Chapter 18: This Generation’s Master of Penglai Island Has a Serious Problem

An accident.

An accident.

It was an accident that came out of nowhere.

Cheng Huan blushed, released her grip, and stood up.

Lu Qing’an’s body was flushed red as she got up and dressed.

Then came endless silence and… silence.

The silence stretched on for a long time before Cheng Huan rubbed her nose. “Just now… I’m sorry.”

Lu Qing’an paused, pursed her lips, and said, “It’s nothing.”

Cheng Huan licked her dry lips and averted her gaze, taking in their surroundings. A flicker of discomfort crossed her face. She said, “This should be the Burial Ground of the Oracle Mystic Realm.”

Lu Qing’an looked up, a trace of surprise in her eyes. She scanned the area. “It looks a lot like the Outer Sect Grounds.”

Vast expanses of trees stretched out, their branches intertwining. The massive leaves blocked out the sky, forming an airtight canopy that brought a silent, oppressive weight down on them.

Fog of varying densities swirled around them, settling on their bodies with a sticky, cloying sensation.

No wind stirred, yet the trees seemed poised to move.

Every corner of this place was steeped in strangeness.

The spot where the two had landed was a platform built from slabs of bluestone. The platform wasn’t large, covered in moss, and just big enough for the two of them to lie on. It looked like a simple, unassuming foundation.

Cheng Huan took two steps forward when a sudden click sounded. Her right foot sank abruptly, as if she’d stepped on some kind of mechanism.

Lu Qing’an’s expression shifted, and she cried out urgently, “Cheng Huan?”

Cheng Huan’s face was relaxed with an air of complete confidence. She waved a hand to stop Lu Qing’an from coming closer. “It’s fine, don’t worry.”

Lu Qing’an stared intently at Cheng Huan, not daring to blink, afraid that a single moment of inattention would let something harm her.

Cheng Huan lifted her foot. The sunken stone slab immediately dropped. In the silent, still space, an old, grating sound echoed, like rusty gears grinding against each other. It was jarring, like a dull knife sawing against flesh, intensely discomforting.

The very moment Cheng Huan lifted her foot, Lu Qing’an immediately summoned her Natal Sword, placing it as a shield in front of Cheng Huan as she vigilantly scanned the surroundings.

The cloud-veiled layers of fog and dense branches, which had been obscuring everything, seemed to gain a will of their own. They parted to the sides, clearing a relatively open, narrow path for the two women.

The winding trail disappeared into the lush depths of the forest, its end unknown.

Beyond the sudden appearance of this nameless path, nothing else stirred.

Cheng Huan gently pressed down the hand that Lu Qing’an still held on her sword, and strode forward. “Let’s go.”

Lu Qing’an hesitated for a moment, then followed. “What was that just now?”

Cheng Huan explained, “A knuckle-rap on the door.”

“A knuckle-rap on the door?” Lu Qing’an looked down at the path beneath her feet—damp, muddy, and covered in moss.

The fog no longer obstructed the road, obediently retreating to both sides, coiling and swirling around like a living creature.

Sunlight seemed to find the gaps between the countless layers of leaves, squeezing through and casting a dappled pattern of light and shadow on the ground.

A gentle breeze rustled the leaves. In the shifting light and shadow, Lu Qing’an felt for a moment that this was nothing more than an ordinary, barren mountain.

“Mn, a knuckle-rap on the door,” Cheng Huan tilted her head to look at her. “This is the Burial Ground, the place where an Immortal fell in death. Though the body has long since gone, the soul lingers. Now that we’ve entered this domain, shouldn’t we greet the master first?”

Lu Qing’an was puzzled. “Were all those stone slabs a way to knock on the door?”

“No,” Cheng Huan said. “Some were just stone slabs. Others were lethal traps.”

“Have you been here before?” Lu Qing’an asked.

Cheng Huan hadn’t checked the condition of the stone slabs beforehand. She had stepped directly on one, with a certainty that suggested she already knew everything. Moreover, both of them had fallen into this unnamed territory together, yet Cheng Huan had instantly identified this as the Burial Ground of the Oracle Mystic Realm. It was all too strange.

