The Arrogant Immortal
Chapter 126 - 125: If You’re Not Dead, Hurry Back to the Sect

Chapter 126: Chapter 125: If You’re Not Dead, Hurry Back to the Sect

The battle at Tianji Building had already ceased.

It was over even before the old woman perished.

The elite forces within the building were nearly wiped out; the woman in red led her people to plunder and promptly retreated.

They came suddenly and left quickly.

After withdrawing more than ten miles from Tianji Building, the woman in red told everyone to scatter and return to the designated meeting place. She and several Nascent Souls went to the rubble of the old woman and the Tianji Building master’s battle, tearily digging out two Storage Rings.

One belonged to the old woman, while the other was taken from the Tianji Building master.

The old woman had long intended to perish together with Daoyin, hence she had made preparations in advance and sent a Sound Transmission Talisman to the woman in red with her last words.

They went once more to where the old woman had fallen.

Several Nascent Soul pressures dispersed, warning those drawing near.

Then they found a cracked Soul Bead and an array set up by Xie Jiuniang.

The array had been activated.

Xie Jiuniang opened her eyes from meditation, realizing that it was the woman in red and other Nascent Souls outside. She let out a long sigh of relief.

If people didn’t come soon, she was afraid she couldn’t hold on any longer.

Too much Soul Power had overflowed, and it couldn’t be refined immediately, so it could only be sealed in the Sea of Consciousness first.

The problem is that it had to be sealed over and over again.

The Time Leaf continued to overflow with Soul Power.

She had already refused it, but the Time Leaf was like a dumb deaf person, even more of a pitfall than a Sword Spirit—it didn’t listen to her commands at all.

When there was no Soul Power, she wanted it, but when there was too much, it was lethal as it caused a headache, so she had to continue sealing it.

On top of that, Old He’s body needed healing, and they needed to leave quickly.

Otherwise, if the Gongsun Family or other Divinity Transformation experts came, there would be big trouble.

Xie Jiuniang thought about it and decided to use a Hiding Talisman to conceal her cultivation base.

She carried Old He out of the Tortoise Shell.

And then quickly stored the Tortoise Shell away.

Only after that, she removed the array, revealing the two of them.

The woman in red hurriedly stepped forward and asked, "How’s Old He?"

"He’s hanging on by a thread; I fed him a Nine Turns Revival Elixir," Xie Jiuniang responded with a pale face—that said, she herself had internal injuries. Judging from her appearance alone, she looked as though she had just gone through a fierce battle.

Her Vestment robe was torn and stained with blood.

Upon hearing it was a Nine Turns Revival Elixir, the woman in red and others breathed a sigh of relief while also feeling surprised. Such a precious elixir wasn’t easy for them to obtain—

Usually, only a Great Sect could have access to such an item.

And this young man had one on him?

While they were surprised, they didn’t ask further, knowing the place was not safe to linger. One of the Nascent Soul cultivators carried Old He, and the woman in red took Xie Jiuniang, as the group hurried off.

Not long after the group had left,

someone came to inspect the area and soon departed.

The traces of a great battle showed that there had indeed been a fight between Divinity Transformation experts, and one had self-destructed—the battle must have been extremely fierce.

Tianji Building had been flattened overnight, and corpses lay everywhere. Not many who had hidden themselves survived. Those who asked didn’t glean much; survivors only knew that many powerful attackers had suddenly appeared in the night, killing anyone on sight.

They hid out of fear.

However, there was no need for others to investigate.

The next day, Tianji Building’s crimes were publicly disclosed; posters were put up everywhere. Shadow Stones also circulated in the nearby cities.

Thousands who were rescued, their plight was so dreadful that no one dared to speak a word in support of Tianji Building.

It was simply too horrific.

There were even some children among them.

At the same time, a rumor spread, suggesting that several aristocratic families were backing Tianji Building.

During the night of Tianji Building’s downfall, Daoyin’s ancestor from the Gongsun Family had appeared and fought a Divinity Transformation expert attacking Tianji Building. Later, that expert self-destructed, and Ancestor Daoyin fled.

That message about fleeing was deliberately altered by Xie Jiuniang.

Daoyin’s Spiritual Soul had not completely dissipated; a strand of it was yet to be fully absorbed by the Time Leaf.

Members of the aristocratic families rushed over, and upon seeing such a scenario, they all hid themselves. The most vexed among them was the Gongsun Family—their Divinity Transformation expert had fallen, and the Soul Token had shattered a great deal, with only a glimmer of life force remaining.

They hurried over to search but only found the scene of a great battle.

Not a trace of Ancestor Daoyin could be found.

As if adding insult to injury, rumors about the Gongsun Family colluding with Tianji Building to harm the innocent intensified. Some people recalled having heard words like, "Daoyin, the old dog," or "Exterminate all of the Gongsun Family in the Western Region."

In contrast, rumors about the other families gradually became less conspicuous.

Those hiding in the shadows and paying attention to external news, including the woman in red, soon knew that some families were influencing the situation in secret, aiming to set the Gongsun Family up as a scapegoat for themselves.

However, they had already done what they needed to do.

Tianji Building’s name was now infamous far and wide.

