Wu Chongyun’s voice was very soft. After speaking those words, there was no further sound.
Wei Mingyi couldn’t very well cling to Wu Chongyun all night, pestering her to tell some tedious story about the “Four Paragons of Spirit Mountain.” Her heavy eyelids drooped shut. She reached out and pulled Wu Chongyun into her arms, gently stroking her back. “Shizun, sleep.”
The next day.
Wei Mingyi still hadn’t heard the story. Amidst the crisp ringing of bells and chimes, the Daoists of Chongyuan Sect and Hidden Moon Sect had to emerge and train.
They had rested for an entire night, but the wicked wraiths outside Yangchun Terrace hadn’t ceased their assault on the mountain gate’s grand array. Fortunately, the golden finger was incredibly effective; the Mountain Protection Array showed no signs of collapsing. In fact, a pile of wraith remnants, crushed by trampling, had accumulated outside.
Lang Fengya, unlike Wei Mingyi and the others, hadn’t been so serene. She hadn’t closed her eyes to rest all night. After those listening to the stories dispersed one by one, she didn’t return either. Instead, she patrolled around Yangchun Terrace, terrified that a wraith might break through a fissure and enter. During the day, Su Xuanjing had gone out with her sword to hunt Golden Core-level wraiths, but at night, Su Xuanjing returned, and those Golden Core wraiths faced no obstacle. They would swarm in groups to assault the Mountain Protection Array. Thus, in Lang Fengya’s eyes, the night was exceedingly dangerous.
However, the Mountain Protection Array was sturdier than she had expected. Lang Fengya couldn’t help but let her imagination run wild. If a Grotto-Heaven great power from some aristocratic family was supporting Chongyuan Sect, which family might it be? Such a display of strength—would they really allow a fourth-rate clan to sabotage the painstakingly established Chongyuan Sect? Had Chongyuan Sect, situated here, yet to reveal its true function? Or was it that the Grotto-Heaven of Jade Emperor Peak, who had spent a lifetime cowering and swallowing insults, had finally taken a radical step?
Curiosity swelled in Lang Fengya’s heart, but she forcibly suppressed the emotion, resisting the urge to pry.
Too much curiosity could plant the seeds of fatal danger for oneself.
Golden light poured forward like clouds, and the sound of wind and thunder suddenly arose. The wraiths surrounding Yangchun Terrace were led by those at Golden Core cultivation. Disciples at the Meridian Opening and Foundation Establishment stages were no match for them. Just like the day before, Su Xuanjing used her sword to clear a path. Sharp sword light flickered several times, and several wraiths were beheaded.
After the previous day’s developments, Lang Fengya had understood Chongyuan Sect’s intent to use the wraiths to hone their Dao cultivation. Leaning on her white-bone Chan staff, she also strode boldly out of the mountain gate. The staff rose and fell with continuous bang bang bang sounds. A ring of golden light floated around Lang Fengya’s body, keeping the filthy blood at bay.
While they were clearing the Golden Core wraiths, Hua Xiaozhu and her apprentice were also not idle. They lit spirit incense to control the number of wraiths in the area.
Wei Mingyi stood to the side, itching to try. She rubbed her fists and palms, thinking to herself that once she cultivated to the Golden Core, a single slap might crush an entire area! Just as the sword light pierced the distant dense clouds and disappeared, Wu Chongyun, who had been quietly observing the wraiths beside the spirit incense, said, “That’s enough.” She issued commands in place of Su Xuanjing. As soon as her voice fell, the Daoists, who had built up their energy, boldly took a step forward and engaged the wraiths outside in deadly combat.
This evil tide was, after all, artificially created, and Chongyuan Sect had methods to control it. At the fastest, the vast horde of wraiths could be dealt with within a few days. However, Su Xuanjing and the others were determined to use these wraiths to temper their Dao cultivation, deliberately dragging the process out for half a month. Over these fifteen days of slaughter, everyone’s cultivation improved to some degree.
