89 Reincarnation

What a palace this was—so exquisite it drew sighs from the heart. Though it resembled the Crystal Palace beneath the sea in the Stone Dominion, a closer look revealed countless subtle differences.

Whether in the ornaments hanging from the ceiling, the inlaid decorations on the walls, the objects arranged in the corners, or even the walls, the ceiling, and every component of the structure, all was lavishly refined, crystal-clear and radiant with shifting iridescence.

The Crystal Palace they had seen before had been beautiful enough, yet it was still far less graceful than the one before them now. It had captured form, but not at all the spirit. Everyone gazed upon the splendor with greedy eyes, as though no number of glances could ever be enough.

But Huai Yin strode straight ahead, wanting nothing more than to rush deeper in. The nearer he drew, the stronger the feeling became: his mother was sleeping within, and she, too, was waiting for his arrival.

Ever since Ji Yan entered the palace, he had felt utterly wrong.

Memories he had owed for so many years came surging back in torrents, churning through his mind and heart.

Every object inside was familiar, as though he had touched it a thousand, ten thousand times. Every scene seemed to have been arranged by his own hand, and the aura drifting through the palace was the very thing that had haunted his midnight dreams and longings.

By the time everyone reached the inner chamber where the enormous crystal coffin rested, his memories had fully returned, and his entire bearing had changed in turn. “I have come, Lady Underworld.”

Huai Yin stood alone beside the crystal coffin, his gaze blank. The others, seeing this, hurried forward in confusion to look.

The coffin was empty.

“How can this be? Her aura is strongest here. She should be in this very place!”

“She must have been taken away not long ago! Quickly, after them—they cannot have gone far!”

They split up. The fastest among them, Rong Ling and Huai Yin, followed the trail of Lady Underworld’s aura, while the others gave chase behind. As for Han Su, who moved the slowest, by the time she blinked in bewilderment, the rest had vanished without a trace.

She had no choice but to remain in the palace and wander about.

It seemed this was indeed Lady Underworld’s residence, and she truly was Huai Yin’s mother, the goddess of Immortal Lord Rong Ling and Immortal Lord Hua Yun, as well as Xuanting’s wife.

All of them had once been rulers of the realms tens of thousands of years ago, immortals of the earthly way. Just now Ji Yan had said, “I have come, Lady Underworld.” Could he also have been a former realm lord—the reincarnation of Hua Yun?

Though she had the feeling that staying here would do little to help them, she still searched the palace in earnest, and in the end she actually discovered something unusual.

“It’s you? Why are you here!”

In a corner not far from the crystal coffin, the effects of a high-grade concealment talisman slowly faded, first revealing a strip of clothing at the edge, then gradually exposing the whole person.

It was none other than Lu Tanxian, unable to move a muscle.

Her face was filled with misery and bitter resentment. She could not turn her head, and so she shut her eyes tightly, refusing to look at Han Su.

“How can you not move? Were you brought here by someone? Did the person who brought you also abduct the master of this place?”

Lu Tanxian suddenly opened her eyes. “Since you know everything, what are you still showing off for? Aren’t you abandoned too?”

“Abandoned... The person who brought you here, was it your friend, or... was it the head of Flying Star Academy, Yu Yisong?”

Han Su was somewhat shocked and took a step back. “But isn’t he your brother?”

“Brother? What brother? He probably only ever saw me as a lackey, a tool.” A lonely expression appeared on Lu Tanxian’s face. She had meant to laugh at herself, but unexpectedly two lines of clear tears spilled from her eyes.

The tears ran down her cheeks and to the corners of her mouth, leaving a faint bitterness on her tongue. She closed her eyes once more, then opened them again. “I know you are a good person. I do not expect you to spare me. But there is one thing... could you help me with it?”

“What is it?” Looking at Lu Tanxian like this, Han Su suddenly seemed to see the spirited, unrestrained woman she had once been, years ago when they met in a clash of paths. Back then, Han Su had thought she would always shine like that; she had never imagined that in so little time she would become fish on the chopping block.

“I have a spatial treasure of my own. You know that. After I die, claim it as yours. In the deepest place underground at the farthest western edge within it, a soul pearl is sealed.

“Please take that soul pearl out for me, and send the ghost cultivators inside to be reincarnated.”

“I promised her that one day I would let her become human again, but I kept breaking my promise.” Lu Tanxian’s tears would not stop. She thought of how Granny Hua had once cared for her—and how had she repaid that kindness?

She watched her die and helped her cultivate as a ghost, committing countless bloody sins.

Yet Granny Hua had been such a kind-hearted old woman, instinctively devouring souls on one hand, while inwardly suffering on the other.

She had urged Lu Tanxian toward goodness many times, yet at Lu Tanxian’s request she would still kill for her, until the day her agony grew so great that she begged to be sealed away and never emerge again to harm others. Even then, Lu Tanxian had still not understood her.

At this point, most of what had befallen Lu Tanxian was of her own making. Now that she knew Yu Yisong had merely been using her, but if she had not thrown herself at him in the first place, perhaps she might not have been used at all.

So Han Su had no intention of letting her go. But before that...

“I want to ask you something. I hope you can answer honestly.”

“All right, go ahead.”

