Chapter 5#

Chapter 5#

Leaving Donglai Village, Xue Jingci traveled west on his sword.

The long sword ascended rapidly, and Donglai Village soon became a black speck the size of a sesame seed.

The System lay on the sword, looking down at the vast mountain snow. It only reluctantly withdrew its gaze once Donglai Village had completely vanished from sight.

Life over the past half-month had been easy and leisurely, and its belly had grown round from eating. It felt quite a bit of reluctance at the thought of truly parting.

“Host, where are we going next?”

Seeing Xue Jingci sitting alone on the sword, surrounded by an aura of loneliness, the System couldn’t help but look up and meow.

“Back to Yucheng.”

Xue Jingci looked down. His clothes, which had clearly just been cleaned with a cleansing spell, were once again covered in a few cat hairs.

He stood up and walked toward the tip of the sword, quietly moving a bit further away from the System.

The sword moved like lightning. The further west they went, the more cultivators they saw along the way. After flying for an unknown amount of time, a giant barrier blocked all cultivators, forcing them to land and walk.

The Wen family’s territory: sword-flying forbidden.

The Wen family practiced the Dao of the Red Dust. They were an ancient cultivation clan that lived alongside mortals. Therefore, a barrier had been set up in the main city, forbidding cultivators from flying on tools.

Xue Jingci slowly descended on his sword. Seeing the System’s paws sink into the mud, he quickly withdrew the hand he was about to use to pick up the cat. He then heard a cacophony of sounds coming from not far away.

Yucheng was always a lively place.

There were many steep peaks here. Even when walking in the city, one always had to climb slopes and stairs. Many mortals made a living by carrying goods for others.

At this moment, several sturdy men outside the city were bare-chested and drinking wine near a bonfire.

After drinking the strong wine, they would breathe out a white mist of hot air, making those watching from afar forget the cold of the vast wind and snow.

Seeing cultivators descend from the barrier, those people were already accustomed to it and vied with each other to stand up and help carry goods.

Although cultivators had storage bags, they couldn’t hold living things. These cultivators earned spirit stones by hunting demon beasts; fresh ones fetched a higher price but were inevitably messy, so they were quite willing to spend some silver to find someone to help transport them to the city markets.

Xue Jingci was a step too slow, and the sturdy men quickly found business, leaving only a young boy whom no one paid attention to.

“With your frame, you still want to carry demon beasts? Go on, go play in the mud.”

“Immortal Master, I can really carry it! I’m very cheap!”

Hearing “cheap,” Xue Jingci’s ears twitched. He picked up the System and walked toward the child.

“To carry this dirty cat, how much silver do you want?”

The System looked up and meowed in dissatisfaction, but it was indeed too much to ask it to walk the mountain roads itself, so it closed its eyes and remained silent.

The boy looked at the cat and stuttered a low price. Xue Jingci paid the silver.

The two had a fast pace. From the mountain pass to the city interior, it was only half an hour.

The boy didn’t dare ask where they were going and just followed obediently while holding the cat. Only when Xue Jingci walked in front of the Huachang Pavilion did he ask, “Is the Immortal Master here to buy Dharma robes?”

Xue Jingci nodded and walked straight in.

There were four shops in the city that made Dharma robes, and this was the largest. It was quite famous among cultivators, and both the materials and the tailoring were top-notch.

Xue Jingci looked like someone without desires or needs, but in reality, he liked beautiful things. Even when he was poor and first arrived, he would periodically come to the Huachang Pavilion to buy clothes.

As soon as he entered, his gaze fell on the red Dharma robe in the center.

Most Dharma robes for righteous cultivators were plain in color. Red was too ostentatious and vibrant, quite rare. But the one before him had gold edges on the collar and sleeves, giving it a feeling of molten gold in fire.

Xue Jingci thought that since he was going to the Upper Realm to see his disciple, he couldn’t go empty-handed. He should have something decent, so he asked the shopkeeper for this robe.

Seeing that Xue Jingci didn’t haggle, the shopkeeper’s smile became even more enthusiastic: “Please follow me to the side to have your measurements taken so the size can be adjusted.”

Xue Jingci shook his head slightly and smiled, saying, “It’s a gift. His build is similar to mine…”

Halfway through, he paused. “Forget it, make it a bit larger.”

Having not seen him for six years, his disciple should not have the same build as before. A bit larger would be easier to adjust anyway.

“Easy, easy.”

Having settled the matter of the gift, Xue Jingci felt a weight lift from his heart and went to choose his own Dharma robes.

