Chapter 18: The White Phoenix Nest, Wutong Tree. (5)
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To traverse the boundary between the Yunhai Small World and the Shattered Stone Mortal Realm, Bai Chunsheng and Yan Yi put in quite a bit of effort.
Unlike the seamless connection between the Yunhai Small World and the Void Realm, which flowed seamlessly through the Chang Hen River, crossing this boundary required passing through a “rift” filled with dense spiritual energy.
Bai Chunsheng initially thought that Yan Jingqiu, after losing his memory, wouldn’t understand much about this, so he was prepared to explain it to him.
Just as he was about to start, Bai Chunsheng remembered that when he was searching for Yan Yi in the Yunhai Small World, Yan Yi was wreaking havoc in the Southern Domain. When Yan Yi emerged from the Lian Guang Secret Realm, he was immediately wanted by the Tianqing Sect and forbidden from entering the interstitial spaces between worlds. All these signs indicated that Yan Yi had evidently utilized the boundary at that time as well.
Bai Chunsheng wisely kept his mouth shut, lest he say something wrong and be corrected by Yan Yi later.
Both of them were not inexperienced novices; they traversed the boundary with ease. Even landing in the Shattered Stone Mortal Realm was done calmly and without haste.
Through the hazy boundary, they could hardly see the surrounding environment clearly, so they randomly chose a coordinate to descend.
The Fuyu Mountain was shrouded in mist at the break of dawn, located in the eastern part of the Shattered Stone Mortal Realm. It was perpetually engulfed in dense fog, obscuring visibility. Among mortals, there were legends of encountering immortals who could ride clouds and fog on this mountain. However, these stories were passed down without any concrete evidence of anyone actually witnessing such phenomena.
Zhang Yishu, fourteen years old, was a native of the foot of the Fuyu Mountain. Due to the steep terrain of the mountain, it was not suitable for farming. She and her eleven-year-old brother, Zhang Yaozong, relied on gathering herbs in the mountains to supplement their family’s income. They only roamed around the foothills, and if they were lucky enough to catch a rabbit, the whole family could enjoy a meal of meat.
Unfortunately, in recent years, the harvests had been poor, and more and more people from the village went up the mountain to gather herbs. Several trails were almost doubled in width from being trampled by people, and the resources obtainable from the mountain grew scarcer.
To find herbs without being discovered by others, they had to venture deeper into the mountains. But the deeper regions were inhabited by bears and tigers, posing a significant risk. A hunter named Hong from the village met his demise this way, and all that was found were his clothes stained with blood.
For several days in a row, they hadn’t found anything. Last night’s meal consisted only of a thin broth made from rotten grass roots that their mother dug up from the field, and her little brother lay in bed crying out from hunger. Early this morning, even before dawn, Zhang Yishu got out of bed, slung her basket over her back, and headed towards the Fuyu Mountain.
There were quite a few others with the same idea as her, and as she made her way up the mountain, she saw many people. Adults and children alike, all of them were pale and thin from hunger. It seemed like another day of coming back empty-handed, but Zhang Yishu gritted her teeth and decided to venture further into the mountain while it was still dark. She wasn’t greedy; she just wanted to bring back something.
She veered off the path and walked deeper into the mountain. On the ground, there were white mushrooms growing due to the dampness, but she didn’t dare pick them as she didn’t know if they were poisonous.
Zhang Yishu carefully examined the leaves of the plants, walking farther and farther until she finally dug up a plant of cliff ginger that could fetch her three or two silver coins. When she intended to return, she realized that fog had started to envelop the mountain.
She got lost.
In the chilly wind, there seemed to be howling wolves, and the thick fog made it impossible for her to see even the trees in front of her clearly. Walking on the ground felt like stepping on soft cotton. Zhang Yishu was already hungry, and the dizziness worsened as she squatted down to dig the ginger. She thought of hurrying down the mountain, but in her haste, she only strayed further from the path back.
The howls of the wolves grew nearer and nearer, freezing Zhang Yishu with fear. Trembling, she stood rooted to the spot, clutching tightly to the small hoe she used for digging herbs.
She felt utterly hopeless, alternating between thoughts of her parents and her brother waiting for her at home, and the unfortunate fate of hunter Hong.
Suddenly, she saw the thick fog in front of her parting, revealing a dark vortex out of nowhere.
