Painting of the Nine Immortals
chapter-435

The bright moon that was suspending in the sky shed down soft lights.

Inside a brightly lit study room, Ling Xian and Ling Tian Xiao held onto their tea cups and sat across each other.

The feast had ended, but Ling Xian had no fallen from the alcohol. Even though he was the center of attention at the feast and everyone came to pay their respect, with his identity, who dared to get him drunk? They simply drank before him to show him their admiration.

Right after the feast, he accompanied Ling Tian Xiao to the study room to talk about the past and ask about how the Clan had been in the last eight years.

"Young Master, I heard that…" Ling Tian Xiao hesitated and stopped himself.

Ling Xian faintly grinned, "Leader, you may speak. It doesn't matter."

"You see, around seven years ago, I heard that you offended the Third Prince and Nobel Xiao Yao. Then you disappeared." Ling Tian Xiao finally spoke out after much hesitation.

"That's right. Afterwards, I had to wonder overseas. I only returned to Yunzhou a few days." Ling Xian nodded and his eyes flashed with anticipation. The third prince, Nobel Xiao Yao… These two figures imposed enough threat for him to leave his hometown. If they saw him today, he wondered how they would react.

"I…"

Ling Tian Xiao paused. Thinking about Nobel Xiao Yao's capabilities, he was worried, "Young Master, you must be careful. Do not leak the news that you have returned."

"It doesn't matter. If he doesn't come find me, I will go find him." Ling Xian's lips curled up, revealing a confident smile.

"Find him?"

Ling Tian Xiao lost his composure, the hand he used to hold the cup quivered. After he saw how calm Ling Xian was however, a thought appeared in his brain.

The Young Master… did he reach the completion level?

Ling Tian Xiao's body shook at his own guess. However, when he remembered Ling Xian was a talented Heaven's Favorite, he believed his own guess.

With his natural talent, to reach the completion level in seven years was not entirely impossible. Ling Tian Xiao guessed silently and the way he looked at Ling Xian became more and more respectful.

"Alright, let's not talk about me. Let's talk about the Ling Clan." Ling Xian smiled while waving his hand. He then changed the subject.

"Thanks to you, the Ling Clan has been peaceful and tranquil." Ling Tian Xiao answered.

Ling Xian chuckled at this, "Leader, stop flattering me. It makes me feel so uncomfortable."

"I am not at all flattering you. If you didn't kill the two foundational powerhouses back then, the Ling Clan would not be glorious as it is now. It would've been destroyed." Ling Tian Xiao shook his head. It had been eight years since that incident, yet his appreciation towards Ling Xian did not at all lessen.

Everyone in the Ling Clan was the same.

"That is true." Ling Xian softly grinned and casually flapped his sleeve. Two giant bundles appeared on the table, "Two bundles, one contains medicinal Dans, the other contains weapons. Please accept them."

Ling Tian Xiao was startled at this and subconsciously opened up the bundle. Then a blinding light emitted throughout the study room.

"This is…"

His eyes flashed with shock. Ling Tian Xiao hastily closed up the bundles and tamed the shock and greed he felt. He only snapped back to reality after a full minute. His voice shook, "Young Master… this is far too valuable. You have given us hundreds of techniques already. I cannot accept any more of your gifts."

"Accept them. I may sound arrogant, but to me, these items are really useless." Ling Xian waved around his hand. All of these items were bought by him while he was travelling. The reason why he only gave the techniques first was because he didn't want to garner too much reaction from the crowd.

Thus he was only taking out the remaining goods now.

"But, this is far too valuable." Ling Tian Xiao was wavering. Even though he knew that these treasures would help multiply the Ling Clan's capabilities, he felt too guilty to accept them.

Ling Xian smiled, "Accept them. I am successful now, I am capable now. Naturally I have to repay the Ling Clan. If you don't accept, then you are not giving me face."

"I… Alright, thank you then, Young Master." Ling Tiao Xiao hesitated before he finally placed the bundles inside his storage pouch. The way he looked at Ling Xian was of pure appreciation.

"Oh right." Ling Xian suddenly recalled something and frowned, "Leader, how come I haven't seen Tian Xiang? Does she… does she not want to see me?"

At the mention of Ling Tian Xian, Ling Tian Xiao's expression changed drastically. Thinking about his little sister's current condition made his heart ache.

Seeing this, Ling Xian slightly frowned, "Did… did something happen to her?"

"Aye…" After a long sigh, Ling Tian Xiao broke his silence and exclaimed, "My little sister… she… she is possessed."

"Possessed?"

Ling Xian frowned but quickly relaxed, "You mean, she now believes in sorcery? That isn't that big of a deal."

