Chapter 424 - The Meticulous Plot (2/2)
“What else do you know?” Perfected Immortal Feng Lan pressed and the boisterous crowd of mages around the tree immediately quiet down.
Xiao Chen drew another breath before he continued. “For three thousand years, Red Sleeve has been looking for the Mystic Yin Body. An extraordinary physical trait only girls birthed on the seventh day of the seventh month could be born with. But none of them ever survive her harsh tortures. And I am not sure myself what does she intend to do with them…”
The truth of the Corpse Refinery Sect’s purpose was well beyond the anticipation and comprehension of everyone listening. The senior leaders of the Orthodox Path – Qingfeng, Zi Mo, Fengxi and Perfected Immortal Guyang of the Immortals’ League included – tensed as they brooded quietly. They had seen firsthand the might of the Sect and hazarding another haphazard assault would only result in more deaths and total failure.
Xiao Chen waited until the commotion simmered down and he went on, “But that is the point: the seventh day of the seventh month. We must stop her before this day. Fail, and she will be more powerful than any mortal that ever walked the earth. The horrors that would follow, I’m afraid I cannot fully describe.”
It was grim tidings, but everyone believed him. The things that they have witnessed during the invasion of the Summit of Mystics and the reactions of the members of the Sect only attested to what Xiao Chen had revealed and no one found any reason to doubt him.
Nevertheless, Xiao Chen has also a reason to divulge to everyone the information he knew; a personal reason: Li Muxue. He understood that he would never be able to rescue her without help and he needed to stop Red Sleeve before the seventh day of the seventh month!
The murky sun began to set down the westerly skies as the final rays of its glimmer slowly receded into the arms of the mountains in the horizons when the senior leaders adjourned to another corner for a lengthy discussion on further plans to stop the Corpse Refinery Sect，but the best way is calling for help.
When the night finally settled in, Yu Yifeng crept back to Xiao Chen, still holding the fresh set of clothing in his arm. “How about a change of clothes. The wind is getting cold here,” he said after looking wordlessly at him for some time.
Xiao Chen said nothing; his gaze burrowing deep into a nearby cookfire crackling cheerily with its flames flickering in his eyes. Then he heard footsteps mashing down the grass approaching him and saw Qin Shaoyang of the Xianyong Sect. The mage looked at Xiao Chen, smiling, “There are more things that need tending to, Brother Xiao. You can bet that we would be terribly busy by then. It’s best you seek out a corner and get yourself changed.”
Xiao Chen breathed hard, wishing only to say nothing and a fresh set of clothes hardly mattered to him. Then it occurred to him that there was more to what Qin Shaoyang was trying to tell him. He looked up at the newcomer for several seconds before he finally took the clothes from Yu Yifeng and walked deeper into the woods.
He found a secluded spot to change and a figure appeared before him. Even with the lack of light, he could still make out her profile: Su Lianyue.
“So, you’ve returned,” Su Lianyue said coolly, although the look she gave him said otherwise.
Xiao Chen sighed. “I’m sorry. But I have to save Muxue…”
A chuckle from her cut him off and she gave him a teasing look. “Save it. I’m only here to convey my farewells. Rest assured that I will not begrudge you if you show me no mercy in the future.” With that, she stepped once more into the pitch-blackness of the forest and disappeared.
Xiao Chen inhaled solemnly. The other three evil sects must surely be observing quietly the Orthodox Path’s invasion of the Corpse Refinery Sect. A clash between Good and Evil would not be far ahead, he brooded quietly, knowing that even if he owed the Orthodox Path no loyalties, he would never abandon his Brother Yifeng.
He closed his eyes, hoping to take a brief and peaceful respite but he saw only the memory of his tender moment with Su Lianyue. A throb of sorrow twisted in his gut as he exhaled again, alone in the dark.
Such was the life of one born in times of turmoil, where freedom is but a luxury enjoyed by few.
He changed and went back to rejoin the others. Yu Yifeng and the others were busy talking when he came back and they paused as he came near.
Xiao Chen went up to Yu Yifeng and asked, “What is Muxue doing here in the first place?” “You were once lost in the Miasma Mountain Range for three months. That is why she came here looking for you…”
Xiao Chen rubbed his fingers anxiously, feeling his heart wrenching with agony. He allowed himself to sink down to a sit under a tree, brooding morosely, she’s here because of me… and because of that, she’s taken by Red Sleeve…
Suddenly, his eyes widened and his breathing raced like a galloping horse. A thought came to him, out of the blue, why of all people is Muxue the one that Red Sleeve is looking for? Why?
Is it because she’s born on the seventh day of the seventh month? But so was Weiyang! She was also terribly afraid of the cold! Does she also have the Mystic Yin Body born only on the seventh day of the seventh month?!
Xiao Chen’s heart thumped stronger and stronger. I’ve found it! I’ve found it! Xiao Chen was brought back to life using deep sorcery that involved circumventing the Six Paths of Samsara. He never passed through Samsara and hence was not accorded the right to rebirth. Hence he was brought back to life by fusing his destiny into another human being and resurrected as another man, thus averting the scrutinies of both the Sovereigns of Heaven and the Underworld!
But the person whose body he has taken and whose destiny he had destroyed by assuming his identity would be doomed to utter oblivion; he would never be able to enter Samsara again and was completely no more. A fate so cruel and unjust for him. But whoever it was who had brought Xiao Chen back to life, he had to ensure that this wretched soul whose life and destiny Xiao Chen was to despoil had to be someone born on the same day and someone who bore the same Destiny!
It was a magic that would require great skill, immense resources, and meticulous preparation! An endeavor tantamount to moving mountains and shifting seas! Emotions swelled and burgeoned in Xiao Chen as he reeled with awe and shock; how could anyone found out about his former life’s birthdate when he himself now knew nothing of it!
If it were not for the painstaking efforts to bring him back, the actual son of the Xiao family would have been a man now with life and memories of his own… like Muxue, a princess of the Central Plains in the Human World!
What and who is behind this plot? Is someone trying to use the same magic to circumvent the Samsara to resurrect Hua Weiyang?