Chapter 123: Chapter 30: Temples Frosted, the World Vast and Bleak
"Old Han, I have a habit of climbing to a high vantage point in the morning to survey the area around the camp."
The old, bald Grandmaster, Weilie, spoke concisely. "And this morning, I saw you release a squirrel. But where would a squirrel come from around Taibai Volcano?"
He coughed and sighed softly. "Honestly, Old Han, you got a little reckless. But if it were me, I’d be anxious too."
"Yes, you should have hidden yourself better... But who could have known the situation would change so drastically in just a few days? It’s no wonder you were on edge."
Facing the silent, expressionless Han Xiaoqian, Li Daoran, who stood directly before him, let out a breath. He didn’t sigh, but his tone was tinged with a faint sorrow. "The Blue Azure Leaf Poison and the Heart-Burning Poison... besides you, the number of people in this camp who can use them effectively without killing themselves can be counted on one hand. And three of them are your apprentices."
"That Demon General, Red Land, must have dared to attack the fortress alone because he received correct information, but not the most *up-to-date* correct information, right? Indeed, with Weilie severely injured and you as a spy, I would have been completely outnumbered. Why wouldn’t Red Land dare to attack the fortress? Even if he couldn’t win, couldn’t he still escape?"
Weilie, who had already drawn his twin blades and taken a stance, chuckled darkly and picked up the thread. "But Grandmaster Su’s sudden appearance turned the tables. He healed me, and he’s inexplicably powerful himself. At first, you didn’t even dare to claim he was with the Demon Army, lest you provoke a real fight between us and him, and end up getting yourself—the one with the weakest direct combat ability—killed."
"And because of that, one of the three attacking Demon Generals was eliminated in that single battle. Honestly, I should even thank you for that." Working in perfect concert with Weilie, Li Daoran now drew his sword as well. A piercing gale of Qi Force began to swirl around the Daoist and his Magic Sword. In an instant, over a dozen blades of air materialized and circled around him.
If Su Zhou had been present, he would have been shocked to discover that Li Daoran’s signature Inner Qi Blade technique bore a striking resemblance to the Whole Body Mist Armor Technique!
Sighing at this, Li Daoran shook his head. "Actually, the thing that solidified my suspicion was the original copy of the ’Whole Body Mist Armor Technique’ you gave to Su Zhou."
"Old Han, we’ve all cultivated that technique. Who doesn’t know that it takes dozens of days just to form the first ’Gale Seed’ for the ’Gale Armor’? And that during the process, one’s Spiritual Qi will stagnate, making it difficult to mobilize? I only managed to form a few ’Gale Seeds’ because I simplified the Cultivation Method with the Daoist Saint’s help, completely abandoning the Gale Armor’s defensive properties and only using the wind’s momentum to form my swords. Even then, it took me three months to achieve preliminary mastery."
"If Buyi hadn’t mentioned it to me, I would have never known that you used the original Innate Technique to trick Younger Brother Su into wasting his time and Inner Strength to condense those thankless, strenuous Gale Seeds. I’ll send a message later telling Buyi and the others to come back, and have Grandmaster Su temporarily stop cultivating such a Secret Technique."
Seeing Han Xiaoqian look up, his eyes filled with surprise, Li Daoran couldn’t help but shake his head and chuckle. "Did you really think I’d let Su Zhou and the others go far? While we do need to scout the Demon Soldiers’ movements, I gave specific instructions for Buyi to just take Grandmaster Su around the area to get a feel for things today, and that would be that. The formal scouting mission would begin tomorrow, after you ’pass away peacefully in your sleep.’"
"’Pass away peacefully in your sleep’... So you don’t intend to expose my identity? For the sake of morale, I suppose. But you didn’t explicitly state that purpose to Buyi, did you?"
Hearing this, the perpetually expressionless Han Xiaoqian suddenly laughed with biting sarcasm. "Brother Xingde, let me take a guess. You probably just told Buyi to take Grandmaster Su for a stroll around the nearby mountains, right?"
"But what you might not know is that today, migrants from Liaozhou will be passing through Baishui Pass on their way to the Old Goryeo Crossing. Do you think that well-taught apprentice of yours, or that ever-curious Grandmaster Su, wouldn’t go check on the situation? Wouldn’t warn them that Demon Soldiers might be in pursuit?"
