Chapter Thirty: The Old Man Appears

Ziyan, who had been knocked unconscious by a stone, gradually awakened but said little. Swiftly, she drew a short dagger and gently cut her finger, suppressing any cries of pain as she let her blood drip onto a white fan. Whispering an incantation, a cascade of white light burst forth from the fan like a waterfall. The fan unfurled, and the once white fan in her hand turned crimson.

From within the fan soared a phoenix chick, reborn as if from the flames, its cry piercing the cold wind, carrying both grace and might. The creature was three meters long, embodying the purest force of frost; its feathers gleamed like frozen shards, and its beak was as sharp as a spike. Wherever it flew, the very air seemed to freeze; it spread its dense, lethal feathers, and with astounding speed, it charged straight toward Li Chunyi, who wielded a curved blade.

“The power of Absolute Ice!” Ziyan shouted.

Li Chunyi’s movements slowed. With a kick, he sent the barely breathing Xu Xing aside and, regaining his composure, grew intensely excited, holding his curved blade like a mighty statue. “For the sake of your senior, I was going to spare you. But you’ve chosen this yourself.”

With a furious roar, Li Chunyi snatched up a bronze staff, and as he raised his hand, the very space seemed to shatter. Holding the staff with both hands, he closed his eyes and shook his head in resignation, then rose lightly on his toes, leaping into the air.

“Why persist?” he asked.

He brought the staff down upon the phoenix, crushing it with overwhelming power. In a single blow, the nascent phoenix was shattered, its ice-forged feathers cascading to the ground like fragments of a broken mirror. The mournful cry of the phoenix echoed through the night, lingering in the darkness, and the remnants of absolute frost fell to the earth, freezing the very ground beneath.

Barely alive, Xu Xing felt the decayed wood in his storage pouch begin to tremble and boil. With great effort, he pulled out the blackened piece of wood, placed it on the ground, sighed softly, and collapsed into unconsciousness, murmuring with unwilling resignation: “Is this truly the will of heaven?”

The withered wood on the ground greedily absorbed the lingering energy from the battle. Tiny green shoots began to sprout from its surface. Summoning the last of his will, Xu Xing forced his eyes open to gaze at the new growth and managed a helpless smile. If he must leave this world in misery, he would rather face it with a smile, departing in peace.

“Wait, he’s a messenger of Shu! You cannot kill him! Do you know what that would mean?” Ziyan’s voice was hoarse, her words weak as she tried desperately to save Xu Xing.

“So what? If I kill both of you, who will ever know it was me? Rest in peace!” Li Chunyi replied coolly, raising his blade, flashing forward, and planting his foot on Xu Xing’s chest, his voice trembling with madness.

“I’ve waited too long for this day. Because of you, I fell into darkness. I hate you! Because of you, my family abandoned me. All debts will be settled with this blade. Today, because of you, I will renounce the darkness—also because of you!”

He raised the three-foot curved blade, glinting coldly in the moonlight, and brought it down with all his might.

“A sharp blade spills the spirit of heroes; years of hardship have not dulled my resolve.”

“Die!”

Ziyan closed her eyes in resignation. She did not weep, yet her heart ached and her nose felt blocked with sorrow. As the blade descended, Li Chunyi was lost in triumph—until the blade, as it reached Xu Xing’s neck, suddenly halted, motionless. Time itself seemed to stand still. No matter how hard he tried, with all the strength in his body, he could not force the blade downward.

Li Chunyi furrowed his brow and shouted in fury, spittle flying, the veins on his forehead bulging. The ground around them had been crushed into a pit three meters deep, dust swirling wildly, yet for all his effort, the blade remained immovable.

“What…what’s happening?” he stammered in fear, unable to comprehend the wild swing of emotions from delight to astonishment to despair.

“Impossible! Absolutely impossible! How could a mere novice at the Qi Refining stage do this?”

As he tried to withdraw the blade, he realized he could not move at all. The decayed wood on the ground radiated immense power, a boundless aura of ancient forest. The place seemed to fall into a vast wilderness, teeming with primordial beasts and divine trees.

“That tree? No, it can’t be! It already saved this boy once at the Xu estate—how could it happen again?”

The withered wood was wildly absorbing Li Chunyi’s essence and spiritual power. A stream of golden energy gushed from his body into the piece of wood.

Ziyan struggled to her feet and approached, gazing in astonishment at the pit. Her words came haltingly: “This…this is…is this the Sacred Tree?”

Li Chunyi, feeling his strength and spirit being devoured, realized that if this continued, he would be obliterated. With a thought, he ignited a talisman and vanished from the spot.

In the pit, the spiritual energy absorbed by the withered wood seeped slowly into Xu Xing’s body. Semi-conscious, Xu Xing blinked and, gazing up at Ziyan, mumbled, “What are you doing up there?”

Ziyan made no reply, still stunned by the power of the wood.

“Are we…dead? Why does my whole body feel no pain anymore?”

After a while, Xu Xing propped himself up and leapt out of the pit, sitting beside Ziyan. They sat in silence, quietly drinking wine, watching the moon, and Ziyan as well. Their hearts remained unsettled for a long time.

At last, when midnight had passed, Xu Xing finally spoke: “Are you saying…this piece of withered wood saved me?”

Xu Xing stared incredulously at the piece of wood in his hand. He had picked it up idly beneath a sickly tree, never expecting it would save his life. Ziyan now looked at Xu Xing with new respect—she never imagined that this newcomer would prove stronger than herself. Soft words slipped from her lips in self-reflection.

Beneath the scholar tree in the still of night, an old man slowly approached—the very one who had cared for Xu Xing along the way. His face was wild and overgrown, his body gaunt and sharp-boned. Head bowed, he walked with each step seeming to bring spring’s return; a flick of his finger, and the scene was restored, all traces of battle erased.

Seeing the old man, Ziyan hurried over to support him. “At your age, why come out wandering in the night?”

“The ancient tower is buffeted by an eastern wind tonight, and I, Xu, walk slowly, just to chase the breeze,” he replied.

As Ziyan prepared to speak again, the old man looked up, eyes fixed on her, conveying a silent message. She fell silent at once. Shaking his head, the old man stamped his foot, reached out, and grasped Ziyan’s slender arm.

Xu Xing felt a surge of irritation at the sight—she was his senior, after all, and even he had never touched her. He spoke out, “Old man, what’s the meaning of this? Wandering around in the middle of the night, and you’re grabbing my senior’s arm—let go!”

“Xu Xing, mind your words. Don’t you know to respect your elders?” Ziyan scolded with a hint of annoyance.

“You…was I being too suspicious?” Xu Xing stared at Ziyan, but perhaps she was right; maybe he had lost his manners.

Seeing that Ziyan’s injuries were not serious, Xu Xing breathed a sigh of relief. The old man slowly approached, brushed aside his tangled hair, and said, “Young man, your courage and sense of justice are truly admirable.”

Xu Xing, raising an eyebrow in confusion, wondered when the old man had arrived—had he come without anyone noticing?

By the bright moonlight, Xu Xing finally saw the old man’s face clearly, its contours striking and unforgettable, as if a lost pearl from the sea. He was utterly astonished.

“You’re the old man who jumped into the sea that day! Weren’t you dead?” Xu Xing exclaimed.

At this, Ziyan straightened and coughed lightly. “Xu Xing, don’t talk nonsense. I think it’s you who should be dead! He is…”

She broke off abruptly, leaving Xu Xing puzzled and impatient for the answer. “Who is he?” he asked, eyes wide with expectation.