Chapter 301: [Sisheng Peak] Reduplication of The Past

Within the torrential rain, a newly formed group of rebel soldiers stood in front of the mountain. There were cultivators from all the different sects.

The time and space of the Gate of Life and Death had opened, and everything was still unknown. In front of them were many dangers; thus, the hearts of these newly formed Allies were all unsteady, they all had different plans.

Almost no one wanted to take the lead. They were all worried that the Zhenlong chess pieces that were hibernating at Sisheng Peak would once again confront the masters of tigers and wolves that Mount Jiao had once encountered.

They looked into the distance, their hearts anxious — Could there be a demon sitting with his eyes closed within the rain-shrouded Wushan Palace, waiting for the group of heroes to use their weapons so that they could tear everyone into pieces?

Someone raised a torch that was ignited by an Incantation, raised his head and looked at the majestic mountain peak, muttering to himself, "Unexpectedly… The Tianyin Pavilion would actually do such a thing… I still feel like I'm dreaming."

"Stop sighing." The Bitan Manor's Zhen Ku patted that person's shoulder, "Since you have the time to talk so much, why don't you think about how to attack the mountain and quickly end this nightmare."

Someone else gloomily said, "I'm afraid it's not that simple. Mu Yanli had the Divine Blood Body, Hua Binan was a part of the Medical Sect, and that Emperor of Taxian-Jun… It's that Mo Ran, that guy's magic is profound and his personality is insidious. We should still be cautious."

"We must not let our guard down."

This cultivator's words won the approval of many people.

If Xue Meng from his previous life were to stand here, he would definitely feel that his life was going around in circles and would eventually return to its starting point.

The scene before was so similar to the night when the ten great sects had attacked Sisheng Peak and Taxian-Jun had killed himself.

Unfortunately, the person in the crowd right now was not the Xue Meng from his previous life, but the young man who had just lost his parents.

Although he was handsome, his face was haggard. In order to wear filial piety, he did not wear the bright silver armor that was at the Sisheng Peak. He was dressed only in plain blue, and his ponytail was tied up with a white ribbon.

Xue Meng opened his mouth and said, "Let's not even talk about this. If this continues, we will not be able to salvage the situation. What do you mean by being insidious? If you are afraid, you will stay here. There's no need to go up."

Everything was the same as in his previous life. Just like back then, when Xue Meng said this, the surrounding people exploded.

Once again, he became the target of public criticism.

"Young Master Xue, your words are really too excessive. What do you mean afraid of things?" The female cultivator from the Jiangdong Hall had her eyebrows raised high, "You are not afraid. A few days ago, you went to the Wushan Palace to assassinate the emperor Taxian-Jun. And the result?"

"…"

"You were the one who lost, and you even dragged Brother Mei down to clean up the mess with you!"

"You…"

A slender white hand blocked Xue Meng's path, silver bells jingling on his wrist.

Xue Meng said angrily, "You don't have to meddle in other people's business!"

"How can it be called business when it is about the son of my benefactor?" As he spoke, he turned his head to smile at the female cultivator who was blushing at every occasion.

"Besides, the words of such a good-looking lady aren't pleasant to the ears. Of course, I have to guide her so that she can correct her mistakes." He said politely, "Helping Xue Meng is helping a friend of mine, and not just to clean up the mess. Heaven and Earth are on my side, my heart is clear. I hope that young lady does not wrongly accuse me."

In the martial world, who didn't know of Senior Mei's charm? The female cultivator was instantly speechless, and her face swelled up like a pig's liver.

Seeing him like that, the female cultivator's dao companion felt the top of his head turn green, so he taunted: "Interesting, Young Master Xue is invincible yourself, we are all cowards, why don't you go up the mountain and scout first? In any case, you are the most familiar with the Sisheng Peak, and I heard that the Emperor Taxian-Jun is your cousin Mo Weiyu's past life. No matter what, he won't take your life."

Many people revealed an awkward expression when they heard the words "Taxian-Jun."

Back then, Mo-zongshi had told them the truth. Back then, they had thought that he was plotting something, and that it was full of nonsense. But now, things had come to the surface. Everything was as Mo Ran had said, and many people were beginning to feel uneasy.

Unfortunately, not everyone had the same attitude. An elderly cultivator lightly coughed and said: "Actually, I feel that the identity of that Emperor Taxian-Jun still needs to be verified."

Xue Meng coldly looked at him. "Verified what?"

