CHAPTER 1189: CHAPTER 762 CHEAP

"Need my death to prove something..."

The rain screen shrouded the mountain gate of the Tianyuan Sword Sect. Sitting by the window lattice of a small pavilion at the mountaintop, Xu Yuan muttered to himself, drinking alone in silence.

Yet he found that people are inherently contemptible. One of the reasons he came to the Tianyuan Mountain was to help this Big Ice Lump make a decision, but when people truly make up their minds, his own side starts to ache.

The small pavilion stood on one side of the Sword Sect’s formation peak, able to overlook the majesty of the main peak. Through the endless rain, the nine-layer jade stairs wound upwards, ending at a huge stone wall half-hidden in the mist, where the weathered characters "Tianyuan" narrated its heavy history. However, at this moment, the vibrant green moss covered the sharpness of the last stroke of the characters....

Glancing sideways at the scenery outside the window, Xu Yuan seemed to murmur to comfort himself:

"Sigh.....actually, I should be happy."

"Hmm.. Indeed, I should be happy.

"Cold blood always surpasses indecisiveness, for both her and me, after all, starting from strength, that fool can’t kill me, hahaha...."

"But it might be a bit difficult for Big Ice Lump over there; the other day with such a big commotion, didn’t even show up, mostly not wanting to see me....."

"Of course, this could also be the wishes of her elders."

"After all, Big Ice Lump is simple-minded, afraid I might mislead her is normal."

"But it’s really annoying, this way, many things can’t be conveyed to Big Ice Lump, that guy will probably be uncomfortable all the time...."

Mumbling about some things, Xu Yuan eventually gathered his thoughts, becoming peaceful.

The mountain rain, flowing along the edge of the eaves, turned into silver threads. It was already three days since he first arrived at the Tianyuan Sword Sect. After Tianyan appeared to "mediate," Ran Qingmo’s master eventually allowed Xu Yuan to temporarily stay at the Sword Sect’s mountain gate, but relatively, he also lost some freedom.

To protect this legitimate son of the Prime Minister’s Mansion at the mountain gate, the Sword Sect specifically deployed a full battalion of formation peak disciples stationed at the foot of his small pavilion.

Moreover,

two Transcendent Sword Masters permanently stationed.

For others, such security measures would be intimidating, but Xu Yuan didn’t mind much.

He had already perfected Void Flash, achieving normalization, so even if Wen Xinyun above Saint level launched a surprise attack, she couldn’t kill him in one move. And as long as the first move doesn’t kill, utilizing Life and Death Dao Charm and Step Void Slash, nobody in this world could stop Xu Yuan from escaping.

Thinking about these things, Xu Yuan drank alone in the rainy night.

Unsure how much time had passed, he suddenly raised his eyes, looking toward the brightly lit Tianyuan Main Peak, a hint of a smile appearing at the corner of his lips:

"The people in the main hall must be very anxious, right?"

"Certainly anxious, even can be said as panicked."

The sudden voice emerged from the shadows of the candlelight, like a ghostly phantom: "Your arrival has already plunged the Tianyuan Sword Sect into a state of readiness."

Xu Yuan didn’t turn around, seeming to have already sensed the arrival of the voice, calmly retrieved a bronze wine cup from the Sumeru Ring, poured a drink, and stepped back to the other side of the desk:

"Afraid I brought bodyguards with me?"

The handsome white-bearded old man materialized from the shadows to take a seat, his sharp eyes like swords staring at the young man opposite him, word by word:

"Xu Changtian, what exactly do you want to do?"

"Second Elder, what I want to do isn’t important, what’s important is what you want to do."

Liu Wenzhou didn’t speak, nor did he respond.

After staring at one another for a dozen breaths, Liu Wenzhou finally spoke slowly:

"News from the Hidden Sects came; the military camp near Hongnong by the Prime Minister’s Mansion is already empty, where have these soldiers gone?"

"Wen Xinyun told you?"

"Yes."

"Troublesome old undead."

Xu Yuan lightly spat.

Sometimes one must admit, this woman’s Divine Soul Technique really is impossible to guard against.

If the Prime Minister’s Mansion hadn’t captured a batch of people with her Divine Soul in Zhenxi Prefecture and returned to the capital to reverse engineer her technique, temporarily finding some simple detection methods, the current moves of the Prime Minister’s Mansion would probably be more passive.

"Seems this news is true."

The warm yellow candlelight reflected the amber wine, painting shadows of the two before the desk.

Xu Yuan gently smiled, without denying:

"Raise soldiers for a thousand days, use them for a moment; in times of war, of course, the trained soldiers are to be brought out for battle, but your Sword Sect truly is useless, even unable to detect the troop movements of the Prime Minister’s Mansion, still needing notification from the Hidden Sects."

"....." Liu Wenzhou was silent.

Xu Yuan stared at the elder before him, slightly smiled:

"Looks like you didn’t deceive me either; indeed, the people at the main peak are somewhat panicked."

"A ten-thousand elite troop suddenly disappearing, anyone would panic, so I want to know, Xu Changtian, why exactly did you come to my Sword Sect?"

"It depends on yourselves."

"Sword Sect has no choice."

"But I have given you a choice, otherwise, why would you come to find me tonight?"

The wind chimes on the flying eaves of the warm pavilion tinkling crisply with the rain.