"Impossible, right? They’re both just hopeless do-gooders. I’d wager that right now, they’ve already fallen into an ambush set by Demon Soldiers. HAHA! The way the color is draining from your faces... it’s truly an ugly sight."
Han Xiaoqian let out a few loud laughs, seemingly mocking Li Daoran and Weilie. Their expressions had changed so suddenly—for all their meticulous planning, their plans couldn’t keep up with the changes.
But in the next second, Han Xiaoqian’s mocking expression suddenly turned calm. He narrowed his eyes, raised a hand to look at his palm, and said flatly, "Unfortunately, my plans couldn’t keep up with the changes either... Heh heh. It’s actually quite laughable. You probably don’t know this, but Su Zhou already formed his first ’Gale Seed’ last night. When I witnessed it with my own eyes, I was so shocked I forgot to breathe. I even forgot to feel regret. ’Why did I give him the original Innate Secret Technique?’"
Ignoring the utterly shocked exclamations from Li Daoran and Weilie—’What?!’ ’Unbelievable... ’—Han Xiaoqian lifted his gaze toward the distant direction the migrants were heading. A slight, self-mocking smile played on his lips. "That’s why I’ve known since last night that even an ambush of several hundred Demon Soldiers and two Demon Generals would have absolutely no chance of stopping that monster... Haha, is that strange? It’s precisely because I’ve been constantly thinking of ways to deal with him that I understand this so clearly."
"Just like how the Red Land Demon General came running over, confident he could take the fortress... This time, with Hunting Life and Beast Taming’s ambush, I’m betting the one who dies definitely won’t be Su Zhou!"
Despite being a spy, a traitor, he unhesitatingly made the most pessimistic prediction for his ’theoretical’ allies. Han Xiaoqian spread his hands and opened his arms wide, showing he was unarmed.
And just like that, he sat down cross-legged on the spot, palms facing the sky, completely still, as if he had given up all resistance.
"Old Han, since you knew they couldn’t trap Grandmaster Su,"
Weilie and Li Daoran exchanged a look. Neither of them rashly moved forward. The old, bald Grandmaster just gripped his twin blades and asked in confusion, "then why did you still send the message to the Demon Army?"
"Why not?"
Han Xiaoqian, in turn, asked with a puzzled expression, "Suppose Grandmaster Su was unexpectedly killed by the Demon Army—then the Demon Army’s victory would be all but guaranteed. You wouldn’t be able to hold them off. Though I wouldn’t be able to see that day come."
"But if he’s fine, then the Hundred Schools will be victorious—and I won’t be able to see that day come either."
"I originally thought it would take you a little longer to discover I was a spy. That way, I could at least see the end of this war ahead of time, to give myself some closure."
At this point, Han Xiaoqian chuckled softly. "A pity. It was too soon, far too soon. Just like life, so fleeting."
For a moment, all three fell silent, the only sound being the long, quiet, and steady breaths of the Grandmasters.
"I just want Longevity. To live longer."
It was Han Xiaoqian who broke the silence, his tone now low. As he spoke, his aged voice carried a trace of reluctance to let go. "There are too many things in this world I’ve never seen, never enjoyed... From my spirited youth, I’ve fought against the Demon Dynasty for over seventy years. I’m tired. My entire life, all my best years, have been spent on this cause. I’ve witnessed one massacre after another, the passing of one friend after another, the twisting of one Soul Spirit after another... I cannot accept that my entire life was meant for fighting for ’the sorrows and joys of all under heaven.’ I want to live for ’my own sorrows and joys’!"
"I wanted to be selfish just this once, take the Undying Root, and disappear forever. Never to set foot in this heartbreaking Divine Land again."
"But who could have known? The plan was progressing so smoothly, yet it turned out like this... Is this fate? Why did a variable like Su Zhou have to appear? I can’t figure it out, and I can’t be bothered to try anymore. I’ve lost. I’ve lost completely and utterly."
He glanced around at the two Grandmasters, who were still cautiously keeping their distance, but had also not launched an immediate attack. Han Xiaoqian raised his head to the sky and said calmly, "No need to be so timid. I’ve truly given up resisting. I have no poisons on me, no curses. We’ve known each other for so many years; when have I ever carried such things on my person?"
