AGM 525 – Glistening Teardrops
Qin Wentian stood among those from the Battle Sword Sect. He silently surveyed the place, taking in the majesty of this ancient country. A country with a history of over ten thousand years would naturally be extremely fearsome, and while on the road Liu Yun had already explained to him that the elimination rate of the major powers was exceedingly high in the Royal Sacred Region. The disputes were all of a much greater scale and there was also the occasional appearance of a heaven-defying genius—those who were capable of toppling major powers once they had matured.
Hence, there would be many powers vanis.h.i.+ng from the Royal Sacred Region as they were unable to withstand the tests of time. But of course, that also meant that there would be just as many new powers rising up in prominence. Ultimately, only those truly strong powers would be able to consistently solidify their foundations and grow stronger and stronger. There were powers whose history/heritage hadn"t even reached the ten thousand year mark, yet they were still considered indomitable. But even they couldn"t begin to compare to Ye Country, with its own history of over ten thousand years.
Staring at the group of young cultivators from the Violet Thunder Sect, those from the Battle Sword Sect found that they too, were staring back at them. The person in the lead should be none other than the son of the Qi King—Ye Kongfan—a demon-level genius from the Violet Thunder Sect. This person"s innate talent was frightfully high and possessed the Calamity Lightning Bloodline with an innate Heavenly Lightning Physique. He was exceptionally suitable to cultivate the ultimate arts from the Violet Thunder Sect and now his cultivation base was at the seventh level of Heavenly Dipper, possessing an astonis.h.i.+ng level of combat strength.
Ye Kongfan was clad in golden imperial robes and exuded the aura of a king. His resplendent eyes shone with a fearsome aura that threatened to erupt forth at any moment.
At this moment, Ye Kongfan"s eyes had landed onto Duan Han. He then emotionlessly stated, "The ninth personal disciple under Sword Sovereign Ling Tian, Duan Han."
"Ye Kongfan." Duan Han"s pitch-black eyes shone with a bright glow as he stared at him.
Ye Kongfan"s eyes contained a sharp smile within as it swept over the other members from the Battle Sword Sect. "To think that the Battle Sword Sect would be so free to visit my Ye Country, I really have to give you a grand welcome. However, I thought that members from the Battle Sword Sect only pursued the martial path and had no interest towards secular things? Coincidently, I"ve already invited the Holy Maiden to our Ye Country"s battle arena so she can admire our Ye Country"s strength. Since the members of the Battle Sword Sect have also arrived, why don"t we visit the battle arena together after the Holy Maiden finishes the treatment?"
The compet.i.tion in the Royal Sacred Region was extremely cruel, with everyone placing emphasis on the martial path. Naturally, the Ye Country was the same as well—this battle arena was the main arena in the Ye Country and it was built for the purpose of recruiting talents within their ranks.
"Since the prince has personally extended an invitation, how could they dare reject?" Ye Kongfan was the son of King Qi and was also a chosen from the Violet Thunder Sect. Of course, since they were now in the Ye Country, his status as the prince took more precedence.
"I heard that the personal disciples under Sword Sovereign Ling Tian all boasted of their overwhelming combat prowess. If brother Duan Han were to display his might on the battle arena, everyone in Ye will surely be filled with excitement," a member from the Violet Thunder Sect added, his words causing the gazes of those from the Battle Sword Sect to turn sharp. This man was truly impolite.
How could members of the Battle Sword Sect display their combat prowess just because they were told to do so? And all for the Ye citizen"s entertainment? If they did so, wouldn"t their statuses be lowered from such a demeaning act?
"If the members from the Violet Thunder Sect are partic.i.p.ating as well, we will definitely step up on the arena to seek your guidance," Jiang Huai coldly replied, his words causing that young man from the Violet Thunder Sect to snicker coldly. Enmity radiated from the people of both sects, they were all in a state of mutual hostility. It was as if one wrong word could cause a fight to instantly break out.
The compet.i.tion between the nine great sects were more intense than one could imagine. Members of the nine great sects would often enter into confrontations when they were roaming the Royal Sacred Region. This was especially true for members from the Battle Sword Sect. They had the least number of experts in the nine great sects, yet their individual combat prowess was the strongest. How could members of the other eight sects not provoke them whenever an opportunity was to be found?
