A white figure shot out diagonally, skirt fluttering as it traced a graceful arc through the air, heading straight for Song Qianji.
Song Qianji instinctively drew his sword, but the approaching figure carried no killing intent and came openly—clearly not an assassin.
A familiar face rapidly enlarged before him. Song Qianji hesitated briefly—
Why was Miaoyan flying toward him holding a comb? What was she planning to do?
"You..."
In that moment of hesitation, the scenery before him suddenly distorted.
The crowd saw a female cultivator of peerless beauty soaring through the air, grabbing hold of Song Qianji's tattered sleeve.
Who else could it be but Fairy Miaoyan?
A white light shot from Miaoyan's palm, slicing through the night between them like a dagger.
Miaoyan was a Sound Cultivator who never touched weapons. Moreover, as the public face of the Celestial Sound Sect, she would never do anything improper in front of so many witnesses—at most, she might exchange a few words with Song Qianji.
Perhaps even Song Qianji himself thought so.
Everyone assumed Miaoyan couldn't possibly harm Song Qianji, yet no one expected him to be directly taken away.
It happened too quickly. Neither Meng Heze, whom Song Qianji had personally instructed in movement techniques, nor Ji Chen, who excelled at long-range array manipulation, could react in time. They could only watch helplessly as the two vanished into thin air.
The cheers cut off abruptly.
"Senior Brother... is gone?!" Ji Chen exclaimed.
"After them!" Meng Heze urged urgently.
"Which way?"
"Toward—"
The wilderness stretched vast under the sparse stars and bright moon.
Meng Heze drew his sword in confusion.
The crowd's shock at this moment was no less than when they had witnessed the legendary fierce beast and Painted Spring Mountain earlier.
"What secret treasure did Fairy Miaoyan use to tear through space and teleport instantly?"
"The Song King was kidnapped by Fairy Miaoyan?! Truly, if you live long enough, you'll see everything!"
It was well known that Song Qianji and Miaoyan didn't get along.
When Song Qianji was still just a junior disciple of Huawel Sect, his remark about "beauty being but a painted skeleton" had made him one of the earliest to challenge the Cultivation World's standards of beauty.
On Huawel Mountain, Song Qianji faced the Celestial Sound Orchestra alone with his flute. Miaoyan proved no match, her pipa strings snapping, until the Celestial Sound Sect's senior sister He Qingqing stepped forward to counter Song Qianji's flute music.
Miaoyan, who had always prevailed through her stunning beauty and sound cultivation techniques, repeatedly faced rejection and defeat only at Song Qianji's hands.
Who wouldn't harbor resentment after such experiences?
Earlier, after Song Qianji rescued the crowd, some had shouted for the Celestial Sound Sect to hand someone over, but were quickly dissuaded.
Half because of the combat disparity between the two, and half because of Song Qianji's reputation as a romantic, most speculated this was some new romantic entanglement that had led to tonight's events.
"Fairy Miaoyan can't defeat the King of Thousand Canals anyway. Even if she took him, she can't keep him. Why should we worry?"
"This is the King of Thousand Canals' private matter. Outsiders probably shouldn't interfere."
Meng Heze thought this was nonsense—his senior brother would never be involved with Miaoyan. But when he turned, he found Wei Zhenyu had already disappeared.
"Over there! He's chasing after Fairy He!" Ji Chen cried out in surprise.
"Get on." Without another word, Meng Heze pulled Ji Chen onto his flying sword. As he pursued via Sword Kinesis Flight, he transmitted to Wei Zhenyu: "Senior brother's been kidnapped under unclear circumstances, and you have time to chase after another fairy?"
Wei Zhenyu initially wanted to retort, but then seemed to reconsider and replied in a calmer tone: "The moment it happened, when everyone was panicking, only Fairy He immediately left the group and hurried southwest."Ji Chen: "Are you saying He Qingqing knows where Miaoyan went?"
Wei Zhenyu explained with unusual patience: "The two factions of the Celestial Sound Sect have been at odds for a long time. Miaoyan and He Qingqing, both 'senior sisters,' were pushed forward by Wangshu and Jiangyun to uphold their respective factions and compete for supremacy. He Qingqing would naturally be wary of Miaoyan. Even if she doesn't know Miaoyan's exact whereabouts, she must have tracking methods. Otherwise, how could she set off so decisively?"
The one who understands you best may not be yourself, but perhaps your rival.
Meng Heze secretly lamented his lack of sharpness compared to Wei Zhenyu: "He Qingqing is speeding up. Did you bring any faster Flying Magical Artifacts?"
Wei Zhenyu laid out his terms: "I have a high-grade small Cloud Shuttle that can carry all of you. But after we find Song Qianji, I must meet him alone first."
"No problem," Ji Chen agreed immediately.
Meng Heze spoke at the same time: "Let's find him first, then discuss."
As the three hurried forward, they sent messages back, instructing the disciples of Thousand Canals and Northern Desert to temporarily unite, hold their positions, and watch out for each other.
The Cloud Shuttle cut through the night sky, trailing behind the green streak of light.
...
The moon drifted among the clouds, half-emerging from the cliff's edge.
No sounds of birds or beasts could be heard around, only the howling wind and the roaring water below the cliff.
