Chapter 48

Although Amu now believed that a cultivator like Han Qianli could indeed destroy the Northern Country alone, he was still extremely shocked when he heard that the Northern Country had fallen in a single night.

"It happened in just one night! The Northern Country's White City was reduced to nothingness." Han Qianli took a deep breath, "As far as I know, that night must have been a battle between Soul-level cultivators. The White City, the capital of the Northern Country, spanning hundreds of miles, with its palaces and pavilions, and its mountains and rivers, was completely flattened. It was a disaster that shook the heavens, and very few survived!"

"What about my master and Yu'er?" Amu's face changed drastically as he asked loudly.

"You don't need to worry about that!" Han Qianli flipped his right palm, and a shimmering green ancient jade appeared in his hand, "This jade was given to me by Senior Wang Jue. If it glows, he is safe and sound! If he meets with misfortune, this jade will dissipate on its own! So, you don't need to worry!"

After hearing Han Qianli's words and looking at the lustrous ancient jade, Amu calmed down a bit, but his expression was still not very good.

"Senior, do you know any news about my master and Yu'er?" Amu asked in a deep voice.

Han Qianli shook his head, "I have known Senior Wang Jue for over a hundred years, but I can only see him when he calls me. The battle between Soul-level cultivators in the Northern Country caused a disaster that shook the entire Northern Wasteland. The Northern Country is now directly under the control of the Great Murong Dynasty. As for what exactly happened that night, I can't fully know. However, I think it must be related to Senior Wang Jue and the... the 'Ghost Coffin' mentioned that day!"

Mentioning the Ghost Coffin, Han Qianli seemed to still be haunted by fear.

Amu's eyebrows twitched. In fact, even without Han Qianli saying it, Amu knew that everything must be related to the Ghost Coffin. Wang Jue had decided to go to the Northern Country because of Princess Haiqing's Nine Yin constitution and the Ghost Coffin.

"What is the Ghost Coffin?" Amu suddenly asked.

"There are many things I don't know, and even if I did, I wouldn't tell you. One day, you can ask Senior Wang Jue!" Han Qianli's expression was extremely grim when Amu asked about the Ghost Coffin.

Amu didn't expect Han Qianli to be so cautious about the Ghost Coffin, even in the Cold Yin Cave, which isolates all divine senses, he was unwilling to mention it much.

"I want to go down the mountain!" After a brief silence, Amu suddenly said.

"Oh!" Han Qianli looked at Amu, "Can you defeat me now?"

"No!" Amu answered very straightforwardly. Even with the black vine, let alone the demonic coffin inside his body, Amu was probably not a match for Han Qianli at this moment.

"Then how will you go down the mountain?" Han Qianli said with a half-smile.

"I will defeat you! Not too long from now!" Amu looked at Han Qianli, and a black light suddenly flashed in his eyes.

"Ha ha ha!" Han Qianli suddenly burst into laughter, "I, Han Qianli, will not misjudge a person! Your path and Senior Wang Jue's path are the same! The ordinary can surpass the immortal."

After saying this, Han Qianli looked at Amu seriously and said slowly, "Amu, no matter what, I believe that one day you will defeat me! I don't want to ask about your cultivation path, nor do I want to know all your secrets. I just want to live up to Senior Wang Jue's trust and a future where you don't disappoint me! Do you understand?"

Han Qianli looked at Amu quietly, his gaze gentle, full of an elder's expectations for a junior.

Amu looked at Han Qianli, deeply moved. At this moment, he truly understood Han Qianli's purpose in bringing him here. After his root cultivation failed, Han Qianli did not blame or show any dissatisfaction, but instead called him here to encourage him indirectly.

In fact, Han Qianli had not mentioned the events in the Northern Country a month ago for fear that Amu would be distracted. This time, he only told Amu about the failure of his root cultivation to激发 his fighting spirit. This trust and encouragement were extremely precious to Amu at this moment.

How could Amu not understand all this? The corners of his mouth twitched, and then he bowed respectfully, saying, "I will never forget Senior's kindness!"

