Chapter 921: True "Earth-Shattering Secret"

With words already laid out to this extent, the man shrouded in light and shadow commanded Shen Jie directly:

“Shen Jie, go quickly and invite True Person Ziyu and True Person Yangming!”

Only Ji Yuan, standing close to the man, and Shen Jie, within the entire Yuling Sect, heard this transmitted message.

Shen Jie stood up, cupped his hands in a salute, and then personally flew towards the Spirit-Locking Well.

The Spirit-Locking Well was not an open wellhead exposed to the sky, but was enclosed within a massive building. As Shen Jie flew closer, the still-shaken disciples outside the building bowed to him.

“Greetings, Sect Master!”

“Hmm, I’m going to retrieve people from the Spirit-Locking Well. You don’t need to follow.”

“Yes, Master!”

After giving his instruction, Shen Jie entered the building alone. The disciples stationed there had already fled outside during the previous Heaven-Shattering Sword technique, leaving the interior completely empty.

Shen Jie leaped into the Spirit-Locking Well alone. After passing through multiple forbidden checkpoints, he turned into a deep path, eventually arriving outside the cells of True Person Ziyu and True Person Yangming.

Originally, Ziyu and Yangming were discussing the situation outside, but they fell silent upon hearing footsteps. Then, they saw Shen Jie approaching.

Shen Jie bypassed Yangming directly and walked to the front of True Person Ziyu’s cell. He squinted, staring at the disheveled figure inside, not saying a word, but his gaze was terrifying.

True Person Ziyu stared at Shen Jie for a moment, their eyes meeting. After a long silence, he suddenly burst into laughter.

“Hahahahaha… Shen Jie, you’re here to release us, aren’t you? Hahahahaha… You’re here to release *me*! You coward, you couldn’t defeat Mr. Ji, could you? Hahahahaha…”

Hearing the mention of Ji Yuan, Shen Jie, who was already deeply displeased with True Person Ziyu, felt his anger ignite further. He had suffered a sword injury years ago and had spent years, at great cost to his cultivation, to nearly recover, his once black hair now streaked with white. And today, he had been wounded by Ji Yuan again, almost losing his life.

What pained Shen Jie even more was that his senior martial brother had been severely injured by the Samadhi True Fire, causing significant damage to his cultivation and lifespan. And his junior martial brother had been harmed by Ji Yuan, demoted to a mortal, enduring years of suffering from aging, illness, death, and human malevolence.

However, this time, Shen Jie’s demeanor had to soften. He could not scold or beat True Person Ziyu as he usually did. Suppressing his rage, he waved his hand to open the cell’s restrictions, then pointed a finger at Ziyu, causing the chains on his body to unlock link by link.

The chains clinked and clattered, and with a final thud, True Person Ziyu dropped directly to the ground. Shen Jie stood outside the cell, looking down at him from above, and only after a long pause did he symbolically cup his hands in a salute.

“True Person Ziyu, and True Person Yangming, please follow me out.”

The doors of both cells opened. Yangming was the first to emerge, rushing into True Person Ziyu’s cell to help him up, and together they, with the stumbling Ziyu, walked out of the cell.

“Hehehehe… hahahahaha…”

True Person Ziyu laughed somewhat maniacally, stumbling to Shen Jie’s side, and suddenly spit.

“Ptooey…”

A stream of saliva flew towards Shen Jie like a sharp sword, but it turned into ice before reaching him, falling to the ground with a faint 'clink' without even touching his face. This was not due to Shen Jie casting a spell; rather, his mood had reached such a freezing point that True Person Ziyu’s saliva automatically froze.

Shen Jie slowly turned his head to look at True Person Ziyu.

“Please, both of you, follow me up.”

Having said this, Shen Jie turned first and strode forward.

True Person Ziyu scoffed from behind, then turned to look at Yangming, whose face was filled with apprehension, clearly intimidated by Shen Jie’s gaze just now.

“Let’s go too. He didn’t even dare to hit me today. It seems that Mr. Ji is indeed as powerful as you said – no, even more powerful than you said!”

Although True Person Ziyu utterly detested Shen Jie, he had to admit that Shen Jie’s cultivation was extremely high, among the foremost of the powerful individuals he had ever seen. For Shen Jie to be so wary, that Ji Yuan must indeed be very formidable.