Having lived in the village for three months, many of his clothes were old.

So he chose for a long time before he was satisfied, asking the shopkeeper to add several more talismans for dust removal, water avoidance, and wind protection.

After arranging to pick them up tomorrow, Xue Jingci went to the market to buy medicinal pills, talismans, and various items needed for the tribulation. Only then did he bid farewell to the boy who carried the goods, buying his bamboo basket as he did.

The System lay leisurely in the boy’s arms. Seeing him head toward the official residence that managed land and house deeds in the city, it asked hurriedly, “Host, are you going to sell the house?”

Seeing Xue Jingci nod, the System said regretfully, “I suppose so. We probably won’t be coming back.”

When he first came to this world, Xue Jingci had no money and often stayed in ruined temples. It was only after settling here that he finally had a place to call home.

Everything from the small pots and pans to the large furniture and decorations had been added by the host bit by bit. To sell it just like that was indeed a bit of a pity.

Xue Jingci, however, didn’t feel much sadness. Instead, he was unusually happy—he hadn’t expected the house to appreciate in value so much.

“The Immortal Master might not know, but next year marks the five-year cycle when the immortals of the Upper Realm descend to select disciples. Aside from the capital, Yucheng has the most sects coming. Currently, the young cultivators waiting here are endless. It’s truly a case of ‘one house is hard to find’!”

Happy, Xue Jingci hung up the sign for selling the house and returned to his residence with the boy.

The mountain city was winding; one not only had to look at north, south, east, and west but also distinguish between up and down. Xue Jingci’s residence wasn’t large, but it was a beautiful estate. However, its terrain was remote, and there was less human activity from the neighbors.

But it wasn’t particularly hard to find.

Across the wall, the first thing one saw was the old persimmon tree filled with red fruit.

Xue Jingci told the boy to put the cat down and then sent him away.

Just as he entered the house, Old Man Liu from nearby came over to inquire. Xue Jingci had been gone for several months, and it was these neighbors who helped look after the courtyard. Seeing someone come, he brought out some specialties from elsewhere as a thank-you.

Old Man Liu declined a few times before accepting them with a laugh, asking, “How long are you staying this time? Niu-zai got engaged these past two days. After next spring, she’ll be getting married.”

Xue Jingci brewed hot tea. His hand movements paused as he said, “I’m leaving soon. The courtyard has already been listed at the exchange. I probably won’t be coming back.”

Old Man Liu was also stunned. It took a long time for him to think of something and ask, “This time you can go up there to find Little Xie?”

Xue Jingci nodded: “I can.”

“Good, a good thing! It’s been so long; you should go find him.”

Old Man Liu drank his tea. Though he said it was good, his eyes turned a bit red.

He knew that these practitioners were not the same as them.

When Xue Jingci first bought the courtyard, his granddaughter was only six or seven. In the blink of an eye, over ten years had passed. Now the little girl was getting married, yet the person before him was still the same as before, without the slightest change.

Before leaving, Xue Jingci called him back and pulled a beautiful jade pendant from his storage bag, handing it over. “I won’t make it to the wedding. This is for Niu-zai. I wish her peace and happiness forever.”

Old Man Liu wiped his tears, took the item, thanked him, and left. The man who had been vigorous ten years ago now had a curved back and needed a cane to walk steadily.

Once his figure disappeared, only Xue Jingci and that persimmon tree remained.

Xue Jingci withdrew his gaze and began to pack the things in the house.

Valuable things went into the storage bag, beautiful things went into the storage bag, and Xie Zheng’s things also had to be packed and put into the storage bag.

The house wasn’t large, with only two rooms total. One was his, and the other belonged to his disciple, Xie Zheng.

Ten years ago, following the guidance of the system mission, he found Xie Zheng and took him as a disciple, conscientiously performing the main missions and training an excellent disciple.

At that time, Xie Zheng had fallen into the lowest point of his life. The once-triumphant top scholar (Zhuangyuan) had just entered officialdom, offended powerful figures, and was exiled. He was surviving by begging in a bitter, cold land with broken hands and feet.

Xue Jingci appeared at that time, brought him home, took him as a disciple, healed his injuries, and taught him to cultivate the Dao.

Master and disciple lived in this small house, occasionally going out for experience. In the blink of an eye, over four years passed.

Until Xie Zheng obtained an opportunity and was taken to the Upper Realm by a benefactor. He had been gone for six years.

The Upper Realm was a place where only great sects could go. A loose cultivator of humble origin like Xue Jingci couldn’t even cross the Heaven’s Gate Array. Only by passing the Golden Core tribulation would he be qualified to cross the array.

