Chapter 68: Trust

Chapter 68: Trust

So heavy. So flashy.

The accessories on the crown contained quite a few storage pouches, but the Realm Spirit had used spatial displacement to make them look smaller to match the look—whoever designed it had serious taste.

Chu Jingxi was rocking his on-the-spot DIY crown while also DIY-ing his family mission reward: with so many cultivators' storage pouches, the total value likely exceeded ten million spirit stones. Just grabbing the pouches felt too bare-bones. He ought to grab something to go with them.

He could hash out the details with the Immortal Alliance once his family showed up to back him.

"Now that we're free, money spent will come right back." Chu Jingxi recited poetry, with the Realm Spirit Origin tasked to record the new knowledge point.

Just as Chu Jingxi was starting to feel better, something heavy suddenly came crashing down out of nowhere!

Blood and dust went flying. Chu Jingxi hurriedly stepped back, grimacing as he brushed the dust off himself.

That Liu guy was dead, and the Tribulation Transcender had been reduced to dust. The only immortal left alive was banged up bad, slamming into the ground and leaving a deep crater. He looked up, saw the kid wearing a crown of loot, and almost coughed up blood from sheer fury.

Yan Zizhan landed smoothly behind him and raised an eyebrow, thinking Chu Jingxi looked good in anything.

That extra look from Yan Zizhan bought the immortal a few more seconds of life.

He'd given up any hope of squeezing something out of these guys, gritting his teeth as he looked at Chu Jingxi: "This... this was a bit shady on our end. The treasure's yours. Let's just call it even, yeah?"

He'd barely gotten the last word out when a streak of light shot across the distant sky.

Another warship came tearing through the clouds. The begging immortal's eyes lit up with hope.

The Immortal Alliance's banner was impossible to miss. Around the same time, on the Chu family warship's deck, Zhao Gang, who was barely hanging on, suddenly blazed with a fierce will to live.

"Save me! My father is Zhao Jinpo!"

He clawed his way up the railing bit by bit, shooting a vicious glare at Chu Tiannan and the Rock Antelope behind him. He didn't believe they'd dare kill him right in front of the Immortal Alliance.

Using that moment of hesitation, Zhao Gang vaulted over the railing.

With his cultivation crippled, he couldn't hold on for long—a strong gust of wind knocked him off.

For cultivators, grabbing someone from that distance was child's play.

Zhao Gang watched eagerly as the warship closed in. Then came a searing pain—the warship didn't stop. It just plowed straight through him.

"Wh—" A cultivator's soul lingers longer than a mortal's, but with his body splattered across the air, he couldn't get a single word out.

Zhao Gang desperately tried to speak one last time before fading away in pure spite and resentment.

The warship's bow was stained with blood, but it didn't even slow down for the death. Not long after, a few top brass from the Immortal Alliance stepped off.

The beasts around stopped fighting, cowed by the pressure rolling off them. For the Alliance cultivators at the stronghold, this was the perfect chance to strike back, but after what happened to Zhao Gang, none of them dared move—they just stood there frozen.

More warships kept arriving in the sky, one after another.

The Chu family was too far from the Eastern Domain to make it in time. Instead, the Taiqing Sect—who'd been dealing with formations all over the region—got there first. Along with them came reps from Rakshasa Valley, Heavenly Sound Sect, and other nearby factions.

The Taiqing Sect Elder swept his Spiritual Sense over the area and saw Yan Zizhan with nothing but minor scrapes. He breathed a sigh of relief, but it felt weird. He checked the other juniors—none of them had a weakened aura.

Did they actually get lucky this time? Nobody got beaten half to death.

Finally spotting someone who looked just about dead, the Taiqing Sect Elder recognized him and sneered: "Isn't this the Heaven Immortal of Xuanzhen?"

The guy's reputation was notoriously bad.

The guy was covered in sword wounds—no question who'd done that. If his junior nephew had gone for the kill, this guy had it coming.

Sensing the Elder's killing intent, the Heaven Immortal dragged himself up and scrambled desperately toward the Alliance forces he'd arrived with.

But his so-called comrades wouldn't let him near, saying coldly: "Everything you did here is in a letter the Beast Taming Sect's master already sent to the Alliance."

The look in their eyes—like he was already dead—told the Heaven Immortal he'd been thrown away. He couldn't believe it. Others had done way worse, and the Alliance had never just dumped a Heaven Immortal combatant before!

"It's because of him, isn't it?" The Heaven Immortal pointed at Chu Jingxi. "The Alliance would go this far just to please a child?!"

The Alliance big shot just raised a hand and crippled him completely before he could try to self-destruct in a frenzy.