During his time in the Xuan King City, Qin Wentian had already experienced for himself the compet.i.tiveness between the nine great sects. There was nothing strange about this situation today.
Right now, an old man from the Ye Country walked towards those from the Battle Sword Sect as he gratefully stated, "This old man thanks all of you for protecting the princess on her journey back home."
The old man was a loyal subject of the Human Emperor of Ye Country. How could he fail to understand the good intentions of the Battle Sword Sect when he saw them escorting Ye Lingshuang back.
"Lingshuang is my junior sister, this is only something we should do. Old man, there’s no need for thanks," Duan Han replied with courtesy.
The face of the old man was painted with grat.i.tude as he spoke, "Currently, our Ye Country is in a state of chaos. I dare not be presumptuous, but if something really does happen, I hope that all of you heroes will be able to protect the princess. Stop her from doing anything foolish."
"We will." Duan Han nodded, "Old man, you don’t need to be so worried. Since the Holy Maiden of the Medicine Sovereign Sect is here personally, the Human Emperor will certainly be able to make a full recovery."
The old man sighed as he shook his head, the worry on his face was still apparent. Evidently, he didn’t share his optimism on the situation.
"The Human Emperor has endured this illness for quite a long time." The old man sighed again.
Duan Han and the rest exchanged glances with furrowed brows—it would seem as though the Human Emperor"s situation was extremely serious, to the extent that this old man wasn’t even confident that the Emperor would be cured, despite the Holy Maiden coming here personally.
Not only that, the Ye Country was an ancient country, so there was no need to doubt the power it wielded. When the Human Emperor"s illness had acted up, there should be many experienced healers and alchemists that had already attended to him, yet none had been able to do a thing in healing him. Now, there was no choice but to invite the Medicine Sovereign Valley to step in.
The Medicine Sovereign Valley have always taken a pa.s.sive stance and their status was seen as extraordinary. It was extremely tough for ordinary people to invite them, and to have the Holy Maiden herself show up to provide treatment? The Ye Country must have paid a hefty price in order to do so.
After waiting awhile outside, Ye Lingshuang came out. The rims of her eyes were red, evidently she had just been crying not long ago. There were also a number of people beside her, a few palace maids as well as two young men who bore a striking resemblance to her. They were none other than the legitimate princes of the Ye Country.
"Ye Tan thanks the members of the Battle Sword Sect." The crown prince Ye Tan walked towards the members of the Battle Sword Sect and dipped into a bow, showing his grat.i.tude.
"You are welcome," Duan Han lightly replied. He then turned his gaze onto Ye Lingshuang, "Lingshuang, how"s the situation?"
"My father has contracted a slow-acting poison, and apparently the poison has already been active for a long period of time. This poison hid itself deep in his body and once it erupts it can steal the life of the victim away. And since my father has just been through a deadly battle, the poison instantly circulated around his body and he"s now in imminent danger." Ye Lingshuang"s voice was hoa.r.s.e, and as she spoke, her eyes reddened once more.
"Do those from the Sovereign Medicine Sect have any methods to cure him?" Qiao Yu asked.
"The Holy Maiden said that she only has the ability to temporarily suppress the poison from acting up, but if we are talking about total recovery…" Ye Lingshuang broke off mid-sentence. The others understood her unspoken words, as their hearts silently shuddered. The poison was even enough to claim the life of such a powerhouse like the Human Emperor? One could see how fearsome this poison was exactly.
At this moment, a row of figures walked out from the Human Emperor Hall. These figures were all clad in white, and were all beautiful females with demeanors akin to fairies.
The gazes of everyone s.h.i.+fted in their direction. Ye Kongfan and his cronies took the lead, walking over with a smile on his face, "You"ve all worked hard."
Qin Wentian similarly stared in the direction of the white-robed maidens. They should be the guards designated by the Medicine Sovereign Valley to protect the safety of the Holy Maiden.
And in the lead, there were three other maidens. The one standing on the left and right were extremely beautiful, yet their radiance and splendor were all overshadowed when seen together with the female standing in the center.
Because the maiden standing in the center was simply too dazzling, it was as though her appearance could cause everything around her to lose their color.
"So devastatingly beautiful that she can topple kingdoms."
