Collecting the Debt

His hand was already resting on the hilt of the dark saber at his waist. The pressure was light, but his fingers traced the curve of the hilt, looking as though he could draw it at any moment.

Qi Yan's voice was cold. “Release her.”

The Mirror Demon stared at him for a moment. She raised a hand to brush back the silver-white hair falling past her ear, her smile returning with a hint of amusement. “Your little disciple has quite some courage. She hasn't cried once since entering my mirror world, and she is still trying to find a way out. I originally wanted to tease her a bit—”

“Release her,” Qi Yan repeated. This time, his voice was half a pitch lower, and a visible layer of heat began to condense over the surrounding lake surface.

The Mirror Demon's gaze lingered on his hand gripping the hilt for a brief instant, her smile fading slightly.

She slowly took half a step back from the center of the lake, lightly waving her hand over the water. A ring of silver-white ripples spread across the surface. “Fine, I will grant you this favor. I haven't laid a finger on your little disciple; I merely trapped her inside to scare her a bit. I shall release her now—”

A rift split open in the middle of the lake, and a silver-white light surged out from within. Once the light dissipated, Lin Zhiyue's figure tumbled down from midair.

As she landed, her knees bent to absorb the impact, preventing her from falling. She still held the Azure Scale Sword in her hand, its blade stained with a few silver-white frost marks. Her hair was somewhat disheveled from the spiritual wind of the mirror world, and her face was slightly pale, but her eyes remained bright and clear.

She looked up and saw Qi Yan standing on the lakeshore. His hand had just released the saber hilt, and the heat rising from the surrounding water was slowly dissipating.

“Master?” she stammered, slightly dazed.

Qi Yan swept his gaze over her face. After confirming she had no injuries and her spiritual energy fluctuations were stable, he averted his eyes and looked at the figure in the center of the lake. “Thank you.”

The Mirror Demon chuckled softly. Her figure slowly sank into the depths of the lake, her voice drifting up from beneath the water with a chilly quality. “Venerable Yanchen is too polite. As a side note—the disciple who stole my true form intentionally drew the trouble toward your disciple. Otherwise, my fragment would not have actively dragged her into the mirror.”

The last wisp of silver-white vanished into the darkness. The surface of the lake returned to normal as if nothing had happened, once again reflecting the light of the sky.

Lin Zhiyue stood on the shore. She looked down at the dust on her clothes and her messy hair, then looked at Qi Yan's back.

He did not ask her what had happened, nor did he scold her. He simply turned, took a step back toward the path they came from, and cast a sideways glance at her.

“Follow me.”

Lin Zhiyue quickly caught up to him, following silently. After a few steps, she spoke up. “Master, the person who harmed me—”

“From the Qingling Sect,” Qi Yan interrupted. His tone was as flat as if he were speaking of a matter that had already been resolved. “I know. It is fine as long as you are safe.”

Lin Zhiyue opened her mouth, but she swallowed her words back down.

She followed behind Qi Yan through the dense forest. Sunlight filtered through the gaps in the canopy, spilling over his shoulders and the tips of his hair.

She looked down and squeezed her wrist. The greenish-gray mark had already faded significantly, and her skin was returning to normal.

The Mirror Demon's final whisper in her mind still echoed in her ears: “Yanchen is extremely protective. Little girl, you are truly fortunate.”

After leading Lin Zhiyue out of the Mirror Lake area, Qi Yan came to a halt at the entrance of the secret realm.

He looked back at Lin Zhiyue, confirming once more that she had no hidden injuries. He spoke briefly: “Do not go near Mirror Lake. Be careful on the rest of your journey.” Then, he turned and stepped through the light gate, his figure vanishing into the multicolored glow.

Lin Zhiyue turned and dashed in another direction. She decided to explore a few more areas rich in spiritual energy before nightfall.

When Qi Yan stepped out of the light gate, the Six Sects' camp at the edge of the valley still maintained the order they had before departure.

The elders and disciples left behind by each sect were scattered near their respective spirit boats. Some were organizing supplies, while others whispered in discussion about their next arrangements.

The Qingling Sect's spirit boat was docked at the easternmost position.

Qi Yan walked straight toward that spirit boat.

The one guarding the Qingling Sect's camp was a late-stage Nascent Soul elder sitting on a rock beside the spirit boat, drinking tea. When he saw Qi Yan approaching, he froze for a moment. He stood up, preparing to bow in greeting, but Qi Yan's saber was already unsheathed.

