Volume Two: Snow on the Qin River Chapter Fourteen: Another World (Part One)

There are many ways to interpret this matter.

It could be that the eccentric was simply not in the Stone Forest, or that the eccentric deliberately orchestrated something and went into hiding when the northern barbarians moved south, or even that the eccentric suffered some misfortune and perished, and so on.

Yet, he stubbornly believed that the eccentric simply wished to remain hidden from Shiye. Translated differently, this implied that Shiye was inferior to that person, which was why that person treated Shiye with such casual indifference... There might even be another interpretation. Shiye grinned, a rather chilling sight. "Do you wish to die?"

Naturally, the old man did not wish to die, or he would not have been so groveling.

Nor did he wish to see Shiye continue to run amok in the Stone Forest.

Northern Yan was not his home, so the war in Northern Yan had nothing to do with him. He could easily have cowered inside the Stone Forest and never stepped out. With that eccentric presiding over the place, neither the barbarian hordes nor the cult idiots could possibly break in... But the Stone Forest was his home, especially at a time like this. Regardless of his underlying motives, he did not want Shiye to continue wreaking havoc within the Stone Forest.

Heaven knew how many people had died in the Stone Forest during this period.

The problem now was that the eccentric seemed unwilling to disturb this towering Buddha before him, which was why he had not appeared after all this time.

Why?

What was so special about the person before him?

Even when it came to the realm of Dao Integration... when the three great Dao Integration experts of the barbarian tribes marched south alongside Li Shouli, you showed no sign of fear.

This question remained unanswered. But regardless, as long as the eccentric's attention was drawn to this towering Buddha, the benefits would outweigh the drawbacks.

Either the oppressive clouds would vanish from the Stone Forest forever.
Or the turmoil in the Stone Forest would be quelled once and for all.

Either outcome was entirely acceptable to him.

If the former, he would become the strongest individual in the Stone Forest after today, and no one would ever question another word he uttered.
If the latter, by stepping forward to quell the chaos today, he would reap immense fame and public renown.

"Where is this Lin Nan you speak of?" Shiye asked slowly. "Though I know not why you deliberately thrust him before me, I imagine he would find you quite interesting."

The old man had not anticipated this twist. Struck with panic, he blurted out, "How could that exalted adult possibly find someone like me interesting?"

Shiye replied, "No one is ever truly indifferent to those who have betrayed them, not even beings of the Dao Integration realm."

Hearing this, the old man wore a bitter expression.

The temptation of the stakes had caused him to misjudge the destiny of the Dao Integration realm.

As expected, he should never have meddled with beings of the Dao Integration tier. Such figures were exceedingly difficult to draw into another's scheme; after all, not everyone was a Li Jingxing or a Dou Xiaotong.

Seeing the old man's reaction, Shiye gave a cold snort and gestured dismissively toward him.

A flurry of yellow sand drifted, and they vanished.

Almost simultaneously, they reappeared in the southern part of the Stone Forest.

Shiye's gaze narrowed slightly.

A young man stood with his hands clasped behind his back, quietly watching him. How long had he been waiting here? Or could it be that he had been standing here all along, watching him pass before his eyes time and time again?

He felt a trace of humiliation.
And a surge of excitement.

Taking a deep breath to suppress the emotions churning within his chest, Shiye finally began to scrutinize the young man before him.

The old man had been right about at least one thing.

This young man was truly bizarre.

His hair was extremely short; did he not know the principle that one's body, hair, and skin are gifts from one's parents?
His attire was grotesque, stemming from some unfathomable aesthetic.

Most importantly, despite his human-like appearance, Shiye somehow felt that this young man did not belong to the realm of Dao Abyss.

The earth trembled faintly, yellow sand drifted into the air, and the firmament seemed on the verge of collapsing.

The old man coughed up a mouthful of blood, his face a mask of terror.

Shiye remained unaffected, gazing coldly at the young man.

Given his experience, he could readily tell that these bizarre phenomena were not caused by any deliberate technique or hostility from the young man, but were simply a domain naturally condensing around his body due to his excessively high cultivation realm.

The Void Dao condenses the soul, while the Dao Integration realm creates a domain.

A domain could be understood as a world of its own, wherein all Daos submitted to a single Dao.

Shiye quickly turned the thought over in his mind, only to realize that he genuinely had no idea through which Dao the young man had attained his cultivation.

Could he have attained the Dao through Heaven and Earth itself?
Was he not afraid of a sudden, violent death?

Aside from confusion, Shiye felt a mounting surge of battle intent. He was addicted to battle; all the supreme powerhouses of the Divine Dynasty had been challenged by him at some point, and now, a stranger had suddenly appeared possessed of such formidable might.

"What is your purpose in seeking me out?" The young man had no intention of answering Shiye's unspoken questions and spoke in a soft tone.

"The youngest son of the Feng family—I believe you must have seen him." Shiye finally recalled the purpose of his journey. Suppressing his craving for battle, he posed the question.

The old man standing nearby widened his eyes, thinking to himself that you turned the entire Stone Forest upside down for all this time, all for the sake of the Second Young Master of Northern Yan?

If you had said so earlier, you could have told me sooner, and I would have dispatched people to comb the Stone Forest for him. Why put yourself through so much mental strain and cause such massive carnage?

A breeze swept past, causing him to shiver and sending a chill through his bones.

The wind felt as though it had blown straight into his heart, and in the next instant, his heart grew cold as well.

This god of slaughter had remained hidden for so long precisely because he wanted no outsiders to know what he was searching for. Now that he knew, could he possibly hope for a favorable end?

