Chapter 177 (2/2)

Three days passed uneventfully. Xiao Chen had returned the powers to the Jade Qing Seven. He stood atop a precipitous cliff, overlooking the ruins and rubbles of the square where his gritting battle against the Patriarch had taken place just days before. Everything around him, the calmness, the peace, and serenity, seemed too surreal to him as he could still almost feel the exhilaration and adrenaline of the fight. In just three days, tales of his heroics had spread far and wide into other continents. But nothing seemed different, save for the absence of Liu Fenghuang whom he sorely missed.

Yu Yifeng appeared suddenly, moving beside him. He beheld the sight of the demolished square below them. “They say phoenixes die and reborn again,” he muttered, “Maybe one day, Miss Liu will come back to life. After all, she is still alive in you.”

Xiao Chen said nothing, merely giving a smile. Liu Fenghuang had given her wings to him. There was no way she would come back and this was merely a way his Brother Yifeng was trying to console him. He did not know why she gave up all her powers. But it mattered no more. Liu Fenghuang was no more.

“So, what are you going to do next?”

“I’m going to the Middle Continent,” Xiao Chen murmured, his eyes looking far into the sky. Patriarch Guanshan had told him that his Teacher was last seen in the Middle Continent. It was there that he had finally decided to travel to. Lies or not, Xiao Chen would go there to look for any signs of his Teacher himself.

Yu Yifeng looked up and his eyes caught a cloud drifting lazily in the sky. “We humans are puny beings in the vastness of this world. There is only so much that one can do,” he sighed, “You have to learn to live and let live. Only then you’ll feel better.”

Xiao Chen could hear that Yu Yifeng was trying to persuade him. But how could he rest well when the mysteries of the Mystic Cyan Sect’s downfall and the disappearance of his Teacher were still unanswered?

“Nevertheless, I could see that you have made up your mind. But remember to speak to Miss Lee and the others personally.”

Xiao Chen nodded. One hour later, he came to Li Muxue’s cottage.

At the lawn in front of her cottage, Perfected Immortal Yanluo was there. She was holding a glittering emerald-green bead. “This is a bead that has absorbed all energies and auras of Nature from the hidden springs at the south of Lake Baikal where the strongest of trees can be found, the Pearl of the Mystic Springs,” she explained to Li Muxue, “Keep this with you, Muxue.”

“B-but… You’ve saved me so many years ago, Lady Yanluo,” Li Muxue tried to decline, “How can I accept such a valuable gift again…”

“A gift is only valuable if it is useful to the right person,” said Yanluo, “Otherwise it is only but a poor waste.”

Yanluo squeezed the pearl into her hands. “Your destiny is one that I have not witnessed before,” she warned, “Many years ago, I was able to use the fragments of a Blood Jade to help extend your life. Still, it has done nothing to improve your Destiny. This Pearl would be able to keep you safe for another three years, I hope…”

Li Muxue’s shoulders shuddered suddenly at the woeful tidings. “I see… Only three years…” she murmured softly. There was a forlorn sullenness in her eyes that quickly turned into a cheerful chuckle. “I’m fine. The years have been kind to me; Father treats me well, and I’ve even met Xiao Chen. That’s enough for me. Really.”

But a distinct ring of crimson-red began to form around her eyes before she heard the patters of footstep coming in. She hastily wiped her eyes. Xiao Chen came in and saw Yanluo. “Greetings to you, Senior Yanluo,” he said quickly, bowing to her.

Yanluo smiled at him in acknowledgment before she promptly left. Xiao Chen came in as soon as she walked out and noticed the redness around Li Muxue’s eyes. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” she denied with a jovial smile, “How are things with Senior Huashang? Has she agreed to help you break the curse?”

Xiao Chen shook his head. “No matter,” he remarked with a smile of his own, “I can break the spell on my own when I reach the Core Forming Realm.” There came suddenly an uneasy silence, before he confessed to her his decision to go to the Middle Continent.

“Let me come with you then,” she said confidently as if she had expected his decision.

“No,” Xiao Chen declined, “It’s better that you stay with Senior Yanluo. She is a powerful person, you can learn much by staying with her.”

Li Muxue fell silent. Not wishing to be a hindrance to Xiao Chen, she nodded, “All right. When will you be leaving then?”

“Tomorrow, I guess. I have yet to speak to Senior Sister Luo and Xian’er about my decision.”

Xiao Chen stayed with her until it was night. He then left to speak to Luo Shangyan and Murong Xian’er. By staying at the Jade Qing Sect and learning from Perfected Immortal Qing Chen, Luo Shangyan would improve greatly in a short time.

But there was no stopping Murong Xian’er. She adamantly insisted to go to the Middle Continent with him. Then again, Xiao Chen could understand her behavior; she knew full well that there were many secrets about herself that she did not know. She too wanted to find out what happened to her thousands of years ago, and more importantly, her own identity.