The Storm Is Brewing

at the same time.

The back mountain of Teruno-museum.

Only one lamp was lit in the small courtyard behind the mountain.

The lamp wick was lowered, casting a dim light on the table. Lu Guang sat beside the lamp, his sleeves rolled up, revealing a ring of dark blue lines on his wrist.

The lines weren't deep; at first glance, they looked like old wounds and bruises, but upon closer inspection, one could see the yin energy hidden within.

Lu Guang lowered his eyes, clutching the Ghost Mask Token in his hand.

The demon face on the token was quiet, its fangs curved, making it impossible to tell whether it was laughing or crying.

When he parted ways with Senior Shen, the other party asked him to seal this item away.

Lu Guang did as instructed.

He personally affixed the sealing talisman, with three inner layers and two outer layers, and then sealed it again with the lights of the Zhaoye Sect's mountain gate.

But after thinking about it for a long time, Lu Guang felt that this was still not appropriate.

Now that the bait has been released, the fish will bite sooner or later. If the other party wants to test whether the Ghost Mask has actually been used, that would be very troublesome.

Therefore, at this moment, Lu Guang took out the Ghost Mask Token, personally opened a corner of the seal, and poured his vital energy into the token. A wisp of black energy emerged and crawled up his fingertip to his wrist.

It was chilling to the bone.

Lu Guang gritted his teeth and let the wisp of ghostly energy penetrate his meridians, mixing with his vital energy.

The pain spread throughout his body's meridians, as if someone were picking at his flesh with a fine needle. Even with his cultivation at the City Destroyer Realm, his face paled considerably.

After a cup of tea, the pain in his meridians slowly subsided, and a dark ghost mark appeared on Lu Guang's arm.

He glanced at the ghost pattern, then exhaled a heavy breath.

"It took me so long to suppress even a wisp of Yin energy, but Senior Shen's sealing method was effortless. His cultivation level is probably higher than I expected..."

The wind rustled through the bamboo grove outside the courtyard.

Lu Guang pressed the corner seal back down, his palm pressing the token, and whispered again, "Lu Guang, if we can hold onto this powerful backer, Zhaoye Sect might not have to worry about the city's attitude for the next hundred years."

After he finished speaking, he chuckled to himself, then shook his head. He put the token into his sleeve, and just as he raised his hand to extinguish the lamp, footsteps sounded outside the courtyard.

The person who came was walking very fast.

"metropolitan."

He is an elder of the mountain gate.

Lu Guang looked towards the door and asked, "Have you found out Senior Shen's identity?"

The elder's expression was not good, and he shook his head: "The library has been searched, the old pavilion has been searched, and even the lists of strong people from other continents have been searched, but none of them match up."

He spoke quickly, skipping the topic before the sect leader could respond, and said in a low voice, "The fish has been caught in the net."

The courtyard was quiet for a couple of breaths.

The two looked at each other, their eyes showing little surprise, only tension.

Lu Guang asked, "How many people?"

"One, shall we begin our discussion?"

"We won't open it; if we did, it would mean we're guilty."

Lu Guang picked up a teacup from the table, took a sip of cold tea, and said, "Proceed according to plan. Inner disciples, return to your rooms. Outer disciples are not allowed to wander around. Elders, each stay in your positions."

The elder wrote them down one by one.

Lu Guang walked to the courtyard gate, then stopped: "Has Zhaoyue's outlying guest appointment been re-registered?"

"I've logged back in, and you're the guarantor. The copy written by Senior Shen has been hidden away."

"Hide it well."

"clear."

After the elder left, Lu Guang went down the mountain alone.

Lights shone along the path behind the mountain. The lights at the entrance of the Zhaoye Sect were not very bright, but they were enough to illuminate every stone step.

Lu Guang did not walk fast.

A night breeze swept in from the foot of the mountain, carrying a hint of dampness.

When he arrived at the Halfway Pavilion, he saw the "guest".

The man stood by the green lamp, dressed in a moon-white long robe, the hem of which was spotless, his hair tied up with a wooden hairpin, and a polite smile on his face.

If Lu Guang hadn't known that the Ghost Face Order was connected to Beichizhou, anyone would have thought this man was a scholar visiting a friend in the mountains.

The other person looked up, bowed first, and said in a gentle voice, "Sect Master Lu, it's been a long time."

Lu Guang stopped three steps away and returned the greeting: "Last time I was in such a hurry that I didn't have time to ask your name."

"Nie Chenzhou".

The man smiled and said, "Nameless Guest, the Sect Master may not have heard of you."

After Nie Chenzhou finished speaking, he looked at Lu Guang's sleeve and asked, "How do you feel about the recovery of your old injuries?"

Lu Guang's heart tightened, but he smiled and said, "Sir, you're quick with your news."

"When powerful figures from different cities clash head-on, it causes quite a stir. Even the farmers in the countryside talk about it every day. It would be unreasonable if they didn't know about it."

Nie Chenzhou smiled and said, "Sect Master, your old injuries have healed. I've come to congratulate you and also to see if that little token from back then has been of any help."

Lu Guang did not respond, but gestured for him to speak.

The two walked side by side up the stone steps toward the mountain, neither of them rushing to say anything.

Along the mountain road, green lanterns hung on low pillars, their flames tilting a few times in the night wind before gradually straightening up again.

After a while.

Lu Guangxian spoke first: "The token given by the gentleman is indeed useful."

