The moment he heard this sentence, Yan Qing froze, no longer noticing the blood on his face.
It was as lightning had struck him, making his mind tremble and turn white.
This voice was so familiar and yet so strange. It was calm and cold, like the snow in a barren plain.
…Xie Shiyi?
The peach flowers turned into blades one by one. A rain of flowers fell over Springturn Sect, turning into the cruelest punishment.
Everyone panicked. “Retreat!” “Be careful!”
The Cultivation Alliance disciples were all at least Great Ascension level. Their black robes wavered, the red lotuses on their clothes piercing to the eye.
In the sky above the valley, they stood their swords before themselves, creating a huge prison formation with their surging sword intent, and trapping everyone within it.
Chengying stood stiffly on the spot, as if he had turned to stone. He abruptly lifted his head and looked toward the source of the sound, saying in disbelief, “Xie…Ying?”
The two words fell to the ground.
In an instant, everything was silent.
Yan Qing’s sight was blurred by peach blossoms, but he could still faintly see that man walk out, holding his sword.
His snow-white robes were like smoke and clouds, and light moved dimly through their pale blue gauze. He was as clear and cold as a distant dream.
The hand that held his blade, Regretless, was as pale as jade, the same as its owner.
Xie Shiyi walked past the peach grove, but his features, hair and clothes were untouched by peach blossoms, as if an invisible barrier separated him from this gorgeous pink spring scenery.
Chengying quivered violently. His words leaked out from gritted teeth. “It’s you.”
When Xie Shiyi heard this, he looked over from afar, his gaze light and indifferent, like falling snow. At first glance, he seemed translucent and beautiful as stained glass, but once you touched his skin, you would find with surprise that his coldness had long since seeped into your bones.
Chengying stiffened, blood welling in his throat. He couldn’t speak.
The name “Xie Ying” stood for too many things in the cultivation world.
He was the head disciple of Desireless Sect, first place on the Bluecloud ranking, and the head of the Cultivation Alliance.
In the eyes of many cultivators in the upper realm, he was as distant and unreachable as the moon above his palace.
But for some people at the center of power in the cultivation world, the two words “Xie Ying” were more like a sinister nightmare that you would die trying to escape from.
Yan Qing was dazed as well. Fuck, why was Xie Ying here?
Trouble sensed his owner’s stiffness and continued to display his tactless nature. He poked him excitedly with his wings. “Hey, were you scared silly? What happened out there? Why is it suddenly so quiet? Hurry up! Let me go, I want to see!”
A while ago, Yan Qing had felt like this fat bird made his shoulder ache with his weight, and stuffed him into his sleeve. He hadn’t thought Trouble could be so vigorous and lively even within his sleeve.
Annoyed by his chatter, Yan Qing squeezed the dumb bird until he almost fainted, forcing him to shut up.
Trouble whimpered, his eyes swimming with cartoon stars. He was so angry the top of his head was smoking.
Yan Qing felt a little like breaking down. Why would he meet Xie Shiyi right now?! He hadn’t fully prepared himself yet!
Yan Qing looked left and right, and found that no one was paying attention to him. He stealthily took one step back, then another, hiding at the back of the crowd. At the same time, he wrapped his red thread around his wrist, looping the thread around his pinkie.
In his last life, Yan Qing’s martial art had been mystic thread. It was a little ironic, but this martial art was passed down from the demon god.
A martial art inherited from a god was unrestricted by cultivation level. But once he used it, his identity would immediately be exposed, and he’d be chased to the four corners of the world and killed.
This was because the most dangerous and terrifying part of mystic thread was that it could control souls.
He couldn’t use that ability for the moment, but his art still helped him out a great deal.
The red thread was wound around his wrist, binding him tightly. The end of the thread hung down from his blue sleeve like a tassel.
He was afraid Xie Shiyi would recognize him, so to prevent that possibility, he locked away the aura of his soul. Once he was done with everything, Yan Qing let out a slow breath.
Desireless Sect’s Elder Tianshu and the round-faced boy were shocked silly as well.
Xie Ying had a spiritual peak in Desireless Sect, but he usually spent his time on the move, and his position was so high that no one dared to disturb him. Xie Ying was often away from the sect, so the sect leader and several elders had thought of pretending to agree to the wedding, bringing Yan Qing back to Desireless Sect and then letting him retreat once he realized the difficulty of the situation.
In any case, as long as they kept the matter from Xie Ying, they could get rid of him without a soul knowing.
But in the end, they met here???
The round-faced boy stuttered, murmuring, “Xie-shixiong?”
“Oh God, shut up, don’t talk.” Tianshu was in utter misery. He put a hand over the boy’s mouth, pulling him to the side so he could hide as well.
In the end, Chengying was a sect leader. After his shock, he wiped away the blood at the corner of his mouth, standing up with a dark expression in his eyes. “Xie Ying, what are you doing?”
Of the nine sects and three families of the cultivation world, Desireless Sect was the head of the nine great sects of the Southluster continent, while the Qin family was the head of the three noble families of the Violetaurum continent. When Xie Ying took over as head of the Cultivation Alliance, he directed his sword at the Qin family and broke ties with them.
