"Why does Master ask that?"
"I asked War God Qingyuan before. I heard that the person who once broke the pull of Qianmo had come into contact with the blood of a blood relative." Li Luoning explained.
"So Master thinks Niannian and I are related by blood?" Yun Qingyi asked.
"This is only my guess. After all, both you and Nian came from the human world."
"To be honest, back in the human world, I did have a younger full brother. But my father said he died right after birth, so I never saw him. Still, it was strange. After that, one of the servants in our house also disappeared. The poem I had written that day disappeared too."
"A poem?"
[Qingyi had indeed been a gifted young scholar in the human world. If someone had sneaked into his room and stolen a poem, that would not have been too strange. But on the day his younger brother was born, even if an outsider had slipped into the household, it would have been impossible for them to find the study so easily.]
Li Luoning suddenly thought of how Mie Xingzhe had gotten his name. He turned around, picked up a brush, and wrote it down. Then he handed it to Yun Qingyi.
"Take a look. Is it this one?"
Yun Qingyi took the page and read it line by line.
"Master, how do you know this poem? This is the very page I lost back then."
"Nian once told me that the words in this poem were where his name came from," Li Luoning said softly. It seemed his earlier guess had been right. Yun Qingyi was very likely Mie Xingzhe's older brother.
"So... so, Master is saying that Niannian is my younger brother? How... how is that possible? When my younger brother was born, Father said he was not breathing and had him buried in a hurry. Could it be... could it be that Father lied to me back then?" Yun Qingyi's voice trembled.
"Nian was born without spiritual power. Your family had wealth, and your household was highly respected in the area. Your father most likely looked down on a child who had no spiritual power and no cure." Li Luoning seemed to have already guessed most of it.
"At that time, I had failed the provincial exam, and the girl I had grown up with ended up getting engaged to someone else. I wrote that poem while drunk. It was only after I sobered up that I learned my younger brother had died. My mother could not bear it and hanged herself in her room. Three days later, my father married a concubine before my mother's body was even cold. After that, I drowned myself in wine, pleasure, and the brothels. Before long, I squandered all of my father's wealth. I even drove my father to death, then ended up wandering the streets. The elders of my clan said I was a bringer of disaster. They shattered my inner core and threw me into the demon forest in Pingyan Land. It was thanks to Master's kindness that I was saved, my inner core repaired, and I was given a second chance at life." Yun Qingyi said.
"The suffering you went through in the human world was part of your fate. Now that you are in the immortal sect, you should let those things go." Li Luoning comforted him.
Yun Qingyi nodded and gently rubbed his reddened eyes. Then he said,
"Does Master truly think Niannian is my younger brother who was said to have died?"
"I am still not completely certain. But if you want to know, we can test it. " Li Luoning asked.
"Yes , please Master!"
Li Luoning agreed, then raised his hand and summoned a magical tool, placing it before Yun Qingyi.
"This is called Luokunling. All you need to do is place Nian'er's hair and your blood into it, and it will prove whether the two of you are blood relatives."
After giving the magical tool to Yun Qingyi, Li Luoning continued,
"But there is one more thing you need to know. If you truly are Nian's elder brother, then your heart's blood will be the antidote to the Qianmo inside him. Are you willing?"
Li Luoning asked in a solemn voice. Taking heart's blood was no small matter, especially since Yun Qingyi had only just recovered from serious injuries.
"Master, whether Niannian is my blood relative or not, if there is anything that Master and Niannian need from me, I will never refuse." Yun Qingyi said firmly.
Li Luoning nodded and instructed him, "Before this is confirmed, it is better not to let Nian know yet."
"I understand."
Mie Xingzhe was in the storeroom by himself, sorting through things.
"I really don't know what I should bring. There is barely any of the Purple Frost Twin Amber left. Now that the Medicine King is gone, this medicine is gone too,This... looks really powerful. But the old Dragon King left it for Master. If I take it without asking, will Master be unhappy? Still, if a fight really breaks out, this short sword might come in handy. After all, anything Yingde Dragon King gave can't be an ordinary magical weapon." As he spoke, Mie Xingzhe quietly hid the short sword on himself.
Outside the door, Yun Qingyi watched Mie Xingzhe from afar as he sorted through things. He felt nervous, and his emotions were complicated. After steadying himself, he walked in and acted as usual.
"Niannian, have you seen my wound medicine?" Yun Qingyi asked.
