Chapter 26: The Luminous Spirit of Algae Jade

  The Spring Water Sword hummed in the air, stopping precisely at a hair's breadth from the white-clad youth before turning back and heading towards Xuan Zhen, who was half-sitting up. It hovered just an inch from his body, its blade trembling slightly as if joyful and excited to see its master safe and sound.

  Xuan Zhen held the sword in his hand, and with the other hand gently stroked the blade. The spring water was crystal clear, and his fingers, like jade, were pressed against the blade, which also seemed slightly transparent. Xuan Zhen's gaze swept across the sword for only an instant before being distracted by something else. He looked ahead, his face expressionless, but in his heart, he was already deeply shocked and amazed.

  But then, not far away on the sandy ground, a white light flickered and gradually weakened, only to reveal the original appearance of the object, which was just a palm-sized circular jade pendant. The young man in white clothes first chased after the scattered yellow sand in the air for several steps, but seeing that the ugly young man had gone nowhere, he could only put away his sword and then looked down at the ground.

  That young man merely lowered his head to take a glance, then picked up the jade pendant and turned around to walk towards Xuan Chen. The crescent moon on the sky moved out from behind the clouds, casting a cold and elegant glow on his face. It was only then that Xuan Chen got his first clear look at the young man's appearance, and he couldn't help but secretly cheer in his heart. He saw that between the young man's eyebrows was a sharp sword-like intent, his bamboo-leaf-shaped eyes seemed to be embedded with two cold stars, and what caught people's attention even more was the vertical crimson mark on his forehead. The moonlight was like water, outlining the young man's cold and hard facial features with a silver edge, his hair was as black as ink, and it blended into the boundless night sky.

  His white clothes were as spotless as snow, and the aura surrounding him was like the clouds on a distant mountain. Xuan Zhen's eyes reflected his figure, but for some reason, he thought of the vast sea of clouds on Mount Kunlun, wasn't this young man's extraordinary temperament just like the clouds and mist in the nine heavens?

  Until the jade pendant was delivered to his eyes, Xuan Zhen finally came back to his senses. At this time, the white light disappeared, and the Ling Guang Yu Jade returned to its ordinary appearance, but Xuan Zhen's heart had added a lot of complicated thoughts.

  After he came to Qinglong Town, he was shocked by the tragic situation of the victimized children and the pain of losing their children in the town. He only thought about eliminating the evil spirits, and suddenly threw away the heavy responsibility he had originally carried when he came down from the mountain. It wasn't until then that Ling Guang's spiritual powers were revealed. The Elder Qingyang had previously stated that this white jade would only produce such strange phenomena when approached by someone with extremely strong yin-yang energy. However, it was precisely because of this that he became even more worried.

  Just now, the jade pendant happened to fall between those two young men. At that time, the white light was shining brightly, and the yin-yang energy was extremely strong... but it was unclear which of the two young men it was. Xuán's eyebrows furrowed slightly, and he had a worried thought: The young man with scars on his face had a ruthless and cunning plan, if he happened to be the one with extremely strong yin-yang energy, how could he possibly bring such an evil person back to the Qióng Huá Sect? Moreover, he had already escaped to who-knows-where, and it was likely that he would be difficult to catch... If this young man in front of him was the one he was looking for...

  The young man in white saved his life, and Xuan Zhen secretly hoped that he was the one Master wanted him to bring back to the sect. He took the Ling Guang Jade in his hand, while his eyes kept scanning the young man's face.

  The young man in white clothes had no expression on his face, but a faint wrinkle appeared between his eyebrows. He furrowed his brow and looked back at Xuan Zhen for a long time before finally speaking: "Can we proceed?"

  Xuan Zhen nodded slightly, propped himself up from the ground, but had been lying there for a long time, his hands and feet were still numb, and he hadn't stood straight yet when he stumbled, almost falling down again. Suddenly, a surge of great strength swept across his shoulders, Xuan Zhen stood up straight, looked to the side, and found that it was the young man who had supported him with his arm. Xuan Zhen smiled slightly: "Thank you."

  "It's unnecessary." The young man in white said coldly, withdrawing his hand.