Wei Mingyi had previously felt that pushing open a new Qi meridian was as difficult as moving a mountain, but during the training, she pushed open another, opening a total of seventeen meridians. Many Daoists of ordinary talent, after opening about twenty meridians in the Meridian Opening stage, would choose Foundation Establishment. However, the Dao foundation determines the upper limit. Without great opportunities in the future, reaching the Golden Core stage would be the end of the road. Wei Mingyi didn’t know how good her talent was. She had no special innate constitution, so cultivation wasn’t as simple as drinking water. If she couldn’t break through relying on herself, she could only use the golden finger to push her limits.
But if things were this arduous at the Foundation Establishment stage, it meant relying on herself in the future would be fraught with difficulty. The golden finger could indeed give her everything she desired, but accumulating Talent Points was simply too slow.
If she could rely on herself, Wei Mingyi didn’t want to waste points in the early stages.
Harboring uncertainty about the path of cultivation, the mist before her eyes seemed like an obstacle. Unwilling to digest these feelings alone, during a rest night after clearing the wraiths, she asked Wu Chongyun, “What does Shizun think of my talent?”
Wu Chongyun seriously assessed Wei Mingyi for a moment. “Excellent.”
“Really?” Wei Mingyi raised an eyebrow, her eyes unable to conceal her delight. She wanted to hear Wu Chongyun praise her. Her gaze lingered for a moment on Wu Chongyun’s folded hands, and she feigned melancholy, saying, “But I heard that those clan scions reach Foundation Establishment before they’re twenty.”
“The direct line branches of great aristocratic families begin nurturing from the womb,” Wu Chongyun said, observing Wei Mingyi’s expression. Not wanting her Dao heart to be hindered, after a moment’s hesitation, she raised a hand and placed it on Wei Mingyi’s head, stroking it. Then she added, “You started late, yet you’ve opened seventeen Qi meridians in less than a year. You are a heaven-sent genius. For some, the step of sensing Qi alone takes months, even years.”
Praising oneself and being praised by Wu Chongyun were different things entirely. Wei Mingyi’s smile grew even more radiant. She caught Wu Chongyun’s wrist and moved the hand resting on her head down, pressing it against her flushed cheek. She asked again, “And how long did Shizun take?”
Her Meridian Opening First Layer had been a gift from the golden finger; she had essentially skipped the Qi Sensing stage. Strictly speaking, of the meridians she had opened, only fifteen were due to her own effort. Perhaps the system had reforged her innate constitution when it gifted her the cultivation level?
Wu Chongyun’s eyelashes trembled. She pursed her lips, inevitably recalling old matters. Although she was born into a major clan, her mother had died early, and she grew up under the care of relatives. At eight years old, people from the direct line came seeking children with innate roots. She was taken away, and only then did she truly enter the path of cultivation.
“If Shizun doesn’t want to say, then don’t,” Wei Mingyi said, noticing her expression and immediately reacting. She felt a twinge of regret; in her elation, she had forgotten to consider her Shizun’s wounds and had once again poked at her sorrowful past.
Wu Chongyun shook her head and said softly, “One breath.”
Wei Mingyi: “…”
Excuse me.
Her Shizun must have indeed come from a major clan, right? With her talent, she couldn’t possibly be unknown. How was it that when Lang Fengya mentioned those “Paragons,” Shizun’s name wasn’t included? Did Lang know too little? Or had Shizun changed her name? Previously, someone in the sect seemed to mention that when the Sect Leader picked Shizun up, her name was also chosen on the spot?
Wei Mingyi’s thoughts roiled. The more complicated her Shizun’s background, the more difficult that future “obstacle” would be.
She had to improve her cultivation quickly. She couldn’t let anyone take Shizun back!
Wu Chongyun, unaware that Wei Mingyi’s thoughts had already drifted far away, said, “Cultivation must not be rushed. One shouldn’t advance recklessly.”
Wei Mingyi nodded casually twice, murmuring “uh-huh” as a form of agreement.
In a blink of an eye, it was April.
If, at the start, the wraiths outside Yangchun Terrace were a surging tide, then now, their numbers had thinned to nearly a river current. But while a raging ocean swallows everything, a rushing river is equally not to be underestimated. At least, those on the periphery, upon noticing the abnormality of the wraiths here, did not dare approach easily.
