Glancing at Long Hua, Tian Cheng asks—
"Are we headed directly to the island, master?"
"Hmm. I suppose? Not like there's anything else here."
Taking out the remaining sand piranhas that have been left in his storage pouch, Long Hua mutters—
"Devourer."
Manifesting the phantom maw of a serpent, Long Hua has it devour the sand piranhas as an experiment.
"...Guess these don't count as rare materials. Tch."
Other than recovering a bit of spirit Qi that isn't even equal to one spirit herb cigar's worth in quantity, Long Hua can't help but frown.
"Not in the mood to deal with people right now, I'll take my time getting to that island."
Taking out the books, which talk about the study of curses, Long Hua takes up an entire bench seat to himself.
Prior to opening the first book, Long Hua spreads his divine senses, and looking into the waters beneath the yacht, he sees—
(...There really is an entire city beneath these waters.)
If one had to describe the ruinous landscape of a city buried beneath the waters, with numerous weapon spirits roaming around it, surreal—is the first word that came to mind.
.........
A full day goes by, and back at the Lan Si Restaurant's fifth floor—
"..."
Sipping a cup of wine, Wu Xiao looks out at the cityscape with an expression of boredom on her face.
The hour hand has only just hit nine PM, and the nighttime air feels especially chilly, as it comes in through the large opening.
"..."
Detecting the sound of footsteps approaching her direction, Wu Xiao turns her head in its direction to see—
"..."
A man with golden hair and golden eyes. Their attire consists of a black military uniform with its coat draped over his shoulders. Beneath the military coat, he wears a white dress shirt.
"..."
Sitting down with a chair between them, the man picks up a cup, along with the pot of wine to pour himself a drink.
As Wu Xiao places her emptied cup near him, the man sees fit to refill the former's vessel.
Taking a sip out of their cups, the man remarks—
"Kind of rare to see elder sister just sitting here drinking alone. Wasn't there supposed to be a traditional instrument performance in another Grounded City today? Shouldn't you be there instead?"
Placing her cup down, Wu Xiao replies—
"Not feeling it. So, what brings you here, little brother of mine?"
With a smile of amusement on his face, the man named Yun You answers—
"What else?"
"Xiao Jun, where is he right now?"
Shrugging a shoulder, Yun You answers—
"No idea. Probably still moving from place to place to try out every alcoholic beverage there is."
"Shouldn't you be with him then?"
"But elder sister..."
Turning to Wu Xiao with a face that seems to be asking for a beating, Yun You replies—
"Your matter is just so much more interesting to me."
"Your wings have gotten hard, have they? Come here, I'll soften them up for you."
"No, no, there's no need for that."
Refilling Wu Xiao's cup, Yun You goes on to say—
"I'm simply curious about elder sister's would-be-husband. After all, he's technically... Uh my elder brother-in-law?"
"If you're interested in knowing what sort of person he is, go out and find him yourself. As our representative in the military, it shouldn't be too difficult for you to track him down."
Taking out a cigarette, and puffing a smoke, Yun You answers—
"Still want to hear elder sister's thoughts first. Simply hanging up on your little brother like that—means there's more to your story, isn't there?"
"..."
Maintaining her silence, Wu Xiao takes a sip of wine, while Yun You eventually asks—
"Elder sister, don't tell me, you're actually for real in-?"
As Wu Xiao presses her right hand towards his direction, Yun You turns silent.
The posture assumed by Wu Xiao's hand—is the sort made prior to snapping one's finger and thumb together.
Heaving a sigh, Yun You sinks into thought, while Wu Xiao retracts her hand.
Spewing out smoke, Yun You remarks—
"That specific ruin he went into, it holds a weapon spirit that is 500,000 years old. It's one of the oldest weapon spirits currently in the Leng Bing Realm. From what I recall, its existence came to be when an elder of the Ling Yuan family sealed it using a magic array. They were planning to retrieve it at some point, but the guy croaked before it could happen. Over time, people forgot it even existed."
Hearing this, Wu Xiao chuckles as she turns the cup in her left hand, and remarks—
"Idiots everywhere—both in the Ling Yuan family, and in this world as well. Do those in the inner domain seriously think that there's an Immortal Sealing Chain capable of sealing an Immortal realm practitioner's cultivation base?"
"Well, they've got to have something that they can believe in—in their hopeless situation. That hall master though..."
Narrowing her eyes, and glancing at Yun You, Wu Xiao asks—
"What about that sore loser?"
"I think that person has gone insane from playing god for too long."
"Nothing new."
"Thing is, they've been actively asking to have living practitioners brought to them. In the past, it was much more discreet. Nowadays, it feels much more open—at least in the fourth level, amongst the executives."
Sipping from her cup, Wu Xiao remarks—
"Means they're getting closer to their goal."
"Really does feel like... This will be the final Leng Bing Realm. The Immortal Emperor might be peeved..."
Rolling her amber-colored eyes, Wu Xiao begrudgingly curses—
"Screw that old tortoise. If it weren't for that bitch, I'd have already...-! ...Tch."
Recalling her past, and her hopeless goal, Wu Xiao heaves a heavy sigh.
It was none other than the Immortal Emperor, who gave the orders that resulted in Wu Xiao's original self being captured, and thrown off into prison. That being the case, it's no wonder she bears a grudge against the former.
"Once the Leng Bing Realm collapses... Back to prison life, I go, I guess?"
"Believe me, elder sister, I'm not looking forward to it myself..."
Saying this, and downing his cup of wine, Yun You rises off his seat, to which, Wu Xiao asks—
"Headed somewhere?"
"Well, we can't just let that 500,000-year-old weapon spirit slaughter everything, can we? This might be the final Leng Bing Realm, but that doesn't mean that we can just shirk our duties. You want to come along?"
Thinking for a bit, Wu Xiao finishes her cup, and replies—
"I'll only be watching."
Pulling up her hood, Wu Xiao also rises off her seat.