After Tianming left, calm returned to Wei Manor once more.
The Mu Manor lay close to the Wei Manor. In the evening, when Wei Jing dropped by, Mu Wan was just heading out.
"Mu Wan, has your brotherâs Ink Qilin evolved?" asked Wei Jing.
"Iâm not sure, why donât you take a look yourself? Iâm heading out now and I wonât be back tonight to bother you!" She winked.
"Little girl!" Wei Jing entered the Mu Manor and headed straight for Mu Yangâs cultivation room. Past the garden was a quiet hall where Mu Yang and his Ink Qilin usually cultivated.
"Big Brother Yang?" she called out, but received no response. As soon as she knocked on the door, she felt a familiar, yet mysterious aura in the hall.
"Donât come in!" Mu Yang shouted. Was he getting dressed or was there someone else in there? Perhaps a woman?
However, Wei Jing could hear hoarseness and discomfort in his voice.
"Whatâs wrong?"
Overcome with worry, Wei Jing opened the door, only to be faced with a most shocking scene. A pale Mu Yang was curled up on the ground clutching his left arm.
"Big Brother Yang!"
Mu Yang didnât appear to be injured, yet he was sweating profusely.
"Whatâs the matter?" asked Wei Jing.
"I donât know. After my qilin evolved into a saint beast, my body seems to have undergone some changes!"
There was a tremor in his voice. Not only was Mu Yang covered in sweat, his teeth were shaking.
"Big Brother Yang, youâre frightening me...." At this point, Wei Jing realized Mu Yang was hiding his left arm.
"Is this where it hurts?"
"Yes!"
"Let me see!"
When she tore his sleeve, she saw something even more frighteningâfine scales had appeared on his arm, almost exactly the same as those on Tianmingâs arm, and perhaps Li Muyang from the Easton Domain! However, she was certain Li Muyang looked completely different from this man, although their temperaments were similar.
Mu Yangâs left arm completely transformed into Tianmingâs dark arm right before her eyes. The only difference was the absence of an eye in the palm. But his claws and black scales were exactly the same!
"How did this happen?" Wei Jing gawked at him, as if struck by lightning.
The Mu siblings were adopted by Wei Tiancang when they were young, and grew up with her in Ignispolis. She considered them relatives. Coincidentally, Mu Yang and Li Muyangâs name were the same. How could they have the same left arm?
As soon as his left arm was fully transformed, Mu Yang breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed the process was more painful than what Tianming had gone through.
However, he soon screamed from a head-splitting agony.
"Jingâer! Jingâer!" With one hand, he held Wei Jingâs hand while he wrapped the other hand around his forehead, cold sweat oozing from his pores.
"Whatâs wrong?"
This was the first time Wei Jing had seen him in such pain, hence the panic she felt. She held his hand tightly with both of hers.
"My head hurts!" growled Mu Yang. He grabbed his head in both hands and rolled on the ground.
"Big Brother Yang!"
Perplexed by the situation, Wei Jing simply held his head, hoping to ease the pain. But at that moment, a strange light burst from his forehead.
Then a crack appeared, as if his head had been split down the middle. However, there was not a drop of blood. What was even more frightening was the palm-sized copper mirror that squeezed out of the crack.
Faced with that horrifying scene, Wei Jing was completely dumbfounded. Who would believe that a personâs head would suddenly crack open and reveal a copper mirror?
This was a double-sided mirror that could reflect images on the front and back. It was simple and old, as if made during ancient times. A profound aura emerged, escaping into the boundless world.
"Whatâs that?"
"The Cyclic Mirror!" Mu Yang gritted his teeth.
As soon as the Cyclic Mirror popped out, the crack in his head quickly healed. Everything that had just transpired seemed like an illusion, but the Cyclic Mirror was still before them.
Words had appeared on both sides of the mirror. The front read âCyclic Willâ. What was that exactly? A type of heavenly will?
Mu Yang was currently cultivating the Ridgeocean Will, the power of the water and earth under the vast skies.
The four words on the other side of the mirror were even more incomprehensible. They read âlovers of ten lifetimesâ.
Wei Jing held Mu Yang in complete confusion.
"What does it mean?"
As she stared blankly at the mirror, another change occurred.
The front and back of the mirror split in two and melted into Mu Yangâs eyes. In that instant, his eyes became two mirrors, both of them sides of the cyclic mirror.