Liu Yun"s eyes brightened as he stared at that figure. Not just him, the others from the Battle Sword Sect were all looking at her with similar states of amazement. The radiance radiating from her was indescribable.
These were all experts from the Battle Sword Sect, and each had firm hearts and tenacious wills, but right now, all of them couldn"t help but be distracted.
However, Qin Wentian was the only one who felt an intense pain rumbling in his heart. In fact, he had even forgotten to breathe. Soon after the pain, a warmth slowly blossomed from within his chest, which was then followed by a radiant smile as that huge rock embedded in his heart was finally released.
"Qingcheng…"
Qin Wentian wanted nothing more than to throw his head back and howl to the heavens.Immediately, his silhouette flickered, moving as fast as a bolt of lightning as he dashed in the direction of the Holy Maiden. The Holy Maiden of the Medicine Sovereign Sect was actually Mo Qingcheng!
"Mhm?" Seeing Qin Wentian"s actions, the others from the Battle Sword Sect were shocked awake from their stunned states. Those from the Violet Thunder Sect were all glaring at Qin Wentian, their eyes filled with a dark grim look as though they wanted nothing more than to kill him. The audacity. How dare he?
"IMPUDENT!"
Ye Kongfan coldly shouted, blasting forth with a palm imprint. A terrifying bolt of calamitous lightning fired forth towards Qin Wentian. Qin Wentian raised his palm in response, causing a t.i.tanic boom to rumble out. His body was forced back a few steps from the impact as he felt an intense pain in his palm. The power of that bolt of lightning had actually numbed his entire arm.
The maidens from the Medicine Sovereign Sect coldly stared at Qin Wentian, radiating waves of coldness that enveloped Qin Wentian within. An overwhelming pressure descended onto Qin Wentian—if he moved a single step, they would kill him instantly with no hesitation.
"JUNIOR BROTHER!" Those from the Battle Sword Sect sensing the killing intent immediately rushed forward, standing around Qin Wentian protectively.
Yet from the start up till now, Qin Wentian"s eyes were solely on Mo Qingcheng. It was as though he had forgotten about everything else.
Mo Qingcheng was still alive, she didn"t die! Is there anything in this world that was more beautiful than her? His smile was as radiant as earlier, as though he couldn"t feel the numbness in his arm or the overwhelming pressure pressing down on him as he stared at that familiar figure he saw countless times every time he closed his eyes.
The Holy Maiden of the Medical Sovereign Valley turned her gaze onto Qin Wentian. The instant her eyes landed on his silhouette, she actually felt a swift stab of pain right in her heart. However, that pain soon faded as her eyes regained her earlier emotionless look. The aura she was projecting seemed so distant, as though no one would be able to get close to her. This guy in front of her right now seemed so familiar, yet looked like a stranger.
"How dare you? Seeing that you"re someone from the Battle Sword Sect, we will forget your transgression this time around. Should this happen again, don"t blame us for showing no mercy." Ye Kongfan icily snorted. After which he s.h.i.+fted his gaze and stated, "Holy Maiden, should we proceed to the battle arena?"
Mo Qingcheng paused for a moment as the faintest trace of confusion flashed past her eyes. After which, she turned to move towards the Ye Country"s battle arena, escorted by a bevy of her guards. Those from the Violet Thunder Sect were all staring at Qin Wentian with cold smiles on their faces.
"You"d better control yourself, that"s the Holy Maiden of the Medicine Sovereign Valley." The young man from the Violet Thunder Sect snorted. Although the members from the Battle Sword Sect were unhappy with his att.i.tude, they didn"t say anything. After all, Qin Wentian had indeed acted a little too impulsively.
Qin Wentian stood dumbly in his original location, that radiant smile on his face fading away with the swiftness of a bolt from the blue. Mo Qingcheng hadn"t recognized him?
What was happening?
Mo Qingcheng was in the center of the crowd, yet the two females walking next to her could see that she wore a dazed expression on her face, as though she was beside herself with agony.
"Holy Maiden, what"s wrong?" one of the females asked in a low voice.
"Why is his face so familiar, my heart feels so pained…" Mo Qingcheng whispered, her words causing the expressions of the two females to falter. Back then, Mo Qingcheng was hovering on the edge of life and death and had been saved by the Medicine Sovereign. After she awoke, there were holes in her memories—she suffered from amnesia.
