Chapter 76: The Scars of War

  How much pain will it be when fierce flames enter the body? How much more painful will it be when scorching heat burns the heart?

  Xuan Zhen covered his chest with one hand, stumbling and staggering under the purple-red sky of the Huan Ming realm. Suddenly, a wave of sweetness surged up from his throat, causing him to cough several times. His lips and chin were also filled with a warm, wet sensation that flowed down in streams.

  His chest and back were charred and tattered, with crimson fabric scraps fluttering behind him like a butterfly fallen from the flames, beautiful yet desolate. On his exposed alabaster chest, the most striking feature was a large patch of dark scorching, which upon closer inspection seemed to be slightly sunken, as was the corresponding area on his back.

  Who would have thought that the Xuanhe sword was so powerful! However, through the host's mind, it detected a hint of threat and automatically released flames to attack its opponent. When the fire dragon passed through his chest, although he dodged in time and avoided the vital spot, the Yang flame energy still severely burned his internal organs, causing him unbearable pain.

  What made him even more unbearable was that at this time, the true power and demon power in his body also began to churn up one after another, like the waves of the ocean surging and foaming. At this critical moment, these two forces actually took his physical body as a battlefield, fighting each other relentlessly, while Xuan Zhen didn't even have the slightest bit of energy to suppress them.

  Xuan Zhen panted heavily, his legs and feet numb and weak. His vision was blurry due to the tears welling up in his eyes, and sweat dripped down from his forehead, wetting a few strands of black hair on his brow, making him look even more frail. He furrowed his brows, focusing all his energy on finding the path ahead, and with great effort, he made out the route through the dense thicket of purple crystals. With unsteady steps, he continued to move forward.

  His footsteps slowed, his feet sank deeper, but in his heart he still remembered the matter, Xuan Zhen gritted his teeth and shakily raised his hand to wipe away the bloodstain at the corner of his mouth with his sleeve, still walking slowly towards the place where he had agreed to meet Yun Tianqing.

  After passing by a cluster of purple crystals that had been cut off halfway, Xuan Zhen finally stopped in his tracks. However, after looking around, his heart couldn't help but sink. He had agreed to meet Yun Shidi here, but at this moment, the empty space was devoid of anyone. Cloud Qing, who was supposed to be waiting here with Yu Rou's daughter, had gone missing without a trace.

  Wasn't it the Cloud Sky that deceived itself? Xuan Zhen was both shocked and anxious, but thinking of this fourth junior brother, his eyes involuntarily conjured up those clear and distinct black and white pupils, he couldn't believe no matter what that childhood playmate would deceive himself, secretly taking away that little Dreamweaver girl.

  But if Yun Tianqing had not deceived himself, where would he be now? Was he killed in this great war, or...

  In his anxiety, he couldn't care about his injuries, and hastily mobilized his energy to summon the Spring Water Sword. He planned to ride the sword to search around, but as soon as his feet stepped onto the sword body, he felt a dizzying sensation in his head, and the dim blue light surrounding the Spring Water suddenly dissipated. The sword tilted, carrying him headfirst into the purple crystal thicket on the ground.

  Xuan was heavily knocked to the ground, feeling an intense pain in his chest that wouldn't subside. As soon as he reached out with one hand to touch the wound, he felt a wet sensation, and then everything went black before him, and he lost consciousness.

  When he came to again, he found himself in a house. Xuan Zhen stared blankly at the purple-red canopy fluttering gently like waves in front of him, and it took him a long time to react that he had actually returned to the side hall of Li Huang Palace, and he suddenly sat up with a start.

  "You're awake!"

  There was another breath in the room, and the owner of that breath stood in front of the window. Seeing Xuan Zhen wake up, he called out and quickly stepped over, stretching out a pair of large palms to press down on his shoulders without mercy, shaking him violently several times.

  Xuan Zhen suddenly felt a sharp pain in his chest, and he groggily opened his eyes to find himself being held by a pair of sturdy arms. He struggled free and coughed for a long time before looking at the white-haired demon in front of him and asking: "Gui Xie General, how...how did I end up here?"

  Gui Xie smiled complacently as he sat down beside Xuanyin's bed, his black eyebrows raised and the red markings on his face spreading out with his expression: "Naturally, it was I, the great general, who brought you back. If not for me leading the crowd of demons to chase those humans to the exit of the Phantom Mist Realm, where I coincidentally saw you, your life would probably now belong to Yanluo Wang of the Ten Halls." He said, his expression twisted in an unspeakable way, "However, there are two things that I don't understand. I hope you can explain them to me."

  Xuan Zhen didn't respond, he just raised his eyes and glanced at him.

  He merely nodded in acquiescence, his gaze sweeping over with profound meaning, settling on his chest: "I once witnessed you employing the Mystic Gate's Dao techniques, knowing your abilities are not weak. Nine out of ten people from that tribe can't compare to you, yet I don't know what kind of high-ranking individual could severely injure you to this extent?"

  Xuan's eyebrows furrowed, avoiding Xie's piercing gaze, and said in a tone that was trying to downplay the situation: "…It's only natural for someone with greater strength than mine."

  "Huh?" Gui Xie's mouth curled up slightly, and he said, "Among the human race, there are only four people whose skills surpass yours in the Qionghua Sect. One is the sect leader of the Qionghua Sect, but he was killed by our Young Master Yan long ago and cannot be resurrected. The other three are the sect leader's junior brothers, but during the great battle, they were clearly entangled with us in Xuanmeng City. How could they possibly split their bodies to injure you? Thinking about it, it's really strange, very strange indeed!"

