Chapter 24#
Everything played perfectly into Yun Zhou’s hands.
After speaking those words, Yun Qiao froze.
He was Yun Zhou’s elder brother. He should be clear-headed, composed, not stumble into temptation.
But what was he doing?
A single sentence from his junior brother had made him abandon all composure, easily speaking aloud the feelings he had hidden for years.
His mind was in chaos. He hurriedly shook his head. “No, junior brother, I—“
Yun Zhou raised an eyebrow. “I heard you. You said yes, you agreed.”
Yun Qiao tried to leave, but Yun Zhou didn’t let go. Instead, his wrist flexed, pulling Yun Qiao into his embrace.
Yun Qiao collided with his chest and flailed to escape, but Yun Zhou tilted his head and whispered softly in his ear: “Elder brother, be good.”
Yun Qiao went rigid.
He didn’t move after all.
An Wuxue still held the soul-nurturing tree essence in his hand, golden light flowing, filling his eyes.
As he watched this memory unfolding, he felt as though his own past was being dragged before him and lashed.
Beneath the abyssal sea, wasn’t it that one call of “elder brother” that had made him lose his composure?
His eyes stung slightly. He blinked rapidly, unable to tell whether it was because the memory between Yun Zhou and Yun Qiao was painful to witness, or because the tree’s light was too bright.
Yet the suffocation he should have felt did not come.
He touched his own chest.
He felt nothing. Not even as much pain as the wound from the ice spike Xie Zhe Feng had thrown at his shoulder blade.
He had already let go.
What a pity—to let go, one must first have held on.
Just like the Yun Qiao in this memory.
Though he knew Yun Zhou was doing it for cultivation advancement, he still harbored one sliver of hope—if he dual cultivated with his junior brother, wouldn’t he gain a little more weight in his junior brother’s heart year after year?
So when Yun Zhou rolled up his sleeve and was about to imprint the dual cultivation seal on his hand, Yun Qiao allowed it.
The seal fell.
An Wu Xue’s expression shifted.
He recognized this seal!
Even Xie Zhe Feng glanced at his arm.
An Wuxue immediately pushed up his own sleeve—there was an identical seal on his arm!
This wasn’t a dual cultivation method at all.
This was a cauldron seal.
Yun Zhou had deceived Yun Qiao.
Yun Qiao knew nothing of it. After the seal was imprinted, Yun Zhou channeled his own aura into the mark, took Yun Qiao’s hand, and led him into the room.
Inside, spiritual energy rippled, accompanied by muffled sounds.
An Wuxue made a small sound, lowered his head, and stared at the glowing branches in his hand, his thoughts drifting.
From the corner of his eye, he could see the man standing beside him hadn’t moved at all.
Truly befitting the Immortal Venerable who had entered the Path of Indifference.
He closed his hearing, playing with the precious treasure in his hand that Yun Zhou had schemed for so long to obtain, pondering the matter of the cauldron seal.
If he wanted to leave, the cauldron seal on Xu Xue’s body was a major hazard. He had previously thought he could escape first and then find a way to suppress it, but after several flare-ups, he gradually realized—this seal wasn’t an ordinary cauldron seal.
Yun Zhou must have obtained it from somewhere.
Common methods might not work against this cauldron seal.
Had Yun Qiao ultimately broken the seal?
If he continued watching through Yun Qiao’s residual soul’s memories, could he find some clue?
As he pondered, the scene before them changed several times.
Yun Zhou’s cultivation progressed by leaps and bounds. In not long, he reached the peak of Great Perfection stage, just one step away from becoming a Tribulation Transcendence cultivator who could dominate both realms.
Yet Yun Qiao’s advancement slowed considerably. When he and Yun Zhou first began dual cultivating, he had been stalled at the early Great Perfection stage for a long time, on the verge of breaking through another minor realm. But after dual cultivating with Yun Zhou, even by the time Yun Zhou reached the peak of Great Perfection, Yun Qiao had only barely reached the middle stage.
