Chapter 10#
Chapter 10#
Since the punishment of kneeling on the back mountain, Xue Jingci had stopped attending Zhou Zimo’s array classes.
Over the past three years, only on a few occasions when other elders were in seclusion and swapped classes with Zhou Zimo did he have to grit his teeth and attend a few sessions.
Xue Jingci took the System to the mission gathering place and saw several disciples standing by Zhou Zimo from a distance.
He handed over the mission tablet and bowed respectfully: “Elder Zhou.”
Having said that, he turned his gaze to the others; he couldn’t remember their names or seniority.
While Xue Jingci was thinking, one person crossed his arms and sized him up, saying disdainfully, “Xue Jingci, this mission requires everyone to work together to break a Black-level evil array. For someone who doesn’t even attend array classes much, how do you have the face to take this?”
“That’s enough, Song Jue.” Zhou Zimo spoke up to stop him. “The time has come. Quickly follow me to the mortal realm.”
Seeing Zhou Zimo’s unpleasant expression, no one dared to speak further and quietly followed her, flying on their swords.
Xue Jingci walked at the end, looking down at the boundless sea of clouds below.
He had lost consciousness while passing through the Heaven’s Gate Array during his tribulation, feeling as if he had just slept and woken up here. He was also curious about how they would descend today.
After flying for an unknown amount of time, Zhou Zimo signaled for everyone to descend on their swords.
“Elder Zhou, are we going to pass through the sea of clouds?” Song Jue’s eyes widened in terror.
He had thought descending to the mortal realm only required standing on some array to be teleported. He hadn’t expected they would actually have to pass through the danger-filled sea of clouds.
The sea of clouds was full of terrifying turbid air; touching even a bit could dissolve bones. No matter how high your cultivation, entering meant certain death.
Zhou Zimo’s face was serious as she turned to everyone and said, “I will activate the passage tablet later. Just follow me, don’t fall behind, and don’t look around.”
Seeing Xue Jingci still looking, Zhou Zimo looked at him and emphasized: “The turbid air in the sea of clouds will trigger a person’s inner demons. Even with the protection of an array, it is extremely dangerous. If you want to stay alive, put away your curiosity.”
Xue Jingci nodded and turned his gaze to the passage tablet in Zhou Zimo’s hand.
The tablet was made of fire-jade and black lacquer. Rumor had it there were only five in existence, kept only at the Lingxu Sect; usually, even Zhou Zimo wouldn’t be able to touch one. It was Xue Jingci’s first time seeing one and realizing it could be used to pass through the Heaven’s Gate Array.
Song Jue asked curiously, “Do other sects have passage tablets too?”
Zhou Zimo showed a proud expression: “Of course not. Currently, the Heaven’s Gate Array is managed by the Lingxu Sect. If other sects wish to descend, they must come to our sect to borrow a passage tablet.”
Only then did Xue Jingci realize how difficult it was to go to the lower realm. No wonder some cultivators could never return to the mortal realm for the rest of their lives after ascending to the Upper Realm.
Zhou Zimo injected spiritual energy into the tablet, and the originally calm sea of clouds suddenly shook eerily, revealing a beam of light just large enough for one person to pass through.
Everyone jumped into the beam of light one after another, feeling their bodies falling rapidly. It felt like they were passing through layer upon layer of arrays. Dazzling Five-Element spiritual energy exploded around them, blocking the dark shadows and fierce creatures that were constantly crashing toward them.
Everyone kept their eyes tightly shut and even blocked their five senses to avoid their Daoist hearts being shaken.
Only Xue Jingci secretly opened his eyes, trying to look past the Five-Element spiritual energy to see what was hidden deep in the sea of clouds.
Vaguely, he seemed to hear a whisper, but he couldn’t hear it clearly.
Xue Jingci remembered Zhou Zimo’s warning, but he was certain that voice was definitely not his own inner demon, but someone else’s voice.
The sea of clouds surged. He watched quietly as the voice grew fainter until it finally vanished completely. Xue Jingci, however, seemed to have piqued his interest; he twitched his nose to sniff, as if those white clumps of clouds were some tempting food.
But soon, his body reached the lowest layer of the sea of clouds. The surrounding turbid air grew heavier and heavier until he could no longer see anything of the outside world. His entire body was wrapped in a thick, dense atmosphere that almost made it impossible to breathe.
Smells bad.
He immediately blocked his five senses and went to sleep, just as he had during his tribulation.
By the time he came to his senses, everyone was lying in a horse-drawn carriage.
The carriage was speeding across the wilderness, kicking up clouds of dust as it headed straight for Luocheng.