Lightstream Sect had friendly relations with the Qin family, and hostile relations with Desireless Sect. Thus, when you took away terror, Chengying had only hatred left for Xie Ying.
Chengying spat blood from anger. “You set up a killing formation in the sky in order to slaughter us here?!”
Xie Shiyi said, “Elder Zixiao of our sect was injured by a demonseed and perished here. I came to investigate this matter.”
His black hair spilled down as he stood in the peach-flower rain. His features were as cold as frost, and his eyelids were set deep in their sockets. His pupils were so black they were bottomless, but if you stared at him long enough, you could sense a trace of ghostly violet within them.
Chengying was furious. “Investigate? You’re investigating? As soon as a birdcage formation is started, blood washes the land. Xie Ying, are you planning to kill everyone here if you can’t find a clear cause of death in your investigation?”
Xie Shiyi looked down at him and curved his lips in a smile that didn’t seem like a smile. His words carried a thick layer of scorn. “Perhaps.”
Perhaps?
Perhaps?!
Perhaps!!!
Chengying was so angry he felt his heart palpitate, but he knew that this madman was speaking the truth. There were many madmen in the cultivation world, but only Xie Ying had such high status and great power.
A blue vein pulsed on Chengying’s forehead. “Xie Ying, you’re cruel and violent, killing people like flies. Sooner or later, you’ll pay for this. Kill me? What would you kill me for? I’m not a demon or a yao, so you have no reason to kill me. The greatest demon in this world is you!”
Xie Shiyi ignored him, only looking to the side and saying mildly to his subordinate, “Have you finished your investigation?”
After the people from the Cultivation Alliance set up the formation, they leaped down from the sky and stood in perfect order behind Xie Ying. A disciple stepped forward and said respectfully, “Alliance Leader, we’ve found the cause of death. Venerable Zixiao’s physical body died in the water of Springturn Sect’s Serene Prison, and his corpse dissolved away. As for the secret realm that the Venerable Immortal opened when he was undergoing tribulation, it’s above the Serene Prison.”
Xie Shiyi nodded, his tone insipid. “Continue.”
The disciple took a deep breath. “But we haven’t found any trace of the phoenix demonseed. We can’t sense any demonic qi within a thousand-mile radius.”
Xie Shiyi: “Hmm.”
The disciple asked carefully, “Then, Alliance Leader, what should we do now?”
Xie Shiyi looked up, his gaze landing on the hidden side of the mountain behind Springturn Sect. The edges of his robe, icy as jade, brushed past the peach flowers that littered the ground. He walked forward and said calmly, “Seal the valley and start the formation.”
His voice was soft, but the killing intent that spread in the air drifted down like snow.
Chengying’s pupils shrunk. Now, he finally began to panic.
“No, Xie Ying! You can’t kill us! I only passed by here by chance! I don’t know anything—Zixiao, the demonseed, I don’t know anything about them.”
“I only came here to bring our young sect master back home. Everything that happened here has nothing to do with me!”
As for the other people in the valley, when that deadly peach-flower rain began, they had been so terrified they lost consciousness.
The color of the sky changed dramatically. Black clouds gathered.
Violet lightning surged dimly through the dark grey sky, reflecting on everyone’s bloodless faces.
Amid their panic, there was only one thought left in their minds.
Were they going to die here?
As for Chengying’s struggle, Xie Shiyi ignored it.
His steps never paused for a moment.
With his black hair and snowy clothes, holding his long sword, he had a temperament as cold as the moon, untouched by dust. When he appeared in this remote and barren valley, he made them feel as if they were kneeling before the layers of steps leading to Azurejade Palace. They bowed close to the ground, and when they looked up, all they could see was a distant, blurred trace of the edge of his robe.
“No, Xie Ying! You can’t kill me!” Two Cultivation Alliance disciples took hold of Chengying. He was half-kneeling on the ground, his hair loose as he lifted a face streaked with blood. He made a vicious threat. “No! Xie Ying, you can’t do this. If you kill our young sect master, Lightstream Sect won’t let you go.”
Xie Shiyi’s steps paused, and this time, he smiled for real. He said with derision, “Is that so?” Ever since he came here, his gaze had passed over everyone, but it seemed as if it had never touched on the truth, regardless of whether it landed on Yin Wuwang or the people from Desireless Sect.
Hidden in the crowd, even Yan Qing was struck dumb by this formation.
What was Xie Ying trying to do?
Why had his aura become so terrifying in the hundred years he hadn’t seen him?
What’s more—
Yan Qing wanted to complain, Xie Yaoyao, are you sure you’re the head of the Cultivation Alliance and not a demonic cult? You seem more dangerous than me, and I used to be a young city master in the demonic realm.
“Let me out!” Trouble came back to life, full of energy. He started to wildly flap his wings in his sleeve. “Let me out! Let me out!”
