This was Driftflower Sect, one of the nine great sects.
The earth here was blessed by heaven. The spiritual qi was so thick it seemed as if it could take physical form, turning into a ribbon of white stretching past range after range of mountains.
The main peak of Driftflower Sect, Alioth Peak, was covered in mist like smoke. Light died under the layer of clouds.
A maid dressed in pink stepped forward and spoke softly.
“Sect Master, Zixiao’s soul lamp has been extinguished. We’re certain he’s dead.”
The sect master of Driftflower Sect, Jing Ruyu, sat by a pool, her feet in the water and her black hair falling to her waist. Her aquamarine dress showed off her slender, graceful figure.
A small red flower drifted down from a tree branch, landing in her snow-white palm.
Jing Ruyu played with the flower as she asked carelessly, “Zixiao’s dead?”
The maid in pink said, “Yes.”
Jing Ruyu smiled complacently. “The Qin family did something to that phoenix, wanting to use it to deal with Zixiao. It drank Zixiao’s blood before, so it would be bent on madly attacking him. Zixiao’s cultivation was at the peak of Void Comprehension, so his spiritual qi was unstable. Once the demonseed injured him, it was only natural for him to fall.”
The pink-clothed maid stilled in surprise, and fell silent.
Jing Ruyu glanced up at her, and said with a smile in a gentle tone, “Do you think I’m despicable, since I was the one who had Zixiao go to Saintrest in order to catch that phoenix? I used his sincerity and kindness to send him to his death.”
The maid looked down. “No, I know you must have your reasons for acting this way.”
Jing Ruyu nodded. “That is so.” Her eyes grew cold, and she rubbed the flower in her hand, her tone as icy as a poisoned blade.
“If Desireless Sect does not fall, and Xie Ying does not die, there will never be a day of peace in this realm.”
The maid’s face instantly paled.
Jing Ruyu suddenly asked, “Do you believe that someone can be born a demon at birth?”
The maid stammered. “I-I…don’t know.”
Jing Ruyu’s pale fingernails were like shells. She said to herself, “Phantasms were born ten thousand years ago. At the time, the nine great sects were founded in order to uphold righteousness in the realm and protect the common people.”
“In order to avoid killing innocent people, according to reason, you should use a spiritual device to detect a phantasm, confirming that the person is a demonseed, before you execute them.”
“But ever since Xie Ying took over the Cultivation Alliance, the cultivation world has completely thrown out the order of this process.”
“Count the people Xie Ying has killed in the last few years. Was a single one of them confirmed beforehand to be a demonseed?!”
“He’s a madman, violent and tyrannical, cruel and cold-blooded. He slaughters people at a whim.”
“But he just so happens to control the Cultivation Alliance, and he has Desireless Sect backing him. No one in the cultivation world can shake him!”
As Jing Ruyu spoke on, her tone grew more and more intense, and her eyes were filled with hatred and venom.
Every midnight, she would dream of that frigid blur of snowy robes. The hand holding Regretless was pale and cold, like the shadow of a ghost. In the eyes of others, Xie Ying was as clear as the wind and bright as the moon, as unreachable as a fallen immortal. Only they knew that Xie Ying’s power had soundlessly enveloped all of the sky above the Southluster continent.
That distant figure in Azurejade Palace only suffocated her with despair!
Jing Ruyu abruptly crushed the red flower in her hand. “Zixiao’s death is the first step to toppling Desireless Sect! The way I see it, Desireless Sect should have handed over the position of first under heaven to the Qin family long ago.”
“The Qin family, unlike Xie Ying, is wise and virtuous.”
Jing Ruyu laughed coldly and said, “The head of the Qin family, Master Zhang, enlightens others with compassion. He believes that human nature is fundamentally good, and no one is born a demon. He believes that even demonseeds hosting phantasms have the ability to reach for good, and deserve a chance at life.”
“It’s true, demonseeds are more innocent than anyone. They don’t even know what they did wrong. They have their own wives, children and parents, and they have their own lives, so why should they die?!”
“Two hundred years ago, the Qin family found an ancient text that contained a method for eliminating phantasms. It could erase the phantasm from a person’s mind without harming them. They established many temples to receive demonseeds from all over the realm and eliminate their phantasms, giving them new life.”
