Chapter 24

The wild woods stretch for thousands of miles, ancient peaks, untamed forest.
A place that should have been deserted, now crowded with cultivators from all across the land.
Here, the entrance to the Ancient God Dongyue’s divine road had revealed itself. When a local woodcutter stumbled across it, every major cultivation sect began sending their disciples in droves, all hoping for heavenly fortune.
Inside the Dongyue Temple, everyone’s cultivation would be suppressed to the bare minimum, most high-grade artifacts or talismans useless. That’s why the cultivators arriving here wore not the usual elegant robes, but mail and leather, gripping bow and sword, ready for real danger.
A cultivator emerged from the forest, crisp leaves crunching beneath his feet, pausing as the rumble of something above drew his gaze up through the leafy canopy.
“Here come the Guiyuan Sect.”
A wind-ship drifted in on the clouds, settling gently atop the trees. A group of young cultivators disembarked.
At the front, a man dressed in white light-armor, handsome as a jade idol; just behind him, a woman clad in red battle robes, looking every inch the valiant general.
“Is that Fu Yun from Guiyuan Sect, the senior brother?”
“Not just him: look, that’s moonlit Lord of the Clouds, and the culinary genius Miao Hong’er. Both senior brother and sister from Xiaoyao Peak are here, and there’s Yang Jun from Tiezhu Peak, too. Talk about an all-star team! Nearly every standout from the new generation showed up.”
“But, who’s that kid? Why is Senior Brother Fu holding a child?”
“Haha, is our famously aloof Fu Yun finally stuck on babysitting duty?”
Fu Yun of Guiyuan Sect looked as serene and untouchable as ever, every line on his face carved from aloof dignity. Except now, he was holding a tiny six-year-old girl with twin buns atop her head.
The little one, pale and soft like a lotus bud, raven hair in silky puffs, perched on her senior brother’s arm, those big round eyes darting curiously from one wonder to the next.
The handsome “male god” carrying a child instantly stepped down from his pedestal, gaining the warm, everyday air of an older brother from the mortal world.
After getting off the boat, Fu Yun said nothing. Holding Mu Xue in his arms, he led the group of fellow disciples straight toward the stone wall ahead.
The steep, solid cliff rippled like water the moment they touched it, swallowing the entire group inside before returning to its original state.
Beyond the stone wall, the world changed abruptly.
The lush forests and layered mountain ranges vanished. In their place stretched an endless, desolate plain.
This was a world forgotten by the gods, where everything left behind by the ancient giant deities was buried. The traces of humanity’s former prosperity had been forever frozen in this boundless stretch of time, collapsed giant statues, ruined houses scattered across the wilderness. A gust of wind lifted the sand and rattled broken doors, the creaking of hinges shrill in the air.
Dark doorways hung with tattered curtains stared silently at the living figures walking along the road.
Time seemed to have stopped here. A dim, eternal sunset hung at the edge of the sky, dyeing the entire world in an unchanging shade of orange.
Across the wasteland lay scattered beautiful stones of five different colors. It was said that the gods once walked here, leaving behind traces of the Five-Colored Divine Stones. For that reason, the paths formed by those stones were called the Divine Paths. They stretched and intertwined endlessly toward the horizon, their destination unknown.
The group walked slowly along the multicolored Divine Path.
By the roadside lay a toppled statue of a giant demon god. Such unknown ancient deities could be seen everywhere along the way. The statue depicted a graceful female figure draped in light gauze and golden bracelets, with many arms and hands. Behind her back was a massive circular wheel larger than her own body. Her head alone towered several stories high.
As they passed beneath that enormous head, the statue’s lowered gaze seemed to look down upon the living flesh walking before it, making people feel an instinctive dread. Occasionally, the phantom forms of enormous demonic beasts wreathed in gray smoke drifted across the sky overhead, emitting low, rumbling growls.
The young female disciples in the group couldn’t help quickening their steps, crowding closer behind Fu Yun.
A few young male disciples at the back felt somewhat uncomfortable and began muttering quietly among themselves.
“Senior Brother Fu’s cultivation may be profound, but this is the Dongyue Temple. Both the Immortal and Demonic paths are suppressed here. Aren’t we all the same?”
“I’ve spent years cultivating body techniques. A place like this is exactly where they shine. Junior Brother Fu looks so refined, he might not even be as capable as the rest of us.”
“Exactly. He looks so pale and delicate. He definitely can’t be stronger than you, Senior Brother,” a junior sister who had appeared at their side at some point chimed in.
Looking closely, this junior sister wore a pale yellow gauze dress. She had an oval face, a delicate nose, and smiling crescent eyes. She looked seventeen or eighteen, pure and innocent in appearance, yet naturally carrying a seductive charm. Raising her sleeve, she smiled sweetly and asked, “Senior Brother looks very impressive. What cultivation technique do you practice?”
The male cultivator straightened proudly. “I practice the Indestructible Vajra Technique. I’ve trained since childhood, and now I’ve reached the fourth level.”
