<h4>Chapter 290: The Joy of Returning Home</h4>


    Qi Xuansu was unaware that Zhang Yuelu had arrived at Wuxu Pce, nor did he know that Zhang Yuelu had deduced his identity as Wan Xiuwu''s killer through various clues.


    But even if Qi Xuansu was aware of this, there was nothing he could do. Since he was slightly weaker than Wan Xiuwu in terms of cultivation, he had to use the Dayan Spirit de Technique to gain an advantage in the fight. If he had not used the Dayan Spirit de Technique to continuously exhaust Wan Xiuwu’s physical energy and blood, Qi Xuansu would not have won in their final closebat.


    Of course, if Qi Xuansu were to face Wan Xiuwu again with his current level of cultivation, he could have used other methods to eliminate Wan Xiuwu without needing to use the Dayan Spirit de Technique. However, catching Wan Xiuwu roaming around alone outside the Wuxu Pce was a golden opportunity for Qi Xuansu to exact revenge.


    The key to vengeance was getting the right opportunity. Cultivation level was secondary. If Wan Xiuwu had been hiding in Wuxu Pce or traveling in a group, it would have been difficult for Qi Xuansu to kill him. After all, it was impossible for Qi Xuansu to sneak into the Wuxu Pce to kill Wan Xiuwu.


    After this incident, Yue Liuli would be on guard, so Qi Xuansu would not have another chance to attack her for the time being.


    Fortunately, Qi Xuansu did not repeat the same mistake as the time he killed Jia Zi from the Heavenly Court. This time, he was smart enough to burn Wan Xiuwu’s body with the Dragon Eye Bullet to destroy his biological material. That was why the people from Wuxu Pcecked a medium to track him like Feng Bo did.


    At this time, Qi Xuansu had left Beimang Mountain and continued toward Longmen Prefecture with his grade horse, Bu Yue.


    If it had not been for his experience in the Ghost Kingdom, Qi Xuansu would not have been dyed for about two days and would have arrived at Longmen Prefecture by now.


    Longmen Prefecture was also known as the Peony City. Perhaps Qi Xuansu would arrive in time to catch the Peony Festival.


    There was a county between Beimang Mountain and the capital of Longmen Prefecture called Beimang County, where Qi Xuansu stayed for one night.


    That night, Qi Xuansu once again revisited the same dream that had haunted him for many years.


    This time, there was another change to the dream, which Qi Xuansu attributed to the second piece of Xuan Jade he activated.


    In the dream, Qi Xuansu came to the mountain road leading to the dark mountain. Unlike before, he was well aware that he was dreaming, so he began to explore the boundaries of this dream.


    Qi Xuansu discovered that there were actually many pces along the mountain road. The style of the pce was different from the buildings he was ustomed to seeing. These pces were more rustic, ancient, and dpidated, with only the remains of severed limbs from the various statues left behind.


    He continued forward and saw a tragic battlefield that was covered in snow and ice. Countless lifelike ice sculptures still maintained their expressions before death.


    There were also many illusory figures standing expressionlessly on the mountain road. They looked somewhat translucent, but other than that, they were no different from living people. There were at least hundreds of them standing shoulder to shoulder. They had lost all consciousness, like dolls. It seemed like they were under some powerful spell when their souls had been forcibly extracted and their bodies had been destroyed.


    Qi Xuansu tried to walk toward the surrounding pces and the battlefield below, but he discovered invisible walls around him, restricting him to this small area.


    He could only go up the mountain path ande to the bonfire. The battlefield below and the tall pces hidden in the darkness were unreachable.


    Qi Xuansu was unsure if it was his soberness or the Xuan Jade of Death that allowed him to see part of the mountain’s true appearance through these invisible barriers and the surrounding darkness.


    This was a mountain on the verge of disintegration. The mountain road seemed normal enough, but outside the mountain, there were several huge tornadoes and thunderbolts that were continuously destroying the mountain. A part of the mountain had already copsed, but due to some strange force, this part of the mountain had yet to fall off. It still remained in its original approximate position.


    The reason why Qi Xuansu thought it was an approximate location was because of a huge crack between the two. One might not be able to see this crack from afar, but from where he was standing, he could see that the cracks were more than 30 meters wide, like insurmountable chasms. Of course, Heavenly Beings would have no problem flying over such a distance, but considering the tornadoes and lightning outside, it would be a dangerous journey.


