Chapter 4#
The moon hung low in the western sky.
Among the thousands of peaks of Luoyue Peak, the spiritual energy was dense. At night, the mountain summits were shrouded in clouds and mist, hiding the moonlight within the layers of clouds. For thousands of years, the night saw no moon—hence the name “Luoyue” (Falling Moon).
The only place where moonlight could be seen was the Buried Frost Sea, floating above the clouds.
On a tall pine tree at the entrance of the Frost Sea hung a dark soul bell.
In front of the soul bell, a man dressed in a vermilion robe with his hair bound in a jade crown stood beneath the tall pine.
This person’s fingertips moved slightly, gently poking the soul bell that was connected to Xie Zefeng’s divine sense.
The soul bell swayed back and forth but made no sound.
It wasn’t until Xie Zefeng landed from the air holding Kunkun that the silence was broken.
The vermilion-robed cultivator didn’t turn his head, merely continuing to poke the soul bell over and over, saying, “The Immortal Venerable has quite the leisure. He’s not even in his cave dwelling, yet the soul bell for guests is still hanging at the entrance. I’ve been knocking here for who knows how long; isn’t the Immortal Venerable’s divine soul tired of hearing it?”
Xie Zefeng walked straight past him and set Kunkun down.
Kunkun didn’t seem to like this person. It glanced at the vermilion-robed man and with a “whoosh,” it darted into the pine forest and vanished.
Only then did Xie Zefeng reply indifferently, “This soul bell only recognizes imprinted divine souls. You cannot ring it.”
The man: “…So I’ve been knocking for nothing all this time? Then who is this soul bell for—”
He stopped mid-sentence.
The patterns on the soul bell had grown exceptionally dim and worn, having hung here for at least hundreds or thousands of years.
A thousand years ago…
The man murmured, “Is this the soul bell imprinted by Wuxue?”
He froze, his playful expression swept away, and he raised his hand wanting to touch the soul bell again.
But before his fingertips could touch it, the vermilion-robed man’s hand was suddenly frozen by a thick layer of frost and snow!
The frost carried the spiritual energy of an Eternal Immortal, exceptionally fierce. Startled, he quickly withdrew his hand and circulated his entire spiritual energy to dispel the cold.
He looked at Xie Zefeng with a heavy expression. Xie Zefeng stood aside expressionless, saying nothing.
He blurted out, “The only person who could ring this soul bell is no longer here. Why is the Immortal Venerable putting on such a pretense?”
Xie Zefeng’s gaze darkened.
His gaze carried a hint of killing intent. The man’s voice faltered. Knowing he was no match for Xie Zefeng, he took a deep breath and shifted the topic: “Straight to business then. You sent me a message today; is it related to that Demon Blade incident earlier today? I inquired a bit when I came. I heard someone brought a Demon Blade tainted with turbid energy into a sect, resulting in half the sect being injured?”
Xie Zefeng nodded slightly: “The Demon Blade originated from a secret realm. There is likely turbid energy in that secret realm.”
“Another place with turbid energy appearing out of nowhere? You want me to investigate the source of the turbid energy on the Demon Blade? Truly strange. In the past…” He paused, hiding some words. “But since then, in these last hundred or two hundred years, ever since you’ve been able to travel outside frequently, haven’t you personally handled everything related to divine souls and turbid energy? Why are you willing to take the initiative to hand this investigation to me now?”
“Are you not going to investigate?”
“…” The man gritted his teeth. “When did I say no? The source of the turbid energy might be related to the truth of back then. If you care, do I not? …Fine, I’ll take this. But a minor disturbance like a Demon Blade shouldn’t be worth you sealing the mountain gate, right? What happened inside Luoyue Peak that made you use this as an excuse to seal the mountain?”
Xie Zefeng had no intention of hiding it from him, saying word for word: “A person with a detached soul has slipped into the mountain gate.”
“Detached soul”—the soul and body are not as one. This usually refers to a person who has taken over a body (possession) or a puppet.