Xu Yuan’s words were measured, stating a fact:

"Liu Wenzhou, you Sword Masters and Elders have already done well enough in this great worldly dispute. Having you is the fortune of the Sword Sect, is the fortune of the forty thousand mountain gate disciples of the Sword Sect. No offense, but just speaking factually, the decline of the Sword Sect is already inevitable, even if the State Preceptor wasn’t assassinated by the Hidden Sects, you have already lost the qualification to become players who make moves on the chessboard. It’s not that you are too weak, but that your opponents are too strong.

"Whether it is Jiatiange, or Wen Xinyun, whether it is the Prime Minister’s Mansion, or the Li family dynasty, none among them are opponents that you can contend with. I believe this, as someone involved, you should be more aware than I, who is an outsider."

"....."

Liu Wenzhou’s silent expression bore a tinge of embarrassment.

Sword Sect, truly a helpless case of no fault.

They were united, fearless, advancing continuously.

Theoretically, a power with such qualities should be in an ascendancy phase; the Sword Sect ought to walk towards a prosperous future with the efforts of this generation, but unfortunately, they collided head-on with this monster-infested calamity era.

Xu Yuan looked at the elder’s helplessness, sighed deeply in his heart, but still continued in a low voice:

"Let me tell you some news you don’t know, regarding information above Saint, excluding Wen Xinyun and my father for the moment, besides these two, Jiatiange also has a person above Saint, and the dying emperor of the imperial family perhaps has touched upon that realm.

"Sword Sect, born in an inopportune time."

"So, Second Elder,

"Cutting off the tail to survive is always better than leaving no dogs or chickens behind, isn’t it?"

"....."

Liu Wenzhou stood up silently and bowed to Xu Yuan: "Thank you for your words, Third Young Master."

Xu Yuan slowly closed his eyes and leaned back in his chair, listening to the footsteps of the elderly man walking away, feeling somewhat weary:

"Still obstinate, aren’t we...."

"One must always try, after all, the Sword Sect has never had a precedent of surrender without a fight."

"In that case, please remember the escape route I provided for you all."

"Thank you."

"It’s all for Ran Qingmo, you all are just incidental."

"Third Young Master, you... are not fit for the celestial family."

"Heh...."

Listening to the sound of someone breaking through the air outside, Xu Yuan chuckled leisurely:

"It’s not me, I never said I’d become part of the celestial family..."

...

...

...

"Open the door."

The saying "Misfortune never comes singly" is never lacking examples in this world, and after a few days of leisure, tonight’s visitor certainly wouldn’t be just Liu Wenzhou.

Just after tidying up the untouched wine cup left by the elderly man, a cold voice came from the clouds.

Xu Changtian raised his head upon hearing the call, seeing Tianyan stepping barefoot onto the star path, the Saintess of Jiatiange wrapped in a rain-woven dress, like a fairy descending to the mortal world.

The arrival of the golden-eyed girl was somewhat unexpected to Xu Yuan, but despite that, he showed no intention of moving an inch, just gestured with his mouth towards the open window:

"Haven’t you got hands or feet?"

No emotional waves, but memories linger.

Seeing Xu Yuan showing no hospitality, Tianyan was not angered, instead instantly came into the pavilion and sat down, speaking plainly:

"Still so discourteous."

"I don’t have the State of Divine Nothingness, naturally, a leopard never changes its spots."

Looking at the familiar flawless face of the girl, Xu Yuan resisted the urge to reach out and touch it, jesting with a smile: "Coming to see me so late, is it for old times’ sake? Or do you want me to spare you?"

Tianyan didn’t sit, just stood quietly in mid-air, her lavish Saintess gown gently swaying without wind, her azure golden eyes gazing at him without a hint of emotion:

"I’ve come to discuss a matter with you."

"Alright, beg me."

"This matter involves Wen Xinyun."

"Beg me first."

"Jiantian Pavilion...."

"I said, beg me first."

"..." Tianyan.

Tianyan fell silent, her golden eyes quietly focusing on this smiling bloody-robed man, realizing that Xu Yuan showed no intention of sincerely negotiating with her.

Xu Yuan’s smile remained unchanged, he crossed his legs and leaned back in his chair, speaking slowly:

"I don’t quite like your cold face, smile for me, then we can continue the discussion."

After a moment of thought,

Tianyan’s rosy lips twisted into a smile that looked more awful than crying.

Seeing her comply, Xu Yuan took a deep breath and said with a chuckle:

"You explained the State of Divine Nothingness to me before, saying this thing serves to remove emotions, allowing each Jiantian Pavilion Master to make the most rational choices, right?"

Tianyan didn’t understand why Xu Yuan suddenly brought up this topic, but still nodded, and her voice was crisp like a silver bell:

"It is, so what?"

"Act out a play then."

"What?"

"Act the way you originally were in front of me."

Tianyan paused for a moment, speaking honestly:

"I don’t know how to act."

Xu Yuan half-closed his eyes, his expression gentle:

"You can’t even act as yourself?"

Tianyan looked condescendingly at the carefree man: "Does such a fake presentation have any meaning? I don’t recall you ever being such a childish person."

Xu Yuan remained silent for a moment, then chuckled:

"But you should recall I am a sentimental person."

Tianyan denied immediately without hesitation:

"In my memory, you were quite dispassionate."

"....."

Xu Yuan was momentarily speechless, but then smiled:

"Being sentimental and dispassionate are not contradicted, no matter what, a beauty scheme always works best on me, the matter concerning Wen Xinyun, a certain old immortal being, should be significant, and for Jiantian Pavilion you could sacrifice a little, couldn’t you?"