One day, after a dual cultivation session, Yun Qiao walked out of Yun Zhou’s room.
He stood before the door, his back to it, tilting his head back to gaze at the magnificent mountains of the Cloud Sword Sect, silent for a long moment.
“Elder brother, why are you still here?” Yun Zhou came out. “Didn’t you say Master and the others wanted to discuss something with you, and you needed to rush to the main peak?”
“Hmm?” Yun Qiao turned at the sound. “I…”
Yun Zhou walked to him with a smile, bent down slightly, then straightened up, teasing: “Does elder brother not want to part with me?”
Yun Qiao’s expression went blank.
He actually wanted to ask Yun Zhou what that dual cultivation seal was about. His cultivation progress was getting slower and slower—surely Yun Zhou had noticed, so why wasn’t he saying anything?
He hesitated for a long time.
After a moment, he narrowed his eyes and smiled gently. “Yes. But I should still leave—it’s getting late.”
Fearing he would lose control and ask if he stayed longer, he quickly turned and flew off on his sword.
He went to the main peak. Only after meeting the sect master did he learn that a Calamity artifact had appeared near the Cloud Sword Sect and Zhao Shui City, containing a mirror demon that had achieved consciousness—seemingly at the early Great Perfection stage.
Demon slaying was a cultivator’s duty, so the Cloud Sword Sect couldn’t ignore it.
Yun Qiao accepted the assignment and led several disciples toward the artifact.
But the information was wrong. The mirror demon was actually at half-step Tribulation Transcendence. Yun Qiao was no match. At the cost of grave injuries, he managed to lead the Cloud Sword Sect disciples back safely.
The wounds came from a half-step Tribulation demon. Only the sect master, who was also at half-step Tribulation Transcendence, could treat him.
When the sect master examined Yun Qiao’s injuries, he saw the cauldron seal on his hand.
Yun Qiao had been devoted to cultivation since childhood. In his entire life, his greatest loves were only the Cloud Sword Sect and Yun Zhou.
He had never seen a cauldron seal before, but what was the sect master’s experience? One glance told him what it was.
Just then, Yun Zhou had heard news of Yun Qiao’s serious injuries and rushed over. He watched as the sect master suddenly stood up and struck the already grievously wounded Yun Qiao to the ground with a palm.
“Elder brother!” Yun Zhou’s expression changed drastically. He rushed forward to support him.
Yun Qiao, wounded upon wound, coughed up a mouthful of blood, his face colorless, his eyes bewildered. “Master…”
The sect master’s fury erupted. “What is that thing on your hand!? You, the sect’s first seat, an example to your peers, became a cauldron for someone else? I wondered why your cultivation progress had been slowing, thinking you were just overstretched and occasionally neglected, but you—!!!”
He seemed so enraged he couldn’t catch his breath, coughing several times in succession.
Yun Qiao was stunned.
He looked toward Yun Zhou, his eyes hazy.
Yun Zhou’s gaze flickered, his eyes evasive. In the end, he turned away and said nothing.
Yun Qiao only felt his wounds hurt more.
The sect master demanded: “Who is the owner of the cauldron seal on you!?”
Silence.
Yun Zhou didn’t speak.
Yun Qiao leaned blankly against his junior brother, even forgetting to wipe the blood from his lips.
He didn’t know what he was waiting for.
For Yun Zhou to speak? Yet even now, knowing for certain that Yun Zhou had placed the cauldron seal on him, he still didn’t want his junior brother to be discovered by his master.
But with Yun Zhou standing there so calmly, his heart stabbed and stabbed. The demon’s wounds, his master’s furious palm—none hurt as much as the pain flooding his chest now.
In the end, he said nothing.
The Cloud Sword Sect master, in his fury, immediately declared Yun Qiao guilty of betrayal of the sect and sentenced him to lightning punishment.
When the lightning punishment was carried out, Yun Qiao’s wounds still hadn’t healed.
