Of the original Seven Stars Elders, five had perished, leaving only two.
Cai Zhao remembered Mu Qingyan mentioning that the remaining two were Elder Tianshu, the fence-sitter, and Elder Yuheng Yan Xu, who refused to take sides.
Yan Xu murmured, "So many years have passed... you've grown so much. When I last visited the Unrepentant Study at Huanglao Peak, you were only seven or eight years old. Then I was ambushed..."
Mu Qingyan raised an eyebrow. "You've been imprisoned for ten years. Weren't you full of praise for Nie Hengcheng, constantly saying 'the Mu Clan declines, the Nie Clan shall rise'? How did Nie Zhe end up locking you up like a dead dog for a decade?"
"Ten years? Has it truly been ten years?" Yan Xu stared intently at Mu Qingyan, his cloudy aged eyes suddenly clearing. "Is Nie Zhe dead?"
Mu Qingyan replied casually, "Soon."
Yan Xu pressed, "What about Sun Ruoshui? Is she dead?"
Cai Zhao couldn't help but marvel at the Demonic Cult's unconventional ways—asking a man's son whether his birth mother was dead right to his face.
Mu Qingyan's jawline tensed slightly. "...I haven't decided yet."
Cai Zhao looked at him in surprise—hadn't Mu Zhengming asked him to care for his birth mother on his deathbed? How could...
Yan Xu was equally astonished, but his question was, "Has the Young Master passed away already?"
"Yes," Mu Qingyan answered curtly.
Yan Xu closed his eyes and sighed. "He was murdered, wasn't he?"
"...Yes," Mu Qingyan said. "I only recently pieced it together."
Cai Zhao's mouth fell open as she stared at him in shock—she knew nothing of this.
"Why don't you ask who killed Father," Mu Qingyan said.
Yan Xu let out a cough-like chuckle. "No need, no need. The Young Master was exceptionally talented since childhood, yet cursed with an unyielding nature. In the end, what killed him was undoubtedly his stubborn benevolence."
Mu Qingyan remained silent.
Yan Xu continued, "Nie Zhe hasn't sent me food or drink these past few days. I thought he meant to starve me to death, but it turns out you've stormed Paradise Palace and he's busy dealing with you. Young Lord, please release this old man. If you would have me, I am willing to assist you in achieving great ambitions."
Mu Qingyan feigned a smile. "I wouldn't dare. When Grandfather passed suddenly, many cult members advocated for Nie Hengcheng to temporarily assume the leadership over Father. Elder Chou opposed this at all costs. During the stalemate, it was you who stood firmly on Nie Hengcheng's side, infuriating Elder Chou to the point of vomiting blood. The past remains vivid—this junior cannot bear the weight of Elder's expectations."
Yan Xu bristled. "No need for your sarcasm! My loyalty to the Sacred Cult is beyond question, as heaven is my witness! Supporting Nie Hengcheng back then was for the cult, being imprisoned by Nie Zhe ten years ago was for the cult, and now offering my service to you is still for the cult!"
This declaration had no effect on Mu Qingyan.
Cai Zhao tugged at Mu Qingyan's sleeve. "Well? Should we release him?"
Mu Qingyan pouted like a petulant child. "Is releasing him the real issue? No. The real issue is who's going to carry him out after we do. He's been imprisoned for ten years and hasn't eaten or drunk for days—he must be extremely weak. So who's going to carry him? You or me? I'm not carrying this old thing."
Cai Zhao immediately said, "Then perhaps Elder Yan should stay here a while longer. Ten years have already passed—half a day won't make a difference to his loyalty to the Sacred Cult."
"Good girl, Zhao Zhao. Quick to see reason." Mu Qingyan patted her head.Cai Zhao had expected Yan Xu to fly into a rage upon hearing this, but instead, he merely hesitated, his gaze shifting uncertainly between her and Mu Qingyan.
"Young Master... you've taken a wife? This young lady here?" Yan Xu ventured cautiously.
Mu Qingyan instinctively lifted his chin, a faint smile playing at his lips as he chided, "Elder Yan, your eyesight must be failing. Can’t you see my Zhao Zhao is still dressed as an unmarried maiden? Though the matter is already settled..."