The dark blade leaped from its scabbard with a flash of crimson spiritual light. The edge carved a scorching arc through the air, slashing down toward the hull of the Qingling Sect's spirit boat.

Before the saber energy could even touch the vessel, a wave of heat surged ahead. The protective spiritual runes on the spirit boat's surface instantly flared in an attempt to defend it. But the moment the crimson blade light struck, those runes shattered like paper. The wooden hull was split wide open from bow to stern, sending splinters flying everywhere as the boat violently shuddered and tilted to one side.

Several Qingling Sect disciples scattered in panic, crying out.

The Nascent Soul elder turned deathly pale, the teacup in his hand falling to the ground and shattering into several pieces. He stumbled back two steps, his voice trembling. “Venerable Yanchen! What are you doing?! My Qingling Sect has never had any enmity with your Tiance Palace—”

Qi Yan did not sheathe his saber. The crimson spiritual light flared unsteadily along the blade's edge. Within moments, the temperature at the valley entrance surged by several degrees, drawing the attention of people from the other camps in the distance.

The air began to scorch, and the gravel on the ground turned slightly white from the high heat. The disciples standing nearby felt as though every breath they took carried a searing warmth.

Elders from other sects rushed over from their respective camps. The Soul Transformation Stage elder from the Piaoyin Sect was the first to speak: “Fellow Daoist Yanchen, let us talk this through calmly—”

Qi Yan did not look at him. His gaze remained locked on the Qingling Sect elder, his voice not loud but heavy enough to weigh down on every inch of the air. “Your disciple caused my disciple to be dragged into the Mirror Demon's illusion, then fled on her own. What is the meaning of your Qingling Sect's disciple provoking the Mirror Demon and implicating others?”

Elder Meng of Luohong Valley was the first to react.

He quickly stepped forward, stopping a few paces away. He kept his tone as gentle as possible. “Fellow Daoist Yanchen, please be reasonable. The Northern Realm Secret Realm is jointly managed by the Six Sects. If a disciple from any sect causes trouble, they will naturally be dealt with according to their own sect's internal rules. Why must you go this far—”

Qi Yan cast a sideways glance at Elder Meng.

“Reasonable?” The corner of Qi Yan's mouth twitched. It was less of a smile and more like the cold gleam of a blade reflecting off his lips. “I, Qi Yan, have never cared for being reasonable.”

The temperature at the valley entrance rose by several more degrees. Even the protective spiritual runes on the more distant spirit boats began to activate on their own to ward off the heat.

Everyone's expressions changed. Qi Yan had been in seclusion for many years and was rumored to be at the early-stage Soul Transformation Stage. Yet the spiritual energy fluctuations spilling from his saber at this moment were layering over one another, fierce and heavy. He had clearly reached the threshold of the late-stage Soul Transformation Stage, and even showed signs of overshadowing every Soul Transformation Stage cultivator present.

Elder Meng of Luohong Valley opened his mouth, but his words of persuasion faltered on his tongue and were swallowed back down.

They had all forgotten—twenty years ago, Qi Yan was everyone's nightmare.

The Qingling Sect's Nascent Soul elder was as pale as paper. His lips trembled for a long moment before he finally managed to say, “I... I will investigate this immediately. If it was indeed done by a disciple of our sect, we will definitely give you and Tiance Palace an explanation...”

Qi Yan sheathed his saber. The moment the crimson light retreated into the scabbard, the surrounding high heat slowly receded.

He gave the Qingling Sect elder one last look, his tone returning to its usual cold indifference. “Two hours. If you cannot find them, I will go in and find them myself.”

With that, he turned and walked back. As he passed Elder Meng, his pace did not falter, only his head turning slightly.

Under that gaze, Elder Meng instinctively took half a step back. Only after Qi Yan had walked past did he slowly exhale. He looked down at the edges of his sleeves, which had been slightly singed by the high heat, and silently withdrew his hands.

The surrounding people averted their eyes one after another, pretending to look at the distant wasteland or the sails of their own spirit boats. Not a single person spoke.

The valley entrance was so quiet that only the sound of sand scraping against stone in the wind could be heard, along with the occasional crackling from the rift in the Qingling Sect's spirit boat.