In his room, Zhu Jian activated the obscuring formation built into the inn and paced around. His expression constantly changed.
“Why is it him? Why has he appeared in the Observance Heaven City and right near me too?”
“But he probably didn’t recognise me. After all, so many years have already pa.s.sed, while I have gone from a Xuan Immortal to an Immortal Monarch as well.”
Zhu Jian was uneasy. The old man that he had accidentally encountered down below drew out a series of deep memories that he had hidden for many years.
At this moment, there was a knock at the door. As the owner of this room, Zhu Jian basically recognised who the person was as soon as the knocking began.
That immediately left Zhu Jian with a mult.i.tude of emotions. For a moment, he struggled to muster the courage to open the door.
However, the middle-aged man from the Hefty Sword clan who stayed next door opened his door and looked at elder Nong with hostility. He said sternly, “Who are you? Why are you looking for Zhu Jian?”
“It’s inconvenient for me to tell you!” elder Nong answered indifferently.
The middle-aged man’s face immediately sank when he heard that. He sneered. “Inconvenient to tell me? Even if you don’t tell me, I can basically guess it already. You’re probably here to give coloured immortal crystals to Zhu Jian so that he can continue to stay in the Observance Heaven City.”
Elder Nong ignored him.
Seeing this, the middle-aged man from the Hefty Sword clan obviously became even more certain in his guess. He threatened elder Nong. “Anyone who delivers coloured immortal crystals to Zhu Jian is an enemy of our Hefty Sword clan. You old b.a.s.t.a.r.d, let me give you a word of advice. It’s still not too late for you to back off now. Once you offend our Hefty Sword clan, I can guarantee you that the moment you leave the Observance Heaven City is the moment that you die.”
At this moment, Zhu Jian opened his door. He immediately appeared before elder Nong and grumbled in annoyance, “You d.a.m.ned old man, who are you? I don’t know who you are. Have you found the wrong person?” With that, Zhu Jian was about to shut the door.
“I haven’t found the wrong person. I’ve specially come for you, Chen s.h.i.+fang!” When elder Nong said that, Zhu Jian immediately stiffened.
The middle-aged man from the Hefty Sword clan’s eyes shone. He stared straight at Zhu Jian and understood something very soon. He could not help but laugh aloud. “Chen s.h.i.+fang? Hahaha, Zhu Jian, don’t tell me that’s your true name? Or should I say another ident.i.ty of yours?”
Zhu Jian’s expression changed rapidly as if he had been caught off-guard slightly. He stood at the entrance of his room for a while in silence before letting out a powerless sigh and inviting elder Nong inside.
Bang! Zhu Jian’s door slammed shut. The obscuring formation activated, preventing anyone from spying on him.
“Hehe, Zhu Jian? Chen s.h.i.+fang?” The middle-aged man from the Hefty Sword clan sneered at the entrance. He immediately used a secret technique to convey the information he had just learnt to the clan.
Inside the room, Zhu Jian looked at elder Nong with extremely mixed feelings before bowing deeply towards elder Nong. “Greetings from disciple Chen s.h.i.+fang, elder Nong!”
Elder Nong also stared at the young man before him emotionally. “Before I knew it, it’s already been over a hundred thousand years since you left the sect. Chen s.h.i.+fang, do you still treat yourself as a disciple of the Sword Sect of Violet Heavens?”
“I have always been a disciple of the Sword Sect of Violet Heavens. I have never defected from the sect. However, you too are aware of certain situations with the sect, which was why I never had the courage to return,” Chen s.h.i.+fang said sternly.
Elder Nong nodded with relief. “Exactly why did you suddenly disappear back then?”
“When I was out on a mission, I was suddenly pursued by an unknown expert. I was brought to the verge of death, but fortunately, I managed to survive through some coincidences. After that, I changed my ident.i.ty and cultivated as an independent cultivator.”