Han Qianli nodded with a smile, saying no more. Everything was understood without words; Amu had his own path.

With a wave of his hand, Han Qianli instantly brought Amu back to the Falling Cloud Cliff.

"Your brothers have been waiting for you!" Han Qianli pointed to Lishui and smiled.

"Tomorrow, don't forget your cultivation!" After saying this, Han Qianli's body moved, and he vanished into thin air.

Amu looked at the place where Han Qianli had disappeared, and the black light in his eyes reappeared. It was a pair of pitch-black eyes, seemingly harboring red-black lightning.

"Amu—" At this moment, Lishui shouted to Amu.

Hearing Lishui's call, Amu's face showed a smile, and the black light in his eyes faded. He then summoned the Heavenly玄飞碟 and headed straight for Lishui.

At this time, the sky was half dark, and the Falling Cloud Cliff was extremely cold.

Lishui, dressed in a white robe and with a thin body, felt a chill and his face was even paler.

"Amu, the first... root cultivation... didn't succeed. It's... okay!" Lishui's voice trembled, whether from the cold or because he didn't know how to comfort Amu.

"Senior Lishui, you waited for me just to say this!" Amu didn't expect Lishui to wait for him just to say a comforting word.

"Um!" Lishui nodded heavily, "Amu, you are not a failure!"

"Thank you, Senior Lishui! You are not either." Amu was moved, because apart from Han Qianli, only Lishui had said this to him, and when everyone else left, only Lishui waited for him silently.

"We are brothers!" This was a phrase Amu often said, but it was the first time Lishui had said it.

Hearing this, Amu smiled, a happy smile.

In the past, Amu was the direct disciple of the sect leader and a prodigy of the Northern Cold Sect, advancing rapidly. Although Amu treated Lishui as usual, the huge gap still made Lishui somewhat cautious.

But today, after Amu's root cultivation failed, although theoretically, Amu still had the possibility of cultivating a root again, the number of people who succeeded after their first failure was extremely rare.

Therefore, at this moment, Lishui's words, "We are brothers," were even more precious.

"Senior Lishui, let's go!"

Amu said no more, directly pulling Lishui onto the Heavenly玄飞碟 and heading for the small courtyard on the back mountain.

That night, Lishui somehow brought a lot of wine.

The scene of Amu successfully cultivating a root and inviting many friends to drink together would not happen.

The originally secluded and quiet small courtyard was now quite desolate and lonely.

Apart from Lishui, only the cold moon and the waning stars accompanied Amu.

They drank and chatted, and the two brothers didn't know how many times they got drunk and woke up.

"Is failing to cultivate a root a sign of being a failure?" At this moment, Amu seemed to be a bit drunk.

"Failure... Ha ha, we are a pair... of failure... brothers! We are not... failures..." Lishui was now very drunk, speaking incoherently.

Amu's failure to cultivate a root was the most heartbreaking thing for Lishui in the Northern Cold Sect, both for Amu and for himself.

Leaning on the table, Lishui fell into a deep sleep, still mumbling, "Failure... Amu... brother... Li Ruo..."

At this moment, Amu stood up, standing alone in the small courtyard.

"I am not a failure! Never!" Amu laughed coldly at the moon, and a black and eerie light flashed in his pitch-black eyes again.

Then, Amu gently raised his hand, and a black light with a hint of red blood appeared in his palm.

"Slash—"

Amu roared and slashed the air with one hand. The black light shot out and headed straight for a huge rock a hundred feet away.

"Boom—"

The black light struck, and the huge rock was instantly shattered.

A smile appeared on Amu's lips. This was a test of strength, no less than the power of a beginner cultivator at the eighth or ninth stage of swordsmanship.

At the Falling Cloud Cliff, in the Number One Cave, for nine days and nine nights, no one knew what had happened to Amu.

But Amu's eyes were full of determination. Looking in the direction of the Northern Country, Amu silently said, "Master, Yu'er, wait for me to come back!"