“Let’s go!” Nangong Hongyan didn’t dare to look at Feng Feiyun’s eyes. She felt an unprecedented fear and a strange sense of grievance.
She only wanted to run away, the farther the better.
It was as if she was a delicate bride that had just been mercilessly slapped by her cruel mother-in-law. The only thing on her mind was to run back to her own mother’s house.
Of course, Feng Feiyun didn’t slap her and she was not a delicate and maltreated bride either. Nevertheless, these confusing sentiments still gushed inside her mind, driving her crazy.
She turned into fiery clouds that looked like lanterns in the night and disappeared into the horizon.
Xue Wu and Yu Chan left along with her. Meanwhile, the three wounded kings ran away shortly afterward.
The Genius Mansion was completely unrecognizable as it was flattened. Blood of Heaven’s Mandate cultivators stained the area red. Now, everything was full of ominous energy.
In the next few decades, this area would become a wasteland haunted by specters and invite strange creatures that want to taste blood.
“He ran away in fear as soon as I appeared. This mysterious master or whatever can’t withstand my battle aura.” It wasn’t until the mysterious master had gone far away that Bi Ningshuai climbed out of the ground. He tilted his head back and laughed boisterously with great arrogance.
Feng Feiyun and Young Noble Flawless shook their heads repeatedly before exchanging glances and smiling at each other.
“I, Su Yun, am very grateful. I was able to escape this predicament thanks to you two.” Flawless’ long hair was drooping over his shoulders as he stood there gallantly after dropping the coffin to the ground.
Grand Historical Geniuses had extraordinary temperaments. Despite his disastrous experience, he was still as heroic as ever after escaping. Ordinary talents couldn’t compare to him.
“There’s no need to say more. If you are feeling grateful, then just hand over two valuable items.” Bi Ningshuai’s skin was very thick. He was also a very realistic man and raised his palm before Young Noble Flawless.
“Well…” Flawless had an embarrassed expression on his face. His treasures had been taken much earlier. Even his spatial pouch was taken by Nangong Hongyan and given to Feng Feiyun.
“If I get great treasures in the future, I will certainly hand it over to show my gratitude.” His face turned red. He could feel his face tingling, especially after seeing Bi Ningshuai grimace.
This Bi Ningshuai guy was truly immoral. He knew full well that the young noble had nothing on his body, yet he still asked for remuneration. Moreover, his expression seemed to be saying: “Motherfucker, aren’t you are Grand Historical Genius? The prince of Poluo? Why is it that you don’t even have one or two valuable items?”
Feng Feiyun was quite amused by this expression. Bi Ningshuai didn’t need to say anything since his dark face had said it all.
“Brother Feng, goodbye for now. Once I recover, I will certainly bring some gifts over as thanks.” Flawless was a bit pale. It was just as the three kings had said, his veins and meridians were grievously injured. Despite his powerful momentum from earlier, he wouldn’t have lasted in a drawn-out battle.
If it wasn’t for Hongyan’s wavering emotions that made her leave, the three of them might not be speaking so happily at this moment.
Of course, there was also another reason. Flawless really couldn’t stand Bi Ningshuai’s blackmailing, so he didn’t dare to linger here any longer.
Feng Feiyun said: “The mysterious master’s methods are ruthless, so they will continue to eradicate all survivors to the roots. Brother Su, you need to be careful as well.”
Young Noble Flawless’ lips slightly moved as if he had something to say. However, he swallowed these words and didn’t reveal to Feng Feiyun that the mysterious master was actually Nangong Hongyan.
There was no way around it. He was sensitive about losing face and didn’t want others to find out that the most handsome man in the world had lost to a woman. If this news were to spread, he wouldn’t be able to show his face around any longer.
“The master has left the pagoda’s territory, and their next goal might be the Nine Doves Sacred Gown of the Feng Clan at the Grand Southern Prefecture.” Flawless stared at Feng Feiyun with an implicative gaze.
He knew that Feng Feiyun was considered a traitor of the Feng Clan and that this gown was left behind by his mother. This was not a secret in the cultivation world.
“Feng Clan!” Feng Feiyun murmured while a cold glint flashed in his eyes.
“After the appearance of the Evil Woman, there have been dramatic changes at that prefecture. Even the Violet Cloud Mansion has been breached. The Feng and Qin Clans as well as the Grand Development Immortal Gate — these ancient heritages have suffered heavy casualties. They had to relocate to hide in the mountains in order to avoid the assault from the corpse army.
“But the exact locations are not something outsiders are privy to. I’m sure they are located in heavenly grottos over there!” Flawless said so much because he knew that Feng Feiyun would return to the Feng Clan to retrieve his mother’s belongings.
Feng Feiyun responded: “Thank you, Brother Su, for telling me. The Feng Clan has several different ancestral grounds that have been operating for many years. I’m sure they have moved to one of these locations, so it won’t be too hard to find.”
“That’s good then.” Flawless didn’t wait for too long. After finishing what he wanted to say, he left right away.
Bi Ningshuai had lost his chance of obtaining more benefits, so his gaze darted towards the huge coffin on the ground. It was made from Black Tortoise Steel, a great material for blacksmiths, so it could actually sell for a great price.
The immense weight of the coffin didn’t trouble him. He brought eight strange beasts out of nowhere and lined them up with eight carriages to bring the coffin away. This was a greedy guy who would do anything for the littlest amount of money.
