Chapter 2: Yunhai Brings Opportunity (2)
<Previous Chapter<Table of Contents>Next Chapter>
At the same time, in the Ancient Forest Spirit Realm, it was deep autumn.
On a night when the rain was slightly chilly, a sharp sword light pierced through the long night.
Lingruo Zhenren didn’t continue speaking. There was no point in saying more. Cultivation was always against the natural order. Moreover, it had been thousands of years since anyone had reached this realm in the immortal world. No one knew what kind of calamity awaited within the realm of life and death.
It’s possible that Yan Jingqiu was prepared for the final attempt, but he still failed here. She was just a demon cultivator in the Nascent Soul stage; it was ridiculous for her to measure the tribulations encountered by the mighty beings with her own perspective.
Perhaps feeling a bit uneasy, the two female cultivators who were close friends avoided this topic in their subsequent conversation. They held hands and simply continued chatting about some interesting events that had happened recently.
The inheritance of the Lian Guang Daoist, which the three major sects had been planning for a long time, was unexpectedly seized by a young unknown wandering cultivator. All present were young talents from various major sects and prestigious families. Yet, not a single one of the four combined Daoist cultivators or several Nascent Soul cultivators dared to intercept or could intercept him, watching as he swaggered away on the wind.
After three sticks of incense, a paper crane flew into the cave dwelling of the Real Person Lingruo.
In just the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, this news ignited the entire cultivation world in an instant.
The news of the Sword Sovereign’s fall had only just spread. Some lamented and mourned, while others, like Bai Chunsheng, reveled throughout the night. But the only commonality among everyone was silently speculating who would be the next most qualified to ascend to the position of Sovereign. With the Yan Family Patriarch nearing the end of his lifespan, the arrival of another powerful cultivator who successfully transcended the tribulation would be enough to change the current situation of the three major sects in the cultivation world.
No one expected the next qualified individual to come so swiftly.
It was well known that since the establishment of the infant stage in the cultivation world, the gap in realms was as difficult to cross as a chasm. Many Daoists revered as patriarchs or divine beings in the small world were only mediocre in the grand world. Practitioners like Lingruo Zhenren might never have the opportunity to break through to the Nascent Soul stage again in this lifetime.
To be able to cross major realms and confront enemies at the Nascent Soul stage, only Yan Jingqiu had achieved such a feat.
But how did this young wandering cultivator manage it?
He was nameless, of unknown origin. How could he be compared to the Sword Sovereign?
“Nascent Soul stage, and yet such a young cultivator?!” someone exclaimed in astonishment.
Some disregarded the messages, saying disdainfully, “Just Nascent Soul, and you want to compare him to the Sword Sovereign? Haha.”
“Even if he couldn’t match the Sword Sovereign in the past, based solely on his displayed combat talent, he’s definitely a prodigious seed,” others argued.
…
“To stand against four combined Daoist cultivators and hold his own!” Tianqing Sect’s Daoist, Fang Nianhe, couldn’t help murmuring as he looked at the messages. “This is only the second day after the news of Yan Jingqiu’s death spread. It’s incredible that there are still so many talents in the world.”
He looked at the cooling Yunsheng tea on the table for a long time, then sighed deeply. Fang Nianhe thought to himself, “If I couldn’t match the Sword Sovereign, that’s one thing, but am I really inferior to this nameless nobody?”
“A slight change can cause a major disturbance. Yan Jingqiu’s sudden death will surely trigger chaos throughout the world.”
“If I don’t break through to the mid-Nascent Soul stage within five years, I’m afraid I’ll never become one of the prominent figures in this turbulent time.”
……
There were many others who shared similar thoughts.
Suddenly, several prominent cultivators from various major sects and prestigious families all decided to enter seclusion at the same time.
All of this had nothing to do with Bai Chunsheng.
Demonic beasts were inclined to sleep. After that day, he slept for three whole days before waking up. And the first thing he did upon waking up was to open his drowsy eyes and eagerly check his ranking again.
Bai Chunsheng: “…”
His gaze stiffly lowered, and he successfully saw his name once again in the second position.
In just three days, how did he become second again?
Could it be, could it be…
Yan Jingqiu came back to life???
Bai Chunsheng rubbed his eyes stubbornly, refusing to believe it.
