Chapter 519 – The Shadows Emerge, and an Unexpected Alliance - Part 3

Chapter 519 – The Shadows Emerge, and an Unexpected Alliance - Part 3

Far to the west, within the Deathless Tomb, a quiet young woman sitting atop a coffin lid stretched lazily and yawned.

“Old man,” she said, “I’ve been thinking it over, and I suppose you

do

make some decent points. Fine, I’ll lend a hand...but only because I feel like it.”

After over a decade of tireless coaxing, the ancient deity could hardly believe her ears. The sudden change of heart from the girl felt like the heavens had cracked open. It was a rare, overwhelming joy, like finally breaking through a bottleneck in cultivation after years of painful effort.

“You...you’re agreeing?”

Even now, the voice trembled with disbelief.

Sheng'er replied matter-of-factly, “Well...he’s my little brother, after all. I ought to look out for him.”

“You’re absolutely right! In war, blood ties matter most! A brother-sister duo, that’s what wins battles!”

The god’s voice was still trying to spin the narrative, but there was no hiding the excitement now.

“The Grand Union of Yin and Yang is a disaster waiting to happen. Let the Khagan shatter the Yin, and you devour the meat fields. If you both succeed, the world might finally know peace again.”

Sheng'er flipped over and landed neatly on the coffin lid, her arms spread wide as she declared, “But listen up, old man, I have some conditions.

“I’m

not

fighting any hard battles! I’m

not

going to the front lines! If there’s a crowd of enemies, don’t even think about making me lift a finger! All I’m doing is munching on the meat fields! Of course... if I

do

decide I want to fight, you can’t stop me either!”

The old voice replied kindly, “Until your Heaven Soul Grand Formation is complete and truly unstoppable, even if you

wanted

to fight head-on, I wouldn’t let you.”

“Fine then. This honored lady will begrudgingly agree to your request.”

As soon as her words fell, hundreds of crows took flight at once, their wings beating like the thunder of a cold, dark tide crashing outward into the world.

At the entrance to the Deathless Tomb, Meng Xingxian’s loyal followers, who had been kneeling in fervent prayer for the Crowmother’s emergence, saw the sign and burst into joyous shouts.

“She’s risen! The Crowmother has left the tomb!”

˙·٠✧🐗➶➴🏹✧٠·˙

In the swirling wind and darkness, snow fell thick and heavy.

Massive, ghostly-blue ice pillars lay crisscrossed through the desolate wasteland known as the Giant’s Garden.

High in the clouds, faint and indistinct, a silhouette moved through the sky. A hand reached forward, picked up a game piece, and placed it down.

A single move, subtle, but enough to stir the serpent in the grass, to unleash tigers on the wolves.

“This battle...must be lost.”

From within the shadows, a woman’s voice echoed, cold and emotionless.

A flicker of pale light revealed her wearing a simple green robe. Her expression was calm, but her eyes were sharp and icy.

If Li Yuan had been here, he would’ve recognized her instantly. It was Ying Zhuoyao.

“It has to be a loss,” another woman’s voice replied, this one seductive, velvet-smooth. “Only in defeat will the six kingdoms realize how terrifying the Ice Folk truly are. Only then will they be desperate enough to push for the Grand Union of Yin and Yang...”

The speaker was none other than Bai Lianjue, the cult leader of the White Lotus Cult.

Still, Bai Lianjue hesitated. “But what if we lose...and no one can stop the Ice Folk from sweeping through the heartland?”

“In times of chaos, heroes rise,” Ying Zhuoyao said.

“No matter how brilliant a general may be, none of them can stop the Ice Folk. Not at this stage. You and I both know that,” Bai Lianjue said softly.

Ying Zhuoyao’s lips curled into a faint smile. “The ones behind me have already made their move. Their understanding of this land far surpasses anything the people of this dynasty could hope for. They may not be able to

destroy

the Ice Folk, but they can stop them. Delay them. And that’s all we need. The Ice Folk making their move...might be the very opportunity we’ve been waiting for.”

Bai Lianjue asked, “What about that mysterious elder?”

“Oh, him? As long as he doesn’t interfere, we’re fine. All we have to do is keep him contained.” Ying Zhuoyao’s smile deepened.

“Go tell those so-called Immortals backing you, stop sitting on the sidelines watching the drama. It’s time they made their entrance into the Central Plains.”

“They’re just scared,” Bai Lianjue said with a teasing lilt. “That mysterious elder nearly scared them to death.”

Ying Zhuoyao’s smile faded. Her voice turned serious. “Tell them clearly. That man is

not

from the Deathless Tomb in the Western Extremes.”

“Then who is he?”

“I don’t know who he is. But I do know...you may not be his true enemy.”

“I’ll report it as is.”

Their conversation ended there, short but weighty.

They weren’t even in the same place. The entire exchange had taken place across great distances through some strange and ancient form of communication.

And just like that, the course of the coming days, perhaps even the coming war, seemed to have been decided.

But as the last echoes of the dialogue faded, Ying Zhuoyao began to cough softly.

She took a moment to compose herself, smoothed the folds of her green robe, and stepped out of her room.

