Everyone’s weapons were drawn. Xue Zhengyong shielded Xue Meng behind him, his face extremely pale, “Meng-er, don’t go over there. You stay behind dad!”

     Just now, when everyone saw the holy weapon formation, they naturally didn’t think of breaking it. This was because once someone broke it, Xu Shuanglin’s spiritual energy would quickly deplete, and it was very likely that he would die immediately while they still had questions to ask him.

     No one expected that Xu Shuanglin was hiding another array under the Martial Spirit Formation.

     What kind of array would that be?

     Was it a space rift for escape? Or was it a ferocious blood curse to be used in a life and death struggle?

     Chu Wanning raised his hand and placed a barrier between the crowd and the array.

     Nangong Si had died in front of him.

     He didn’t want to see more young cultivators die before his eyes.

     Chu Wanning said, “Be careful. Don’t advance recklessly.”

     The sky suddenly darkened, and the clouds gathered. The bright moon that was originally hanging high in the sky was obscured by thick ink-like clouds. In an instant, sand and rocks were sent flying everywhere, blinding everyone.

     Xu Shuanglin was dressed in a pure white single robe. He stood amidst the sudden raging wind and suddenly grinned at them, “Many thanks for listening to my idle chatter for so long. Thank you, thank you. Everyone, the formation is open.”

     As he spoke, his withered ghost claw pointed backwards, and the black formation surged into his palm like a dragon soaring through the clouds. After this layer of formation was withdrawn, a spell array flowing with multicolored light was revealed.

     Xue Meng was shocked, “What array is this?”

     “Is this the Rebirth Array?” Xue Zhengyong asked Master Xuan Jing of Wubei Temple, but the master shook his head and said, “Although Huaizui of my sect is proficient in the way of Rebirth, he has never used it in front of others, so this old monk doesn’t know about it.”

     Everyone stared fixedly at the array, all of them seeming to be like a bowstring pulled to its limit. They were waiting for Xu Shuanglin’s slightest movement, the air extremely quiet, with only the eerie sound of the wind whistling past.

     They were like a pot of oil that seemed calm, but was actually boiling hot. Just one drop of water—

     “It’s the Corpse Soul Array!”

     There was a sudden shout.

     It was earth-shattering and explosive.

     It was Cold Scale Sacred Hand, Hua Binan, who recognized the formation at first glance. He shouted, “Corpse Soul Array! Xu Shuanglin wants to summon Luo Fenghua’s demonic corpse and perish together with us! Quick! We must not let this formation take shape!”

     Hearing the words “Corpse Soul Array,” almost everyone was thrown into disarray. They all knew that this was an evil secret technique second only to the three forbidden techniques. It was an evil technique of the medicinal sect. As the number one medical cultivator in the world, Cold Scale Sacred Hand’s words could never be wrong.

     Jiang Xi was also a person proficient in medicine. He had been familiar with the words “Corpse Soul Array” since he was a child, so his reaction was much faster than ordinary people. He swept to the front of the barrier with one swift movement and drew out Xuehuang. He attacked towards the center of the array with his full spiritual power!

     Clang! A sword and saber collided, and sparks flew everywhere. Xu Shuanglin quickly appeared in front of the Corpse Soul Array and blocked Jiang Xi’s attack with his saber, a cold light in his eyes.

     “This is all I want for the rest of my life. Don’t even think about taking half a step closer.”

     Jiang Xi was furious, “Is a life and death struggle all you want for the rest of your life?”

     Xu Shuanglin gritted his teeth and said, “Nonsense!” His hand that was holding the saber couldn’t stop trembling. His veins were protruding and his cheeks were flushed red.

     Jiang Xi said, “You are already covered in wounds. Even if you become a demonic corpse, what can you do? How many more people will be buried with you?”

     “What demonic corpse? What burial?! Open your eyes and take a good look. Where is this—”

     Whoosh! Just as Jiang Xi was restraining Xu Shuanglin, an arrow infused with spiritual power was shot out of nowhere, aiming for the barrier behind the two of them at an extremely fast speed.

     “Don’t—”

     Xu Shuanglin, who had always been calm and composed, let out a horrifying scream for the first time tonight, “Stop!”

     Almost at the same moment he was distracted, Xu Shuanglin was struck by Jiang Xi’s falling sword. In an instant, blood spurted wildly. He fell to his knees in pain, his eyes filled with madness and despair. He did not look at his own flesh that had been cut until his white bone was exposed; his eyes were bloodshot, and he looked in the direction of the formation.

     His face was still smeared with blood, his eyes bulging and his lips trembling. That type of terrified expression, regardless of whether it was Nangong Xu in the past, or Xu Shuanglin later, had never appeared on his face before. He was trembling, but his palm maintained the posture of releasing spiritual power.

