Chapter 122

Chapter 122: A Sincere Heart

Wang Jie was too exhausted to say much. He only greeted them briefly.

Across from him, someone hunched in a corner, staring at Wang Jie while trying desperately not to be noticed.

Mu Ran.

He had once made Wang Jie dig a hole to bury seal-chen stone. He’d even taught him before.

Mu Ran clearly believed he mattered in Wang Jie’s eyes—a formation expert, a man of status.

Wang Jie had noticed him long ago. He’d been searching for familiar faces.

Unfortunately, none of the ones he wanted were there.

Not Master Luan. Not Xia Zhen Zhen. Not Xia Xiao Nian. Not Jin Chu.

Xing Xue dragged the ship onward, fleeing.

Wang Jie asked Luo Yan a few questions when he could, but Luo Yan didn’t know much.

Before long, the lights inside the ship abruptly went out.

The ship began to rock.

An indescribably vast power swept through. The ship floated like a lone boat on an endless sea, lurching again and again.

Many people vomited.

Wang Jie grabbed the window frame and looked outside.

What he saw was beyond comprehension.

A massive star slammed toward them—only to be knocked aside by another star. Space itself was exploding. Nearby planets burst one after another, yet compared to the colliding stars, they were tiny as sparks.

The ship spun and bucked.

Wang Jie felt like his organs were being torn loose inside him.

He didn’t know how long it lasted before everything finally steadied.

A voice drifted in from outside.

“What else do I have to say for you to understand?”

“You can go in any direction—but you cannot go to Fourth Nebula.”

Wang Jie rubbed his head and looked out again.

Xing Xue was ahead.

Two people stood before her: a refined-looking middle-aged man, and a puppet bearing Jiang Yun Ji’s presence.

Around the three of them floated countless shattered planets. Wang Jie could even make out fragments of cities—and countless living beings struggling to survive in open space.

The three of them ignored it all.

“Where I go isn’t for you to decide,” Xing Xue said.

“Senior,” the refined man asked, “are you going to Fourth Nebula to seek help, or to leave for good?”

Jin Nuo.

Xing Xue’s voice turned icy. “Either. Try stopping me if you dare.”

Jiang Yun Ji sighed through the puppet. “Why do this? It will widen the nebula war. If it draws interference from Third Zen Heaven, it won’t end well.”

Xing Xue’s eyes sharpened. “You’ve chased me for so long just to stop me from going back to my mother’s family?”

“Zen token,” Jin Nuo said bluntly.

Xing Xue’s gaze flickered. “A zen token from Third Zen Heaven?”

“Yes.”

“It’s not with me.”

“Senior, there’s no need to hide it,” Jin Nuo pressed. “We’re sure it isn’t with Wen Guan, so it can only be with you.”

“I said it’s not here.” Xing Xue’s tone didn’t rise, but it cut like steel. “If you have the ability, come search me.”

Jiang Yun Ji spoke softly through the puppet. “Xing Xue senior, Frostflower Sect is already gone. It can’t be rebuilt. Keeping the zen token is useless.”

Xing Xue’s mouth twisted. “Even if I did have it, can’t I keep it as something to remember?”

“Then don’t blame us for being rude,” Jiang Yun Ji said.

His voice chilled. “And the sect’s last embers you’re dragging behind you in that ship… they should go out as well.”

Wang Jie’s heart sank.

Two Star-Refining Realm experts against one.

If the Supreme Elder could have dealt with them, she would’ve done it back at the sect. The fact they’d chased her all the way here meant she clearly couldn’t fight them head-on.

This was bad.

Should he go out and greet Jiang Yun Ji?

Just then, the world began to flicker.

Wang Jie first thought it was the ship’s failing lights.

It wasn’t.

The flicker came from outside—from the starry universe itself.

Jin Nuo’s expression changed. He turned toward the distance.

Jiang Yun Ji turned the puppet as well.

Xing Xue let out a quiet breath. Her eyes were complicated—resignation tangled with something sharper. In the end, she’d lost face.

Amid black-and-white flashes, someone stepped across the stars and drew near.

Each step crossed an enormous distance. Each step made him clearer.

A young man with an elegant air.

He wore a long white robe with black lines and striped trim, carrying an ancient grandeur that still felt unmistakably noble.