Cheng Huan answered plainly, “In a way, yes.”

“When this Nameless Island first rose from the seabed, the first to discover it wasn’t a nearby fisherman. It was me.”

But at that time, Cheng Huan hadn’t cared about any changes in this world, so she paid it no mind. Later, a fisherman on a deep-sea expedition stumbled upon this out-of-place island, which finally led the world to discover the Oracle Mystic Realm.

Lu Qing’an hadn’t expected that the whole affair had started with Cheng Huan.

“If you’d been to the Oracle Mystic Realm before, why didn’t you take the Immortal Legacy for yourself?” Lu Qing’an was baffled. Cheng Huan had clearly seized every advantage, yet she had handed the opportunity to others.

She could have used the Immortal Legacy to transcend the Tribulation and become an Immortal! Even if the matter of the 100,000 Demon Cultists’ resurrection was something Cheng Huan couldn’t handle alone, she could have waited until she obtained the Immortal Legacy, then rallied the world’s cultivators to fight together.

Cheng Huan shrugged, spreading her hands. “I had no use for it.”

“No use for it?” Lu Qing’an had never heard anyone dismiss an Immortal Legacy with such disdain. “If you had obtained the Immortal Legacy, you could have Attained the Dao and Ascended.”

This was the dream that countless cultivators chased, the one thing they desired the most!

Cheng Huan naturally knew how important an Immortal Legacy was. But she had never intended to take it. And now, she wanted to give this Immortal Legacy to Lu Qing’an to raise her cultivation. It was also so her retirement life could proceed perfectly.

“It’s for you,” Cheng Huan said frankly.

Lu Qing’an stiffened. “What?”

Cheng Huan said, “I never had any intention of fighting for the Immortal Legacy. The reason I had everyone from the Primordial Pavilion leave was to help you obtain it, to let you raise your cultivation, break through your realm, and ascend sooner.”

A buzzing sound filled Lu Qing’an’s head. She stared at Cheng Huan in disbelief.

She didn’t need to be told how important an Immortal Legacy was. Even young children knew how mighty it was, the thing that drew countless cultivators like moths to a flame.

Lu Qing’an knew Cheng Huan was good to her. She saw it, she remembered it, and she planned to repay her and cherish her thoroughly in the future.

But now, the things Cheng Huan was giving her were growing increasingly precious, far beyond anything she could have imagined.

She had thought Cheng Huan kept her in the Oracle Mystic Realm for companionship, so she could contribute her strength when Cheng Huan absorbed the Immortal Legacy. Lu Qing’an had secretly resolved to protect her with her life.

But in this moment, hearing Cheng Huan say she would give the Immortal Legacy to her, to help her absorb it, the weight of this emotion made it hard for Lu Qing’an to breathe. It wasn’t a suffocation born of terror, but a fullness that brought hot tears to her eyes.

“Mm—”

Cheng Huan’s body went rigid as Lu Qing’an wrapped her arms tightly around her waist. Lu Qing’an’s voice, and her whole body, trembled slightly.

“Cheng Huan, you’re too good to me. I… I…”

“It’s fine.” Cheng Huan completely understood the Female Lead’s feelings right now. It was like winning the lottery—excitement and exhilaration.

She patted Lu Qing’an on the back, soothing her. “As long as you can Attain the Dao and Ascend, I’ll be more than satisfied.”

She was utterly, completely, irredeemably sick of this world. Absolutely sick of it.

Lu Qing’an buried her face into the crook of Cheng Huan’s neck and took a deep breath. “Alright.”

The two followed the winding path for nearly an hour before the view suddenly opened up before them.

The end of the path was a dilapidated altar. The patterns on its surface were both mysterious and sinister, and its grooves were filled with dried, clotted blood.

Cheng Huan stepped onto the altar and looked at the stone tablet behind it. It recorded the story of what had happened here long ago, and the responsibilities the successor would need to shoulder.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Lu Qing’an approaching and subtly lifted a hand, erasing the last two lines from the stone tablet.