“What is this? What did Yu Yisong want it for?” Han Su crouched down and carefully took a necklace from within her collar. As the necklace was slowly revealed in full, Lu Tanxian’s eyes widened little by little, unable to help themselves. “So this thing was actually in your hands...”

“What is it?” Han Su only took it out briefly to show her, then swiftly put it back.

“I cannot tell you what it is. But I will give you one warning: you had best not let anyone know it is on you, or it will bring you a great calamity.”

“Why can’t you say? I saw you take a matching one from Zihuan Shalan, and the one belonging to the Glass City Lord, Lady Liuli, was taken by Yu Yisong too, wasn’t it?”

“Theirs were all fakes. It was only when I saw yours that I knew what the real thing looked like. Remember this well: never let anyone know. The reason he abducted that beauty was for this necklace.”

“That is all I have to say. You may begin.” Lu Tanxian closed her eyes. When Yu Yisong left, he had not only hidden her with a high-grade concealment talisman, but had already fixed her in place with immobilizing magic. In such a state, even an outer-sect disciple in the Qi Refining stage could kill her with ease. Moreover, after all the fighting and scrambling of this lifetime, it had amounted to nothing in the end.

If she could live, that was of course best. If she died, perhaps that too would be a kind of release.

“You stayed here all along? Has the palace been searched already?” Rong Ling was the first to return.

Han Su nodded, and put away the pile of materials in her hand. “My cultivation is too low. In the blink of an eye, all of you were gone. I did not know where to pursue, and I also worried that going after you would only burden you. So I stayed. How was it—did you catch up?”

Rong Ling looked at her lowered head, and guilt welled up within him.

“Forgive me. The matter was urgent, and I did not think of you.”

“It’s all right. Your affairs are more important. I’m already very upset that I wasn’t able to help.”

“I...”

“You returned first too? You didn’t catch up either?” Ji Yan had already come back by the time Rong Ling opened his mouth, and he began speaking with him.

“Yes, no. I followed that direction for over sixty thousand li, and found no trace at all. What about you?”

“Neither did I. I wonder how Huai Yin and the others are faring.”

“You remember everything now?”

“Yes.” Though his mood was heavy, Ji Yan still forced out a smile. “Did you know long ago?”

“A little earlier than you, that is all.”

“You are the ice-and-fire dual spiritual root who treated Rong Ling’s injuries? I am Xuanting.” Ji Yan looked at Han Su as he spoke. He had always felt that Han Su gave him a strangely familiar feeling. Perhaps it was because in a past life he had personally transformed Rong Ling’s immortal palace, and she had been touched by its aura?

“Greetings.” Han Su gave him a faint smile, then lowered her head.

Soon afterward, Suo Yun returned as well. Only Huai Yin remained unaccounted for.

After waiting a long while and still seeing no sign of Huai Yin’s return, Xuanting grew anxious. “Where has that child gone? Could he have discovered something? Why has he not sent word to me?”

“Why not search for him again?” Rong Ling said, and at once took Han Su’s hand.

There was no reason for anyone to object. They set off again at once. And this time, Rong Ling kept hold of Han Su without once letting go.

Han Su herself did not know what she felt. Rong Ling did indeed look after her, but he also placed the search for Lady Underworld above all else, even though both her husband and son were here as well. So perhaps he was simply very kind by nature.

The four of them went out together, and Huai Yin was not difficult to find. He had discovered no trace, yet his heart was in a frenzy. He could only wander aimlessly outside, knowing only that he must not stop. The moment he stopped, he might never find her again. From then on they would be separated by immeasurable distance, and there might never be another chance.

No matter how they tried to dissuade him, Huai Yin continued like a headless fly, rushing from one place to another without pause.

Xuanting and Suo Yun worried for him, and so had no choice but to wander about with him. Rong Ling and Han Su, meanwhile, stopped to think of a plan.

“Where could she have gone?”

“I... I think it was that headmaster Yu from Flying Star Academy who took her.”

“I think so too. But we have searched every place we can. Judging by the aura Lady Underworld left behind, they did not leave long ago. They should still be nearby—not too far.”

“What if he concealed his aura and is hiding close by?” Han Su thought of the high-grade concealment talisman on Lu Tanxian and asked.

“That should not be. Concealment talismans have a duration. No matter how high-grade, they cannot last more than the time it takes for one stick of incense to burn before revealing themselves.”

“If it were you, how would you escape?”

“If I were escaping slowly, I might hide somewhere, or disguise myself as something else so you would not notice me...”

“You’re right!” Rong Ling seized her hand and flew toward the Dead Sea region near the Crystal Palace.

A note from the author: I worked overtime and came home last night, only to find another thunderbolt gift—sent by the reader 78:22, who even left me a comment. In that instant, my exhausted, dog-dead body from a whole day of work felt young and blooming again.

Thank you so, so, so much! And also to cocoli, Busy Busy, Novia, and Sanyao, who often shower me with flowers. I have been too busy lately to reply to each of your comments one by one, so I can only express my thanks here in one place.

Every one of your comments gives me a lift and makes me feel love and justice...

Truly, there are so many excellent writers, but you are willing to spend your time and money following what I write, offering thoughtful advice, generous praise, and sincere encouragement.

Thanks to all of you, I am able to steal time from my heavy work to keep my dream alive.

Thank you.