The old man said, "What I mean is, although that Taxian-Jun is the same as Mo Ran, it doesn't necessarily mean that Mo Ran said it was from his previous life. After all, anything is possible."

"That's right, I still feel that the one Guyue'ye killed was Mo Ran himself, that his previous life was a reason, an excuse!"

Even at this point, there were still some among the crowd who believed that Mo-zongshi was lying and that they had not wrongly accused him.

After all, there were some among them who had once spoken out and humiliated him back in the Tianyin Pavilion. Someone had thrown a stone leaf at him on the third day of the trial and mocked him. Furthermore, admitting that Mo-zongshi was speaking the truth was equivalent to admitting that they have been deceived and slandered a good person. To some people, this was simply too embarrassing.

Sometimes it takes more courage to admit fault than to make a mistake, and cowards clearly lack it. In order to maintain that they did not make a mistake, they were determined not to let Mo Ran make their mistake known. No matter how much grievance, humiliation, and guilt he suffered, he would never be at peace for two lifetimes. They still wanted him to bear this crime.

To these "gentlemen", the innocence of others compared to their own face was nothing.

When Mei Hanxue heard this, he complimented him with a smile, "Daoist master Sun, you are truly a proud and unyielding character that cannot be broken."

The old man was stunned. After pondering for a long time, he realized that Mei Hanxue was laughing at him. He couldn't help but be furious. He rushed forward and wanted to fight him, but was stopped by an old monk.

Great master Xuan Jing advised: "Alright, both of you, stop quarreling. Listen to what this old monk has to say first. It doesn't matter what status Taxian-Jun has. What's important is how we should deal with him and how we should deploy our forces after we reach the mountain."

He turned around and asked Xue Meng amiably, "Young Master Xue, you're the one who fought with Taxian-Jun. From your point of view, how good is this person's martial prowess?"

Xue Meng gritted his teeth, clenched his fists and said, "Gathering the power of all the Sect Leaders here is not necessarily a win."

"Ha!" That Daoist master Sun raised his white eyebrows. "What a proud son of heaven. He really does know how to increase his strength and extinguish his own prestige!"

Great master Xuan Jing was a little shocked, "In that case, this person should be quite a bit stronger than Chu-zongshi. No wonder Chu-zongshi was kidnapped by him…"

"Capture? Who didn't know about the dirty affairs between Chu Wanning and Mo Ran? In my opinion, it's not kidnapping at all, and Taxian-Jun isn't some kind of a past life. This whole thing was orchestrated by Mo Ran, who was also in the same group as Chu Wanning! If you don't believe me, let's go up the mountain and see!"

Xue Meng's face suddenly paled. If it was before, he would have already angrily roared and pounced towards this old man to smash his mouth, but not long ago, he had just learned the truth behind the matter between Shizun and Mo Ran. He himself was disgusted to the extreme, he was actually just standing in the same place, looking downcast, and unable to say a word.

While he was in a sorry state, a tall, light green figure lightly covered him.

Jiang Xi said coldly, "You are too audacious. If the events after the mountain are not what you said, then I don't think you need to keep that bewitching tongue of yours."

The old Daoist's facial muscles twitched, and his lips seemed to want to say something. However, after muttering to himself for a long time, he was unable to spit in front of Jiang Xi. He finally shut his mouth.

Jiang Xi cast a sidelong glance at Xue Meng and didn't say anything more. He lowered his head and pondered for a while, then said to the others, "Let's not delay this any longer. First, we'll arrange the targets for the decisive battle, then we'll act immediately." His gaze turned towards the other Sect Leaders and Elders, as if he was confirming something, "Excluding the chess piece Zhenlong, who is known to be at Sisheng Peak?"

People around him replied, "We'll definitely meet Mu Yanli."

Jiang Xi asked, "Has anyone fought with her before?"

A female cultivator raised her hand. "I exchanged a few blows with her during the internal strife."

Jiang Xi asked, "How's your movement technique?"

The female cultivator thought for a moment and said, "Sending three elders should be enough to stall her."

"Alright. Which three Elders are willing to lock onto Mu Yanli after the battle starts?"

The people at Sisheng Peak had long regarded Mu Yanli as a thorn in their side. At this time, three Elders immediately came out; Xun Ji, Tanlang, Lu. The three of them were from the same sect, and they all had excellent skills in healing and offense. Jiang Xi agreed without hesitation.

Jiang Xi asked again, "What else?"

"There is also a group of close attendants from the Tianyin Pavilion. This number of people is not very good. However, there are at least six or seven hundred of them and their strength is hard to estimate."