He passed Jin Nuo and Jiang Yun Ji without a glance and stopped before Xing Xue. He bowed slowly.

“Your nephew Zhi Ye greets you, Aunt.”

Jin Nuo’s face darkened.

Someone from the Zhi family.

Why was he here?

Black-White Heaven was far away—unless he’d gotten the news ahead of time.

Xing Xue looked at the young man, her eyes just as complicated as his. “You’ve grown up.”

Zhi Ye raised his head. “Aunt, come back. The family misses you.”

Xing Xue closed her eyes, bitterness softening into exhaustion. “I can’t avoid going back anymore.”

She reached back and patted the ship behind her. “A woman marries away. When her husband’s family is gone, she can only rely on her mother’s family.”

Zhi Ye’s expression sank. “Did someone upset Aunt?”

His voice cooled. “Your nephew is willing to teach them a lesson.”

He turned and stared at Jin Nuo and Jiang Yun Ji.

“Oh?” Zhi Ye said softly. “One from Xuan Gate, one from Puppeteer Sect. I’ve met plenty of you on the battlefield—and even more have died by my hand.” His smile thinned. “Do you two want to die here as well?”

“How can someone from the Zhi family come here?” Jiang Yun Ji asked.

Zhi Ye’s voice was cold. “You investigated my aunt and thought you could hide it from the Zhi family?”

Jin Nuo stepped forward. “This is an internal war in the Eighth Star Chain. Isn’t the Zhi family reaching too far by interfering?”

Zhi Ye’s mouth curved. “So what?”

Jin Nuo had nothing to say.

The Ding Chen Zhi family ruled a nebula, just like the Nan family once had.

But the Nan family had vanished, leaving Third Nebula without a ruler. The Zhi family had not vanished at all.

It remained strong.

And on the Star-Cloud Battlefield, Second Star Cloud and Fourth Nebula were both swallowing Third Nebula’s resource territories. Third Nebula had been at a disadvantage for a long time.

Facing an expert from the Zhi family, they lacked confidence.

Jiang Yun Ji spoke slowly. “Xing Xue senior, are you bringing Fourth Nebula into this?”

Xing Xue sounded tired. “Leave. This fight ends here.”

Jin Nuo’s jaw clenched. “Then the zen token?”

Zhi Ye’s eyes sharpened. “My aunt told you to get lost.”

Jin Nuo glared at Zhi Ye, then finally left with Jiang Yun Ji.

They needed two people just to surround Xing Xue. Add Zhi Ye, and the outcome became uncertain. Staying was pointless.

When Zhi Ye watched them go, he turned back to Xing Xue and smiled. “Aunt, the thieves are gone. Shall we go home?”

Xing Xue’s tone was heavy. “Let me say goodbye to the sect.”

Zhi Ye gestured politely.

In one step, Xing Xue appeared atop the ship. She stood there, staring toward Frostflower Sect’s direction for a long time without speaking.

Inside the ship, Wang Jie wrestled with himself.

If he stayed silent, no one would know what would happen to the Silver Radiance Empire.

And then what would happen to Blue Star?

A human slave?

A war slave?

Or simply ignored?

He looked at the distant stars.

This place wasn’t far from the Silver Radiance Empire.

Screw it.

He would speak.

Wang Jie swallowed a breath-holding pill and climbed to the top of the ship.

In the distance, Zhi Ye glanced at him and didn’t care.

“Senior,” Wang Jie said, voice steady despite the pounding in his chest, “I have something to say.”

“Speak,” Xing Xue said, still staring toward Frostflower Sect.

Wang Jie drew a breath. “If we want to rebuild the sect, we need a foothold. Otherwise, with the Eighth Star Chain sealed off, it will be hard to reclaim territory in the future.”

He bowed. “This junior suggests taking part of the Eighth Star Chain to use as a base for the future.”

Xing Xue finally looked at him, gaze deep.

Wang Jie bowed again. “That is one thing. Second, I want to protect the Silver Radiance Empire—to protect the people of my hometown.”

His throat tightened. “I ask you, Senior… for the sake of me risking my life to send the news that there were enemies on Deepweight Star, help me once.”

Xing Xue’s eyes narrowed. “You risked your life to send the message?”

Wang Jie told her what had happened on Deepweight Star.

