Chapter Seventy-Five: The Howling Cloud Cave atop Mount Jiexiu

“What terrible disaster did I cause?”
Upon hearing this, Heaven’s Wrath’s thoughts raced, and he pressed impatiently, “Are you saying I can’t even kill two wicked, unruly brats?”
Knowing that his Second Senior Brother had always been hot-tempered and never liked hearing explanations or grand principles, he decided not to argue further.
Besides, Ling Yan had clearly sneaked up the mountain to conceal her identity, and with her own sharp wit, Xi Yan understood her intentions.
“Second Senior Brother, where have they gone now?” Xi Yan asked seriously, restraining her impatience.
“No idea!”
Heaven’s Wrath replied irritably, then turned away to question a disciple from the Ruins Sanctuary, “How many disciples did we lose in the Sword Pavilion battle?”
“Respected one, twelve disciples fell, eight were gravely wounded, thirty lightly injured, and two are missing.”
“Heh.”
Upon hearing this, Heaven’s Wrath couldn’t help but throw his head back and laugh bitterly, shaking his head in sorrow. “Think of the glory our Ruins Sanctuary enjoyed over nearly ten thousand years. When have we ever suffered such a crushing defeat? The disgrace of today’s Sword Pavilion shall be washed away with the blood of those two brats!”
“Seems to me you’re the real brat!”
Xi Yan, seeing her dear sister—no less than the treasured daughter of the Heavenly Emperor—insulted again and again, felt a rising anger.
After hurling that retort at Heaven’s Wrath, she numbly turned to glance at the wounded and dead disciples of the Ruins Sanctuary, an inexplicable pain stabbing at her heart.
She vaguely sensed that the words her Father had spoken at Immortal Soaring Cliff earlier today were a cryptic warning of some great calamity about to befall the Barbaric Wastes, and that today’s disastrous defeat at the Ruins Sanctuary would be the spark that set everything aflame.
“Sister, you take things too far!”
“Don’t think that just because you’re Master’s beloved daughter, you can look down on us senior disciples, who are older than you by a thousand years—”
But before Heaven’s Wrath could finish his indignant tirade, Xi Yan’s sharp gaze had already snapped to him, her eyes brimming with fury. Her face darkened with a brooding silence, and Heaven’s Wrath dared not continue his accusations.
Worried sick for Ling Yan’s safety, Xi Yan didn’t linger at the Sword Pavilion. Alone, she leapt into the sky and left Floating Jade Mountain, making her way quietly to the edge of the Bewitching Mist Forest as the sun rose.

After surveying the surroundings and finding nothing amiss outside the forest—while within, the pale mists drifted as always—Xi Yan quickly produced a slender, pale-green flying insect from her white sleeve, a look of triumph on her face.
“Luckily, when that boy was unconscious atop the Return-to-Immortal Cliff, I planted the child-mother Qilian Aegis Worm on him. As long as the young worm remains with him, my mother worm will certainly catch their scent and lead me straight to Bai Mu and Ling Yan.”
With that, Xi Yan tossed the paired worms into the air. The Qilian Aegis fluttered its wings and soared toward the southeastern mountains beyond Floating Jade Mountain, with Xi Yan swiftly following in its wake.

Mount Jiexiu, Howling Cloud Cavern.

This was a natural cavern in the Eastern Wilds, named for the constant howling wind within, and for the white clouds that drifted from the cave during the spring and summer, earning it the name Howling Cloud Cavern.
Perched atop Mount Jiexiu’s summit, the cave opened onto a narrow three-meter-square ledge, beyond which plunged a bottomless abyss.
Owing to the many coiled Silk Snakes and the mountain’s perilous, jagged slopes, no one dared approach it, and the summit’s Howling Cloud Cavern remained an untouched paradise.
Yet five days ago, an old man in a gray robe had suddenly moved into the cave.
His behavior was most peculiar—apart from occasionally venturing down to nearby villages to capture “prey” for food, he seldom left the Howling Cloud Cavern, nor did he ever wander the mountain idly.
That night, the moon hung bright among sparse stars, its cold light bathing the ledge outside the cave in silver. The mountain was peaceful; the cave’s lone inhabitant had long since been lost to dreams.
But suddenly, a streak of white-gold light flashed across the sky, plunging down like a meteor onto the ledge before the cave. Golden radiance blazed at the entrance, flooding the area for several heartbeats.
When the light faded, two bodies—a young man and woman—lay unconscious on the ground, beside an old, yellowed scroll.
The commotion startled the slumbering old man. Alarmed, he hurriedly threw on a robe and stepped out.
Upon seeing the pair and the ancient scroll, a sly, malicious smile crept across his face.

At dawn, the first pale light crept across the eastern sky, and golden rays slanted lazily onto the ledge, brightening the morning.

“Mm.”
The white-robed youth lying on the ground let out a faint groan, his long lashes fluttering as he slowly regained consciousness.
He glanced down at his robe, soaked with blood, then at the ancient sword in his hand. Suddenly, a piercing pain stabbed through his back, and his organs felt as if they had shifted within his chest. The agony was so intense he nearly wept.
Still, gritting his teeth, he gently nudged the girl beside him and called softly, “Ling Yan, wake up!”
A muted whimper escaped her as she stirred. After stretching languidly, she struggled up to sit.
Rubbing her sleepy eyes, she cast a hazy glance at the youth and asked blankly, “Bai Mu, where are we?”
“Seems to be Howling Cloud Cavern,” Bai Mu replied, pointing with a finger to the three bold, calligraphic characters above the cave entrance.
“Howling Cloud Cavern?”
“How did we end up here?” Ling Yan asked, bewildered.
“It must have been Master’s Spirit Beast Scroll that brought us here!” Bai Mu answered carelessly, reaching behind him for the scroll in his pack.
But when he reached back, he found only empty air.
A jolt of panic shot through him as he replayed the events atop Floating Jade Mountain in his mind, recalling that his pack had been smashed to pieces by Venerable Heavenly Blaze, and the Spirit Beast Scroll had vanished as they had fled.
If that was the case, then the scroll must be somewhere nearby.
At this thought, Bai Mu began scanning the area with his eagle-sharp gaze.