Jiang Xi mused, "The closest martial art to the Tianyin Pavilion is the Wubei Temple…" He raised his eyes to look at Great master Xuan Jing. "Grandmaster, are you willing to let the disciples of the temple watch the Tianyin Pavilion's attendants during the war?"

"This…" Great master Xuan Jing secretly decided the pros and cons of this move.

The drawbacks were obvious. The number and strength of the disciples within the Tianyin Pavilion were unknown. It was best for them to be weak, but if they were strong, then the Temple's vitality would be greatly damaged. At the very least, they no longer had to face the most frightening of all, Taxian-Jun.

Thus, he nodded his head, "This old monk will naturally share the worries of the world."

"What's left is Hua Binan…" Jiang Xi sighed and closed his eyes, "No need for that. Although Guyue'ye couldn't be said to be familiar with his every move and every move, he at least had the same origin as us. During the great battle, I ask that the elders of my sect keep an eye on this person, and not show any mercy."

After all these arrangements were made, all that was left were the Zhenlong chess pieces and Taxian-Jun.

Jiang Xi's eyes swept across the crowd, but other than a few cultivators, most of them suddenly felt as if they had cervical spondylosis. Their heads were all lowered, and some even reached out to touch their necks, as if they were in great pain.

"Mistress?"

Ming Yuelou nodded. "The Taxue Palace should be able to help."

Jiang Xi then asked the pavilion master. The Taoist also nodded and said, "It's our responsibility."

But apart from this, the other sects were either afraid of trouble or were unsuited for battle. Those in charge were more or less hesitant. There were even some people who muttered, "Since that Taxian-Jun through Space and Time Lord was able to tear open the Gate of Life and Death, the power of those Sect Leaders is definitely not enough."

"That's right, isn't this the same as seeking death?"

Someone then sighed, "If only the Rufeng Sect was still here. The cultivators of the seventy-two cities have so many City Lords, sigh… What a pity."

"Huh?" Suddenly, a Jiangdong Hall cultivator raised his voice, "What about that Ye Wangxi girl? Wasn't she very good at fighting? Most likely, their strength would be comparable to ten Nangong Liu. They would definitely have the battle power of a sect head. Where is she?"

Jiang Xi's face darkened when she was mentioned. He gloomily replied, "Before we left, we settled down a group of refugees in Guyue'ye. At that time, we decided to keep a cultivator in guard to prevent the chess pieces from pressing on their territory — No one automatically submitted. In the end she stayed."

That cultivator let out an "ah" and revealed an awkward expression.

Jiang Xi said gloomily, "They are true heroes here. Why do you need a little girl everywhere?"

"…"

After a while, there were still few people in the crowd who wanted to take the lead. The young and beautiful new Sect Leader of the Jiangdong Hall stammered: "I think we still have to think about it carefully. After all, this is not a joke. Let's wait a little while longer."

Hearing the word "wait," Xue Meng immediately became so angry that his lips turned blue. He did his best to suppress his anger and asked, "How much longer do we have to wait? How secure can it be if we wait a little longer?"

"But we can't go up the mountain and die."

"Success or failure will be decided in one move. Young Master Xue, be careful."

Great master Xuan Jing also advised: "Young Master Xue, be careful of this ship. Now that the world had turned upside down and the Sisheng Peak had disappeared, no one knew what kind of changes would occur in front of them. At present, all of the top cultivators in the cultivation world were gathered here. If all the sticks were to fall into the water, who would be responsible for it?"

"Yes, what should we do if the Sect Leaders and cultivators are killed…"

Xue Meng had been holding back this whole time, but now he could not hold it in any longer. He suddenly raised his head, his eyes blood-red. "Your Sect Leader is not dead yet, and he's already thinking about what to do. Then, what about Sisheng Peak?!"

"…"

When the topic of Sisheng Peak was brought up, everyone could not help but think of the Sect Leader and his wife who had been wrongly accused and had both perished.

"I don't know what to do about Sisheng Peak." Xue Meng's voice was slightly hoarse. "I don't have a cousin, a senior brother, a mother, or a father. Now, even Shizun…"

Xue Meng's eyelashes trembled slightly, and his Adam's apple moved, as if he was doing his utmost to swallow his pain. However, that pain was too deep for him to bear. He closed his eyes and then opened them again, "The Lords are afraid of death, because they still have a legacy. I am not, so I am not afraid of death."