"Since Longevity is impossible and a free and easy second half of my life no longer exists, I can at least say I’ve dedicated the life I’ve already lived to the Rebel Army. There’s no need to struggle and throw away my last shred of dignity. The Divine Soldiers are about to be forged, and with a promising young man like Grandmaster Su who can reach the Innate realm, the long-standing disadvantage of the Hundred Schools’ Righteous Army has been reversed in an instant..."
"Haha! Even if the Demon Emperor or the National Preceptor reaches the Innate realm, they won’t be able to run rampant for long. Because by then, after they succeed in transforming into Dragons, they will most likely be facing an Innate Martial Saint wielding the Blade of Annihilation!"
"Life is so unpredictable, so unpredictable!"
Watching the shifting clouds, he began to laugh with a hint of madness. As he laughed, tears began to stream down his face.
"Life isn’t unpredictable... Only the Righteous Dao is fraught with hardship."
Seeing his old friend in such a state, Weilie remained silent for a long time before saying in a heavy voice, "No matter the hardship, we will bring about a new era of Taiping."
To this, Han Xiaoqian just chuckled. "Taiping... heh heh. Can there truly be Taiping? Without the Demon Emperor, there will be other Evil Emperors, other Demon Emperors. As long as Demon Trees like the Immortal Banyan Tree still exist, this world will never know a day of peace!"
"You’re wrong," Li Daoran replied solemnly, gripping his sword hilt. He spoke, one word at a time, "You may not know this, but the Daoist Saint has already found a way to purify ’Cyan Phosphorus’ into white and yellow phosphorus. We have also found black oil, and several Grand Masters are creating related weapons... Even the Divine Wood will be burned to ashes by our flames."
"Furthermore, at the suggestion of the Confucian Saint, we of the Hundred Schools have already drafted a completely new system of order... Though it’s not yet perfect and will probably only be formally revised after we vanquish the Demon Emperor, the system known as the ’Supervision of All Saints’ is definitely more advanced than the decadent ’Emperor System’."
"...Is that so."
"...So you had a plan all along. Even if it sounds like an absolute joke."
Stunned for a moment, Han Xiaoqian no longer looked up at the Azure Heaven. He lowered his head and glanced at Li Daoran, whose expression was grim but whose sword-hand was perfectly steady. Then he looked at Weilie, who was expressionless but gave a slight, nonchalant nod.
’That’s right. So what if it sounds like a joke?’
’Eighty years ago, the very idea of resisting the Demon Emperor, the Demon Dynasty, and the Demon Army was also a joke.’
The old Grandmaster fell silent for a long time. Then he smiled and closed his eyes.
"See me off," he said softly.
SHK SHK SHK SHK SHK SHK—
Without any hesitation, without even getting close, the very instant Li Daoran heard Han Xiaoqian’s words, he swung his longsword. His Qi Force erupted, and over a dozen Qi Swords shot out from thin air, riddling Han Xiaoqian’s body with holes. Blood splattered everywhere, the attack far more devastating than any crossbow.
After Han Xiaoqian’s breath had completely ceased and his limp body had toppled to the ground, the stern expression of Li Daoran, a Martial Artist who had slain countless demons, slowly crumbled. The Grandmaster’s lips trembled, the color drained from his cheeks, and he nearly cut his own hand performing the simple act of sheathing his sword.
Weilie, who had been standing guard in the rear without saying much, saw this and let out a long sigh.
This Grandmaster, just as old but one who had shaved even his white hair to show his resolve, raised his head. Just as Han Xiaoqian had done in life, he gazed up at the shifting clouds above the peak of Taibai Volcano, a moist sheen in his eyes. "Why, Old Han? Why did you have to go through all that...?"
"Decades of fighting shoulder-to-shoulder, bleeding together, vowing to eradicate the undying and crusade against the wicked... We were so close to the end. We could already see the dawn of victory and hope. Why? Why did you have to...?"
"Longevity... Immortality..."
"Immortality..."
Lamenting the dead is never as important as worrying for the living.
Five minutes later, Grandmaster Li Daoran led a team of thirty-five, racing down the mountain to reinforce Su Zhou and the others, who might have been ambushed.
The journey was wordless, their hearts sighing for the passing years. With temples frosted by time, they faced a vast and bleak world.
Beneath the swirling snow, only the endless glint of sword light flashed on.
