Talisman Emperor

The pitch black and silent passageway was dark and damp while a ghastly and cold aura assaulted the face.

When Zuoqiu Jun’s figure appeared before the passageway, an expanse of miserable and fiercely clamorous noise instantly resounded from all around the pitch black passageway.

“Haha! Unfilial bastard! You and Zuoqiu Feng are both the traitors and sinners of the Zuoqiu Clan! I hope both of you suffer eternal damnation!”

“Young Master Kong, please let me off. I was wrong, I was really wrong. I don’t want to continue staying here, I don’t want to.”

“Committing crimes against your clansmen to usurp power. Both you father and son will suffer retribution in the end!”

Some flung abuses at him, some begged, some cursed resentfully, and some howled madly. It was interwoven together, and it was like he’d walked into hell.

Zuoqiu Kong was indifferent towards all of this. He wore snow white clothes while he walked through the dark and seemingly endless passage with a steady pace, and the space between his brows was filled with calmness.

This was the Iris Immortal Prison. In the boundless years of the past, countless people had been imprisoned here. There were those condemned from within the clan and the enemies of the Zuoqiu Clan from other powers.

It wasn’t the first time Zuoqiu Kong had come here, so he was accustomed to all of this. The curses, cries, voices, and begging naturally couldn’t cause a trace of fluctuation in his emotions.

After an unknown period of time, the clamorous noise in the surroundings gradually weakened, and at this moment, Zuoqiu Kong had already arrived at the end of the passageway.

At the end of the passageway was a rusted and mottled bronze door. It seemed to have been sealed for a very long time, and the cracks between the door and its frame were already corroded by the damp atmosphere to the point it was almost impossible to notice.

“In the blink of an eye, it has actually been a few hundred years since I’ve come here…” Zuoqiu Kong gazed at the bronze door for a long time before he laughed lightly in the end, and then he raised his hand and pushed the door open.

Rumble~

Along with a dull grinding sound, the bronze door that had been sealed for a long time was finally opened. After that, a strand of gentle light shot out from within, and it tore open the darkness and illuminated Zuoqiu Kong.

Zuoqiu Kong’s eyes narrowed slightly before he took a deep breath, and then he walked in leisurely.

…

Behind the bronze door was actually a paradise. A clear azure sky, white clouds floating high above, and numerous verdant mountains studded the surroundings. Clear water flowed while luxuriant plants were everywhere, and it was like a quiet, otherworldly, and beautiful landscape painting.

The only flaw was perhaps that this landscape lacked liveliness, and it was because this world lacked even a shred of Immortal Energy.

Rumble!

The bronze door closed, whereas Zuoqiu Kong’s gaze instantly locked onto a stone house in the distance.

The stone house was low and simple. It was at the banks of a stream, and a small courtyard was formed by circling bamboo around the stone house. The courtyard was filled with some jade green vegetables, and when looked at from afar, it wasn’t any different from a small courtyard owned by farmers in the mortal world.

At this moment, a woman in simple clothes was sitting before a stone table in the courtyard while her graceful back was facing Zuoqiu Kong.

When he saw this figure, Zuoqiu Kong’s eyes flashed with a wisp of a complicated expression. It seemed to be a mix of bitter hatred, pity, and sympathy.

He shook his head and directly arrived before the stone house and entered the small courtyard surrounded by bamboos. At this moment, he noticed that her appearance had actually aged greatly in these past few hundred years.

Originally, she had jet black hair that flowed down like a waterfall, a gorgeous appearance, tender and fair skin, yet at this moment, it seemed to have lost its vitality, and there were even some wrinkles at the corners of her eyes.

She was still beautiful, yet she carried an aura of being corroded by time.

She was naturally Zuoqiu Xue. A direct line descendant of the Zuoqiu Clan, and a genius that had caused the Zuoqiu Clan to almost split apart a few hundreds of years ago.

“Little Aunt.” Zuoqiu Kong spoke with a seemingly calm voice, so it caused others to be unable to discern his actual emotions.

“Sit.” Zuoqiu Xue didn’t raised her head as she casually instructed. She held a needle made from a bone, and she was about to finish sewing a black colored boot. Her fingers were extremely nimble, and her movements were skilled.

But when it entered into the eyes of Zuoqiu Kong, it caused him to be slightly stunned, and he seemed to feel it was slightly laughable that Zuoqiu Xue would actually do something so trivial and common.

But he didn’t laugh, and his expression remained calm as he directly sat at the other side of the stone table.

“This seems to be made for a man?” Zuoqiu Kong seemed to have thought of something as he looked at the black colored boots.

Zuoqiu Xue puckered her face into a smile yet didn’t answer him. The space between her brows were filled with seriousness, and she seemed to be extremely concentrated and careful. She seemed like ordinary wife of the moral world that was good with her hands.

“I came here this time because I have some good news to tell Little Aunt.” Zuoqiu Xue had remained concentrated on sewing the boot and Zuoqiu Kong had waited for a long time before he took the initiate to speak in the end, and he didn’t beat around the bush and spoke frankly. “Cousin Brother has come to the Immortal Dimension.”

Zuoqiu Xue stared blankly for a moment before she said in a light voice, “I knew he would come.”

As she spoke, she continued sewing up the boot. Her movements were careful and smooth while she wasn’t affected at all, and it seemed as if she was extremely calm at this moment.

Zuoqiu Kong was stunned when he saw Zuoqiu Xue’s reaction, and then he smiled before he sighed and said, “Cousin Brother is extremely extraordinary. Extraordinary just like Little Aunt was. Even I never imagined that he would be able to enter Dao Emperor Academy in such a short period of time and even obtain the supreme glory of being the first amongst the new students.”

