Shen He explained: “Senior Brother Hong said Silent Night Palace pulled some strings and paid a sum of money to use Dream Flower Immortal Sect’s Teleportation Array.”
In other words, after entering the True Realm, the Silent Night Palace disciples would no longer travel by ship but would take the Teleportation Array directly to the central continent region. Then, once they reached Jiuxia Mountain’s sphere of influence, they would board a ship again?
Xie Linlang thought about it and agreed it made sense. Silent Night Palace’s Palace Lord was still on the True Realm’s wanted list, after all. Even if they had leveraged connections through Heavenly Charm Sect, they could not be too ostentatious and sail the Treasure Ship straight through.
Shen He’s gaze fell on the Kill Matt Little Bird on Xie Linlang’s shoulder. He noticed the gray-black fledgling seemed to be meditating with eyes closed, its Demonic Qi flowing strangely.
“…What’s wrong with Night Senior?”
“He’s cultivating. Don’t worry; he won’t pay attention to us for a while.”
Xie Linlang tactfully reminded Shen He, “But in front of the Senior, you still need to be respectful and cautious.”
Shen He understood immediately. This meant they could discuss some matters, but they had to be careful to conceal them, right?
“Yesterday, under Senior Jin Ling’s guidance, I visited the sect’s Tribulation Transcendence Realm Senior skilled in divination—Wuyang Zhenren.”
Shen He lowered his voice, his expression somewhat peculiar. “I asked Wuyang Zhenren to divine my blood relatives. After performing the divination, he said a few words.”
Xie Linlang immediately leaned in to listen: “What words?”
Helping Shen He find his family was one of the karmic debts Xie Linlang needed to repay.
“He said the karma on my body is entangled, and my blood relatives aren’t just the ones I thought they were.”
Shen He frowned in distress. “He also said my relatives are right by my side, but that I don’t need to worry too much—just cultivate steadily, and time will resolve everything.”
Xie Linlang frowned upon hearing this: “Time will resolve everything? Could it be that cultivators have long lifespans, you’ve lived a long time, and you’ve outlived all your relatives?”
That would indeed resolve everything, clearing the bloodline karma from Heaven’s perspective, but for Shen He, who wished to trace his bloodline origins, it was far from a good outcome.
“Yeah, Wuyang Zhenren also said the karma with my family has been severed twice.”
“What? Blood ties can be severed twice?”
Xie Linlang was utterly baffled: “Does that mean your bloodline changed?”
Such things could happen to cultivators—for example, suddenly awakening some ancient Demon Race or Demon God bloodline and thereby inheriting an ancient legacy. But twice?
“…Are you undergoing Reincarnation Recultivation?”
Xie Linlang’s heart pounded. Could Shen He truly be Pei Ji’s…?
Shen He shook his head: “Wuyang Zhenren said no.”
Xie Linlang’s expression stiffened for a moment.
Still somewhat unwilling, he persisted: “The Dao begins at the Golden Core Stage. Perhaps when you achieve Core Formation, you’ll recall your past memories.”
Shen He scratched his head: “We’ll see then. But according to Wuyang Zhenren, my relatives have always been by my side. After thinking it over, it’s probably the Jade Pendant my grandfather gave me.”
He looked frankly at Xie Linlang. “Do you know something?”
When you used the Jade Pendant, did you encounter anything unusual?
Xie Linlang shook his head: “No, everything was normal—at least, it matched the processes I know.”
Shen He grew a bit irritated: “Then who is it? Could it be Senior Brother Pang?”
Impossible! Senior Brother Pang’s father had indeed hired and cared for his grandfather, but they had no relation at all! It was purely a boss-employee relationship!
Xie Linlang: “Have you asked your grandfather?”
Shen He: “I asked Senior Brother Pang to send a letter to Grandfather, but there’s no reply yet.”
The ponytail youth sighed and took out a small cloth pouch from his embrace, from which he retrieved a thin rectangular hard paper slip: “This is the Divination Rubbing that Wuyang Zhenren solidified from the Yarrow Stalks used in the divination and the hexagram image. He cast a spell on it, saying that as long as the rubbing touches someone related to me, the hexagram will glow…”
As he spoke, he opened his hand and passed the rectangular Divination Rubbing to Xie Linlang.
Xie Linlang took it and examined it closely. He saw several Yarrow Stalks solidified on the rubbing, forming a strange hexagram.
And at this moment, the hexagram was glowing faintly, as if some invisible power bloomed from within.
Xie Linlang and Shen He stared at each other in bewilderment.
Xie Linlang uncertainly said: “Me? I do have some karma with you…”
He had used Shen He’s Crane Bone from a Tribulation Transcendence Realm Great Demon as the base to reconstruct his true body. If that Crane Bone’s original owner had deep ties to Shen He’s ancestors, then Xie Linlang could indeed be considered Shen He’s elder.
Shen He thought the same and was about to take back the rubbing when suddenly, the Kill Matt Little Bird on Xie Linlang’s shoulder snapped open its eyes. Its crimson eyes swept murderously over the distance between Shen He and Xie Linlang, issuing a low, hoarse cheep cheep.
Immediately after, the Kill Matt Little Bird leaped up on the spot and crashed headfirst into the Divination Rubbing in Xie Linlang’s hand.
Xie Linlang instinctively let go, and the Kill Matt Little Bird flipped in midair with its fleshy wings, executing a 360° spin before slapping the rubbing away again with its claws.
The rubbing continued to emit faint light.
Shen He instinctively lunged forward and caught the rubbing, while the Kill Matt Little Bird used the momentum to jump back onto Xie Linlang’s shoulder.
It issued soft cheep cheeps and nudged its beak, as if asking what that thing had been and expressing a desire to eat it.
Xie Linlang frowned: “Why does Night Senior harbor such malice toward Junior Brother Shen?”
The Kill Matt Little Bird tilted its head, pretending not to understand.
Xie Linlang raised his hand and brushed off the Kill Matt Little Bird from his shoulder as if dusting away dirt.
The Kill Matt Little Bird instinctively flapped its fleshy wings and landed on the deck.
With furrowed brows and a cold expression, Xie Linlang said flatly: “Night Senior, please do as you wish. Junior Brother Shen, let’s go.”
He pulled Shen He along and turned to enter the cabin.