Lu Qing’an finished reading the tablet and sighed with emotion. “I never imagined the Immortal could use everything he could only to destroy the physical bodies of the 100,000 Demon Cultists, and then suppress their souls here.”

Cheng Huan didn’t share the feeling. She simply looked around, conversing internally with the Little Hedgehog. “Where’s the Immortal Legacy?”

Don’t waste time!

The Little Hedgehog said: 【Enter the altar, activate the Reincarnation Array, and you can awaken a wisp of the Immortal’s Primordial Spirit. If you gain the Immortal’s approval, you will receive the Legacy.】

Cheng Huan eyed the bloodstained, moss-covered altar. “An array? How do I activate it? Chant a spell?”

The Little Hedgehog said: 【Only by filling the altar’s guiding channels with the Purest Blood and awakening the Phoenix Totem can the Reincarnation Array be opened.】

“What’s the Purest Blood?” Cheng Huan looked incredulously at the patterns on the altar. “Is this supposed to be a phoenix?”

This is some abstract art style, isn’t it?!

The Little Hedgehog explained: 【Maiden’s Blood.】

After getting a handle on the procedure, Cheng Huan called Lu Qing’an over and pointed to the circular stone disc in the center of the altar. “Stand there.”

Lu Qing’an didn’t ask why and simply stepped onto it.

Seeing her so obedient and trusting, Cheng Huan’s mind went blank for a moment. Since they’d met, just over half a month ago, Lu Qing’an had always trusted her without question. Whatever Cheng Huan asked, she did, never once refusing.

She looked at Lu Qing’an standing on the altar. Her clear, penetrating eyes were like a starry sky cast down to earth. Her smile was gentle, without a single trace of doubt or worry towards Cheng Huan. An indescribable, elusive emotion suddenly welled up in Cheng Huan’s heart.

Once Lu Qing’an got the Immortal Legacy, she might ascend to the heavens in a single bound—Attain the Dao and Ascend to Immortality. Then, she could finally leave this world.

And this parting might be forever.

Cheng Huan let out a long sigh.

Hearing Cheng Huan sigh, Lu Qing’an thought there was some difficulty and asked, “What is it?”

Cheng Huan didn’t speak. She walked onto the altar, put her arms around Lu Qing’an, and her voice was a little low and husky. “Meeting you… I’m very glad.”

Cheng Huan had carried out hundreds or thousands of tasks, experienced countless different lives, and felt a chaotic mess of emotions.

Why did she want to retire?

Because she was tired.

She didn’t want to live other people’s lives anymore, to feel their emotions, to do things she hated against her own conscience. She didn’t want to be worn down and lose herself in the torrent of time.

So she wanted to retire. She wanted to be herself.

And Lu Qing’an was the first person to walk alongside Cheng Huan on her path to becoming herself.

No matter what their intentions had been when they first met, from Lu Qing’an, Cheng Huan had experienced feelings she’d never felt in her past.

Lu Qing’an was astonished by Cheng Huan’s initiative. She lifted her hands to embrace her back and smiled. “Me too.”

From the very first moment she saw Cheng Huan, her heart had been filled with joy.

Cheng Huan smiled, then turned and stepped back from the altar. She brought two fingers together, and Spiritual Power transformed into a sharp blade that cut across her slender wrist.

In a flash, blood surged into the altar’s grooves, as if coming alive.

Lu Qing’an’s eyes widened as she stared at Cheng Huan. She cried out, “Cheng Huan, what are you doing?!”

She wanted to step down but found herself trapped on the stone disc.

It was a Barrier.

“The array draws blood to reveal itself,” Cheng Huan said. Having lost too much blood, her face was instantly pallid.

Lu Qing’an saw her face grow paler and her body begin to sway. The blood from her wrist was being greedily absorbed by the altar without any sign of stopping.

A terrifying fear gripped her heart, and her voice trembled. “Cheng Huan, I don’t want the Immortal Legacy anymore. Let me down—”

“No.” Cheng Huan stretched out a hand. An Imperial Blood Grass appeared in her palm, and she swallowed it directly, like a cow munching on a peony. “If you give up now, wouldn’t my blood be wasted?”

