Chapter 390: Assassination

Beyond the Light Gate.

A figure slowly turned around.

The moment Liang Cheng saw the face clearly, his pupils contracted. “Cold Pool Wanderer?!” he blurted out.

The man wore a green robe, his face gaunt and refined. It was the same face Liang Cheng had seen in the portrait by the Cold Pool remains, but now, his eyes were as clear as the stars.

The Cold Pool Wanderer looked at him, also surprised, and gave a faint smile.

“So that’s how it is. The threads of Cause and Effect are truly wondrous.”

Waves of shock crashed through Liang Cheng’s mind.

‘The Cold Pool Wanderer had clearly been dead for many years. This person before me can only be a remnant soul, or a spiritual imprint left behind in this place.’

“But with your level of cultivation, you’ve come too early.”

The Cold Pool Wanderer spoke, his voice ancient and vast, as if echoing from a distant past.

The moment he finished speaking, he raised a finger and tapped lightly through the air.

BOOM—

Liang Cheng felt an irresistible force strike him. His vision spun, and he was thrown backward!

He tried with all his might to stabilize himself, but he was like a leaf in a gale, completely out of control. The moment he was sent flying, the drop of Divine Soul Liquid that had long been dormant deep within his Sea of Consciousness suddenly trembled!

A vast tide of information surged forth, only to be forcibly suppressed in an instant and sealed in the deepest part of his Sea of Consciousness.

At the same time, a voice echoed in his mind:

“Come back when you reach the Nascent Soul Realm.”

It was the Cold Pool Wanderer’s voice!

The next instant—

Liang Cheng was out of the Demon-Suppressing Pagoda.

From within the Demon-Suppressing Pagoda, an earth-shattering roar erupted!

It was as if a peerless Fierce Beast had been disturbed by his presence but could do nothing about it.

Liang Cheng had no time to think as the scene before him changed.

He had landed.

…

The Light Gate dissipated.

As Liang Cheng landed, the solid feeling beneath his feet left him dazed for a moment.

It wasn’t the gray, misty Ancient Wilderness Battlefield, nor the cold stone steps inside the Demon-Suppressing Pagoda, but gravel and dirt.

He looked up.

Before him was a familiar sight.

The Demon Suppression Array.

The giant stone pillars still stood tall, their Runes flickering.

The distant mountains, the sky, the clouds—everything was exactly as it had been when he entered.

But he felt that something was wrong.

It was too quiet.

He turned to look behind him.

The Light Gate had vanished completely, as if it had never existed. Only the faint spatial fluctuations lingering in the air proved that what had just happened was not an illusion.

“Come back when you reach the Nascent Soul Realm.”

The Cold Pool Wanderer’s voice still echoed in his mind. Deep within his Sea of Consciousness, the drop of Divine Soul Liquid had fallen silent again, but Liang Cheng could clearly sense that another seal had been added to it.

He tried to break through the seal.

Even as a Golden Core Powerhouse, the seal didn’t budge in the slightest. It was like an ant trying to shake a tree.

Liang Cheng took a deep breath, suppressing the questions in his heart.

‘The Nascent Soul Realm…’

‘Then the Nascent Soul Realm it is.’

Having risen from nothing to where he stood today, he had never lacked patience.

Liang Cheng gripped his Zhenxian Saber, turned, and strode away.

「Half a day later.」

Liang Cheng stopped.

He hadn’t encountered a single decent Fierce Beast along the way. Before, the Beast Tide had been dense with them, with an endless stream of Tier Eight and higher.

But now, there were barely a handful.

‘What’s going on?’

Liang Cheng headed north.

He crossed a barren plain where the gray mist grew thicker, the air filled with a familiar scent. But the number of Fierce Beasts he saw was negligible compared to before.

He was puzzled.

‘When I entered the array before, the Beast Tide was overwhelming, with an endless supply of Tier Eight and Tier Nine creatures.’

‘Now, the farther north I go, the scarcer they become.’

Half a day later, a stone platform appeared ahead.

The platform was tall and entirely pitch-black, inscribed with dense patterns of Runes.

The Runes glowed faintly, merging with the surrounding space as if suppressing the very heavens and earth.

He had reached the Northern Array Hub.

On the platform, a figure sat cross-legged.

The man wore a green robe, his expression cold and severe. A longsword lay beside him.

He was meditating with his eyes closed, his aura as steady as a mountain. The moment Liang Cheng stepped onto the platform, the man’s eyes snapped open.

Their eyes met.

Lu Chenxiao froze, then blinked.

Then—

“Little Junior Brother.”

He blurted out, scrambling to his feet and staring intently at Liang Cheng.

Liang Cheng clasped his fist in a salute. “First Senior Brother.”

Lu Chenxiao ignored him, striding forward and grabbing Liang Cheng’s shoulders. He looked him up and down, left and right, and even reached out to pinch his cheek.

“You’re alive?”

Liang Cheng let him do as he pleased, not dodging.

After checking him three times, Lu Chenxiao finally let go, took a step back, and drew a deep breath.

Then he smiled, his eyes turning red.

“One year and three months.”

He spoke, his voice somewhat hoarse.

“A full year and three months.”

“Master never said it, but we all knew he hadn’t had a single good night’s sleep. Little Junior Brother, do you have any idea how long we’ve been looking for you?”

Liang Cheng fell silent at his words.

Lu Chenxiao looked at him and couldn’t help but burst out laughing, his guilt finally washed away.

He turned and sent a message. A Rune lit up, and a streak of light shot into the sky.

…

Penglai Sect, First Peak.

Lie Mountain stood before a window, his hands clasped behind his back.

Outside, the setting sun sank into a sea of clouds, its last rays spilling over the mountains.

The Jade Talisman at his waist was glowing faintly.

A message from Xiao’er.

After reading it, Lie Mountain’s pupils shrank, and then he burst into laughter.

“Excellent, excellent! My youngest Disciple has returned.”

He took a deep breath, the light in his eyes brighter than ever, and summoned Li Jianfeng and Yu Xiuqi to his side.

“Starting today, you are to halt all missions outside the sect.”

Li Jianfeng was taken aback. “Master, why is that?”

Lie Mountain looked at him, a cold smirk playing on his lips.

“Your little junior brother is coming back.”

Li Jianfeng and Yu Xiuqi shot to their feet, their eyes shining.

‘Our little junior brother is back safely!?’

…

「Three days later.」

Liang Cheng returned to the Penglai Sect.

He didn’t use the main gate or alert anyone, landing silently on the rear mountain of the First Peak, right before the gate of his private courtyard.