Cai Zhao pinched him from behind. Mu Qingyan’s expression flickered between feigned annoyance and amusement, his delight so palpable it seemed to make the stone chamber tremble.
Unexpectedly, Yan Xu suddenly bellowed, "Settled? No such thing! No marriage! No betrothal! None of it! You must separate at once—I forbid this match!"
Both Mu and Cai were stunned.
Cai Zhao eyed the disheveled Elder Yan, bound in iron chains like a trussed-up pig, and wondered where he found the audacity to meddle in Mu Qingyan’s marital affairs while in such a pitiable state.
Mu Qingyan’s voice turned icy. "Elder Yan, you overstep. My marriage is none of your—"
"Absolutely not! Under no circumstances!" Yan Xu roared hoarsely. "For the sake of our Divine Sect’s eternal legacy, this union must never come to pass!"
Cai Zhao couldn’t resist retorting, "Elder, you don’t even know who I am. How can you claim I’d harm your sect’s grand plans?" Though, admittedly, the old man wasn’t entirely wrong.
"I don’t need to know who you are!" Yan Xu shouted. "For two hundred years, not a single Mu descendant’s marriage has ended well when they chose their own beloved! At best, it brings chaos to the household—at worst, it wreaks havoc on the sect’s affairs! Without exception! His grandfather and father both ignored the former sect leader and Elder Chou’s counsel, marrying whomever they pleased. And did either of them meet a good end?!"
Mu Qingyan’s face turned a sickly shade of green and yellow, like a freshly pickled cucumber.
"Two hundred years of this? No exceptions?" Cai Zhao’s curiosity was piqued, recalling the carvings on the stone wall. "By the way, where did your founding sect leader’s wife come from?"
"Sect Leader Mu Xiujue married in middle age. His wife was the orphaned daughter of a warrior who died for the sect. A virtuous wife wards off calamity—precisely because of her virtue, Sect Leader Mu Xiujue established this unparalleled legacy!" The old man recited proudly, as if listing family treasures.
Mu Qingyan scoffed. "What does a woman’s virtue have to do with the sect’s foundation?"
"Everything! And certainly more than this little girl’s!" Yan Xu jabbed a finger at Cai Zhao. "In all my years of reading faces, I’ve never seen one like hers—useless at needlework, incapable of martial wisdom, likely to turn chicken soup into dishwater with one stir. Am I wrong?"
Struck by the accuracy of the accusations, Mu Qingyan was uncharacteristically speechless.
Cai Zhao: "...Why attack me? I didn’t even do anything."
"Ahem, what about your sect’s most formidable leader, Sect Leader Mu Donglie?" She changed the subject. "What of his wife?"
Yan Xu clutched his chest in anguish. "No greater marital disaster than Sect Leader Donglie! Our sect had the Big Dipper Six Sects cornered, on the verge of unifying the realm—then he lost his senses over a female spy sent by our enemies! He abandoned his glorious legacy and vanished! Ah, the pain! The regret!"
"How do you know all this?" Cai Zhao asked curiously.
Yan Xu shook his wild mane of hair. "Of course I know! I am this generation’s appointed chronicler of the Divine Sect’s history. There’s nothing I don’t know!"
Unconvinced, Cai Zhao pressed, "How do you know she was a spy? Maybe Sect Leader Mu Donglie was just smitten by her beauty."“It must be a spy. The Eastern Flame Sect Leader succeeded at fourteen—what kind of scene hasn’t he seen? If that woman hadn’t deliberately seduced him, why would the Sect Leader shamelessly crash the wedding chamber…”
“Wait, wait!” Cai Zhao was startled. “That woman had a husband?”
Yan Xu: “Of course she did! The Big Dipper Six Sects love intermarriages and tangled alliances. They just hadn’t finished the ceremony yet.”
Mu Qingyan snorted coldly. “The Eastern Flame Sect Leader wouldn’t crash a wedding without reason. There must have been prior events.”
Cai Zhao sighed. “Exactly. Since the past wasn’t settled, they shouldn’t have made such a public spectacle of the wedding. Why not just quietly hold the ceremony?”
“…” Mu Qingyan slowly turned his head to stare at her. “What do you mean by that?”
