Stranger Danger

For a time, the Silver Moon Sacred Lord did not say anything.

The curse Jiang Yunlai mentioned referred to the fact that all members of the Jiang Clan of West Kunlun suffered shortened lifespan.

West Kunlun was a sect, but it was no different from a clan. Every generation was firmly in control of the Jiang Clan. And who was the Jiang Clan? They were one of the two groups of celestial servants who had escaped from the Kunlun Ruins.

A long time ago, something happened to the Kunlun Ruins, and the celestials fell into slumber. Sensing an opportunity, two groups of celestial servants decided to sneak away from the Kunlun Ruins.

One of them was the Jiang Clan, and the other the Ji Clan.

After the Jiang Clan and the Ji Clan escaped the Kunlun Ruins, they immediately founded the sect named Kunlun. It was jointly managed by the Jiang Clan and the Ji Clan.

Unfortunately, the union did not last. Disagreements and conflicts broke out between the two clans, and Kunlun eventually split into East Kunlun and West Kunlun.

The Ji Clan was in control of East Kunlun, and the Jiang Clan West Kunlun.

The main point was that both the Jiang Clan and the Ji Clan were originally celestial servants, but they escaped the Kunlun Ruins after the celestials fell aslumber. So, they received the celestials’ curse.

Both the Jiang Clan and the Ji Clan were celestial servants. They might not be able to live as long as the world itself, but their original lifespan was still very, very long. However, after they left the Kunlun Ruins, they discovered that their lifespan had shrunk dramatically. Forget living a long life, their lifespan was much shorter than even an ordinary person.

It did not matter if they were an ordinary person or a Sage, a weakling or a champion. No one from the Jiang Clan and the Ji Clan had ever lived past their natural lifespan.

The Ji Clan and the Jiang Clan boasted some of the greatest talents and bloodlines in the world. Every single one of them simply needed to practice diligently to eventually achieve transcendence and become a Sage. However, once their time was up, they would suffer all sorts of unexpected calamities or disasters and perish as a result.

This had continued for generations. No one had ever found a way to neutralize it.

The worst part was that they could clearly sense the calamity or disaster coming after them, but no matter what they did, they could not avoid their grim fate. Not even a Sage could save their own lives.

In other words, they could only watch as death slowly and casually walked toward them, shortening their lives with every step it took, and there was absolutely nothing they could do to avert it or even buy some time.

It was a level of fated helplessness, fear and despair that could crush anyone.

Death, sometimes, wasn’t scary.

What was scary was knowing that you are going to die soon, and that there is absolutely nothing you could do to stop it.

This was the curse of the Jiang Clan and the Ji Clan; the punishment the celestials had set upon the traitors.

All life be like ants before a celestial.

This was an absolute truth East Kunlun and West Kunlun had to face every day for all eternity.

Naturally, their ancestors did everything in their power to resolve the curse and break free from their cursed fate, but nothing worked.

In the end, their ancestors discovered in deep irony and sorrow that the only way they might save themselves… was to reenter the Kunlun Ruins and seek out the slumbering celestials.

However, it was easy to leave the Kunlun Ruins, but much, much harder to enter it, not to mention that they were despicable traitors. When they tried to reenter the Kunlun Ruins, they discovered in shock and horror that they were unable to locate the entrance or find the Radiant Tree no matter what they tried.

They had betrayed the Kunlun Ruins. Naturally, the Kunlun Ruins had abandoned them in turn.

For the past several thousand years, they tried everything and paid unimaginable prices in search of a way to reenter the Kunlun Ruins. It was all for naught. Forget the Kunlun Ruins, they couldn’t even find the Radiant Tree. Naturally, they could not resolve their curse and break free from their fate.

Find the Radiant Tree, enter the Kunlun Ruins, resolve the curse, break free from fate. Over time, this had become the obsession and fate of every member of the Jiang Clan and the Ji Clan.

That was why they would not allow any chance to enter the Kunlun Ruins to slip through their grasp. Even the most unlikeliest of possibilities were worth trying.