  Xuan Zhen had other considerations in his heart, and he deliberately said: "My name is Xuan Zhen, I am a disciple of the Taiqing True Man Gate of the Qionghua Sect on Mount Kunlun. This time I came down from the mountain to travel, but unexpectedly almost got harmed by that cunning young man, thanks to the young hero for helping me." He said, hugging his fist.

  The young man in white listened to him talk about his background, and although he didn't show any expression on his face, a strange color suddenly appeared in his eyes. Xuan Zhen saw it and slightly changed his mind, but he also didn't make a sound. The young man was silent for a while before saying: "I just couldn't bear to see a despicable person taking advantage of someone's misfortune."

  Xuan Zhen smiled and said, "To you, it may have been just a small act of helping someone in passing, but to me, it was a matter of life and death. Young hero, there's no need to be overly modest. I saw that your swordsmanship is astonishing, but I don't know your surname or given name, nor who your master is." As he spoke, he probed into the young man's background while shifting his feet slightly towards Qing Long Town, but his legs were already somewhat stiff and his feet felt soft beneath him, causing him to sway slightly.

  The young man in white furrowed his brow again, silently stretched out his hand to support Xuan Zhen's back, and slowly followed him up the dam. Not until he stepped onto the green bricks could he see the stone bridge at the east entrance of Qinglong Town from afar. Only then did the young man slowly reply: "My name is Xun Heng, I live overseas... on a small unnamed island. This sword technique was practiced according to my family's ancestral sword scripture, and there was no master to teach me." After a while, he added another sentence, "It can't compare with the immortal Taoist methods learned by Daozhang Xuan Zhen."

  Xuan Zhen listened and became even more determined.

  Although Xun Heng was taciturn, he had a warm heart. He escorted Xuanyin all the way to Qinglong Town. At this time, it was still dark, but many people were gathered at the entrance of the town. A tall man stood on the stone bridge, stretching his neck and looking around constantly. Seeing Xuanyin returning from afar, he excitedly waved his hand and shouted: "Immortal, is that you? You've finally come back! We're all about to die of anxiety!"

  Suddenly, a person emerged from behind him, shorter than him by more than a head, but with an astonishing aura that was intimidating even from a distance. The woman had one hand on her hip and the other grasping out, grabbing the big man's left ear and pulling it down with force, swift as lightning, well-versed in the three principles of speed, accuracy, and ruthlessness. In an instant, she subdued the big man, who was now obedient and begging for mercy.

  The woman shouted loudly: "Xianren helped us kill the monster, saved our daughter, you don't say to quickly go buy some wine and water to thank him properly, what are you yelling about here?" But she didn't know that her voice was even louder than her husband's.

  Xuan Zhen leaned halfway on the armrest, walking slowly onto the stone bridge. The three couples didn't have time to talk and hurriedly welcomed him. Xuan Zhen's wife was meticulous and saw that his footsteps were unstable, clearly injured. "Ah yo!" she exclaimed, "Third brother, don't mention wine or water for now, quickly call Sun Langzhong over!"

  The crowd at the stone gate of the town entrance immediately made a commotion as soon as they heard, and several people rushed out of the crowd and ran away in a flash. Xuán Zhèn hastily said: "No need to bother, just give me a quiet room to rest for a while." Those people had already gone far away, how could they hear?

  Xun Heng suddenly said beside him: "If the Taoist wants to work hard to force out the poison, I'll replace you to guard it." The implication is that Xuan Zhen understands the purpose of the quiet room.

  Xuan Zhen hesitated for a moment before agreeing.

  Since the day he returned to San Guizhen, there has been a rumor circulating in every street and alley that an immortal was invited to come to Qinglong Town to exorcise evil spirits. It is likely that on this night, when the phoenix bird was stabbed by ten thousand swords and let out a mournful cry, it was heard throughout the town. That's why these people gathered at the entrance of the town, not fearing the stillness of the deep night, just to catch a glimpse of the immortal's appearance.

  Xuan Zhen glanced around at the crowd, seeing smiles on everyone's face. Immediately, a few young men started beating drums and gongs to spread the good news to others in the streets and alleys. There were also firecrackers set off to celebrate. Xuan Zhen saw this scene and couldn't help but reveal a faint smile. Unintentionally, he glanced sideways and caught Xun Heng staring at him, which made his smile even brighter. On the other hand, the white-clothed young man was slightly taken aback and turned his head away.

