In the northern domain of the Great Xia Dynasty, within the endless, freezing cold lands, the howling wind whipped snow flurries across the landscape. The sky and earth were completely white, like the pure primordial state at the dawn of creation.
This place was sparsely populated, with only rolling mountain ridges and snowy hills appearing and disappearing amidst the storm.
Just then, a woman in a pale purple robe descended from the sky. Her movements were light and graceful, her sleeves fluttering like a purple lotus falling to the mortal world, untouched by the wind or snow.
The purple-robed woman’s ink-black hair cascaded like a waterfall, loosely tied up with a single milky-white jade hairpin.
A few stray strands of hair fell across her forehead, gently brushing against her fair, jade-like cheeks.
When her beautiful eyes shifted, even this frozen, snowy landscape couldn’t overshadow her stunning, world-class beauty.
Before long, another woman in a red robe followed, landing slowly behind the purple-robed woman.
Her red robes were bold and blazing like fire, a stark contrast to the surrounding ice and cold.
The red-robed woman had sharp, arched eyebrows, lips as red as cherries, and a pair of phoenix eyes that revealed a mysterious light.
Compared to the purple-robed woman, she appeared more charming and strikingly beautiful.
“Sister, that Black Bird Office came looking for you again!”
“What’s so important that it could even disturb you?”
The red-robed woman glanced sideways at the purple-robed woman, her arms crossed over her chest. Her posture inadvertently accentuated her proud figure.
The purple-robed woman was holding a purple crystal token in her hand.
In response to the red-robed woman’s complaint, the purple-robed woman remained composed, not a single ripple of emotion showing on her face.
She simply lowered her gaze to the purple token in her hand, then gently pressed her jade-like finger on it.
The purple token instantly blazed with a brilliant, dazzling purple light, spreading out in layers like ripples, dyeing the surrounding snow with a beautiful purplish glow.
“Director, a large number of Purifying White Lotus Nightmare Blossoms have appeared in Feihe Province, Ming Province in the southern domain.”
“That old man Mu Yun and I are being held up by a Demon King-level cyan serpent that’s reached the Grand Perfection stage, along with those heretics from the Purifying White Lotus Cult.”
“We can’t get away for the time being. Please, Director, lend us your aid!”
In the silent, snowy field, these few words spoken in an aged voice echoed continuously.
“A Demon King at Grand Perfection?”
“Those Purifying White Lotus Cult heretics?”
“Hee hee hee!”
“Sister, it seems those Purifying White Lotus Cult fools have gotten another dose of power from the lands outside our domain!”
“Those White Lotus Nightmare Blossoms clearly came from beyond the borders of the Great Xia Dynasty.”
The purple-robed woman just furrowed her brow slightly at the red-robed woman’s easygoing teasing.
Then, the purple-robed woman’s jade hand gently brushed across the purple crystal token. The purple light that had just appeared suddenly intensified, like a purple full moon rising in the vast snowy field.
The next moment, within the purple radiance, a blurry figure became visible.
The moment this figure appeared, the red-robed woman beside the purple-robed woman instantly dropped her playful expression, becoming very solemn and respectful.
The red-robed woman clasped her hands together, knelt on one knee, and spoke respectfully.
“Your humble subject, Lin Yuexi, Deputy Director of the Sky Surveillance Office, pays homage to Your Majesty!”
The purple-robed woman beside her, however, didn’t kneel as dramatically. She simply parted her lips slightly and spoke.
“Your Majesty, I have received a message from Deputy Director Li Chengxing. White Lotus Nightmare Blossoms have appeared in Feihe Province, Ming Province in the southern domain.”
“I am currently in the northern domain and cannot personally rush to the southern domain. I await Your Majesty’s decision!”
The purple-robed woman stopped there and looked with her beautiful eyes at the blurry figure in mid-air.
Far away in the imperial capital, deep within the royal palace, Xia Mingyue sat upright on the dragon throne.
In front of Xia Mingyue was a mysterious purple light, clearly showing the images of Lin Yuexi and the other woman.
“Hmm?”
“White Lotus Nightmare Blossoms?”
“The southern domain?”
Xia Mingyue softly murmured the words “southern domain.” Suddenly, a person’s name popped into her mind.
Lu Xuan!
He was the boldest man Xia Mingyue had ever met in her life.
She was the reigning emperor, yet after issuing an imperial decree summoning this Lu Xuan to appear before her,
she never expected that he would actually make her wait for over an entire month.
“Well, fine then. I’ll let this Lu Xuan quell the rebellion in Feihe Province, southern domain, to make up for this grave offense of disrespect!”
Thinking this, a deep, dark light flashed in Xia Mingyue’s eyes.
After speaking a few casual words, the purple light that had appeared before her gradually faded away.
“Zi Yao, receive my decree!”
“Order Lu Xuan, Deputy Director of the Black Bird Office, to proceed immediately to Feihe Province in Ming Province, put down the chaos, and eliminate every single heretic related to the Purifying White Lotus Cult!”