Cai Zhao: …
She said, “Nothing. I just mean we should hurry and get out of here.”
Amid Old Man Yan’s heart-wrenching roars, Cai Zhao tugged Mu Qingyan’s sleeve and dragged him out of the stone chamber. They searched two more rooms before finally finding a staircase leading to the surface in the third one, which they ascended.
The exit opened into an opulent council hall, decorated in the extravagant and gaudy style favored by Nephew Nie. In the center of the floor stood an incense burner shaped like a four-legged coiling dragon amidst clouds, from which faint red smoke curled upward.
Mu Qingyan strode forward and kicked it over, then pulled Cai Zhao away swiftly.
Exiting through the back door of Paradise Palace, they were greeted by daylight. Having spent so long in the dark underground, Cai Zhao was momentarily dazzled, while Mu Qingyan adjusted quickly. The thought made her heart ache faintly.
They rushed to the front hall of Paradise Palace, where two factions were locked in a standoff.
One side was well-armed and furious, led by You Guanyue. After a night and half a day of fierce battle, his robes were torn, his crown askew, and his Flowing Dragon Sword stained with blood—clear signs of intense combat.
The other side had only a few dozen men left, battered and bruised, stubbornly blocking the entrance to the front hall and shouting sporadically. Their leader was a greasy, powdered middle-aged man.
He was cunningly threatening You Guanyue: “…Listen well! Mu Shaojun is trapped inside by Sect Leader Nie, with a blade at his throat! If you dare force your way in, I’ll send word to have your young master chopped to pieces!”
You Guanyue neither fully believed nor fully disbelieved him, so he could only circle around, trying to coax them into opening the door.
“Who’s this guy?” Cai Zhao whispered.
Mu Qingyan: “A washed-up male concubine from Nie Zhe’s entourage.”
Now that the man had appeared, the clown had to exit the stage.
Mu Qingyan swept his sleeves, unleashing a gust of wind that struck the remnants of the enemy forces from behind without warning, scattering them like broken tiles. You Guanyue and the others, both shocked and delighted, quickly joined the fray.
By the time Cai Zhao strolled over, the battle had just ended.
Mu Qingyan immediately ordered You Guanyue and the others to break down the front hall doors and charge toward the banquet hall where Han Yisu had trapped them underground. The mechanism held the iron doors firmly in place, and even Lian Shisan’s repeated attempts to ram them open failed. Wiping his sweat, You Guanyue said, “Young Master, please wait. Let this subordinate fetch a battering ram—”
Cai Zhao couldn’t wait. “No need for such trouble.” She drew the Bright Sun Blade from her waist and slashed through the gap between the doors. In an instant, golden-red light spilled forth like clouds, severing the multiple iron bolts holding the doors shut.
Lian Shisan and the others gaped in astonishment, cheering loudly. You Guanyue cheered twice before seemingly recognizing the Bright Sun Blade, his expression shifting to shock and suspicion as he glanced at Mu Qingyan.The hall doors swung open. Following Mu Qingyan's orders, Lian Shisan led the group in using hammers to smash a hole through the solid, sealed iron floor, revealing a dark void below.
Only after You Guanyue had lanterns lowered to illuminate the space did the horrific scene become visible—debris from the black powder explosion set by Han Yisu, crumbling walls mixed with scattered falling rocks, rotting corpses, and an entire pool of Bone-Corroding Sky Rain. The stench was unbearable, reeking of death.
Fortunately, the stone chamber housing the mechanisms had been blasted open. Two massive stone slabs that hadn't shattered in the explosion lay across broken pillars in the poison pool, allowing Yu Hui, Shangguan Haonan, and others to huddle precariously on them.
But as the corpses beneath the slabs gradually dissolved completely in the Bone-Corroding Sky Rain, the toxic liquid slowly rose. Had rescue arrived half an hour later, everyone would have perished in that poisonous pool.
You Guanyue immediately ordered his men to lower rope ladders for the rescue.
Among the survivors, Yu Hui and Shangguan Haonan were in the best condition—the former with only minor bruises, the latter with just a few cuts on his legs. The two of them secured the others to the ladders one by one before climbing up themselves.
