Liuyanzhu was a place many had heard of, but few had ever seen for themselves.
With little else to occupy them on the road, Ren Yijue began telling Qian Xuelang about Liuyanzhu as they traveled.
Though both were called Liuyanzhu, the outskirts and the depths were two entirely different worlds. To Ren Yijue’s knowledge, by the time he left, no one had ever truly penetrated its center and seen with their own eyes the remains of the Heavenly Demon left there from antiquity.
To distinguish the concentration of demonic qi, the inhabitants had divided Liuyanzhu into five layers, collectively known as the Five Veils of Smoke, much as one spoke of the Nine Heavens. Here, “smoke” stood for demonic qi.
Some came to Liuyanzhu to escape disaster, others to live in seclusion, and still others to enjoy freedom from all restraint. Whatever their motives, plenty of people wanted to live somewhere disorderly, so the place was surprisingly prosperous and lively.
Excluding the outermost wilderness, the Fifth Veil was the least saturated with demonic qi. Cultivators of reasonable ability often settled there, while weaker cultivators pursued by enemies would sometimes risk entering as well. Connected to the villages in the surrounding wilderness, it was a comparatively bustling region.
The Fourth Veil was where Ren Yijue had concealed himself, and where Jingyuan lay. From this veil inward, most residents were either half-demons or demonic cultivators of exceptionally high cultivation.
Ren Yijue’s ability to live in the Fourth Veil for so long was not evidence of some astonishing power he had kept hidden. Rather, an accident of fate in his earlier years had led him to discover Jingyuan’s unusual terrain.
Because of that terrain, demonic qi at the bottom of Jingyuan was relatively thin, usually no denser than in the Fifth Veil. Celestial changes occasionally made it stronger, but formations and barriers could keep it out. Anyone approaching Jingyuan from outside, however, had to cross the Fourth Veil. Ren Yijue had used this geographical advantage to repel quite a few enemies.
As for the Desire Demon Hua Hanyan, Ren Yijue had dealt with her only twice. She lived at the boundary between the Fourth and Third Veils, in a place called the Sea of Sin and Heaven of Passion.
Hearing this, Qian Xuelang grew curious. “In that case, is everything from the Third Veil inward uninhabited?”
“Strictly speaking, it is from the Second Veil inward.” Ren Yijue’s expression changed slightly, growing solemn. “Someone does live in the Third Veil, but only one person. In fact, it was because of him that people began speaking of the Five Veils.”
“Oh?”
Ren Yijue looked conflicted. “His reputation is so great that I imagine even the Jade Beauty has heard of him. He is the Demon Lord Bai Wujin.”
The name made Qian Xuelang frown. Only after a long moment did he say, “I do know of him.”
The Demon-Extermination War sixty years ago had ended with the Heavenly Demon dispersed and He Tianjun and others dead. But matters had not ended there. The great immortal sects, devastated by the war, united to root out every surviving follower who had served the Heavenly Demon.
Demonic cultivators had already been despised by everyone. Now their position grew more precarious still.
Worse, the purges inevitably swept up many demonic cultivators who had never served the Heavenly Demon and had no connection with it at all. To survive, they were forced to band together and fight for a narrow chance of escape. After roughly five years of this, a new leader emerged among them.
That leader was the Demon Lord Bai Wujin.
Using Liuyanzhu as his base, Bai Wujin sheltered demonic cultivators and half-demons who had nowhere else to go. He also killed many immortal-sect cultivators who pursued them, including pillars of several great sects. Some sects never recovered. Far from continuing their pursuit of demonic cultivators, they struggled even to survive as institutions.
Here lay one of the greatest differences between immortal sects and the factions of ordinary mortals.
Among mortals, differences were ultimately differences of rank and power. Even a supreme emperor could not prevail against many attackers with only two fists; enough ants could bring down an elephant. Among cultivators, however, those rules did not apply. A gap in cultivation could not necessarily be overcome by a handful, several hundred, or even several thousand opponents.
For an immortal sect, one sufficiently powerful individual could sometimes uphold an entire flourishing institution and even keep it undefeated.
Ordinary mortals would likely find such a state of affairs unimaginable.
Just when the immortal sects expected Bai Wujin to seize the opportunity to expand demonic power, he abruptly went alone to meet them and proposed a mutual cessation of hostilities.
The deadlock benefited neither side. And given Bai Wujin’s strength, killing him would likely demand a still greater sacrifice, not to mention provoke demonic cultivators into fighting back with their lives.
After deliberation, the immortal sects finally agreed to the Demon Lord Bai Wujin’s request for a truce.
Although Bai Wujin bore the title of Demon Lord, he had founded no sect or organized power, established no official ranks, and created no bond of fellow disciples among the demonic cultivators. They merely acknowledged him as their one Demon Lord.
After the ceasefire, news of Bai Wujin became scarce.
As for relations between the immortal sects and demonic cultivators, there had been occasional friction since the truce forty-five years ago, but only minor skirmishes, never anything substantial. That state of affairs continued to the present.
“You’re saying Bai Wujin lives alone in the Third Veil?” Qian Xuelang asked. “And that he established the boundaries of the Five Veils?”