Yet he never spoke a word from beginning to end.
From the moment he saw Yun Zhou’s eyes evade his, he never opened his mouth again.
After the punishment ended, Yun Wei and the other junior disciples rushed over, crying hysterically.
Yun Wei, still young then, had watched the entire punishment. His little face had gone deathly pale, tears streaming as he said: “Elder brother has always acted righteously. How could Master be so harsh? There must be some misunderstanding…”
Yun Qiao blinked and looked toward Yun Zhou, still standing in the distance.
He laughed bitterly. “There is none. What Father said… is entirely true.”
Yun Zhou finally walked over slowly.
“Elder brother, let me take you back.”
Back in Yun Qiao’s chamber, Yun Qiao remained silent.
He had never been very talkative. When alone with Yun Zhou, he would always sit quietly beside him, occasionally smiling when his junior brother looked his way.
But this silence made Yun Zhou uneasy.
Yun Zhou sat on the bed edge, grasping Yun Qiao’s hand, his fingers tracing the seal that had been struck by lightning. He said softly: “Is elder brother angry with me?”
Yun Qiao’s internal organs all ached. Yun Zhou’s words seemed to come from distant skies, hazy and indistinct.
He listened, his brow furrowed, hearing fragments, and didn’t respond.
Yun Zhou continued: “I obtained this seal by accident and didn’t know it was a cauldron seal. If I had known, I would have placed it on myself. Elder brother, be angry with me, cut me a thousand times if you wish, but don’t ignore me.”
He seemed genuinely frightened now, his expression tense, regarding Yun Qiao anxiously.
“…Is that truly so?”
Yun Zhou nodded vigorously. “Believe me this once, elder brother!”
Yun Qiao lay on his side on the bed, looking up at his junior brother.
He thought: just this once, the last time.
Whether Yun Zhou was telling the truth or he was deceiving himself, he would treat it as Yun Zhou’s words.
He said softly: “All right.”
Yun Zhou’s face brightened. “Then elder brother should rest and heal. Don’t worry about other matters. I’ll discuss things well with Yun Wei and the others.”
“…All right.”
After that, Yun Qiao, having suffered successive injuries and lightning punishment, spent several months in closed cultivation, healing his wounds.
He paid no attention to the outside world and didn’t know that the sect master had grown greatly disappointed in him, had stripped him of his position as first seat, and bestowed the position on the young Yun Zhou, who was already approaching Tribulation Transcendence.
Yun Wei and the others didn’t know why but were forbidden from speaking much by the sect master’s orders, so no one dared say anything.
An Wuxue had originally thought Yun Zhou had achieved his goal. With the half-step Tribulation stage reached and the first seat position obtained, the Cloud Sword Sect would eventually be his. Yun Qiao was no longer useful to him, so Yun Zhou likely wouldn’t pay him much attention anymore.
But Yun Zhou visited Yun Qiao at regular intervals, bringing him spirit medicines and treasures, helping him heal.
Yun Zhou even liked to stare at the cauldron seal he had placed on Yun Qiao.
One time, Yun Zhou felt the urge and, though Yun Qiao’s wounds weren’t fully healed, wanted to pull him into dual cultivation again.
Yun Qiao’s eyes grew dim. He hastily blocked him and said: “Junior brother, let’s not do this anymore.”
Yun Zhou, who had been smiling just a moment before, suddenly darkened his expression. “What do you mean, elder brother? Are you still angry with me? But you promised me we’d move past what happened before.”
“Junior brother, perhaps you misunderstood me,” Yun Qiao spoke carefully, “I don’t blame you, but… Father was right. I shouldn’t have done it. I still consider you my junior brother, only… we shouldn’t do this anymore—“
“I don’t want that,” Yun Zhou said harshly.
Yun Qiao finally lost his temper. He paused, then said helplessly: “Whether you want to or not is your business. I won’t dual cultivate with you again.”
He knew Yun Zhou’s nature and had prepared himself for his junior brother’s persistence.
