Chapter 12: He’s called Liao Muqi, I’m called Yan Muchen.
At this moment, the few enraged cultivators were also promptly held back by their companions. On the path of cultivation, the most taboo thing was an opponent whose depth you couldn’t gauge; it could very well be some great power playing the pig to eat the tiger.
Liao Chen took a sip of the tea he had poured, then immediately frowned and tipped it onto the ground. “It smells of wine.”
The tavern had returned to its lively state, everyone discussing other matters. Yan Jingyu, while using the bowl he had just used to pour himself some wine, said, “What, you’re such a big phoenix demon, and you don’t even know how to drink?”
Behind him, the Youyue Sect cultivator who was still paying attention to their table suddenly paused, holding his breath.
The corners of Liao Chen’s lips curved into a relaxed smile. He was clearly speaking to Yan Jingyu, but he was secretly using a sound transmission technique. The indistinct voice clearly entered the other’s ears: “We of the phoenix demon clan are born without parents. No one taught me how to drink.”
The middle-aged cultivator put down his coarse porcelain bowl, a strange light in his eyes. The young man who had been angry just now looked at him with confusion.
Yan Jingyu took the bowl from his hand, poured a little wine into the bottom, and said cheerfully, “I’ll teach you! If we have the chance in the future, we’ll go drink Nine Heavens Immortal together.”
Liao Chen stopped the sound transmission, glanced at the small amount of clear liquid at the bottom of the bowl, and then, after a moment, put it back down. “Drinking is harmful to the body and hinders cultivation.”
“It won’t hinder you,” Yan Jingyu pushed it over. “Try it. Although this wine isn’t mellow enough, its sweetness makes up for it. It should be brewed with mountain spring water. It won’t get you drunk.”
At this moment, someone else passed by their table. Yan Jingyu turned his head and saw that it was the few Youyue Sect cultivators from before. They were walking in a hurry, clearly heading for the treasure hunt.
Yan Jingyu withdrew his gaze and didn’t try to persuade him anymore. Although Liao Chen’s words were harsh, they were also the truth. His own words carried little weight. He had said what he needed to say. How others chose to act was no longer his business.
In the end, Liao Chen did not drink that bowl of wine. Yan Jingyu tore off a few more pieces of chicken and ate with great satisfaction.
When he had eaten and drunk his fill, several groups of people had already come and gone behind him. Another voice was heard: “We’d better make this quick. After we catch the phoenix demon, I have to hurry to Hutian.”
“Brother Qi, you don’t want the Vermilion Bird’s divinity?”
“A divine object of that level, how could a rogue cultivator like me even dream of it?” This Brother Qi was very self-aware. His friend added, “I heard that the Grand Cultivation Assembly in Hutian is coming to an end. I’m afraid Brother Qi won’t make it in time.”
“I’m not going to Hutian to participate in the assembly, but to attend a ceremony,” the cultivator surnamed Qi said. “The youngest son of Sect Master Zuoqiu is about to come of age and will hold his coming-of-age ceremony next spring.”
“Brother Qi has connections with the Zuoqiu family?” The man’s tone was one of pleasant surprise. The cultivator surnamed Qi smiled again. “Of course not. I just heard that when this young master Zuoqiu comes of age, his master will gift him a peerless sword. That sword… was once wielded by the Immortal Lord Dufang of old.”
Liao Chen’s expression tightened slightly.
“Who is Immortal Lord Dufang?” The one who interjected this time was a young man from the next table. Judging by his voice, he wasn’t very old. The cultivator surnamed Qi was quite friendly. “Immortal Lord Dufang was the person that demon surnamed Liao feared the most back then. Yan Jingyu of the Yan Clan of Hutian. You’re young, so it’s normal that you haven’t heard of him.”
Among them, there were those who hadn’t heard, and naturally, there were also those who were well-informed. Someone immediately said, “From what this fellow Daoist says, the Dufang Sword has been in Lord Qin’s hands all this time?”
“I’ve only heard rumors,” the cultivator surnamed Qi said with a helpless tone. “My mother told me that back then, the demon lord Liao held the entire population of a city hostage to force Immortal Lord Dufang to fight him. During that crisis, he once held me. I grew up listening to his stories and have always admired him. Now that the Dufang Sword has reappeared in the world, whether it’s true or not, I must go see it with my own eyes.”
The conversation grew louder, and cultivators sitting further away also joined the discussion, raising their voices, “Could it be that you are the little baby from Hengyang City who was held hostage by that demon surnamed Liao?”
