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Though Ye Anshi no longer addressed himself as the monk, Wuxin -even going through the step of not carrying his rosary -he still wore a long white robe; still kept his head bald. When he broke that last Rain Knife, he still insisted on not killing. At times, the Violet Duke would think to himself, was such a compassionate person really suited to be sect master of the Outheaven? Yet it was just such a person that garnered the support of everyone in the sect within record timing. There were even some old timers, who upon laying eyes on him for the first time ever, claimed they saw the old sect master returning to them.

“Sect master, about those friends of yours, there’s been some news.” The White Hair Immortal suddenly chimed in.

Ye Anshi paused for a second, then smiled. “Oh? How have they been?”

“Tang Lian returned to the Tangmen after leaving Khotan for a brief visit to his master, Tang Lianyue. Xiao Se and Lei Wujie roughly traveled for another three more months before finally reaching Snow Moon City. Lei Wujie climbed the Tower of Ascension all the way up to the sixteenth floor and fought side by side with the Daoist Sword Immortal’s disciple against the Snow Moon Sword Immortal, Li Hanyi. Even though he was beaten down by a single sword strike in the end, he became a disciple under his tutelage, his first ever disciple.” The White Hair Immortal slowly reported.

Ye Anshi chuckled at that. “That kid seems to have pretty good luck -for him to actually be accepted by the Snow Moon Sword Immortal. But his teacher, Lei Hong, does have a little disagreement with that Sword Immortal, I don’t doubt that there’s a deeper backstory behind all that. What about the other? That stingy inn owner. He returned to his Fallen Snow Villa?”

“Xiao Se, he stayed behind in Snow Moon City as well, he even became the disciple of the Spear Immortal, Sikong Changfeng.” Silent till now, Violet Duke suddenly spoke up.

“The Spear Immortal, Sikong Changfeng? I thought it would have been the Drunken Immortal, Baili Dongjun. Honestly, if the two of them ever met, I have a feeling the both of them would get along famously” Ye Anshi stretched out his hands, and the fallen wine cup promptly flew back into his palm. “I kind of want to have a taste of his famous Seven Bowls under a Starry Night as well. The one that even triumphed over the Little Diaolou’s White Autumn Dew.”

“There’s been word that the First Citymaster, Baili Dongjun, left the city the night Lei Wujie entered the city. There’s been no word since.” White Hair Immortal muttered in a low voice.

“Honestly, for the past few years, Sikong Changfeng has always been the one handling the matters of Snow Moon City. The other two Citymasters were either busy brewing wine or practising with the sword -both extremely carefree. So what if he has gone missing, how about you guess whether or not that Baili Dongjun has entered into the Divine Mysteries Realm? At that time, he could probably traverse the lands within the blink of an eye -so what if he was no longer in Snow Moon City?” Ye Anshi slowly explained, having guessed the rough intentions of White Hair’s words.

The two subordinates exchanged a silent glance. The Drunken Immortal, Baili Dongjun, had already shown signs of being the strongest in the world twelve years ago, yet he kept to himself mostly, rarely fighting with another, choosing instead to focus on his wine brewing. Even so, it was said that the Lone Sword Immortal, Luo Qingyang, who safeguarded the city of Exalted Frost year round, refused to claim the title of the strongest precisely because he wasn’t sure of a victory against Baili Dongjun. A person like that could probably step into that legendary martial realm that only appeared once every hundred years.

“I’m sure my three friends would soon spread their names across the martial world, just like those three teenagers that stepped out of Snow Moon City all those years ago. I’m looking forward to the day we meet again.” Ye Anshi turned around and slowly walked away.

“Sect Master, where are you going?”

“To the Blessed Pearl Corridor.” Ye Anshi blandly stated. “Now that the internal strife within the Outheaven has been settled, the next few years shouldn’t be an issue with the both of your powers. I wish to go into seclusion at the Blessed Pearl Corridor.”

