Chapter 233: An Unexpected Guest
"By the way, Junior Sister, what brings you here this time?" Xiao Chen asked with a smile.
But the next moment, the mountain wind suddenly stopped, and the smile on his face also instantly froze.
"Father has already woken up."
Chen Xingcai's voice was light, but it was like a clap of thunder striking Xiao Chen's heart.
His pupils contracted slightly, his knuckles subconsciously tightening. His natal spirit sword appeared at his side with a "zheng" sound. As the sword energy surged, it was about to break through the air—
"Hey!"
Chen Xingcai grabbed his sleeve.
"Senior Brother, don't be anxious!"
Only then did Xiao Chen come back to his senses. The sword's glow dissipated, but the urgency between his brows had not faded: "That's right. For such a major event as Master waking up, they should naturally be notified to return as quickly as possible to celebrate."
As he spoke, he flicked his sleeve, and three message swords appeared in the air. The runes flowing on the blades were about to light up—
"I've already sent messages with jade slips!"
Chen Xingcai stomped her foot and grabbed his other sleeve.
"They're probably already on their way back by now!"
Xiao Chen withdrew his hand awkwardly, the sword energy scattering into specks of starlight.
Only then did he notice that his junior sister's eyes were still red, clearly from the wind during her swift journey. His heart suddenly softened, and he raised a hand to smooth the hair that had been messed up by the sword energy: "So... Junior Sister came here specially for...?"
The mountain peak suddenly became terribly quiet.
Chen Xingcai bit her lip, a rare expression of worry appearing on her beautiful face: "Father he....."
The young girl's voice suddenly dropped.
"After waking up, he became a bit... strange."
Xiao Chen's breath suddenly hitched.
The events of ten years ago suddenly surged in his memory—at that time, by the time the four of them, the senior and junior brothers, returned to the Immortal Spirit Valley, the sky was still filled with golden light falling like rain.
And Jiang Che stood within the curtain of rain, his head tilted up, his body dyed a dark gold as he sighed: "The Immortal Venerable has fallen, and heaven and earth celebrate together."
Regarding Junior Brother Jiang's past, because he had not deliberately hidden it over the years, the senior and junior brothers and sisters had vaguely guessed at it. Therefore, they immediately believed his words without question.
After all, an injury that could make Master sleep for ten years was not a calamity that should exist in this realm. But compared to Master being able to defeat the legendary Immortal Venerable, the fact that he was sleeping for ten years was what they were truly worried about.
So when he heard Chen Xingcai say that Master had become strange, Xiao Chen immediately grew tense.
"In what way is it strange?"
Xiao Chen heard his own voice, as taut as a fully drawn bowstring.
And Chen Xingcai's fingertips unconsciously twisted her sash, her voice so light as if she were afraid of disturbing something: "Father... when he is fine, he loves to let his spirit wander. Senior Brother knows this, right?"
Xiao Chen nodded, the solemnity in his brows deepening: "That is true. And every time Master's spirit wanders, unless it is for a necessary matter, generally no one can awaken him."
"But this time is different..." The young girl raised her face, her eyes reflecting the lingering morning mist on the mountain peak. "In the past, Father's spirit wandering basically happened during the day, and he would be normal at night. But now..."
Her voice trembled slightly.
"It's the opposite. Occasionally, Father can be seen awake during the day, but at night, he wanders all night long and does not return."
Xiao Chen fell silent. He stared at his junior sister's wind-tossed hair and suddenly said: "I once unintentionally obtained an ancient book that recorded—'Day is yang, night is yin; this is the common principle of the lower realms. If a cultivant's day and night are reversed, it is either due to a severe injury or...'"
"Approaching ascension."
Chen Xingcai completed the second half of the sentence; she had also read that text.
Then, she recalled the scene she had seen in her father's room at midnight last night—although there was a trace of a smile on his face, if one looked closely, it also held a hint of pain.
Xiao Chen suddenly pressed a hand on the sword at his waist: "So, since Master was able to defeat the Immortal Venerable in that great battle ten years ago, it already proves that Master's cultivation had at least approached or even reached..."
He stopped abruptly halfway through his words, and the two exchanged a look.
"There is also another possibility..."
Chen Xingcai's lips lost their color.
"Father is already a strong expert at the Immortal Venerable Realm. The reason he usually lets his spirit wander is because..."
"This way, he can avoid the detection of the Heavenly Dao!"
Xiao Chen's Adam's apple bobbed as he took over the words.
"So, these ten years of slumber were actually Master trying to find a way to delay as much as possible? And now, the reversal of day and night is because..."
"Because the Heavenly Dao of this realm has already begun to reject him."
The young girl suddenly grabbed her senior brother's wrist with astonishing force.
"Senior Brother, in the ancient classics, isn't it said that these are all signs of a cultivator within the last three months before ascension?"
The more they talked, the more anxious they became. Suddenly, Xiao Chen looked at Chen Xingcai's reddened eyes, and Chen Xingcai gazed at Xiao Chen's furrowed brow. They looked at each other and smiled in unison.
"Are we being too nervous?"
Xiao Chen shook his head and laughed, his tense shoulders finally relaxing.
Chen Xingcai also let out a chuckle, raising a hand to wipe the corner of her eye: "That's right. That is Father, after all..."
"That is Master, after all."
Xiao Chen continued, his tone regaining its usual composure.
"He can even slay a legendary Immortal Venerable, so what does a mere reversal of day and night count for?"
The mountain wind suddenly turned gentle, blowing away the heavy atmosphere between them.
Chen Xingcai took a deep breath, her lively spirit returning to her face: "Senior Brother is right. Father must have his own plans."
Xiao Chen nodded, then asked: "By the way, you said there were two things earlier. What is the second?"
Hearing this, Chen Xingcai's expression suddenly became a bit strange. She sighed and said: "I met someone on my way here. He insisted on finding you, so I had him wait at the mountain gate."
Xiao Chen raised an eyebrow: "Oh? Who is it?"
Chen Xingcai spread her hands: "I don't know either. But he said mysteriously that you would understand when you saw him."
Very quickly, a familiar figure slowly approached, led by a disciple.
That person was clad in white robes, with a handsome face, yet his brow carried a hint of fatigue and weathering.
He saw Xiao Chen from a distance, his steps pausing for a moment before revealing a bitter smile.
"Long time no see, Brother Xiao."
Xiao Chen was slightly stunned, then a trace of surprise flashed in his eyes: "Zhou Xuanxiao?"
Zhou Xuanxiao stepped forward, his gaze complex as he sized up the opponent who had once defeated him on the Tianyun Sect's martial arts platform.
Ten years had passed, and Xiao Chen's aura had become even more profound and unfathomable. Sword intent faintly flowed around him, as if resonating with the heavens and the earth.
"Yes, Brother Xiao."
Zhou Xuanxiao sighed softly, his tone carrying a hint of self-mockery.
"It's been ten years. Although back then I vaguely felt that you and I were not on the same stage..."
He paused, his gaze falling on the long sword at Xiao Chen's waist, his voice low: "But now, in a mere ten years, you have actually... arrived at a place I can only look up to."
Xiao Chen was silent for a moment, a trace of emotion appearing in his eyes.
Back then, in the battle at Tianyun Sect, although Zhou Xuanxiao was defeated, he could be considered upright and honorable. Seeing him again now, this once high-spirited Saint of the Tianyun Sect now had a few more traces of hardship between his brows.
"Brother Zhou, I hope you've been well since we last met."
Xiao Chen said with a faint smile, his tone peaceful.
Zhou Xuanxiao shook his head, his smile bitter: "Well? Heh... Brother Xiao, you must be joking."
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