“Many sects in the cultivation world obeyed the orders of the Qin family, setting up interrogation chambers where they could send the demonseeds who had yet to commit any wrong—”
“But for Xie Ying, but for Xie Ying alone!”
“He broke off relations with the Qin family, splitting the nine sects and three families into two factions that are set against each other like water and fire!”
Jing Ruyu ferociously kneaded the petals in her hand, the red flower juice dying her palm red as blood. She ground her teeth. “Xie Ying…Xie Ying…”
“If Xie Ying does not die, there will never be peace in this world!”
Once she finished listening to all this, the maid felt like she was in a daze.
Xie Ying…Venerable Duwei?
With a splash, a jade-like foot threw sparkling water into the air.
Jing Ruyu rose from the pool, her aquamarine robes embroidered with a pure white border of flowers, all jade blossoms and drifting pistils. Her figure was slender, but the imposing aura that belonged to a Soul Formation cultivator nevertheless caused the maid to tremble.
Jing Ruyu calmed herself, her features icy.
She walked halfway out of the pool, then suddenly said, “The Bluecloud Conference has begun, so the nine great sects are about to begin recruiting disciples as well, right?”
The maid broke out of her stiffness and said respectfully, “Yes.”
Jing Ruyu gave out a short, cold laugh. “Good.”
***
Yan Qing was struck dumb.
Shit, shit, shit.
Chengying, you say that your sins aren’t deserving of death? I think you should die ten thousand times!
How dare you drag me into this?!
You’d better not fall into my hands some day!
Yan Qing ground his teeth, noting down Chengying’s debt in his mind.
When the word “fiancé” came out, the one most shocked may not have been Yan Qing, but the two men from Desireless Sect. “......” Right now, all Tianshu wanted was to rip Chengying’s mouth off. I was good enough to save you, and this is how you repay me?!
He couldn’t be bothered to maintain his bearing, rushing over and covering Chengying’s mouth, his face twisting. “Chengying, what madness are you saying?! What fiancé?! Stop your nonsense! Stop your nonsense!”
Chengying’s eyes were bloodshot. He bit down on Tianshu’s hand. “What, you were so imposing before, but now you don’t dare to admit it?”
He pointed a finger at Yan Qing, who was hiding at the back of the crowd, and said with a malevolent expression, “Wasn’t it you who said that this piece of trash was Xie Ying’s cultivation partner?!”
The round-faced boy choked until his face was red, his humiliation turning to fury. “Chengying, stop babbling nonsense, you’re slandering us!”
Chengying smiled darkly. “You dare to act, but you don’t dare to admit it. Everyone heard what you said loud and clear. Do you really think you can hide it?”
Tianshu’s head was about to split from pain. He felt like he was about to faint. He sighed loudly.
“.......”
Yan Qing was about to collapse. “Let me go,” he thought.
He quietly held the red thread hanging down from his wrist. Right now, only this aura-locking thread could give him any peace.
He and Xie Shiyi had met each other too early, and their understanding of each other was too deep. He knew Xie Shiyi, so he knew how terrifyingly attentive and sharp he was.
Yan Qing looked down. All he hoped for was that Xie Shiyi’s gaze wouldn’t land on him.
Fortunately, the soul thread should really have worked…
Xie Shiyi hadn’t looked over at all.
He didn’t recognize him?!
The round-faced boy instantly wilted once he heard Chengying’s words.
He carefully looked up and said, “X-Xie-shixiong, Chengying didn’t tell you everything. L-Let’s explain things after we return to the sect…”
But he soon swallowed his fearful words down into his stomach.
Dark clouds roiled in the sky, with violet lightning, black mist and a vast power.
In his snowy robes, Xie Shiyi was as radiant as a pearl.
He held Regretless, looking at them, his gaze cold and distant, as if he were watching a farce that failed to be amusing.
Under his gaze, the round-faced boy’s brain blanked out, and his face turned scarlet. He didn’t know where to put his hands.
It was as if lightning had split open his body.
That seemed about right.
…Why had they thought Xie-shixiong would care about something like this?
