Xiushe

"Min Zhan?"

"How can it be..."

Upon hearing the name, Song Qingshu and Nangong Ning were visibly startled, their eyes filled with disbelief.

Xu Xian was puzzled and asked, "Are you two familiar with him?"

Song Qingshu lowered his gaze and said slowly, "Min Zhan, a late-stage nascent soul cultivator, is the number one expert in Yecheng. He is the Deputy City Lord of Yecheng and the Grand Marshal of its military. He personally established the Yecheng Black Iron Cavalry, which is known to be invincible. He has guarded the borders of Yecheng and served three generations of city lords. Twenty years ago, when Cangwu invaded Gaofeng Valley, the Wendao Sword Sect received a plea for help. By the time we arrived, the valley was a river of blood, strewn with corpses. Later, we heard it was him alone, with a single blade, who held back the charge of tens of thousands of cavalry. An aging hero with a white beard like halberds, yet his ambition never faded. He is a great hero in the hearts of Yecheng's people. How could he..."

Nangong Ning remained silent.

Ruan Zhong, however, spat out a mouthful of blood and said indignantly, "Bah, hero my foot! If he hadn't ambushed me from behind, how could I have fallen into that old thief's hands? I was at the Tianzhu County Prefecture Office reviewing records when he suddenly arrived, claiming he had been investigating the matter in secret. He said you all were in danger and offered to come with me to rescue you. I respected him as a great figure and didn't suspect a thing. On the way, he suddenly attacked and heavily wounded me. Despicable, shameless, vile... Once I get out, I'll tear him apart!"

It was clear that Ruan Zhong was furious.

They had lost this entire engagement and ended up in this state because they had been outplayed by others. Every step had been a death trap.

However, this also confirmed Xu Xian's suspicion: the collaborator in Yecheng was indeed someone of high status and power.

Xu Xian whispered, "Vile men are easy to spot, but a gentleman is hard to guard against. That saying is absolutely true. You shouldn't blame yourself..."

Nangong Ning murmured, "Cangwu, demonic cultivators, the blood pool, Yecheng... These people have planned everything so meticulously. What exactly are they trying to do?"

Ruan Zhong replied without thinking, "Rebellion, obviously."

Nangong Ning shook her head. She didn't argue but said pensively, "It's definitely not that simple."

"Xiushe."

A raspy voice suddenly spoke. The four of them turned simultaneously to look at the man who had the highest cultivation among the five prisoners—a mid-stage core formation cultivator. He was staring at the blood pool before him, his eyes filled with dread.

"Hmm?"

The man slowly turned his head, his gaze falling on the four of them in turn. He nodded weakly and said, "Feng Shisan, Hall Master of the Supervision Hall, greets the Martial Uncles and the Little Grand-Uncle."

Xu Xian said casually, "At a time like this, let's skip the formalities. What did you just say? Xiushe? What is Xiushe?"

He struggled to lift a skeletal hand to point at the blood pool. "That crimson core is the inner core of the ancient great demon Xiushe. They want to resurrect Xiushe and throw our Northern Borders into chaos. It must be so... I should have realized it sooner..."

Hearing this, the four of them turned their gazes to the floating core, all of them furrowing their brows.

Resurrection?

What an absurd notion. How could the dead return to life?

But this was the Cangming Realm; it wasn't impossible.

The Zhuque undergoes nirvana. The imperial butterfly forms a chrysalis. Legends of withered wood blooming in spring were everywhere.

When he first heard the name Xiushe, Xu Xian's mind began to work rapidly, and memories that didn't belong to him flashed into existence.

'According to the Great Desolation Bestiary: Xiushe is one of the ten great ominous snakes of antiquity. Its body is pitch black with a green head and tusks, and its belly is orange. It is massive, reaching several thousand meters in length. It can swallow all things, is inherently tyrannical, and enjoys eating people—especially infants...'