But Yun Zhou only laughed.
Yun Qiao was startled, suddenly feeling he didn’t recognize his junior brother anymore.
His junior brother’s voice held laughter: “Elder brother, you don’t think this is something you can just refuse now, do you?”
“Wh—“
Yun Qiao suddenly went rigid all over.
At the location of the cauldron seal, intense heat suddenly flooded through his meridians, instantly draining all his strength.
Yun Zhou’s spiritual power surrounded him subtly, like intoxicating immortal wine, making him instinctively want to draw closer to Yun Zhou.
“You…”
“Doesn’t elder brother already know this is a cauldron seal?” Yun Zhou gently pulled Yun Qiao into his embrace. “Elder brother, be good.”
Yun Qiao trembled.
He finally understood.
His junior brother had known everything from the beginning—that it was a cauldron seal, that his cultivation would slow increasingly, that he couldn’t escape.
From start to finish, he had been nothing but a tool for his junior brother’s cultivation.
Yet he had already stepped into the abyss with no way back.
He couldn’t push Yun Zhou away. He could only close his eyes and submit.
An Wuxue saw Yun Zhou drawing the bed curtains and quickly averted his eyes, leaving the memory chamber with Xie Zhe Feng.
Some suggestive sounds emerged from within the room. The man beside him suddenly turned and said: “When Yun Zhou brought you to Luo Yue Peak, the seal was already on you. Someone had to channel their aura into it—I merely did that much.”
“…Hmm?”
Why suddenly bring this up?
After seeing Xu Xue’s appearance, he hadn’t wanted to investigate why Xie Zhe Feng had left him alive, only how to break the seal.
“I won’t dual cultivate with you,” Xie Zhe Feng said. “You don’t need to worry about what I’ll do with this seal.”
An Wuxue gave a low laugh. “Then I should thank the Immortal Venerable.”
His tone was clearly off. Xie Zhe Feng frowned but said nothing.
In just a few exchanges between them, several more months passed in Yun Qiao’s residual soul’s memory.
Yun Qiao’s injury reached his foundation, and constant wear from Yun Zhou’s treatment left him requiring long recovery before he could walk independently.
He had barely managed to leave his cave dwelling when he noticed the strange looks from others in the sect. Only then did he learn that half a year had passed, Yun Zhou was now the first seat, and that mirror demon had been subdued and captured by Yun Zhou, awaiting transport to Luo Yue Peak to be sealed in the Ancient Tower.
He sat in meditation for an entire day.
Finally, he went to Yun Zhou’s cave dwelling.
He wanted to have a serious conversation with Yun Zhou.
He had visited Yun Zhou’s cave dwelling many times before. The barrier outside didn’t guard against him, so he entered without permission.
Just as he crossed the barrier, he heard Yun Zhou conversing with someone.
Yun Qiao didn’t want to interrupt Yun Zhou’s affairs at that moment, so he hid in a nearby grove.
He only meant to wait for the visitor to leave, but as soon as he settled in, he heard them say: “Daoist Yun Zhou, your tribulation transcendence is imminent, and you’ve resolved the mirror demon crisis. Truly a talent of youth. No wonder the city master intends to betroth his daughter to you as a dual cultivator.”
City master? The Zhao Shui City master?
Yun Zhou wanted to become dual cultivators with the city master’s daughter…?
He heard Yun Zhou reply politely: “The city master honors me too much. As for tribulation transcendence, I still lack confidence.”
“Zhao Shui City hasn’t produced a Tribulation Transcendence cultivator in ages. If this succeeds, both Zhao Shui and Cloud Sword will make every effort to help you transcend. This matter is virtually assured. There’s nothing to worry about.”
“…”
The two exchanged a few more pleasantries. Finally, Yun Zhou said: “In a few days, I need to transport the mirror demon to the Ancient Tower. When I pass through Zhao Shui City, I’ll discuss this matter properly with the city master’s residence.”