When he spoke up to here, he glanced at Zuoqiu Xue out of the corners of his eyes, yet he saw that her expression was still calm as before, and there was actually not even the slightest ripple in her emotions.

This caused him to be unable to help but frown before he said, “Could it be that Little Aunt isn’t concerned about him?”

This time, Zuoqiu Xue finally stopped what she was doing, and then she raised her head and combed the black hair in front of her forehead before she said with a smile, “He’s the son of I, Zuoqiu Xue, so he’s naturally extraordinary. Is there anything strange about that?”

When he heard such an answer and as he looked at Zuoqiu Xue’s calm and composed smile, a wisp of frustration couldn’t help but arise in Zuoqiu Kong’s heart.

After that, he recovered his calm and laughed heartily as he said, “Yes, the blood of the Zuoqiu Clan flows in his body after all. It’s normal that his performance is so outstanding.”

“Don’t forget that he’s surnamed Chen. He’s the son of Chen Lingjun and I. He isn’t related to your Zuoqiu Clan at all. Since he started cultivating until he arrived at the Zuoqiu Clan, he hasn’t had a single grain of rice for your Zuoqiu Clan nor has he taken anything from your Zuoqiu Clan, so is there any relation between him and all of you?” Zuoqiu Xue laughed lightly as she shook her head. Even if she was correcting his mistakes, she did it with such a casual tone.

This made Zuoqiu Kong frown while the smile on his face instantly vanished, and he revealed a calm expression as he said, “No matter what, in the opinion of our Zuoqiu Clan, he shouldn’t have been born.”

He paused for a moment, and then his voice carried a wisp of determination as he said, “I came here this time to firstly share this good news with Little Aunt, and secondly it’s to tell you that when I came next, it’ll probably be to share bad news with you.”

Zuoqiu Xue went silent and completely stopped what she was doing, and then she raised her head and gazed at Zuoqiu Kong before she sighed lightly. “Child, you’re still too young. Actually…you shouldn’t have come this time.”

“Oh? Why? Please provide me with your guidance.” Zuoqiu Kong’s brows knit together even more tightly, and he really disliked Zuoqiu Xue addressing him in this manner.

“It’s very simple. Your arrival allowed me to roughly guess three things. Firstly, you allowed me to know that Xi’er is still alive and is very well.”

“Secondly, his performance in the Immortal Dimension now has obviously brought a great deal of vexation or perhaps frustration. This is probably because your actions against him have failed repeatedly.”

“Thirdly, you naturally wouldn’t have come to see me just to praise your cousin brother. You most likely intend for me to know everything before using it to disturb my mental state, and the more flurried I get, the happier you’ll become because only in this way would you be able to allow Xi’er to know how miserable and how filled with despair my current situation is.”

Zuoqiu Xue spoke gradually in a casual manner, and the clear space between her brows flickered with a glow of wisdom.

When she spoke up to here, she looked at Zuoqiu Kong and said, “I guess that you probably have a treasure like a Mirage Jade Slip on you, and you’ve been recording everything that happened since we met. You probably did this for the sake of being able to threaten Xi’er when you deal with him, right?”

When he heard this well arranged analysis, Zuoqiu Kong’s expression remained as it was, yet the right hand in beneath his sleeve silently clenched together tightly while a wisp of terror flashed within his heart.

“No wonder father always says that Little Aunt is a peerless genius with boundless wisdom. Nothing can escape you.” After a long time, Zuoqiu Kong suddenly sighed with emotion.

“Kong’er, stop concealing your own emotions. It was only your thoughts that were exposed, there’s no need to be so furious about it. Not to mention that I watched you grow up, and in terms of deception, you’re far inferior from your father. At the very least, he was able to deceive me all those years ago, yet you’re still lacking.” Zuoqiu Xue smiled lightly and spoke in the tone of a senior providing guidance to a junior.

Zuoqiu Kong stared blankly at Zuoqiu Xue, and then he suddenly had the impulse to leave immediately because he was very worried that if he said another word, then everything in his mind would be seen through by Zuoqiu Xue.

This sort of feeling was extremely uncomfortable. It wasn’t a contest of strength, but it was a contest of wisdom, feelings, and shrewdness.

Obviously, since he started speaking until now, he’d always been in a disadvantaged situation.

“Little Aunt, aren’t you worried that I came here this time just to kill you?” Suddenly, Zuoqiu Kong raised his hand and gazed directly at Zuoqiu Xue with a calm expression. He seemed to be extremely solemn and serious, and it caused others to be unable to believe that he was joking.

Zuoqiu Xue’s expression finally changed when faced with this, yet it wasn’t panic or worry, and it was heartfelt pity and compassion instead.

“Being young isn’t terrifying. It’s terrifying to be young and unable to admit it.” Zuoqiu Xue sighed and said, “Merely based on what you said, you exposed that you’re utterly unaware of the consequences of killing me. It’s precisely because you’re unaware that you don’t dare make a move against me.”

“Child, remember that when you want to kill someone and don’t know the consequences of it, it’s best to first inquire about it before coming over, otherwise it seems extremely immature once you say these things.”

When she spoke up to here, she withdrew her gaze and picked up the bone needle once more, and then started to sew up the black boot once more before she said slowly, “In short, you’re still too young. If you want to take control of the Zuoqiu Clan, then relying on this bit of ability you have now, you’ll probably end up just like me all those years ago and someone will usurp your position.”