Wiping the leftover blood off his fingers nice and slow, the big shot sighed right in his ear: "Still don't get it? It's not that you were wrong—it's that you're useless."

If the man had achieved a breakthrough in cultivation or made any notable contributions during his years at the stronghold, the Alliance might have considered protecting him. But a troublemaker with no contributions? One more or less made no difference to the bigger picture.

The other Great Cultivators paid no attention to this scene. They had all been notified by the Beast Taming Sect, which hadn't explained the details—only that the situation was critical and might threaten the Eastern Domain.

But upon arrival, they found nothing unusual, only residual ghost clan aura in the air, confirming that something had indeed occurred.

Facing questioning looks, the Beast Taming Sect Elder said helplessly: "There was spatial sealing here earlier."

The incident had been sudden, and he hadn't fully grasped the cause and effect either. So, whether human or beast, everyone instinctively looked at one person.

Chu Jingxi had no choice but to straighten his crown and step forward as spokesperson.

"It all started with a blood mist..."

He kept it as brief as possible, explaining the key points in a few sentences. Upon hearing about the Ghost Emperor Wuliang and the mutated corpse, everyone present wore grim expressions.

Afterward, Chu Jingxi unsparingly revealed how the deceased immortal had tried to pocket the Array Stone. The surrounding forces looked at the Immortal Alliance with barely concealed disapproval. Other matters could be overlooked, but to be so muddle-headed in that situation...

The Immortal Alliance high-ranking member's expression also turned cold, never imagining anyone could be that stupid. "This matter... the Alliance will provide an explanation."

"He's dead—what explanation is there?" The Taiqing Sect Elder said impatiently. "Hurry up and compensate the living."

Having received Yan Zizhan's transmission, the Taiqing Sect Elder said without changing expression: "I think this mine of yours looks quite good."

The Elder had been prepared to haggle, but the arriving Immortal Alliance high-ranking member pondered briefly and agreed outright.

"Granted."

Chu Jingxi hadn't expected such a pleasant surprise. A mine's value was absolutely substantial, though mining would be troublesome—it was a long-term source of wealth.

He couldn't wait that long: "Senior, could I sell this mine back to you?"

Immortal Alliance: "..."

The mine transaction was postponed. Everyone present was eager to deal with the mutated corpse, so Yan Zizhan told Chu Jingxi to rest and led the way alone.

Watching all the Great Cultivators leave, the Rock Antelope on the warship paced anxiously but dared not disturb anyone.

Chu Jingxi flew up to the bow and shook his head slightly at it. "Wait a little longer."

He lazily sat cross-legged to recuperate. Below, the Beast Taming Sect members and Chu Suye were cleaning up the aftermath. Some surviving stronghold cultivators had given up resisting, hoping to trade for their lives.

The sun's angle shifted continuously. Chu Jingxi kept his eyes closed in meditation while pondering matters related to the system.

That sea of thunder came right on time and fried an immortal—is the system sending me a sign it's all good?

"Side mission completed."

"Mission reward o&*"

"Ultimate talent evolution k#￥%"

The familiar chimes went off, and Chu Jingxi immediately tried to reach out to the system in his mind. But the system just beeped a few times and went quiet again—classic in-one-ear-out-the-other behavior.

Still, Chu Jingxi breathed a sigh of relief—those chimes were the system's way of saying "all clear" in its garbled code.

Go figure—the more educated you are, the less sense it makes.

With the system gone, Chu Jingxi gave the panel a lazy once-over—then his focus snapped into razor-sharp attention.

A new entry had appeared in his talent column: "Ultimate Talent·Words Become Law·Extreme: ▂ ▃ ▄"

Looked like some serious evolution had gone down!

Chu Jingxi's brow twitched: "At least finish the damn sentence!"

Leaving out the useless filler—clearly the system's never had to watch its data plan.

Just as the curiosity was eating him alive, another seriously impressive warship showed up on the horizon—the Chu family had finally arrived!

Besides the Fulu Immortal, the warship carried a Spirit Pharmacist and a few alchemists. Chu Jingxi stood up to bow, and the Rock Antelope scrambled to follow suit.

"Sorry for the trouble, Senior."

Gold Immortal Fulu was there on Chu Jingxi's personal invitation—the guy walked the path of karma. If even he couldn't figure out what was mutating these cultivators, then nobody could.

After a quick look exchanged, Gold Immortal Fulu led his people to the chamber where the afflicted cultivators were held. In less than the time it takes to burn two sticks of incense, he came back out, face unreadable.

"Senior..."

