Chapter 4

Chapter 4: Immortal Lord Mingyu The Book Repository Tower. The Book Repository Tower held the largest collection of books in Xuantian Sect. At that moment, Xie Lianxin was on the thirty-sixth floor, leafing through one thick ancient tome after another. She carried an ancient book to a large table nearby and flipped through it several times. Then she took out her Spirit-Drawing Brush and some paper, sketching one spiritual power circuit after another and annotating the countless circuits with various spells. But as she continued writing, she reached a bottleneck and fell into troubled thought. If they were to be mass-produced, the spiritual power circuits had to be simplified. But simplifying them would cause the puppets to lose their intelligence, agility, maneuverability, and other functions. How should she adjust them? As she pondered, a gust of wind blew the densely covered sheet of paper away. A slender hand caught it. Only then did Xie Lianxin finally come back to herself. She looked toward the newcomer. He was a young man whose appearance could be called breathtakingly beautiful. He wore blue-green robes and jade ornaments, his ink-black hair falling down his back. His skin was as white as jade, and his elegant, refined bearing brought to mind an orchid and a jade tree. He possessed a pair of emerald eyes, which were now fixed on the spiritual power circuit diagram she had drawn. When Xie Lianxin saw the blue-green-robed man, she first froze. His appearance was simply too outstanding. In both her lifetimes, she had never met more than a few men this handsome. Who was he? Immortal aura swirled richly around him. He had clearly already achieved Immortal Ascension, yet Xie Lianxin had never seen him in Xuantian Sect. She quickly said, “Give it back.” The blue-green-robed man did not immediately return it. He examined it a few more times before looking up. His handsome face wore a smile like a spring breeze brushing across one’s features. “What ingenious, heaven-defying craftsmanship. Using this method, you might actually be able to refine a Mahayana puppet. Did you come up with this? It’s incredible!” “Who are you?” Xie Lianxin asked. The blue-green-robed man smiled gently. “Xiaoyao Palace, Su Heng.” His smile was warm and mild, as though ten miles of peach blossoms had bloomed. Xie Lianxin had heard the name Su Heng before. He was considered one of the most famous experts in the Immortal Alliance. She simply had never met him in her previous life. By the time she had risen to prominence, he had already fallen. As for the reason behind his death, she had had no dealings with him in her previous life and therefore had never looked into it. She had no idea. In her previous life, she had once heard people say that he deserved the title of “peerless and unmatched.” Now that she had seen him herself, she felt that he truly lived up to those words. “So you’re Immortal Lord Mingyu. This junior, Xie Lianxin, pays her respects to the Immortal Lord!” Xie Lianxin cupped her hands in greeting. Su Heng’s courtesy name was Mingyu, and everyone called him Immortal Lord Mingyu. “So you’re the eldest disciple of Immortal Venerable Yuyang. I heard of Fairy Lianxin’s reputation long ago,” Su Heng said with a smile. “Did you hear bad things about me?” Xie Lianxin asked. Su Heng froze for a moment, then laughed aloud. “Fairy Lianxin, you’re truly interesting.” Xie Lianxin did not see what was so interesting about that. Still, this man looked rather good when he smiled, like pear blossoms against white snow—elegant and utterly free of vulgarity. Looking at his peerlessly handsome face, Xie Lianxin said, “I remember that outsiders aren’t allowed into the Book Repository Tower. How did you get in, Immortal Lord?” Su Heng smiled. “If I say I slipped in secretly, will you believe me, Fairy?” Xie Lianxin: “…” She did not. Under normal circumstances, outsiders were indeed not allowed in here, but there were exceptions. For example, if an expert from a friendly sect of the Immortal Alliance wished to come in and take a look, an exception would certainly be made. Aside from the books on the topmost level, the rest could all be consulted. “How did you come up with the spiritual power circuits for these alchemical puppets?” There was suspicion in Su Heng’s voice, and it was no wonder he was suspicious. Although Xie Lianxin was a renowned peerless genius, she was only fourteen. How could she possibly have come up with