The ghosts were all moved, but Tang Jie was not. “Why did Fan Yunhai want to seal you here?”
The woman froze for a moment before saying, “Back then, my master took me away to cultivate. But no matter how much I cultivated, I couldn’t forget him. Master said that I was still attached to the secular world and that my sentimental connections had yet to be severed, and told me to go back to the mortal world to resolve these affairs.”
“And then?” Tang Jie asked.
“And then…” The woman’s voice turned dark. “I went down the mountain to find my old enemies. But instead, I ran into this heartless wretch. At that time, he had gained the favor of an Immortal sect of the Flame Yang Domain, and with its full support, he was sweeping through all his foes, winning every battle and gradually forming a massive empire, over which he reigned as Sovereign. When I came to find him, this ungrateful beast not only didn’t recognize me, he even said that I had been sent to kill him!”
Tang Jie earnestly listened while examining her facial expressions.
Strangely, when she spoke this time, her voice lacked the power to confuse and bewilder.
The woman went on, “But in the end, he underestimated me. I was already at Soul Transformation, so while he sent many experts at me, none of them were a match. It was just that I was still clinging to my old affections and unable to kill him. Thus, after numerous failed attempts to have me killed, he came himself.”
The ghosts were all shocked by this development, and even Tang Jie’s heart skipped a beat.
The woman’s voice turned mournful. “As the Sovereign, he came at the head of three thousand imperial guards, thirty-six Astral Generals, and a powerful cultivator from each of the eight Immortal sects. I begged with him, but he refused to hear my pleas and was set on killing me.”
“What a heartless scoundrel!” the ghosts cursed. Ghosts themselves were disloyal and fickle, so it was rather laughable to hear such comments from them.
Tang Jie remained unperturbed, asking, “And then?”
“And then…” The woman’s eyes clouded up.
She smoothly said, “I had no choice but to fight back. At the time, he was also a Celestial Heart Soul Transformation expert, and at his side were many cultivators and soldiers. While the soldiers were only mortals, they were all trained in martial arts, and combined together could unleash a formidable fighting will that could sway one’s will to fight and let them slay cultivators. I was no match for so many opponents, but thankfully, the heavens took pity on me, and I broke through.”
“‘You broke through’?” the ghosts exclaimed.
The Heartless Ghost King sternly said, “You entered the Emperor level?”
If this woman was on the level of a Nether Emperor, then she couldn’t be treated gently. But Tang Jie slightly frowned, for he was well aware of how difficult it was to make an impromptu breakthrough. The breakthrough for each threshold had its own unique points, and one had to make various preparations before attempting them. This was particularly true for the major thresholds of Celestial Heart, Violet Palace, and Immortal Platform. Normally, the preparation time for these thresholds was measured in years, and a vast amount of resources was consumed. Thus, while impromptu breakthroughs were possible at other thresholds, a breakthrough at one of the above three was almost impossible. Tang Jie had been able to do so at Celestial Heart because he had a perfect body and had already been through the process, as the result of long planning rather than sudden impulse.
For this woman to say that she had made an impromptu breakthrough into Violet Palace was as absurd as Tang Jie beating a Violet Palace True Lord while still at Soul Transformation.
But it wasn’t like miracles were exclusive to Tang Jie. If Tang Jie could create a miracle, why couldn’t others? Tang Jie couldn’t find a solid argument against the woman’s story, so he could only continue listening.
The woman went on, “Yes, I advanced to Violet Palace, and the massive rise in cultivation allowed me to turn defeat into victory. In that battle, I killed all three thousand of Fan Yunhai’s imperial guards, slew his thirty-six Astral generals, and killed six of the Eight Worthies, only two managing to escape. I captured Fan Yunhai alive, and he prostrated before me and begged for mercy. He said that if I was willing to let him go, he would take me back to the capital and make me his queen…”
Tears welled up in the woman’s eyes. “I originally thought I wouldn’t care about his promises, but I was wrong. Master was right. I was still entangled in my old affections and unable to let go of the mortal world. So I agreed and went back with him.
“Upon returning to the palace, he did as he promised and deposed his queen, installing me in her place, and we began to live together. I thought that these days would continue, not thinking that this pernicious man was still thinking of ways to stab me in the back. On the day of my birthday, he ordered the entire empire to congratulate me, and even joined me on the platform to observe the moon. But what I took to be a show of kindness was nothing more than a trap. He had called out the Immortal sect supporting him, who had sent two Violet Palace masters, and he had poisoned my wine!”
