Chapter 44: Return to the Mystic Heaven Cave Mansion

"You've arrived at just the right time, brother. I was about to go looking for you," Wang Ben said. Zhang Xiao was taken aback—could Wang Ben already know why he had come? But then he saw the grim look on Wang Ben's face as he handed Zhang Xiao a letter and said, "Take a look. This is a letter my father wrote to you. It was just delivered through the special channel."

The special channel! Zhang Xiao's heart skipped a beat at those words. A vague sense of foreboding rose in him. The military had dedicated teleportation arrays and message channels, but the special channel was reserved for emergencies only. "Could it be that the border is under urgent threat?" Zhang Xiao asked as he took the letter from Wang Ben. But the moment he opened it, his expression turned cold. It turned out the Nine Great Sects had truly gone all out to get him—they had assembled an assassination squad of eighteen early Nascent Soul masters. The moment they caught the slightest trace of him, this squad would converge on his position. At first, when Zhang Xiao had heard that the Nine Great Sects wanted him dead, he hadn't taken it to heart at all. Given his own strength, the only ones who could completely annihilate him were those old monsters of the sects. As long as he didn't march right up to their doors, those ancient relics could only glare impotently. But Zhang Xiao never expected the Nine Great Sects to suddenly produce so many Nascent Soul masters at once. It caught him somewhat off guard. Not that Zhang Xiao was afraid—with his current power, eighteen early Nascent Soul experts couldn't do much to him. If pushed to the brink, he could always unleash the Buddha's Golden Wheel and forcibly slaughter them all. With his current cultivation, he could bring out at least sixty percent of the Golden Wheel's power. Combined with the Five-Colored Cloud Banner and the Black Tortoise Transformation, unless they were late Nascent Soul masters, he could kill one for every one who came, and a pair for every two. What truly gave Zhang Xiao pause, however, were the old monsters within the Nine Great Sects. True, he had slain the ancient monsters Carolus and Hamon, but that had relied on the formations and restrictions outside the Xuantian Cave Mansion, and the fact that both of them had already been spent, their life-force nearly exhausted. Zhang Xiao had only killed them through trickery. Moreover, they had merely been branch leaders—compared to the patriarchs of the Nine Great Sects, they were nowhere near the same league. If he really did cut down a swath of these early Nascent Soul experts, those old monsters would absolutely strike back at him, and it would be an unending, death-or-glory affair. This vicious scheme left Zhang Xiao with no easy way out. Wang Jian's meaning was clear as well: if this matter escalated, the Huaxia Kingdom would brand Zhang Xiao as a grave criminal and execute him for treason. So Zhang Xiao had to be extremely careful and absolutely must not let things blow out of proportion. His best option was to find a place to hide until the storm passed.

Zhang Xiao handed the letter back to Wang Ben, his expression dark. Wang Ben gave a bitter smile and said, "Brother, don't take my father's words too much to heart. If that day ever truly comes, come to my Crimson Blood Ridge—I'd like to see who dares touch you." Hearing this, Zhang Xiao felt a surge of gratitude. He shook his head and said, "I don't blame General Wang Jian. Were I in his shoes, I would do the same. After all, the Nine Great Sects' power has grown so vast that they can practically sway the court at will. The First Emperor needs stability, and the Huaxia Kingdom needs peace. Now is not the time to turn against the Nine Great Sects. If things spiral out of control, then to preserve that stability, I would simply be the necessary sacrifice."

Wang Ben fell silent at Zhang Xiao's words. Indeed—no matter how powerful the Huaxia Kingdom appeared to be, it was a castle built in the air, utterly unable to withstand the Nine Great Sects' machinations. Currency, mineral resources, even countless other vital sectors were all held in the hands of the Nine Great Sects—these were the very lifelines of the nation. But if it were only that, it might be tolerable. Yet now, ninety-nine percent of the entire kingdom's population were disciples of the Nine Great Sects. To put it bluntly, if not for the existence of the Heavenly Dao, this kingdom would not even exist. The thought made Wang Ben feel stifled and aggrieved. And it wasn't just Wang Ben who felt this way—there were countless others who felt a hundred times more stifled than he did. The First Emperor seated in the imperial court was one of them.

Zhang Xiao and Wang Ben looked at each other and could only exchange bitter smiles. Zhang Xiao rose to his feet and said, "Well then, since they want me to lie low, I suppose I'll hide away for a while."

Wang Ben laughed and said, "Hahaha, I think you should just stay right here with me, brother! Crimson Blood Ridge has nothing much to boast about, but we have plenty of good wine like Fire-Edge Knife. While you're here, your old brother guarantees you'll never run dry! Hahaha!" Though Wang Ben's words moved Zhang Xiao deeply, Zhang Xiao had come precisely to say goodbye.

"No, brother. Your wine here is fine and smooth, but I don't intend to stay any longer. I plan to head overseas for a time and search for a way to break through to the Nascent Soul stage."

Hearing this, Wang Ben knew Zhang Xiao's mind was made up, but he still tried to dissuade him: "Brother, overseas is nothing like the Central Plains with its vast resources. And traveling alone across the sea—the journey is long and fraught with danger. Word has it that quite a few Nascent Soul-tier demon beasts have already appeared in the seas. Going like this, you—"

Before Wang Ben could finish, Zhang Xiao waved his hand and said, "Don't worry. I have my own ways. Given the situation, fleeing far overseas is the best course for now. But before I leave, I hope you can do me a favor."