“Yes, Your Humble Subject obeys!”
In the snowy northern domain, Lin Yuexi, who had been silently standing by, immediately reverted to her usual self after seeing the figure in the sky disappear.
Upon hearing the name Lu Xuan, a strange expression appeared on Lin Yuexi’s face.
After getting this news last month, she had already found it incredibly hard to believe.
But what she never expected was that His Majesty would value this Lu Xuan so highly as to issue a decree for him to go and quell the rebellion in Feihe Province.
“Sister Zi Yao, who exactly is this Lu Xuan, to make His Majesty break tradition and appoint him as the fourth Deputy Director of the Black Bird Office?”
Lin Yuexi patted the snow off her knees with her hand, her beautiful eyes raised slightly, full of curiosity and doubt.
Zi Yao’s eyes were cold, and she showed no intention of speaking.
She just shook her head gently. The few stray strands of hair falling across her cheek fluttered slightly in the light breeze.
Then, Zi Yao raised the purple crystal token in her right hand again. Purple light surged forth like a sweeping tide!
Fuzhou, Qingxi Prefecture!
Right now, Lu Xuan hadn’t chosen to leave Qingxi Prefecture’s capital city. He had stayed behind because of a certain matter.
Outside a imposing, extraordinary mansion in the prefecture city, it was surrounded by yamen runners.
Lu Xuan quietly appeared behind these runners, keeping close to the rear of the large crowd of onlookers.
“Did you hear?”
“It sounds like Assistant Administrator Wu and his whole family were all killed last night.”
“What nonsense are you talking? Assistant Administrator Wu was a Blood Refining realm martial artist. How could he have been killed?”
“Who’s talking nonsense? I heard the screams coming from over here clearly last night, but I just thought…”
Not far in front of Lu Xuan, two sturdy men seemed to be arguing heatedly.
One of them, with bronze-colored skin, was stomping his foot in place while trying to explain, his face turning beet red.
Veins bulged on his neck, and his body kept shivering, as if he were recalling the terrifying sounds from the night before.
However, their speaking voices were too loud, drawing the attention of the yamen runners up ahead.
Just then, a man dressed differently from the other runners slowly walked to the front of the crowd.
He wore a black constable’s uniform, a long blade hung at his waist, and his steps were steady yet imposing. Once he stopped,
this official was none other than the Chief Constable of Qingxi Prefecture’s capital city.
The Chief Constable narrowed his eyes, glaring intently at the two men speaking, and opened his mouth to shout harshly.
“You thought what!”
“You damn fools, get out of here right now! If you say one more word, don’t blame me for hauling you back to the yamen and putting you to severe torture!”
His angry shout was like a booming bell, making everyone’s head buzz.
Especially the two men the Chief Constable had targeted. Their legs immediately went weak, they fell silent in fear, and they scrambled away from the crowd in a panic.
‘He thought what?’
The Chief Constable of Qingxi Prefecture naturally knew what those men had been about to say.
They were just going to talk about the sleazy things that late Assistant Administrator had done while he was alive.
That Assistant Administrator Wu was a ruthless man. An uncountable number of innocent people had died at his mansion!
Of course, the Chief Constable’s angry shout had absolutely no effect on Lu Xuan.
Lu Xuan’s gaze, however, remained fixed on that mansion. His spiritual sense was wildly scanning every single corner of it.
After a few breaths, a glint of delight flashed in Lu Xuan’s eyes.
Sure enough, it was these damned things again!
Just as Lu Xuan shifted his focus entirely onto the mansion ahead, the crowd of onlookers around him all hurriedly dispersed, running off.
Only Lu Xuan was left standing alone in place, completely motionless.
“Hey, which family’s young master are you? Leave here immediately, Constable.”
“Otherwise, I don’t care what connections you have. I’ll arrest you and take you back to the yamen right now!”
After the Chief Constable of Qingxi Prefecture had finished sizing up Lu Xuan, a look of amazement appeared in his eyes.
The young man before him stood tall and straight. He wore a sharp and capable black outfit, with sword-like brows and starry eyes.
His deep eyes seemed to hold endless sharpness, yet his every movement and gesture carried an air of natural grace and nobility.
With such an extraordinary, otherworldly presence, which family’s young master could this be? I’ve never seen him before.
Seeing that Lu Xuan didn’t react at all, the Chief Constable’s brow furrowed tightly, but his tone unconsciously softened a bit.
“Young master, the Prefect has ordered that no one is allowed to linger here.”
“Please, young master, don’t interfere with our duties!”
The Chief Constable of Qingxi Prefecture chose to err on the side of caution, not acting as fiercely as before.
If he actually stepped on a tough guy, he’d be asking for a whole heap of trouble.
The next instant, Lu Xuan took a single step forward. The space around him suddenly twisted.
After a flash of purple light, Lu Xuan had vanished from the spot, leaving no trace behind.
That Chief Constable and the runners behind him were dumbstruck, their eyes wide open in shock at this spectacular, unheard-of sight.