"Where is this place?" Song Qianji asked.
Miaoyan studied him in the dim moonlight, noticing his slightly furrowed brow. He seemed merely puzzled and surprised, finding it troublesome, but not angry.
Or perhaps this matter wasn't worth his anger.
"I don't know either. But I'm certain we've reached a very distant place."
Miaoyan opened her palm. The Hengduan Comb's glow had dimmed, broken in the middle, shattered into two pieces.
This was a consumable Magical Artifact, disposable after use.
The cliff was too high, the mountain wind bitingly cold.
Seeing the sword in Song Qianji's hand, Miaoyan shivered involuntarily, thinking that if Song Qianji were to kill her with one stroke of his sword and push her off the cliff, he wouldn't leave any traces.
But then she heard the man sigh: "Such a secret treasure could have saved your life in times of crisis. You shouldn't have wasted it so impulsively."
Miaoyan suddenly felt like crying but forced it down.
If Song Qianji had sternly scolded her for improper conduct or sarcastically mocked her foolishness, she could have maintained her composure. But now she exclaimed loudly: "I wasn't impulsive!"
"Why?" Song Qianji asked, while removing his fox-tail bracelet to reveal his true appearance.
Miaoyan said: "If I hadn't done this, you wouldn't have met me, nor answered my questions."
"Ask away."
Miaoyan stared straight at him: "Song Xun isn't Song Xun. Why did you lie to me?"
Song Qianji: "Since He Yun isn't He Yun, of course Song Xun isn't Song Xun either."
"True, I also deceived you," Miaoyan pressed on, "Aside from identities, were the things you said to He Yun also false?"
"The answers I gave you that night were all true."
Song Qianji thought of He Yun's delusions and obsessions, feeling deeply absurd for a moment.
Miaoyan said resentfully: "Using a false identity yet speaking truthfully—what exactly are you trying to do?!"
Do you just want to see me end up like this?
Do you just want to drive me mad?
Hearing this, Song Qianji was momentarily stunned, then couldn't help but sigh again:"Trouble does not seek people; people seek trouble themselves. Fairy Miaoyan, I owe you nothing. Everyone adores you, and my absence makes no difference. You must accept that some people simply do not like you. You ask what I want—I only wish to have no connection with you."
His tone was calm, not deliberately insulting or resentful, merely stating facts.
Precisely because of this, each word felt like a sword piercing straight through Miaoyan.
Each strike fatal, leaving her bleeding and raw.
So one could kill without wielding a real blade.
Miaoyan felt as if she had died once already. Swallowing the metallic sweetness in her throat, she let out a sound between a sob and a laugh: "What if I were not Miaoyan, but merely He Yun?!"
Song Qianji pointed to the sky.
The night hung low, the moon half-hidden behind the mountains and half-veiled by clouds, its faint radiance barely visible through the layers.
"If you desire the true moon of the ninth heaven, seek it yourself. The great path has no boat or oar—who can ferry you there?"
The sea of clouds stretched vast and boundless, with no one to accompany her. How could there be any "ferrying" or "seeking"?
Song Qianji's eyes were like still lake waters under the moonlight.
Miaoyan stood dazed, murmuring to herself: "So it was all a mirage, a misunderstanding. He Yun is false, Song Xun is false, and is Miaoyan any less false? Where is my true moon? When will I ever play the true Wind and Snow Array Entry Tune?"
Suddenly, Song Qianji frowned and signaled for her silence.
Moments later, the sounds of footsteps, clashing armor, and arguments grew steadily closer.
There were many—at least a thousand people.
The towering boulders and straight pines perfectly concealed the two of them.
Song Qianji breathed a sigh of relief. This was no ambush; the two groups were too focused on guarding against each other to notice anyone behind the rocks.
Though there was friction between the parties, they were clearly negotiating—usually a sign of contending for unclaimed treasures or dividing resources, not a feud to the death.
He had no interest in joining the struggle for secret realm treasures and was about to leave when he abruptly halted.
He had heard his own name.
Miaoyan’s face turned pale; she had evidently heard the words from one group as well:
"Just moments ago, word spread that Song Qianji is also in the secret realm."
Song Qianji thought, news travels fast.
Then the second statement echoed:
"Leader Xu Yun’s secret order: if he comes, do everything possible to kill him within the secret realm."
Leader Xu Yun?
Song Qianji’s heart stirred slightly. He had encountered many sects along his journey but had not yet come across anyone from the Huawel Sect.
After the Huawel Sect closed its gates, its status plummeted to its lowest, and Xu Yun remained in seclusion.
In contrast, Chen Hongzhu’s lesser Huawel Sect, despite repeated setbacks, flourished and grew.
Three years ago, the Huawel Sect had used the remnants of their ancestors’ souls to attack him, only to be psychologically scarred by his counterstrike. Where did they find the confidence now?
Had Xu Yun discovered the Silver Lotus of the Dead Sea, greatly advanced his cultivation, and emerged from seclusion?
As Song Qianji pondered, a familiar female voice suddenly spoke:
"No! The King of Thousand Canals has won the people’s hearts. If you act without just cause, it will surely damage the sect’s reputation!"
It was Chen Hongzhu.
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