…Lord of Myriad Woods?
Xu Ziqing was taken aback. The title seemed to be addressed to him, but surely it was far too grand.
Yanhua and Yuehua were plant spirits, exceptionally sensitive to all kinds of auras. They glanced cautiously at Yun Lie and edged away from him. But when they faced Xu Ziqing, they were deeply respectful.
Seeing his confusion, they explained earnestly. “Master possesses a pure Wood constitution, carries the essence of the myriad woods within your body, and cultivates an art capable of commanding them. When you finally attain the Dao, you may rightfully be called the Lord of Myriad Woods. We two humble servants have not invented the title.”
Xu Ziqing understood.
A pure Wood constitution meant his single Wood spiritual root. The essence of the myriad woods referred to the Essence of Yi-Wood he had absorbed. And the art commanding all Woods was undoubtedly the Great Art of Myriad Woods Heart-Planting.
Seen that way, the title made some sense.
But Xu Ziqing knew he had not yet perfected his cultivation. Calling himself the Lord of Myriad Woods now would be undeserved. He would probably have to wait until he truly gathered the myriad Woods before he could bear that name.
Still, there was no hurry.
After thinking briefly, he set the question aside and asked something else. “Yanhua, Yuehua, how long have you possessed intelligence here? Do you know who Perfected Master Luofu was? And how this demonic domain came to exist? Tell me anything you know.”
He had accumulated many questions. Now that the two spirits served him, asking them would be the simplest way to obtain answers.
Yanhua, dressed in red and more outgoing by nature, immediately replied. “We both possessed spiritual intelligence from the time the twin lotus blossoms first opened. But in the beginning we understood very little and remained hidden within the flowers. Many events of those days are unclear to us.”
Yuehua, wearing white, added, “Perfected Master Luofu personally planted us. We know this place was indeed meant to hold his inheritance. As for the Seven Emotions Demon Mara, a demon entered after the Perfected Master’s death and transformed this place into a demonic domain.”
This only deepened Xu Ziqing’s confusion.
What grudge could that demon have borne against Perfected Master Luofu? Having obtained a Seven Emotions Demon Mara, why had he not consumed it to increase his own power? Why use it instead to harm some unknown heir who might not appear for countless years? And where had the demon gone after leaving it here? His lingering words had repeatedly accused Perfected Master Luofu of deceiving him. What had actually happened?
Xu Ziqing asked the lotus spirits all these questions.
Yanhua and Yuehua considered them for a moment. Taking turns to fill in what the other remembered, they related everything they knew.
In ancient times, the world’s spiritual energy had been extraordinarily abundant, making cultivation far easier than it was today. Such rich energy had nurtured many exceptionally gifted cultivators who advanced much faster than ordinary people. Perfected Master Luofu was among the finest of them.
He had personally created the Luofu True Scripture, a cultivation art of extraordinary might capable, at its highest level, of revealing the secrets of immortality. Perfected Master Luofu was generous, frank, and eager to help those in need. He had formed many friendships tempered by life and death among the ancient cultivators. Those friends were outstanding figures themselves, and several had also created their own cultivation arts. They pursued their cultivation freely and happily together.
But when a thing reached its extreme, reversal was bound to follow. So many cultivators possessed power capable of reaching heaven and earth; perhaps such an age could not last forever.
At some unknown time, an enormous calamity struck the cultivation world.
Xu Ziqing asked the lotus brothers what kind of calamity it had been, but they had been too young and weak then to know.
All they knew was that innumerable ancient cultivators were doomed to perish. The cultivation world underwent tremendous changes. Ordinary mortals, lacking great power, were better able to survive.
Seeing that the mighty experts were on the verge of returning to heaven and earth, many great sects and extraordinary cultivators refused to accept their fate. They joined forces to construct an immense tomb, slowing their decline and preparing a burial place for themselves.
Perfected Master Luofu and his closest friends joined in the undertaking. Because of the great tomb, they could prolong their lives a little, long enough to leave their inheritances behind. They hoped that when the tomb eventually emerged again, later generations would undergo the trials and become their successors.
Many cultivators brought all their possessions into the tomb. Treasures were scattered among its traps and mechanisms. The beast nests now found within had originated from fierce beasts captured by the ancient cultivators or from the descendants of their animal companions. Over countless years, those lineages had multiplied to their present scale.
That was why those entering the Tianlan Secret Trove today had to overcome so many dangers.
As for the demon who had interfered with Perfected Master Luofu’s inheritance, Yanhua and Yuehua knew only that his title was Venerable Six Desires. He seemed once to have been on friendly terms with Perfected Master Luofu. Later, however, Luofu apparently tricked him over some matter, infuriating Venerable Six Desires.
The demon had left a mass of demonic will within these inheritance grounds. Day after day it had cursed and raged, continuing for an unknown number of tens of thousands of years. The twin lotuses spent much of their time asleep, but whenever they awakened, they could still hear it.
When Xu Ziqing and Yun Lie entered not long ago, that lingering demonic will seemed to have finally exhausted its strength. It gave one last furious roar and had not appeared since.