"Whatever you need, just say it." Wang Ben knew he couldn't persuade Zhang Xiao, so he thumped his chest and gave his word.

A faint smile tugged at Zhang Xiao's lips as he handed Wang Ben a strange round sphere. "This thing—I hope you can hide it in some secret place. But the spot must be spacious and well-ventilated." This object was, in fact, a spatial coordinate ball that Zhang Xiao had refined. His skill with spatial craftsmanship wasn't particularly refined, however, so the ball needed to be placed where it could contact the air and maintain airflow for Zhang Xiao to sense it. If it were sealed in a box, it would be useless. Wang Ben took the coordinate ball and assured Zhang Xiao of it repeatedly.

That day, the two sat atop the beacon tower and drank deeply together until dawn. Gazing at Wang Ben, who had collapsed drunkenly at the table, Zhang Xiao stood up. Holding the Xuantian Command Token in his hand, he activated the Great Teleportation Array to send himself back to the Xuantian Cave Mansion. In the moment he departed, Zhang Xiao's eyes stared fixedly toward the east, sweeping over the surrounding lands, and his heart roared: "When I return, I will make heaven and earth tremble before me." Suddenly, his figure was wrapped in a beam of light and vanished from the beacon tower.

When Zhang Xiao opened his eyes again, he was already back inside the Xuantian Cave Mansion. "Young master, we're finally home," said Zi Yan, who had been sealed away for a long time, as she materialized from the Xuantian Command Token and gazed at the familiar surroundings with a sigh.

"Ha, yes—home," Zhang Xiao said. "Yan'er, there's still one old monster left at our doorstep. How is he doing now?" He suddenly remembered that the old monster named Namil was still trapped in the formation pool outside the cave mansion. It had been so long—he wondered how the old fiend was faring. He just hoped the bastard hadn't died, or else he'd lose out on a hefty chunk of military merit.

Zi Yan closed her eyes and sensed for a moment, then said, "Young master, that old witch is currently trapped in the Heart-Confusing Formation. It might not be appropriate for you to go see her right now."

"The Heart-Confusing Formation? That formation is nothing more than an ordinary illusion array. For an expert like Namil, it shouldn't have any effect at all. How did she get trapped in there? And what do you mean by 'not appropriate'?" Zi Yan's face flushed red at the question. She stammered and stuttered, unable to find the words. Finally, she simply left him with: "Young master, just go see for yourself." With that, she turned and hurried off, leaving Zhang Xiao utterly baffled. He had no choice but to go check for himself. Fortunately, as the master of this place, he soon located Namil's position. But the sight before him was truly hard for Zhang Xiao to bear.

There lay Namil within the formation, completely naked, her face radiating a flush of spring desire. Seeing this, Zhang Xiao immediately understood what had happened—she had clearly been invaded by a heart demon and lost her sanity to it. But Zhang Xiao couldn't fathom how someone of Namil's cultivation could have had her mind corrupted by such a low-level illusion formation. What Zhang Xiao didn't know was that Namil had done so deliberately. Trapped here for over a year now—to Zhang Xiao that time had passed in the blink of an eye, but to Namil it was like a living hell, each day dragging on like a year. Already spent and withered to the bone, she had toiled every day, exhausting herself trying every possible method to break through the surrounding formations, endlessly repeating this torment of days that felt like years. There was no sound, no animals, no living creatures of any kind—only the endless, never-conquered formations. It was torture akin to being locked in a solitary dark cell in a prison. Namil couldn't bear it any longer. She had thought of suicide, but after seeing Carolus's corpse, she had lost the courage to kill herself. For only by dying completely would a body remain forever, neither vanishing on its own nor rotting unless someone else disposed of it. Having lost her nerve for suicide, Namil simply found this illusion formation, deliberately opened her mind, and lost herself in the fantasy.

There was no denying that Namil exuded an intoxicating allure at this moment—her fiery figure completely exposed before Zhang Xiao without any concealment, her eyes filled with seduction. Unfortunately, Zhang Xiao's gaze remained as clear and tranquil as still water. He sighed and said, "A powerful figure of her generation, reduced to such a state in the end. It seems the greatest enemy on the path to enlightenment is not another, but oneself." Zhang Xiao flicked his finger, and a beam of golden light as slender as a strand of hair pierced instantly into Namil's brow. Her body convulsed once, then she collapsed to the side, her face peaceful and serene.

*Ding! You have killed a Level 10 Temple Priest. You are now afflicted with the Radiant Temple's Curse of Hatred. Should you appear within the Radiant Temple's sphere of influence, you will immediately be hunted by the Radiant Temple.*

*Ding! You have completely slain Namil, the Level 10 Temple Priest. You have obtained 3,000 military merit and all of Namil's belongings.*

Seeing the notifications flash across his attribute panel, Zhang Xiao flicked his finger once more. A wisp of golden flame instantly enveloped Namil's body and burned it to ashes. After burying her remains in the earth, Zhang Xiao scooped up the storage ring she had left behind and turned to leave.

This is the third update of the day. Please, fellow daoists, give me some support. Readers, be sure to bookmark and lend your encouragement. Guo Shui bows in gratitude.