The junior sister bit her red lip lightly, her beautiful eyes glancing sideways. “Hehe… so it’s a virgin cultivation technique.”
That soft giggle seemed to steal a person’s soul away; one almost felt like offering their heart to her.
“May I ask which uncle-master you study under, Junior Sister? I don’t recall seeing you before.”
“I’m not under anyone. I’m from the Liu family. My name is Liu Luchun.”
“Liu? I don’t think the sect has any, ”
The man was still puzzled when his companion suddenly reacted and hurriedly pulled him aside.
“A demonic cultivator! She’s a demonic cultivator!”
The Immortal Spirit Realm passed down its traditions through sects, while the Demon Spirit Realm organized itself through families. The Liu family was one of the four great families of the Demon Spirit Realm.
“Why are you so nervous? I was just joking,” Liu Luchun said, reaching out to pinch the body cultivator’s cheek. She brought her fingers to her nose and sniffed. “Haha, the smell of virgin cultivation isn’t bad. It’s just that every one of you is too weak. I doubt any of you could withstand even a single move from me.”
Her skirt fluttered as she moved, weaving freely through the group as if no one were there.
A long leg suddenly swept toward her with a burst of force. Miao Hong’er curled her fingers into claws and shouted sharply, “Trying to run? It won’t be that easy. Stay!”
Liu Luchun’s waist was astonishingly flexible. Her entire body bent backward like a noodle, twisting at an impossible angle to barely avoid the attack. “Where did such a fierce young lady come from? I’m not playing with you anymore.”
Just as she was about to escape, a streak of cold light shot straight toward her. Liu Luchun turned sideways to dodge, only to see the light tremble in midair, splitting into five, then ten, then a hundred. The attacks rained down upon her like a storm.
It was a sword technique called the Nine Plum Blossom Arts. Hidden within it was the principle of ninefold transformation and generation. Even without spiritual power, it remained extremely powerful.
A handsome young man stood there, pushing a child aside with one hand while wielding a sword with the other. Points of icy light burst forth like plum blossoms blooming in winter.
Liu Luchun tried to evade again, but the red-clad woman who had intercepted her earlier attacked once more with fists and kicks. One wielded a sword, the other fists, their advance and retreat perfectly coordinated, a level of teamwork rarely seen in the world.
Caught off guard, Liu Luchun finally suffered a loss. A shallow cut appeared across her face.
“Well done! Since you’re so bold, I’ll properly play with you Immortal Realm brats today.”
Liu Luchun flew into a rage. As a demonic cultivator at the early Golden Core stage, she considered her cultivation formidable. She had assumed that even with spiritual power suppressed, these mere Foundation Establishment juniors wouldn’t amount to anything.
Yet the moment she entered, she had already taken a loss.
Now she narrowed her eyes and straightened her posture. Her voice lost its sweet charm, the girlish air vanishing in an instant. With a sinister expression, she drew a whip from her waist and snapped it through the air.
The whip was coated with potent poison and covered in barbs. Even the slightest touch would cause injury. It was a vicious weapon Liu Luchun often used for attack and self-defense.
Just as she raised the whip to strike, her gaze suddenly landed on the little girl being protected behind the young man.
The child was staring at her with dark, pitch-black eyes.
Though it was impossible that she had ever met this child before, a strange fear rose in Liu Luchun’s heart, the same kind of fear she had once felt in her youth under the domination of an iron fist.
She couldn’t understand where this fear came from. She only felt an inexplicable urge to leave immediately.
Right, there were still important matters to attend to. Why waste time fighting a bunch of little brats?
Liu Luchun bolted, her wild laughter trailing behind her in the wind: “Little pretty-boy, I’ll remember you! I’ll get payback for this one day, just you wait!”
I’ll remember you too. Nasty brat from the Liu family, Mu Xue glared at her fleeing figure, thoroughly annoyed.
Back then, this same Miss Liu set her sights on my disciple, constantly egging on the Yan family heiress to bully Xiao Shan. One day, I caught a glimpse of Xiao Shan hiding in the alley outside our home, bravely biting a towel to dress his own wounds. Furious, I personally cornered that black-hearted little brat outside hher own house and gave her the beating of her life. Only then did she learn her lesson.
Who could have guessed that now I’d be stuck as a six-year-old girl, while she’s out there as a Golden Core cultivator? Power really does trump everything, who can I even cry to?
Just a random passing demonic cultivator was enough to throw the whole group into chaos, like it was only a game to her.
From this moment on, the disciples of Guiyuan Sect, who’d only ever sparred courteously behind the safety of their mountain gates, suddenly saw how ruthless the world could be, and just how little real combat experience they actually had.
After that scare, everyone was on edge. They trailed carefully down the divine road, and soon reached the ruins of an old town.
Disciples from all the sects who’d entered earlier were gathered here, resting and regrouping, this spot had effectively become a safe zone on the outskirts of the divine road.