As the foremost sect in the cultivation world, Luoyue Peak’s entries and exits were strictly monitored, and all cultivators coming and going had names and identities. What kind of possessed person or puppet could actually hide from Xie Zefeng, the only person in the Ascension Realm today, and slip in silently?
There must be something strange about this.
“Have you found out who it is?”
“The method of soul searching harms the harmony of heaven.”
“So you’re letting me, an outsider, investigate the Demon Blade’s secret realm so you can stay at Luoyue to investigate the detached soul person yourself?”
“…”
“In a few days, it will be the time for your annual trip to Thorn River. If you’re staying at Luoyue, are you still going to Thorn River?”
Xie Zefeng only said, “Qi Xun, you should leave.”
Qi Xun: “…”
He endured it.
An Wuxue was tainted with thick turbid energy when he perished. This matter concerned An Wuxue, and Qi Xun had no intention of being negligent.
He asked for more information about the Demon Blade and turbid energy, then left quickly, heading for that secret realm.
Once Qi Xun left, the Buried Frost Sea, which originally had no one else, fell silent again.
Xie Zefeng’s expression had been solemn from beginning to end, but now that there was no one else around, he seemed to suddenly relax his mind. His gaze fell upon that soul bell, a trace of pain hidden in his dark eyes.
He walked forward slowly, raised his hand, and touched the soul bell with his fingertips, knocking it gently with spiritual energy.
There was no sound.
Just like usual.
This soul bell hung in front of the gate of the Frost Sea high in the sky, saturated with a thousand years of returning snow and flowing wind, yet it had never rung once.
An Wuxue knew he was dreaming.
He dreamed of the time when he and Xie Zefeng were still in the Small Success period.
The two of them had followed their master’s orders to go to the mortal world to exorcise demons, and stumbled into an unnamed mountain covered in turbid energy.
That was a memory from his youth together with Xie Zefeng. For him, it was just something from his past life that he had let go of; he wouldn’t normally think of it.
Only in uncontrollable dreams would Xie Zefeng’s figure appear before his eyes without regard.
He didn’t want to have such a dream and was extremely resistant.
With his divine sense cultivation, breaking free from a shallow dream should have been easy, but this time he couldn’t struggle out of it for the life of him.
He had no choice but to drift with the consciousness in the dream.
At that time, his and Xie Zefeng’s cultivation wasn’t high. The Small Success period follows the Inedia period for cultivators; they weren’t yet considered experts.
They couldn’t find the source of the turbid energy and fought with the demon cultivators in the mountains for many days without a clear victor.
Turbid energy filled the mountains. To save spiritual energy, he and Xie Zefeng huddled together in a cramped cave, using spiritual energy to drive a magic tool to prop up a small barrier.
The cave was narrow and the barrier was thin; he and Xie Zefeng were almost leaning against each other.
At such close proximity, An Wuxue could hear even Xie Zefeng’s breathing clearly and could feel the cool aura of the person beside him. It was so cold that he subconsciously wanted to get closer to offer some warmth.
—What was he thinking?
That was his junior brother.
He quickly shook his head.
Xie Zefeng happened to hear the movement and turned his head to look at him, asking worriedly, “What’s wrong, Senior Brother?”
“…Nothing.” An Wuxue spoke in a low voice, but his hoarse voice betrayed his state.
Stop staring at him.
He turned his head away in embarrassment.
“Senior Brother’s face looks a bit strange,” Xie Zefeng’s gaze was firmly fixed on him as he raised his hand. “You seem to be a bit hot.”
The man’s well-defined hand pressed against him.
The spiritual energy Xie Zefeng cultivated was bone-chillingly cold. His habitually cool hand pressed indisputably against An Wuxue’s indeed somewhat feverish cheek, while his other hand supported his arm.
Heat and cold collided.
An Wuxue shuddered and suddenly pulled his consciousness out of the dream.
