Love & Redemption
Chapter 122: Volume 3 Heartless Xuanji - 29 Perilous String (Part 5)

Chapter 122: Volume 3 Heartless Xuanji Chapter 29 Perilous String (Part 5)

Chu Lei and two others stood in the air stunned for a long while before Chu Yinghong was the first to snap out of it and hurried over. Seeing Chu Lei’s face as pale as paper, He Yang knew this matter had dealt him a severe blow.

As the leader of the Shaoyang Sect, Chu Lei was deeply revered by all, and almost no one had ever defied him. Although he had achieved little in the realm of cultivation, he was the steady and sure type, managing Shaoyang with both sound and color, and had not encountered any major turmoil in nearly half his life.

Unexpectedly, he had been dealt heavy blows recently, first with one of his beloved daughters being no different from the dead, and then being threatened by demons. It was still uncertain whether the Shaoyang Sect could survive this calamity, and now his other daughter and beloved disciple were rushing to their deaths in Buzhou Mountain, unstoppable by any means.

Thinking of this, He Yang couldn’t help but sigh softly, shook his head, and remained silent.

Chu Yinghong suddenly yelled, "Senior Brother, Sect Leader! Come over here and look!"

Chu Lei, with a grave face, landed on the Sacrificial Altar and saw Chu Yinghong pointing to a circle of black candles in front of the tripod, a puzzled expression on her face, and she said, "Sect Leader, look... what is this?"

Chu Lei bent down to pick up a candle, rubbed it carefully with his fingers, turned it over to look at the birth date carved on it, and frowned, "Hmm... this seems to be a candle made by an ancient spell method."

Chu Yinghong also picked up a candle to observe. The candle flame danced vigorously, and even the mountain wind, blowing in gusts, could not extinguish it.

"I know these candles are made with a secret recipe that includes vermillion and black dog blood... but, what exactly are they for?"

Chu Lei slowly shook his head: "I’m not sure."

He Yang came over, looked at them, and said softly, "These are curse devices inscribed with birth dates, replacing those children’s destiny charts in the human world to prevent the gods of Buzhou Mountain from realizing they’ve gone to the forbidden area."

Chu Yinghong, whose mind worked the fastest, immediately brightened up and said, "Then... if they are blown out, can we bring them back?"

He Yang said seriously, "You must not! Once the candle flame goes out, the gods will immediately realize they are intruders. Even if they can return, they will face severe punishments and risk their lives!"

Upon hearing this, Chu Yinghong had to put the candle back, shielding it from the wind, fearing that the flame would be blown out by the mountain breeze.

He Yang saw five giant incense sticks burning inside the bronze tripod, with thin coils of blue smoke rising up, burning very slowly, with only five red points on the tips flickering in and out, and he couldn’t help but let out an "eh" and touched them briefly.

"Has Elder He Yang discovered something?" Chu Lei immediately asked when he saw the change in his expression.

Although he had just harshly declared that he would expel Zhong Minyan from the sect and disown Xuanji as his daughter, he had raised these two kids from a young age, and his affection for them was deep — it wasn’t something he could just disavow. If anything happened to them on Buzhou Mountain, it would truly be heart-wrenching.

He Yang said, "I was observing this spell; it’s ancient. It seems the children must have encountered some Abnormal Person on their way who could use this method to take them to Buzhou Mountain."

After speaking, he turned back and saw Chu Lei and Chu Yinghong both wearing worried faces, he smiled faintly, and in a gentle voice, he said, "Don’t worry, I see these children as people who will be protected by heaven, they won’t be in danger. Moreover, they have an expert with them, perhaps they could truly save Min Jue and Linglong. The children are grown up now, they should do something on their own; we, as elders, cannot be stubborn."

Elder He Yang had always been a respected figure in the Shaoyang Sect, and his words carried great weight. His demeanor, light and breezy, easily calmed people’s restlessness and anxiety. Not only Chu Yinghong, his wife, but even Chu Lei respected him deeply.

Reassured by his confident words, the two gradually calmed down. Chu Yinghong laughed, "I would have never thought that Min Yan, who used to be like a little monkey, could now accomplish great things. In the future, he might become a person who shakes the world, and we don’t need to worry anymore. Why don’t we just stay here and wait for their return?"

Chu Lei’s face was stern as he said coldly, "All they do is cause trouble all day long! With their silly pranks, I must severely punish both of them when we return!"