     He had used almost all of his strength just to stop that cold arrow in front of the formation.

     He succeeded.

     Xu Shuanglin gasped for breath, blood pouring from the arm that had been cut by Jiang Xi, and blood seeping out of the corner of his mouth. But when he saw that the arrow was successfully blocked and shattered under his spiritual power, his pale lips trembled, and he actually managed to squeeze out a smile.

     At this time, Mo Ran heard Shi Mei murmur beside him, “This… this isn’t the Corpse Soul Array.”

     Huang Xiaoyue heard his words. He twisted his beard and snorted coldly, “You’re so young. Are you not ashamed? How can Cold Scale Sacred Hand be wrong when he says it’s the Corpse Soul Array?”

     Shi Mei shook his head resolutely, “The Corpse Soul Array isn’t like this.”

     “I say, is it the medicinal sect’s Cold Scale Sacred Hand who has poisonous eyes, or you?”

     Shi Mei was about to say something, but Mo Ran stopped him.

     “Shi Mei, stop wasting words on this old man.” Mo Ran said, “Are you sure this isn’t the Corpse Soul Array?”

     “It looks like it, but it definitely isn’t. The Corpse Soul Array has a sheen of fish scales. Although there is light on this formation, it is continuous, not fragmented.”

     At this time, Jiang Xi, who was in front of the array, shouted angrily, “Nangong Xu, what the hell are you doing?!”

     Xu Shuanglin completely ignored him. The formation exuded a dazzling brilliance. He dragged his battered body all the way to the front of the formation, blood dripping all over the ground.

     The smile on his face became more and more obvious. The radiant light from the magic array illuminated his face, which unexpectedly gave him a high-spirited look, making him look like a young man for an instant.

     He murmured, “It’s almost time…”

     He raised his hand and lightly touched the surface of the array. As his fingers fell, ripples appeared on the surface.

     He seemed to be about to meet an old friend who he had been separated from for many years, a relative who had been away for a long time. Neither his hideous wounds or rotting body could stop his joy.

     His eyes brightened, and he kept murmuring, “It’s almost time… It’s almost time, just a little bit more…”

     The surging wind suddenly stopped, and the thick clouds dispersed, revealing the full moon in the sky. Xu Shuanglin’s eyes were wide with hope. He was trembling again, but this time, it was not because of fear, but because of excitement, uncontrollable excitement.

     “Shizun…”

     Everyone noticed that a golden light suddenly appeared in the array, and a translucent crystalline spiritual core appeared. The barrier continuously sent light to the center of the spiritual core, and countless threads gradually condensed into a human shape—

     “It’s Luo Fenghua?!”

     “It’s Luo Fenghua!”

     Luo Fenghua, who had been dead for many years, appeared on the Soul Summoning Platform of Rufeng Sect just like that! An orange tree with blooming flowers appeared in the array flowing with golden light, its white petals fluttering and falling. Luo Fenghua, dressed in the sky-blue crane robe of Rufeng Sect, was sitting under the tree, playing the harp with his eyes closed.

     He was still an illusory figure, a blurred mirror-like image. Only the spiritual core of the reborn ghost fetus obtained from the underworld was real, radiating light from the illusory body.

    “Three or four petals fall in the pond, one or two strings on the shore.”

     A gentle male voice came from the center of the spiritual core, unperturbed.

     Luo Fenghua, who was under the flowering tree, was softly singing a tune from Shu.

     “It’s best to be in the prime of life. Light hooves and fast horses see all the flowers in the world.”

     Suddenly, a hoarse voice blended together with Luo Fenghua’s illusory voice. It was Xu Shuanglin who was singing along in harmony. That voice was choked with sobs and unpleasant to listen to. It was like a broken gong or rotten iron, but it was still so stubborn, and responded like no one else was present…

     “This, this is the demonic corpse?” Xue Zhengyong was stunned, “What’s going on?”

     Obviously, more than one person shared the same doubts as him. Even Jiang Xi frowned slightly, pursing his lips without a word. There seemed to be traces of doubt in his eyes.

     As the golden light floated, Luo Fenghua slowly took shape. His eyebrows, eyes, nose, and lips became clearer and clearer. Amidst Luo Fenghua’s serene singing, Hua Binan suddenly shouted, “Quick! The demonic corpse is about to take shape!”

     Shi Mei had kept a low profile all the way. He knew that he was very soft, so he didn’t speak much. But now, he suddenly turned his head and said loudly, “Hanlin-shengshou is wrong. This is not a demonic corpse! It’s…”

     It’s the Rebirth Formation.

     Mo Ran already knew it in his heart.

     Yes, Shi Mei was right. This was not a Corpse Soul Array, but the Rebirth Formation!