“Very well, I’ll take my leave and report to the city master…”
Yun Zhou saw the visitor off to the barrier, opened it, and watched them leave.
Turning back, he suddenly saw Yun Qiao standing in the distance, watching him.
For a moment, his expression seemed somewhat flustered.
He quickly approached Yun Qiao, took a cloak from his spirit pouch, and draped it over his shoulders with a smile. “Elder brother, why did you come? Are you feeling better? There’s much wind in the mountains. Your spiritual power is weak now—be careful not to catch cold.”
“I heard,” Yun Qiao said.
Yun Zhou’s movements stilled.
“That was merely courtesy.”
“If you become dual cultivators with someone else, what am I?” Yun Qiao continued, “A cauldron you can’t show in public?”
“Elder brother!”
Yun Qiao said softly: “Junior brother, let me go.”
Yun Zhou trembled.
“I merely wanted to use Zhao Shui City’s power to help me transcend tribulation. I never had any real intention of becoming dual cultivators with anyone. If elder brother is unhappy, I’ll refuse.”
He himself was startled at these words.
He knew perhaps he did like his elder brother, but in his eyes, cultivation advancement was always most important. He hadn’t expected himself to ever say such things to coax Yun Qiao.
But Yun Qiao only repeated: “Junior brother, let me go.”
Yun Zhou angrily demanded: “I’ve conceded so much—what more are you unhappy about?”
What more was he unhappy about?
That was quite a question.
Yun Qiao laughed mockingly—he had never been happy from the start.
He said calmly: “Junior brother, you’ve often made excuses of poor cultivation progress to justify your anger. I’ve told you this daily before.”
“It’s you, elder brother, who made me angry. You can’t escape me. This cauldron seal is ancient secret art—there’s no way to break it. Only if your cultivation surpasses mine can it dissolve. Otherwise, you’ll bear my mark until death.”
“It’s truly a shame. Elder brother injured your foundation. I fear you’ll never catch up to my cultivation in this lifetime.”
As he spoke, he grabbed Yun Qiao’s hand and pushed up his sleeve, looking at the seal he himself had imprinted.
Mountain wind blew across Yun Qiao’s unprotected wrist, bringing slight chill. Even Yun Zhou’s fingertips touching him felt numbingly cold.
After a long silence, he said: “I want to go out and walk.”
“…Hmm?”
“I just heard you say you need to transport the mirror demon to Luo Yue to seal in the Ancient Tower. I’ve recuperated for half a year and want to see the world again. Let junior brother take me along to clear my heart.”
“Elder brother, why suddenly…”
“Can’t you grant me even this small request?”
Seeing Yun Qiao’s mournful expression, Yun Zhou hesitated. “Very well. If elder brother wants to come, then come. I’ll take you to Zhao Shui City to visit and refuse the dual cultivator matter—will that satisfy elder brother?”
Yun Qiao smiled.
He was smiling at how Yun Zhou’s words sounded like a favor, and also smiling at himself, getting what he’d wished for.
In the cultivation world, days pass like blinking. In Yun Qiao’s residual soul’s memory, in what seemed like an instant, he found himself boarding the traveling carriage with Yun Zhou and arriving at the Zhao Shui City master’s residence.
Yun Zhou descended first and extended a hand to help Yun Qiao down.
Yun Qiao suddenly asked: “Junior brother, where is the mirror demon now?”
“Sealed in a spirit pouch. Why?”
“Could you show it to me? I don’t want to enter the city master’s residence. You go in, and I’ll wait outside. Since I’m bored anyway, let me see it—it seriously wounded me before. Let me get my revenge, no?”
“When did elder brother start holding grudges?”
Yun Qiao thought: so in Yun Zhou’s eyes, I’m someone who never holds grudges.
He simply asked: “Junior brother won’t show me?”
Yun Zhou had been very indulgent toward Yun Qiao these past days. After a moment’s consideration, he handed over the spirit pouch containing the mirror demon and abundant turbid qi. “There’s still a lot of turbid qi inside. Elder brother, be careful.”