Because of the recent demon activity, Luocheng was currently heavily guarded, with strict inspections of passing personnel. The city guards stopped the carriage and were about to speak when they saw Zhou Zimo display the mission tablet.
Knowing the arrivals were immortal masters from the Upper Realm, the soldiers were about to sheath their swords and salute, but were stopped by Zhou Zimo.
“This trip should not be publicized. Take us into the city.”
The group entered the city quietly and soon met the Prefect of Luocheng in the government office. To everyone’s surprise, the Prefect was very young, appearing to be only in his early twenties.
He was not wearing official robes; his plain cloth robes looked travel-worn but could not hide his upright and pure aura.
“This humble one is the Prefect of Luocheng, Lin Yuanshan. Greetings to the immortal masters.”
Lin Yuanshan bowed and got straight to the point without any polite small talk.
“Luocheng was once the imperial capital of the previous dynasty, attracting nearby demons to set up an evil array in an attempt to absorb dragon qi. But the evil array requires human sacrifices. Many people have gone missing in Luocheng lately and were dumped outside the city after a period of time, missing either their heads or their limbs. Their deaths were extremely terrifying…”
Zhou Zimo asked for more details about the demons setting up the array. After hearing them, her face was as heavy as water. She thought for a moment, then looked at Lin Yuanshan and said, “According to your description, this array will be completely finished within two days. At that time, the life force of the entire city will be absorbed into the array.”
“Two days!” Lin Yuanshan was anxious, pacing back and forth. “I will have soldiers escort the commoners out of the city tonight.”
“We must not alert the enemy. Let the people continue their lives as usual.” Zhou Zimo saw that this person cared for the people, and her tone softened as she stated her plan: “Time is short. I will lead my disciples out of the city to set up an array today.”
“I shall follow the immortal master’s orders. The soldiers in the city are at your disposal.”
Zhou Zimo nodded and told everyone to return to their rooms and change into ordinary clothes. Then she asked for a few soldiers to lead the way, intending to first take her disciples to scout near the array.
Luocheng was originally an imperial capital, nestled between mountains and water with beautiful scenery. Maple trees were planted all over the outside of the city, and in late autumn, they were a vibrant red—a rare color in the Upper Realm.
Aside from Xue Jingci, the other young disciples had all grown up in the Upper Realm and had never seen such a beautiful sight. Even the scent in the wind seemed different, naturally drawing their gazes.
Only Xue Jingci, holding the beef pancake he had just bought at the city gate, bit into it too quickly and got a blister on his lip. He was currently inhaling to soothe the pain.
Zhou Zimo glanced back at these useless ones but ultimately said nothing, remembering how she herself had played wildly when she first descended to the mortal realm.
In the group, Yin Xinyao was the only female disciple. She had a good temperament and was the daughter of the Medicine Peak Master. Everyone liked this little senior sister and would call out to her whenever they saw something interesting.
Xue Jingci finished his pancake and savored the memory; he hadn’t eaten such delicious food in a long time, and his mood improved. He even exceptionally answered a couple of questions when Yin Xinyao asked about the names of those flowers and plants.
As the only loose cultivator, Xue Jingci was naturally intimately familiar with the mortal realm. The other disciples stared at him resentfully, unable to vent their anger, so they just secretly spoke ill of him to Yin Xinyao.
Yin Xinyao was not one to believe slanderous talk and didn’t take their words to heart. She only thought Xue Jingci was good-looking, with a transcendental and otherworldly beauty—how could he be the kind of person they described?
As the group was talking, they didn’t notice a mass of black mist drifting in from a distance.
Xue Jingci paused as he bent over to pick up the cat, his eyes looking over sharply. Before anyone could react, a sharp sword light flashed, and he leaped up, pinning his sword through a tree trunk.
“Xue Jingci, what are you doing!”
Song Jue shouted. Before his words could finish, blood actually began to drip from the tree he had pierced.
Everyone was in an uproar. A mass of black mist gradually appeared, and a huge black wolf was struggling under the cold sword, pinned to the tree.
By the time Xue Jingci withdrew his sword and wiped it, the wolf demon had lost all signs of life. Only then did the others realize that an evil creature had attacked.
Zhou Zimo quietly put away her long whip and looked at Xue Jingci, saying, “Your sword skills are not bad, but you are too impulsive. Create less trouble and do not alert the enemy.”
Xue Jingci sheathed his sword and respectfully said yes.
With this incident, everyone’s playfulness tightened up. After checking the surrounding array positions, they silently returned to the inn where they were staying.