     But in a group of people gathered together, would they believe a nameless cultivator, or the famous Cold Scale Sacred Hand of the medical sect? As soon as Hua Binan said that a demonic corpse was about to take shape, no matter how much Shi Mei refuted, for most people, saving their own lives was more important.

     Immediately, a dark green shadow flew past them. Before Xu Shuanglin could react, the shadow stabbed a dagger filled with spiritual power into the barrier.

     “No!!!”

     The dagger smashed Luo Fenghua’s spiritual core. The golden light of the barrier flickered for a moment, then dissipated and fell apart.

     “No! No! Shizun! Shizun!!!”

     Xu Shuanglin suddenly got up and roared furiously, knocking that person out of the air and sending him flying a few feet away. It was a Guyue’ye cultivator who had listened to Hua Binan’s instructions at the critical moment. He suddenly spat a large mouthful of blood—Xu Shuanglin had used all of his strength in this strike. Even though he was at the end of his strength, that person was still beaten to the ground and could not get up. He curled up on the ground and soon stopped breathing.

     But it was too late.

     The cultivator’s death couldn’t change anything.

     Luo Fenghua’s ghost body and spiritual core, which Xu Shuanglin had tried his best to retrieve from the eighteen levels of hell, had already cracked open a big hole. Xu Shuanglin crawled all the way to Luo Fenghua’s side in an attempt to hold onto the hem of his robe, but the human form had already begun to fall apart. The hem of Luo Fenghua’s robe was like sand between his fingers or water in a basket. He couldn’t hold on to it no matter how hard he tried.

     “Shizun… Shizun…”

     He shouted this first.

     Then, he went crazy, his eyes flashing with a ferocious and trembling light.

     “Luo Fenghua! Luo Fenghua!!”

     It was useless.

     No matter how he shouted or what he called him—

     Luo Fenghua’s figure was quickly dissipating, and in the end, it turned into tens of thousands of fluorescent lights and blew into the wind…

     Nothing was left.

     Xu Shuanglin knelt there blankly. His entire body looked stiff.

     He didn’t move.

     He didn’t cry.

     He didn’t shout anymore.

     On the Soul Summoning Platform, in the biting wind, a cracked spiritual core lost its light and fell to the ground, dim and colorless.

     Xu Shuanglin knelt in the disintegrated illusion.

     After a long time, he seemed to be murmuring to himself, but also seemed to be laughing at himself, saying, “It’s best to be in the prime of life. Light hooves and fast horses see all the flowers in the world.”

     What a good song.

     When he was young, he often heard Luo Fenghua sing this song.

     The spirit wisps that filled his eyes turned into memories of the past. In the fluttering golden wisps, he was the scene when he first met his Shizun as a young boy—

     At that time, he and his brother were still young, and their father brought them to the front of Rufeng Sect’s academy. It was autumn at the time.

     The academy had an old orange tree covered in large oranges. Under the tree, two men were talking. One of them was a plain-looking man with a light expression, who would be quickly lost in a crowd. The other was valiant and dignified.

     His father led them over and said, “Quickly, greet your master.”

     His brother quickly rushed to bow down, and said to the man with extraordinary bearing, “Junior disciple Nangong Liu greets Shizun.”

     The man waved his hand and said, “I’m just here to ask Luo-xiansheng for some knowledge. I am not your Shizun. Young masters, you've recognized the wrong person.”

     His father also smiled and led them towards the man who didn’t look very outstanding. He said, “This is your Shizun, Immortal Luo Fenghua.”

     He raised his head and met Luo Fenghua’s bashful smile. At that time, Luo Fenghua was originally already very young, and when he was nervous, he appeared even more immature. His round eyes reflected the images of his two little disciples, and his cheeks were slightly red.

     The old Sect Leader took his hand and told him, “Immortal, my two children have very different temperaments, so their suitable cultivation paths may not be the same. I ask you to be patient and teach them in accordance with their aptitude in the future.”

     Luo Fenghua was holding an orange in his hand. He seemed to be trying hard to show the dignity that a teacher should have, but the hand that kept rubbing the orange exposed his youthfulness and inexperience.

     Nangong Liu was very clever, and immediately called out sweetly, “Luo-shifu, Luo-shifu.”

     Luo Fenghua’s face immediately turned a deep red, and even the tips of his ears were the color of blood. He waved his hand, “I… no, there’s no need to be so polite. I’m also a new teacher, and I don’t know anything yet… In the future, I’ll have to ask the two young masters to give me some advice, I…”

     He paused for a long time after saying “I”, not knowing what to say. Xu Shuanglin clearly remembered the sunshine in Linyi that day. This Luo Fenghua, who was more like a “little brother” than a “Shizun,” stood under a tree full of oranges in the sunlight. The edges of his ears were very thin, and when the light shone on him, he could see the faint blue veins under his skin. The thin edges of his ears reflected a sparkling and translucent orange color.

