyes seem to contain a sea of stars.

In the past few days, the affairs of Dashui Sword Palace have been a hot topic. He has always been curious... Who is Xie Zhen who can suppress his son?

Today, I can meet you in spirit and soul, which can be regarded as the fulfillment of a wish.

Xie Zhi then mobilized his spirit and sent a divine thought towards the young man sitting opposite him.

"Buzzing."

In the courtyard, the sound of swords rang out.

The sword at Xie Zhisui's waist trembled slightly... He looked a little surprised. Instead of intimidating Xie Zhen, this glance affected his own sword intent.

The boy's eyes were as calm as the sea.

Xie Zhisui's spiritual thoughts flashed out like a drop in the ocean, never to return.

unconsciously.

Xie Zhisui lost his mind.

A chuckle brought him back to his senses.

"My Lord, have you seen what you wanted to see?"

Xie Xuanyi came to the illusion of the palace and looked around calmly.

Of course he had been to this palace before—

Over the years, the Jiangning Palace has changed a lot.

When he came to the Jiangning Palace, the courtyard was dilapidated and the gate was deserted.

Now it has completely changed from its former dilapidated appearance.

Prince Jiangning rose to prominence, and countless people sent him gifts, which were piled up in the courtyard. There were precious corals that were as big as two people could hug, and noble Buddhist shrines burning sandalwood. The palace was more than twice as large, and a new pavilion was built in the courtyard, with rockery, flowing wine cups and winding water, making it like a fairyland on earth.

It is true that things are different now than they were in the past.

I just don't know...how much of Xie Xuanyi's contribution and hard work has contributed to the development of the Jiangning Palace to its current state?

"Since ancient times, heroes have emerged from youth."

Xie Zhisui took a deep breath, calmed his heart, and said slowly: "As expected of you, you are Xie Xuanyi's disciple... My son was defeated by you, and I have no regrets."

That glance just now.

He could tell that Xie Zhen was not showing his true appearance, so he used his spiritual power to fly towards Xie Zhen, wanting to see what the young man's true face looked like.

It's a pity, at first glance.

He saw countless living beings and countless phantoms covering and overlapping Xie Zhen's face, swirling and spreading like clouds and mist.

In addition, there is a golden lotus hanging high on the forehead.

Xie Zhisui had a premonition.

Even if he focused all his spiritual thoughts on the young man in front of him, he still couldn't see the true face of "Xie Zhen".

……

……

(PS: I have a serious writer's block today, so the update is very late. During this time, I need to think about the next big plot, please forgive me.)
(End of this chapter)