" Borther Qingyi? Isn't the medicine on the cabinet in your room? You even used it this morning," Mie Xingzhe replied.
"I used up that bottle this morning. Get me another one. It's in the very top compartment." Yun Qingyi deliberately pointed upward.
"Oh, okay." Mie Xingzhe climbed up the shelves to get the wound medicine from above.
Standing below, Yun Qingyi moved his fingers slightly. A gust of wind came in from outside and blew Mie Xingzhe's hair loose. Strands of hair fell into his face. He lost his footing and slipped.
Yun Qingyi reacted quickly and caught him. With one hand behind Mie Xingzhe's head, he secretly snapped off a few strands of hair.
"I told you long ago to keep this side window shut. See? That was dangerous." Yun Qingyi grumbled on purpose as he helped Mie Xingzhe back up. Then he walked to the window, turned his back to him, hid the strands of hair at his waist, and casually shut the window.
"It's because of you. If you hadn't asked for the medicine on the very top shelf, I wouldn't have fallen," Mie Xingzhe complained as he handed the medicine bottle to Yun Qingyi.
"All right, thank you, little junior brother. And look at your hair, it's a mess. Go fix it."
Mie Xingzhe did not notice anything strange. He answered and walked out toward his room.
Watching Mie Xingzhe's back, Yun Qingyi could not help sighing inwardly.
Wuming Demon Mountain, Demon Sovereign Hall.
"Reporting to the Demon Sovereign, Situ Fanzhi has ordered War God Qingyuan to lead three hundred immortal soldiers and go with Li Luoning and his disciples to Wuming Demon Mountain," Hua Qiuyuan reported.
"Three hundred soldiers? What do they think my Wuming Demon Mountain is? A mere three hundred men?" Li Minghan ordered, "Qiuyuan, tell the commander of the puppet corps to stand by at all times."
"It seems it is time to bring all of this to an end." Li Minghan summoned the Li family seal into his hand.
In the cave behind the estate,
Bingguo was locked tightly in iron chains, covered in wounds, and lying weakly on the ground, panting. When it heard a sound and looked up to see Nanzhe standing above, it became violent again.
Nanzhe looked down at Bingguo with contempt and slowly spread open his hands. A strand of black mist appeared, sealed inside purple restraints.
"Let me see just how powerful the soul of the Shadow Demon clan really is." As soon as he finished speaking, he drove the black mist into Bingguo's eyes.
The sudden pain made Bingguo roar again and again. It shook its head wildly and struggled, trying to break free from the chains on its claws.
As Bingguo's cries gradually weakened, the original color of the Chenghuang beast faded bit by bit, replaced by a black body glowing with purple ghostly energy. Its clear blue eyes turned into blood-red eyes filled with killing aura.
"The puppet control art of the Shadow Demon clan truly deserves its reputation. No matter how noble a divine beast you are, in the end you are still just an animal." Nanzhe looked quite satisfied at the now ghost-possessed Bingguo. He cast a sideways glance at the hairpin in his hand, and a scheme flashed in his eyes.
Inside Jingyun Residence, Yun Qingyi stared nervously at the Luokunling on the table.
Li Luoning activated the Luokunling. A golden-yellow beam slowly shone out. He gently placed the strands of hair inside, and Yun Qingyi pricked his finger and let a drop of blood fall in.
The strands of hair and the blood slowly rose within the golden light, floating and drifting, then gradually wound themselves together.
"Master, this is!" Yun Qingyi could hardly believe what he was seeing and quickly asked Li Luoning for a clear answer.
"Qingyi, I think...Nian truly is your younger brother by blood," Li Luoning said calmly.
Crash—
Mie Xingzhe had just stepped into the study when he happened to hear Li Luoning's words.
He froze in disbelief, and the medicine bottle in his hand fell to the floor.
"Master... Master... what... what are you saying?" Mie Xingzhe asked in a trembling voice.
"Niannian!" Yun Qingyi's eyes gradually turned red. At last he understood why, the first time he met Mie Xingzhe, he had felt such special affection for him. He also understood why so many of Mie Xingzhe's likes and habits were so similar to his own.
"I said, you and Qingyi are of the same blood."
After the time it takes to burn one stick of incense,
"That is how it happened. It was Qingyi's blood that day that temporarily broke the effect of the Qianmo inside you." Li Luoning slowly explained the whole matter.
"So... I have an older brother? Qingyi is my brother? My real brother?" Mie Xingzhe had still not fully recovered from the shock. He kept looking at Li Luoning in disbelief and asking again and again.
