Chapter 31 Part 1

In the quiet room, vital energy boiled like water.

Incense smoke rose languidly from the altar table. Through the haze, the figure seated cross-legged on the cushion appeared indistinct.

Suddenly, a faint sound emerged. The cinnabar sand placed in front of her shattered with a crack, then turned to flying ash scattered by the breeze.

Li Ruoshui opened her eyes and slowly exhaled a breath of turbid qi, withdrawing her boiling vital energy.

After Ying Wugui achieved the Cave Heaven Realm, she had expressed her gratitude to her fellow Daoists by conjuring a full month of spiritual rain in Sea True Mansion using great spells and spirit medicines. It contained profound Dao insights, benefiting the cultivators greatly. Many who were stuck at the peak of Fixed Heart Third Layer broke through to the Golden Core Realm in one go.

But not Li Ruoshui.

Her magic power had reached the Golden Core Realm, but it was all illusory. Her true experience bar only increased by slaying ruin spirits.

However, borrowing that vigorous and prosperous spiritual energy, she had advanced her Universe One Qi Palm a little.

After the month of spiritual rain ended, she did not rush to leave Sea True Mansion. Instead, she continued cultivating in the quiet room until the overflowing energy settled, then stepped out of the room.

Not long after Li Ruoshui passed through the gate, a sword light streaked from the horizon and transformed into a familiar figure standing ahead.

“Fellow Daoist, you’ve emerged from seclusion?” Shi Yu looked at Li Ruoshui in surprise.

Li Ruoshui responded affirmatively and asked, “Does Fellow Daoist Shi know why the new restrictions in the Dharma Realm were imposed?”

Before entering seclusion, Li Ruoshui had still been concerned about her severed source of wealth and had asked Shi Yu to investigate.

Shi Yu blinked. “I heard it came from Taiyi Sect?” She hadn’t delved into such news. Even if betting was banned in the Tianyan Mirror, gambling dens still operated in various cities.

Li Ruoshui: “…”

She couldn’t fathom what Taiyi Sect was up to. As expected, the people of that sect were all a bit abnormal.

Shi Yu spoke excitedly, “By the way, something happened on the Empire’s side.”

Li Ruoshui was still aching over her lost spirit jade pills. She lazily glanced at Shi Yu and asked listlessly, “Who died, or who came back from the dead?”

Shi Yu raised her brow with a smile. “After my honored master achieved Cave Heaven Realm, we gained a foothold on the East Sea. Though we clashed with Empire Daoists, they won’t mobilize troops for a large-scale purge of us loose cultivators anymore. However, they couldn’t let Rong Ji’s death slide, so they pushed the True Yang Li Clan forward as scapegoats.”

“The True Yang Li Clan were Rong Ji’s confidants, but in the end, they bore the infamy of colluding with outsiders to harm him. Who knows how they offended those clans. Once the Li Clan was exterminated, the Empire’s Sheng Clans were left with only the Heavenly Fate Liang Clan, Futu Gao Clan, and Tianwei Chen Clan.” Shi Yu spoke with schadenfreude.

“Maybe they were just unlucky.” Li Ruoshui’s expression remained unchanged, making no mention of how she had sown discord during her battle with the Empire Daoists. The True Yang Li Clan had backed the wrong horse; with their patron dead, their destruction was inevitable. It was a pity her alt account “Li Feishuang” hadn’t been used for long.

Composing herself, Li Ruoshui asked, “Are there Return to Ruins Gaps within the Empire’s borders?”

Return to Ruins Gaps were products of clashing positive and negative energies—spatial rifts. Few grew large enough like the Path of No Return to accommodate Cave Heaven ruin spirits, but small, fine rifts were plentiful.

After the Empire’s Nation-Securing Chart was sealed away, Empire Daoists who didn’t go to rifts controlled by other sects could only hunt in minor crevices. Resources were scarce there, but for Heart Fixing Realm cultivators, ruin spirits for tempering abounded.

“There are.” Shi Yu nodded. “Return to Ruins Gaps are dangerous places. Wherever they appear in the Nine Provinces, major sects strictly control them to prevent ruin spirits from escaping and causing havoc. The Empire has hundreds of minor Return to Ruins Gaps, all held by the imperial family and Sheng Clans. On the surface, they allow visiting cultivators like other sects, but in secret—”

Shi Yu trailed off.

It didn’t take posting wanted posters on city walls to make someone a fugitive.

Fellow Daoist Li was their accomplice. If she were an Empire cultivator, she would surely trip up Li Shangshan in secret, letting her die in a Return to Ruins Gap.

“If Fellow Daoist has time, why not wait a bit? A Return to Ruins Gap might grow on the East Sea.”

Li Ruoshui: “How long is ‘a bit’?”

Shi Yu hesitated uncertainly. “Three to five years?”

Li Ruoshui glanced at her. “Then why not go temper myself in other sects’ Return to Ruins Gaps?”

Shi Yu: “…” She was too principled to refute. Frowning in thought, she slapped her forehead. “Right, there’s one place whose Return to Ruins Gap the Empire hasn’t seized!”

Li Ruoshui’s eyes lit up. “Oh?”

“Baiyang Town.” Shi Yu said, “A Golden Core Realm Daoist guards it there. She hasn’t joined our East Sea Alliance but isn’t on good terms with the Empire either. Her status is special—she’s imperial royalty. Unless she commits a grave error, no one will touch her. Fellow Daoist can go without worrying about personal vendettas.”

