Chapter 89

Chapter 89: Nangong Zhandao, You Must Take Responsibility

The Green River stretched for tens of thousands of miles, lying across the vast plain like a giant dragon, separating the Eastern Region from the Southern Wilderness.

The river was broad and misty, its waters expansive. For an ordinary person to cross from the Southern Wilderness to the Eastern Region along this river would require at least a month-long journey drifting on its currents.

Lan Youruo and Nangong Zhandao traveled by boat upon the river, though the water flowed slowly, their speed was incredibly fast. They swiftly traversed the vast expanse of the Green River and reached the Eastern Region.

The Southern Wilderness was a land of hills and winding, undulating mountains.

The Eastern Region stretched flat and boundless, a vast expanse of plains.

The Da Qian Emperor family, established for over a hundred thousand years, governed twelve prefectures. Located in the eastern part of the Eastern Region and subordinate to the Pure Land, it prospered, its power at its zenith.

Nangong Zhandao gazed upon the familiar buildings, his heart as calm and undisturbed as an ancient well.

His heart held little emotion anymore. Witnessing scenes from the past no longer stirred nostalgic feelings in him; instead, it felt more like being just a passerby.

Perhaps everything in the world was merely a transient visitor to him.

Lan Youruo’s emotions were complicated. Ye Xu’s words had lingered constantly in her heart.

Looking again at Nangong Zhandao, his face was utterly tranquil, nothing like a wanderer returning home. That feeling intensified within her.

“Can the Xuan Du Forgetting Emotions Heaven Book truly bring about such a profound change?” Lan Youruo questioned doubtfully.

“I felt it too.”

Nangong Zhandao seemed to know Lan Youruo’s thoughts and smiled. “After attaining sainthood, my emotions grew even more indifferent, though they didn’t disappear. They simply became increasingly detached.”

“My perspective on things… it’s become that of a bystander.”

“The Xuan Du Forgetting Emotions Heaven Book hasn’t imprisoned my feelings. It has merely altered my outlook on the world.”

Lan Youruo found nothing in this explanation she could agree with.

She parted her red lips, wanting to speak, but swallowed her words back down.

After a journey lasting barely half the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, the two arrived before a city.

This city was called Youyun City, a frontier fortress of Da Qian. Its defenses were strong, thick walls rose high, and every guard bore the aura of bloodshed and killing intent upon them.

“Stop!”

Suddenly.

A sharp shout rang out.

But it didn’t come from the city gate guards. Instead, it came from a middle-aged man in Daoist robes. Standing beside him was a middle-aged woman wearing robes of pale, moon-white silk.

Both held fly whisks, and upon their chests was a badge shaped like Taiji.

“The Hunyuan Sect?” Nangong Zhandao’s expression remained placid. The significance of that badge – only a hundred years had passed, he naturally remembered it.

“Nangong Zhandao, you’ve finally returned.”

The middle-aged man glared fiercely at Nangong Zhandao, his face contorted with anger.

Since the Hidden Dragon List had been made public, the Hunyuan Sect had dispatched people to monitor every movement of the Da Qian royal family. Nangong Qing’s whereabouts were under their tight surveillance.

Therefore, the Hunyuan Sect had sent two Saints to wait at Youyun City, like hunters lying in ambush for their quarry.

They had finally caught their prey.

"I remember you."

Nangong Zhandao stared at the middle-aged man, his voice emotionless. "You are the Chiyue Saint of the Hunyuan Sect. Among those the Hunyuan Sect sent to Yujing City back then to forcefully demand my expulsion from the Da Qian royal family, you were one."

Lan Youruo’s gaze remained tranquil. Two Saints, that’s all. Dealing with them would be a matter of mere moments.

"Your memory serves you well."

The middle-aged man snorted coldly. "Back then, merely having the Da Qian Emperor family banish you from Da Qian was doing you a favor. We never imagined that a hundred years later, you’d manage to top the Hidden Dragon List."

"Nangong Zhandao," he continued, "the grudge between you and our Hunyuan Sect is far from settled."

"A Hunyuan Sect expert?"

The commotion outside the city gates had drawn the attention of Youyun City’s guardian envoy.

A God King arrived to investigate.

"What happened?" the God King inquired.

Upon seeing the middle-aged man and woman, his expression instantly darkened.

Two Saints!

His eyes shifted to Nangong Zhandao and Lan Youruo. Lan Youruo’s aura seemed fathomless, while Nangong Zhandao, though not concealing his own, clearly revealed his cultivation level.

Another Saint!

The God King’s heart trembled. Why were three Saints appearing in Youyun City today?