The good news was that his eyes weren’t blind, so the bad news was that what he saw was all true.
Yan Yi?
Who is this?
Damn it!
There had been hints about the Lian Guang Daoist’s inheritance as early as a hundred and fifty years ago. After generations of planning, it was finally time to pick the peaches. Although most of the disciples under the Ten Thousand Demons Sect relied on the power of their bloodline as demonic beasts, the Lian Guang Daoist’s Sword Sealing Art was quite extraordinary, and the sect also coveted it.
Mu Liushuang was an infant-stage wood demon, a purebred demon from the grand world. Along with her family of several hundred, including herself, they were all spiritual disciples of the Ten Thousand Demons Sect, eagerly hoping to enter the inner sect and bring glory to their ancestors. Fortunately, she had decent talent. Fifty-seven years ago, she successfully reached the infant stage, being the closest among her family to achieving their goal.
Her cultivation was neither high nor low, and her talent was average. She was among the list of outer sect disciples sent by the Ten Thousand Demons Sect to try their luck in the Lian Guang Secret Realm.
Among the group, Mu Liushuang was the only lucky one who returned to the Ten Thousand Demons Sect with only minor injuries.
Shortly after the sudden change in the Secret Realm the day before, Mu Liushuang was sent back to the Ten Thousand Demons Sect by the elders of the sect. Some of the outer sect disciples who went with her died, some still hadn’t woken up, and others were still recovering from their injuries. For the past three days, she could hardly relax and cultivate. Every time she closed her eyes, the hellish scenes would replay in her mind.
Yesterday, she took the high-quality calming pill distributed by the sect early on, and finally managed to sleep peacefully for one night. When she woke up this morning, several senior servants dressed in black robes came to her, saying that an important figure from the inner sect wanted to see her.
Mu Liushuang nervously followed these few people through the densely packed black buildings and arrived at the inner sect area she had never been to before. By the quiet lakeside stood a small building, the Starview Pavilion, covered in vines, looked like a silent tombstone, with only a few small windows resembling characters opened on the top floor.
The servants who led her in stopped at the door and another servant, with head bowed and draped in a black robe, emerged from the tall building. It paused in front of Mu Liushuang for only a few breaths before quietly returning inside. Mu Liushuang stood blankly for a moment before realizing that it meant for her to follow the person inside. She followed with small steps, her hands clutching her skirt tightly, sweating profusely.
The door was very tall, and the further she walked inside, the darker the corridor appeared, making Mu Liushuang even more nervous.
A bit further in, there was a round hall, unlit except for some light coming in through small windows on either side.
Mu Liushuang blinked her eyes and quickly adjusted to the light, able to see clearly inside the hall.
On a platform not far away were a soft chair and an incense table. Behind a gauze curtain sat a figure, the scarlet gauze swaying in the breeze, with a golden birdcage hanging nearby. They leaned back in the chair, supporting their head with their hand.
Out of habit, Mu Liushuang first probed the cultivation level of the person behind the gauze curtain. Almost instantly, she heard a disdainful sneer from the person behind the curtain.
Before her mental power, which had come back without any success, could return to her sea of consciousness, Mu Liushuang was already covered in cold sweat, kneeling on the ground in fear, lowering her head.
When she entered the Starview Pavilion earlier, Mu Liushuang had already formed a basic inference about who wanted to see her. It turned out to be him, just as she suspected.
Unlike human cultivators, pure-blooded demonic beasts are born with robust bodies and an almost smooth path of cultivation. Bai Chunsheng reached the early stage of Nascent Soul stage as soon as he hatched. In his later life, just eating and drinking could surpass the efforts of many cultivators for a decade or even several decades, or even hundreds of years. If nothing unexpected happened in this life, he would likely reach the late stage of Mahayana Stage like his grandmother, which was just a matter of time.
Bai Chunsheng lazily asked, “What happened in the Lian Guang Secret Realm?”
Mu Liushuang shook her head, “I-I don’t know.”
“You were in the Lian Guang Secret Realm, and you don’t know what happened?!” Bai Chunsheng frowned. If it weren’t for the fact that the elders who went to the Lian Guang Secret Realm were summoned by the Sect Master and had not returned yet, and if some people who knew the situation were not so secretive about it, he wouldn’t have stooped to asking an outer sect disciple who seemed to know nothing: “Say something you know.”
