Consuming Earths, Devouring Skies

Finally, the time for him to learn of all the questions he was curious about could be answered at this very moment. He felt fidgety from his anticipation. Taking a deep breath to calm himself down, he looked towards Lin Feilin.

"Who is Han Genji?" His first question was one he had the most out of all else. Who was this master of his? He only had two meetings with him, one where he was drenched in blood, and the other where Han Genji was drenched in blood.

"Han Genji is my and your Master." She said, her tone still icy-cold. She added, "He was born in the Vanishing Fiend Sect's Han Clan to the Ji Family-line."

Vanishing Fiend Sect?! So it made sense that he had connections with both the Vanishing Fiend Sect and the Earthly Titan Sect so that his disciples could join either or.

He hesitated for a while but asked with a hint of nervousness, "Is he still alive?"

"Yes. He's been captured by the Soaring Cloud Sect and will be sentenced to death soon." She stated, her voice may seem cold, but at the moment she said the word 'death,' he could see her lips quiver slightly. However, she composed herself quickly, not revealing anything after.

"I see…" Yan Zaizen wasn't a fool who thought he could stop the Soaring Cloud Sect's execution. If his master's allies don't appear, then it's likely his death was all but dated. "Then, what's Eighth Brother's story?" This was the second most important matter to him. Shin Xuanji declared the eradication of the Yan Family, but Yan Zaizen didn't know a single thing about him.

Lin Feilin looked towards Yan Zaizen, her eyes obviously filled with a complexity. "Shin Xuanji belonged to the Shin Clan, one of the Clan's directly under the Yan Clan about fifteen years ago. They, who were found guilty of treason, suffered complete annihilation by the Yan Clan."

What?!

If Shin Xuanji's Clan was eradicated by the Yan Clan, then all of his former actions made sense. Unfortunately, Yan Zaizen was no more than one year old at the time and didn't remember a single thing about those days. However, his grandfather was still the clan leader at the time, which meant that he gave the order of extermination. Considering it more, if they were charged with treason, then their eradication was warranted. He was not a soft-hearted person, and you reap what you sow.

Traitors should be swiftly eliminated.

Seeing Yan Zaizen's thoughts in her eyes, Lin Feilin couldn't help but slightly shake her head and only said a few more words. "It's more complicated than you think and more complicated than I can explain." After those words, she wouldn't answer anything about the Shin Clan's circumstances, and likely it was because she didn't want to speculate or simply doesn't wish to say something unnecessary.

"What is Master's grudge against the Soaring Cloud Sect?" He remembered when he first met Han Genji, he said something about being chased about by the Soaring Cloud Sect, and that he was simply unwilling to let them leave with their lives because of it. There had to be a story behind that.

"The civil war, that occurred in the Vanishing Fiend Sect, left the Vanishing Fiend Sect weakened. However, Master was one of their prominent talents and thus a variable the enemies of the sect would love to eliminate. The Soaring Cloud Sect saw an opportunity to kill him, took it, but ended up killing his wife instead." Her words were clear and explained the story thoroughly. She took a brief pause then continued, "Master desired revenge. However, the weakened Vanishing Fiend Sect abandoned him. He took matters into his own hands and slaughtered countless Soaring Cloud Sect cultivators. After he broke through the Origin Core Realm, they were even more hell-bent on killing him. However, they'll probably subject him to many unique tortures before doing so."

Han Genji's story was genuinely tragic. He was talented in a weakened sect; the enemy took advantage of that, and he lost his lover. His sect abandoned him so decisively and then left him to his own devices. Then, he ended up being captured by those very enemies who executed his lover.

Yan Zaizen's fist clenched, his feelings were so complex. Should he be angry, fueled by the desire for revenge? Should he be indifferent, ignoring these matters that don't really concern him? Or something else? He just didn't know. He did know that no matter what he felt and, at this moment, he didn't have any power to decide things.

Lin Feilin's eyes lit up. She reminded, "You weren't close to Master. You have no obligation to be drawn into his death grudge for someone you barely knew. It is his true disciples' responsibility." Her words were harsh but also somewhat true.

He softly sighed knowing she was telling the truth. Perhaps, if his cultivation reaches a point where his every word was an imperial decree, he could decide what he wanted to do. Until then, forget it.

"What about his other disciples? Where are they?"

"Dead." She stated.

"..."

"..."

"I see."

"Anything else?" She inquired.

He was silent, looking towards the ground in thought. Only after quite a while did he look up and asked, "How do I get home?" His voice was filled with desire and homesickness. He wanted to go back home.

Lin Feilin looked towards Yan Zaizen with softer eyes. Indeed, he was just a kid who was kidnapped from his home, brought to a place too far away from it, and then left there without any guidance. It wouldn't be strange if that's all he wanted. The rest of his questions were just curiosity from his experiences, but this is what he truly wanted to ask all along.

"There exists a spatial platform within Xuanxu City. If you earn enough, you can use it and be sent to the Zhu Que City. It's a city situated near the Soaring Cloud Territory. From there, it shouldn't take you more than a few months to reach the Yan Clan." Her words obviously displayed her knowledge of the Yan Clan's location and methods of travel.

"Truly?!" Yan Zaizen, for the first time in a long while, he was overjoyed. He felt like a lost dog that got the scent of its owner once more. He could finally return home!

"However, you'll have to wait eight months." She said, bringing him back to reality.

"What?! Why?!" His words were filled with agitation. Why eight months?

"The platform only operates one time out of the year, the next time would be in eight months." She stated. However, she added, "If you wanted to leave the Basilisk Forest, it'll take you about that long with your cultivation and that's considering you can escape alive. However, after that, you'll still be thousands of li away. It'll take you years with your cultivation, even if you travel day and night."

He knew she was telling the truth. Perhaps if he was just traveling in a straight line, it would be better, but he couldn't. There would be areas he must pass, detours he had to take, and not to mention the variety of other things that can go wrong on a trip.

"Fine. Eight months it is." He wasn't that dejected. Considering the time span of travel between the Zhu Que City and Meteorite City, it wouldn't take more than a month or two.

During this time, he could focus on cultivation and maybe go about hunting for some wealth. If he's going to go back to his clan, he may as well do it with filled pockets!