A young man emerged from within, dressed in a silver-white robe with gold-thread embroidery along the edges. He had a handsome and dignified appearance. Zhang Yishu was initially stunned at the sight of him. She couldn’t help but take a step back, falling to the ground.
Pointing at the man, her face flushed red, she stuttered, “Imm-immortal… you’re an immortal.”
Bai Chunsheng, thinking it quite unexpected to encounter mortals in such a remote place, graciously accepted her remark and smiled, “Though you are but a mortal, your eyesight is commendable. But why don’t you think we look like monsters?”
Yan Yi emerged from the crack holding a wooden sword, and the crack behind him slowly closed and vanished.
Soon, their breath adjusted to the Shattered Stone Mortal Realm, and the sense of rejection from the realm gradually faded away. Yan Yi glanced at Bai Chunsheng but said nothing.
Zhang Yishu looked at Bai Chunsheng and then at Yan Yi, who had appeared later. Upon hearing Bai Chunsheng mention monsters, it dawned on her that there might be monsters in the mountains who liked to eat people. And monsters tended to be good-looking.
Fearful of drawing the attention of these two individuals towards her, she sat quietly on the ground, hugging her legs, afraid to make any sound.
Bai Chunsheng took out the Immortal Spirit Scroll, intending to see where they were now, but it began flipping through pages automatically. It was then that Bai Chunsheng remembered that due to Yan Yi’s influence, all information about the Yunhai Small World had been sealed off. Hence, he hadn’t seen any updates from the Tianqing Sect when he returned yesterday.
The Immortal Spirit Scroll returned to the page that Bai Chunsheng hadn’t finished reading last time:
“Daoist Changping, died in the East Sea’s Qiuru Mountain, cause of death unknown.”
This short line seemed to testify to the chaotic situation the Tianqing Sect should be in at this moment. Changping Qian Dao was the Tianqing Sect’s top combat power, one of the five great experts in the world. His status was equivalent to Yan Jingqiu in the Yan family or Bai Jianghan in the Ten Thousand Demon Sect.
What exactly happened? In just a few months, these powerful individuals had encountered unexpected accidents one after another.
Bai Chunsheng flipped the Immortal Spirit Scroll backward, and this event seemed to have stunned the entire cultivation world; the subsequent pages were all blank.
He kept flipping until he reached the very end, where he found some fragmentary news. Several cultivators who discovered this incident inexplicably fell ill with incurable diseases and passed away within a few hours.
The Tianqing Sect recalled all its disciples overnight, retracting its influence. They even abandoned several major secret realms, and all personnel were ordered to return to the sect.
This was contrary to the domineering and unrestrained image the Tianqing Sect usually projected, revealing the internal turmoil within the sect. It seemed even worse than the situation in the Ten Thousand Demons Sect after Bai Jianghan’s failed tribulation several months ago.
Seeing Bai Chunsheng’s grim expression, Yan Yi asked, “What’s wrong?”
Bai Chunsheng hadn’t expected his speculation about Daoist Changping’s death to actually come true. Apart from astonishment, there was also a sense of disbelief. How could it be possible? Yan Jingqiu hadn’t died, and Daoist Changping was a seasoned expert in tribulation crossing. Besides natural lifespan, he would hardly have any enemies.
How could such a person suddenly die, especially with the cause of death unknown?
Could it be that he, like Yan Jingqiu, couldn’t bear it anymore and chose to end his life for no apparent reason?
Bai Chunsheng replied to Yan Yi, “Good news, Daoist Changping from the Tianqing Sect is dead. The Tianqing Sect is preoccupied with its own troubles, so I doubt anyone will come after you again.” However, whether the Ten Thousand Demons Sect would continue sending people to kill him was uncertain.
Bai Chunsheng flipped back to an earlier section and used his spiritual power to make the Immortal Spirit Scroll display a map of the Shattered Stone Mortal Realm and their current location.
“Fuyu Mountain? It seems there’s a market for wandering cultivators at the summit of this mountain,” Bai Chunsheng pointed to a small line of text beside Fuyu Mountain on the map and said, “Shall we go take a look?”
Huge shoutout to @_nyanmaru_ on Discord for commissioning this! The chapter will be posted regularly, show your support for Ciacia at Kofi.
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