They didn"t say anything more, yet they had never seen such an expression on Mo Qingcheng"s face before. It was as though she had lost her soul, her face totally devoid of blood.
Mo Qingcheng felt the pain in her heart getting increasingly intense as beads of perspiration appeared on her forehead. So familiar, why was he so familiar? Right now, it felt as though there was a flood of memories wanting to break through a barrier in her mind, she felt as though she was about to remember something.
"My head feels so painful." Mo Qingcheng closed her eyes and without realizing it, glistening teardrops suddenly began to flow down her cheeks, like thunder from a clear sky.
That day in winter, where snowflakes drifted all about. A handsome youth sat beneath a tree, yet he seemed so dumb at the same time, he wasn"t aware of the young girl"s intentions as she sat beside him.
The snowflakes were extremely beautiful, the two of them sat underneath the tree, sitting there with the sweet joy of innocence.
The young girl stretched her hand out, allowing the snowflakes to land on her palm. She then departed with a laugh, leaving after calling the youth a dumbo.
This scenario was so beautiful, so beautiful to the extent that it could melt the heart of anyone who saw it.
"Holy Maiden!" The two females beside her were completely taken aback. Mo Qingcheng"s face was completely covered with tears!
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AGM 526 – How Could I Forget
Those from the Medicine Sovereign Valley all halted their steps because the Holy Maiden had suddenly stopped, standing there unmoving.
Several of the white-robed maidens stared at the Holy Maiden, shocked beyond words. Tear stains could actually be seen on that world-shocking countenance? What exactly happened?
The other maidens couldn"t help but turn to the two in the lead beside Mo Qingcheng, "What"s wrong with the Holy Maiden?"
"I don"t know." Right now, panic could also be seen on the faces of the two maidens. "However from her words to us earlier, the Holy Maiden seemed to have recalled something from her past."
The eyes of the other maidens from the Medicine Sovereign Valley shone keenly. The Medicine Sovereign"s abilities were simply too heaven-defying. Although the Holy Maiden had been seriously injured, condensing her life force into a pill, hanging suspended between life and death, he was still able to save her. The Medicine Sovereign did say that the Holy Maiden would suffer short-term amnesia but once an intense stimulus triggered her, she would recover sooner or later.
Could it be that the Holy Maiden had regained her memories?
But…when was she ever exposed to an intense stimulus?
They had always been at the Holy Maiden"s side and nothing out of the ordinary had ever happened. The only exception was earlier when that young man had dashed over. To them, such a minor matter was totally disregarded. They simply wouldn"t be able to link this event to an "intense stimulus".
Their Holy Maiden continued standing there, seemingly out of sorts with tears flowing down her face unceasingly. Not only that, one of her hands were clutching her chest as though she was in extreme agony. At this moment, n.o.body dared to disturb her.
"Mhm?" Ye Kongfan and his cronies started in surprise, they were stunned by this scenario. What had happened to the Holy Maiden?
n.o.body understood what she was going through now. It was as though a bolt of lightning flashed through her mind, the countenance of the young man continuously appearing within.
The first time they met, was in a forest outside the borders of a city. She saved a young man but chose to remain anonymous.
The second time they met was in the royal capital of Chu. At that time, the Emperor Star Academy was holding a disciple recruitment event. She was sitting in a sedan chair with her friend, as she noticed him standing in the streets among the crowd. She locked eyes with him for an instant and flashed him a dazzling smile.
After that, during the training exercise in the Dark Forest, she had misunderstood him, causing her heart to be bombarded by an intense guilt.
Scene after scene of their meeting flashed through her mind. All the way until the Jun Lin Banquet, that silly guy who was once a youth had already grown up and had become a young man. His unrestrained and carefree temperament constantly imprinted itself into her heart. Gradually, she discovered the feeling of being in love. This feeling was truly beautiful, as sweet as honey. She thought about him often, and saw him every time she closed her eyes.