Jiang Yunlai was a descendant of the Jiang Clan. The Silver Moon Sacred Lord was no exception. Jiang Yunlai had a feeling that his time was running out. She, was no different.

That was why she understood his feelings, his urgency, his haste completely. How could she not when she was the same?

“What should we do?”

The Silver Moon Sacred Lord asked, “You said it yourself. The thief’s location cannot be divined because they had stolen the branch. How can we find them?”

Although Jiang Yunlai had already ordered Shen Xuedong to investigate the person, there was no telling if it would actually yield any result, not to mention that their time was short.

Jiang Yunlai declared, “I want you to head to East Kunlun yourself and borrow the Crimson Sun Mirror from them.”

“The Crimson Sun Mirror? Would they lend it to us?” The Silver Moon Sacred Lord sounded worried.

The Crimson Sun Mirror was a Strange Artifact forged from a type of bird living on the Radiant called the Crimson Luan.

When the Jiang Clan and the Ji Clan escaped the Kunlun Ruins back then, they had also taken away a single branch and a single Crimson Luan from the Radiant Tree.

The Crimson Luan and the Radiant Tree were bound to one another. Because of this, the Crimson Luan could sense the Radiant Tree no matter where it went.

Not only that, the Crimson Luan could not live without the Radiant Tree. That was why the Crimson Luan they took away died not long after they left the Radiant Tree.

After the Crimson Luan perished, the Jiang Clan and the Ji Clan worked together to create a Disaster-class Strange Artifact known as the Crimson Sun Mirror.

The Crimson Sun Mirror was forged using the Crimson Luan’s body. It could naturally sense the Radiant Tree.

In fact, the reason they took away the branch and the Crimson Luan was precisely in case they needed to return to the Kunlun Ruins one day.

Alas, they were completely cut off from the Kunlun Ruins because of the curse. Therefore, the Radiant Tree branch and the Crimson Luan became useless.

Still, the Crimson Sun Mirror might not be able to detect the Radiant Tree, but it could still sense the Radiant Tree branch. The connection would not fade even if the two objects were hundreds of thousands of kilometers away from each other.

Therefore, they could easily locate the Radiant Tree branch with the Crimson Sun Mirror.

Of course, Kunlun had splintered into West Kunlun and East Kunlun, so West Kunlun kept the Radiant Tree branch, and East Kunlun took away the Crimson Sun Mirror. If they wished to obtain the Crimson Sun Mirror, they must seek out East Kunlun first.

However, to say that the Jiang Clan and the Ji Clan had a nasty breakup would be an understatement. They could not have loathed each other more than fire and water were incompatible. That was why both West Kunlun and East Kunlun strived to maintain their contact with each other to the absolute minimum possible. Naturally, it wasn’t going to be easy to borrow the Crimson Sun Mirror from them.

“No one is afraid of death. The Ji Clan is no exception.”

Jiang Yunlai said indifferently, “They had spared no less effort than us to search for the Kunlun Ruins.”

“Tell them that lending us the Crimson Sun Mirror is the only way we might find the Kunlun Ruins. If they wish to break free from their curse and fate once and for all, they best give us their full cooperation. Otherwise, well, we’ve already died premature deaths for thousands of years. I’m sure they won’t mind this continuing for thousands of years more.”

“I understand.”

The Silver Moon Sacred Lord nodded. “I shall depart right away.”

“One more thing. Do not tell them that the Radiant Tree branch has been stolen. We must have the initiative.”

Jiang Yunlai ordered seriously, “No one is more crafty and treacherous than the Ji Clan! Give them an inch, and they’ll take the whole ruler!”

“I know what to do.”

The Silver Moon Sacred Lord said coldly, “If there is nothing else, then I shall depart immediately.”

“Mm. By the way, your time is almost up. Be absolutely careful, okay?” Jiang Yunlai instructed.

“I will.” The Silver Moon Sacred Lord nodded again before shooting away into the sky as a beam of silver moonlight.

“Kunlun Ruins…”

As he watched the fading moonlight, a rare look of fury and madness flitted across his face. “It’s been thousands of years. Surely our punishment is nearing its end.”

“Right, celestials of the Kunlun Ruins?”

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