Song Qianji said, "Your Huawel Sect's affairs should be resolved internally. I can't be bothered to intervene."
In the next moment, the residual soul projections of successive sect masters and Great Adepts since the founding of Huawel Sect materialized behind him.
It was as if a magnificent ancestral hall had slowly risen, occupying half the night sky.
Back then, Huawel Sect had deployed the "Huawel Floating City" and their ancestors' residual souls against Song Qianji, believing it to be foolproof.
This turned out to be their most disastrous miscalculation. It ultimately concluded with the residual souls failing to return, the sect severely wounded by Xian Jianchen's sword energy, and their mountain gates sealed shut.
Yuan Qingshi, who had presided over the formation, would never forget the terror of being pursued through the dead city by Song Qianji wielding his sword.
Endless tides of black residual souls surged forth, overwhelming death energy encircling the man layer upon layer. Yet he devoured the death energy, breaking through the encirclements again and again. It seemed he possessed ten thousand lives, utterly unkillable.
Although Song Qianji had spared him, sending him back to deliver a message, the shadow of that event weighed heavily on his heart, driving him to strive relentlessly and cultivate diligently day and night.
He thought enough time had passed, that he had worked hard enough to be completely reborn, and that should he encounter this man again, he would neither fear nor waver.
Until tonight, when Song Qianji appeared without warning, summoning the sky-full of residual souls.
Yuan Qingshi felt as if he had returned to that hellish dead city, enveloped by the shadow of death, his sword-hand trembling uncontrollably.
Would this fear of Song Qianji haunt him for life?
The Huawel Sect members broke into cold sweats, hastily bowing: "Great Master!"
"Ancestral Master!"
"Great Ancestral Master!"
There were even more seniors they didn't know how to address, seen only in historical portraits, now furiously denouncing the traitorous disciples.
Zhao Taiji and the seven elders, who had been vomiting blood and collapsed, struggled to their feet, exchanging shocked glances.
The residual souls previously used to kill Song Qianji hadn't been destroyed; instead, he had subdued them for his own use.
Unable to guess that Song Qianji possessed a Domain, they could only assume Xian Jianchen had given his disciple some secret treasure capable of purifying death energy and nurturing residual souls.
"These master and disciple schemed well! They probably anticipated today long ago. Otherwise, who would bother sustaining another clan's ancestral souls?"
Meanwhile, the younger disciples of "Little Huawel Sect," their minds more imaginative, couldn't help showing joy:
"Can the King of Thousand Canals command spectral armies and commune with spirits?"
"With the King of Thousand Canals summoning spirits to borrow underworld troops, are we saved this time?"
They knew Chen Hongzhu was most reluctant to cross blades with her fellow sect members. Originally prepared for a desperate breakout tonight at great cost, they never expected darkness to turn to light, with Song Qianji emerging at the cliff's edge.
Zhao Taiji thrust out a hand, pointing fiercely at Song Qianji: "Honored ancestors, this villain is deeply cunning—"
"Silence, you wretch!" roared Pingyuan Zhenren. "Who gave you leave to speak here?"
Memories of his early training days, being reprimanded and punished by his master, instantly resurfaced. Zhao Taiji instinctively bowed: "Yes, Master!"
But Pingyuan Zhenren was merely a projection, floating behind Song Qianji.
Realizing he had just bowed to Song Qianji, Zhao Taiji's face turned ashen.
"Little Chen girl, step forward." Hantian Zhenren's tone softened as he beckoned toward the crowd.
Chen Hongzhu was stunned: "Me?"
She too was in shock, instinctively glancing at the person she had been unwilling to face moments before.
"Go," Song Qianji said. "They've chosen you."
Chen Hongzhu moved past Song Qianji, standing before the Huawel Sect members, facing the myriad projections.
Confronting her fellow disciples while disheveled—this was a scene in which she hadn't wanted Song Qianji to appear.
Yet only Song Qianji could accomplish this.The remnant souls stood like crystal sculptures under the moonlight, gazing at her with solemnity and affection.
"I am the founding ancestor of the Huawei Sect, Hua Wei Zhenren," the highest-ranking figure spoke slowly.
"Greetings, Founding Ancestor." Chen Hongzhu bowed respectfully.
"Tonight, I bestow upon you the 'Hua Wei True Seal.' From this day forth, you are the rightful heir of the Huawei Sect! With this, you may enter the ancestral hall, open the treasured records, expel traitors, and cleanse the sect!"
Hua Wei Zhenren extended a finger, pointing from afar as a flickering white light, like a firefly, flew out.
All the divine souls in the sky raised their hands in unison:
"From this day forth, we proclaim Chen Hongzhu, daughter of the 68th-generation sect leader, as the rightful heir of the Huawei Sect!"