The woman’s voice turned shrill.
She howled, “He used everything he had to kill me!!!”
Her cries made the voice tremble, and they keenly felt her immense hatred and resentment.
Only Tang Jie sighed. “But in the end, he didn’t kill you, right? Not only did he not kill you, he protected you here, not even willing to leave after his death.”
“Who asked for his protection!” the woman shrieked, but then she realized something and shouted, “What protection? This is clearly sealing, sealing!!! This scoundrel! I truly loved him, yet he treated me like this! Tell me: do you think he deserved death or not!?”
The ghosts didn’t know how to respond.
We came here for treasure, alright? Who cares who was right or wrong? If this woman weren’t a Violet Palace True Lord, they would have already tried to kill her instead of listening to her chatter on.
But there just so happened to be a ghost here who wanted to chat with her: Tang Jie.
Tang Jie said, “Whether it’s protection or sealing, it’s just differing terminology, the viewpoint as seen from someone else’s eyes.”
“You don’t believe me?” the woman screeched, her face turning savage. It was clear that she placed a great degree of importance on this matter and would not permit any objections.
She had even forgotten to refer to herself as “this servant”.
But Tang Jie stubbornly refused to hear it, saying, “I wouldn’t go that far, but I learned at a young age that you have to listen to both sides, and only by comparing the two can you find out the truth. Although your words and face seem to indicate that you’re telling the truth, I refuse to listen to only your side of the story.”
The woman’s face darkened. “You mean to say that I’m lying?”
Tang Jie smiled. “Not ‘lying’. As I said, it all depends on your viewpoint.”
“Then tell me what exactly ‘depends’ here.”
Tang Jie was about to reply when he suddenly said, “Right, I still don’t know Senior’s name.”
The woman hesitated a moment before saying, “You can call me… ‘Flying Swallow’.”
“‘Flying Swallow’…” Tang Jie muttered the name and then nodded. “Alright, since Senior Flying Swallow has a question, this one will answer, explaining my argument. Please correct me if I say anything wrong.”
“Talk!” the woman said.
Tang Jie pointed at the murals. “Before talking about Senior’s story, I first want to talk about these murals. Everyone has already seen the murals, but this Ta– this Maraju still needs to explain the story again. These murals depict the story of Senior Flying Swallow becoming a cultivator. At the time, Senior Fan was nothing more than a farmer who was forcibly recruited into the army. There, he gained an opportunity to cultivate. Am I right on all of this?”
Her mind focused, Flying Swallow said, “The murals are right there, and everyone can understand what they are just by looking.”
“Precisely.” Tang Jie smiled. “After that, Senior Flying Swallow went searching for her husband, resulting in all the following scenes. Alas, the beautiful days didn’t last long and were ultimately ruined by others. Regretfully, Fan Yunhai, though escaping with his life, had no thoughts of revenge, instead taking his enemy as his father-in-law and marrying the daughter of his foe, throwing away all the affection you showed for him. What happened then was the story that Senior just told but that was not depicted on the murals. Am I correct?”
Flying Swallow frowned. “You have a very annoying way of speaking. All of this is obvious to see, so why do you have to repeat it?”
“I’m just asking, ‘is all this correct?'” Tang Jie said.
Flying Swallow looked away and snorted.
Tang Jie smiled. “I understand. In truth… Senior isn’t a very good liar, right?”
Flying Swallow shuddered and stared at Tang Jie in disbelief.
“Don’t look at me like that. From the moment you started using your words to control the ghosts, I could already sense that the power of some kind of Dao Art was infused into your voice. Mm, similar to that of the Dao of Truth, but also different. It’s not suitable for battle, but you can use your words to make people obey you. Of course, it’s not too powerful and has limitations. For example, nothing you say using those words can be a lie, and you have to do your best to avoid lying the rest of the time. This is probably why you wasted so much time making these murals.”
Flying Swallow scowled. “I don’t understand what you’re saying.”
Tang Jie chuckled. “Your answer makes me even more sure of my guess.”
“What did you guess?” The ghosts were confused.
Tang Jie pointed at the murals. “You have all been misled.”
“Are you saying that all of these murals are fake?” Marasheng asked.
“No, on the contrary, everything portrayed in the murals is true,” Tang Jie answered. “It’s just… a question of how you read them.”