Mei Hanxue who was standing beside them frowned and whispered, "Xue Meng!"

But how could he listen?

No one in this world could stop him anymore.

Xue Meng said, "If you don't go, I'll go by myself."

"Young Lord!" The disciples at Sisheng Peak all stepped forward to advise against it, but Xue Meng had already made up his mind and displayed his murderous intent. He turned around and left everyone behind. The anger and grievance he had been enduring all became tears rolling down his cheeks that no one could see.

Standing amidst the torrential rain, Jiang Xi gazed at his back, "You…"

Hearing his voice, Xue Meng walked even faster. His Longcheng was already shattered. He did not even have a decent sword. However, he still walked towards the majestic Sisheng Peak without looking back.

"Xue Meng!"

After a few moments of hesitation, a hoarse shout finally came out of Jiang Xi's throat with great difficulty.

Jiang Xi walked up and before his hand could touch Xue Meng's shoulder, he saw the young man suddenly turn around. A fiery light flashed in his round bird-like eyes as he angrily shouted, "Scram! Don't touch me!" With that, he flung Jiang Xi's hand away and left without giving anyone a chance to speak.

On the steps, the moss grew and the bamboo grew.

Xue Meng breathed heavily as he sprinted through the torrential rain. In front of him was a world that was moist like a dream.

Then, Madam Wang had once stood beneath the moon and watched a peony blossom. At that time, Xue Zhengyong was a mighty man who had returned from the battle and raised his spear. As Xue Meng walked through the white stone gate, he saw Shi Mei lowering his head and muttering to himself. He ran past the heroic pillar and saw Mo Ran looking at the moon. He saw the bustling disciples in the wind and rain coming back from class, laughing on the bridge.

He sped up his pace as if he were running for his life, like a tiger in the woods. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw an old peach tree. He saw his young self kowtowing nine times under the tree, he raised his head with a smile and said to Chu Wanning, who was waving his white robe,

"Disciple Xue Meng greets Shizun."

He suddenly closed his eyes.

Sisheng Peak carried too many memories, floating before his eyes. There used to be so much fire here, but now there's so much dust.

Xue Meng walked on the road. The wind and rain were blowing, and the memories of past fading away.

"Don't follow me… Don't let me see this again…"

He muttered as he shuttled back and forth among the lingering shadows, fleeing from the time of the high-spirited youth. When he stood on the peak of the mountain, he was soaked through under the rain. He was like a phoenix whose feathers had already withered, shivering slightly.

Cold.

His bones were frozen to ice.

He narrowed his thick eyelashes and looked at the distant palace. The candlelight was dim. This was Sisheng Peak in his previous life. The last time he came here to assassinate him, he didn't pay any attention to it…

Suddenly, he caught a glimpse of three tombs standing in front of the closer Heaven-Piercing Tower.

This was something he had never seen in his own sect. He could not help but walk over to take a closer look. Out of the three tombs, one of them had the "Deep Fried Empress" gouged in it, while the other had been flattened. The stone tablet had fallen to the side.

The last one was very old.

In front of the tomb, there was a faint shadow, standing alone.

The person stood in front of the grave, his robes stained with blood, his wide sleeves reaching the ground. He raised his hand to stroke the words on the tombstone.

Xue Meng was shocked. His skull felt as if it had been pierced by an arrow and all the blood in his body surged. He shouted, "Mo Ran!" He hacked at Longcheng, but his waist was empty.

Only then did he recall that Longcheng had already been destroyed. It shattered during his last confrontation with Taxian-Jun.

The man who had his back to him seemed to be unable to hear anything, only slowly bending over the tombstone as if he was finally reaching the end of an extremely weary journey. Xue Meng saw him gently rub his forehead against the cold stone.

Xue Meng's palm suddenly ignited with a flame. Orange light scattered in all directions.

He hacked towards the back of Taxian-Jun without a care in the world.

"Bam!"

With a loud bang, the firelight did not hurt anyone, only the stone tablet that had grown old with age had shattered.

He looked left and right, but there was no one around, not even a Immortal Emperor, not a black figure, not a single person.

The rain poured down around him like a torrential downpour. It was as if he was the only one left in the world. However, the tree shadows seemed to be hiding in the dark forest, hiding in the grass, waiting for the next moment.

"Taxian-Jun! Taxian-Jun!"

He shouted and his voice was instantly crushed into dust by the thunder.

Did I see wrongly?