    Qi Xuansu’s first impression was that this ce looked like a mirror that had been broken into pieces and forcibly glued back together. But it was tough to repair a broken mirror, as the cracks were hard to cover up.


    Qi Xuansu quickly overturned this first impression because he discovered many small gravels andrge boulders suspended in mid-air, as if they were in the process of cracking and sputtering. They were not moving at all, so it seemed like time had stood still at this moment.


    It was as if someone had used great supernatural powers to freeze everything in ce just as the mountain began to crumble, keeping it at this moment before the mountain waspletely obliterated.


    The only exception to the destruction was the mountain road at the foothill and the bonfire at the top of the mountain, which Qi Xuansu frequented. The mountain road and the fire were constantly changing, while the ces on the mountain where Qi Xuansu could not set foot on werepletely static.


    The tornadoes and lightning outside the mountain were alive and moving, but the mountain seemed dead and still.


    This stark contrast of chaotic movement and absolute stillness was an extremely bizarre image.


    However, Qi Xuansu could only go so far on this mountain, so this was the only perspective he could see. Thus, he was unable to get a full view of the mountain and the exact situation.


    At the top of the mountain, there was only one tall, dark figure with red eyes standing by the fire.


    Behind this figure, countless dark shadows about the same height as ordinary people held their hands in prayer positions while reciting chants.


    This time, the tall figure did not look at Qi Xuansu but turned to look in another direction, so Qi Xuansu followed their gaze.


    That was when he saw two figures fighting outside the mountain,pletely unafraid of the tornado and lightning around them. They moved around seamlessly through the forces of nature while shattering countless suspended gravels and boulders in their wake. The ripples visible to the naked eye expanded outward and even broke some of the stillness of the mountain, causing part of the mountain to plummet downward.


    One of them kept waving around crescent-shaped sword qi, which fell like rain. This sword qi was so strong that it could temporarily cut off the tornadoes and thunderbolts.


    The other person summonedrge swaths of cold mes. At first nce, these mes seemed to take on human-like features, and the tail of the mes resembled hair that kept growing upward until it covered the sky.


    The sh of sword qi and cold mes blinded Qi Xuansu’s vision for a while. All he could see in the fleeting gap were the tornadoes and lightning in the background.


    Qi Xuansu could not help but marvel at the cultivation level of those two people. He figured that they would at least have to be the top among the Heavenly Beings.


    At this moment, the tall figure watching the battle from the bonfire let out a long and heavy sigh.


    The next second, Qi Xuansu woke up with a start.


    Everything in front of him disappeared, and he found himself back in the guest room of the inn.


    Qi Xuansu sat up and waited for himself to sober uppletely.


    He was unsure what this dream meant. Those tornadoes and lightning had already existed before the two figures started fighting, indicating that their fight was not the cause of the mountain’s destruction.


    Qi Xuansu wondered, <i>Is this a dream revealing the origin of the mountain? Or is this a dream foretelling the future?</i>


    He pondered seriously for a while, but he still had no clue. So he simply stopped dwelling on it.


    Qi Xuansu left the inn in Beimang County and continued to Longmen Prefecture.


    With the warmth of spring, the flowers bloomed, and everything came back to life.


    Looking around the sprouting farnd on both sides of the road, Qi Xuansu felt his mood lifting.


    The Wanxiang Daoist Pce forbade orphans who had graduated from returning unless they were continuing their studies at the Upper Pce to be fourth-rank Jijiu Daoist masters.


    In Qi Xuansu’s batch, no one has had the honor of bing a fourth-rank Jijiu Daoist master.


    That was why Qi Xuansu did not go back to the Wanxiang Daoist Pce since he graduated. This time, since he had an errand in Longmen Prefecture, he wanted to take a look at the ce where he grew up from a distance.


    Qi Xuansu rode his horse leisurely. In the blink of an eye, they arrived in Longmen Prefecture.


    Standing on the wide official road, one could look up and see the towering city walls of the Longmen Prefectural Capital. After all, this city served as the ancient capital of 13 dynasties. In terms of scale and regtion, it was actually not inferior to the current Imperial Capital.


    Qi Xuansu stopped his horse and looked up.


    It was a grand city in its decline, yet it still retained a measure of its past glory. Qi Xuansu could not help but wonder how splendid this city was at its peak.


    A sincere smile appeared on his face, as being here again after so many years evoked a sense of nostalgia in him. He thought, <i>It’s been a while, Longmen Prefecture. I wonder if you’ve changed...</i>