In his muddled daze, his mind was completely blank. He did not know what day or age it was, who he was, or where he had come from. He simply drifted through this strange realm, hazy and insubstantial, feeling as light as paper, as though the faintest breeze could scatter him apart.
Suddenly, it was as though a thunderclap exploded from level ground. A flash of awareness burst through him, and he abruptly came to his senses. His ethereal form gradually grew more solid. Though it still had almost no weight, his feet could now touch the ground.
Xu Ziqing opened his eyes to complete darkness.
There was no path ahead.
In a haze, Xu Ziqing remembered that he should have drowned by now, sunk to the bottom of the lake and become a corpse. Yet somehow he was still conscious. What was happening?
His body felt insubstantial, yet when he reached out, he could touch solid objects, though they felt cold beneath his hand.
After thinking for a moment, Xu Ziqing decided that perhaps he was nothing more than a soul now. Rebirth and immortal cultivation were both real, so there was nothing particularly strange about his spirit surviving after death.
But the darkness around him was too complete, and there was not the slightest sound. If he remained here like this, he feared it would not be long before he went mad.
Having quietly made up his mind, Xu Ziqing took a step and stumbled forward.
There was no light and no path he could discern. He could rely only on instinct. Xu Ziqing had no idea how long he had walked when, at last, he spotted a faint white shape ahead.
How could there be a white shape in a place this dark? And how was he able to see it clearly?
He found it strange, but an instant later, joy surged through him. Whatever lay ahead, it was better than being alone here with no sense of time.
Xu Ziqing quickened his steps and headed toward the white shape.
After roughly a thousand steps, the white shape became clearer. It was a stone platform set amid the endless darkness, and atop it sat a person with lowered eyes, long hair spilling all the way to the ground.
It was a man dressed in white. His age was impossible to discern, but the aura surrounding him was terrifying.
His back was perfectly straight, and his features seemed to hold ice and snow that had not melted in ten thousand years. He was without emotion or desire, without worry or fear, without joy or anger, like a cold sword standing between heaven and earth and radiating a chill that kept everyone far away.
His appearance no longer seemed important, because his entire body was enveloped in powerful sword intent, making one feel that he was the sword and the sword was him. Within that sword intent lay boundless killing intent. Even looking directly at him for a moment gave the impression that one’s very soul might freeze.
Even if he stood among countless people, he could never be overlooked. The first thing anyone would notice was the sword qi soaring from him. A second glance… was something no one would dare take.
As Xu Ziqing drew closer, he suddenly stopped. He understood now that the white shape he had seen earlier was this white-robed man.
The man’s sword qi was mingled with killing intent and was far too terrifying. The strongest swordsman Xu Ziqing had ever seen was Xu Zifeng, who had already reached Foundation Establishment, and Xu Ziqing had once marveled at the sword strike with which he blocked the power of cultivators at his own level. Yet before this man, who sat utterly motionless without so much as lifting an eyebrow, the sword qi of that strike seemed utterly dim.
It was the difference between a firefly and the bright moon.
Even as another man, Xu Ziqing could not help but admire someone like this.
He had lived two lives, and in his previous life he had been born into a family of great status and influence. Though illness had confined him to bed, his experience of the world had still been considerable. Yet after searching his memories carefully, he could not think of anyone whose presence could rival that of the man in white.
If Xu Ziqing were not already “dead,” he would very much have liked to befriend this man.
Then another thought occurred to him. If he had already set foot on the road to the Yellow Springs, perhaps the man in white was a fellow traveler. Maybe he could ask him for directions.
Elio’s Notes: The “Yellow Springs” (黄泉) is a traditional Chinese expression for the realm of the dead or the underworld. Here Xu Ziqing quite literally thinks he may already be on the road to the afterlife.
Enduring the bone-piercing cold, Xu Ziqing walked calmly through the sword qi spreading in every direction. When he reached the closest point he could approach, he gave a slight bow. “I am Xu Ziqing. I have lost my way in this place. Might this brother tell me which way I should go?”
His voice was clear and youthful, yet softened by the experience accumulated across two lifetimes, making it naturally pleasant to hear.
The man in white seemed to hear him. His long hair stirred slightly within the sword qi, and he opened his eyes.
Those eyes seemed to contain an unwavering, absolute killing intent. The instant they opened, two bursts of icy golden light erupted from them! Yet that intent was only an expression of his will and was not directed at Xu Ziqing.
Thus, Xu Ziqing merely retreated one step before steadying himself, though his face had gone somewhat pale.
The man in white said nothing. He simply swept his sleeve, and Xu Ziqing felt the world spin around him before he instantly lost consciousness.
At the same time, several young bird cries suddenly sounded beside his ears. The chill around him receded, leaving only enveloping warmth…
*
Back on the lakeshore, only two people reacted visibly after Xu Ziqing was thrown into the water. One was Old He. He had carefully trained Xu Ziqing for quite some time, never imagining that his well-intentioned decision to bring the boy into the secret realm to broaden his horizons would instead cause him to perish here, wasting all the effort Old He had invested in him. Once he returned, he would have to recruit another menial worker. But Xu Ziqing had been diligent and eager to learn, setting a fine example. As for whoever came afterward… remembering the ones he had recruited in the past, Old He could only shake his head and hope the Xu clan’s ancestors would bless him.