Seeing that the horror in the eyes of the other three matched his own, Xu Xian confirmed, "That thing is indeed a beast core. But whether it's the core of Xiushe, I don't know."

Earlier, when he first arrived, Xu Xian had used his Pupil of Insight to examine the core. It was indeed a beast core, but because his cultivation was too low, he couldn't identify exactly which beast it belonged to.

Nangong Ning stared fixedly at the core, her throat tightening as she said hoarsely, "If that's the case, we must destroy it. Otherwise..."

She didn't finish her sentence, but the dread in her eyes said everything.

Ruan Zhong questioned, "Even if it's a beast core, it might not be Xiushe's. Could it be something else?"

Nangong Ning was silent because she truly couldn't see the details within the core. She turned her gaze toward Feng Shisan and asked, "Hall Master Feng, how do you know this is Xiushe's core?"

Feng Shisan swallowed hard, lowered his eyes, and said in a raspy voice:

"I once heard a rumor among the common folk. In ancient times, a great serpent plagued the world, feeding on human infants. Then the Sky Gate opened, and immortals descended to slay it. The great serpent fell, its body transforming into Snake Valley and giving rise to Giant Bamboo. The great serpent in the legend was Xiushe, and the place where Xiushe fell should be this very location."

"A centipede may die, but it does not stiffen; a thousand-year-old snake leaves behind a core."

"Initially, I was only guessing. But when I was trapped in this blood pool, I heard two people talking in my haze. I remember them mentioning a 'Snake Lord.' I believe the Snake Lord they referred to is Xiushe..."

"I once happened upon a record of Xiushe in the Great Desolation Bestiary in the sect's library. It is one of the ten great ominous snakes and possesses incredible regenerative abilities. If one obtains the snake core and nourishes it with extreme yin essence blood, its spirit can be regrouped and its physical body regrown."

"The blood of female infants less than a month old is the most natural extreme yin essence blood. This place is where Xiushe fell, so the mountains and rivers here still retain traces of its aura."

After a pause, Feng Shisan's tone grew heavier. "If they are determined to resurrect something, I think it can only be the ominous Xiushe."

The four of them remained silent, acknowledging that his analysis was very logical.

Nangong Ning said, "Regardless of whether it's Xiushe or not, it must be destroyed."

Song Qingshu and Ruan Zhong agreed.

This had been their mission from the start.

Xu Xian, however, spoke up. "Our priority right now isn't destroying this core. Even if they really can resurrect it, it won't happen overnight. For safety's sake, I think we should focus on how to escape. Completing the mission is important, but we can only do more missions if we're alive, right?"

Ruan Zhong agreed, "The Little Grand-Uncle is absolutely right."

Song Qingshu also echoed, "I think the Little Grand-Uncle has a point. If this really is the core of the ominous Xiushe, we might not be able to destroy it completely. On the contrary, we might alert those demonic cultivators. By then, the core wouldn't be destroyed, and the news wouldn't get out..."

Nangong Ning glanced at Xu Xian, her gaze resolute.

The matter of Xiushe was important, and the situation in Yecheng was tricky. But nothing was more important than the person standing before her.

He was the Little Grand-Uncle of the Wendao Sword Sect, the one who had gained enlightenment from the sword stele, the owner of an immortal sword, and a natural sword spirit root.

Although the Wendao Sword Sect always advocated for equality and believed that no life was more precious than another, talk was one thing and reality was another. Xu Xian was too important to the sect, especially after spending a few days with him and seeing his potential. In the future, the thousand-year destiny of the Wendao Sword Sect would surely rest on his shoulders alone.

Before they left, Wen Qingxue had specifically instructed her to ensure the Little Grand-Uncle's safety at all costs.

Xu Xian was too vital to the sect. As she had said before, if anything happened to him, they wouldn't have the face to be buried at Burial Sword Peak even if they died.

"Fine! We'll do as the Little Grand-Uncle says. We break our way out first!"