Chapter 48: The Wind And Moon Cross The Rivers And Seas (Part 10)
“Tch! A mere ox demon, and it couldn’t even recognize me!” Bai Chunsheng’s voice carried a hint of anger, though he remained rational enough to only express his dissatisfaction to Yan Yi through voice transmission.
On the surface, Bai Chunsheng did not make any strange noises. He merely flapped his wings angrily, looking thoroughly infuriated.
The female cultivator understood Bai Chunsheng’s body language and asked Yan Yi with interest, “Does it have intelligence?”
In theory, spirit beasts with intelligence wouldn’t rely on their masters like this. Most of them shared a cooperative relationship with their contractors rather than being so clingy. That was why she instinctively felt that the white duck in Yan Yi’s arms did not seem like a cultivator’s companion. It seemed more like a domesticated pet, lacking intelligence and entirely under control.
Many Nascent Soul cultivators who ascended from small worlds often brought their families and companions along. However, it was rare to see a late-stage Nascent Soul cultivator carrying a pet that had yet to develop intelligence. After all, in the vast world, countless opportunities and cultivation techniques existed that allowed spirit beasts to gain intelligence and cultivate like demon beasts.
Yan Yi uttered two words: “It doesn’t.”
Then, with a rather indifferent expression, he turned away. He shifted Bai Chunsheng in his arms, subtly discouraging Bai Chunsheng’s attempt to glare at the female cultivator and intimidate her into silence.
Fortunately, the demon woman wasn’t particularly persistent about Bai Chunsheng. Seeing Yan Yi’s cold demeanor, she begrudgingly dropped the subject.
To pass the inspection of the enforcement cultivators at the world’s rift, Bai Chunsheng had used a seal to temporarily suppress a portion of his cultivation. At present, he only appeared to be at the Foundation Establishment stage.
— Spirit beasts that had yet to awaken intelligence but had stepped onto the path of cultivation were usually at this level when they were first raised by cultivators.
They had talent, but not enough to be born with intelligence.
Bai Chunsheng thought viciously that if he ever encountered that ox demon again, things would be different. Next time, he would reveal his human form and scare her half to death.
Before long, it was Yan Yi’s turn in line.
After the earlier incident, Bai Chunsheng no longer worried about being recognized. His attention was now fixed on the densely packed bounty notices plastered on both sides of the city wall. These spiritually infused papers were layered upon one another, piling up so thickly that they seemed to make the city wall itself appear more massive.
“Name?” asked a masked Dao Stage cultivator.
Yan Yi had already placed his identity token onto the formation. “Ye Jingxing.”
As expected, the Taixu Sect still had no knowledge of this person’s death. His identity remained in the records, and Yan Yi had modified the aura of his bones just enough to deceive the formation.
The enforcement cultivator said nothing further and activated the teleportation array.
Yan Yi stepped into the formation, waiting for the light to envelop him.
At the very last moment before the glow completely engulfed them, Bai Chunsheng—who had been obediently staying in Yan Yi’s arms, pretending to be an ordinary spirit beast—vaguely overheard the Dao Stage cultivators whispering among themselves: “That name sounds familiar.”
The moment passed too quickly, making it feel like a hazy illusion, and Bai Chunsheng’s fleeting intuition vanished.
The spatial shift didn’t cause Yan Yi any discomfort, but Bai Chunsheng felt slightly dizzy. When he reopened his eyes, they were already in another grand hall bustling with people coming and going.
A voice urged impatiently from behind, “Hurry up! You’re blocking the way!”
Yan Yi remained silent, holding the duck in his arms. He lowered his gaze to glance at the person speaking—it wasn’t the ox demon from earlier who had been behind him in line.
This teleportation array didn’t only connect to the world’s rift. Occasionally, formations between smaller worlds would borrow its pathways as well.
The speaker was a man with messy brown hair that had not been tied up. His nose was slightly red, his cheeks bore a few brown freckles, and he wasn’t very tall. His appearance was delicate and pure, but his body carried a strong herbal scent.