Following that, the Gongsun Family became notorious as well.

Similarly, the Wu Family, Lin Family, Nangong Family, and Su Family were dragged into the scandal; although they had no hard evidence against them like the Gongsun Family, they couldn’t clear their names either.

Miles away from Tianji Building.

At a temple atop a mountain.

Xie Jiuniang was currently sitting among ten Nascent Soul cultivators dressed in red. To be precise, she was circled at the center, the focus of their attention like the moon surrounded by stars.

The cause was the four Golden Cores who had survived against all odds, recounting the scene where they narrowly escaped death. To survive the hands of a Divinity Transformation powerhouse was incredibly astonishing. Then, everyone learned that it was Xie Jiuniang who had taken the blow from the Divinity Transformation with sheer force!

This person whom they initially thought was mysterious and unfathomable, but later found out to be a paper tiger, had offered them Hiding Talismans for free, presenting them an opportunity for revenge. They were happy to pretend they had seen nothing.

However, it turned out they had underestimated her; she actually had something up her sleeve.

To withstand a strike from a Divinity Transformation, they asked themselves and knew they wouldn’t have been able to endure it.

Old He was a living proof of this, who by sheer luck encountered a naive benefactor and managed to get a Nine Revolutions Life Renewal Elixir. Even then, to return to his peak condition, he would need to recuperate for decades.

"Ahem! There’s really nothing much to say about that," Xie Jiuniang put on an air again, feigning seriousness, "A Divinity Transformation strike is just like that..."

"Pfft..."

The lady in red couldn’t help but laugh, "Enough, let’s not give her a hard time."

The others chuckled.

Their spirits were high after this trip to destroy Tianji Building, knowing they wouldn’t need to hide in Tianqi Valley any longer.

The old woman and the departed.

They would miss them, but they wouldn’t indulge in sorrow.

The dead are gone, the living continue as such.

The group took out the resources they had acquired from Tianji Building and distributed them based on contributions, and Xie Jiuniang actually received a share.

Xie Jiuniang declined it, "I have a request, if that’s okay?"

"Tell us what it is first, and we’ll see if we can do it," the lady in red didn’t agree outright.

Xie Jiuniang recalled the day of her wedding in her previous life, the blood of the heart that the leader of Tianji Building wanted, and asked, "I would like to see the books and Jade Slips of the leader of Tianji Building."

The lady in red looked at her intently, "What do you want to do?"

Xie Jiuniang explained, "I’m not looking to learn anything harmful, I just want to clarify some things. For instance, what kind of dark magic requires using the blood of the heart and a pact between two individuals, who also need to become Dao companions."

"Indeed, there is such a thing, the Yin-Yang Life-Exchange Technique," the lady in red had scanned the collection, "I destroyed the dark magics in Tianji Building that stole people’s lifespans, and I’ve also come across some twisted techniques."

She handed a Jade Slip to Xie Jiuniang.

Xie Jiuniang took a look at it.

It contained only a simple four lines, sixteen characters.

One Yang and one Yin, linked by fate, reverse Yin and Yang, exchange life destinies.

The lady in red explained, "The Yin-Yang Life-Exchange Technique involves exchanging the life destinies of two individuals. I’ve seen some records of the leader of Tianji Building recently researching this. It’s somewhat similar to what you mentioned, and such are the mad pursuits of Tianji Building. How did you learn about this technique?"

"Someone has been a victim before..."

One Yang and one Yin, a man and a woman.

United as husband and wife, their destinies intertwined.

As for the last two lines...

Xie Jiuniang remembered her previous life’s murder, and the doubts that had weighed on her heart were finally resolved.

The Lin Family was really ambitious, actually aspiring for divine fate.

Recalling some overlooked details from her previous life, Lin Wangchen had approached the Xie Family to ask for her hand in marriage after the incident with the Water Kirin in the Tianshui Secret Realm had already occurred. He had suffered serious injuries, but the specifics never became public, which made Xie Jiuniang suspect that his foundation had been damaged.

Otherwise, given Lin Wangchen’s cautious nature, he wouldn’t have risked grasping for divine fate...

Unfortunately, there was no way to investigate this matter any further; it was impossible to return to her former life.

Xie Jiuniang tossed the Jade Slip back to the lady in red.

The lady in red caught it, gently squeezed it in her palm, and the Jade Slip crumbled to dust. She smiled and asked, "From your reaction, it seems you’ve encountered such a thing?"

"Yes," Xie Jiuniang admitted candidly.

Just then, a Sound Transmission Talisman flew in, hovering in front of Xie Jiuniang.

The attention of everyone turned sharply towards her.

At that moment, everyone was wary of someone making contact with the outside world.

Xie Jiuniang swallowed hard, "I don’t know who is trying to contact me, I really don’t."

"Oh, we know even less than you do," the lady in red replied with a smirk that didn’t quite reach her eyes.

To clear her suspicion, Xie Jiuniang immediately received the Sound Transmission, and in the next moment, Ya Qinglang’s voice rang out, "Girl, are you dead yet? If you’re not dead, hurry up and roll back to the Sect!"

The surroundings were eerily quiet, as if the sound of a single falling leaf could be heard.