Reaching there, Chen s.h.i.+fang paused. His face was filled with wryness. “Elder Nong, I had only just become a Xuan Immortal back then, yet the person pursuing me was a Nine-heavenly Xuan Immortal. I was truly on the verge of death, on the brink of peris.h.i.+ng.”
Elder Nong was stern. Chen s.h.i.+fang’s encounter was completely the same as he imagined it would be. After all, far too many prodigious disciples of the Sword Sect of Violet Heavens had either gone missing for no reason outside or had perished due to various accidents.
“Then how did you offend the Hefty Sword clan?” elder Nong asked.
“Because of this!” Chen s.h.i.+fang pa.s.sed a jade bottle over to elder Nong sternly.
Elder Nong opened the jade bottle. A sharp sword intent immediately radiated from it.
All he saw were a few droplets of red blood resting quietly inside the bottle.
“This presence…” Elder Nong narrowed his eyes and soon recalled something. His expression changed drastically as his gaze became extremely terrifying. He said coldly, “This is the essence blood of a great elder of our Sword Sect of Violet Heavens, Immortal Emperor Yunluo!”
“That’s right, this is indeed Immortal Emperor Yunluo’s essence blood.”
“Several tens of thousand years ago, an Immortal Emperor’s dwelling suddenly appeared in the Immortal Region of Yellow Sands, which drew over many immortals to investigate. In the end, they found the remains of an Immortal Emperor at the end of the dwelling, and the ident.i.ty of the Immortal Emperor was senior Yunluo of the Sword Sect of Violet Heavens!”
“Many organisations fought over the wealth that senior Yunluo had left behind in the dwelling. These droplets of essence blood with sword intent ended up in the hands of the Hefty Sword clan.”
“The Hefty Sword clan never used these droplets of essence blood because their ancestor planned on using the blood at the most optimal time to increase his chances at breaking through to Immortal Emperor.”
“However, I secretly infiltrated the Hefty Sword clan. After some effort, I successfully stole Immortal Emperor Yunluo’s essence blood from the Hefty Sword clan’s treasury.”
Chen s.h.i.+fang explained everything quickly and told elder Nong the process of how he had offended the Hefty Sword clan.
“For the sake of stealing a few droplets of great elder Yunluo’s essence blood, you’ve put yourself in danger.” Elder Nong looked at Chen s.h.i.+fang with mixed feelings.
“This is a great elder of the Sword Sect of Violet Heavens’ essence blood after all. As a disciple of the Sword Sect of Violet Heavens, how can I let the essence blood of a senior from my sect be blasphemed like this?” Chen s.h.i.+fang said firmly.
“Sigh, Chen s.h.i.+fang, you’ve offended the Hefty Sword clan already anyway. Your situation is not looking good, so why don’t you just return to the Sword Sect of Violet Heavens with me?” elder Nong said.
Chen s.h.i.+fang narrowed his eyes and said sternly, “The Hefty Sword clan has six Immortal Monarchs. The Ninth Heavenly Layer Immortal Monarchs alone amount to two, while the four others are a Seventh Heavenly Layer, two Sixth Heavenly Layers, and the Third Heavenly Layer who stays next door to me.”
“It’s not a problem. The Sword Sect of Violet Heavens is already different from before. We don’t fear them at all,” said elder Nong.
“If that’s the case, I’ll return to the sect with you, elder. After all these years, it’s time for me to go back and take a look.”
......
…
Very soon, Chen s.h.i.+fang left the inn that he had stayed in for many years with elder Nong, directly making his way out of the Observance Heaven City.
The middle-aged man from the Hefty Sword clan followed them closely, sending secret messages again and again as he communicated with his clan.
Meanwhile, elder Nong acted like nothing was happening at all. He completely ignored the Third Heavenly Layer Immortal Monarch middle-aged man.
“Oh right. Elder Nong, there is something that perplexes me. How did you know I was in the Observance Heaven City?” Chen s.h.i.+fang suddenly asked.