He was known for his cold exterior but soft heart, so this angry remark was tantamount to retracting the earlier order to expel Zhong Min Yan from the sect. He Yang and Chu Yinghong exchanged a knowing smile and wisely chose to remain silent.

He Yang glanced at the copper tripod filled with incense and said, "We don’t need to wait here, once lit, the incense will burn for many hours, and they won’t be able to return until it’s extinguished. We’ve rushed here, worn and dusty from travel; it might be better to find a place to rest and come back when the time is right."

Chu Yinghong said anxiously, "How can we leave! What if the candles go out!"

He Yang smiled and replied, "This is a magic artifact, not something that a little mountain breeze can blow out. Besides, they have gone to Buzhou Mountain and are no longer in the human world; waiting here is useless. This is a desolate wilderness, and it’s the middle of the night, who would come here? If you’re worried, just cast a spell to protect these candles to prevent wild beasts or birds from knocking them over."

Hearing this, Chu Yinghong had no choice but to give up. She took a handkerchief from her bosom, bit her finger to write some spell characters on it, and lightly tossed it over the candles. The handkerchief, light as air, seemed to come alive, like a net growing legs, and settled snugly over the candles, unmoving.

"Sigh... I’m still a bit worried..." she said, looking at the Sacrificial Altar with reluctance.

However, the past few days had taken a toll on all three of them, having neither eaten nor slept in their haste to reach this place. Chu Lei had received a message at Fuyu Island that Zhong Min Yan and the others had secretly left the island, their whereabouts unknown, which filled him with concern. However, he had only brought two young disciples of the Min Generation on this trip; one was seriously injured, and the other had been captured by a demon. The other two disciples, Duanping and Duanzheng, sent later by He Danping, were capable but inexperienced and not suited to go to Buzhou Mountain, so he had to rush back to Shaoyang Sect to find He Yang and Chu Yinghong to search for the missing individuals.

But the precise location of Buzhou Mountain was unclear to them, and they had to ask for directions along the way. It was with great difficulty that they finally arrived, only to find that they were a step too late and could only watch helplessly as the children went to Buzhou Mountain while they couldn’t follow.

Chu Lei sighed and turned to leave, saying, "Let it be, whether it’s fortune or disaster, it’s up to their fate. I, an old man, can’t worry about this anymore."

The three immediately flew back to Germu on their swords and decided to rest at an inn for the night.

The Sacrificial Altar fell back into silence. The mountain wind sobbed, the night owls cried mournfully in the dense woods, and the bright moon in the sky was obscured by dark clouds, leaving only vast shadows. The circle of pitch-black candles in front of the bronze tripod stayed still under the handkerchief, the flames not flickering in the slightest.

It was hard to tell how much time had passed when suddenly, light footsteps could be heard, as if someone was slowly ascending the steps. The moonlight stretched his shadow long on the ground, lightheartedly swinging. Finally, reaching the last level and seeing the empty Sacrificial Altar, he let out a strange laugh and leisurely walked over.

The dark clouds gradually receded, and the cold moonlight shed down. The shadow slowly withdrew from the man, revealing a clearer outline: he wore a green robe and held a feather fan in a fashion that didn’t quite fit, and his face was hidden behind a ferocious Shura mask—the Vice Palace Master of Lize Palace.

Humming some peculiar tune, he swaggered over to the bronze tripod, sniffed at the five burning giant incenses, suddenly sneezed, and chuckled, "Unexpectedly, someone has lent a helping hand, and they managed to succeed."

He squatted down to examine the five quietly burning black candles. Despite burning for so long, the candles appeared not to have shrunk at all, not even a drop of candle tear.

He studied them for a while, then slowly reached out to touch the handkerchief — "Hiss," it was as if something suddenly bit him, and his fingertip tingled painfully. He withdrew his finger and chuckled, "Shaoyang Sect’s spells might not be as formidable as all that."

With a flick of his wrist, using some strange technique, he pinched the handkerchief between two fingers and pulled it out in the blink of an eye, lazily spreading it in his hand. Looking quite smug, he began to hum the peculiar tune again, casually picked up one of the candles to inspect the characters on it, smiled, and placed it back before picking up another to examine.

He did the same until the fourth candle, at which point he did not put it back down. His eyes, hidden behind the mask, were blazing as if he was deep in thought.

"Interesting..." he murmured, then suddenly slapped his hand as if he had made up his mind. (To be continued. For further details, please visit www.qidian.com. More Chapters are available, support the author, support genuine reading!)