Xing Xue hadn’t known any of it. She’d only known there was an invasion and acted. She hadn’t known how they got in—or which traitors were involved.

She asked the others on the ship.

Most didn’t know either. Only a handful had heard rumors, and those rumors matched what Wang Jie said.

Mu Ran, trembling, spoke up. “Disciple heard it too. They said Guest Elder Master Wang sent word there were Luo Kingdom people on Deepweight Star, and that was why the war started early. Otherwise it wouldn’t have happened so fast.”

Xing Xue’s gaze shifted again.

Before, she’d admired that Wang Jie could fight Kui Zhan at Ten Seals and still refused to surrender to Luo Kingdom.

Now there was even a touch of pride.

“So you were a Guest Elder,” she murmured. “And a chen refiner?”

Wang Jie’s expression turned complicated. “I joined the sect as soon as I left my hometown. In the sect, I was looked after by Ning Domain Lord and others, and by Master Luan and Master Que Yi. I also became friends with the sect’s true inheritors Xia Zhen Zhen and Xia Xiao Nian.”

His voice softened. “I grew attached to the sect. So even if it meant risking my life, I still wanted to protect it—and send out the final message.”

“Then how did you survive?” Xing Xue asked, genuinely puzzled.

“Because of Jiang Yun Ji.”

Wang Jie told her what had happened in Qing Shan Cheng.

Xing Xue listened, stunned again and again.

It was surprising—yet somehow, it made sense.

She sighed. “Little kid, you’re blessed. You’ve survived death again and again.”

Wang Jie smiled bitterly. “I don’t want to go through so much either.”

Then he looked at her. “Senior… can you protect the people of my hometown?”

“Taking them away would work too.”

Xing Xue stepped off the ship and went to Zhi Ye, pointing toward the Silver Radiance Empire. “Mark that region as part of Fourth Nebula. It can serve as a foothold for rebuilding Frostflower Sect someday.”

She paused. “Of course, if Frostflower Sect truly can be rebuilt, then the sect will belong to Black-White Heaven.”

Zhi Ye looked troubled. “Aunt, this is the Eighth Star Chain. To carve out a region, we’d have to cross the Ninth Star Chain.”

His brow furrowed. “Setting aside Puppeteer Sect’s attitude, such a long distance has little value to my Zhi family. Your nephew can’t decide this, and the chance the family agrees is very small.”

“If Puppeteer Sect refuses and a war starts in the Eighth Star Chain,” he added, “we’ll be in a passive position.”

Xing Xue said calmly, “Back then, when I married far away into Frostflower Sect, the family didn’t agree either.”

Her eyes hardened. “I know the family will never want to see Frostflower Sect rebuilt.”

Zhi Ye fell silent.

Xing Xue lifted her hand. “Does the family still want this?”

She took out a token-like object and waved it in front of him.

Zhi Ye’s eyes lit up. “A zen token from Third Zen Heaven?”

He inhaled sharply. “Aunt really has it?”

Xing Xue said flatly, “This zen token is something I personally went to Third Zen Heaven to request. It doesn’t belong to the sect, so of course it’s with me.”

“Now the family has two choices.” Her voice didn’t waver. “Either I use this zen token to trade for the family’s protection of the Silver Radiance Empire, or I use it to trade for Puppeteer Sect’s protection.”

She stared at him. “Choose one.”

Zhi Ye’s eyes flickered. “Your nephew doesn’t understand. Two Star-Refining Realm experts chased you, yet you still wouldn’t part with the zen token. Why insist on protecting a region?”

His gaze sharpened. “Is it really for rebuilding Frostflower Sect? That doesn’t seem to mean much.”

Xing Xue’s eyes dimmed. “I’m old. Keeping this thing is useless.”

She exhaled. “If it can be traded for a sincere heart, it’s worth it.”

Zhi Ye looked into the ship.

At Wang Jie.

A sincere heart?

Wang Jie saw everything.

He hadn’t expected Xing Xue to trade a zen token for the Silver Radiance Empire’s safety.

No matter how much he’d contributed to Frostflower Sect, it couldn’t compare to a zen token.

He owed her far too much.

And for Xing Xue, it wasn’t only for Wang Jie.

It was for the Frostflower Sect disciples as well.

Those disciples were the sect’s living embers.

She was telling them they still had someone to rely on, even after the sect had been destroyed.