In a certain sense, Jiang Xuning did not truly understand the Immortal Sovereign Chongyi. In his past life, due to his physical condition, he had been confined to his home, leaving his information very limited. His impression of the Sovereign was merely that he was highly revered by the people and that A-Heng had joined the Tianyan Sect specifically under his tutelage.
It wasn’t until he saw that book that he learned Immortal Sovereign Chongyi had become famous at a young age. Long before Jiang Xuning was born, the Sovereign was already a legendary figure in the cultivation world. Not to mention his later feat of single-handedly suppressing the chaos caused by the Demon Race, protecting the peace of Changmeng for decades for such a person, Jiang Xuning felt nothing but admiration.
However, it was a pity that in that book, the descriptions of Immortal Sovereign Chongyi were quite sparse, mostly mentioned in passing or living through the words of others. Nevertheless, Jiang Xuning still held a very high opinion of him.
This goodwill wasn’t without reason; it was because in the book he read, the rarely-appearing Immortal Sovereign Chongyi had saved Yu Heng from dire situations several times. In his eyes, the Sovereign was one of the few “normal” people in that book.
Consequently, he developed a strong interest and curiosity toward him. Yet, even so, he had never imagined that one day he would see the Immortal Sovereign with his own eyes. He knew that their statuses were worlds apart, and they would never have any connection. But at this very moment, the Immortal Sovereign who existed only in legends was standing not far in front of him.
As Huo Ling and Yu Heng called out “Master,” the person who had been standing with his back to them turned around in a timely manner, smiling warmly as he said, “Wumian, Heng-er.”
Immortal Sovereign Chongyi was very mysterious. Whether in his past life or in the book he had read, they never described his appearance or features. Yet, whenever he was mentioned, the praise never strayed from terms like “a refined gentleman like the bright moon.”
This made Jiang Xuning very curious, as he was both puzzled about what a figure like the Immortal Sovereign actually looked like and confused as to why the book didn’t describe his appearance in detail. Seeing him with his own eyes today, everything suddenly became clear.
It was indeed difficult to describe. He thought so, unable to pull his gaze away even for a second. He truly couldn’t imagine that such a perfect person existed in the world not just in appearance, but every movement and gesture exuded an indescribable elegance. It was a magnetic attraction that made one’s eyes follow him instinctively.
Jiang Xuning suddenly understood why the book always used the “bright moon” as a metaphor for the Immortal Sovereign because the person before him was inherently something one could gaze at but never reach.
He was a natural superior; a single glance made one want to submit. What mattered was the man himself; his appearance was merely a supplementary attribute, optional and hardly necessary to mention.
An inexplicable emotion germinated in his heart. Jiang Xuning clearly felt himself sinking, yet he didn’t know where this sinking began. He only remembered a blue light in front of him constantly attracting him forward, further and further. His thoughts were in a mess, as if he had fallen into a quagmire, unable to struggle out.
Until, suddenly, Yu Heng’s slightly urgent voice reached his ears. He said, “Don’t look into his eyes.”
Instantly, the black mist dissipated, the quagmire vanished, and his vision brightened, leaving only a sense of clarity.
Meeting Yu Heng’s worried gaze, Jiang Xuning finally realized that he had just been lost in an illusion.
And the owner who had bestowed this illusion upon him was naturally the Immortal Sovereign Chongyi standing before him.
As for how he knew, it was because he suddenly remembered a mention in the book: Immortal Sovereign Chongyi was born with “Glazed Eyes.” They could distinguish good from evil and cut through falsehood. Anyone whose Dao heart was unstable would be pulled into an illusion upon meeting his gaze; only those with firm minds could break through. Just now, Jiang Xuning had been troubled by many things, causing him to accidentally fall in. Now that he had regained his senses, his heart was clear, but he didn’t dare look again and silently lowered his head.
“Is the Master feeling better?”