Gold Immortal Fulu waved a hand to cut him off: "Easy now. Tell me everything that's happened since you got here."

Chu Jingxi laid it all out in detail, sparing no words this time. Since all these cultivators and beasts had run into trouble at the old battlefield, he focused on the part where they entered the mutated corpse's space.

When he heard that even the dead couldn't rest in peace, Gold Immortal Fulu let out a soft sigh and told him to stop.

"The problem is those faces you mentioned."

Chu Jingxi pulled out a small crystal on the spot: "You mean this?"

Under the other's gaze, he explained: "I ripped off a face back then, stashed it in my spatial ring, and it turned into this crystal."

Gold Immortal Fulu gave him a long, hard look: "This is the emotional energy of the powerful, released after death. Too much contact and you'll lose your mind."

Yan Zizhan had said the same thing, so Chu Jingxi pointed out: "But these people didn't seem all that unstable."

"Because they're already dead."

Every beast on the warship went dead silent.

Gold Immortal Fulu went on: "Sometimes this energy leaks out through spatial rifts and hides inside anyone who comes into contact with it. For those with weaker minds, or cultivators stuck at a bottleneck, it can trigger a Heart Demon."

Chu Jingxi had a vague inkling: "So by your reckoning, Senior, they've already died inside the Heart Demon."

"Their Dao heart shattered, their emotions gone, leaving only flesh and memory—soon they'll break down and fall apart."

Gold Immortal Fulu figured Chu Jingxi wouldn't get it, but when he heard him sum it up as "losing the true self," he nodded in approval.

He warned Chu Jingxi: "Don't tell anyone about the face-ripping thing. For someone at your level to touch that stuff and come out fine means your Sea of Consciousness has mutated to a near-heaven-defying degree."

This was the blind spot in both Yan Zizhan's and Chu Jingxi's thinking—geniuses surrounded by geniuses would never think to link a little emotional residue to full-blown Heart Demons.

Chu Jingxi shot a sidelong glance at the Rock Antelope clan.

With an immortal around, the Rock Antelopes didn't dare let out their clan's mourning howl for the fallen—they just stood frozen.

Finally, the clan leader walked over to Chu Jingxi, gently nudging him with its rocky horn, and left behind a broken half-horn shed from an old injury as a token of thanks. Rock Antelope horns could be blown, and wherever the clan went, they'd sound it to guide him.

Stepping back half a step, the Rock Antelope leader got ready to lead its afflicted kin deep into the forest before their time ran out.

"What if we sealed these beasts and cultivators up?"

The sudden words made the Rock Antelope, already turning away, stop dead.

Chu Jingxi looked at Gold Immortal Fulu: "Like Snow Frog Patriarch—keep them hanging on by a thread."

Gold Immortal Fulu just said: "That won't fix the root of the problem."

"Better than the young burying the old," Chu Jingxi said, ever the pragmatist. "Besides, one of my own clansmen is in there—there might still be a shot later."

Even coma patients pull through sometimes; and since these people's souls hadn't scattered, there was still a sliver of hope.

Sealing living beings was a pain, but since Chu Jingxi had asked him personally, Gold Immortal Fulu didn't mind doing him a small favor: "Fine."

"Thanks, Senior." Chu Jingxi gave the Rock Antelope a casual pat, then shook his head like a clay bodhisattva: "Just pray day and night that I get my skills maxed out soon."

...

Gold Immortal Fulu still had plenty to do, and as thick-skinned as Chu Jingxi was, he couldn't exactly nap right under the guy's nose—so he slipped off to a spot out of sight to keep slacking.

The area was wide open, and he could see another batch of Great Cultivators rolling in, with more likely on the way. How to deal with the mutated corpse, how long the Array Stone could hold it—all of that needed a rock-solid answer.

The whole thing was going to eat up a ton of manpower and resources.

Chu Jingxi tossed the Companion Shell in his hand, watching the hustle and bustle: "The wind sighs, the Yi River runs cold; Yan Zizhan goes forth, never to return."

It had been two or three hours since the guy went off to lead the way.

Could something else have gone sideways?

Chu Jingxi quickly shook the thought off. Looking back over the past six months, when had Yan Zizhan ever gotten into trouble without him right there?

Since he hadn't gone back down into the underground space this time, there shouldn't be any big problem.

Speak of the devil—Yan Zizhan couldn't find Chu Jingxi on the warship, only spotted Gold Immortal Fulu sealing people up solo. After circling around, he finally caught sight of a familiar figure on a distant hilltop.