Nie Chenzhou glanced sideways: "Oh?"

"During the battle with Shi Qijiang, my old injuries flared up, and I borrowed the Yin energy from the token."

Lu Guang raised his wrist, and his sleeve slid down a little, revealing the ring of dark blue lines.

Nie Chenzhou looked at the patterns, his smile unchanged.

"The fact that the sect leader dares to use him means that he has already thought it through."

"I wouldn't say I've figured it out, but I was forced into that situation, so I had to leave myself a way out."

"The sect leader will not regret this choice. In the past, the Zhaoye Sect was suppressed by the imperial court, but in the future, the situation will only reverse."

Nie Chenzhou spoke softly, but the meaning behind his words was profound.

Lu Guang glanced at him: "Mr. Nie came to offer his congratulations, and before we've even exchanged a few words, you're already telling me to rebel against the court?"

Nie Chenzhou: "If Sect Master Lu truly regarded Yan Kingdom as his backing, he wouldn't have accepted that Ghost Face Token half a year ago."

Lu Guang did not refute, and for a moment only the sound of footsteps could be heard on the mountain road.

"I'm sure you've guessed something about my identity," Nie Chenzhou said bluntly.

"After the Holy Emperor died, Northern Tribe Continent was quiet for a while, but things were not peaceful underneath. The various clans had their own plans. Some wanted to keep the old agreement, some wanted to go out, and some felt that it was time to take a bite of the fat meat that is Eastern Ember Continent."

Upon hearing the words "sage ruler," Lu Guang's fingers unconsciously curled.

Bai Xingjian, the Ghost Saint.

Even in death, the name still weighs heavily on people.

Lu Guang paused for a moment before replying, "With the Ghost Saint dead, it's no wonder things are chaotic without someone to keep order."

"Chaos is where the path leads." Nie Chenzhou said as he walked with his hands behind his back, admiring the scenery. "Only when things are in chaos can the waters move and new opportunities arise."

Lu Guang asked the question he most wanted to know: "What do you want Teruno Matsuyuki to do?"

"Open a door."

Nie Chenzhou answered quickly.

Lu Guang stopped in his tracks: "You want to use Zhao Yezong as a spy to open the gate for the Ghost Clan?"

"It's not opening a door for me, it's opening a door for survival."

Nie Chenzhou said, "Sect Master, don't panic. I don't need Zhaoye Sect to be the first to stick its neck out, or even to lend a helping hand. Just leave a back door as a hidden pawn, and the Ghost Clan of the Northern Continent will be Zhaoye Sect's allies in the future."

"You've told me about this, aren't you afraid I'll turn around and report it to the imperial court?"

"Since the sect leader has chosen to have ghost energy enter his body, then I must perfect his cultivation methods. You have no way out, do you?"

Nie Chenzhou pointed to the lights of the city in the distance, "The world is full of people who are driven by profit. Cooperation brings mutual benefit. The sect leader will not have a hard time making a choice. We are more sincere than the Yan Kingdom's court. Cultivation techniques, medicines, or... we can completely repair the gap in the mountain gate's great formation. The sect leader may ask for anything."

A look of surprise flashed across Lu Guang's eyes; what the other person said was absolutely accurate.

The mountain gate formation is not actually in its complete state; this fact is known only to the successive sect leaders of the Zhaoye Sect.

How did the other party find out?

Lu Guang quickly calculated the situation and prepared to stall for time.

"I appreciate your sincerity, sir. However, the Teruno clan is small and cannot withstand great storms. If you want me to make any decision immediately, I will not agree."

"Of course, business deals always need to be negotiated slowly."

"I can arrange accommodations for you, sir. They are simple in the mountains, so please bear with it for a few days. I need to discuss this matter with the elders."

"When in Rome, do as the host does."

Nie Chenzhou smiled and cupped his hands in a very amiable manner.

Lu Guang summoned his disciples and ordered them to take Nie Chenzhou to the West Guest House.

Nie Chenzhou didn't ask any more questions or look around, and left with his disciple.

Lu Guang stood inside the door until the lantern light swept through the bamboo forest before closing the door.

The elder emerged from the shadows: "Sect Master, he stayed behind?"

"I stayed."

"He believed it?"

"have no idea."

"Should we send someone to find Senior Shen immediately?"

"Need not."

Lu Guang shook his head.

He didn't know where Senior Shen was now.

He said he would come back, but as the wise man said, who knows if it will be tomorrow, ten days, or a month?

Lu Guang instructed, "Don't spread this around yet; Zhaoye Sect might not be clean right now."

The elder's heart skipped a beat.

"From now on, the small courtyard in the back mountain is for entry only, and all letters sent to the prefectural city and down the mountain must be shown to me first."

"Yes."

...

In the West Guest House.

Nie Chenzhou stood by the window with his hands behind his back, gazing towards the direction of the back mountain.

The tea in the room was still hot, and the bed was clean; Teruno Mō was not impolite in his hospitality.

He raised his right hand, a wisp of black energy clinging to his fingertips—the energy he had just brought back from Lu Guang's wrist.

The aura of the Ghost Face Order.

Have.

But it's too shallow, as if it was deliberately brushed on.

Nie Chenzhou crushed the wisp of black energy, and the smile on his face slowly faded.

He looked in the direction of Lu Guang's residence and said softly:

"The injuries have healed too completely..."