     Xu Shuanglin then said the first sentence of his life to Luo Fenghua.

     “Immortal Luo, are you turning twenty this year?”

     This was originally a taunt that even his father standing next to him could hear. However, Luo Fenghua didn’t hear it. He actually smiled and replied sincerely, “No, I am seventeen this year.”

     “...”

     Xu Shuanglin moved his lips and wanted to say something, but in the end, he didn’t say anything, and simply walked away.

     His father pulled him back to a corner and said sternly, “How can Xu-er only judge a person’s ability based on his age?”

     “He’s not much older than us.”

     “Previously, we invited Immortal Wang, but you said he was too old!”

     “Isn’t he old?” Xu Shuanglin rolled his eyes, “Ninety-seven. I think he’s about to die and become an immortal.”

     “You don’t like seventeen or ninety-seven. What exactly do you want?”

     “Dad, can you not look for someone twice, with an eighty year age difference between them?”

     “...” The old Sect Leader got angry, but he was embarrassed by his son’s words. After gritting his teeth for a long time, he finally said, “Although his skills aren’t the best, he has a wide range of knowledge and his spells and martial arts are top-notch. If you learn from him honestly for a year and you’re still not satisfied, we’ll change again!”

     After talking for a while, the two of them came out from the corner. When they returned to the front of the academy, Xu Shuanglin saw that his brother was actually chatting happily with Luo Fenghua. From the look on his brother’s face, it seemed as if he'd known Master Luo for more than ten years.

     However, this wasn’t too strange. After all, Nangong Liu had an ability. That is, as long as he was willing, he could talk to anyone.

     On the other hand, Luo Fenghua was still a little nervous and reserved in his actions. When he looked up and saw Xu Shuanglin, that nervousness and restraint became even more obvious. He looked at Xu Shuanglin’s impatient face as he was pulled over to him by his father.

     He hesitated for a while, then used the most clumsy and childish way to please this willful and wayward little disciple of his—

     He handed Xu Shuanglin the orange he had been holding onto but hadn’t eaten.

     Xu Shuanglin: “...”

     “It’s very sweet, try it.”

     The seventeen-year-old little master looked helpless and panicked, even a little pitiful.

     Only then did Xu Shuanglin notice that on the corner of his robes there was even a flat patch.

     So, poor?

     If he was able to become the Shizun of the two young masters of Rufeng Sect, it was no wonder he was so anxious and eager to beg him.

     “I don’t like oranges.” Xu Shuanglin said, “Since Master Luo wants to stay here and not leave, this is the first thing I ask Master Luo to remember.”

     “Xu-er!”

     When the old Sect Leader was about to scold him, Luo Fenghua waved his hand and quickly took the orange back. He said, “It’s alright, it’s alright. Sect Leader, you don’t have to worry about it.”

     “Ah, my child is rude and doesn’t know how to respect his master. I’ve wronged you.”

     “It doesn’t matter.” Luo Fenghua smiled and looked at Xu Shuanglin again. His eyes were warm and friendly, but also a little cautious, “Actually, it doesn’t matter whether you want to be my disciple or not. I have some knowledge, just learn from me. You don’t have to acknowledge me as your Shizun.”

     The old Sect Leader hurriedly said, “How can that be…”

     “Titles are all empty.” Luo Fenghua’s cheeks were red, and he scratched his head uneasily, “Actually, I also feel that I'm too young…” He turned his head and said to Xu Shuanglin, “If you don’t mind, little gongzi, you can just call me by my name from now on.”

     Xu Shuanglin looked at him quietly for a while, then suddenly sneered. Just as Luo Fenghua, this poor honest man, was confused by his actions and increasingly embarrassed by him, he straightened his clothes and bowed properly to him. Then, he raised his head.

     The orange trees were fragrant, the light and shadows shifting.

     Xu Shuanglin smiled. His eyebrows were raised high, arrogant and domineering, and the corners of his mouth were slightly wicked. However, he was still young at the time. When he smiled, there was naturally a trace of peach-like tenderness and sweetness.

     That’s right. Titles were all empty.

     So why should he care so much about what he called the other person?

     So, Xu Shuanglin called out to him in a lazy and unhurried manner, “Shizun.”

     The leaves of the orange tree rustled, and the ground was scattered with leaves.

     Forget it, I’ll just have to make do with this Shizun. In less than a year and a half, it’ll be time to look for another one, he thought.

     Back then, Xu Shuanglin had truly thought that everything was usual and normal, as if that day was just an ordinary day in his life.