“And when will you return, Sect Master?” The Violet Duke furrowed his brows.

“When I step into the Divine Mysteries Realm.” Ye Anshi leaped into the air, landing onto the western wall, before declaring so in a clarion voice.

The Violet Duke and White Haired Immortal were stunned. Ye Anshi, however, turned around to smile at them. “I’m being serious.” With a twist of his body, he shot off into the distance.

“Do you think our Sect Master can really step into the Divine Mysteries Realm?” The Violet Duke asked his companion.

The White Haired Immortal paused for a second, then replied, “The first time I met him, he was already nearing the Unfettered Heavens Realm. Now that he has been back in the Outheaven for three months cultivating his Six Higher Knowledges, his martial realm has risen above the both of us. He’s only seventeen now. Compared to the old sect master, his talent seems to have outstripped the out sect master by quite a bit; who knows, he might just be able to do so. At that time, us returning to the Central Plains would end a lot differently than twelve years ago…”

At that, the Violet Duke merely snorted, “Aren’t you the optimistic one? If he really steps into the Divine Mysteries Realm, our Sect Master would surely whisk away to that land beyond the seas for a jaunt with some immortal, not lead you back into the Central Plains.

White Hair laughed and shook his head, “Being stuck with such a powerful sect master that so happens to lack even a shred of ambition -I wonder if that’s a blessing or a curse.”

The Violet Duke turned to look at the floor blanketed in flowers and muttered, “So the old sect master’s hometown was in Hangzhou…”

At the same time in Snow Moon City, there was also a person admiring the moon.

With a piece of grass hanging off his mouth, and his back sprawled out lazily atop a roof, that person stared at the moon in a daze.

A spear wielding girl spotted him, and with a twist of her body, leapt onto the rooftop as well. “Blasted Xiao Se, so this is where you were hiding.”

Xiao Se closed his eyes, not all that interested in dealing with her. “It’s late, enough with the chasing already, it’s time for rest. How’s your practise with the Silvery Moon Spear Techniques?”

“The Silvery Moon Breaks the Intestines… I’ve reached the fourth tier now, how about a taste of it?” Sikong Qianluo grinned a mischievous grin.

“Hah, perhaps tomorrow morning I just might. Let me tell you, don’t force my hand here, if not I’ll take out my Wuji Staff and knock you off the roof!” Xiao Se’s eyes snapped open in what looked like an attempted glare.

“I’ve heard those words a million times now. Go on then, hit me.” Sikong Qianluo immediately glared back.

“Childish.” Xiao Se turned away.

“Scrooge. You come here all the time to stare, exactly what are you even staring at? Last time it was in the direction of Cangshan, don’t tell you were staring at Lei Wujie… I knew there was something going on between the two of you, pft. “ Sikong Qianluo stuck out her tongue.

“Have you been to Revelations?” Xiao Se suddenly asked.

“The Imperial Capital, Revelations? Nope.” Sikong Qianluo shook her head. “Have you?”

“I have.” Xiao Se nodded.

Sikong Qianluo answered with an offhand “oh”. “What was it like? Compared to Snow Moon City.”

“Not as beautiful, but it was big. Roughly the size of seven to eight Snow Moon Cities, bustling and full of people from all the four seas and five lakes. Every year, there were a number of fairs where you could find all manners of trinkets and baubles from distant lands. I once saw a massive crystal, purely natural, about the size of a wine vat -the foreigners used it to store their grape wine. I tried some, it wouldn’t be an overstatement to call it heavenly. There was also a gambling den, known as the Ring of a Thousand Golds, I won an entire city there…” Xiao Se suddenly started to ramble.

Yet Sikong Qianluo strangely fell silently. She had this sudden feeling that Xiao Se became different when he talked about Revelations. Yet it was this new Xiao Se that made people feel more at ease with him. After listening to him continue on for a long while, she suddenly asked, “If there’s a chance, would you bring me to Revelations?”

Xiao Se smiled. “Sure.”