The cultivator surnamed Qi seemed a little embarrassed and changed the subject. “I heard that the youngest son of the Zuoqiu family is also exceptionally talented. At only seventeen, he is already at the Cloud-Soaring Realm. The sword technique he has been learning is also the Flowing Clouds and Flying Catkins created by Immortal Lord Dufang himself. He has already reached the third stage… Lord Qin is taking on a disciple on behalf of his friend, and now he is also gifting the Dufang Sword on his behalf. He must be announcing to the world that he wants this child to inherit the Immortal Lord’s mantle.”
The topic quickly shifted. “What? He’s only seventeen and already at the Cloud-Soaring Realm?!”
“I’ve heard of this youngest son of the Zuoqiu family too. His mother’s surname is Ruan. He is deeply favored by Sect Master Zuoqiu, who even let him take his mother’s surname from a young age. To break through to the Cloud-Soaring Realm at such a young age, his future is truly limitless…”
“I heard that Immortal Lord Dufang was also a top-tier genius back then. Lord Qin must have also taken a fancy to his constitution. It’s truly for the best that he inherits the Immortal Lord’s mantle.”
“How come all these children of noble families are all geniuses?!”
“Hmph.”
Amidst the lively discussion, a cold scoff was suddenly heard. Although the voice was not loud, it was enough for everyone to hear. Everyone turned their gaze at the same time. Some who hadn’t left yet quickly realized it was the table that had advised everyone not to go to Jiuyi Mountain just now, but this time, the one who spoke was the man in black.
Someone said, “Fellow Daoist, it seems you have some opinions about the young master of the Zuoqiu family?”
“To only enter the Cloud-Soaring Realm at seventeen, and you call that a genius?” Liao Chen’s tone was harsh. “Back then, Yan Qi was at the Phoenix-Beginning stage at three, the Zither-Heart stage at five, the Cloud-Soaring Realm at eight, and had already reached the Formless Realm at fifteen. What is Qin Zhongyou? Is he worthy of taking on a disciple for him? Such aptitude is truly a disgrace to his name.”
Yan Jingyu’s eyes widened slightly. He looked at Liao Chen with a questioning gaze, not understanding why he would join such a boring discussion.
“That Yan Jingyu was that amazing?”
After all, the annihilation of the Yan Clan had happened a long time ago. At a glance, there were not many cultivators here who had cultivated for over a hundred years. Most of what they knew about Yan Jingyu was from hearsay, so it was naturally not so detailed.
Among them, there were also some who knew a little. One interjected, “I heard my master mention that Immortal Lord Dufang was born with the Heavenly Mandate Eyes and was chosen by the Heavenly Dao. His talent was also extraordinary. Not just for a hundred or a thousand years, that kind of constitution could even be said to be unprecedented and unrepeatable.”
Liao Chen glanced at the other with an appreciative look. “He can indeed be called unprecedented.”
The young man who had interjected was a little embarrassed. The cultivator surnamed Qi followed up, “Heaven is unfair! He cultivated the path of the common people, saved tens of thousands, and named his bonded sword Dufang, to cross all disasters and tribulations, but he could not cross himself… If he were still alive, Liao Chen would not be so arrogant. With his aptitude, he would have long since ascended to become an immortal! And wiped out all the demons!”
As if he had never met such a kindred spirit, he suddenly brought his wine to their table and toasted Liao Chen. “You’re right. In this world, no one is worthy of inheriting his mantle, no one is worthy of taking on a disciple for him. Immortal Lord Dufang, unprecedented, and unrepeatable!”
This rather sturdy man’s eyes were red. Not only was Yan Jingyu dumbfounded, but even Liao Chen was stunned in place.
He paused, then took a clean bowl, poured tea, and clinked it with the other’s. “Tea instead of wine.”
“No matter.” The cultivator surnamed Qi clinked his bowl heavily with his. The tea in Liao Chen’s hand did not move a bit, but his own spilled out. Before it could splash into Liao Chen’s bowl, it returned to its original path. The cultivator surnamed Qi was so emotional that he didn’t notice this at all. After downing it in one gulp, he said magnanimously, “As long as you admire Immortal Lord Dufang, we are brothers!”
With that, he directly pulled up a stool and sat down beside Liao Chen. “My name is Qi Mufang. I didn’t call myself Qi Muyu because I was afraid of disrespecting the Immortal Lord’s name. What’s your name?”
He seemed to have eyes only for Liao Chen and didn’t notice Yan Jingyu sitting opposite him at all.
Yan Jingyu looked at this one, then at that one. Behind him, Qi Mufang’s friend was sighing with resignation, pouring himself wine alone.
Liao Chen’s eyes were dark, his smile kind. “My name is…”
“His name is Liao Muqi.”
Yan Jingyu cut him off. When the two of them looked at him, he quickly added, “My name is Yan Muchen.”
Liao Chen smiled faintly. But Qi Mufang, upon seeing his face, was suddenly stunned in place.