Shen Jie paid no attention to the two behind him, focusing only on his own path. Upon reaching the wellhead, he leaped up himself, showing no intention of assisting them.

True Person Ziyu’s magic power was exhausted and his body weak, so he naturally lacked the strength to ascend the well. Fortunately, Yangming’s physical condition wasn’t too bad, and he carried him up with a leap.

The three walked out of the Spirit-Locking Hall, one after the other. Having been in the gloomy underground for so long, upon emerging, the weakened Ziyu and Yangming found the light dazzling and instinctively squinted. They quickly adjusted, but were nonetheless stunned by the scene before them.

As far as the eye could see, all the Yuling Sect disciples were outside, most looking up at the sky. The Yuling Sect’s mountain gate presented a tragic sight; many buildings had collapsed along with their restrictions, and even several mountain peaks within the gate had vanished. Some dust and smoke still lingered, not yet dissipated.

The Yuling Sect’s mountain-protecting formation had also disintegrated. The spiritual winds and mist within the mountains were gone, and the sect’s peaks now merged directly with the outside mountains and landscape.

Ziyu and Yangming looked up. At that moment, only three figures were flying in the sky: one seemed shrouded in a layer of luminous mist, while the other two stood together—one in a green robe, the other a white-clad immortaless.

As Ziyu and Yangming stepped out, all the nearby Yuling Sect cultivators focused their gaze on them. This attention steadily spread, with some expressions showing astonishment, some anger, some resentment, and some apprehension. In contrast, Ziyu maintained a mocking sneer.

“Master——”

Shang Yiyi, in the sky, finally spotted True Person Yangming emerging and couldn’t help but shout.

Shen Jie clenched his fist inside his sleeve, then waved it towards Ziyu and Yangming, conjuring a magical cloud that lifted them into the sky, bringing them before the luminous figure and Ji Yuan.

Just as he was about to use his usual address, he met the Patriarch’s gaze and immediately changed his words.

“Patriarch, True Person Ziyu and True Person Yangming have been brought.”

Yangming bowed to Ji Yuan, and True Person Ziyu also managed a cupped-hand salute.

“Thank you, Mr. Ji, for your rescue!”

Ji Yuan returned the salute and spoke.

“The rescue isn’t complete yet, Daoist Ziyu. This Daoist here says you took his Heavenly Spirit Stone. If it’s convenient, please return it.”

When True Person Ziyu heard Shen Jie address the luminous figure as ‘Patriarch,’ a bad premonition arose in his heart.

“Mr. Ji, I have never even heard of this so-called Heavenly Spirit Stone. For all these years, the Yuling Sect has imprisoned me without cause, always under this fabricated accusation. If I truly possessed any Heavenly Spirit Stone, I would have handed it over long ago.”

Shen Jie sneered, while the figure in the light and shadow stared expressionlessly at Ziyu, then at Ji Yuan. Ji Yuan also frowned slightly, bringing Shang Yiyi closer to Ziyu and Yangming. The figure in the light and shadow did not prevent them.

Shang Yiyi went to Yangming’s side, while Ji Yuan moved closer to True Person Ziyu and transmitted a low, whispered message.

“Daoist Ziyu, Shen Jie has been wounded by my sword twice and is currently not lightly injured, so he’s not a major concern. However, his master’s cultivation is unfathomable; I am not confident I can defeat him in a fight. The Heavenly Spirit Stone, though valuable, is a hot potato. If you truly have it, you can take it out now. With me here, they would never dare to take the treasure and then silence you.”

True Person Ziyu understood Ji Yuan’s words. Ji Yuan believed that Ziyu had remained silent for years out of fear that they would discard him after getting what they wanted. However, True Person Ziyu spoke openly, not through a transmitted message.

“Mr. Ji, I truly possess no Heavenly Spirit Stone, nor have I hidden it anywhere else. If these words are false, Ziyu is willing to be struck by lightning, perish, and have his cultivation dissipated.”

True Person Ziyu actually swore sincerely, something Ji Yuan could genuinely feel. He widened his eyes slightly and turned to look at the figure in the light and shadow.

“Daoist, True Person Ziyu is a righteous cultivator of the immortal path. Having sworn such a solemn oath, I presume you can also perceive his sincerity, can’t you?”

