Chapter 189 Netherworld (2/2)
If it was not for him, Qing Xuan would have been long gone when Shen Lian's founding master, Ziling, was going through her trial and the other immortal Zhenren had gone missing.
After all, Qing Xuan had ten thousand years of history. Without any land immortal standing guard, the texts and the sacred paintings in Taiwei Pavilion would have attracted the attention of the likes of Lu Jiuyuan.
Shen Lian did not rush to the Taiwei Pavilion. He had never let his heart have a break ever since he attained the state of Huandan. With the passing of Zhang Ruoxu, he was even more melancholic now.
Since Zhang Ruoxu's passing, the snow accumulated at the Five Peaks was lessening. The melting of the snow was colder than the formation of it. Even though the cultivators at Qing Xuan were insulated from both the cold and the heat, but they could still feel the surrounding temperature.
A lot of people were trying to figure the new chief out in secret. In fact, they were waiting for Shen Lian to do something to Zhang Lingxian. However, months had passed and Shen Lian did not do anything still.
The coldness in Qing Xuan Hall increased, and the clouds got thicker. Sometimes, Shen Lian could be seen standing quietly at the cliff outside the hall as he stared at the rest of the four peaks.
This teenage chief had offered much help to his fellow sect members in the past. To the normal disciples, he was friendly. However, to most of the elders, he was merely talented in cultivation, and they were unclear about his character.
Shen Lian stared quietly at the last bit of snow melting faraway. Qing Xuan became how it once was when he first joined. However, some people were not here anymore.
It was not just Daoist Sanwen and his much-respected teacher Zhang Ruoxu, but a few of his fellow sect members whom he was not closed with had passed on as well. Dao was emotionless; when one's lifespan had ended there was no way that one could escape from death.
Qianmo and Xiaoxun were playing in the sky. The Qi of heaven and earth here was thick. To Xiaoxun, this could be considered as heavenly already. The refreshing Qi of the Celestialism had negated the demonic Qi on it, which was not much to begin with. Xiaoxun was more like a spiritual beast now.
As for Qianmo, Shen Lian had been instilling plenty of Taixu Mana into it. When it flew in the sky now, even Shen Lian could only make out its shadows.
It flew right into the River of Spirits. The corrosive properties of the river water did not affect it at all. It only made Qianmo's feathers looked newer and neater.
The river water in the River of Spirits originated from the Netherworld. As it was shrouded by the fresh Qi of Celestialism in Qing Xuan and with the regular cleaning of the spirit-summoning messenger, there were not much of resentful spirits here.
The River of Spirits could be seen as a small branch of the netherworld. There were other similar branches like this in other places in the world. Moreover, they might wider – so wide that one could not see the opposite shore.
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The water here was a lot murkier than the River of Spirits in Qing Xuan. Moreover, countless resentful spirits were roaring. Even a Daoist who had been cultivating for a hundred years would shiver from inside out when they came here.
There was no moon and no stars in the sky. The sky was dull and dark. The only lights came from the divine aura of the resentful spirits that had not fallen completely yet.
Some resentful spirits were agitated by the restraints of the river water and had struggled out of the water. When they were at the banks, they would pull back into the river by an invisible force.
Underneath where the invisible force came from was a dark-red throne. The runes engraved on it had an indescribable Daoist feel to it, as though one could obtain a supreme killing Dao technique the moment one understood any of the runes.
A youth dressed in white sat on the throne. The throne was a scarlet throne.