Yan Haozhi felt a jolt in his heart under Yan Yi’s gaze.
The man before him had deep, piercing eyes and an exceptionally handsome face. His golden Daoist robe radiated an air of elegance and composure, making him seem like someone not to be trifled with.
Yan Haozhi’s brows twitched.
He had just returned from the Bibo Spirit Realm to the Middle Realm and had heard that the region was in complete chaos. Three revered cultivators had died in succession, and the once-mighty Tianqing Sect had fallen. Opportunities lay everywhere. Fifty years ago, he had advanced to the Dao Stage. A few months ago, deep within the Bibo Spirit Realm, he had been fortunate enough to encounter a Deep Sea Blue Whale. This rare, naturally born spirit beast possessed a magical song with effects that varied for each listener but were always beneficial. Encounters with such creatures were exceedingly rare, and hearing their song was considered an extraordinary stroke of luck.
The whale’s singing miraculously stabilized the unstable realm within Yan Haozhi’s body.
Securing such an opportunity right before the world descended into chaos, Yan Haozhi saw it as a divine sign. He had spent a month in seclusion within his cave dwelling, contemplating his next move. Finally, he gathered the courage to head to the Middle Realm, hoping to claim a share of the spoils.
During that month, Yan Haozhi had not been idle. As a demon with notoriously bad luck, he had been minding his own business in the Mountain Life Realm when he accidentally ran into the young Sword Sovereign and the Demon King Bai Chunsheng of the Ten Thousand Demon Sect before they had even risen to fame. Surviving under Yan Jingqiu’s blade was a tale he could brag about for a lifetime.
But luck wouldn’t always be on his side. Determined not to repeat past mistakes, he had spent the entire month memorizing the faces, names, and preferences of the major sects’ most important disciples in the Middle Realm. His goal was to recognize them on sight—and run in the opposite direction.
Yan Haozhi instinctively searched his memory for a match to Yan Yi’s distinguished presence.
—Nothing.
The answer was clear: this had to be a newly ascended sword cultivator from a small world, someone who had yet to learn that there was always someone stronger out there. The arrogant expression on his face was all too familiar.
Yan Haozhi sighed. Once upon a time, before he had suffered a proper beating, he had looked just like this. Even now, his horns hadn’t fully grown back.
Oh, well!
Yan Haozhi’s confidence surged. A mere late-stage Nascent Soul sword cultivator dared to look down on an Dao Stage demon like him?
He cleared his throat and barked, “What are you staring at?!”
Yan Yi, seeing that Yan Haozhi was just an ordinary Dao Stage demon, withdrew his gaze naturally. He stepped out of the formation, not bothering to respond.
Being ignored only made Yan Haozhi more anxious. It had taken him over three hundred years to reach Dao Stage stability, years filled with caution and vigilance. Finally, he had ascended, only to find himself isolated in the sparsely populated Bibo Spirit Realm.
He didn’t even have a place to show off before, so now that he finally had a chance to demonstrate his strength, how could he possibly let it slip away?
Seizing the opportunity, Yan Haozhi darted in front of Yan Yi, ready to assert his dominance. But before he could say a word, his eyes locked onto Bai Chunsheng’s.
Bai Chunsheng stared at him.
Yan Haozhi froze. Some primal instinct whispered familiarity.
Then, a voice he would never forget for the rest of his life spoke. Bai Chunsheng leisurely said, “You’ve come at the perfect time.”
—He and Yan Yi weren’t about to risk infiltrating the Ten Thousand Demon Sect themselves. They needed someone to gather information for them.
Bai Chunsheng lazily leaned against Yan Yi’s shoulder.
And this big-eared, curly-horned sheep had shown up at just the right moment—so eager, even, that he had chased after them.
Yan Haozhi’s vision darkened. His knees nearly buckled.
Author’s Note: An old acquaintance—Chapter 9, that giant curled-ear sheep.
Huge shoutout to @_nyanmaru_ on Discord for commissioning this! The chapter will be posted regularly, show your support for Ciacia at Kofi.