He snapped his eyes open, gasping for breath several times.
…How could he dream of this memory?
Yun Zhou and Yun Yao said they would go ask when the mountain sealing order would be lifted, so he sat on a tree branch waiting in the breeze.
He had waited until he fell asleep, and Yun Zhou and Yun Yao still hadn’t returned?
The distant clouds were tinged with a faint red, the sun was sinking in the west, cranes cried as they flew by, and the rustling of leaves around him was constant.
Another gentle breeze passed.
An Wuxue shivered, only to realize that his body was indeed a bit feverish.
Especially on his left arm.
He lifted his sleeve and saw the runes on his left forearm glowing faintly red. A stream of heat flowed from the runes to his entire body, making him feel hot all over.
It was the Furnace Cauldron Mark.
This Furnace Cauldron Mark was placed on Suxue’s body by the Cloud Sword Sect. According to what Yun Zhou said, on the day they went up to Luoyue Peak, Xie Zefeng was in a hurry to leave the mountain, but the Cloud Sword Sect said this mark must have an owner; if not the Immortal Venerable, they would have to find someone else.
Xie Zefeng hastily left his aura and departed.
Now that this mark was tied to Xie Zefeng’s aura, once his spiritual energy became empty or if he went too long without dual cultivating with the owner of the mark, it would more and more frequently trigger desires until they became uncontrollable.
The mark shouldn’t have flared up so quickly, but in the past few days, he had tried using some spells to gather information. The rapid consumption of spiritual energy instead accelerated the mark’s flare-up.
If he had left Luoyue Peak a few days ago, he could have freely thought of a way; if push came to shove, he could have used some techniques he knew from his previous life to suppress it.
But at this moment, the Luoyue Peak mountain gate was tightly shut. He couldn’t get out and absolutely could not act rashly.
Misfortunes never come singly.
In his previous life, he clearly owed Xie Zefeng nothing, yet now he couldn’t cut his connection with this person no matter what.
He really deserved it.
“Hey, Suxue! We’re back!”
Yun Zhou’s voice came.
The Furnace Cauldron Mark was still stirring the restlessness in his heart. As soon as he closed his eyes, he saw what he had just dreamed. He quickly chanted the Heart-Cleansing Incantation several times before turning his head to see Yun Zhou and Yun Yao walking toward him side-by-side.
Yun Yao walked to the tree, looked up, and showed a confused expression: “Young Master Su, why is your face so red? Did you catch a cold?”
“No…” He circulated his spiritual energy to slightly suppress the heat and discarded distracting thoughts. Finally, he felt the warmth in his cheeks recede. “Maybe I just pressed against it while sleeping… Is the mountain sealing order lifted?”
“My junior brother and I went to check together; the gate is still sealed.”
It’s been three or four days, and it’s still sealed?
An Wuxue frowned and blurted out, “Why does such a small matter need to be sealed for so long?”
Yun Zhou “tsk-ed”: “A small matter? You came from the mortal world; you probably don’t know what turbid energy means to cultivators.”
While Yun Zhou spoke, Yun Yao listened intently without a word. Only when Yun Zhou finished did Yun Yao straighten his expression and say, “Young Master Su may not be aware, but turbid energy will cause a cultivator’s Dao heart to break. It has been a hidden danger for both realms since the time of the Immortal Calamity. Once a cultivator is tainted and falls into demonhood, most cannot turn back.” Yun Yao paused, his voice dropping slightly. “Those who cultivate turbid energy and become demons are executed immediately without hesitation.”
An Wuxue knew all too well.
It was because he knew so well that he realized something was not right.
“Did they say until what day it will be sealed?”
Yun Zhou shook his head: “We have to wait for the Immortal Venerable’s decree.”
Not good.
Many of Xie Zefeng’s ways of doing things were taught by him back then, so he naturally knew.
