“Oh, so he’s your master, Senior Brother. How did you end up with a master like that?” The youth in black gave him a mournful look. “How rude of me. I had no idea he was your master. You’re not going to silence me, are you?”
“Of course not! I, Bai Xiaohen, conduct myself with integrity…” Bai Xiaohen suddenly stopped. “Wait, no. My master would never do such a thing. There must be some misunderstanding!”
“Are you sure?” The youth gave him a meaningful look. “I hear Immortal Venerable Suyu used to be a general in the mortal world, known as the Butcher. Are you certain he doesn’t have any peculiar tastes?”
Bai Xiaohen’s expression stiffened. He honestly couldn’t be certain. “…What’s your wife’s name? What does he look like?”
“My wife has the beauty of a celestial, unmatched in this world. As for his name, I’d rather not say. His reputation is at stake.” The youth sighed. “The day he was taken, I promised I’d come find him in thirty years. I wonder if he still remembers.”
Bai Xiaohen’s thoughts tangled into knots. He forced a laugh, offered a few words of reassurance, then hurriedly gave the nearby disciples some instructions. Turning, he became a streak of light and sped toward the gates of the Yaoshang Sect.
The youth in black watched him disappear and started forward, only for the disciple handling registration to stop him.
“Wait. You can’t go in yet.”
“Why?” The youth looked at him calmly. “I’ve paid the spirit stones and registered my name and background. Why can’t I enter?”
“Sect orders. Everyone seeking admission must be personally inspected by Senior Brother Bai. No one can enter without his approval.”
“But as you can see, Senior Brother Bai isn’t here. Do you know when he’ll return? You can’t keep all these people waiting here forever.”
The disciple looked troubled, but remained firm. “I’m sorry. Those are the sect’s orders. Anyone Senior Brother Bai hasn’t inspected cannot enter.”
The youth raised an eyebrow. “And the reason? We willingly paid spirit stones to register. That should show we’re sincere about joining. If the Yaoshang Sect is going to waste our time, surely you owe us an explanation?”
The people waiting behind him had been there too long and began to complain as well.
The Yaoshang Sect disciple sighed helplessly. “Have any of you heard of Xiushui City? Thirty years ago, it was one of the Qingyun Empire’s twenty eight principal cities in the Eastern Region of Central Province.”
“Xiushui City? Never heard of it,” someone said in confusion. “Doesn’t the Qingyun Empire only have twenty seven principal cities?”
“You haven’t even heard of Xiushui City? Well, at your age, I suppose that’s no surprise. It was thirty years ago, after all. But if I told you it was where Immortal Venerable Shuanghua slew the greater demon Qu Feng, would that ring a bell?”
“Xiushui City was where Immortal Venerable Shuanghua killed the demon king? Why have we never heard of it?”
“It’s only natural that you haven’t. Xiushui City fell thirty years ago. That’s why the Qingyun Empire now has twenty seven principal cities instead of twenty eight.”
“How could a principal city of the Qingyun Empire fall? Did it have something to do with that demon king?”
“It did, but it also had to do with the city lord’s household.”
“Back then, Immortal Venerable Shuanghua happened upon the greater demon Qu Feng devouring human flesh and blood. Its cultivation was approaching the Demon King realm, so he pursued it all the way to Xiushui. What he discovered was that the Zhong clan ruling the city had nurtured that demon king for generations with the flesh and blood of their own people. The city was full of demon thralls, and the serpent lay coiled beneath the city lord’s residence. It only revealed its original form when its Demon King lightning tribulation descended.”
“Feeding a demon with mortal flesh and blood? No wonder Xiushui City was destroyed.”
“Exactly. Its young city lord was even worse, utterly ruthless and insatiably greedy. They say he deliberately spread news of Immortal Venerable Shuanghua and the demon king to lure cultivators to Xiushui City so he could feed them to the demon. He nearly turned every cultivator and mortal in the city into a demon thrall. In the end, Immortal Venerable Shuanghua had to kill him, and Xiushui City fell with him.”
“What does any of that have to do with us joining the sect today?”
“Everything,” the disciple explained. “What you may not know is that Senior Brother Bai practices an ocular art. Once he activates it, he can see any spiritual power or demonic energy concealed within a person. Nothing can hide from him.”
The youth in black, who had said little throughout the exchange, spoke at leisure. “Even so, we can’t just stand here waiting indefinitely. Why not ask Senior Brother Bai what he wants us to do?”
The disciple had no choice but to contact Bai Xiaohen by voice transmission. It took two attempts before he received a reply. He hurriedly explained the situation, and Bai Xiaohen clicked his tongue.
“Just have them pass the Demon Suppression Stone when you test their spiritual roots!”
The disciple was about to point out that the stone wasn’t as accurate as Bai Xiaohen’s eyes, otherwise why would the Immortal Venerable have specifically summoned him for this task? But Bai Xiaohen had already ended the transmission. With a sigh, the disciple could only comply, hoping for the best. Surely there couldn’t be that many greater demons. There had only been two in all these years. Their grandmaster had killed one, and their Immortal Venerable had killed the other. Lesser demons would never dare come to the Yaoshang Sect, and it would do them no good if they did.
Two stones were placed on the desk. The first tested spiritual roots and was transparent with a faint whitish cast. The other, a Demon Suppression Stone that could sense demonic energy, was red throughout.
The disciple looked first at the youth in black. “Come forward.”
The youth placed his hand on the stone for testing spiritual roots. For a long while, nothing happened. Just as the disciple was about to send him away, a faint red glow appeared.
“A low grade fire spiritual root.” Sounding slightly disappointed, the disciple told him to touch the Demon Suppression Stone.
The youth paused before slowly resting his hand on it. The red stone suddenly flashed. The disciple startled and nearly jumped, only for the glow to vanish again. He froze.
Had he imagined it?
“May I go now?” the youth asked.
“Yes.” The disciple nodded hesitantly, then reminded him, “There’s a second trial ahead. Make sure you listen carefully to the rules.”
The youth acknowledged him and headed up the mountain path.
【How were you so sure Bai Xiaohen would believe you and go confront his master?】
“I wasn’t. But if he didn’t believe me, I could make up a whole pile of stories. He’d believe one eventually. I didn’t expect him to fall for the first one.”
【Then what next? The moment he confronts Xu Moxing, he’ll know you lied. What will you do then?】
“When did I lie to him? I’m the one who was deceived. Someone disguised himself as his master and stole my wife. How would a poor, innocent widower like me know any better?”
【Impressive. Only you could talk your way around anything.】
“Nothing special. Just my usual performance.”
【Are you going to Wuxiang Peak, then?】
“…”
Not far ahead, a Yaoshang Sect disciple was waiting to lead everyone to the second trial. Song Liang stopped, but instead of looking forward, he raised his eyes to the highest peak east of Mount Zhaoyao. Clouds and mist wreathed its heights, making it seem both near and distant, at once an immortal paradise and a place of the mortal world.
He parted his lips to speak, only to hear footsteps behind him, followed by a worried voice.
“Qingchuan, you’re not well. Why don’t I carry you?”
“No need. The path of cultivation is long. If I can’t endure even this much hardship, what business do I have cultivating?”
The clear, cool voice was punctuated by labored breathing. A figure in moon white robes came up from behind him. It was a youth of eighteen or nineteen, slender and delicately handsome, with a cool expression and a tear mole at the corner of his eye. A trace of stubbornness shone in his amber eyes.
【Ding! Important NPC detected!】
【Main shou: Jiang Qingchuan, second son of the Jiang clan of Xuanyang City, Southern Region, Central Province. A reborn individual.】
Leave a comment