As an elder, Tianshu was the only one at the scene who could say something. He said with a soft, trembling voice, “Duwei, there’s a long story behind this. When Zixiao died in Springturn Sect, it was this young man who looked after him in his final moments. H-He can be called a great benefactor of our sect…as for the marriage, there’s a misunderstanding there…”
Xie Shiyi nodded and smiled without much emotion. He said, “Yes, is there anything more you want to say, Shishu?”
Tianshu went mute. “I…no, nothing more.”
Xie Shiyi looked to the side and said indifferently to his subordinates, “Open the secret realm.”
“Yes.”
Xie Shiyi turned, the silver light of his robes sweeping away the chaos. His tone was ice-cold. “Start the formation.”
“Yes.”
At once, everyone shouted—
“Xie Ying!”
“Duwei!”
“Xie-shixiong!”
In a moment, the sky changed color, and the sword formation above Springturn Sect began to work. The golden lightning hidden in the dark clouds began to fall, devastating the peak. A strong wind rose, sweeping away thousands of peach blossoms and blowing through the heavens and the earth.
“Xie Ying!”
Chengying glared at him.
But soon, he went still. The peach blossoms that filled the sky brushed past his face, but this time, they didn’t carry the familiar killing intent that belonged to Xie Ying.
This wasn’t a killing formation?!
Chengying looked up through the peach blossom rain, seeing the sky that was filled with golden thunder and violet lightning. He saw a tangible semicircular barrier appear in the sky above Springturn Sect. No one here could exit, nor could anyone enter.
Yan Qing held back a laugh. These people really didn’t understand Xie Shiyi.
Did you believe suddenly telling Xie Shiyi that he had a fiancé would surprise him? He laughed. How naive.
The aura-locking thread was indeed useful. As long as Xie Shiyi didn’t recognize him, they wouldn’t have anything to do with each other.
When Yan Qing recalled the original plot before, he was particularly impressed by Desireless Sect, and curious as to what method they used to make Xie Shiyi agree to this.
They were really amazing. After all, in his impression, once he had grown up, Xie Shiyi was terrifyingly deliberate. Everything he did was according to a plan. At the same time, he was terrifyingly calm. He felt nothing like curiosity or surprise.
Yan Qing couldn’t help but be quietly smug. As only expected of me.
“Let me out, let me out, let..me…out!” Trouble shrieked in his sleeve, expressing his grievances. In the end, his temper surged, and he started ramming himself against his sleeve. “Let me out! Let me out!”
Yan Qing was so smug he forgot himself, and he slightly loosened his hold on Trouble’s wings. He actually let this vigorous bird find an opening—
“Let me out…” Trouble bit the red thread on Yan Qing’s wrist, and suddenly saw a thread of sunlight. Delighted, he almost cried from joy. He shouted, “I’m alive!”
He flapped his bony wings, assiduously drilling his way out of Yan Qing’s sleeve.
When he saw light again, Trouble cackled loudly.
His claws tangled around the red thread hanging from Yan Qing’s hand, and at the instant he charged out, Yan Qing was caught off guard. Trouble pulled him so he staggered forward and fell onto the ground.
Yan Qing’s pupils shrank, and his smile froze on his face.
Chengying still didn’t know what Xie Ying had set up this formation for. But at this moment, he realized the reason.
The moment Trouble came out, the wind and thunder suddenly stopped.
Immediately afterward, a chilling air rose from the ground.
The peach blossoms froze in the sky, and everything was silent, as if time had stopped.
Everyone stood still.
“What is this?”
There was a roar.
The great formation began to work again.
Wind and thunder accompanied the peach blossoms, catching hold of the scent of a phantasm. With the majesty of thunder, they split open the sky and hurtled down.
Along the violet of lightning and the gold of light, there the scarlet hue of blood. It was a majestic scene.
“It wasn’t easy, but I finally saw sunlight again.”
Trouble flapped his wings, but before he could take a good look at the sunlight he had fought for, he was almost blinded by the light in front of him.
“?”
Trouble was dumbfounded.
Holy shit!!
The light was coming toward him!!!
“Trouble!” A blue vein pulsed on Yan Qing’s forehead. He shouted his name with gritted teeth.