Cai Zhao noticed Song Yu lying motionless on a stretcher and rushed forward anxiously to check on him.
A sharp gaze from the side made her abruptly change course mid-step. She instead clapped Shangguan Haonan heavily on the shoulder. "Who knew Altar Lord Shangguan possessed such profound cultivation! Truly impressive!" She understood perfectly—the less attention she showed Song Yu, the more effort Mu Qingyan would put into treating his injuries.
Poor Shangguan Haonan nearly coughed up a lung from her enthusiastic patting.
Madam Li and her son were physically unharmed but severely shaken, trembling like startled birds.
The worst off was Nie Zhe.
Previously kicked into the poison pool by Hu Fengge, half his body had been submerged in Bone-Corroding Sky Rain. To save his life, Yu Hui had been forced to swiftly amputate one arm and both legs before the corrosive liquid could spread further. After a night of agony and severe blood loss, Nie Zhe now hovered between life and death, his breathing faint as a thread.
Mu Qingyan's expression was icy. "Take him away for proper treatment. Don't let him die—I still have questions for him."
The second most severely injured were Hu Fengge and Song Yu.
Hu Fengge's face and body bore severe burns from the explosive blast, while Song Yu's chest, back, arms, and head had suffered violent impacts from the explosion. Both now lay unconscious.
Cai Zhao gasped in alarm.
"Master Song was injured saving me and young Si'en," Shangguan Haonan said quietly. "When the stone chamber exploded, Elder Hu, being closest to the window, was immediately blasted to the ground. But that old dog Han had planted sequential explosives—one detonation after another. Just as I pulled Elder Hu to safety, the surrounding blasts shattered the stone ceiling, sending half of it crashing toward me and Madam Li's family."
"Yu Hui only had time to pull Elder Hu and Madam Li away. As I was about to be crushed by falling boulders into the poison pool, Master Song shielded us, taking the impact himself so I could escape with young Si'en. He suffered grave injuries."
Cai Zhao noticed the unusual address in his words. "You... you know Third Brother's true identity now?"
Shangguan Haonan's expression was complex. "Master Song revealed it himself before losing consciousness. He said he'd only used a false name to avoid bringing trouble to his family. Since my uncle and granduncle both died by his grandfather Old Sect Leader Yin's hand, he couldn't keep hiding the truth from me. He told me to seek vengeance if I wished, without restraint."
"Your uncle and granduncle?"Shangguan Haonan scratched his head, "It's Elder Yaoguang and Elder Kaiyang. One is from my father's side, and the other from my mother's."
"Your father and mother are separated by quite a few generations," Cai Zhao remarked, watching Song Yu being carried away steadily, teasing him.
Shangguan Haonan gazed in the direction Song Yu had left and sighed, "When I was young, I often heard people say that the Big Dipper Six Sects were all treacherous and cunning villains. Unable to win in fair and open combat, they resorted to underhanded tricks to kill my uncle and my seventh granduncle. Never did I expect that among them, there would be someone as upright and proud as Young Hero Song."
Though they were trapped in the underground poison pool, sealed beneath solid iron plates with the surrounding passages blocked by rubble, as long as they remained composed, there was always a chance to escape. Yet, the moment the earth shook violently, Song Yu had rushed over without hesitation to save him and Nie Sien—two people he had barely exchanged words with.
Shangguan Haonan couldn’t help but feel grateful.
Once everything was settled, Cai Zhao, showing some conscience, had someone carry out Elder Yuheng, who had mocked her for being unvirtuous. Turning around, she overheard Mu Qingyan giving instructions to You Guanyue.
"Nie Zhe's place is disgusting. Guanyue, make sure to have it thoroughly cleaned later. As for the others, arrange their accommodations as you see fit. Elder Hu and Zhao Zhao’s senior brother must receive proper medical care."
"Bring Madam Sun over," he said with an indifferent expression, his tone calm. "I will stay in my grandparents' and Father’s old residence. Bring Madam Sun—and Nie Zhe—there as well."
The young man, who hadn’t rested for a full day and night, showed no signs of fatigue. His bright black eyes slightly widened, his slow words carrying a hint of long-awaited cruelty.
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