Seeing this, Huo Ling couldn’t help but sneer inwardly, feeling a moment of secret disdain. He turned his attention away from Jiang Xuning and focused on the person before them. Although his face remained as usual, his words carried a hint of hard-to-conceal worry.
Immortal Sovereign Chongyi had always known the temperament of his eldest disciple. Seeing him with a dark face as usual but hearing the concern in his words, his heart softened. He said warmly, “I’m alright. It’s just an old ailment. You needn’t worry so much.”
Because of what happened earlier, Jiang Xuning didn’t dare move rashly. He kept his head lowered, pretending to be a stone. Yet, he couldn’t resist the Sovereign’s voice, which was like spring willows and gentle breezes, and he keenly caught those words: “old ailment.”
In a sense, it was indeed an “old ailment.” Having read the book, Jiang Xuning naturally knew where this “old ailment” came from. Even someone as powerful as the Sovereign had times when his strength was overstretched.
Years ago, the Sovereign had single-handedly quelled the Demon Race rebellion and subsequently laid down arrays to seal them. He appeared to do so with ease, but in truth, he had been severely injured. Even the seal was maintained at the limit of his strength. That was why, decades later, the Demon Race would find an opportunity, and he would be left with a lingering illness because of it.
Every once in a while, he was forced to enter seclusion to suppress the backlash within his body.
Thinking of this, Jiang Xuning couldn’t help but feel a sense of pity. According to what he knew, before the prophecy of the “Heavenly Demon’s Birth” appeared, the Sovereign was already at the Great Circle of the Tribulation Transcendence stage, just one step away from ascension. One must know that before him, the cultivation world hadn’t seen a cultivator ascend for a very long time; he was the foremost person of the era. However, after the incident with the Demon Race, his vitality was greatly damaged, and even his cultivation had regressed significantly. Spending his days merely suppressing the backlash in his body left him exhausted, making further progress difficult.
Thinking of that “Great Circle” that was only one step away, even as an outsider, he felt a pang of heartache and couldn’t help but let out a sigh.
The sound wasn’t loud, but it was enough for a high-level cultivator to hear clearly. The Sovereign turned his head slightly toward the back of the youth in white, as if only now discovering an extra person was present. He asked with some curiosity, “Oh, and who is this?”
Hearing this, Jiang Xuning’s body trembled. He knew the person was talking about him, but for some reason, he didn’t dare look up or reply. Even the gaze landing on him made him feel extremely uncomfortable.
He was not used to exposing himself at the center of attention.
Fortunately, Yu Heng noticed in time. He stepped forward to break the tension, quickly explaining, “Master, this is my elder brother.”
“Elder brother?”
The Immortal Sovereign was somewhat surprised. He couldn’t help but look at the silent youth a few more times, saying with a touch of novelty, “Heng-er, I haven’t heard you mention having an elder brother before.”
His fingertips trembled slightly. Jiang Xuning hadn’t expected that during all the time A-Heng had been at the Tianyan Sect, he hadn’t mentioned him once to others. He felt a pang of bitterness and lowered his head even further, lost in thought.
“But you two don’t look very much alike, do you?”
Perhaps seeing that the youth’s reaction was quite interesting, the Sovereign felt a bit more intrigued and couldn’t help but ask a few more questions.
Seeing this, Yu Heng answered obediently, “We were not born of the same parents. I was originally an orphan whom my brother’s parents took in out of pity.”
“So that’s how it is.”
The Immortal Sovereign understood and stopped asking. But in the next moment, his expression shifted slightly, exuding the aura of a superior. His voice also turned a few degrees colder.
“Then I do not know why Heng-er has suddenly brought your brother to see me.”
The previously harmonious atmosphere suddenly became piercingly cold. Even the slow-to-react Jiang Xuning quickly sensed something was wrong. Ignoring his heartache, he instinctively wanted to look up, but he didn’t expect that just as the Sovereign finished speaking, the youth standing in front of him suddenly knelt down.
He said word by word, “I beg Master to save a life!”