White lotuses continued to drift down from the sky, dissolving into nothingness upon touching the ground. A faint sense of holiness dispelled the fear and unease lingering in the hearts of everyone from the holy land.
All eyes converged on the Jialan Fairy, filled with fascination and adoration. This was their saint lord, one of the Contemporary Seven Saints, the strongest powerhouse on the entire Jialan Continent, and their guardian deity!
With the saint lord taking action, all demons and ghouls would scatter. No matter how strong that Yu Family son-in-law was, he could not match a true Mystic Saint expert!
Yet their guardian deity, the saint lord, addressed Yan Zhen with these words:
“Long time no see, Your Majesty.”
Long time no see implied a reunion. So the saint lord knew him?
And what was this “Your Majesty”? Could the Yu Family son-in-law’s real name not be Yan Zhen, but something like Bixia?
The three supreme elders exchanged bewildered glances, staring in stunned silence at their saint lord’s back. How could she know that boy?
On the other side, the three supremes—Sunny, Misty, and Snowy—along with the Yu Shizun on Rain God Peak and the Thunder Supreme who had just emerged, all revealed surprised expressions upon hearing the Jialan Saint Lord’s words.
Yan Zhen himself jolted inwardly as the realization dawned on him. The Jialan Fairy was also a reincarnator!
It made sense, really. Almost every woman he was familiar with had reincarnated; it would have been stranger if his “half-mentor” Jialan Fairy had not.
Yan Zhen blinked, but his suspended heart did not settle. The Jialan Fairy was a rigid person. Even if reincarnated, she would not easily forgive his outrageous actions this time.
What he feared most was her pulling rank as his half-mentor, making him copy scriptures as punishment or kneel with her before the ancestral statue to recite sutras in repentance!
Yan Zhen truly did not miss those so-called Zen scriptures, which took a simple sentence and twisted it into pretentious profundity.
Maybe he should just pretend not to know her? After all, he had not truly fused with his past life’s memories; he had only glimpsed two life scripts.
“I’m no Your Majesty. My name is Yan Zhen. You’re the Jialan Fairy, right? If you want to fight, come at me. I’m not afraid of you!”
The Jialan Fairy clearly had not expected such a reaction from Yan Zhen. Her slender white brows furrowed slightly as she gazed at him quietly.
Yan Zhen immediately deployed his excellent acting skills, putting on a display of unyielding iron will and rebellious defiance, like an impulsive youth rather than a reincarnated emperor!
“Stop fooling around,” the Jialan Fairy said in a tone as gentle as a holy mother’s, as if she cherished the entire world. “I’ve heard the details from the Thunder Supreme. Ling Jun disturbed the pregnant snake consort; that was his fault. But since he’s dead, let the anger subside. Forgive where forgiveness is possible, all right? You are the future emperor, standing above all living beings. You should possess a heart vast enough to embrace heaven and earth, with the magnanimity to devour the starry rivers.”
Yan Zhen curled his lip.
“I gave them a chance. They insisted on coming to me to meet their end. What could I do? I could only oblige them!”
The Jialan Fairy turned around, casting a faint glance at the three supreme elders as she advised:
“Three Uncle-Masters, please return for now.”
Ancestor Jingang and Ancestor Changsheng had no objections and both looked to the Spirit Mountain Ancestor, who was far from pleased:
“Will the saint lord shield that boy as well? This old man doesn’t know how you came to know him, but he killed Ling Jun. He must give me an explanation!”
“Uncle-Master Ling Shan, do not bring trouble upon yourself,” the Jialan Fairy said softly, shaking her head. “That child is Chen Xi’s disciple. If Uncle-Master Ling Shan keeps pressing the matter, the one who will soon demand an explanation will be Chen Xi herself.”
“What?” The Spirit Mountain Ancestor jumped in shock, his gaze shifting to the graceful figure in the black skirt and white hair behind Yan Zhen. Realization dawned. “A disciple of the Flame Saint—that explains how he subdued the Wind-Thunder Crystal Fire!”
