Chapter 14487 Legends and Laughter
Chapter 14487 Legends and Jokes
“What’s worse, all our spies in the Divine Light Clan have lost contact.” Shangguan Yue’s fingers crumpled the corner of her gray sleeve, her face paled even more, and her voice trembled at the end. “Even the spies planted by the Realm Lord’s Mansion have disappeared without a trace, as if swallowed by the night fog, vanishing into thin air.”
Ling Xiao raised his hand and gently patted her trembling shoulder, his fingertips lightly pressing against her tense shoulder line. His voice softened slightly: "It's not your fault. We're just rootless duckweed, and spies in someone else's territory are always walking on thin ice." As he turned, his green robe swept across the table, the night breeze causing the candle flame to flicker and the candlelight to cast delicate patterns on the wall. "I'm going to the Realm Lord's Mansion. That woman definitely knows the inside story."
……
Before the white jade steps of the Lord of the Realm's Mansion, an old man in a gray robe stood withered like a pine tree, his thin fingers gripping the black jade ball at the top of his cane, the tip of which was angled against the bluestone slab, blocking the way to the vermilion palace gate: "The Lord is in seclusion and will not see any guests."
"How long will it be closed?" Ling Xiao's gaze passed over the old man's shoulder and landed on the faint light leaking through the crack in the palace door, his tone completely calm.
"Seven days." The old man's voice was like ice shards, leaving no room for negotiation.
Ling Xiao raised an eyebrow, his laughter laced with icy coldness: "You can dodge the first day of the month, but can you dodge the fifteenth?" Just as black mist began to rise from his fingertips, intending to bypass the old man, the vermilion palace doors behind him suddenly creaked open, the sound of the hinges scraping together ringing out sharply in the night. The Lord of the Silent Realm stepped out, jade fan in hand, the silver tassels at his temples swaying gently with his steps, the scattered diamonds shimmering faintly in the moonlight; the delicate cloud patterns on the fan's surface, bathed in moonlight, resembled a thin layer of frost.
"Young Master Ling, you've come here for the appointment with Meteor Dragon Valley, haven't you?" As she spoke, her jade fan was still gently waving, carrying a faint fragrance of cold plum blossoms that was almost imperceptible unless you smelled it carefully.
"Please enlighten me, sir." Ling Xiao's tone was calm, but his fingertips were secretly pressing against the short blade at his waist, not letting his guard down for a moment.
The jade fan snapped shut. The Lord of the Silent Realm twirled the handle halfway between her fingers, glanced around the hall, and then took two steps forward, her voice extremely low: "The Divine Light Clan, the Gu Clan, and the Demon Heaven Sect—these three have formed an alliance and are waiting to make their move against you in Fallen Dragon Valley in seven days." She suddenly raised the fan, the fan ribs tracing a line in the air, and a dark golden talisman suddenly appeared, trembling in mid-air before dissipating into starlight. "Do you know what is suppressed beneath Fallen Dragon Valley?"
Seeing Ling Xiao shake his head, she leaned forward again, the tip of her fan almost touching the hem of his robe: "Thousands of years ago, the Demon Heaven Sect used the full power of the sect to seal the corpse of an extraterrestrial demon. In recent years, the seal of Fallen Dragon Valley has been guarded by the Divine Light Clan for generations..."
"They want to unseal the Heavenly Demon?" Ling Xiao's knuckles clenched tightly, his knuckles turned white, his breath hitched for a beat, and his pupils suddenly shrank to the size of pinpoints.
"No need to unseal it." The tip of the Lord of the Silent Realm's fan gently poked his chest, the coldness in his voice like snow water. "Just a trace of demonic energy leaking out is enough to taint a martial artist's bloodline. At that time, you will lose all your power and be at the mercy of others."
Ling Xiao was silent for a moment, then suddenly laughed out loud, without a trace of fear in his laughter: "Have they forgotten that I am a demonic cultivator? This little bit of demonic energy can't hurt me."