Li Ruoshui noted the name and cupped her hands toward Shi Yu. “Many thanks, Fellow Daoist Shi. Farewell.”

Without waiting for Shi Yu to persuade her to stay, she turned into a wisp of smoke and fled westward.

On the East Sea, islands dotted the waters like stars on a chessboard.

Not a single Empire dragon boat patrolled. Li Ruoshui no longer worried about anyone peddling “redemption talismans” to her.

Several days later, Li Ruoshui set foot on the shore near a small fishing village, where several Heart Fixing Realm cultivator auras lingered. Uninterested in asking them for information, she directly took out her Tianyan Mirror.

She had few friends, and few messages awaited.

During her months of secluded cultivation, Feng Qing had briefly surfaced, leaving a string of censored words.

But now, Feng Qing’s name seal was dim, likely immersed in tempering again.

Li Ruoshui messaged Chen Buyan: “Dear friend, I’ve decided to find a Return to Ruins Gap for tempering.” It was the 950th year of the Supreme Nine Epochs; forty-seven years remained until the novel entered the apocalyptic plot.

Chen Buyan’s name seal lit up. She replied, “Good. Take care, Fellow Daoist.”

Li Ruoshui blinked, puzzled inwardly. Her dear friends always replied instantly—did they live online? Or had they split off a wisp of divine sense into the Tianyan Mirror? Before she could ask, another message came from Chen Buyan.

Chen Buyan: “In two years, the Prodigy List will appear in the Tianyan Mirror. All Golden Core Realm Daoists qualify to compete.”

Prodigy List? Unheard of. But she knew the Tianyan Mirror had many useless rankings, like the golden list for ascending the Heavenly Ladder—flashy but empty.

Before she could say “no interest,” Li Ruoshui changed her tune at Chen Buyan’s next words: “The rewards are extremely generous.”

Chen Buyan: “Hosted by the Empire this time, but the top twenty rewards come jointly from the Nine Provinces’ sects. The champion’s haul can support cultivation to Nascent Soul Third Layer. Past champions, barring untimely deaths, all reached Cave Heaven.”

All treasures—hers!

Li Ruoshui’s eyes gleamed. “I shall burn the midnight oil and pierce my thigh with an awl to enter Golden Core Realm in two years, living up to Fellow Daoist’s expectations.”

Lian Rusu read Li Ruoshui’s words and felt an inexplicable unease. Determination was good, but blind pursuit of progress could backfire. Vital energy now flourished several times more than when she entered Golden Core Realm, but she wasn’t sure if this generation’s cultivators could seize the chance to soar.

She added, “Fellow Daoist Shangshan, do your best, but prioritize your foundation.” She sent a Dharma Transmission Jade Slip. “Vow Dao cultivation is unique, with few precedents. Even among Vow Daoists, scriptures vary, leading to myriad techniques. This jade slip contains records of Vow Dao predecessors I gathered from everywhere.”

Li Ruoshui’s eyes widened. Being mentored by a top student made her pores relax and her heart race.

“Fellow Daoist’s great kindness— I know not how to repay it.” Sincere words.

Chen Buyan: “When Fellow Daoist plucks the Dao Fruit one day, that will be repayment enough.”

Li Ruoshui pressed her chest.

Xianchen Undefiled—her great, selfless friend truly lived up to her name.

But she couldn’t.

What if her friend discovered her true face? Better to stay online friends. Li Ruoshui fretted briefly, then cast worries to the winds.

She scanned the Dharma Transmission Jade Slip. Dense tiny script flooded in.

Her friend meant well, sharing how predecessors cultivated, but sorry—her attention snagged on “died on such-and-such date.”

Emptying hell was impossible; compassionate Buddhists perished for the cause.

Governing for the public was hard; Confucian scholars with hearts for the masses perished.

Spreading Dharma so all had Dao seeds? Fantasy; Vow Daoists who swore such perished too.

Li Ruoshui: “…” Were all Vow Dao cultivators this noble?

Predecessors aimed for utmost purity and goodness. The Lord of Return to Ruins might die against heaven, but human malice endured.

Good thing she expected none from humanity.

Better to annihilate than redeem.

Stowing the jade slip, Li Ruoshui searched the Dharma Realm for Baiyang Town.

The town lay on the Empire’s eastern edge, Futu Gao Clan territory, guarded by a Golden Core Stage real person.

But hadn’t Shi Yu said an imperial Daoist oversaw that Return to Ruins Gap? Was that Liang-surnamed Golden Core real person an imperial agent? Or was there an unnamed Nascent Soul?

Li Ruoshui speculated fruitlessly and gave up, heading straight for Baiyang Town.

Half a month later, she reached the outskirts.

Twilight fell; birds returned to nests.

Fields of medicinal herbs stretched endlessly, with farmers toiling diligently.

Li Ruoshui recognized the herb: Tianhe Grass, a spirit plant needing constant care. Without sufficient moisture, it withered in moments.

The villagers were mortals, yet their buckets emitted spiritual qi—specially formulated spirit water. But spirit water differed from mortal water; a bucket’s weight could crush an adult’s shoulders. As Li Ruoshui watched, a girl of about sixteen dropped her bucket, and nearby Tianhe Grass wilted.