Chapter 113

Chapter 113: Cutting Hair Instead of the Head, Severing Ties of Affection

Celestial Demon Hall.

Yang Xuanzhan passed through the mountain gate. Materializing from the void, he appeared inside the divine temple.

Ning Wudao sat upright on the seat of the hall master. The various elders stood in rows to his left and right; they seemed to be discussing matters. Yang Xuanzhan’s sudden appearance caused deep shock among the gathered crowd.

"So, it’s Palace Master Yang," one elder concealed his displeasure with a thin, insincere laugh. "The Palace Master has trespassed into our Celestial Demon Divine Temple. To what do we owe this honor?"

Yang Xuanzhan spoke coldly, "Xuanfu Palace has already been annihilated. I am no longer its master."

"Now, I am merely a servant of Heaven’s Secret Pavilion."

Seeing that Yang Xuanzhan did not seem to be joking, their expressions eased slightly.

They had initially feared Yang Xuanzhan had come for vengeance.

After all, Celestial Demon Hall shared some responsibility for Xuanfu Palace’s destruction.

"Elders, excuse yourselves now."

Ning Wudao ordered the assembly.

"Yes!"

After brief hesitation, they departed one by one.

"Daoist friend."

Ning Wudao raised his hands in salute. Whether Yang Xuanzhan remained the former Master of Xuanfu Palace or was now a servant of Heaven’s Secret Pavilion, calling him ‘Daoist friend’ by no means demeaned him.

"You broke through?" Yang Xuanzhan showed a flicker of surprise. The last time they met, Ning Wudao had been at the Complete Divine God realm. Yet today, he had actually reached the God King realm.

"I broke through just a few days ago," Ning Wudao replied with a smile. "Your visit to Celestial Demon Hall today surely isn’t solely to see me?"

"Our master commands me to bring you back to Heaven’s Secret Pavilion," Yang Xuanzhan stated.

"Might I inquire why?" Ning Wudao asked, momentarily taken aback.

Yang Xuanzhan shook his head. "Our master’s ways are profound and unfathomable. My cultivation is shallow; naturally, I do not know the reason. But rest assured, Daoist friend, it will not be for anything bad."

"I shall inform my master, then accompany you back to Heaven’s Secret Pavilion."

Ning Wudao took out a communication talisman to report to Demon Sage Fire Phoenix.

A few breaths later, the two flew out of Celestial Demon Hall together.

The figure of Demon Sage Fire Phoenix slowly manifested in the void. She watched the direction they had vanished without a hint of emotion on her face.

"Ancestor."

An aged-looking elder spoke, his expression complex. "This is the second time Yang Xuanzhan has sought the Hall Master in barely over half a month."

"Do we truly not stop him?"

"Stop him?"

Demon Sage Fire Phoenix gave a cold laugh. "Behind Yang Xuanzhan now stands Heaven’s Secret Pavilion. He seeks no trouble with us; for this alone, we should count ourselves fortunate by the heavens."

"Moreover," she continued, "how can you be certain this isn’t the very intention of the master of Heaven’s Secret Pavilion?"

By now, Heaven’s Secret Pavilion had become an entity too colossal to ignore. Demon Sage Fire Phoenix possessed the wisdom of self-awareness; she dared not oppose it.

“Ancestor, you’ve painstakingly nurtured Ning Wudao. What if he defects to Heaven’s Secret Pavilion? Won’t the foundation of our Celestial Demon Hall be utterly destroyed?”

The old man let out a long sigh, troubled by the bleak prospects ahead.

Demon Sage Fire Phoenix spoke lightly, “With Heaven’s Secret Pavilion’s help, Ning Wudao committed patricide and usurped the throne. That alone makes him a man of Heaven’s Secret Pavilion. We cannot keep him.”

“As for the Celestial Demon Hall…”

A touch of self-mockery colored Demon Sage Fire Phoenix’s expression. “If the master of Heaven’s Secret Pavilion could ever see value in a minor force like the Celestial Demon Hall, he wouldn’t be the master of Heaven’s Secret Pavilion at all.”

……

“Hold on.”

As they passed by a mountain range, Yang Xuanzhan suddenly spoke.

Within the mountains, a white-robed qi cultivator was locked in fierce combat with a flood dragon. The cultivator’s cultivation had reached the peak of the Divine Catastrophe stage, on the cusp of ascension to divinity.

The flood dragon’s strength was formidable too; it and the white-robed cultivator exchanged blows evenly. Yet as the battle wore on, the dragon became increasingly covered in wounds and slowly began to lose ground.

Boom!

Yang Xuanzhan pointed a finger, and the flood dragon’s head exploded, its primordial spirit utterly annihilated.

“Who’s there?”

The white-robed qi cultivator spun around, revealing delicate, fair skin and eyes that held a keen, alert firmness. It was clearly a woman disguised as a man.

“Master…”

Lu Shaojun froze when she recognized Yang Xuanzhan’s face.

Her eyes reddened, tears welling up as she struggled to hold them back.

“Disciple…”

Yang Xuanzhan’s eyes also stung with unshed tears. After Xuanfu Palace’s destruction, its disciples were scattered. Lu Shaojun had been fortuitously away on training missions that day, narrowly escaping the calamity.