Mu Liushuang quickly shook her head in fear, “I don’t know anything.”
She knelt on the ground, bowing her head, and heard footsteps until she saw a pair of silver-white narcissus-patterned boots appear in her field of vision. Bai Chunsheng said, “Alright, then raise your head.”
His voice seemed to carry an irresistible force, and Mu Liushuang involuntarily raised her head. Standing in front of her was a man who looked very young. He didn’t appear as fierce and sinister as rumored; on the contrary, he was extremely handsome, especially those eyes that seemed to be painted with lacquer.
As their eyes met, Mu Liushuang’s consciousness immediately blanked for a moment. When she came to her senses, Bai Chunsheng had already turned and left. “You’re good to go now,” he said.
Hearing these words, Mu Liushuang suppressed the urge to run away, bowed her head, and walked out of the Starview Pavilion as if fleeing.
Bai Chunsheng remained silent for a moment, reclining back in his own chair.
He had already looked through most of Mu Liushuang’s memories regarding the Lian Guang Secret Realm, and she was right—she really didn’t know anything.
The structure of the Lian Guang Secret Realm was extremely peculiar. Inside, there was a dense fog and narrow paths that seemed to stretch endlessly. Countless monsters would emerge from the mist, and the realm encouraged cultivators to turn against each other. The rewards for killing cultivators were greater than those for killing monsters, so almost everyone encountered in the realm was a potential enemy.
The paths at the intersection were ever-changing, and even if she were to turn back, it wouldn’t be the same route she had taken before.
Mu Liushuang’s survival from the Lian Guang Secret Realm was purely due to her good luck and fortune. Along the way, she hardly encountered anyone or any monsters. The only peculiar encounter was with a Sword Cultivator.
Having just survived a fierce battle and sustaining minor injuries, she nervously turned a corner and happened to witness the Sword Cultivator slaying a monstrous fog beast the size of a small hill.
He stood amidst the pool of blood, meticulously wiping his sword. As the fog beast’s blood slowly dissipated, the ground revealed a reward from the Secret Realm for the Sword Cultivator’s action – a black mountain demon mask with twin horns.
With a flick of his hand, the Sword Cultivator donned the mask. It seemed like he glanced in Mu Liushuang’s direction, but for some reason, he did nothing and simply walked away.
After that encounter, Mu Liushuang encountered no one else. It wasn’t until the collapse of the Secret Realm that the elders of the Ten Thousand Demon Sect, taking advantage of the chaos, took her away.
From Mu Liushuang’s perspective, the Sword Cultivator was probably a righteous cultivator unwilling to kill. The reason he felt strange wasn’t because Mu Liushuang found him strange, but because Bai Chunsheng found him strange.
Not for any other reason, but because the final glance of the Sword Cultivator didn’t seem directed at Mu Liushuang, who was only at the Nascent Soul stage, but rather seemed to pierce through the passage of time and the numerous figures, landing on Bai Chunsheng.
It’s hard to say. Besides the mighty cultivators who have transcended realms and mastered the Great Dao, some mysterious techniques can also perceive the intricate web of cause and effect through time. Judging from his instinctive combat ability to slay the Nascent Soul stage fog beast with a single sword, perhaps this swordsman was one of the inheritors of such a profound Dao technique.
Of course, there might be another reason. The Sword Cultivator’s back looked strangely familiar.
Bai Chunsheng clicked his tongue. Even if Yan Jingqiu hadn’t died, he wouldn’t be such a minor Sword Cultivator. Saying that this Sword Cultivator could be Yan Yi is more reliable than thinking he resembles Yan Jingqiu. If he got it wrong, then he got it wrong.
Mu Liushuang’s memory contained almost nothing of value.
At the thought of this, Bai Chunsheng couldn’t help but frown. He opened the Heaven’s Pride Board placed on the incense table beside him, and the first name on it had already changed to a completely unfamiliar one.
“Yan Yi,” Bai Chunsheng murmured softly.
Huge shoutout to @_nyanmaru_ on Discord for commissioning this! The chapter will be posted regularly, show your support for Ciacia at Kofi.
<Previous Chapter<Table of Contents>Next Chapter>
