MTLNOVEL Chapter 329: Awakening
Li Xuanxiao gazed at the exquisitely beautiful face before him.
Di Nü Feng?
Di Nü Feng: (*^▽^*)
"Li Xuanxiao, you're awake."
Li Xuanxiao rubbed his aching head, his chest rising and falling rapidly.
"I..."
Li Xuanxiao looked around.
"Where is this?"
"Tian Sha Hall."
It took Li Xuanxiao quite some time to finally regain his composure.
"How long was I asleep?"
Di Nü Feng tilted her head in thought, "Several years."
Asking was pointless anyway.
It seemed Di Nü Feng had saved him.
"I'll have someone bring you some food. You must be hungry."
Li Xuanxiao shook his head, indicating he didn't need any.
"Could you call one of your subordinates here?"
"What do you want?"
"To ask some questions."
"You can just ask me directly."
Li Xuanxiao remained silent.
Di Nü Feng stared at him.
Li Xuanxiao: .........
Soon, Zhang Tianxin, who had now become Di Nü Feng's trusted aide, stood before Li Xuanxiao.
"Mount Shushan has fallen. Sect Leader Lingxu and the remaining peak masters and elders all perished.
Only a handful of disciples managed to escape by chance, and some Shushan disciples who were away weren't affected. However, they're being hunted down and forced to wander aimlessly. This is the thirty-first year of the Chaotic Epoch..."
Mount Shushan was gone...
"Brother Xuanxiao, Brother Xuanxiao!"
Zhang Tianxin noticed Li Xuanxiao seemed lost in thought.
"Brother Xuanxiao, what's wrong?"
Li Xuanxiao lowered his head and remained silent for a long moment.
"It's nothing."
Zhang Tianxin patted Li Xuanxiao's shoulder, "Brother Xuanxiao, don't worry. At least here you're safe. The world outside is in chaos now. After sleeping for thirty years, you should focus on recuperating."
Zhang Tianxin's words made sense.
Li Xuanxiao truly needed to rest and recover now.
He checked his internal condition.
The injuries weren't light, but not too severe either.
He must have recovered well over these thirty years on Di Nü Feng's lotus platform.
His cultivation hadn't suffered too much damage.
Inside his Violet Mansion, his senior brother's flying sword and two Nascent Souls still remained.
All his life-bound treasures were intact as well.
After Zhang Tianxin left, Li Xuanxiao exhaled deeply and leaned exhaustedly against the corner.
His eyes were filled with confusion.
Mount Shushan was gone?
Li Xuanxiao closed his eyes.
Scenes from the past flashed before him.
When he first arrived in this world, the old man pinched his cheek and told him to come along.
The days and nights spent at Mount Shushan.
The promise he made to the old man to protect Mount Shushan and safeguard the world.
The final moments when his master and fellow disciples died before his eyes...
Life was so cruel.
"Master, what should I do?"
Li Xuanxiao murmured to himself.
".........."
Li Xuanxiao began recovering from his injuries within Tian Sha Hall.
He basically remained in seclusion.
Di Nü Feng had no shortage of resources for his recovery.
Li Xuanxiao took a deep breath, feeling pain in his abdomen.
He focused inward, entering his inner sanctum.
The shattered spiritual meridians lay twisted like withered vines within his channels.
His dantian was a complete mess.
Li Xuanxiao guided wisps of spiritual energy to merge with his internal energy, slowly circulating through his meridians.
While repairing his spiritual meridians, faint golden streams also flowed toward his dantian.
He began clearing the debris within his dantian. As the golden streams continued pouring in, a sea of spiritual energy slowly began to form...
Three months passed in the blink of an eye.
Li Xuanxiao emerged from his secluded cultivation chamber.
The two demonic sect disciples guarding the door looked at him strangely but bowed respectfully.
Everyone knew this man had a special relationship with their sect leader.
Though what exactly that relationship was remained a mystery.
Li Xuanxiao hadn't gone far when he encountered a young man in white robes.
The youth fanned himself with a folding fan, his sleeves fluttering gracefully.
The very image of an elegant young master.
"Greetings, Guardian!"
As the young man appeared, several guards immediately knelt on one knee.
The white-robed youth nodded, "Rise."
One of the Four Guardian Vajras, Yin Lingzi.
When Yin Lingzi smiled, his eyes narrowed like a fox's.
"My oh my, to see a living Mount Shushan disciple in this era is rarer than spotting a mythical beast."
Li Xuanxiao glanced at him but ignored the comment, preparing to walk past.
Yin Lingzi showed no offense and continued:
"We're actually connected by fate. I was once imprisoned in Mount Shushan's Demon Subduing Pagoda. Those were truly memorable times."
Li Xuanxiao suddenly stopped and turned to look at him.
Yin Lingzi's smile deepened, "How wonderful fate is. Though back then you were outside the pagoda while I was inside.
Now we're both at Tian Sha Hall."
Yin Lingzi watched Li Xuanxiao's retreating figure, rubbing his chin thoughtfully with a meaningful smile.
".........."
Li Xuanxiao left the cave complex and found Di Nü Feng playing by a stream.
Di Nü Feng had her bare feet in the water, cheeks resting on her palms as she watched the carp in the stream.
Two subordinates blocked Li Xuanxiao's approach.
Di Nü Feng looked up and, seeing it was Li Xuanxiao, said:
"Let him through."
Di Nü Feng wore a light cyan gauze dress that floated around her like mist, making her skin appear even fairer.
Her bare feet stirred the flowing stream water.
The scene would have been quite beautiful if she just kept quiet.
"Thank you for saving me. I've mostly recovered now, so I should be going," Li Xuanxiao said.
"Going? What will you do?"
"What I should have been doing."
Di Nü Feng didn't understand, so she reached out and vigorously patted Li Xuanxiao's shoulder.
"It's chaos out there now, complete pandemonium.
Chaos breeds heroes - it's the perfect time for us to rise to power. I've decided to make you my strategist. I need your clever mind."
Li Xuanxiao replied calmly, "I'm not interested. I'm leaving."
"Hmm?"
Di Nü Feng frowned, placed her hands on her hips, and stood up from the stream with a snort.
"I never said you could leave. What do you think this place is? You can't just come and go as you please.
You don't have Mount Shushan backing you anymore. Either agree to my terms or... well, you don't have other options."
Li Xuanxiao looked rather helpless, "Fine, I agree."
"Really?"
"But I need to go somewhere first, then I'll return."
"Where are you going?"
Li Xuanxiao named a random place.
Di Nü Feng thought for a moment, then took out a necklace from her storage ring.
Lightly stepping forward, she placed the necklace around Li Xuanxiao's neck.
"Hehe, don't think you can fool me. Now I'll always be able to find you no matter where you go."
Di Nü Feng smiled cleverly.
Li Xuanxiao looked at the necklace, then raised his gaze slightly.
Meeting Di Nü Feng's sparkling eyes.