Chapter 38 Part 2

He still had hope; he could see him again. He no longer needed to consider going to the underworld.

How laughable that he had once thought about how to find Pei Ji’s traces in the underworld if he went there. How foolish.

Xie Linlang’s thoughts wandered. He spaced out, staring blankly at a point in the void for a long time without snapping back.

The Azure Flame Leopard watched Xie Linlang. After a while, the black leopard slowly approached, cautiously twitching its nose to sniff Xie Linlang’s scent, then deliberately swayed in front of him.

Realizing Xie Linlang was actually spacing out, the black leopard emitted a low growl like mocking laughter.

But the next second, the leopard quickly silenced itself, afraid of attracting the scrutiny of other cultivators.

However, the Azure Flame Leopard’s mood improved, its black tail hooking up and flicking about in the air, smug and triumphant.

—Hmph, you human cultivator scolded me and the new master, but aren’t you the same? Just spacing out!

Ding!

Shen He transformed into a streak of green light and returned.

The Azure Flame Leopard’s wagging tail paused. It was about to get up and gossip to Shen He about Xie Linlang when a glance from the corner of its eye made its entire tail explode in fur.

Xie Linlang’s position was empty!!

Shen He appeared somewhat unsteady in his aura, with faint demonic qi fluctuating around him, as if he had just fought someone.

“Huh? Where’s Shizun?”

The next second, from a spot three meters to the side, Xie Linlang emerged from the shadows like shifting light and shadow.

“Here.”

The Azure Flame Leopard’s eyes widened round.

Xie Linlang sized up Shen He and chuckled lightly, “It looks like you’ve improved nicely.”

Shen He also carefully observed the black-clad youth before him and let out a soft exclamation. “Shizun has advanced? Looking at your face…”

“There are some changes. That’s normal.”

Xie Linlang sat cross-legged again. “I joined the sect at thirteen, absorbing the first strand of spiritual energy from heaven and earth to become a cultivator. I achieved Foundation Establishment at sixteen, Core Formation at twenty-five, broke my core into a Nascent Soul fifty years later, and advanced to Soul Transformation another century after that.”

“What you saw before was Qi Refining me. Now I’m at Foundation Establishment.”

Shen He listened with deep respect. He knew this Shizun before him had been a true cultivator in the past, and true cultivators generally advanced slower than demonic cultivators.

But these advancement times were no different from most demonic cultivators, only slightly slower than those genius demonic cultivators who used special methods to boost their strength.

“I’m called Xie Yu now. No need for my old title.”

Xie Linlang said warmly, “Thank you for taking care of me.”

Shen He waved his hands repeatedly. “No, Shizun has helped me greatly. Without Shizun, forget dealing with Senior Brother Pang—I might even have been refined into material by Senior Brother Liu from the Pill Room.”

After a pause, Shen He probed Xie Linlang with his gaze. “But Shizun, you suddenly fainted earlier…”

Xie Linlang sighed lightly. “I know Xu Zhen.”

Shen He fell silent for a moment before saying softly, “Can Shizun tell me?”

“Xu Zhen was a Nascent Soul Cultivator who nurtured many exotic beasts like Spirit Snakes and even bred a Three-Clawed Python. He seemed intent on pursuing the path of dragon taming and was outstanding among the Nine Spirits Sect at the time.”

Xie Linlang said indifferently, “He was enthusiastic and straightforward, loved making friends. My senior brother was close to him, and they explored secret realms together multiple times. But I didn’t know him well.”

After the initial intense emotions passed, Xie Linlang mentioned Xu Zhen again with no visible emotional fluctuations.

Shen He pursed his lips and hesitated before saying, “But this disciple feels that Xu Zhen might not be a good person.”

Xie Linlang was slightly surprised. “How so? Did you find something else in his quiet chamber?”

Shen He took out the Communication Jade Slip from within the sect and said softly, “He lured his friends over and killed them.”

Xie Linlang took it and looked. His body stiffened like jade stone. Only after a long while did he manage to say in as calm a tone as possible, “…Can you give me this jade slip?”

Shen He hummed in agreement, a bit embarrassed. “As long as Shizun doesn’t think I’m gossiping behind someone’s back.”

Xie Linlang stored the jade slip and looked up at Shen He. Gentle light flickered in his black eyes as he said mildly, “No, He’er. You’re a good child. If you encounter someone who makes you uncomfortable, don’t hesitate. Follow your instincts—either eliminate them or stay far away.”

Shen He smiled shyly. He let out an “ah” and took out the rusty black short sword from his Storage Bag.

“I brought this up with Shizun actually to ask—Shizun has seen much and knows much. Have you heard of this spiritual artifact?”

He placed the black short sword before Xie Linlang. “I promised that Black Demon Spirit to find someone and give him this sword. Shizun, take a look… uh…”

Xie Linlang stared blankly at the black short sword, his body suddenly shaking.

His lips trembled, and his originally gentle black eyes suddenly brimmed with tears, even reddening faintly as if he were about to go mad.

He slowly raised his hand—a simple motion, yet extraordinarily difficult.

Even more astonishing, when Xie Linlang’s finger lightly touched the characters “Dongling,” the rust on the black short sword flaked away like black butterflies in an instant, revealing a sword body as bright and clear as autumn water.

Shen He was stunned. “Shizun?”

Tears streamed down Xie Linlang’s face. He grabbed the Dongling Short Sword, and his palm was cut by it. Blood fell onto the sword body, yet the entire short sword abruptly burst into flames.

“No—don’t!!”

Xie Linlang panicked, fumbling in a flurry to stabilize the spirit sword’s state.

However, the spirit sword seemed to have persisted too long and finally met the person it had always longed for.

The last remnant of obsession in the sword body slowly dissipated. Amid golden-red flames, the Dongling Short Sword turned into scattered fragments.

Only a handful of white ash remained, nothing else.