"Yes." Li Luoning answered with complete certainty.
Hearing Master confirm it again and again, Mie Xingzhe finally found the courage to slowly turn his head and look at Yun Qingyi.
"So I'm not an orphan anymore , I have a borther." Mie Xingzhe's lips trembled, his eyes slowly reddened, and his trembling lashes shook as he spoke in a choked voice.
"Niannian, you are not an orphanI'm your brother. Your real brother, born of the same mother." Yun Qingyi also found it hard to control his emotions.
Inside Situ Fanzhi's study, he stared at the prophecy scroll in front of him and could not help frowning deeply.
"Though the Moon Shadow Pill and the Chixi Pill support each other, they also restrain each other. If the two of them can both end up badly wounded, it will be much easier for me to break them one by one later. Since the Twin Pills have already appeared, then where is the Floating Light Golden Seal? It is said that the Floating Light Golden Seal appears along with it. That day in the pill chamber, even Yue Ruling was defeated. So why was it that when the one called Yun Wannian arrived, that man chose to retreat instead?" Situ Fanzhi narrowed his long eyes, as if something had occurred to him.
"Summon War God Qingyuan."
Not long after, Qingyuan arrived.
"Qingyuan, how are the preparations coming?"
"Replying to Immortal Sovereign, the three hundred elite soldiers are ready. Immortal Master Xiaoyi and I will depart tomorrow."
"This trip to Wuming Demon Mountain carries one more task. I want you to investigate someone."
"Whom does Immortal Sovereign wish me to investigate?" Qingyuan asked.
"Yun Wannian,"
"Yun Wannian? Does Immortal Sovereign suspect that Yun Wannian is still connected to the recent events?" Qingyuan asked.
"Ever since he returned from Wuming Demon Mountain, many of his actions have been suspicious. Setting aside whether he is a spy sent by the demon clan, the fact alone that on that day he was able to save Immortal Master Xiaoyi and General Ruling by himself is enough to make me feel that this matter is far from simple."
"Does Immortal Sovereign mean that Yun Wannian developed a divided heart after returning from Wuming Demon Mountain?" Qingyuan asked.
"What I command you to do on this trip is, on the one hand, to investigate the matter thoroughly. But unless there is absolutely no other choice, do not make a move lightly. I want to see just what kind of ability this Yun Wannian has, that made the demon cultivator who intruded into Liaoyin Immortal Realm that day retreat in the face of difficulty."
"Understands."
At the foot of Wuming Demon Mountain,
Li Luoning, Yun Qingyi, Mie Xingzhe, Qingyuan, and Yue Ruling had already arrived at the agreed place.
Rather than the foot of a mountain, it was more like a sinkhole.
"He picked this sinkhole as the meeting place. Looks like this Demon Sovereign clearly means us no good. The terrain here is easy to defend and hard to attack. If a fight breaks out, we'll definitely be at a disadvantage." Yue Ruling looked around at the cliffs on all sides and said warily.
"War God Qingyuan, why not lead the three hundred immortal soldiers back outside the sinkhole for now? After all, we came this time to talk if possible. Fighting should be the last choice. Since he specifically named me and insisted I come, there must be a reason. We may as well stay still for the moment and wait to see what happens," Li Luoning said to Qingyuan.
"Immortal Master Xiaoyi makes sense. Then we will withdraw outside the sinkhole for the time being. If anything happens, send word to me at once." Qingyuan agreed with Li Luoning and led the immortal soldiers away.
"Master, why is it that this so-called Demon Sovereign will only speak if you come?" Mie Xingzhe asked.
"If I am not mistaken, the current Demon Sovereign is not the original one," Li Luoning said.
"What do you mean?"
"On the way here, I asked around among the people of Fanli Valley. They said that ever since the Demon Sovereign came out of seclusion, he has worn a mask every day. Some of the demon soldiers even think his temperament is very different from before. Shentu Zhuojia was always bold and open by nature, careless about small things, but at least he loved the people like his own children and did not like killing. But this Demon Sovereign seems especially ruthless. And now he specifically called for me to come. In all three realms, the only person who could hold such hostility toward me is probably that person." Li Luoning explained.
"Master is saying that someone is pretending to be the Demon Sovereign?" Yun Qingyi asked.
Li Luoning nodded in agreement and cautiously observed the surroundings.
"But who could pretend to be the Demon Sovereign and still not be discovered?" Mie Xingzhe asked .