Chapter 1 The Different Flow of Time

The flow of time within the Lingzhong Realm differed from the outside world. As early as when Feng Bujue and Siyu had just set foot on the island, it was already the next day outside.

On this day, a new wave arose in the already turbulent town of Cang Ling.

Noon, the hall of the Cang Ling Inn.

With the exception of a very few people, almost all martial artists were searching for the answer to the same question. And that question was—where did Xie San go?

After an entire night and a morning, even sects with less-than-stellar intelligence networks had heard the rumors... Yesterday at dusk, Wuming Jian (Nameless Sword) Xie San had traveled from Tongqiu onto the main road, riding straight toward Cang Ling. As evening approached, the horse Xie San had been riding had returned to Tongqiu on its own.

But here in Cang Ling, no one had seen Xie San's shadow.

So... where exactly had Xie San gone? How could a person inexplicably disappear on the road?

There were people traveling on the main road these past few days, but not many. They were mostly disciples from the various sects traveling back and forth between Tongqiu to deliver messages. In any case, none of these people had seen Xie San along the way.

Logically, the situation seemed to be... after Xie San got on the main road, he didn't come to Cang Ling, but instead turned off into the mountains halfway.

But that didn't make any sense. Could it be that after inquiring around in Tongqiu, Grandmaster Xie had learned that the Cang Ling Inn had no rooms left, and didn't want to stay in an abandoned house, so he preferred to camp out in the mountains, surviving in the wilderness?

Or... had Grandmaster Xie been ambushed? That was also unlikely. Who could beat him? Unless Ye Cheng was present, even if the Six Swords of Huaying joined forces, they couldn't do anything to Xie San. That's how the martial world was; a difference in quality couldn't necessarily be made up for by quantity. As a lone hero, Xie San was able to be mentioned in the same breath as the master of the Ye Manor, Ye Cheng, the Supreme of the Martial World, so his martial arts realm had to be capable of taking on ten at once.

Of course, if you could find a thousand people to surround Xie San and trap him in a place where he could only fight and not run, then, after his inner strength and stamina were completely exhausted, you could succeed.

That was even more impossible...

Then there was one last hypothesis, maybe, with a one in ten thousand chance... Xie San had run into a ghost.

People of the martial world, especially those who were veterans, wouldn't necessarily call themselves reverent towards ghosts and gods, but they certainly weren't completely dismissive either. The rumors of Cang Ling Town being haunted were something the various factions had heard about back in Tongqiu.

In addition, people had mysteriously disappeared every night these past few days, and their bodies were never found, which did make the townspeople uneasy.

But you couldn't completely blame the ghost on the mountain for this; she hadn't proactively attacked the town to capture people. Many people were killed and went up the mountain to dispose of the bodies, and ended up getting themselves and the corpses taken care of together, never returning...

These people were basically asking for it. If they entered the mountain before dark, didn't go too deep, and just found some remote corner on the edge of the forest to bury the body shallowly and then left, they would have been fine.

But the reality was that they were basically going into the mountains in the dead of night, carrying still-warm corpses, specifically going very far, entering the depths of the mountains to abandon the bodies. Not to mention Ling'er's ghost, even the corpses they brought themselves were a threat.

Someone who had just died a violent death still had resentment and their soul hadn't dissipated yet, but the murderers were taking the corpses into a ghost realm forest shrouded in resentment, so it wouldn't be surprising if the dead rose up to demand their lives...

In short, although we already knew from the perspective of God that Xie San had indeed been ambushed, the martial artists in Cang Ling didn't know, they couldn't possibly guess about Lin Chang's matter, so they could only guess blindly...

"What do you guys think Grandmaster Xie is doing? Although Wuming Jian has always been low-key, this time it's really strange..."

"There are no shortage of strange things in this town. Last night, several disciples from the Great Whale Gang and the Sea Sand Sect disappeared again, neither alive nor dead."

"Hey, hey, have you heard... that Luo Mei Jian (Fallen Plum Sword) Lu Qingning, disappeared the night before last, wasn't seen all day yesterday, and still hasn't shown up today."

"Hey, I knew about that this morning. I also heard that of the five from Pojian Chaliao (Tattered Sword Teahouse) who came yesterday, only one, Shaoxia Jin, is still at the inn. The other four also didn't return last night."