  Xuan Zhen was stunned for a moment, didn't know what to say, and could only fall silent again.

  Gui Xie looked at him with a smile that wasn't quite a smile, and didn't ask any more questions. Instead, he asked: "There's another matter, about Xi Zhong..."

  "General Xi Zhong?" Xuan Zhen was taken aback, a flash of light suddenly crossed his mind, and he suddenly remembered something, his face stiffening instantly.

  "Yes, Qi Zhong has been acting strange since the day you brought me back. He took one look at my face and suddenly became distant, I don't know what's wrong with him. Did you offend him somehow?" Gui Xie asked curiously.

  Xuan Zhen was tongue-tied: "I——"

  Just as the conversation was halfway through, a loud crash was heard at the palace gate, followed by the sound of rapid footsteps approaching. The layered curtains seemed to be stirred up by the momentum of the intruder, and the purple-red waves surged even more violently. Then, from behind the waves, another figure with white hair appeared. The figure stopped for a moment in its original position before suddenly dashing over and pouncing on Xuan Zhen's bed.

  "Speak quickly, where has the young master gone?!"

  Xuan Zhen only had time to hear the question clearly, and then the collar of his shirt was brutally lifted by a bony hand, causing another wave of dull pain in his chest. But this time he didn't struggle, instead lowering his head and remaining silent.

  On the side, Gui Xie was stunned, after all, Qi Zhong's defeat was rarely seen, but as soon as he saw the blood stains on Xuanshen's chest, he hurriedly shouted: "Qi Zhong, do you want to kill this kid? Let go!"

  Xie Zhong seemed to have only just realized his own behavior was out of line, and he hastily released his grip. However, his expression remained unyielding, and the gaze he directed at Xuan Zhen was extremely cold. All that could be heard was his icy tone: "On that day when the Qionghua sect's Daoist priests attacked Xuandream City, I entrusted Young Master to you. Now... where is Young Master?"

  Xuan Zhen only felt a deep sense of shame in his heart and remained silent for a while before saying, "That child... was entrusted to a friend by me..."

  "So, where is your friend now?" He paused for a moment and continued with profound meaning, "Is he still in this Illusory Realm or... did he leave with that group of people?"

  Xuan Zhen's face changed, and he suddenly looked up at Xi Zhong. The usually calm and solemn general also coldly stared back at him. After a moment, Xuan Zhen asked in a low voice, "You said the people from the Qiong Hua sect... have they all withdrawn from the Huan Yun realm?"

  "Yes, there were still some people wandering around outside the city a few days ago, but since the earthquake three days ago, not even one person has been seen." Gui Xie hastily replied from the side, having just heard a question he could understand amidst the previous conversation that had left him bewildered.

  Xie Zhong nodded slightly and added, "According to Yu You's words, the power that was binding the web outside the Huan Yin realm suddenly disappeared three days ago for some reason. She took advantage of the opportunity to use her demon powers to control the Huan Yin realm and return it to its original orbit. That's why this great war has temporarily subsided, and the Huan Yin realm has regained its freedom. She and Xuan Meng City also have a chance to rest and recover." As he spoke, his gaze turned cold again, staring at Xuanshen, "But there is one thing that weighs on her mind, making her restless day and night, which is the whereabouts of the young master. Now that the Huan Yin realm has suffered this disaster, she only worries that the young master may have unfortunately died in this war, and the Huan Yin realm will lose its master. I don't know if your friend can ensure the young master's safety?"

  Xuan Zhen's expression froze, and the guilty look in his eyes grew thicker. At this moment, facing the raging anger of the Dreamweaver general in front of him, he had no way to defend himself and could only sink deeper into silence.

  His mind was more chaotic, unable to think that the demon world had struggled out of this great chaos during his days of unconsciousness. Thinking about it, he couldn't help but feel a little joyful. However, after the joy, some other information revealed by Xie Zhong made him worried and anxious. Yan You and others didn't know what kind of power was binding the Huanyin realm, but he was very clear that the sword pillar was based on Xihe's and Wangshu's double swords, combining Xuanyue's and Suoyu's yin-yang powers to form it. Unless one of the double swords went away, the yin-yang power would be difficult to harmonize, otherwise, it wouldn't easily disperse. Now that the Huanyin realm had returned to its predetermined orbit, it meant... Xuanyue and Suoyu, those two...

  Recalling the scene where Xī Hé wounded himself, Xuán Xiāo's shocked and stunned expression, and his actions of single-handedly defending against Xī Hé's Yang Yān to allow himself to escape, Xuán Zhèn seemed to be deep in thought. If the reason for the disappearance of the sword pillar was because the dual-sword hosts had gone mad... Suddenly, his whole body trembled, and he dared not think further.

  Thus, more than a dozen days passed, and Xuan Zhen lived alone in the Li Huang Palace, relying on the nourishment of infinite spiritual energy to gradually recover from his injuries. The Taoist true power and the You power of the Mozu tribe that had been mutually suppressing and resisting each other inside his body also gradually subsided. Although the physical pain on the surface had already healed, there were still many things weighing heavily on his mind.

  The most important thing is the whereabouts of Yuanyu's daughter. The baby girl was handed over to him by Qi Zhong himself, and he had solemnly handed the child over to Yun Tianqing. Now it is unclear whether Yun Tianqing is dead or alive, the only thing that can be known is that he and the little girl are not in the Phantom Realm. Thinking of his junior brother's abilities, Xuan Zhen vaguely felt that this gibbon would not be so incompetent, but rather had a great possibility of bringing the child back to the Human Realm. With this thought, he came up with an idea, which was to make a trip to the Human Realm.