The other was Wei Qing. He and Xu Ziqing had crossed paths several times. First, Wei Qing had killed the Mottled Demon Snake and inadvertently saved Xu Ziqing’s life. Later, Xu Ziqing had come to his aid and saved Wei Qing’s life in return. The two had owed each other nothing after that, but the connection remained. Remembering Xu Ziqing’s bearing, Wei Qing could not help feeling that it was a pity.
Although both of them wanted to save him, Foundation Establishment cultivators were fighting directly ahead. Countless streaks of sword-light flew amid surging waves of force, making it impossible to pass through, much less enter the water to rescue him.
Beside Wei Qing stood a tall, handsome man. He had already been deeply distressed when he saw his younger brother lose an arm, and now, seeing the emotion on Wei Qing’s face, he feared that something was troubling him and asked, “Fifth Brother, does it hurt?”
Wei Qing paused, then shook his head. “It’s only a severed arm. It’s nothing worth mentioning. We can reattach it once we return.” After a moment’s thought, he told the man what had happened with Xu Ziqing, then added, “Second Brother, Xu Ziqing has good character. If he survives, he may well accomplish something extraordinary in the future.”
This second brother shared the same mother as Wei Qing and was named Wei Xiao. Hearing his younger brother say this, he comforted him despite having no impression of Xu Ziqing himself. “He may not necessarily be dead. If his luck is good, perhaps he can survive.”
Wei Qing sighed. “I hope so.”
After saying this, both knew they were merely comforting themselves. Xu Ziqing’s dantian had been destroyed and he was already gravely injured. How could he survive in the frigid lake water? Even if fortune somehow carried him ashore alive, the secret realm would presumably have closed by then. Without any cultivation, he could not possibly survive inside the secret realm, much less endure until it opened again.
As Xu Ziqing drifted in a daze beneath the water, he soon lost consciousness, just as everyone expected. The life gradually faded from his body, making it heavy, and he slowly sank toward the black lakebed, where he seemed destined to become nothing more than decaying remains.
What no one else knew was that deep beneath the lake lay a whirlpool. The current there was violent, and living creatures kept far away, unwilling to approach it. Xu Ziqing had already lost consciousness and was swept into it. After circling several times within the vortex, he abruptly plunged downward!
Deep inside the whirlpool, most of the lake water was drawn upward and prevented from sinking, leaving an empty space below. That opening connected to a stone cave. Xu Ziqing fell straight through it and landed at the mouth of a sloping passage outside the cave.
Water had collected here as well, though it was shallow and still bitterly cold. Xu Ziqing lay soaking in it for a while, and before long, frost had formed on his brows. If this continued, he would freeze to death in very little time.
Yet heaven showed him mercy. Today happened to be the day when, once each month, the whirlpool descended in accordance with the secret realm’s natural laws. A towering column of water suddenly crashed downward, struck the ground with tremendous force, and poured into the stone cave, sweeping Xu Ziqing inside with it! Helpless against the current, he was washed backward up the slope. The tremendous impact hurled him high into the air. As the force finally weakened, Xu Ziqing was flung free, then crashed heavily to the ground and coughed up a mouthful of stagnant blood!
Through all this tumbling, the red cord around Xu Ziqing’s neck was thrown free, and the eagle egg wrapped inside his clothes was exposed as well. That mouthful of stagnant blood proved unexpectedly fortunate. Some splashed onto the eagle egg, while some landed on the ring hanging from the red cord. Brilliant light immediately burst from both. Xu Ziqing lay rigid on the ground, unresponsive for a long while.
At last, the eagle egg cracked open. Tiny chirps sounded from within, and the young boy lying there gradually began to stir.
*
When the man in white swept Xu Ziqing away with one sleeve, the world had been spinning around him. Then his five senses abruptly returned, and he suddenly understood that he was waking up.
His eyes moved beneath his lids. Through the lingering haze, Xu Ziqing vaguely remembered that someone waking after a long sleep should not open their eyes too suddenly, so he slowly raised an aching arm and covered them. The light was indeed painfully bright. He endured it for quite some time before gradually lifting his eyelids and slowly adjusting.
After lowering his arm, Xu Ziqing lay there weakly for another while. There was not a single place on his body that did not hurt. After a great deal of effort, he finally managed to brace himself on his arms and slowly push himself upright.
Fortunately, though the pain remained, it did not worsen, so he supposed none of his bones were broken. But where was he now?
Xu Ziqing looked around with difficulty and found himself lying amid lush green grass. Brilliant flowers bloomed in the distance, and many trees stood beyond them. He drew a breath and filled his lungs with fragrance. The spiritual energy here was more than ten times denser than inside the secret realm! It seemed that with every breath he took, spiritual energy came surging toward him without any need to draw it in at all!
Only when the spiritual energy entered through his spiritual roots but failed to accumulate in his dantian did Xu Ziqing finally understand.
His dantian had already been destroyed. Even though his spiritual roots remained, he could no longer cultivate… Unless there was some medicinal pill capable of reconstructing a dantian, everything was over.
For Xu Ziqing as he was now, that was naturally utterly impossible.
That brief journey of immortal cultivation now seemed no more than a dream.