"Speaking of which, did you know? I heard someone say that last night, Tang Family's young master suffered a great loss at Shaoxia Jin's hands."

"What? Tang Shize, the Kuai Shou Nianhua (Fast Hands Plucking Flowers)? That kid's a tough one."

"Who says he isn't? I also heard that he was taught a lesson by that Shaoxia Jin and lost his temper, and had to admit defeat."

"Wait, why did Tang Family's young master fight with that... Shaoxia Jin?"

"Heh, you don't even know about this? It's for a woman, of course." The speaker then explained the gossip between Murong Ying and Tang Shize.

"Oh, I see." He smiled gleefully, "But... speaking of which, this Pojian Chaliao is really not simple, I wonder what the origin of this sect is."

"Didn't their Liao Master already say that they opened their own sect and created their own martial arts?"

"Hey, you've been in the martial world for so many years, and you still believe that? Creating your own martial arts at twenty-something? Do you think he's a reincarnated immortal? In my opinion, that kid probably received a transfer of power and Yuán (essence) from some hermit master, that's why he has such amazing inner strength."

"Okay, you're all going too far. We're talking about Grandmaster Xie here. What do you think is going on?"

"What's going on? To put it bluntly..." He lowered his voice, "The duel is tomorrow, and that Da Dangjia (Big Boss) Ye hasn't appeared yet, maybe..."

*Bang*, a large wine jar was placed on the table.

Lu Shan's tall figure appeared next to the wooden table where those few speakers were sitting.

"Waiter, it seems like there are flies in your inn's hall." Lu Shan said, "Let me see, one, two, three, four, four flies are buzzing here, so annoying."

The four men heard this, and although they were angry inside, none of them dared to express it. They obediently put down their teacups, left some loose change on the table, and sneaked out of the inn's door.

In fact, these four people were just some third-rate characters in the martial world. Such people were unlikely to achieve anything, whether in martial arts or character. These people were always keen on slandering those who were doing better than themselves, and sometimes they would maliciously speculate and spread rumors.

Lu Shan had only come over to drive them out of the inn because he was close by, heard their words, and couldn't bear it anymore.

These four people were brazenly criticizing those big shots, and as they talked, they even insinuated that Ye Cheng was ambushing his opponent before the duel. How could such words be said randomly? Who was Ye Cheng? If the martial world today were to elect an alliance master, then Ye Cheng would be the one who could take office directly. How could the Sword God's martial arts and character be allowed to be slandered by a few nobodies? Even Lu Shan, an outsider, felt a bit of unwarranted anger when he heard this. If Ye Muhan heard these words, she might draw her sword and chop them down on the spot.

"Monk, don't be angry. Come, sit down and have a few drinks with me." A tipsy young man came to the table at this time, inviting Lu Shan to sit down. Who else could it be but Tang Shize.

Lu Shan glanced at young master Tang, who was drunk in broad daylight, looking dejected.

"Heh... okay. Drinking, this monk is always ready." Lu Shan sat down in a carefree manner, a hearty smile on his face as always.

Although Lu Shan's nickname was Drunken Monk, he rarely actually got drunk. These masters all knew how to drink in moderation. They naturally knew their limits, and if it really didn't work, they could force the alcohol out with their inner strength.

But Tang Shize in front of him was clearly really drunk.

As the saying goes, "drawing a knife to cut water, the water still flows," and "borrowing wine to dispel sorrow, only increases sorrow." Young master Tang's self-abusive way of drinking wouldn't solve any problems. Seeing this, the monk wanted to offer some guidance.

"You heard what they said?" Lu Shan asked.

"Hmph... I heard it." Tang Shize replied weakly.

Between their questions and answers, a waiter had already come over to quickly clean up the table, incidentally collecting the silver left by the previous guests, and then quickly left.

"People are right, Shaoxia Jin's martial arts are outstanding, and his character is better than mine." Tang Shize continued, with a bitter smile, "I have no choice but to admit defeat."

How could Lu Shan not know what he was thinking? He shook his head and said, "Amitabha, these worldly troubles are nothing more than wine, women, wealth, and anger. I'm afraid this monk can't enlighten young master Tang's troubles at the moment."

"Ha! Who needs you to enlighten me? You're a monk who can't leave his wine, and you have the nerve to say that?" Tang Shize said, "I just think it's hard to drink alone, and I wanted to find someone to have a few drinks with. Don't talk nonsense to me."