The vacancy in his eyes frightened Wei Jing into tears. With mirrors for his eyes, she could even apply makeup and dress herself!
"Big Brother Yang, do you know whatâs going on? How do you feel?" asked Wei Jing.
Perhaps the change in his eyes had caused a great difference in temperament. Mu Yang seemed frightening, almost detached, as if she was facing a god.
"Jingâer." He excitedly held Wei Jing in his arms, initiating intimate contact.
"Big Brother Yang, donât do this..." said Wei Jing.
"Donât push me away, Jingâer. In my mind, thereâs a memory of a previous life!" Right now, Mu Yang refused to let her go in a show of dominance.
"What do you mean...?"
"In my last life, my name was Li Muyang!"
What a bolt from the blue.
Wei Jing stared blankly at him. In an instant, Li Muyang from Easton Mountain and the man before her merged. He was Li Muyang? But that didnât make sense!
Mu Yang was over forty years old, so Li Muyang would have been dead for at least forty years. How could he have appeared twenty years ago?
"Jingâer, you were a Theocracy princess in your previous life."
"What?" Wei Jing was very confused.
......
"Report!"
In a gloomy hall were three old men dressed in black. Though vastly different in physique and temperament, they sat in the center with eyes like ink. A figure burst into the hall.
"What is it?"
"Thereâs movement in the Cyclic Barrier!"
"What!"
The three men rose to their feet.
"After more than forty years, the Cyclic Mirror has finally appeared!"
"Li Muyang, youâve hidden yourself well. For more than forty years, weâve been looking for you!"
"Where does the Cyclic Barrier point to?"
The bearer kneeled and said, "From the points marked on the map based on the Cyclic Barrier, the exact location is the Grand-Orient Realm, Vermilion Bird, Ignispolis!â
"Itâs hidden so far away!"
"Weâll personally take back the Cyclic Mirror!"
"Li Muyang, itâs been more than forty years. Itâs time to come home. The Ancient Qilin Clan has been waiting for you for so long!â
......
The Grand-Orient Sect.
By the time Tianming returned, it was already evening. As they approached the sect, they caught sight of a seventy thousand-strong army in the south, advancing mightily with their lifebound beasts. They were dressed in platinum armor. Even at dusk, they dazzled, a stark contrast against the black and gold armor of the Grand-Orient guardians.
From a distance, Tianming noticed Jun Dongyaoâs Golden Dragon. Headed by that lifebound beast, the great army of Heavenâs Elysium aggressively advanced, unwilling to give up until they swallowed the Grand-Orient Sect.
"There are seventy thousand Elysian purifiers, and nearly a hundred and fifty thousand Cloudmist keepers and Onyx legionnaires combined, a total of more than two hundred thousand. It seems Heavenâs Elysium thinks highly of the Grand-Orient Sect." Ye Shaoqing narrowed his eyes.
"If it werenât for the Onyx Sect, weâd be finished." Tianmingâs eyes were filled with killing intent.
âYes, they have so many powerhouses at the Heavenly Will and Saint stage. Thereâs no way your father can stop them on his own," said Ye Shaoqing.
"What should we do then?"
Heavenâs Elysium reinforcements were truly ferocious. The Grand-Orient Sect was still in a precarious state.
"Donât worry. Your father knows what to do. He says heâll kill them all!"
"Is that so? Weâll have to wait and see," Tianming replied.
"You should return to the Li Mausoleum and cultivate. Youths under the age of twenty canât participate in the Sect War."
"No." Staring at the arrogant, self-righteous Heavenâs Elysium army, Tianming declared, "I want to kill the enemy!"
"Suit yourself."
When they returned, the Grand-Orient Barrier was activated. The barrier spirits entered the battlefield.
Heavenâs Elysium and the Cloudmist Sword Schoolâs army gathered outside the Grand-Orient Sect. The Grand-Orient Sect had fewer than fifty thousand Grand-Orient guardians, who were divided into two battlefields.
Any discerning person could see that this would be a massacre. Known for his impatience and arrogance, Jun Dongyao would soon begin his attack.
On the Sacred Mountain, the Grand-Orient Sectâs powerhouses were ready for battle. Clad in white, the red-haired Li Wudi stood on the highest peak. The barrier nucleus was under the control of the sect elders and various powerhouses. As the sectâs linchpin, Li Wudiâs greatest value lay in slaughtering the enemy!