But he was soon shocked into stillness by the peach blossoms, wind and lightning that surged toward them, covering the earth and sky. This killing formation came from Xie Shiyi’s hands, and would present a challenging battle even to him in his previous life.
Not to mention right now.
Yan Qing pulled that stupid bird back, his pupils contracting. He said, “Go!”
Under the effect of his martial art, the red thread between his fingers extended, moving like a snake, so fast it left thousands of shadows in the air.
But before he could completely put his martial art to use—
Suddenly, the peach blossoms shattered in the sky.
There was a low thrum.
The sound of the peach flowers shattering was soft and ethereal, like an easily-broken dream.
Fine powder streamed down from the sky, forming a thin layer of snow in March.
Yan Qing was frozen. He pulled Trouble with one hand, kneeling on the ground, his black hair flowing down his blue robes and his long sleeves dragging on the ground. The red thread on his wrist sunk into this scene of peach blossoms and snow.
Trouble acted as recklessly as his name. He poked his head out of Yan Qing’s hand, his tone surprised and smug. “Goddamn, goddamn, did you see that? That light just now was heading for me!”
All Yan Qing wanted to do was strangle him to death. In fact, he really did squeeze him.
Yan Qing looked at Trouble, who was foaming at the mouth and had a cartoon ghost coming out of his head, and said softly, “...The god of death is about to come for you as well.”
In the absolute silence, he heard the sound of footsteps.
Yan Qing lowered his head so that all he could see was the white robes coming closer to him. Ice-blue gossamer gave off a cold elegance, drifting past the layer of peach blossoms like snow. But when he walked like this, it emanated a pressure that could take the pulse from your heart and the breath from your lungs.
Yan Qing was a little startled for a moment.
He didn’t know why, but when he was like this, Xie Shiyi made him think of when he was seven years old. He thought of that little brat who practiced his swordsmanship on the roof in silence.
Once Xie Shiyi lost the use of his eyes, he became more taciturn than ever. Yan Qing had something over him, so he couldn’t argue his way past him anymore. What happened most often was that he pissed Xie Shiyi off until he couldn’t speak. He’d jump down from the roof and go back to his room to sleep.
The vines on the old roof tiles blew lightly in the wind. The midsummer night was clear and quiet. It seemed like only yesterday that his frustrated self had been there.
“Xie Shiyi, can’t you tell east from west? I said east! East! East! Or is it your ears that have a problem? Shit! The ladder’s over there! What’re you walking over here for? Shit shit shit, don’t jump! If we faint from pain, I’ll strangle you! Xie Shiyi!!!”
The years were like the wind today, turning the flowers into snow. Bit by bit, they turned the boy from back then, who was cold and taciturn but still knew how to fight and glare at him, into the Azurejade Palace Master of today, who held a high position and had an unfathomable mind.
Yan Qing returned to himself.
Xie Shiyi’s footsteps stopped, and his robes drifted down like flowing clouds.
“Look at me.” He said suddenly and softly, his tone indifferent as the shattering of thin ice.
Yan Qing didn’t move. At the next moment, his chin felt cold. The tip of Regretless’s blade lifted up his chin.
At this critical moment, Yan Qing forced out a few tears.
He didn’t dare to give Xie Shiyi time to look at him carefully, and see the threads in his hand.
A moment passed like the flight of a spark.
Yan Qing gritted his teeth and threw out Trouble, who had fainted. He threw himself at Xie Shiyi with tears flowing down his face, wrapping his arms around the man’s waist. “Venerable Immortal!”
He shouted and bawled.
“He scared me to death! I almost died just now, Venerable Immortal!”
***
cela’s notes:
Driftflower Sect is named 浮花门 (Fúhuā Mén), or literally “floating flower door,” 门 meaning “door,” “school” or “sect,” among other things.
2 hours and 19 minutes for 3,080 words, or 4.5 minutes for every 100 words. A decrease in rate by 0.3 minutes 😮💨
A total of 24 hours and 17 minutes for 32,053 words, or 4.5 minutes for every 100 words. No change.
If you would like access to the next six chapters, please consider encouraging me on Ko-fi! 💛
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