a spiritual power circuit design like this? “My Master came up with it,” Xie Lianxin said. That was not exactly a lie. Her innovative design for the puppets’ spiritual power circuits had originally been based on her father Xie Yi’s manuscripts, after which she had continued innovating on her own. “Immortal Venerable Yuyang truly is an unmatched genius!” Su Heng said admiringly. As they spoke, someone approached, their presence drawing near. Su Heng turned his head toward the rear. Xie Lianxin put away the draft. Then she saw two figures walking over. They were both women, and both wore white robes. One was somewhat older, appearing to be about twenty-three or twenty-four. She had a cold, striking beauty, and all her long hair was pinned up with a hairpin. She wore jade-green earrings, while a diamond-shaped mark adorned the center of her brow. A light gauze shawl was draped over her arms, and her bearing was aloof and cold. The other was a young girl who appeared to be only seventeen or eighteen. She was stunningly beautiful and delicately pitiful. Draped in white gauze, her graceful figure swayed like a frail willow in the wind, inspiring boundless sympathy. The older woman was Xie Lianxin’s Martial Aunt Han, Han Suxue. The young girl was her Junior Sister Liu, Liu Ruyan. Han Suxue was the Peak Master of Yuxue Peak and Xie Yi’s Junior Sister. She had always admired Senior Brother Xie Yi, but Xie Yi had never accepted her feelings. In fact, quite a few people in Xuantian Sect had guessed that Xie Lianxin and Xie Yi were father and daughter, and Han Suxue was one of them. That was why, in her previous life, she had constantly targeted Xie Lianxin. The daughter of her romantic rival. She had a very good relationship with Liu Ruyan. It was said that she and Liu Ruyan’s mother were close friends. Xie Lianxin had never understood it. If they were truly close friends, why had Han Suxue not simply taken Liu Ruyan as her disciple? Was she deliberately trying to annoy her, or did she want to plant a spy in Yuyang Peak? “Fellow Daoist Han,” Su Heng greeted her first. Han Suxue returned the salute. “So you’re here, Fellow Daoist Su. The two elders from your Xiaoyao Palace just said they were going to look for you.” Su Heng smiled. “Then I’ll be going.” As he spoke, he looked toward Liu Ruyan beside her. This was Liu Ruyan’s first time seeing Su Heng, and she was extremely curious about this unfamiliar yet peerlessly handsome senior. When she saw him look her way, she hurriedly bowed and greeted him in a soft, gentle voice. “Ruyan pays her respects to Senior.” “This is Senior Brother Yuyang’s youngest disciple, Liu Ruyan.” Han Suxue looked at Liu Ruyan with a faint smile. “So you’re Fairy Liu. What a coincidence. I had only just met Fairy Lianxin, and now I’ve met Fairy Liu as well.” As Su Heng spoke, he glanced at Xie Lianxin beside him. Han Suxue’s gaze also shifted over. The moment she saw Xie Lianxin’s face, her expression turned cold. “Can’t you even greet your Martial Aunt after seeing her? Eldest Senior Brother has spoiled you far too much.” Suppressing her anger, Xie Lianxin smiled and bowed. “Lianxin pays her respects to Martial Aunt.” “While I was away from Xuantian Sect, I heard that you seriously injured Yan’er. How vicious. Yan’er is your Junior Sister, yet you treated her so cruelly. Eldest Senior Brother is so noble and refined—how did he end up teaching a disciple like you?” Whenever Han Suxue looked at Xie Lianxin, she seemed to see another person, and as a result, nothing about Xie Lianxin pleased her. “Martial Aunt, it was an accident during a spar,” Xie Lianxin said. “It’s inevitable for someone to lose control during a spar, just as Junior Sister accidentally shattered my spirit beast egg.” Han Suxue sneered. “A spirit beast egg? Very well. So this was deliberate revenge after all.” Xie Lianxin: “…” This woman was deliberately picking a fight. An Immortal was targeting a Nascent Soul cultivator like her—and doing so in front of an outsider, no less. Wasn’t she ashamed to lower herself like this? Liu Ruyan stepped forward and gazed at Han Suxue, her voice soft and gentle. “Martial Aunt, Senior Sister didn’t do it on purpose. This matter is already over. Please don’t make things difficult for Senior Sister because of me.” “Yan’er, you’re pure of heart. You don’t understand that some people won’t remember their lesson unless they’re punished.” Han Suxue spoke coldly as she looked at Xie Lianxin.