The Spirit Mountain Ancestor gritted his teeth, reluctant yet aware that the saint lord would not act against Yan Zhen.
It was Chen Xi who had refined the Nine Revolutions Sacred Heart Pill for the saint lord to consume, allowing her to break through her bottleneck and continue advancing. Without that pill, the saint lord would likely still be stuck at Three-Star Mystic Saint, unable to progress.
Now, as a Five-Star Mystic Saint, the saint lord ranked third among the Contemporary Seven Saints, up two places, elevating the status of the Jialan Holy Land so it no longer suffered the disdain of other holy lands.
This was an undeniable great favor. What was one mere Ling Jun worth?
Moreover, Ling Jun had been the one at fault, coveting another man’s wife and ignoring warnings, acting so brazenly—who wouldn’t be furious? Yan Zhen had merely struck with a heavy hand.
In short, Ling Jun had provoked someone he shouldn’t have, and his death was well-deserved.
The Jialan Fairy continued:
“If Uncle-Master Ling Shan remains unsatisfied, you may fight that child again. No one will interfere.”
The Spirit Mountain Ancestor froze, catching the implication: settle it himself.
He glanced again at the twenty-six feminine phantoms behind Yan Zhen. Just the black shadow resembling the Evil Consort had routed all three supreme elders. If the others joined in, facing them alone would leave him no chance of survival—he’d be blasted to smithereens in a single strike!
With that thought, the Spirit Mountain Ancestor’s heart turned to ash, his thoughts of revenge extinguished.
“Please convey my respects to the Flame Saint on my behalf… From now on, this old man will remain in seclusion on Supreme Peak and will not emerge without a major event.”
The Jialan Fairy nodded slightly and flicked her white sleeve, sending the three supreme elders back to Supreme Peak under protection. The Evil Black Shadow’s killing intent remained thick, and even the Bone-Patterned Black Lotus overhead had yet to dissipate.
That woman’s signature Mystic technique, the Dark Annihilation Yin Lotus Death Ray, had three stages. She had only unleashed two, clearly holding back the third for a sneak attack.
The Jialan Fairy could not quite understand how Yan Zhen had even summoned that vengeful woman.
With a flash of her figure, she appeared before Yan Zhen. She lifted her gaze to the black shadow, then to “herself,” a look of dawning comprehension crossing her face before finally settling on Chen Xi’s phantom.
Chen Xi’s phantom smiled faintly:
“Take good care of Zhen’er, Jialan. Don’t let him get angry again.”
With that, she withdrew into the summoning portal on her own and vanished.
Cai Lian’s phantom gave her own husband a deep look, a trace of nostalgia in her eyes, before following suit.
The remaining figures disappeared one after another, leaving only the Evil Black Shadow lingering.
“Aren’t you leaving?”
The Evil Black Shadow ignored the Jialan Fairy, staring coldly at Yan Zhen as if questioning the meaning of existence—
“How could This Palace fall to such a brat?!”
Or something like that.
Yan Zhen felt a chill under her stare, sensing that this black shadow seemed displeased with him. Was she not one of his retainers? So scary~
Finally, the black shadow snorted coldly, spat a vicious threat, and departed:
“You’re dead meat, Flame Emperor. This time, it’s This Palace’s turn for revenge.”
What a dangerous declaration… Yan Zhen shrank back in fear, utterly baffled. Had he offended her somehow?
In any case, they had all left cleanly. The Accelerated Synchronization effect had ended, and the cards entered cooldown. He could only use them again after advancing to Mystic Lord.
Yan Zhen now had only his final trump card left, and he still had to deal with the Jialan Fairy. He felt rather passive.
“Ahem, well, since everything’s settled, I’ll be heading back now.”
The Jialan Fairy sized him up.
“Come to my Jialan Peak.”
