Bai Shuo shivered, suddenly feeling that the plain-looking pavilion before her was brimming with hidden majesty. She began sniffing and touching the walls, eager to absorb a bit of chaotic spirit energy to extend her lifespan by a few hundred years.
Noticing Wu Shuang’s curious stare, she awkwardly scratched her head and laughed. “Wu Shuang, right? I’ll just rest here on my own; no need to trouble yourself. You can go about your duties.”
“Understood.” Wu Shuang nodded and turned to leave, but Bai Shuo stopped him with a question.
“By the way, little master, could you tell me where Miao Miao and Hao Yue are staying?”
As Qing Yi had brought her, Wu Shuang saw no reason to conceal this information and pointed east. “The Miao Miao Sect is staying at Pine Crane Courtyard on the eastern side of the island. As for Hao Yue Hall…” He gestured to the left. “The Hao Yue Hall Master prefers solitude, so he is lodging at the nearby Carefree Pavilion.”
Following his gesture, Bai Shuo’s gaze fell upon a pavilion nestled beneath towering ancient trees, its pointed rooftop just barely visible. She shivered and coughed, nearly choking.
“Immortal Bai Shuo?”
“It’s nothing,” she replied quickly, her face flushed. “Caught a bit of a chill from the wind. I’ll go rest. Take care, young Immortal Wu Shuang.”
With that, she darted into Jiu Hua Pavilion.
Can immortals catch a cold? Wu Shuang scratched his head, puzzled, and left.
A moment later, Bai Shuo quietly opened the door to Jiu Hua Pavilion, snuck into the courtyard, and crept toward the neighboring building.
* * *
“There was a divine sign in the Abyssal Marsh?”
In the main hall of Phoenix Island, Jin Yao’s expression changed as he looked at Qing Yi in surprise.
Qing Yi nodded. “A few days ago, my master observed the stars and noted what seemed like the appearance of a moon and star above the Abyssal Marsh.”
“What? A moon and star? Isn’t that…”
“The main star of the Goddess of Stars and Moon?” Elder Feng Xian interjected, equally shocked. “How can that be? The goddess Moon Mi perished sixty thousand years ago. How could her main star reappear in the Lower Three Realms?”
Since the Star-Moon Goddess’s fall during the Apocalypse Array sixty thousand years ago, the world had been without a deity governing the stars. The stars visible today were merely formed by chaotic forces.
“The power of that star faded quickly, and my master wasn’t certain. That’s why he sent me to investigate the Abyssal Marsh.”
“What did you find there?” Jin Yao asked urgently.
Qing Yi shook his head. “I only reached the marsh’s outskirts before encountering a strange tree spirit. Its spiritual energy was immense, beyond my ability to contend with. I came to Phoenix Island to request that you and the elder accompany me back to the Abyssal Marsh.”
Jin Yao’s expression darkened.
“Do you have doubts, Immortal Jin Yao?” Qing Yi asked.
“The Immortal fears that this divine sign could be a trap laid by malevolent forces,” Feng Xian explained, recounting the recent events at the Wu Tong Martial Gathering in Foreign City.
The Abyssal Marsh, shrouded in evil energy for centuries, was an enigmatic and perilous place. It was quite possible that someone had set a trap, intentionally luring the Immortal Clan into danger.
Qing Yi was appalled. “Someone dared to sacrifice the entire Foreign Tribe? Reversing the Divine Array—for what? To kill the Hao Yue Hall Master?”
“It goes beyond that. If successful, the young disciples of the Immortal Clan would also have perished,” Feng Xian replied gravely. “Whoever is behind this has sinister intentions, likely hoping to provoke chaos across the Three Realms.”
“Since the Phoenix Emperor attained godhood, it has been several centuries since anyone in the Three Realms has ascended to divinity. The ancient realms are sealed, spiritual energy is scarce in the Lower Realms, and darkness has grown in strength. In recent years, evil spirits have become increasingly common, and disputes over sacred lands have intensified between the Immortal and Demon Clans as a result.”
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