“Remember: don’t go wandering deep into the Dongyue Temple, just stay close to this base. Hong’er and I have business elsewhere, so we’ll be leaving for a while.” Fu Yun brought his younger disciples to the meeting point and prepared to take off.
But Mu Xue suddenly raised her tiny hand and, completely oblivious, pointed at the top of a roadside statue. “Senior brother, there’s a flower up there, I want it.”
Fu Yun looked up. Sure enough, wedged in a crack by the spinning stone wheel atop the statue, a delicate little white flower trembled in the breeze.
It was so tiny and inconspicuous amid all those intricate carvings, you’d hardly notice it at all.
“Seriously? How spoiled can you get…” The senior sisters traveling with them exchanged disapproving whispers.
“Is now really the time to have senior brother risk his neck climbing up there just to pick her a flower?”
“Why’d Senior Brother Fu have to drag that little deadweight along, anyway?”
“Heard she’s the youngest at Xiaoyao Peak, everyone knows how that place spoils their disciples rotten.”
Everyone waited for Fu Yun to scold the girl for being so willful.
But Fu Yun had already made his move, he vaulted up, white robes fluttering. Leveraging himself up the statue, he barely touched the stone before floating higher, toeing another ledge. He grabbed the spinning stone wheel with one hand and plucked the flower, roots and all, before dropping lightly back to the ground.
Xiaoyao Peak really does spoil their brats, watching this, the female disciples bit their handkerchiefs, equal parts jealous and admiring.
Mu Xue reached out both hands, waiting for her prize.
Fu Yun held the flower just out of reach. “If you want this, you’d better behave, stay put right here, don’t run off, and wait for me and Senior Sister to come back. Got it?”
Mu Xue nodded eagerly, all promises. “Xiao Xue always listens!”
If you actually behaved, you wouldn’t have had the guts to come somewhere this dangerous in the first place, he thought wryly.
Brow furrowed, Fu Yun gave in and handed her the flower at last. Then he waved for Miao Hong’er and headed into the deeper reaches of the Dongyue Temple.
“Junior brother, you don’t seem to like Xiao Xue very much?” Miao Hong’er asked when they’d left camp. “You act a little strange around her, you know?”
“It’s not that I dislike her, exactly. She just feels… off. She’s so young, yet every time I look at her, there’s something about her I can’t quite see through.”
Fu Yun wasn’t one for small talk, but he was sharp, always picking up on little things. Lately, something had been eating at him: that first night he’d stood watch at the Healing Hall, the sudden weight of a gaze at his back.
He never found the person, but he remembered that feeling, powerful, detached, completely unreadable. No way was that an ordinary kid.
“What’re you daydreaming about?” Miao Hong’er nudged him. “Xiao Xue was picked out by our Master himself, you ever see Master make a mistake? Honestly, when Master first chose you, I thought you were a terrible fit! Cold, standoffish, like a stone with a temper. Not at all the cute little brother I imagined. But, hey, after all these years, haven’t you turned out all right?”
Fu Yun shot her the classic cold-stone glare. Miao Hong’er realized she’d just put her foot in her mouth and scratched her nose to change the subject.
“Xiao Xue’s a good kid. She won’t admit it, but she’s really worried about Hangzhou’s injury, that’s why she insisted on coming along. Frankly, if I weren’t worried she’d sneak in on her own, I wouldn’t have brought her here either.”
Fu Yun sighed. “Either way, I brought her in myself, and I’ll make sure I bring her out in one piece, I don’t want Master stressing out on her account.”
Back at camp, Yang Jun from Tiezhu Peak was lounging around, chatting with some friends from Tianyan Sect next door.
“My Master finally came to his senses and let me join him in this secret realm,” he gushed. “Honestly, it's either noodles every day, or babysitting little brats at the Huayu Hall, I was about to go stir crazy!”
His friend clapped him on the shoulder: “Ha! Doesn’t happen often, you and me can really catch up this time.”
Just then, a little girl with twin buns in her hair walked by, swinging a white flower. She flashed a sweet smile and called out, “Senior brother!”
“Hey, let me introduce you, this is Hangzhou’s little junior sister. Ever since they got her, he’s been flaunting her like a treasure wherever he goes.”
“Xiao Xue, this is Senior Brother Lu Yihong from Tianyan Sect, call him Brother Lu. Oh, wait, Yihong, Hangzhou came here ahead of us, have you seen him around? Do you know where he’s at?”
Lu Yihong’s expression flickered, but he forced a smile. “Maybe he went deeper into the Domain? This place is a maze, people get lost for weeks at a time.”
He quickly changed the subject, turning to Mu Xue. “I'm from Tianyan Sect, but your senior brothers and I go way back. If you run into any trouble here, just treat me like your own brother.”
The little girl twirled the white flower between her fingers and gave a delicate bow. “Thank you, Brother Lu. When I was on the mountain, my senior brother always talked about how much you helped him, I’ve always remembered that.”