“Please wait here a moment. I’ll report your arrival,” the yellow-robed man said kindly.
Xu Ziyan cupped his hands in thanks and stood quietly to one side.
Xu Zirong followed obediently behind him, expressionless and trying to make himself inconspicuous. The blue-robed man they had met after crossing the Dust-Leaving Bridge on the day of the examination had filled him with an intense sense of danger. He had felt as though everything about him had been laid bare, making him doubly cautious.
The yellow-robed man returned before long.
Smiling, he handed them two jade slips. “Go on up. The sect master is waiting. Take one each; they’ll keep you from accidentally triggering the restrictions.”
Xu Ziyan thanked him and led Zirong up the mountain.
Qianyuan Peak was the tallest mountain in the Flowing Light Sect’s range. Clouds and mist gathered halfway up its slopes, lending it an ethereal air, and immortal cranes and other spiritual birds could sometimes be seen gliding nearby.
Flowers bloomed on either side of the path, with low-grade spiritual herbs and flowers growing freely among them. Spirit beasts often played in the bamboo groves. A few bolder ones would approach travelers to beg for food. It was a scene straight out of an immortal’s paradise.
Except…
Xu Ziyan watched in confusion as spirit beasts that had been about to approach him suddenly bolted away.
He never noticed Zirong glaring ferociously at each spirit beast that came near.
Spirit beasts had far sharper instincts than humans, and easily sensed Zirong’s hostility.
It was naked killing intent. Anyone who wasn’t utterly oblivious would steer clear of someone so dangerous.
That human is terrifying!!! QAQ!
After the brothers arrived at the main hall and the guards checked their identities, they were escorted to the rear courtyard where the sect master lived.
When they arrived, Dao Lord Wuchen was teasing a brightly colored spirit finch. The bird looked thoroughly miserable as it perched listlessly on a branch, plainly weary of his attentions.
“Hmm? You’ve arrived?” Wuchen smiled warmly. “Have a seat.”
Xu Ziyan sat down cautiously. This was a genuine Nascent Soul Dao Lord. The original Xu Ziyan had barely interacted with the sect master, so he knew little of the man’s personality. Better to be careful than give offense; he guarded his every word and gesture.
Seeing how nervous he was, Wuchen felt amused. But these were only boys of fifteen or sixteen. It was probably their first time so close to a Nascent Soul Dao Lord; nervousness was only natural.
“I called you here simply to meet you,” Wuchen said with a chuckle. “We had planned a celebration for this year’s examination, but three disciples unexpectedly received the complete inheritance and remained unconscious, so it was canceled. Considering your excellent results, however, I intend to add an Azure Spirit Seal to your original rewards.”
Xu Ziyan did not know what an Azure Spirit Seal was, but anything offered by the sect master had to be valuable. “Thank you for your generosity, Sect Master.”
He had no idea why Wuchen valued him so highly, but would hardly refuse a gift. He belonged to the Flowing Light Sect now, so giving it to him wasn’t wasteful. Better to keep the benefits in the family! ╮(￣▽￣)╭ Xu Ziyan did not understand the significance of an Azure Spirit Seal. Zirong understood it perfectly, which was why Wuchen’s generosity astonished him.
The Azure Spirit Seal was the ‘key’ to the Azure Spirit Secret Realm. Only someone who possessed one and successfully fused with it could gain access.
Each seal could be used only once. If the brothers failed to fuse with theirs, those seals would be rendered useless.
The Azure Spirit Secret Realm opened once every ten years. If Zirong remembered correctly, it would open next year. Of all the renowned secret realms in the Xuanyu Domain, it was the most sought after.
It contained relatively few dangers, countless treasures and inheritances left by ancient experts.
According to legend, the Azure Spirit Secret Realm was the remnant of an ancient sect that had ruled the entire Xuanyu Domain tens of thousands of years ago. It amassed countless cultivation methods and inheritances; cultivators who could no longer advance left their knowledge behind before the Five Declines of Heaven and Man overtook them.
After millennia of accumulation, the sect’s treasures and inheritances grew to an astonishing scale. That immense wealth eventually drew an invasion from beyond the domain.
A super-sect from another greater domain invested enormous manpower and resources to open a passage directly to the Xuanyu Domain. The two sides fought fiercely around that passage.
Cultivators and mortals alike suffered terrible losses. Even the invading super-sect had not expected such stubborn resistance. The war dragged on for centuries until both sides reached the limits of what they could endure.