How could it be wrong? It was clearly such a clear view of his back. He had clearly been standing here just now, yet that person had actually reached out his hand to touch the stone tablet, the stone tablet…

Suddenly, he stopped.

Xue Meng bent over, lifted his hand and slowly picked up the stone tablet that had been smashed into pieces. He picked up half of it, and in an instant, he felt as if he had fallen into a cave of ice!

Astonishingly, the words on the monument were:

The Tomb of Chu Wanning

Whose grave? What tomb?

Xue Meng suddenly stood up and staggered backwards. The white light of the lightning shone on his miserable face. Xue Meng shook his head and muttered, "No… No… What was going on… How is that possible?"

He swallowed, trying to calm himself. He squatted there for a while, breathing heavily before finally recovering. Squinting his eyes, he examined the tombstone again.

The monolith's body was already very mottled. It had been at least ten years, and it was not new. The monolith was carved with varying depths, as if it had originally been carved with something. Later on, someone had erased the original handwriting and carved these seven words anew.

Shizun.

Chu Wanning's tomb.

This was the grave of his previous Shizun?

Xue Meng's lips were blue and his entire body was trembling. It was unknown whether it was grief, anger, fear or something else that was rolling in his chest… He buried his face in his hands and wiped away the wet rain.

So, what kind of love and hatred did he have for the future he did not know?

He did not know, just like he did not know what had been carved on this monolith, and for what reason, the inscription had been changed.

I don't know.

Xue Meng rested in place for a while, but when he opened his eyes, he saw that the dark golden shadow had appeared again. This time, the distance was even closer, and the lofty mountains and rivers that were embroidered with golden threads could be clearly seen.

The figure seemed to be something between a soul and a living person. It was neither completely alive nor completely dead. As that person looked at Heaven-Piercing Tower from afar, Xue Meng vaguely heard him whispering to himself. "Shizun, you… Pay attention to me."

The voice was ethereal, like a dream.

"I'm going home. I'm going home. I'll go home," he said, but there was a hint of confusion in his voice.

"Shizun…"

With a boom, it was as if thunder had smashed the earth apart. The belly of the mountains and rivers faintly trembled, and all of his internal organs went numb.

"But I don't have a home…"

The black and gold figure suddenly turned around. In this stormy rain, Xue Meng could clearly see his face, the face of Mo Ran.

As if he didn't see him, Mo Ran continued to mutter to himself, "I don't have a home anymore… I want to go back. I want to go back!"

He became anxious and desperate, "Let me go back, let me go back! I want to see him. I want to see him!"

Amidst the thunder and lightning, the black shadow rose into the air. Xue Meng was caught off guard by the cold and violent black wind. The shadow passed through him, carrying a bone-piercing chill. It was colder than rain. He was so dazed that he fell to the ground.

"I can't die… I want to see him!"

Xue Meng could clearly hear Mo Ran's low shout. The black shadow flew like a whirlwind towards the mountain behind Sisheng Peak. When he came back to his senses, he had already lost sight of the rising ghost. At the back of the mountain, a sky-splitting red light was spurting out!

...

What happened? What was that shadow just now?

Ghost?

He turned white and sat stiffly — until someone slapped him in the back.

At this time, Xue Meng's entire body was stretched to the limit, and upon contact, he fiercely jumped up, as if he had gone mad, and said with extreme helplessness: "Who?! Who is it!?"

Mei Hanxue held him down: "Don't be afraid, it's me."

Behind him, in the forest, an extremely ugly person from the Taxue Palace walked out. However, he had a pair of light green eyes that Xue Meng was familiar with. It was Mei Hanxue's big brother with the cold mouth.

His elder brother, Méi Hánxuě,28 stepped out of the forest, holding two swords in his hand. One was his holy weapon, Shuofeng, while the other was…

"Xuehuang."

Méi Hánxuě walked up to the shivering Xue Meng and handed Jiang Xi's sword to him.

"Sect Leader Jiang wanted me to hand it over to you on his behalf. He said you could use it, and you didn't have to refuse it for some reason."

His younger brother was still curious. "May I ask, what's your relationship with Jiang Xi?"

"Let's go." His words were mercilessly cut off by his big brother. "Let's go to the Wushan Palace to check on Chu-zongshi's situation."

As Méi Hánxuě said this, he shot a glance at Xue Meng and used his Shuofeng to knock on his shoulder. Without saying a word, he dove into the depths of the rain.

As for his twin brother, he sighed and patted Xue Meng on the head before following his brother to Wushan Palace, in the wind and rain.