˙·٠✧🐗➶➴🏹✧٠·˙

Within Bloomtown, in Peng Mi’s inner residence, an open birdcage hung in the window. Inside, a beautiful golden canary hopped from perch to perch, chirping softly.

Ying Zhuoyao arrived at the residence and knocked. No one answered.

She gently pushed the door open and entered the home. Her gaze soon fell on the canary, and she smiled faintly. “Senior, I have something I’d like to discuss.”

A moment later, from a ripple in the air near the doorway, a pale ghostly hand emerged and tapped her lightly on the shoulder.

Ying Zhuoyao nodded in understanding, opened the door again, and stepped forward, but she didn’t cross the threshold.

In the blink of an eye, she was no longer in front of Peng Mi’s residence. She was standing in a cave. And standing before her, expression cold, was a slightly stocky man, Li Yuan.

Ying Zhuoyao looked at him, then took two quiet steps forward, before suddenly dropping to her knees and kowtowing in silence.

Li Yuan’s brows lifted slightly. “What’s with the grand ceremony?”

“I’ve come to admit a mistake,” she said.

“What mistake?”

“I lied to you.”

“Speak.”

“The ghost hammer my master gave you, it’s not what it seems.”

“...” Li Yuan’s gaze sharpened.

Ying Zhuoyao lowered her head further. “There is a slumbering god sealed inside that hammer. If you use it, if anyone uses it, that god will awaken and merge with the weapon. And that god feeds on life force. Which means, yes, you’ll harvest life for the hammer from those you strike, but every blow will also cost you your own years. The more you absorb from others, the faster you die.”

As she spoke, she began to kowtow again, hard. Again and again, her forehead thudding against the stone. Blood soon stained the floor.

Li Yuan raised his hand. With a wave of internal force, he lifted her to her feet.

She was, after all, just a puppet. A tool in someone else’s game. He had no real anger toward her.

But the ice in his eyes was unmistakable.

Now, he understood. The woman known as Yan Hongxiu wasn’t the original palace master of the Sacred Fire Palace. She was a god. A life-devouring god.

His expression grew colder by the second.

Ying Zhuoyao said quietly, “That god has already consumed a great deal of life force. But you...you remain completely unharmed. Which means only one thing.”

Li Yuan sat in silence, still as a statue carved from stone, like some forgotten god or slumbering demon, unmoving upon his seat of rock.

Ying Zhuoyao gave a faint, enigmatic smile.

“You must be one of the

Outerborn

, no doubt about it. Only an Outerborn could endure such a tremendous loss of life force over so many years without perishing. Of course, in this era, your true body is likely asleep too. This can only mean...we’re just kin fighting kin. My master says there’s no need for that.”

She paused before continuing, tone casual but laced with implication. “At the moment, we’re cooperating with the Eastern Sea’s Immortal Domain. They’re hoping that through the Grand Union of Yin and Yang, they can open the door once more to the legendary second rank breakthrough.

“The ancient Hall of Life, Lunar Yin, and Solar Yang...none of them have appeared in ages. But then again, my master also said the Immortal Domain is not worthy of true partnership. Only an Outerborn can work with another Outerborn. That is to say, you...”

Ying Zhuoyao’s voice remained gentle, her words rolling out like silk, but behind them was a storm of revelations.

“We’ve noticed you’ve shown some interest in the Eastern Sea’s Immortal Domain,” she added. “So, as an apology for our earlier offense, my master has ordered me to help you obtain whatever you want from them. Anything you need. But before that...my master still wants me to ask you one thing.”

She smiled even more brightly now, blood still trickling down her bruised forehead, eyes gleaming like polished jade as they locked onto Li Yuan’s.

“Senior...you’re not still thinking of

saving

this world, are you?”

The sheer weight of her words hit like a hammer.

Outerborn? Saving the world? Hall of Life, Lunar Yin, Solar Yang? What the hell are those...?

Li Yuan was utterly lost.

Everything she’d said had come flooding in at once. And clearly, it was based on a massive misunderstanding. She must have mistaken his unnatural longevity as proof that he, too, was one of these so-called Outerborn.

That meant...was he now accidentally posing as a husky among wolves?

Countless thoughts raced through his mind. He slowly closed his eyes, steadied his breath, and then let out a low, eerie chuckle, “Hahaha...”

When he opened his eyes again, they were sharp as blades.

“Was the affair in the Jade Capital...your doing?” he asked coldly.

“Yes,” Ying Zhuoyao admitted with a pleasant smile.

“Then summon your master.” Li Yuan’s voice turned colder.

Ying Zhuoyao’s tone remained soft. “The true master is still asleep. But until they awaken, I’ll be the one to assist you, Senior. I’ll help you bite a few large chunks out of the Immortal Domain, consider it reparations.

“I was just speaking with one of their local representatives. They’ll be sending people back into this land very soon. My master was right. The Immortal Domain is unworthy of alliance.

You

are the one we should be standing beside.”

In the darkness, it was as if an invisible hand reached out and adjusted Ying Zhuoyao’s body—moving her like a puppet, carefully setting her down, as if placing a chess piece on a vast, unseen board.