Now, as he was about to form his Golden Core, he could finally go to the Upper Realm to find Xie Zheng and continue the mission.

To say he wasn’t happy would be a lie. Xie Zheng was Xue Jingci’s first disciple; everything from drawing qi into the body to every single move was taught by him personally.

Xie Zheng also had the talent of a Zhuangyuan. The two were both teacher and student and also friends, getting along very harmoniously.

Having not seen him for a long time, though Xue Jingci didn’t say it, he still remembered. The things in Xie Zheng’s room were still the same as six years ago, unchanged in the slightest.

There were wood carvings, picture albums, poems…

Xue Jingci couldn’t bear to throw them away, so he simply packed them all. The storage bag was soon full.

He struggled for a long time before taking out his own things to discard, barely freeing up some space.

And those discarded things weren’t wasted. With just a light touch from Xue Jingci, it seemed as if all the spiritual energy was sucked out of them.

From their lively appearance to being withered and shrunken, a slight tap of his finger turned them into ashes.

Mortals naturally lacked such ability.

But Xue Jingci was a person from another world, possessing the Taotie bloodline that could devour all things.

The System hurriedly warned: “Don’t be greedy. Your power is still locked. If you use it recklessly, you’ll be given a yellow card.”

Xue Jingci could only withdraw his hand, savoring the taste he had just absorbed in his mind.

Fine, if you won’t let me eat, then I won’t. It didn’t taste that good anyway.

It wasn’t until dusk that he let out a breath and stood up, finally finishing packing the courtyard. He rubbed his belly and decided to go to the Wangtian Tower for a big meal before leaving.

Perhaps due to his bloodline, Xue Jingci was born with a craving for food. Having suffered in Donglai Village for these past few days, he had to make up for it all on his first day back.

However, when he reached the Wangtian Tower and tasted the signature pork trotter he had been longing for, he frowned and barely touched his chopsticks.

The System couldn’t taste good or bad and asked while biting a small yellow croaker, “Don’t you like their pork trotter the most? Why aren’t you eating?”

Xue Jingci said dissatisfiedly to the little cat squatting nearby, “It’s bad.”

A customer nearby heard him and praised his sharp tongue. Raising a wine cup, he said, “The Immortal Master might not know, but two months ago, Chef Wang of Wangtian Tower returned to his hometown. The current one isn’t very good; he’s only learned seventy or eighty percent of the flavor. It’s simply not as good as before.”

The man shook his head and lamented. Xue Jingci thought it was a pity, poking the pork trotter in his bowl with his chopsticks, refusing to eat any more.

The System whispered a complaint about him being a picky eater.

A few days later, once the house was sold, Xue Jingci put on his new Dharma robe and flew out of the city on his sword to the place of his tribulation.

The spiritual energy within his body roared and vibrated. Dark clouds regathered in the sky, and crimson-purple lightning spread like a spiderweb, only to be blocked by a force.

History repeated itself; the Heavenly Dao was still blocked by the Heaven’s Gate Array.

Xue Jingci remembered the way the river demon had sworn an oath earlier. He raised his right hand and said faintly, “I swear to heaven today that I will not draw my sword during this tribulation.”

The System was stunned and cried out, “What nonsense are you talking!”

After saying that, he put his sword back into its scabbard. Seeing the long sword buzzing and unwilling to enter, he patted it soothingly and continued:

“If I violate this oath, let me be struck by lightning.”

As soon as these words were spoken, a vast Dao intent instantly locked onto the place where he stood.

Xue Jingci seemed to sense something, knowing the Heavenly Dao had finally sensed his existence.

After making the oath, Xue Jingci looked up at the Heaven’s Gate Array and drew his sword from its scabbard once more.

—Rumble.

The Heaven’s Gate Array vibrated violently, but in the end, it couldn’t block the wildly surging power of the lightning tribulation.

The System finally understood something a beat too late. This man actually wanted to use the lightning of a broken oath to draw in the Golden Core lightning tribulation!

Now that two lightning tribulations were coming together, heaven and earth were enraged. The entire cat instantly vanished, leaving only its meows echoing.

“Xue Jingci, you’re risking your life!”

Xue Jingci looked up at the heavenly lightning, thinking to himself that it indeed worked. Then, without thinking further, he focused and gripped his sword, meeting the lightning head-on.

Even with the Heaven’s Gate Array in between, he had finally waited for his Golden Core lightning tribulation.