In the end, the super-sect spent another fortune to recruit a Mahayana-stage cultivator to join its assault. Seeing his sect on the brink of destruction, its leader detonated his own primordial-spirit magical treasure, tearing space apart and hurling the sect’s entire territory into the chaotic currents of spacetime. That territory eventually became the Azure Spirit Secret Realm.
The invading super-sect was crippled by the long war and was soon swallowed by other sects in its own domain. The Xuanyu Domain, deprived of its treasure-filled ancient sect, entered a period of deep decline.
Much later, the cultivators of the Xuanyu Domain began rebuilding, searching for surviving cultivation methods and developing new ones. Gifted cultivators created techniques of their own and passed them on. After millennia of recovery, the domain regained its strength, but never returned to the glorious age when a single sect had stood at its pinnacle.
Only after painstaking research did later generations piece together the truth of that dark history. The appearance of the Azure Spirit Secret Realm, and the objects brought out of it, furnished supporting evidence.
No one knew exactly how the Azure Spirit Seals came into existence. But only by fusing with one could a cultivator locate the secret realm amid the boundless turbulence of spacetime.
Many believed the ancient sect leader had created the seals to leave the Xuanyu Domain a seed from which its cultivation heritage might grow again. Whatever the truth, the seals had played a crucial part in making the domain’s cultivation world as prosperous as it was today.
Very few Azure Spirit Seals appeared, and their places of origin differed from year to year. Major sects possessed objects that could sense when a seal appeared, allowing them to retrieve it quickly.
Even a great sect like the Flowing Light Sect would have surprised Zirong if it possessed ten of them. Yet Wuchen had offered three at once, perhaps even more. Such generosity required extraordinary resolve.
Wuchen saw Xu Ziyan’s unruffled expression and chose not to explain. If the boy had actually understood what an Azure Spirit Seal meant, Wuchen would have been astonished instead. As it was, his reaction was entirely normal. Someone who had caught Junior Brother Luo Yun’s eye was bound to have something special about him.
After studying Xu Ziyan, Wuchen turned his attention to Zirong.
Although both were sons of the Xu family, Zirong was also Xu Ziyan’s own younger brother. Yet their personalities could hardly have been more different.
Remembering what Qingyi had told him, Wuchen frowned slightly. Zirong’s killing intent was unusually strong. Would it one day cause trouble for the Flowing Light Sect?
Yet cutting off his path to immortality merely because he was inclined toward violence might drive him down an even darker road. Wuchen found the matter troublesome, then laughed at himself. Junior Brother Luo Yun might be carefree and unconventional, but he was never foolish about important matters. Since he had accepted Zirong as a disciple, he must have judged there would be no serious problem.
If Qingyi had noticed Zirong’s nature, Luo Yun certainly would have noticed it too. Wuchen really did worry too much.
Although he did not discriminate openly against Zirong, Wuchen could not bring himself to like him. After a few brief words of encouragement, he dismissed the brothers.
After leaving Qianyuan Peak, the brothers made their way back to Tianluo Peak. Such a distance was nothing much to cultivators in principle, but trudging back and forth on foot was genuinely tiring.
Xu Ziyan resolved to reach Foundation Establishment and learn sword flight as soon as possible. Otherwise, simply getting from place to place would exhaust him. The Flowing Light Sect sprawled across an area nearly the size of a small city.
Dao Lord Luo Yun did not live with them halfway up Tianluo Peak. His home was in a hollow on the mountain’s far side.
The scenery there was delightful: a clear stream ran through the hills, and, most importantly, plenty of wild rabbits, chickens and ducks lived nearby, conveniently available whenever Luo Yun wanted a barbecue or another hearty meal.
The first time Zirong saw Luo Yun behaving that way, his jaw had practically dropped. He did not yet know the man was a Nascent Soul cultivator, but had guessed he was no ordinary figure.
Roasting meat inside the Flowing Light Sect’s mountain gate was something most people would never do. Mostly because they would be too embarrassed to be seen doing it.
In that sense, at least, Dao Lord Luo Yun was extraordinary purely on account of how thick-skinned he was.
“Master, we’re here,” Xu Ziyan said with a bow.
“Shh! Quiet! The fish is about to bite,” Luo Yun hissed. He was as scruffy as ever. One quick use of the Dust-Cleansing Art could have taken care of his appearance, but he insisted on wearing those filthy clothes.
Xu Ziyan retreated silently a few steps and whispered with Zirong in a corner. He did not mind if Luo Yun overheard them; the brothers were only discussing their cultivation methods.
Both gained something from their brief discussion. Xu Ziyan had inherited the original body’s memories without fully absorbing the knowledge behind them. Zirong’s subtle guidance helped him understand several important principles.