In the aftermath, Yang Xuanzhan had been trapped within Heaven’s Secret Pavilion, with scarcely a chance to venture outside.

He had never imagined encountering Lu Shaojun purely by chance today.

Ning Wudao was visibly moved.

Following Xuanfu Palace’s annihilation, many sects had issued orders to hunt down Lu Shaojun. As Xuanfu Palace’s foremost genius, ranked on the Talents List in the Southern Wilderness, left unchecked and allowed to reach the Sage stage, she posed a dire threat to every major sect’s peace.

All this time, Lu Shaojun had been forced into hiding, unable to reveal herself.

“This master is useless. I’ve made you suffer,” Yang Xuanzhan reached out as if to gently touch Lu Shaojun’s cheek, but she instinctively took a step back.

“Master, there’s a rumor everywhere,” Lu Shaojun clenched her fists. “They say you willingly became a slave to the master of Heaven’s Secret Pavilion to survive… is it true?”

“And why… why are you with him?”

Lu Shaojun’s gaze was unwavering, fixed fiercely upon Ning Wudao.

The hall master of the Celestial Demon Hall!

One of the chief architects behind Xuanfu Palace’s destruction.

“Yes.”

Yang Xuanzhan’s heart was torn by grief as he gave a heavy, solemn nod. He understood all too well what lay beneath Lu Shaojun’s question. Yet, back then, submitting to Heaven’s Secret Pavilion had been his sole remaining path.

Otherwise, he would be beyond redemption.

"I have also been ordered to bring Ning Wudao back to Heaven’s Secret Pavilion on this occasion," Yang Xuanzhan added.

"So it’s true…" Lu Shaojun smiled bitterly. She could no longer hold back, and tears gushed from her eyes.

The one she had respected like a father would one day sell himself into slavery to save his own life.

In her heart, Yang Xuanzhan was like a teacher and a father.

Yang Xuanzhan reduced to a slave was utterly unacceptable to her.

"Brother Liu, Senior Sister Yin, and others are still fantasizing that one day you would lead us to slaughter the Red Dust Demon Sect and the Celestial Demon Hall, tearing those enemies to pieces. It seems we were daydreaming."

"The Yang Xuanzhan I know is not someone who compromises for survival."

Lu Shaojun spoke word by word, each word piercing the heart.

Yang Xuanzhan felt a sharp pain in his chest.

"Master, this is the last time I call you master."

Lu Shaojun wiped away her tears, her face icy cold.

Clang!

She used her finger as a sword, cutting off a lock of her hair, and said coldly, "Today, I, Lu Shaojun, cut my hair in place of my head, vow to the heavens to sever the master-disciple relationship with Yang Xuanzhan."

"I swear, I will surely restore Xuanfu Palace and take revenge."

"If I break this oath, may heaven strike and earth destroy me."

Boom!

Yang Xuanzhan was as if struck by lightning. In shock, he stumbled backward several steps. His entire aura became chaotic, and he could barely steady his body.

Ning Wudao frowned.

He didn’t understand the feelings between the two, but from Yang Xuanzhan’s reaction, it was clear that this master-disciple bond held great weight in Yang Xuanzhan’s heart.

"I accede to your wish."

Yang Xuanzhan said numbly.

"These two volumes of imperial scripture were obtained by me on Unsurpassed Divine Mountain. This can be considered the last thing I can do for you." Yang Xuanzhan handed the jade slip inscribed with half of the Heaven’s Ultimate Four Symbols Scripture to Lu Shaojun, saying, "I hope you can achieve your wish."

Restoring Xuanfu Palace was not just Lu Shaojun’s ideal.

However, Yang Xuanzhan had an oath binding him. For a lifetime, he could not seek revenge.

He could only place his hopes on Lu Shaojun.

The two imperial scriptures were already sufficient.

"Daoist friend Ning, let’s head out."

Yang Xuanzhan dropped the jade slip. Without a shred of attachment, he and Ning Wudao vanished into the void, disappearing completely from Lu Shaojun’s senses.

Lu Shaojun’s lips moved, but ultimately, no words came out.

After a while.

She picked up the jade slip, and Divine Sense flooded into it.

Characters appeared before her eyes. Infinite mysteries swirled in Lu Shaojun’s heart, and her aura continuously surged.

The next second.

The bottleneck was broken through. Lu Shaojun’s eyes shone brightly, filled with astonishment.

She became a god.

Just by glancing at the Heaven’s Ultimate Four Symbols Scripture, she broke through the long-unbreakable shackles.

Crack!

At this moment.

Thunder exploded in the sky. Dark clouds of tribulation rolled layer upon layer. Silver snakes intersected among the clouds. The heavenly tribulation had arrived.

Lu Shaojun was about to break through the shackles and ascend to godhood.

Upon hearing this disturbance, the two men moving away showed a trace of relief deep in Yang Xuanzhan’s eyes.

His efforts hadn’t been in vain after all.

"She has become a god."

Ning Wudao looked at Yang Xuanzhan and said, "Daoist friend, though your master-disciple relationship is ostensibly severed, she will probably never forget your kindness."

"It doesn’t matter anymore."

Yang Xuanzhan smiled. It seemed he had shed a burden, and his mood became light and free. He no longer suppressed the pain.

Finally, he had a successor.