For a long moment, no one could react. Their mouths hung wide open, wide enough to fit an egg.
What was that?
A flash?
???????
Did my eyes just play tricks on me?
The Chief Constable of Qingxi Prefecture raised his hands and rubbed his eyes vigorously, then stared intently at the spot where Lu Xuan had just been standing.
“Hey, did you see that?!”
“Yeah, Chief Constable, that person just now seemed to… to… to have vanished into thin air.”
Hearing this, the Chief Constable’s face turned pale, becoming extremely grim.
Could he be seeing those ghostly things in broad daylight?
How is it that I, a Blood Refining realm martial artist, didn’t sense even a hint of yin energy?
Ah, that young man just now must have been cultivating some kind of martial movement technique that let him move faster than we could perceive.
Yes, that must be it!
“Alright, stop overthinking it.”
“That man’s martial movement technique was extremely skilled, which is why you couldn’t see clearly.”
“I saw it perfectly well myself!”
To steady his men, the Chief Constable closed his eyes and spouted a few nonsense words.
Deep within the mansion, in a eerily quiet courtyard, the air still carried the heavy, lingering smell of blood.
The mottled, decaying courtyard walls and the withered lawn were splattered with dried blood, as if one had stepped into a hellish abyss.
In an instant, in a corner of the courtyard, space began to warp and twist. Lu Xuan stepped out of it effortlessly.
Unmoved by the terrifying scene in the courtyard, his gaze cold and severe, he looked straight past it towards the main room of the courtyard.
Then, faint purple light shimmered in Lu Xuan’s eyes. His deep pupils transformed into two mysterious purple abysses, piercing right through the closed door.
Inside the room was a complete mess. Tables and chairs were overturned. Expensive porcelain lay shattered all over the floor, reflecting cold light in the dim sunlight.
“Die!”
In a flash, the door was blown open by a tremendous force. Two twisted, horrifying faces instantly appeared within Lu Xuan’s line of sight.
Their skin was a sickly purple, their eye sockets deeply sunken. Their dark, hollow eyes held boundless resentment and malice.
Their howls seemed to come straight from the deepest hell. The long hair on their heads lashed about wildly like venomous snakes.
However, only Lu Xuan could see these two twisted, hideous faces.
To be precise, only a Spirit Mansion true master could see them. Lu Xuan’s spiritual sense had already locked onto them.
Because right now, they weren’t in the human world. They were deep within a different dimension, completely separate from the mundane mortal realm.
“So this is the place where these weird things usually hide, huh?”
“Those two vengeful spirits, Zhang Yingxue and Wu Wei, were hiding in a different dimension before.”
No wonder I couldn’t sense the source of the yin energy.
Lu Xuan raised his right hand slightly. His spiritual sense descended instantly. A terrifying pressure of energy and will swept towards the two ghostly faces like raging, turbulent waves.
The air was compressed, creating visible ripples and a crackling, popping sound.
The house opposite seemed unable to bear the strain. Dust shook loose from it. The doors, windows, and walls began to slowly crack.
Lu Xuan’s spiritual sense, seemingly solidifying, transformed into countless sharp purple blades. They streaked across the ethereal void, precisely slashing towards those two twisted, horrifying faces.
The two ghostly faces sensed the fatal threat. They howled miserably, trying to dodge Lu Xuan’s attack.
But it was a futile struggle. Lu Xuan’s spiritual power easily erased the two ghostly faces.
However, after Lu Xuan destroyed them, there was still some black energy left floating quietly in another part of the void.
What is this?
Could it be the origin of these weird entities?
‘Weird entities are immortal and indestructible’—that was a rule Lu Xuan knew!
Seeing this, Lu Xuan’s spiritual power morphed into a giant purple hand again, reaching for those black wisps of energy.
Under Lu Xuan’s expectant gaze, the giant purple hand passed right through the black energy, as if there was nothing there at all, just empty nothingness.
“Sigh, it seems even a Spirit Mansion true master can’t completely destroy these things, huh?”
Host: Lu Xuan
Realm: Spirit Mansion True Master
Techniques: Heaven-Scorching Saber Technique 3/9, Instantaneous Horizon 0/9, Immortal and Indestructible 2/9
Points: 29,600
Host, please confirm whether to consume 16,000 system points to deduce ‘Immortal and Indestructible’!
Host, please confirm whether to consume 20,000 system points to deduce ‘Instantaneous Horizon’.
So, it increased by 3,000 system points. Looks like each ghost face was worth 1,500 points.
These two vengeful weird entities were way, way weaker than Zhang Yingxue and Wu Wei from before.
Just as Lu Xuan was checking his system, suddenly, he felt some movement from inside his robe.
Lu Xuan furrowed his brow slightly and took out his identity token from his robe. It was the red crystal token belonging to the Deputy Director of the Black Bird Office.
Lu Xuan rubbed the token, pondering to himself.
Was someone looking for him?
With that thought, Lu Xuan injected a strand of his spiritual sense into the red crystal token.