And the next scene, she arrived in the Pill Emperor Hall, she finally understood that the feeling of longing for someone was even more terrible than pain. But, he travelled all the way from Chu to the gates of the Pill Emperor Hall to find her. For her, he killed Hua Xiaoyun of the Hua Clan. For her, he stood proudly and arrogantly atop the Heavenly Fate Ranking battle arena holding her hand, proclaiming to the world that she, was his woman. At that moment, she felt as though the entire world was hers. For all eternity, she would never forget the moment when the mult.i.tude of gazes landed upon her. The determination and resoluteness in his eyes told the various chosen that even if he had to stand one against all, he would still hold on to her hand tightly.
Her tears soaked her robes yet n.o.body understood what was going on. It appeared that she recalled something, but what memory was so impactful that it would caused her to be in so much agony?
Mo Qingcheng felt as though her heart was being ripped apart, both her hands were now clutching her chest. She thought back to that last scene… Qin Wentian feeding his blood to the demon sword, transforming into a primordial great roc and splitting apart the Pill Emperor Hall, doing all this just to save her. She remembered him being surrounded by countless powerhouses, and getting heavily injured by Celestial Phenomenon Ascendants to the point of hovering at the border of death. How could she forget this? HOW COULD SHE HAVE EVER FORGOTTEN THIS?!
Suddenly, the crowd saw Mo Qingcheng turning, as she dashed with mad speed towards a certain direction. Her tears continued flowing unceasingly, akin to sparkling crystal tear drops, landing on the ground.
"HOLY MAIDEN!" The maidens from the Medicine Sovereign Valley as well as the experts from the Violet Thunder Sect turned pale with fright. They instantly rushed after Mo Qingcheng, what exactly happened to her? Why would she react in this manner?
Mo Qingcheng had experienced her lifetime once again in the span of a few short moments. How could her emotional state not be affected when she recalled the memories between her and that young man whom she treasured so much?
However, earlier when Mo Qingcheng simply walked past him, Qin Wentian had also felt an intense pain tearing his heart.
What was going on? Qingcheng, had she really forgotten him?
However when he recalled that Qingcheng had used the majority of her life force to condense a pill, he suddenly understood. He didn"t blame her in the slightest. Wasn"t just seeing her still alive already the greatest blessing from the heavens?
Once, he feared nothing more than losing her forever. But now since she was still alive, wasn"t this already perfect? Although she didn"t remember him now, he believed that she wasn"t doing this intentionally. She has only forgotten due to the aftermath of that terrible injury. Mo Qingcheng would eventually remember him, she definitely would.
As he thought of this, a smile appeared on Qin Wentian"s face once more. Everything was good.
Lifting his head and staring at the brilliant sunlight, he felt that today was truly a beautiful day.
Since she was alive, nothing else matters.
"Junior brother, you truly broaden my horizons. Although the Holy Maiden is an ultimate beauty, how could you rush up to her just like that? You are too ferocious." Liu Yun patted Qin Wentian on the shoulder, staring at Qin Wentian with hints of admiration in his eyes.
"Junior brother you are too impulsive. The Holy Maiden of the Medicine Sovereign Valley has an extraordinary status. As members of the Battle Sword Sect, we must take note of our reputation." Qiao Yu added. Qin Wentian"s behaviour was truly too impulsive.
Qin Wentian nodded his head lightly yet didn"t bother to explain anything, That smile on his face still remained there, unfading.
Ye Lingshuang was totally speechless when she saw Qin Wentian"s reaction. It was one thing to be lecherous. But right now, the Holy Maiden was the one responsible for treating her father. She didn"t even dare to imagine the consequences if they offended the Medicine Sovereign Valley.
"Junior Brother Qin… In the future, just treat it as doing me a favor, please don"t pull any more stunts like the one you just did, okay?" Ye Lingshuang didn"t feel good about blaming Qin Wentian. After all, he was part of the escort which protected her all the way back to the Ye Country. She could only try to persuade him gently.
"Senior Sister, that was my mistake earlier. I won"t repeat it." Qin Wentian also understood where Ye Lingshuang was coming from. The Medicine Sovereign Valley was her only hope, Ye Lingshuang naturally wouldn"t want to see any conflict occurring between the Battle Sword Sect and them.
"Thank you for your understanding." Ye Lingshuang softly replied.
Qin Wentian nodded his head in apology. There were a few other experts from the Ye Country on the side of the Human Emperor who were now staring at him with unfriendly gazes. As for those on the side of the Qi King, their eyes were filled with a mocking laughter.
