Chapter 351: Love Rival (1/2)

“Hmph!” Situ Zong harrumphed, then pointed the Black Emperor on his shoulder straight at the person who’d just spoken, who instantly fled in terror, unwilling to dwell on the question.

The relationship between the Star Demon Sect and Lu Yun? Well, he was standing right there beside the young lord, wasn’t he? There was nothing to be afraid of. The five forefathers would surely agree with his decision.

“Come!” With one hand on his compass and the other tugging Qing Han along, Lu Yun strode off toward the half-open door.

Situ Zong’s hands were similarly occupied; he kept a tight grip on both the Black Emperor and his disciple, making sure to keep up with the young lords.

……

“There’s no need for further argument. The Cosmic Skycarver has returned,” a soft-spoken, bookish voice remarked from beyond the door. “That sword is the key to obtaining this sea of stars.”

Lu Yun traded a furtive glance with Qing Han, and both youths slid to a concordant halt. It was better not to go in just yet. Lu Yun carefully put away the luopan in his hands, extinguishing its aureate rays.

“S-second brother? What’s he doing here?” Qing Han was bewildered by the discovery.

“Who? Your second brother?” Lu Yun blinked.

“My second elder brother, Qing Yunhe! The one that Jiangchen Wushang pretended to be that time!” Qing Han shook his head.

The Qing Yunhe he remembered was a thoroughly lackadaisical sibling. Lacking the unpredictable ferocity of Qing Buyi and Chen Xiao, he didn’t seem to have a care in the world. He seemed almost like a mortal scholar content with a life of leisure, instead.

So why in the world was he here? And vying over the Cosmic Skycarver and the Cosmic Sea, to boot. This wasn’t the kind of reality Qing Han could believe in.

He couldn’t remember a single instance of his second brother ever arguing with anyone… or fighting, for that matter. He didn’t seem like a cultivator at all. Certainly, Qing Yunhe was the last person he would expect to show up.

“Friends outside the door, please come on in. The Cosmic Skycarver is not a treasure you can hope to possess.” another voice cut through the silence.

Qing Han became as white as a sheet as soon as he heard the voice. “Donglin Taihuang!”

That nightmarish name hung like a perpetual specter over his heart. The Donglin scion was the reason he couldn’t be himself.

Qing Han had seen him many, many times. Every year, he visited the Qing Clan to see if a woman with a cosmic constitution had been born yet. He was a dao immortal, but exactly which realm he was at was a mystery.

“Donglin Taihuang?” Lu Yun’s pupils contracted. He instinctively probed Donglin Biying inside hell, but the ghostly woman was just as surprised as he.

Although Donglin Biying was fairly important in her clan as the result of her cultivation, there was an insurmountable gap between Donglin Taihuang and herself. She was more than ten thousand years old, while Donglin Taihuang had cultivated for less than a hundred.

Even among immortals, attaining dao immortality was a sign of unparalleled genius. In a sense, Donglin Biying and her kinsman lived in different worlds.

……

“Let’s take a look inside.” Lu Yun led the way into the chamber. “Ah…” He drew a sharp breath at the environment that awaited them.

Rather than another part of the tomb, they had entered a field of stars. A sparkling river of infinite light stretched out in every direction, illuminating the boundless realm of night with a liberal smattering of celestial radiance.

At the heart of the starfield was a silver scroll, the very same scroll responsible for dyeing the heart of the tomb in its selfsame shade. Three figures were lined up beside it.