Feng Feiyun returned to the Martial Tower and no longer saw the singing beauty. There was only an envelope on the table that contained a unique and bewildering scent that belonged to Nangong Hongyan alone.
There was a poem written inside:
There he is gathering the dolichos!
A day without seeing him lasts as long as three months!
There he is gathering the oxtail-southern-wood!
A day without seeing him feels like three seasons have passed!
There he is gathering the mugwort!
A day without seeing him torments for three moons! [1. The problem with this poem from the Book of Songs is that the nouns are either neutral or there is no noun at all since it is implied, so it technically can work for both males and females. In a vernacular setting, it would be “she” instead of “he”, but it would be strange to use “she” in the poem considering the writer is Nangong Hongyan. This is a romantic poem about the pain of separation due to the busy nature of life, which is listed by all the mundane tasks.]
Feng Feiyun, my feelings are as such right now, but I have to leave. I can only blame myself for not being brave enough and can only choose to escape.
One phoenix bone has resulted in one sentiment! [2. Sentiment here is most likely love, but the word can also mean friendship or other types of emotions. However, it is definitely love in this case. I’m just playing it safe with my interpretation.]
But two can’t be together even if they share the same feelings!
As I write this letter, I have confirmed that you are the one that makes my heart goes wild and sends my mind into disarray. You are the one that can make me feel pain, but so what? I can only experience this vexing heartache all by myself.
Because I am afraid that you don’t love me like I thought you do. One day, you might abandon me, hit me, scold me, or even kill me…
I can’t bear to think any further and only want to preserve this beautiful delusion in my heart instead of destroying it.
Take one step back, a lovesickness depicted in the painting; take one step forward, a cold withering of love.
There are 80,000 characters in this world, but the word “love” hurts the most.
Thus I choose to run in avoidance. Don’t blame me for being too sudden in my departure. If fate allows so, we will meet again.
Hongyan.
Feng Feiyun held the letter in his hand for a long time before taking a deep breath. He folded it and put it back inside the envelope.
He didn’t chase after her. As she had stated: “Take one step back, a lovesickness depicted in the painting; take one step forward, a cold withering of love.”
Perhaps her choice was correct. Leaving this feeling precipitate in their hearts into a deeper longing was a beautiful thing as well.
“Hongyan, take care! May we meet again in this mundane world.”
***
As Feng Feiyun was reading the letter, a gorgeous carriage was speeding south among the mountain range right outside of the Wanxiang Pagoda.
Inside was the melody of a zither. The song “For Whom The Beauty Smiles” echoed in the mountains. The geese and cranes followed right behind the carriage and sang along as it made its way to the Grand Southern Prefecture.
“There are new rankings for the Pagoda’s Hundreds List?” Feng Feiyun was standing at the top of the Martial Tower opposite of the Divine King in his golden robe.
The king stood there with his arms crossed before his chest and a majestic and unfathomable presence. He answered with a smile: “The appearance of the Evil Woman has made the twenty-eight southern counties fall into war. The evil corpses are troubling the world; both cultivators and mortals there are living in fear, having to worry about these monsters all the time.
“As for the best academic sacred ground in the world, our Wanxiang Pagoda has the responsibility to remove evil and uphold justice. After a meeting with one hundred tower lords and more than ten wise predecessors, we have decided for the young students to go train at the Grand Southern Prefecture, starting today.”
“What does this have to do with the new rankings for the list?” Feng Feiyun was puzzled.
“Of course it has a lot to do with the list. Recently, one prodigy is appearing after another, so the list is no longer accurate. Thus, there is a need to redefine the rankings in order to measure the true kings of the younger generation. The list this time will be different than before. The number of evil corpses killed will be converted to points. The higher the final score, the higher the rank.”
“How are the points decided?” Feng Feiyun became interested and felt his blood becoming restless.
“Killing a first transformation corpse and obtaining its corpse palace will be one point. A second transformation corpse palace will be worth one thousand points.
“The testing period is long this time — around three years. During this period, you all can return to the pagoda to hand over the corpse palaces for points. After reaching a certain threshold, you can exchange the points for spirit stones at the treasure pagoda, spirit medicines at the pill tower, or redeem cultivation methods at the scripture library…
“With sufficient points, you can even exchange them for spirit treasures, fourth-rank spirit pills, heavenly laws and scriptures, millennium medicines, and various other spirit stones…
“For example, ten points are enough for a centurial strange grass. A hundred points can be traded for one True Mysterious Spirit Stone… 100,000 can be converted to a fourth-rank spirit pill, and 300,000 points for an ancient spirit treasure.
“After redeeming the treasures, you can go on the hunt again for more points and a higher ranking on the list. There won’t be a conflict between the ranking and spending points.” The king explained with a smile.
“Three years long…” Feng Feiyun naturally knew the purpose behind this. The upper echelons of the pagoda wanted to stimulate the students’ potential in these three years so that their cultivation could have rapid progress. They were meant to fight the evil corpses as well as compete with each other.
The disciples might even fight to the death in order to rob each other’s corpse palaces.
This move was quite shrewd. The pagoda wanted to cultivate some true masters before the real chaos that was foretold by the astronomical sign of dragons devouring the sky. They have gone all out this time.