The vicinity of this graveyard is now surrounded by two arrays. One is the original Illusion Array to keep strangers and ordinary people from getting inside and the second one is a defensive array that prevents what is inside from leaving the graveyard. This second array was the formation Lu Er had activated while running with his elder brother on his back.
The defensive array was created for the purpose of preventing anything from leaving the ancestral mound. In the realm of mortals, corpses coming back to life is not an uncommon event. That's why most graveyards had countermeasures ready if the dead had once again risen.
Zhi Yang watches as the black fog spreads from the center to the whole forest surrounding the entrance of the underground graveyard. The sun is still up so Zhi Yang didn't see any monsters outside at the moment but when he scanned the opened door and the underground of the mound, he had seen numerous black entities in the form of bats, insects like spiders, centipedes, and cockroaches, as well as a few figures with the human form. Among them, one noticed Zhi Yang's peering and reflected Zhi Yang's sight.
"Um?"
A teardrop of blood strolls down on his left eye which Zhi Yang casually wipes.
"At least three devils. Two Soul transform stages and one at Ascension. Lord Ye wouldn't be able to stop them with his human vessel and soul. At least I need to report to Lord Hei who has his immortality. Just in case I need to seal up this land," said Zhi Yang as he pulled up a space prison scroll from his inventory and activated it covering the four-dimensional area that surrounds the whole forest within the city.
Now another violet barrier surrounds the two original arrays and keeps everything, even the ones underground, imprisoned. It was strong enough to block the escape of the three from the devil race. This space prison was made by Hei Anjing at his God state in Vearth. Even though he is only a piece of soul fragment of the original Hei Anjing, his strength is still undeniably higher than the ones in this current world.
Zhi Yang left after activating the space prison. He needs to return to the Lu Weifeng Sect to report to their two lords.
Meanwhile, in the underground graveyard. The three hidden humanoid devils felt the restriction that suddenly appeared together with that being that was peering at them.
There are three of them. The two look identical. With large horns, claws, and fangs. Even the black wing on their backs and distorted ugly appearance made them look like a mixed monster and human. But the one in the middle that seems like their master is different, his face is flawless and elegant. His skin was fair and smooth like jade, his eyes were like polished rubies glowing with a bright shade of crimson. His features can be compared to the immortals in the heavenly realm the only difference is that he doesn't exclude the aura of holiness but instead of danger. There is a deep red spider lily tattoo on his next moves as if it was alive. For the devil race, the more beautiful they are the more powerful they are.
"My King, there is another weird barrier. This time it completely imprisons even us in this land." one of the humanoid devils said.
The other humanoid devil said, "This barrier is created with the Space element and... It is made by an immortal with a high cultivation stage."
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇtThe two who spoke are the identical twin devils who serve the high-rank devil in the middle.
"Don't panic, Gai Yin and Ya Bo. This is the mortal realm. What kind of God is able to exert their full strength in the human world? Was it ten years ago or more? Didn't the God of Punishment ask his lover to kill himself just to kill my dear elder brother? Hahaha~ my dear brother looked so pitiful at that time. He is supposed to be the Devil of covetousness but in the end, he begrudges the love between the God of Punishment and a mere mortal. He wanted to destroy them but in the end, he got killed. My poor fourth brother Jidu. He was even begging me to save him. Pfft~ but why would I save him~ the more of my siblings die the faster I become the Devil God! Hahahaha~"
The one who was laughing was the devil that rules greed. His name is Tanlan.
---
At the Lu Weifeng Sect...
Chun Hongyun-Jun who was waiting for his brother to get his other half back to the reception hall suddenly felt his heart throbbing. It was unknown why Yun Xiajie is feeling like this.
Everyone in the hall suddenly saw Chu Hongyun-Jun stand up with that usual expressionless face of his.
Lu Er asked, "What's wrong?"
"I feel a bit... tired. Can we move the meeting to after dinner instead? Since my brother and Bai Ying are still not here," said Yun Xiajie.
Lu Yi stared at him for a few seconds and said, "That idea is nice. That bothersome couple would definitely need more time for each other. Let's move the meeting to after dinner. It's not like those in the mound would move while the sun is out."
"Let's disperse for now. Xiao Er, show them to the guests' courtyard. I also need to rest," Lu Yi said as he was escorted by some disciples back to his room.
The others had left the hall to their designated courtyard. Even Yun Xiajie left the hall before the others noticed him. He went somewhere with as few people as possible. Once he was sure that no one else was around he grasped the robe above his heart. An extreme emptiness spreads from his heart to his whole body. The invisible pain is almost unbearable as his memories of what happened ten years ago become clearer as if it just happened a few minutes ago.
Argh!
The blurry scenes flash in his mind as he sees the smiling face of his beloved covered in the blood-colored imprint of spider lilies.
Those pairs of silver irises and phoenix-shaped eyes were narrowed in a crescent as a playful smile surfaced in the corner of those pale lips.