Suddenly, a brush of night filled his vision.

Night might be commonplace in the Divine Dynasty, but to an aged powerhouse like him, night represented the ultimate terror.

It was the color that symbolized the Lord of Demons!

The very reason he had hidden in the Stone Forest like a turtle pulling in its head, letting the yellow sand shroud the sky, was because he never wished to lay eyes upon the night again.

The only difference was that the night before him was not pure; starlight was brilliant, moonlight gentle, and the breeze leisurely.

The old man perished amidst the starlight and moonlight.

The passing breeze acted like countless sharp blades, piercing countless microscopic holes throughout his body.

Not even a drop of blood leaked through those tiny apertures, yet the interior of his body had already been riddled with myriad wounds.

This was the Dao of Shiye.
He had attained the Dao through the night.

The young man made no move to stop Shiye, merely asking, "Why do you seek him?"

Shiye raised an eyebrow, thinking that this meant there was still a chance.

If this person before him had never set eyes on Feng Yang, he would not have posed such a question.

"The Divine Emperor wishes to see him; I am taking him back to Wuyang."

The young man shook his head. "No. Vast though the world is, he may go anywhere—except Wuyang."

Shiye's eyes grew even brighter, thinking that the matter had finally converged into a single point.

Thus, the night deepened, the starlight grew more brilliant, and the moonlight turned gentler.

The young man shook his head once more.

And so the earth trembled more violently, the yellow sand danced within the howling gale, and the firmament sagged ever lower.

At some indeterminate moment, the night finally touched the firmament, the starlight and moonlight ultimately engulfed the earth, and the gentle breeze met the tempest.

Yet the firmament ceased its descent, and the earth stopped trembling.

Still, the gentle breeze never transformed into a gale.

Shiye's eyes shone brightly.
The young man's eyes shone even brighter.

The sound of shattering porcelain seemed to ring out.

The Stone Forest consisted solely of stone and yellow sand; how could porcelain possibly exist here?
Amidst such an atmosphere, how could such a crisp sound echo?

A fissure tore across the night.
A fissure similarly rent the yellow sand.

Thus, for the first time in a thousand years, sunlight streamed into the Stone Forest.
Broad daylight.

The young man turned his back, and his voice followed immediately after. "You have lost. Do not come to bother me again in the future."

Shiye let out two hearty laughs. " Exhilarating! Truly exhilarating!"

Out of his line of sight, the young man frowned.

He greatly preferred to resolve matters with his fists, but he detested encountering others who also preferred to resolve matters with their fists.

Dealing with such a person was far too troublesome, for aside from fighting, they only ever thought of fighting—much like youths who had just tasted the pleasures of intimacy, thinking of nothing save endless indulgence.

The problem was, why should he pander to someone else's desires?

With that thought, he said earnestly, "I would advise you not to appear in the Stone Forest again."

Shiye asked in confusion, "Why?"

The young man stated solemnly, "Because you will die."

...

What Shiye did not know was that Feng Yang was indeed not in the Stone Forest.

He was currently in Fengshou City.

Fengshou City was one of the major fortified cities on the western defense line of Northern Yan, yet it did not lie directly along the route from Xuhai to Yanyun; hence, it was less affected by the cult's westward advance.

Yet he had clearly been swept into the Stone Forest by Feng Juanlang; why had he appeared here instead?

Feng Yang sat inside the thatched cottage, staring in frowning silence at the clay bowl before him.

Feng Juanlang lay beside him in a wretched state, hovering somewhere between life and death.

There was water in the bowl.

Could it be that Feng Yang wanted a drink?
Then why did he remain completely motionless?

For reasons unknown, the water in the bowl suddenly began to ripple.

Li Jingxing's face materialized within the water.
It remained a mystery how he had accomplished such a feat.

"You brought me here. Do you have business with me?" Feng Yang asked seriously.

"Have you thought my question through?" Li Jingxing inquired.

Feng Yang remained silent for a moment before speaking. "I do not know what you are talking about."

Li Jingxing smiled without a word.

Could Feng Yang fail to understand what his question implied?
On the contrary, he understood it all too well, which was why he dared not utter a single half-truth.

"It seems the Second Young Master is truly unwilling to disclose even a fraction of it to me." Li Jingxing sighed.

Feng Yang's complexion was somewhat pale, yet he still showed no intention of speaking, merely replying, "I have already said your question is entirely devoid of context, making it difficult for me to determine how to answer."

Li Jingxing said, "I have given you two days. My patience is wearing thin."

A wave of relief washed over Feng Yang's heart, and he retorted, "Then kill me."

He had no idea who Li Jingxing truly was, but by all appearances, he was someone connected to the chaos in Northern Yan.
Since he was tied to the war in Northern Yan, he deserved to die.
If he lacked the strength to kill him, then let this man kill him instead, and his master would eventually avenge him.

"I am going to count to three."
"Three."
"Two."
"One."

"The count is finished. What can you possibly do?" Feng Yang taunted faintly.

Li Jingxing wore a helpless expression. "What else can I do?"

Just as his words faded, the water in the bowl began to vibrate violently, causing Li Jingxing's reflection to vanish completely.

A flash of cyan Dao robes swept across Feng Yang's vision.
The water bowl before him exploded violently, yet not a single droplet splashed onto Feng Yang's person.

Only then did Feng Yang hear the chaotic sounds that followed.

The door shattered.
The wall collapsed.
The whistle of air-piercing force was especially harsh.

The Master of Daoming Temple gazed at Feng Yang and let out a long breath. "Found you."

Suddenly, Feng Yang felt an urge to weep.