"Young master Tang is wrong." A woman's voice rang out.

Tang Shize knew who it was as soon as he heard her voice. His body immediately froze as he slowly turned his head.

Murong Ying had unknowingly walked to Tang Shize's side.

In young master Tang's eyes, whenever he looked at this celestial maiden, she was always so dignified, elegant, and moving. But at this moment, there was another man standing beside her, Jin Fugui!

"Could this Jin be here to show off to me?" Tang Shize thought to himself, and immediately threw his head back and drank another mouthful of wine.

"Master Lu is kind and virtuous, compassionate, and he saw that you were distressed, so he wanted to offer some words of comfort." Murong Ying said as she sat down at the table.

Atobe also sat down, but he didn't sit next to Murong Ying, but went around to the other side to sit.

Tang Shize looked up at Atobe, who actually had a smile on his face, which, in young master Tang's eyes, undoubtedly became mockery.

"Hmph... what's so funny?" Tang Shize snorted coldly and said to Atobe.

"Oh, because there's also someone called 'Master Lu' in my hometown. I think it's quite interesting to hear someone else being called that." Atobe replied truthfully.

Tang Shize heard this and didn't know how to respond, so he sullenly drank another cup.

"Young master Tang seems to have some misunderstandings about Shaoxia Jin." Murong Ying spoke again, "So I invited Shaoxia Jin here to explain things to you."

"Misunderstanding?" Tang Shize said, "What misunderstanding? Hmph... Tang doesn't understand."

At this time, Atobe interjected, "Miss Murong has already told me about the matter between you two." He shrugged, "I was still wondering what the situation was last night. So that's what happened." He was straightforward, "Young master Tang, Miss Murong and I are, at most, just casual acquaintances. Yesterday I went to her room to ask about some rules for traveling the martial world. This was Liao Master's order. We didn't do anything shameful. Young master Tang, you're drinking this vinegar for no reason."

Tang Shize's expression changed several times as he listened to these words, and his heart rose and fell. Before he could fully react, Murong Ying spoke first, "Shaoxia Jin, there's nothing between young master Tang and me either... Your words just now, 'the matter between you two,' were inappropriate..."

"Okay, okay, you don't have to explain to me." Atobe interrupted, "I'm just here to clear up young master Tang's misunderstanding of me. I'm not interested in your affairs." He then turned to Tang Shize and said, "I'll just give you a couple of pieces of advice. First, if you have time to come and fight me, why don't you just ask her the reason? Do you not trust her that much? Also, if she really didn't like you, would she bother to specifically ask me to come over and explain it to you?"

After Atobe finished speaking, he stood up and left. From the perspective of a young man from the 21st century in his thirties, he felt that these trivial matters were really nothing. Little did he know that in ancient times, there were many things that couldn't be said openly, especially not in such a crowded public place.

After he finished these words, the three people left at the table were dumbfounded. Lu Shan immediately stood up, saying "Amitabha," as if he were just passing by and didn't know anyone at the table, and quickly moved to the side. Murong Ying was so ashamed that her cheeks were flushed red, all the way to her ears. She didn't say a word, lowered her head, and fluttered away.

As for Tang Shize, he sobered up in a few seconds, his eyes widened like Black Cat Detective. His mind was in chaos, and his heart was beating fast, and his joy was overflowing. However, he soon felt his back tingling, as if everyone in the inn's hall was staring at him at this moment.

In fact... the actual situation was okay. The inn's hall was relatively noisy, and not many people heard Atobe's words, only a few tables near them heard them. Moreover, people didn't want to comment on such matters, and mostly pretended not to have heard. Everyone was a person with quality and status, and even if they didn't have quality, they still had some status... In any case, they certainly wouldn't immediately shout and cause a commotion.

Regardless of how Tang Shize later left the inn's hall in a daze, let's talk about Atobe. He was also feeling annoyed. After waiting all night, his teammates were still nowhere to be found, and he was wondering whether he should go out and look for them when Murong Ying came in the morning to ask him to resolve a romantic dispute.

At this moment, he was walking back to his room, still considering how to act next, when he suddenly heard a system notification:

[Current task has been completed, main task has been updated]

He opened the game menu, and the line [Enter the Lingzhong Realm and find Ling'er's soul.] had already been checked. A new task now appeared: [Defeat the "Ling Demon"]