Yan Qing flicked him. “Shut up, if I let you out, you’ll die.” He thought about it, then added a few words. “Oh, I might be in danger too.”
Trouble: “The hell are you talking about??”
Yan Qing didn’t feel like explaining, so he pinched the bird until he passed out again.
From their conversation, Xie Shiyi had come over to investigate the matter of Zixiao and the phoenix demonseed. But before, when Trouble was in the Serene Prison, he had swallowed the phoenix demonseed, bones and all. After eating him, he was as lively as ever, but Yan Qing still felt it was strange.
After all, the phantasm within a demonseed was a curse passed down from the ancient demon god. Only a divine weapon could destroy it.
Could it be that Trouble’s stomach was a divine weapon?
Wow, then he’d really found a piece of treasure.
“Wait, Duwei…” Things had already fermented to this point, so Tianshu could no longer hide. He stood up from the crowd.
Xie Ying was his shizhi in name, but when Tianshu called out to him, he still ran with cold sweat, his heart in his throat.
Xie Shiyi looked up, as if he had long since expected this. He turned, holding his sword Regretless, and said tranquilly, “Shishu.”
Tianshu smiled with difficulty.
People had given Xie Ying many labels, calling him an icy mountain who didn’t understand human feelings and knew only cultivation. But the Desireless Sect elders well knew that Xie Ying was a man with distinction. To tell the truth, he had both propriety and manners. According to the standards of the mortal world, Xie Ying was faultless in conduct.
No one knew why such a noble man would know the ways of the world so clearly.
But since he did, it was hard to get near him.
This was because his disaffection was expressed not in his serious expression or his ice-cold words, but in every unconscious look and every minute movement. Even when he smiled lightly, his eyes refused you.
The round-faced boy’s previous cockiness vanished instantly. He stood up as well, lowering his head and not daring to speak.
Tianshu looked up, meeting countless pleading and terrified gazes. He sighed slightly at heart, and then said to Xie Shiyi, “Duwei, everyone in our sect feels regret and pain for Zixiao’s death. But cultivators fight against heaven to begin with. Our lives and deaths are ruled by fate, and we have our rise and fall. There’s no need for you to go to war over this.”
Xie Shiyi stated calmly, “Shishu, Venerable Zixiao died at the hands of a demonseed. There’s something strange about this matter.”
Tianshu paused, but still said, “Yes, but, but…”
After Chengying suffered an attack, his dantian showed faint signs of cracking. Two Cultivation Alliance disciples had a hold of him. Now his qi and blood were in turmoil, and he said furiously, “Xie Ying, there may be something strange about Zixiao’s death, but what does that have to do with us? Could it be that just because we’re standing in Springturn Sect, we’re guilty?”
Xie Shiyi looked down at him and said coolly, “You can believe so, Elder Chenying.”
Chengying was about to spit blood from anger.
Before, he could kill whoever he wanted in Springturn Sect. But now, Xie Shiyi was demanding his life without rhyme or reason. He felt both furious and unresigned.
“Even if that’s so, I haven’t done anything deserving of death!”
There was a faint light like snow in the depths of Xie Shiyi’s eyes. He smiled and said softly, “Elder Chengying. You haven’t done anything deserving of death, but that has nothing to do with whether or not I want you dead.”
Tianshu was shocked into silence.
“Duwei…”
In fact, with his understanding of Xie Ying, he didn’t believe he would really slaughter the innocent and kill everyone here. There must be another reason for him starting the birdcage formation. But he was still shocked by the careless killing intent in this sentence.
Driven mad, Chengying started laughing. “Wonderful! Kill me, Xie Ying! Kill everyone here. Not only am I here, but your fiancée as well. Xie Ying, kill us!”
***
The author has something to say:
The name Yan Qing calls comes from:
Xie Shiyi (识衣) = Xie Shiyi (十一) = Xie 11 = Xie Yaoyao (one one).
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cela’s notes:
Springturn Sect is named Huíchūn Pài (回春派), 回春 meaning literally “the return of spring,” or more generally, “rejuvenation.”
Tianshu is Xie Ying’s shīshū (师叔) or martial uncle, and Xie Ying is his shīzhí (师侄) or martial nephew. Like many Chinese terms of address, there is literally no good translation for this, since there is nothing close to an equivalent in Western culture. Even “Nephew” is clunky, let alone “Martial Nephew.” I could go the route that official anime translators do, and completely erase terms along the lines of “-sama,” “-chan” and “Onii-chan,” instead just using actual names??? But that actually pisses me off in anime, because it feels like erasing an integral part of the culture. So yeah, y’all just have to learn some Chinese culture.
2 hours and 10 minutes for 2,733 words, or 4.8 minutes for every 100 words. An increase in rate by 0.6 minutes. What happened???
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Thank you for translating this masterpiece🔥🔥🔥
ReplyDeleteYQ and XY haven't seen each other for about 100 years and I can't wait to see what will happen🥺
I have a feeling XY will recognize YQ from the beginning. After all YQ is not as smart as the our cold and heartless palace master Xi Ying❄