Everything in the world is contrasting. If there is light, there is darkness. If there is an angel, there is a devil. In the Taoism community, the bright side never sees highly of the dark side. However, in the past 100,000 years or so, no gigantic wars have happened. The two parties simply do not like each other.

Thus, upon hearing that Ling Tian Xiang was possessed, Ling Xian didn't think much of it. However, Ling Tian Xiao's next sentence made his heart drop.

"If she simply became a part of the sorcerers, then it's not that big of a deal. However, my little sister… is truly possessed."

Ling Xian's expression changed as he stared at Ling Tian Xiao, "Repeat that again. She is truly possessed?"

"Yes, that kind of possession." Ling Tian Xiao sighed heavily. As if he just aged for a few decades, he appeared very fatigued.

For Ling Tian Xiang, he had been feeling troublesome for a very long time. However, he hadn't been able to do anything about it. How can he not be exhausted?

"Truly possessed…"

Ling Xian's expression was full of disbelief. He only suppressed his shock after a very long time.

What defined true possession?

One word, kill!

Losing all consciousness, losing all emotions, the person became a machine that only understood slaughtering and killing!

"There is no need for reasons and no need for hatred. A true devil that kills anyone they see. They are basically zombies that walk around soullessly." Ling Xian inhaled deeply and quivered, "Tian Xiang, she… she really became possessed like that?"

"Yes." Ling Tian Xiao closed his eyes in pain and collapsed onto the chair.

"How… How… Why… why did this happen?" Ling Xian's hands subconsciously clasped together. Thinking about Ling Tian Xiang without consciousness and behaving like a slaughtering machine, his heart ached.

Even though he did not feel about Ling Tian Xiang in a loving way, Ling Tian Xiang treated him very well in the past. Thus, how can he watch her be like this?

"Aye… this is linked to seven years ago, after she heard the news about your attempt at killing Nobel Xiao Yao."

Ling Tian Xiao recalled, "After you left, Tian Xiang left the Ling Clan to seek spiritual support from people who were seeking immortality. After hearing the news of you being chased to death, she found it hard to handle and left without a trace, leaving behind only a letter."

"Five years ago, a brutal murder happened in the Qin dynasty. An entire Clan was blood washed and it was utterly devastating. There was a witness saying that the murderer was a woman. The witness also drew a portrait of this woman. Then, the news about this woman would arise occasionally. Every single time, it was a bloody murder."

Ling Tian Xiao sighed deeply, "Then, the portrait of the woman circulated to the City of Qing. It was then did I find out that little sister… has become possessed. Truly possessed."

"I see. But she is so kind naturally. How did she fall into sorcery? During the two years she disappeared, did something happen?" Ling Xian's brows locked together tightly. He found it impossible link the devil who killed without blinking to the gentle and kind woman he knew back then.

"I do not know. I only know that she acquired some kind of legacy. She needs to kill people in order to improve her capabilities. Thus, every time she appears, her capabilities improve." Ling Tian Xiao shook his head and stared at Ling Xian, "The last time she appeared was in the Zhou Dynasty. She had already reached the peak of the foundational level that time."

"The Zhou Dynasty? Peak of the foundational level?"

Connecting these two key words together, Ling Xian's expression changed, "This means, the next time she appears, she would be at the completion level and she will go find Nobel Xiao Yao."

"That is possible. What I find strange is that she obviously lost all her logic. Why would she appear in the Zhou Dynasty? Is it her subconscious?" Ling Tian Xiao sighed. The way he looked at Ling Xian was very complex. Other than respect and appreciation, he was somewhat mad.

"It's all my fault."

Noticing the anger, Ling Xian sighed out of guilt.

Ling Tian Xiang being possessed is linked to him. Even after losing consciousness, she still wants to avenge him. How can he not feel guilty?

"It's unrelated to you. My sister is simply too stupid. She mentioned more than once that she wanted to keep up with you. Back then, I have more than once tried to convince her not to be so obsessive."

Ling Tian Xiao once again sighed, "But she wouldn't listen and continued to train aggressively. She was not born with much natural talent, thus even with all the crazy training, there was not much progress. It's probably because of this that she became possessed."

"Aye… to keep up with me…"

Ling Xian felt even guiltier at this. After staying silent for a while, he said sternly, "Do not worry, Leader, I will hold myself accountable for this."

"Accountable?"

Ling Tian Xiao shook his head and stared at Ling Xian, "You must be accountable. But not for me, for Tian Xiang."

"I will deal with this." Ling Xian straightened his back, "I will leave then."

He then walked towards the door.

Since this was caused by him, he obviously wasn't going to run away. No matter how different Ling Tian Xiang turned out, he must find a way to awaken her and help her turn back to the kind and innocent girl she once was.

Even though this was an extremely difficult task and Ling Xian had no idea how to achieve this – like many things in the world, one should not give up on an attempt just because one doesn't truly understand something.