"Of course they know." The Lord of the Silent Realm put away his jade fan, his fingertips tracing the cloud patterns on the fan handle. "But they dared to set up this trap because they were certain you would fall for it. Actually, to deal with you, they didn't need to go to such lengths. Their real target is that Moon Maiden."
Ling Xiao's brows furrowed suddenly, the calm in his eyes shattered, and his fingertips clenched secretly inside his sleeve, his fingertips pressing against the calluses on his palms. His voice turned colder: "So they're holding Tian Yuan hostage to lure Sister Yue Nu out?"
"Smart." The Lord of the Silent Realm nodded, his tone adding a hint of persuasion. "If you know what's good for you, you can still escape with your people now. You can save your life and protect Sister Moon Maiden, saving her from taking risks for you."
Ling Xiao curled his lips into a smile, but there was no hint of amusement in his eyes: "Your perspective is like someone trapped at the bottom of a well looking at the sky. It's none of an outsider's business to comment on Sister Yue Nu's affairs. However, what you said today has served as a wake-up call for me, and I will remember this favor."
After saying that, he turned and left. The hem of his green robe swept across the stone steps in the moonlight, stirring up a few specks of dust. He never looked back.
"Is he really going?" The gray-robed old man watched Ling Xiao's figure disappear into the night, then turned to ask the Lord of the Silent Realm, his tone tinged with worry.
"He'll most likely go." The Lord of the Silent Realm shook her head, tapping her jade fan lightly in her palm. Her eyes held a mixture of calculation and helplessness. "This kid seems carefree, but he's not one to boast. It's just that this time, I'm afraid he's likely to meet with bad luck." She paused, a shrewd glint in her eyes, and a faint smile appeared on her lips. "But it's fine too. Their infighting will give the Lord's Mansion an opportunity, saving us a lot of trouble."
Her fingertips unconsciously traced the cloud patterns on the jade fan, her heart feeling like it was stuffed with a wet cotton ball: how majestic was the first Realm Lord, Li Ruohai, who swept across the eight wastelands and six directions with his silver spear. Even the elders of the Holy Hall and the Venerable Master of the Demon Sect had to give way in his presence. How different it is now! The Realm Lord's Mansion has only managed to survive until today thanks to the remaining prestige of the old Realm Lord.
No one knows where the old Realm Lord has gone, and no one dares to gamble on whether he is still alive, which is why no one dares to openly attack the Realm Lord's Mansion. But how long can this precarious peace last?
At the summit of the sea of clouds, the Lord of the Silent Realm descended through the air, the clouds churning beneath his feet. The wind whipped up snowflakes that pelted the bluestone slabs of the altar, creating a soft, rustling sound. At the mottled center of the altar stood a broken stone tablet, its inscription blurred and illegible by the erosion of time and frost. Only the three characters "Li Ruohai," carved with sword marks at the top, still exuded a sharp, cleaving power.
The name itself is a legend.
The era when he single-handedly suppressed numerous sects in the Silent Realm and established the Realm Lord's Mansion with his unparalleled cultivation is still being sung about by storytellers today.
But now, even the last subordinate city of the Realm Lord's Mansion has been devoured. The so-called Realm Lord of Annihilation is nothing but a joke huddled on this summit.
The black iron chains at the edge of the altar suddenly rattled. The Lord of the Silent Realm gently traced the cracks on the stone tablet with his fingertips, his fingertips brushing against the weathered stone chips. His voice was extremely low: "How long can this treasure you left behind protect us?"
A few sparks suddenly burst forth from the crack, illuminating the unwavering determination in her eyes. Even after Li Ruohai's disappearance for three hundred years, he still deterred various covetous forces from crossing the line, for he was once the closest to touching the edge of existence.
If he hid that silver spear inside the stone tablet...
The Lord of the Silent Realm suddenly chuckled, his laughter quickly dissipating in the sea of clouds: "You'll see, the Lord's Mansion will never fall into my hands." Three rotating jade talismans appeared in his palm, two of which were covered with spiderweb-like cracks and their light was dim; only the last one still radiated a warm white light, its body as clean as new.