Yun Qiao smiled with his eyes narrowed. “All right.”
Yun Zhou suddenly froze.
How long had it been since he’d seen his elder brother smile?
Vaguely, he seemed to suddenly understand why he couldn’t bear to let Yun Qiao go.
But the timing of this realization was too absurd. He didn’t even process what he’d understood.
He said: “Elder brother’s smile is beautiful. You should smile more in the future—I won’t make you angry anymore.”
Yun Qiao, for some reason, became very obedient. “All right.”
Yun Zhou turned and followed the city master’s cultivator inside.
Yun Qiao stood at the entrance and suddenly said to his retreating back: “Junior brother, you’re quick to anger over poor cultivation progress. That temperament of yours… you should really change it in the future.”
This statement seemed to come from nowhere. Yun Zhou didn’t understand, but simply nodded before entering the residence.
An Wu Xue, looking at the spirit pouch in Yun Qiao’s hand sealed with turbid qi, remembered the Tian Shui Festival in Zhao Shui City and understood completely.
He could hardly bear to watch.
He closed his eyes. After an unknown length of time, he heard cultivators before the city master’s residence suddenly shout: “Turbid qi… a demon! He’s been corrupted!!! Help!!!!!!”
The first thing An Wuxue saw when he opened his eyes was Yun Zhou emerging from the city master’s residence.
Yun Zhou saw his elder brother standing in the open road before the gate, in the very center, turning his head to look at him.
His elder brother held the spirit pouch sealing the mirror demon.
The mirror demon remained locked in the spirit pouch, but all the turbid qi inside had dispersed.
Zhao Shui City hadn’t been contaminated by turbid qi.
Because that turbid qi had all entered Yun Qiao’s body.
Yun Qiao smiled faintly, watching the cauldron seal on his hand suddenly vanish—he had broken through to Tribulation Transcendence stage with the assistance of abundant turbid qi.
His cultivation now exceeded Yun Zhou’s, so the seal naturally dissolved.
Those who cultivate turbidity to become demons have no bottlenecks, need no foundation—they progress simply by absorbing turbid qi.
It was a shortcut everyone in both realms knew.
Also a dead end from which there was no return.
Chaos erupted around them, screams unceasing.
Yun Zhou struggled against the crowd, stumbling toward his elder brother, his voice trembling: “…Elder brother?”
“You said I’d bear your mark forever—junior brother, you were wrong.”
Yun Zhou’s hands shook.
Zhao Shui City had witnessed Yun Qiao’s corruption—what was done was done. All he wanted was to quickly take his elder brother and escape.
He moved forward to carry Yun Qiao away, but Yun Qiao simply flicked his sleeve, tossing the spirit pouch containing the mirror demon to him and pushing him far away.
At that very moment, at the center of Zhao Shui City.
The Zhao Shui Sword, silent for nearly a thousand years, let out a resonant hum.
It was one corner of the Four Seas Ten-Thousand Sword Array.
A thousand years ago, when An Wuxue was still at his peak, he had personally inscribed array patterns here, combining the spirit swords of countless fallen immortal cultivators into a tomb, with Lou Shui Ming’s self-sacrifice and expenditure of a lifetime’s spiritual power as the foundation. Only then was this sword array created to replace the heavenly pillar in cleansing turbid qi.
The array detected a demon cultivator.
From within the memory, An Wuxue sighed.
But Xie Zhe Feng looked up at the massive sword that An Wuxue had personally planted, his expression dazed, uncertain whether he was looking at the sword or at someone through it.
Turbid qi surged.
The Zhao Shui Sword shot into the heavens, holding up the sky, its blade reflecting the distant Eastern Cang Sea far away.
A sword light burst from the massive blade, tearing through the firmament, shredding the swift wind.
Yun Zhou’s eyes burned.
The sword light descended, bearing formidable sword intent, piercing into Yun Qiao’s body.
“Boom—“