In this situation, the Demon Blade incident was just a reason. Most likely, a problem had appeared within Luoyue Peak, and Xie Zefeng needed to thoroughly investigate the people in the sect…
Others could stand tall if they were upright, but he wasn’t; he had a guilty conscience.
He couldn’t sit and wait for death.
The interval between flare-ups of the Furnace Cauldron Mark was also getting shorter and shorter.
If this continued, was he really going to have to dual cultivate with Xie Zefeng?
“…And the Immortal Venerable is not at Luoyue Peak today. The gatekeeper disciples said that every year at this time, the Immortal Venerable goes out for at least three days. So the sealing order will only be lifted at the earliest in three days when the Immortal Venerable returns to the mountain.” Yun Zhou seemed not to notice that An Wuxue was distracted and continued, “Don’t you just want to go to the mortal world to buy some things? What’s the hurry? If the mountain is sealed, it’s sealed…”
He goes out for three days every year at this time?
What is Xie Zefeng doing? Visiting someone’s grave?
—Wait.
“You said Xie—the Immortal Venerable is not at Luoyue today?”
Yun Zhou was startled: “Yeah.”
Doesn’t that mean the Buried Frost Sea is currently empty?
An Wuxue suddenly sat up and, with a flip, jumped down from the branch.
Yun Zhou was startled by him: “What are you doing?”
“Do you and Yun Yao have any useless blank talismans? Or talismans you don’t need anymore?”
“Huh?”
That night.
At the edge of the Buried Frost Sea.
Birds circled; Xie Zefeng was not in his cave dwelling.
An Wuxue landed from the air, the talisman paper slowly burning out in his hand.
He lived on the mountain peak right next to the Frost Sea. Relying on those useless talismans Yun Zhou and Yun Yao gave him, with a few slight modifications, they were barely enough for him to fly back and forth once.
He had thought of another method during the day.
The foundation of Luoyue Peak’s mountain-protecting array was laid by his own hands. He could use his divine sense to quietly open it for a few moments and use that to leave.
But he needed something tainted with Xie Zefeng’s aura to deceive the array.
Where could such a thing be?
Naturally, it would be in Xie Zefeng’s cave dwelling.
Now, while Xie Zefeng is away…
He looked around slightly at the edge of the Frost Sea.
Nothing had changed.
It was actually exactly the same as in his memory.
Even that soul bell connected to Xie Zefeng’s divine sense was hanging in its former position.
Xie Zefeng had even used this soul bell for a thousand years?
How strange.
Xie Zefeng never used to keep useless things. Has he become someone who clings to the past in these thousand years?
Forget it.
Anyway, it doesn’t affect what he needs to do.
He took a deep breath, put away the remaining talismans, withdrew his spiritual energy, and walked in on foot like a mortal.
Xie Zefeng’s cave dwelling never had a protective barrier.
The Frost Sea was icy cold. Cultivators who came here could only resist the cold by circulating their spiritual energy.
As long as spiritual energy was used, Xie Zefeng would be able to detect it.
As An Wuxue walked in like a mortal, the surroundings were indeed silent, and nothing happened.
The cool wind of the Frost Sea whistled into his sleeves. Even the poised Furnace Cauldron Mark was slightly suppressed by the icy cold. His fingers were frozen stiff, his cheeks were icy, and his lips were only a faint shade of blood-red.
Ordinary cultivators would have been unable to resist circulating their spiritual energy to ward off the cold at this point, but he did not.
The familiar scenes around him receded on both sides. He walked forward quickly without changing his expression, following the route in his memory to arrive in front of Xie Zefeng’s bedroom.
The bedroom door was slightly ajar.
Would there be an item inside tainted with Xie Zefeng’s aura?
An Wuxue walked forward quickly. Just as he was about to push open the door, a wind carrying frost and snow suddenly blew from all directions.
This wind was several times colder than the wisps of wind from before.
A wind brought by spiritual energy?
An Wuxue was suddenly startled.
Oh no.
How did Xie Zefeng come back early!?