Xu Zimo stopped his steps and looked at her.
“Your heartbeat was very fast just now, I could feel it,” Jing said with a smile.
“On the surface you pretend to be serious, but your heart was moved, wasn’t it?”
“What is your name?” Xu Zimo asked.
“My name is just one character, Jing,” Jing smiled. “You can call me Jing’er. Come to think of it, you’re the first man who has called me that.”
“Oh,” Xu Zimo nodded slightly, then turned to leave again.
“If you ever need anything, you can always come to me,” Jing’s voice sounded from behind. “Jing’er will always sweep the couch to welcome you.”
Watching Xu Zimo’s back grow further away, her lips curved into a seductive smile.
……
Walking out from the pavilion, the breeze gently stirred, and the sound of the wind chimes on the curtain still seemed to echo in his ears.
Xu Zimo stopped. Just now, his Dao Heart had felt somewhat unsteady.
He had always thought that matters of men and women were not so important to him. Except for Lan Ke’er, he had never felt anything for another woman.
Cultivation in the later stages is all about cultivating this Dao Heart.
Tempered thousands of times, through the rolling red dust, and remaining unchanged in the end.
But after all, he was still human, and could not escape the seven emotions and six desires.
When faced with a flawless peerless beauty, offered to him to pick, he still could not avoid being moved.
Even though he restrained himself and suppressed the impulse, the wavering of the Dao Heart was still a wavering.
Outside, the sky had already grown dark.
But inside this elegant garden, it was still as bright as day.
Every so often, colorful little lanterns hung from plum trees or bamboo stalks.
The glowing lanterns reflected against the blossoms, adding more charm.
Even at night, the place was full of people moving about, lively and bustling.
Those staying the night here were countless.
Some even treated it as home, admiring flowers and listening to the zither by day, and at night going to places of pleasure, indulging in the pleasures of love, living freely.
How many such moments does life afford? Once the hair turns white, there is only empty regret.
………
“Have you heard? Something big has happened again in our City of Destruction.”
In a nearby pavilion, a few people were chatting.
Xu Zimo was close enough, and deliberately listened.
“What big thing?” someone asked curiously.
“You all should know who sealed the Blood Rune Space in our City of Destruction, right?” that person said.
“Of course it was the Holy Progenitor, do you even need to ask?”
“I heard that the Holy Progenitor’s True God Sword has been found,” someone said in a low voice.
“What nonsense. Wasn’t the True God Sword already split apart, its fragments scattered across Primordial Heartlands? Who could find it? Anyway, now the whole city is buzzing with the rumor that someone named Xu Zimo has gathered the True God Sword, become the disciple of the Holy Progenitor, and has come to City of Destruction to completely and forever resolve the Blood Rune Space.”
“Really? Who is this Xu Zimo?”
“I don’t know either. But the city was already chaotic, and now it’s only getting more chaotic.”
“Chaos is good, otherwise how could it be called City of Destruction?” someone laughed, clearly not concerned.
Hearing this conversation, Xu Zimo shook his head and chuckled.
“To let that girl spread rumors, I didn’t expect it to get so exaggerated.”
He had originally asked Ji Ruobing to spread the word that he possessed the True God Sword.
But in less than a day, the story had turned into him being the Holy Progenitor’s disciple and ready to destroy the Blood Rune Space forever.
Actually, Xu Zimo always had a guess in his heart.
It was extremely difficult to open the seal of the Blood Rune Space.
Even if blood beasts attacked the seal for millions of years, it might not work.
Moreover, the Lord of Destruction stood guard outside. If there were any issues with the seal, they could be observed and repaired at any time.
That a few Blood Rune Beasts managed to escape this time was already a great stroke of luck.
The key to opening the Blood Rune Space should be the True God Sword.
This was Xu Zimo’s speculation. Whether it was true or not would depend on events.
If those Blood Rune Beasts knew the True God Sword was in his hands, they wouldn’t need him to find them, they might come to him on their own.
That would be called waiting at the tree for the hare.
Xu Zimo’s target was the Blood Rune Beasts, and he did not want unnecessary trouble caused by the True God Sword.
Since leaving the garden, he had not seen that little fat man again.
Although curious about his identity, Xu Zimo did not bother to search for him.
He left the garden and found an inn in the southern part of City of Destruction.
He opened two rooms.
There he arranged to meet Ji Ruobing.
Ordering the innkeeper to bring out good food and wine, he looked at Ji Ruobing with a smile. “All done?”
“Now it’s your turn to suffer,” Ji Ruobing said, drinking a cup of strong liquor.
Her brows didn’t even twitch as she added, “From here on, you’ll be busy. Some want the True God Sword, and some want the Holy Progenitor’s legacy.”
“Then let’s wait and see when the fish take the bait,” Xu Zimo said with a smile.
The two were eating when suddenly several armored men entered the inn.
Their target was clearly Xu Zimo.
“So fast?” Xu Zimo said in surprise.
He had just mentioned trouble, and here it was already.
“Lord Xu, the Wood Martial God wishes to meet you,” said the leader of the armored men calmly.
In City of Destruction, aside from the Lord of Destruction, the Eight Martial Gods held absolute authority.
Their words were the iron law of the city.
“What’s the matter?” Xu Zimo asked.
“The commander did not say, only that you must come with us,” the armored man replied.
Xu Zimo glanced at Ji Ruobing.
She waved her hand with a smile and said, “Go on. I’m feeling tired anyway, I’ll return to my room to sleep.”
……
Following the armored men, Xu Zimo arrived at the deepest part of the city.
This seemed to be the barracks of City of Destruction.
All around there were no ordinary people, only armored soldiers.
They led him to a tent, then withdrew.
Xu Zimo looked around briefly, then entered.
At the center stood a desk, with several scrolls scattered across it.
On the other side of the desk sat a handsome middle-aged man.
He wore a light green robe. Though not quite sword-browed and star-eyed, his features were proper and he was indeed a fine-looking man.
“Sit,” the man said with a smile, putting down the scroll in his hand as he saw Xu Zimo enter.
“I don’t know why the Wood Martial God is looking for me?” Xu Zimo asked directly.
“You’re clever, you should already know,” the Wood Martial God smiled.
“Because of the True God Sword,” Xu Zimo said.
The Wood Martial God nodded slightly and replied, “I more or less understand your idea, using the True God Sword as bait, to lure the Blood Rune Beasts to you.”