Among these people were also the Daoists of Gold Mountain’s Yan Clan.
They had suffered a loss the previous year while searching for the Sun-Moon Pot in Yangchun Terrace. The Yan brothers had been unable to swallow this grudge. Both were from the direct line of the Yan Clan. One was named Yan Rugui, at the Golden Core First Layer, and the other, Yan Ruzhang, was at the Foundation Establishment Third Layer, soon to form his core. They wanted revenge on Wei Mingyi. Though their clan couldn’t spare a Nascent Soul cultivator for support, they did provide some assistance.
These clan scions were well-versed in the methods of silently eliminating enemies in the Wild Domain. First, they would use the wraiths to clear out enemies, then hypocritically slay wraiths to earn reputation. After setting everything up, the Gold Mountain Yan Clan Daoists didn’t go far. They waited for an opportunity to return to Yangchun Terrace—firstly, to “collect the bodies” of their fellow Daoists (if any remains were left), and secondly, to search for the Sun-Moon Pot.
“This time, the wraiths are restless. With over half a month gone, even if they have a Nascent Soul cultivator overseeing them, they’d be overturned by the frenzied tide. It should be time, right?” A smile played on Yan Ruzhang’s lips. They were stationed at a temporary camp, having set down several true-discs, unafraid of the scattered, wandering wraiths outside. Seeing that his great vengeance was about to be achieved, Yan Ruzhang was rather leisurely, even taking out various exquisite and precious vessels to heat wine.
“Who could possibly survive an evil tide?” Yan Rugui sneered. The slap he received the year before had left a deep shadow. If he couldn’t exact revenge, a fissure would remain in his Dao heart, and his cultivation would be unable to progress. No matter what, he had to deal with the people in Yangchun Terrace. He swirled his wine cup and clinked it with Yan Ruzhang’s. A cruel smile appeared at the corner of his lips. “It’s still dangerous for us to enter now. Let’s wait a little longer.”
Night fell.
Originally, the moon was bright and the stars few, the blue sky clear, and the faint Milky Way visible. But suddenly, a dense cloud covered the bright moon, plunging everything into darkness. A fierce wind blew, making the branches and leaves rustle loudly, and a strange howling cry came from not far away. Daoists traveling in the Wild Domain often saw such sights and didn’t take it to heart.
But in the middle of the night, the Yan brothers were suddenly jolted awake in a cold sweat.
Unbeknownst to them, their small encampment was now surrounded by surging wraiths.
With glowing crimson eyes, they began fiercely ramming against the barrier.
The Yan brothers’ expressions changed drastically. They knew the encampment’s magical tool couldn’t withstand the horde of wraiths. They immediately took out protective Dharma talismans, attempting to fight their way out of the wraith swarm. But as the talismans fluttered, a shimmering light suddenly shot out, instantly tearing the protective object to shreds.
Although Chongyuan Sect could use the wraiths for cultivation, the other party had intended to kill them. This grudge had to be settled no matter what. After discussing it, the Chongyuan Sect members decided to pay them back in their own coin. Su Xuanjing’s Dao cultivation was higher than the two men; she could have killed them directly. But that would easily draw the Yan Clan’s hostility. However, if those two died amidst the wraiths, it would be a case of them playing with fire and getting burned.
After destroying the Yan brothers’ protective items, Su Xuanjing didn’t rush to leave. She waited until they were swallowed by the evil tide before returning to Chongyuan Sect, satisfied.
Inside Yangchun Terrace, Wei Mingyi was overjoyed upon learning of the two Yans’ deaths. The Sect Leader was usually very gentle; she picked people up everywhere out of a kind heart. But when dealing with enemies, she was also unequivocal, her actions swift and decisive. Wei Mingyi greatly admired such a style.
Although Chongyuan Sect only had a handful of members, with her, a heaven-sent genius, the future was promising!
“How did this evil tide come about?” Wei Mingyi suddenly asked.