Beneath an ancient autumn tree, Chu Jingxi leaned against the trunk, hair slightly askew, the Realm Spirit Origin dormant, the Rustless Copper Bell's main body hanging loosely at his slender waist in rest.

All were stealing a moment of leisure.

Hearing the approach, Chu Jingxi cracked an eye open but kept his position still. The aftereffects of soul projection had eased, yet the mental exhaustion wouldn't recover anytime soon.

Yan Zizhan walked toward him, bringing a faint gentle breeze, and habitually sat down close beside him.

The safe social distance between them had long since been broken. Chu Jingxi gave a small yawn and asked with half-closed eyes, "Are the corpses taken care of?"

Yan Zizhan shook his head. "It's proving difficult."

Chu Jingxi didn't press further. This was no small matter—no matter how tough it got, the Great Cultivators would find a way to handle it.

Yan Zizhan likewise didn't elaborate, instead bringing up another topic: "The contingencies left behind by Ghost Emperor Wuliang are all lethal, yet so far none of the major powers have sensed a thing. First the Dao Source, now these remains—Master and the others suspect the Heavenly Dao may have been veiled."

That was putting it mildly. Last time Chu Jingxi fell victim to the Blood Curse Art, the Immortal Alliance was almost certain the Heavenly Dao itself had been tampered with—otherwise, the entire cultivation world wouldn't have had such a collective blind spot.

Speaking of this, Yan Zizhan's gaze toward Chu Jingxi held a hint of worry.

Countless people had come to the old battlefield seeking relics and inheritances. The fact that the Immortal Alliance kept an outpost here showed they'd never stopped investigating—perhaps even deliberately placing greedy cultivators here, exploiting their greed in hopes of a breakthrough.

Zhao Gang had schemed for years, but in the end, discovering the other space was only possible because of Chu Jingxi's push.

Similar strokes of luck weren't new, and they all pointed to one fact: Chu Jingxi was different from others—he didn't have any blind spots in his thinking.

And the Heavenly Dao paid him too much attention. Such an anomaly wasn't necessarily a good thing.

Being stared at for so long, Chu Jingxi couldn't ignore the gaze.

The next second, his hand was suddenly seized. Meeting that intense gaze, Chu Jingxi's heart clenched: "You..."

They had just survived another life-and-death ordeal together. Now the blood mist had faded, the sky was clear as a mirror, and the flowers of the cultivation world still bloomed brilliantly in late autumn.

In this comfortable, mild atmosphere—could Yan Zizhan finally be about to confess?

He sat up a little straighter.

In that case, he might as well act a little aloof. Facing the only person in this world he could truly trust, who stayed by his side without any thought of personal gain, he planned to think it over, then deliberate, and finally nod.

Almost forgot the surprise part—Chu Jingxi made a mental note to add that in.

Yan Zizhan: "Don't trust anyone."

"!!" The surprise wasn't feigned.

But Yan Zizhan said it with complete seriousness. If Chu Jingxi had paranoia, Yan Zizhan had paranoia about Chu Jingxi.

At the sudden declaration, Chu Jingxi took a breath and pressed his lips together, asking, "Including you?"

Yan Zizhan nodded.

"You don't need to decide separately who to trust. Just keep moving forward—leave the rest to me."

Those words hit home far more than that sign language earlier. Just as Chu Jingxi's emotions started to stir, he heard the follow-up: "In all the world, trust no one but yourself."

The first four words were emphasized deliberately.

The Heavenly Dao wouldn't favor someone for no reason. Even if Yan Zizhan didn't believe the Heavenly Dao would harm Chu Jingxi, he couldn't rule out the possibility that it had ulterior motives.

As they talked, whether it was Chu Jingxi's imagination or not, the sky darkened a bit, and faint lightning seemed to flash behind the clouds.

Seeing the sun setting unusually early, and afraid Yan Zizhan might spout more prophetic warnings like "Your fate is yours, not Heaven's to decide," Chu Jingxi got up to head back to his private courtyard on the Warship to cultivate.

Career before romance—let's focus on that first.

This trip into the blood mist space had paid off well.

Not only had he successfully found a way to lock onto the two targets, but he had also, for the first time, expanded his laws to cover three people, guiding everyone through the black waters.

The whole process was far more advanced than just tearing through space. For example, with highly corrosive poisons or toxic waters, tearing through space would still expose you to them, but law-based teleportation wouldn't.

Experience is the best teacher. Chu Jingxi had gained new insights and planned to meditate to piece them together.

Before heading off to cultivate, he thought for a moment and said, "I trust you."

Turning to look at the figure he could always see when he looked back, Chu Jingxi said again, with emphasis: "Yan Zizhan, I trust you."