“Don’t worry.” Cheng Huan saw Lu Qing’an’s reddening eyes and smiled to comfort her. “There are so many Spirit Treasures in the Storage Ring. I’m just giving a little blood. A few more Spirit Treasures later and I’ll be recovered.”

Cheng Huan didn’t know how fragile her smile looked at that moment. Her ashen face made Lu Qing’an’s heart wrench in pain.

“You did this on purpose.” Lu Qing’an’s gaze was bleak, and she shouted, her eyes red. “You clearly knew everything, but you hid it all from me!”

“Did you know how to enter the Oracle Mystic Realm’s Burial Ground?”

“Did you know how to open this altar?”

“You were absolutely certain you could get the Immortal Legacy for me.” Lu Qing’an crouched low, fingers digging into the ground. Her bloodshot eyes fixed on Cheng Huan’s faltering figure, and she demanded, “Cheng Huan, what else are you hiding from me?!”

An Immortal Legacy wouldn’t come so easily.

There was always karma, always a price for everything!

All the guiding channels were filled to the brim. The altar began to shake violently, as if something was about to burst from the ground.

The Phoenix Totem seemed to spring to life, its dazzling, flame-like light shooting straight into the clouds. A mournful, piercing cry echoed across the sky. A phoenix afterimage burst from the earth, soaring into the blue expanse.

It circled in the sky, screeching, its wings beating. Its fierce gaze surveyed everything from above.

The sorrow in its call was like a lament, a sigh of regret…

It fixed its gaze on Lu Qing’an at the altar’s center. Its beak moved, and it spoke in human tongue: “The heavy burden of all living beings, my Legacy—are you willing to bear it?”

Lu Qing’an frowned deeply. “A heavy burden?”

She turned to look at Cheng Huan, grinding her teeth. “What heavy burden?”

Cheng Huan ignored Lu Qing’an’s questioning and looked at the phoenix. “Her responsibility, I will bear it. I swear upon my Primordial Spirit: if I break this vow, may I suffer eternal damnation for all my lives to come.”

Lu Qing’an was dumbstruck. She cried out, “Cheng Huan, what are you saying—”

She turned towards the phoenix, waving her hands frantically. “That doesn’t count! Nothing she says counts…”

The phoenix’s massive eyeballs shifted, as if considering.

Cheng Huan frowned slightly. “Between her and me, who is strong and who is weak, the Immortal should know how to choose?”

Lu Qing’an gnashed her teeth. “Cheng Huan, shut up! You shut your mouth!”

She didn’t know what they were talking about, but an ever-growing feeling of dread was consuming her, a dread that came from Cheng Huan.

Cheng Huan ignored her, staring the phoenix down. “The 100,000 Demon Cultists. I have a way to annihilate them completely.”

The phoenix’s eye fixed on her. “Very well.”

“No!” Lu Qing’an hadn’t imagined the price for the Immortal Legacy was the annihilation of the 100,000 Demon Cultists. This price was far too great.

Cheng Huan lifted her gaze to Lu Qing’an. Her look was gentle, and she smiled softly. “Lu Qing’an, allow me to wish you in advance—may all your wishes come true.”

The phoenix threw its head back with a roar and plunged downwards, crashing into Lu Qing’an’s body.

Lu Qing’an’s slender frame shook with the impact. She collapsed limply onto the altar.

It felt as if her body was being taken apart and reassembled. Every meridian snapped and then regenerated. Lu Qing’an opened her mouth, vomiting blood continuously. Everything in her sight was dyed red, including that slender figure.

Lu Qing’an struggled to raise a hand, wanting to touch that person. But she saw the Storage Ring on her finger emit a faint fluorescence, revealing its true form.

It was a piece of Bone, swirling with Primordial Spirit Power.

All the Spirit Treasures flew out, pouring into Lu Qing’an’s body, nourishing her being.

Lu Qing’an’s eyes nearly split from shock. Her fingers clenched tight. Even as blood clouded her vision, she had to remember this person’s face, sear it into her mind.

“Cheng… Huan…”

Her mouth moved, and with great difficulty, she uttered this name.

You are a liar—