  His legs still had the poison of the centipede, but the villagers who came to thank and praise him were so enthusiastic that he couldn't refuse. Xuan Zhen could only smile wryly at Xun Heng, while the white-clothed young man looked extremely annoyed by the crowd's noise, his face cold and stern, as if covered in a thick layer of ice. The lady of the house was wise and had sharp eyes, she had heard Xuan Zhen and Xun Heng's conversation earlier, so she stopped the villagers from celebrating and ordered them to leave, then instructed Xiang San to help Xuan Zhen back home. She herself rushed back home first, quickly tidying up the main room in just a moment, and by the time Xuan Zhen entered at night, she had already put the two children to sleep in the side room.

  Thus, Xuān Zhèn found it difficult to decline, and while secretly lamenting in his heart that he had married a clever and wise wife for the third time, he could only lift the curtain and enter the house with Xùn Héng.

  After dozens of hours, Xuan Zhen opened his eyes, let out a long sigh, lowered his head to lift the hem of his robe, untied the bandages on his legs, and saw that the dark energy at the scratch had dissipated, and the bloodstains had returned to their original crimson color. It was deep in the night, and the oil lamp on the table cast a dim yellow glow over the room, the small flame flickering slightly, casting a warm light on the face of the young man sitting upright beside the table, his icy expression seeming to soften ever so slightly.

  Perhaps sensing Xuan Zhen's measuring gaze, Xun Heng's tightly closed eyes suddenly opened, and the cold light in his eyes was sharp. In an instant, all the warmth around him dissipated, as if a sharp sword had been drawn out of its scabbard, making one's hair stand on end, and even direct eye contact made people feel slightly intimidated.

  "...can his injuries improve?" Seeing Xuan Zhen smiling silently at him, Xun Heng's eyebrows furrowed slightly again, and he asked faintly.

  "No major issues." Xuan Zhen replied with a hint of a smile, "I'm grateful for your company, young hero. I've kept you waiting for so long." He glanced outside at the sky and then looked at Shun Heng's face, concern etched on his own as he said, "You look a bit tired, I suppose you haven't rested in over ten hours. It's not yet dawn, why don't you take a nap on the bed?" As he spoke, he got down from the wooden bed and sat down in another chair by the table.

  Xun Heng did not rush to get up, and Xuan Zhen was just picking up the teacup on the table to pour tea. Suddenly, he heard him say: "Earlier you said you were a disciple of the Qionghua Sect... Could it be that you are a true immortal from the mountain sect of Yuxian, where everyone in the mountains knows the art of longevity?" This question was asked abruptly, but it seemed to have been hidden in his heart for a long time. Now that Xuan Zhen's injuries had eased, he couldn't wait to ask.

  Xuan Zhen slightly paused, neither nodding nor shaking his head, and said: "My sect indeed can control the sword with Qi. If one's cultivation is successful, their lifespan will naturally be longer than ordinary people. However, humans are bound to die, it's just that some live shorter or longer lives. As for living forever, only those with exceptional innate talent and profound abilities may achieve it, but for ordinary people, it's extremely difficult."

  He furrowed his brow, and after a moment, he lay down on the wooden bed in silence. After a long while, Xuán Zhèn was staring at the lamp flame lost in thought when he heard him say with his face to the wall: "It's not dawn yet, so it won't hurt for you to sleep a bit longer."

  Xuan Zhen was shocked, turned his head to look at the bed, and indeed saw Xun Heng sleeping on the inside, leaving half of the bedding for him. Although he didn't say anything, a faint smile flashed across his lips. A moment later, the wooden bed creaked softly, and the lamp in the room flickered, plunging into darkness.

  PS. Speaking of which, although a certain grass is very HAPPY playing with ancient swords, before today he had no idea that Shao Gong actually had such an awesome nickname... Boss... This screenshot from the internet really made a certain grass laugh out loud: 【Because Shao Gong is the boss of Penglai Handmade Pavilion ~ abbreviated as Ouyang Boss~

  Penglai's figurine gallery ~ is Penglai's equal body focus ~ because there is no soul and rich expression (?), so it is defined as a figurine ~

  Life-size figurines available in unlimited quantities ~ just one person per Xianzhi Shushen Dan ~

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