"Qingcheng." Sighing silently in his heart, Qin Wentian turned and said, "Didn"t the members of the Violet Thunder Sect say that they wanted to go to the battle arena? Let"s go there as well."
"Mhm" The others agreed and headed off in that direction. Ye Lingshuang went as well, there would be attendants taking care of the Human Emperor.
However, right at this moment, they stood there stunned, unable to believe their eyes.
Ahead of them, a figure of stunning beauty was sprinting over. That beautiful face was actually covered in tears. Just a single glance at her would cause people to feel like their hearts were about to shatter.
"The Holy Maiden from the Medicine Sovereign Valley?" Everyone was dumbstruck, they didn"t know how to react.
The Holy Maiden was actually crying and she was rus.h.i.+ng their way.
Qin Wentian was also stunned. He swiftly smiled as he saw Qingcheng rus.h.i.+ng towards him.
Mo Qingcheng"s footsteps stopped. She stood in front of these people, lowering her head slightly. She lifted her hand as though she wanted to wipe her tears away, yet… she didn"t succeed. When she inclined her head again, the tears still continued falling but now, beneath the falling tears, there was a pure and flawless smile in her eyes. Such a level of beauty left all the guys in the Battle Sword Sect dumbfounded. Even Ye Lingshuang was deeply mesmerised.
Qin Wentian walked to Mo Qingcheng"s side. He stretched his hands out, gently placing them on her face as he wiped away the tear stains for her. Smiling sweetly at her, he spoke, "Don"t cry any more, we are together now, aren"t we?"
His voice was extremely gentle, Mo Qingcheng couldn"t help but to laugh at his words. However, her tears still had no way to stop. She trembled there, before lunging towards Qin Wentian tightly embracing him as though she was afraid that she would lose him once more.
Those from the Battle Sword Sect stood there dumbly like idiots, rubbing their eyes and wondering if what they just saw was an illusion.
Liu Yun"s mouth was wide open in a "O" shape. He then gulped down his saliva and cursed silently, "Which b.a.s.t.a.r.d is using illusion techniques on this daddy, me?"
Ye Lingshuang"s heart also pounded violently, she didn"t dare to believe what she was seeing. The Holy Maiden from the Medicine Sovereign Valley knew Qin Wentian before this?
"Holy Maiden." Those from the Medicine Sovereign Valley finally caught up. They too were badly shocked by this scene. All of them stood still as wooden puppets, looking on as the Holy Maiden of their sect was currently embracing a young man tightly.
Were the tears earlier all for him?
Was the agony she felt earlier all for him?
That intense stimulus that the Medicine Sovereign was talking about, was because of him?!
They felt their heads spinning. They had no way to reconcile what they were seeing with reality. Did their Holy Maiden and this guy once have an unforgettable love story deeply etched in her memories?
In that case, the impulsive actions of the young man earlier weren"t because he was affected by the beauty of the Holy Maiden? But instead, they were lovers?!
The members from the Violet Thunder Sect had ashen expressions. They hadn"t expected this at all.
Especially Ye Kongfan, he was a chosen from the Violet Thunder Sect, a prince of the ancient Ye Country. He had initially wanted to take this chance to build up a good relations.h.i.+p with the Holy Maiden and slowly steal her heart. But now, the impact of this blow from reality directly smashed his hopes into pieces.
Even an idiot could see that not only did the two of them know each other, they were lovers.
However, despite the love the Holy Maiden held for him, how could this man be worthy of her love? As he thought of this, a cold glint of light flashed past Ye Kongfan"s eyes.
"I"m sorry, I"m sorry, I"m sorry…" Mo Qingcheng kept uttering these words. She hated herself, how could she ever have forgotten him? Even now, she had no way to forgive herself, she hated herself for it.
"Qingcheng, don"t act like this, it"s okay." Qin Wentian felt his heart trembling when he saw Mo Qingcheng being consumed by her guilt. But didn"t he also feel the same way? It was all since he was weak which caused Qingcheng to almost die, losing her memories.
"Mhm." Mo Qingcheng nodded her head, yet her embrace was as tight as before. At this moment, it was as though they were alone within the world, with no one around to disturb them.
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