The words "rightful heir of the Huawei Sect" echoed through the mountains.
Tiny specks of light, like faint starlight illuminating the dark night, eventually converged into a surging river!
The river of light hung in the night sky, flowing above the heads of the Huawei Sect members, evoking the glory of bygone days and stirring their hearts.
The river of light surged toward Chen Hongzhu and vanished into her brow.
Chen Hongzhu trembled all over.
The crowd stared, silent and stunned.
The "Hua Wei True Token," held by the sect leader, controlled the Huawei Sect's formations and symbolized authority.
But the "Hua Wei Seal" was an imprint deep within the soul, representing the recognition of generations of Great Adepts.
Chen Hongzhu opened her eyes. A red mark, shaped like a water chestnut flower ornament or the flame of a candlewick, glowed faintly on her smooth forehead.
The "Hua Wei Seal" had taken form.
In the long night, this red candle had finally been lit.
The river of light dissipated, and the illusory figures grew more ethereal, as if about to be swept away by the mountain wind.
They gazed at her with longing, as if looking toward an unseen future.
Chen Hongzhu blinked back tears and called out loudly:
"We respectfully bid our ancestors farewell—"
The Huawei Sect members followed her lead, bowing in unison:
"We respectfully bid our ancestors farewell—"
The night wind howled, and the forest roared like a lament from heaven and earth.
Song Qianji finally turned and looked toward the sky.
Zhao Taiji, having calmed down, adopted a respectful posture toward the fading figures but inwardly regretted:
"They were already remnant souls, sustained by death energy. Once purified, they were bound to weaken. How much of their divine power could remain? Ah, we shouldn't have feared them. Now that Chen Hongzhu has successfully obtained the Hua Wei Seal, it's too late for anything."
"Souls of unwavering resolve become heroic spirits! This old man takes his leave!" Zhenren Pingyuan laughed heartily.
"Song, young man, entangled in worldly matters of the secret realm, why not return home and tend to your fields?" Zhenren Hantian remarked.
With that, they scattered into the heavens and earth.
One by one, the souls dissipated like blooming fireworks or shooting stars streaking across the sky.
Their brilliant yet fleeting radiance illuminated faces of varying expressions, young and old alike.
They should have been shrouded in death energy, weaponized without consciousness, and dissipated within the Huawei Floating City.
Yet, in Song Qianji's Domain, they toiled, leaving behind the scriptures of their lifetimes in Thousand Canals in exchange for the sunlight and gentle breeze of the wheat fields.
Song Qianji was the oppressive landlord exploiting the laboring souls; they were the uninvited, unwelcome guests.
But under the same roof, when the time came for the unwelcome guests to depart, the scene was still tinged with sorrow.
The Huawei Sect members wore complex expressions, while only Song Qianji watched them quietly, bidding them farewell in silence.
Stars will fall, the sun will extinguish, and all things loved or hated will be lost.
No one is immortal, no glory eternal.
All things, great or small, will eventually sink into the rolling river of time, becoming mere grains of sand at its bottom."They have all departed, and my time is nearly here," said Hua Wei Zhenren. "When we first met, you told me, 'Why should the dead cling to the mortal world?' You were right... Death empties all matters, yet alas, I could not let go of worldly entanglements."
The once-glorious powerhouse, unwilling to live out his remaining days safely within a junior's Domain, used his final strength to choose the future of his sect.
Only he, the most ancient and powerful, remained lying in the quiet wheat field, sinking into slumber.
Chen Hongzhu declared loudly, "From this day forth, I am the legitimate successor of Huawel Sect!"
Her voice was resolute, like a young eaglet soaring into the sky.
From then on, she held the highest authority in the Huawel ancestral hall. No one except the sect leader possessing the "Huawel Order" could surpass her status.
Zhao Taiji was filled with bitter resentment but knew the tide had turned. The term "legitimate successor" could no longer suppress Chen Hongzhu and the "Little Huawel Sect" from this point onward.
Once again, it was Song Qianji.
Once again, him.
Song Qianji had no time to observe the expressions of the crowd. For him, this matter was already concluded.
He walked forward, preparing to leave this place.
Disciples of the "Little Huawel Sect" voluntarily made way for him, their eyes wide with admiration and attachment as they gazed at the King of Thousand Canals.
Chen Hongzhu caught up to him and whispered, "Thank you."
Though she did not know where the ancestral spirits resided, she presumed they could not manifest without Song Qianji's consent.
Song Qianji nodded. "No need."
The surrounding onlookers watched intently, waiting for them to say more, but neither spoke another word.
They passed each other by just like that.
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