He had been sitting at the table behind Yan Jingyu just now, back to back with him. After coming over, he hadn’t looked at him at all. Now, suddenly faced with such an impactful face, his mind went blank for a moment.
The next instant, he abruptly took out a shadow-recording pearl from his Qiankun Pouch. A scene immediately appeared above the table—
A youth held a baby, his face as beautiful as the moon, as he floated down from the city tower. His white clothes and silver sword were stern and cold. That was the young Yan Jingyu who had just made the pact to fight Liao Chen over the Endless Sea.
After landing, his expression softened. A woman immediately rushed forward, took the baby, and knelt down with a thud, her eyes full of tears. “Thank you, Immortal Lord, for protecting my son! Thank you, Immortal Lord!”
The youth bent down to help her up, then turned his head to look back.
It was impossible to tell from the shadow-recording pearl who he was looking at. One could only see the sharp intent of the silver blade by his side, and the killing intent rising from his snow-like profile.
“You…” Qi Mufang said carefully, his voice trembling, “Are you, Du, Dufang…?”
Before he could finish asking, Liao Chen had already said, “He is.”
Liao Chen did not deliberately raise his voice, but it clearly reached the ears of everyone in the tavern. “This Lord has indeed set up a killing formation on Jiuyi Mountain. Once you enter the mountain, there is only death.”
He no longer concealed his cultivation. The pressure of the Demigod stage forced everyone present to bow their heads. Some of the more timid ones had already silently slipped off their chairs and knelt before their tables.
No one in the room spoke. Everyone uncontrollably suppressed their breathing.
Not until the two had gone far away did Qi Mufang’s friend suddenly rush over from the next table. He grabbed his friend, who had gone limp in his chair, his face pale. “Was that man really Immortal Lord Dufang? Why did he appear with the demon lord? Why didn’t the demon lord kill us? And why did he kindly tell us these things? Did you see clearly?”
“He’s still alive…”
“Are you sure he’s really Yan Jingyu?!”
“He’s still alive…” Qi Mufang gradually came back to his senses. He abruptly grabbed his friend’s collar and said excitedly, “He’s still alive! He’s not dead! I saw him!! He was so close to me just now… so close! He even patted my shoulder and talked to me!! He spoke to me himself!!!”
Yan Jingyu didn’t particularly care that Liao Chen had directly revealed his identity. From the moment the other had forced him to restore his original appearance, he knew this was a foregone conclusion.
But he couldn’t for the life of him understand the intention behind Liao Chen’s last sentence.
A stone rolled far away on the flat ground, stopped by the dry grass of winter.
Yan Jingyu came back to his senses and looked at Liao Chen with hesitation. “…You look to be in a good mood?”
“That Qi Mufang is a bit interesting.”
Although he had already guessed, hearing him admit it himself, Yan Jingyu was still a little surprised. “You would give up your great killing plan for someone you just met?”
“What great killing plan?” Liao Chen’s attitude was casual. “This Lord was just in a bad mood and casually spread some news to lure a group of people to their deaths. Now that my mood has improved and I don’t want to kill anymore, I naturally let them go.”
These words were spoken with extreme arrogance, as if the lives of the masses were but a whim to him. If it were any other time, Yan Jingyu would have definitely sneered at him. But today, this villain had rarely done a good deed, so Yan Jingyu said in a very good-natured tone, “In any case, you took the initiative to expose your identity in front of everyone and frankly admitted your evil… plan!”
He corrected his wording in time and added a smile. “This news should spread throughout the nine provinces very quickly. In the future, no one will go there to die.”
“Don’t look at me with that ‘this child can be taught’ look,” Liao Chen withdrew his gaze. “I let them go not because I’m a good person, but because you, as always, were trying to save them. I couldn’t stand them not trusting you, and I couldn’t stand that foolish look of yours, resigned to your fate.”
The man strode forward. Yan Jingyu followed a beat behind, saying nonchalantly, “What’s wrong with being resigned to one’s fate? Who says that to live, one must fight? Lying flat is also a great path!”
“If that were truly the case, why didn’t you just die on Cangmu Mountain? You returned to Hutian, wasn’t it to seek another opportunity?”
“Maybe I wanted my fallen leaves to return to their roots?!”
“Self-deception,” Liao Chen said. “Fallen leaves returning to their roots is just an excuse for being powerless to turn the tide. Don’t tell me you don’t want to see your parents, don’t want to restore the glory of the Yan Clan, don’t want to avenge yourself…”
“Don’t think you know me so well!”
Yan Jingyu was a little angry. He turned and walked in the opposite direction. After two steps, the small wooden boat appeared in front of him again. Liao Chen’s voice was not gentle, but it had become calm. “If you’re tired, I’ll give you a lift.”