{Don't be sad, my love~ just remember... the oath... we've made before. As long as... either one of us... is alive, we'll be able to... come back to... life. I will... return to you. So...Wait for me, A'Xia~}
Those were the words Yun Xiajie's lover had told him before he faded before him. Watching his beloved turn to nothing in front of his eyes was too agonizing. That if not for the oath they've made with each other... Yun Xiajie wouldn't decide to stay in this realm and instead go against the heavenly laws just to look for his other half.
Because of a single oath and a promise, Yun Xiajie remained in the land of mortals.
That's how it was supposed to be but he suddenly disappeared after his lover died that day. No one knew where he had disappeared until he suddenly came back to his sect, losing all expression and emotion on his face. His cultivation remained stagnant at Peak Soul Transformation but his strength could equalize those in the Ascension stage. No one knew that the Immortal Emperor himself was preventing his ascension to the Upper Realm as punishment for failing his mission to protect his son.
Some blood-red tattoo was peeking at the tight robes of Yun Xiajie. It was the very same spider lilies imprint that can be seen on his left collar bone though it was just a single petal, the color itself was eerie enough.
Yun Xiajie was panting as his crimson eyes were glowing within that empty hallway, in that shadowy road his blood-red eyes were very visible.
"This feeling...? Did another high-ranking devil enter the mortal realm? Tsk!"
"Was it really a coincidence that my Jing'er had just descended from the Upper Realm and now a high-ranking devil appeared in the mortal realm?"
"I wouldn't let the past repeat itself," mumbled Yun Xiajie as he waited for the pain to fade.
---
Somewhere on the outskirts of the Lu Weifeng Sect's Territory.
A simple yet luxurious courtyard stood before the eyes of Sect Master Bai Qiyin and the young disciples that came with him. The small mansion before them had a minimalist design yet the materials used to create the house itself cost more than that of a small palace. Especially the arrays that surround the house, there is an automatic cleansing array, defensive array, and sound isolation array surrounding the small courtyard.
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏmThe wood for the pillar of the house is made of enlightened bamboo which caused more than hundreds of spirit stones in the cultivation circle. Even the small pond outside is made of spiritual water full of qi and the wisteria tree which had a purification effect on the land and air. This courtyard can be considered a small sanctuary in the whole Lu Weifeng Sect. Lu Er had prepared everything for Hei Anjing's stay. This courtyard was secretly created by him for his personal use. Now it was used to entertain Hei Anjing, a very important guest of the Lu Clan.
Stunned Yun Fan said, "This is the first time I've seen a courtyard made of enlightened bamboo. Even Chun Hongyun-Jun's abode is not this luxurious."
"Fayun, look at the pond. Is that all... Spiritual water?" asked Du Sang.
Yun Fan exclaimed and said, "Wow! It is really a spiritual pond!"
"Fan, watch your manners!" reprimanded Yun Anjie but deep inside his heart he was also left in awe by such a magnificent sight.
While the children were whispering to themselves, Bai Qiyin's eyes were staring at the lone ice lotus floating on the small pond. He is very familiar with that ice lotus. His senior brother loves reading and growing flowers as hobbies. He recalled the same ice lotus flower their (White Frozen Water Sect) Bai Lengshui Sect grows at the center of their territory.
No one was allowed to pluck a single lotus flower in that place. Even then his father and mother were very strict about rearing those ice lotus. This is because those ice lotus were the memento his Senior Brother had left behind in their sect. That ice lotus flower can only be found in their territory and never outside. As it was something brought by his Senior Brother where he originally came from. The upper realm, the Heavenly Domain where only Gods and Goddesses, even immortals reside.
Suddenly, this ice lotus flower appears in a small pond in such a secluded courtyard. The lotus flower hasn't even bloomed yet and was obviously recently planted in this pond. Just this flower alone made Bai Qiyin's guesses lean more on the positive side. He could still recall his Senior Brother rolling his white sleeve as he planted this kind of flower at their house's pond. He was smiling brightly as he played with water together with the young children of their Bai Clan.
His tears suddenly stroll down as he takes a step back in disbelief, shock, and excitement. He wanted to continue rejecting the possibility of his brother returning back to life.
Bai Qiyin mumbles, "How... is this... possible!?"
The children were bewildered by Sect Master Bai Qiyin's reaction. They look at them worriedly as they don't know anything of whatever is causing this senior strange behavior.
Senior Brother Lu Ke on the other hand was observing his prey from a distance. He plans to attack them and pushes them inside the courtyard as soon as those living in this place come over to greet them.
While licking his lips secretly, Lu Ke observes the arrays surrounding the small courtyard.
His thoughts are, 'A sound isolation array? Kekeke~ even the world is helping me. This place is a nice area to stack food without the others knowing. I can use this place to keep my food reserves alive and fresh~'
While everyone was stunned in one place someone came out of the house. He is wearing the usual black robe with a snowflake pattern on the edges. His long black hair was flowing behind his back with half of it clamped up with a simple white crown. His white skin glitters under the sunlight and half of his face was covered with a thin black veil.
Only his silver irises and phoenix-shaped eyes can be seen on his face as even his nose and lips were covered by the veil. Holding a book in his left hand, he carries a small wooden watering pot in his right. This person obviously came out to check on his little ice lotus flower at the pond. It was Hei Anjing.