As for what had truly happened between those two ancient figures, the lotus spirits could not say.
Their account answered some of Xu Ziqing’s questions while raising many more. What was the ancient calamity, and why had so many mighty cultivators been unable to resist it? What deception had Perfected Master Luofu practiced upon Venerable Six Desires, leaving the latter so enraged? And if the Tianlan Secret Trove was an ancient relic from countless years ago, why had it suddenly opened this time and scattered so many map fragments?
All of these remained mysteries.
Yet Xu Ziqing was not in a hurry to uncover every answer.
What he most wanted to know now was how they could leave these inheritance grounds.
Yuehua was the quieter of the two, so Yanhua continued. “Master needn’t worry. Although Venerable Six Desires interfered and prevented the inheritance crystal from coming here, the illusion array uses our two true lotus bodies as its focal points. As long as we consent, Master can leave safely at any time.”
Xu Ziqing felt a little relieved.
If that was the case, there was no need to worry excessively. Once his senior brother had refined the Seven Emotions Demon Mara completely, they should leave without lingering.
After a little thought, he asked, “Do you know when this great tomb will close?”
Yanhua answered, “The Perfected Master once said that when the great tomb opens, it marks a time for countless people to receive inheritances. Unless all its resources are exhausted and every inheritance has been taken, it will not close again.”
At last Xu Ziqing felt completely reassured.
Such inheritances were surely not easy to find, and the tomb’s resources were beyond counting. Nothing unexpected was likely to happen in a mere forty or fifty days.
Still, he and Prince Tiancheng, Xuan Ze, had made an agreement before entering. Having been delayed for so long, he did not know whether they had missed their meeting. Nor did he know whether someone else had obtained the Essence of Geng-Metal they originally sought. Whatever happened, they would have to leave this place in another four or five days.
During the four days that followed, Yun Lie spent several shichen each day meditating and refining the remaining petals. He was much more focused than before.
Xu Ziqing guessed that the final stage had become more difficult, requiring more time and effort.
On the forty-ninth day, the faint demonic energy remaining in the domain condensed into a smoke dragon and rushed into Yun Lie through his seven bodily orifices. Dark energy spread across his face in an alarming display.
Yun Lie kept his eyes closed. With every breath, extraordinarily powerful waves of force pulsed around him, as though slicing into the surrounding space. This fierce, domineering energy possessed a kind of ferocity different from the sharpness of a sword cultivator.
About half a shichen later, the force formed countless vortices that circled Yun Lie, colliding with one another.
Each collision released tremendous power. The resulting waves were strong enough to drive Xu Ziqing, who had been nearby, several zhang backward.
Fortunately, although the energy forced him to retreat, it did not injure him, almost as though it recognized him.
Soon the vortices began to disappear. Every remaining current of force was drawn into the seated man in white.
Suddenly a narrow slit opened between Yun Lie’s brows. A streak of icy sword intent burst from it and shot toward the heavens!
Boom!
With a deafening report, the cold killing intent within the sword intent surged outward like a flood, pressing in every direction. Above Yun Lie’s head, an invisible yet immensely heavy force appeared to form an endless domain. Although the naked eye could not see it, the domain unquestionably existed.
It was the embryonic Minor Cosmos!
Xu Ziqing stared in astonishment. This was not the first time he had seen his senior brother summon it, but now its outline seemed much clearer. He understood that Yun Lie had advanced further.
Even more surprising, he could clearly perceive countless sharp swords standing within the embryonic Minor Cosmos, their tips pointed skyward, unbending and unyielding!
Xu Ziqing’s breath caught.
Could this be his senior brother’s sword intent taking visible form?
Ever since Yun Lie had condensed the embryonic Minor Cosmos while only at early Golden Core, other cultivators had generally been able to sense its power without seeing its shape. The interior had been empty, terrifyingly strong yet little more than a hollow space.
This time, however, the embryonic Minor Cosmos seemed to have merged with his sword intent.
Xu Ziqing could already imagine that when his senior brother completed his Minor Cosmos, it would become a Sword Domain. Innumerable manifestations of sword intent would stand within it, forming an independent world.
Clearly the present embryonic Minor Cosmos was far stronger than before.
After Yun Lie released it, the sword shadows flashed briefly, then the vast aura drew inward. The embryonic Minor Cosmos returned to his Purple Mansion, while the sword intent became a point of black light that sank directly between his brows.
The slit closed. All the power still overflowing around his body was gathered back into him.
Yun Lie remained seated on the ground. The final petal of the Seven Emotions Demon Mara slipped silently from his hair into his body and vanished. The black energy covering his face dissipated swiftly. Then he opened his eyes.
They remained entirely black, deep and unfathomable.
For an instant Xu Ziqing was dazed. Having refined the last petal, Yun Lie looked exactly as he had before falling into demonic corruption. Even his aura seemed unchanged.
But when his eyes opened, Xu Ziqing realized that the demonic impulses still lingered within him.
He could not tell whether he felt disappointed or secretly glad. He sighed quietly.
Then he opened his lips to welcome Yun Lie’s familiar affection.