"None of your concern. Get lost!"

The middle-aged man had a fiery temper, cursing sharply.

The guardian envoy of Youyun City recoiled, not daring to utter a word.

The Hunyuan Sect was a formidable power. While not comparable to the Pure Land or the Eastern Sea Dragon Palace, it was strong enough to contend with the Da Qian Emperor family itself. A mere guardian envoy naturally wouldn’t dare offend them.

"Senior Brother, we are not here to quarrel today." The middle-aged woman frowned, her gaze fixed on Nangong Zhandao. "Nangong Zhandao, we have waited here for one purpose."

"Speak."

"One hundred and twelve years ago, you used the Mo girl in your cultivation, exploiting her to temper your knife intent. Then you discarded her with no second thought. This matter has never been addressed."

The middle-aged woman’s expression was ugly; it was the Hunyuan Sect’s disgrace.

"Do you have any idea," she pressed, "how difficult her life has been since that day?"

Nangong Zhandao looked up.

"Ever since, she has been confined to the Penitence Cliff, forbidden to take a single step beyond it. For over one hundred years, she remained imprisoned there, not permitted to leave a single step."

The middle-aged woman grew angrier as she spoke. "She was originally the saintess of the Holy Sect! But because of you, she lost her bright future, became the shame of the Hunyuan Sect, and turned into a lifelong prisoner."

"Nangong Zhandao," she declared, each word piercing his heart, "you must bear the responsibility!"

Her voice was heavy and resonant.

The Youyun City guardian envoy stared at Nangong Zhandao in utter shock.

"Is he the Ninth Prince?"

The Hidden Dragon List has made Nangong Zhandao known to the world.

As a general of the Da Qian Emperor family, the guardian envoy was very familiar with him.

"Zhenjiang Han Ji pays respects to Ninth Prince."

Han Ji bowed in reverence.

"We pay respects to Ninth Prince!"

The soldiers of Youyun City immediately knelt before Nangong Zhandao.

"I have been expelled from the Da Qian royal family. I am no longer Ninth Prince," Nangong Zhandao said lightly.

"All rise."

Everyone looked embarrassed as they stood up one by one.

"How would you have me take responsibility?"

Nangong Zhandao turned to look at the two sages from Hunyuan Sect.

Lan Youruo frowned.

She knew about many of Nangong Zhandao’s love affairs. All those seductresses had been driven away by her swift and decisive measures after she appeared.

However, Mo Nansu was an exception.

Her tangled relationship with Nangong Zhandao held deep affection and resentment, extremely complicated.

She hadn’t asked Nangong Zhandao about this matter, but clues Lan Youruo gathered suggested that he bore the blame for Mo Nansu.

Most importantly, Lan Youruo couldn’t be certain—a hundred years ago, had Nangong Zhandao merely exploited Mo Nansu for cultivation… or had he truly fallen for her?

If the latter, things became far more troublesome.

Lan Youruo could banish that group of seductresses precisely because he had no feelings for them.

With Mo Nansu, it was entirely the opposite.

"Simple."

The middle-aged man spoke solemnly. "Return our sect’s saintess."

"Or grant Hunyuan Sect another top-tier prodigy."

"The past is like vanishing smoke; gone is gone. Even if I wielded heaven-defying means, I could never return Mo Nansu to the moment a hundred years ago before she met me," Nangong Zhandao replied gently.

"That too is simple."

The middle-aged woman declared, "Come back to Hunyuan Sect with us. Help the saintess walk out of Penitence Cliff."

"You must personally resolve the karmic ties binding you and her."

"After fulfilling this, you owe us one more pledge."

"Accompany me there."

Nangong Zhandao looked at Lan Youruo with tenderness in his eyes.

"Alright."

Lan Youruo gave a slight nod.

She understood perfectly well that Mo Nansu’s issue must be laid to rest—this resolved not just his tangled feelings but also related to his cultivation path.

As for Hunyuan Sect…

Their request surely ran deeper than it seemed.

This trip would be impossible to get out unscathed.

Fortunately, with her by Nangong Zhandao’s side, Lan Youruo remained unafraid of any traps Hunyuan Sect might spring.

A sharp gleam passed through Lan Youruo’s eyes.

Should they push too far… she wouldn’t mind eliminating Hunyuan Sect entirely!

"We set out immediately."

The middle-aged man’s eyes flashed as he took Nangong Zhandao and Lan Youruo northward.

"Send word to the capital at once!"

Guardian envoy Han Ji burned with anxiety—a mishap befalling Nangong Zhandao at Hunyuan Sect could shock the entire Da Qian Emperor family! He dared not delay for an instant.