Shen Jie couldn’t hold back at this point.

“Hmph, does Mr. Ji think he hasn’t sworn similar solemn oaths over the years?”

Yangming, standing nearby, retorted angrily.

“If that’s the case, you should have released Martial Uncle Ziyu long ago!”

“Release him? Patriarch said he knows, so he knows. Breaking an oath doesn’t mean immediate death, and furthermore, his predicament these past years might very well be the oath’s fulfillment!”

“You… then do you dare to swear a solemn oath yourself and see?”

True Person Ziyu was furious; if he weren’t outmatched by Shen Jie, he would have desperately fought him.

Ji Yuan didn’t believe True Person Ziyu could ignore an oath, but he also didn’t believe Ziyu genuinely didn’t know the whereabouts of the Heavenly Spirit Stone. Thus, it might involve wordplay or loopholes in the oath’s wording. He wasn’t sure if Shen Jie’s so-called Patriarch would think the same way, but it was clear that if this continued, there would be no end to it.

“Daoist, if you trust me, allow me to take True Person Ziyu and True Person Yangming. I will find a way to resolve the matter of the Heavenly Spirit Stone. To put it another way, if you continue to imprison True Person Ziyu, it’s unlikely to yield any progress and will also offend Mount Yuhua…”

When Ji Yuan mentioned offending Mount Yuhua, he clearly saw a faint, unreadable smile on the other party’s face. He was pondering how the other party would respond when their answer unexpectedly surprised him.

“Very well. I still trust Mr. Ji’s words.”

“Patriarch!”

Shen Jie couldn’t help but speak out, but a single glance from the other party silenced him.

“Mr. Ji, you may take Ziyu. As you said, keeping him here genuinely won’t extract anything further and will only cause more trouble. I also ask Mr. Ji to convey my apologies to Mount Yuhua on my behalf.”

Ji Yuan dared not agree to this. Mount Yuhua indeed respected him, Ji Yuan, but it was not his place to manage their affairs.

“Thank you, Daoist, for relenting. However, I can only promise to relay your message to Mount Yuhua. As for their reaction, I cannot guarantee it.”

“That will suffice. Mr. Ji, I will not break my promise. Let us discuss the Dao and the secrets of heaven and earth. Please!”

Ji Yuan was startled. Now?

But since the other party had said so, he wouldn’t refuse.

“Please!”

Shen Jie and his Patriarch led the way. Ji Yuan followed with the three behind him, going directly to a hall within the Yuling Sect. Shen Jie remained by his Patriarch’s side, while the others rested and healed in a side hall.

Clear tea, sandalwood incense, a table, meditation cushions, and Ji Yuan facing two esteemed experts. Were it not for the previous tension, the scene truly resembled a peaceful discussion of the Dao.

“Mr. Ji, in truth, the current world is but a small corner. In ancient times, the vastness of heaven and earth far surpassed what it is now, giving birth to countless powerful beings and blooming with innumerable wondrous flowers of the Dao…”

With these opening words, what was revealed truly amounted to ‘world-shattering secrets.’ Ji Yuan’s initial calm demeanor barely lasted; after the other party began speaking, the ‘astonishment’ on his face never faded…

Even how this discussion of the Dao ended, Ji Yuan seemed somewhat dazed. When he finally departed with the three, his brows remained tightly furrowed.

At a peak within the Yuling Sect, watching Ji Yuan disappear from sight, Shen Jie finally couldn’t hold back.

“Master, why did we… Master! You…”

Shen Jie appeared somewhat panicked, seeing signs of the luminous figure’s spiritual light beginning to dissipate.

“No need to panic. I just need to rest in the Moon Azure Mirror for a while. The Heaven-Shattering Sword technique descends with the force of heaven, majestic and vast, destroying formations and assaulting one’s mind, spirit, and soul. In my current bodiless state, with my true spirit only having awakened a few years ago, I am vulnerable to this sword art. That one sword strike was not easy to endure! One step delayed leads to all steps delayed. We cannot wait for the Heavenly Spirit Stone any longer. Find me a suitable physical body as soon as possible!”

“Yes, Master!”

Shen Jie humbly and reverently assented, watching as the other party re-entered the Moon Azure Mirror.