After discussing the strategy for eliminating demons the next day, Zhou Zimo told everyone to return to their rooms and rest.
Xue Jingci sat cross-legged to meditate and cultivate, only leaving the room at dusk.
The city guards had already been instructed by the Prefect. Upon seeing the disciple tablet hanging at Xue Jingci’s waist, they immediately let him through respectfully.
Xue Jingci turned to look at the guard and asked, “Where were the previous corpses placed?”
The guard said, “The people are afraid, so they were all placed in the mortuary outside the city. If the immortal master wishes to see, this subordinate can accompany you.”
Xue Jingci shook his head: “No need. I’m just going to pay my respects.”
After saying that, he left and headed straight for the East Street where there was the most food.
The little cat’s tail swiped against his leg: “Is this paying respects?”
Xue Jingci swallowed the Osmanthus cake in his mouth: “In passing.”
Once he had tasted everything one by one, he went to the mortuary with satisfaction. It was truly as he said; he respectfully offered incense outside and offered several sacrificial items before going in to investigate.
The corpses in the mortuary were all dismembered, their deaths tragic. Some were couples who died on their wedding night, while others were remains taken on the day they were to be buried after a natural death.
Not letting the living have a good life and not allowing the dead to be buried—these demons were truly hateful to the extreme.
The little kitten didn’t dare look much, burying its head against Xue Jingci’s shoulder and asking, “What’s there to see?”
Seeing its discomfort, Xue Jingci walked out of the mortuary.
“At the time of a ‘happy funeral,’ extreme sorrow and extreme joy make for the most suitable sacrifices. These people are all food the demon race feeds to the evil array. It doesn’t show much now, but over time, it’s the people in the city who will suffer. Their life force will be sucked away, their luck will take a dive, and after death, they won’t enter reincarnation, becoming earthbound ghosts.”
Once out of the mortuary, the kitten’s courage grew again. It jumped down and circled in front of those sacrificial items: “So much good food left for the dead?”
Xue Jingci shook his head and picked everything up again.
“Just a token of my heart.”
When he returned to the city, the sky had turned completely dark.
The city was bustling. With the lantern festival approaching, the curfew had been lifted. The autumn wind blew through the busy market, spreading the fragrance of flowers throughout the street.
Xue Jingci smelled the sweetness in the air and looked up at the tall branches; osmanthus flowers clustered to decorate the moonlight.
The kitten squatted on his shoulder and also looked up. Seeing the round moon, its mind was full of steaming hot mooncakes.
Unexpectedly, Xue Jingci spoke first: “Want some mooncakes?”
The kitten wagged its tail excitedly and was about to speak when Xue Jingci’s shoulder was hit and jolted by a fool who had run out from somewhere.
Although the System had a cat’s body, it didn’t have a normal cat’s agility and was knocked flying, letting out a pitiful meow.
Xue Jingci quickly reached out to catch it, held it in his arms, and rubbed its head, smoothing down its startled, puffed-up fur.
A few seconds later, Xue Jingci realized something was wrong. He reached for his waist and, as expected, his disciple jade tablet was gone.
His gaze turned sharp. He immediately turned his head and gave chase in the direction of that person.
Xue Jingci was not slow, but that person knew the city’s secret passages and side alleys well. The scents in the air were mixed, making it almost impossible to smell that person’s trail.
Anyone else would likely have resigned themselves to the loss, but Xue Jingci was exceptionally sharp and different from ordinary people. He still found a trace and followed it to the outskirts of the city.
He only stopped abruptly when he reached the maple forest where he had killed the wolf demon during the day.
The System clung tightly to him, not daring to let go for fear of being thrown off, and asked alertly, “Is he gone?”
But he saw Xue Jingci look up at the treetops and say coldly, “Come out.”
The maple leaves were dense, hiding that person completely. The little kitten began to wonder if Xue Jingci had misheard.
Until a light laugh came from behind the thicket of trees. Only then did it arch its body and stare alertly at that spot.
A large patch of leaves was pushed aside, and the light of the cold moon pierced through the tree shadows. A masked youth sat on a branch of a large tree, only his eyes visible—cunning as a fox’s.
He appeared to be only sixteen or seventeen. His finger brushed over the characters on the jade tablet, and he whispered softly, “So you’re called Xue Jingci.”
Xue Jingci watched him, his eyes filled with moonlight, as clear and flawless as they had been three years ago.
The youth jumped down in front of Xue Jingci with a curve of his lips. Then he flicked off his mask and presented him with the maple leaf in his hand.
“Long time no see.”