Ren Yijue nodded. “That’s right. Bai Wujin designated the First Veil as the location of the Heavenly Demon’s remains. He has kept pressing farther into the Second Veil but has never managed to enter the First. Over these decades, he has occasionally ventured out to search for ways to advance. That is how the Five Veils gradually became common knowledge.”
“He wants to enter the First Veil…” Qian Xuelang pondered. “The remains of the ancient Heavenly Demon lie there. What is Bai Wujin trying to do?”
“I don’t know,” Ren Yijue said. “Even with his half-demon body and that level of cultivation, in forty-five years he has barely managed to penetrate the Second Veil, let alone the First. It’s hard to imagine how concentrated the demonic qi must be there. Whatever he intends, I doubt he’ll manage it anytime soon.”
Judging from his past conduct, Bai Wujin was neither bloodthirsty and cruel nor obsessed with authority. Otherwise, decades earlier he could easily have rallied the demonic cultivators to wage another war, established his position in the world, expanded his influence, and brought every demonic cultivator under his command.
Another catastrophe would surely have befallen all living beings. Yet Bai Wujin had withdrawn when it was time to withdraw, displaying no ambition to rule. That alone was worthy of respect.
Out of gratitude for ending the war, members of the immortal sects generally addressed Bai Wujin respectfully as Demon Lord. Few called him an evil monster.
To declare without evidence that Bai Wujin harbored sinister intentions seemed rather like measuring a gentleman’s heart by a petty man’s own standards.
But as Ren Yijue had said, whatever Bai Wujin meant to do, he could not achieve it in the immediate future. Whether his plans were good or bad was therefore of little present concern.
Qian Xuelang did not dwell on the matter. His silence was caused by something else entirely.
The Heavenly Mandate.
Qian Xuelang had never met the Demon Lord Bai Wujin. He had only heard the man’s name. Strictly speaking, however, he had seen Bai Wujin.
More precisely, he had seen Bai Wujin within the Heavenly Mandate.
He vaguely remembered a heavy halberd in the man’s hands. Thin projections upon its two ears were as delicate as cicada wings, crossed by blood-red veins that pulsed faintly as though alive. It had been a striking sight.
In Qian Xuelang’s recollection, Ren Yijue had indeed addressed the man as “Demon Lord.”
Unless the world held a second Demon Lord, that man could only have been Bai Wujin.
To make certain, Qian Xuelang asked, “Ren Yijue, does Bai Wujin habitually use a blood-red halberd?”
“So I’ve heard.” Ren Yijue sounded surprised. “Has the Jade Beauty met the Demon Lord himself?”
Then it really was Bai Wujin. Qian Xuelang looked at the astonishment on Ren Yijue’s face and thought, But Ren Yijue has not yet met Bai Wujin at this point.
How strange.
The Bai Wujin in the Heavenly Mandate had shown an extraordinary warmth toward Ren Yijue, even an obsession with him. Yet no matter how Qian Xuelang examined Ren Yijue, he could not see what was so worth pursuing.
The scrutiny gave Ren Yijue goosebumps. He drew his fan from his sleeve to cover his face and cleared his throat twice. “Why is the Jade Beauty looking at me that way? You’ve thrown my heart into such a flutter that I hardly know what to do.”
“It’s nothing.”
Qian Xuelang withdrew his gaze and decided to let events unfold naturally. Just as he had set aside the question of Bai Wujin, he would leave this matter alone for the time being.
Liuyanzhu drew every sort of person. Where people gathered, trade flourished, and cultivators of different dispositions exchanged goods and favors. There were no villages in the populous outer districts, but there was a bustling market open year-round. It had neither signboard nor street number, merely a man-high stone stele inscribed with two characters: “Impermanence.”
People called it the Impermanence Market.
“Impermanence?” Qian Xuelang stopped before the stele and studied the two characters, written with magnificent force. “Does it refer to the impermanence of human life?”
Ren Yijue still hid his face behind his fan, afraid that another penetrating look would send his heart into turmoil and make a fool of him. Walking beside Qian Xuelang, he replied in a muffled voice, “It does refer to life’s impermanence, though perhaps not in quite the sense the Jade Beauty imagines.”
“Oh? What sense do I imagine?”
Ren Yijue laughed. “The calligraphy has a balanced, artless boldness and a flowing vigor. You think some great master wrote it in a fit of indignation to lament life’s impermanence. Have I guessed correctly?”
“Was it not?”
“Well, you have guessed half of it, but missed the other half.”
Qian Xuelang raised an eyebrow. “I would like to hear the rest.”
“The writer really was full of indignation. But this Impermanence Market…” Ren Yijue’s lively eyes appeared above his fan, curving slightly. One could almost picture the crafty smile concealed below. “Prices, high and low, are impermanent; life and death, too, are impermanent. That is what makes this the Impermanence Market.”
“That sounds shameless,” Qian Xuelang observed.
Ren Yijue burst into laughter. “Shameless indeed. But once we’re inside, the Jade Beauty had best not speak quite so bluntly. The ‘shameless’ may be ‘toothless’ by wordplay, but they still have faces to save and pride to protect. With your abilities there’s certainly no reason to invite needless trouble.”
“Your humor has become nothing but wordplay,” Qian Xuelang said with a frown. “It isn’t funny.”
Ren Yijue affected disappointment. “It really isn’t funny?”
“It isn’t funny,” Qian Xuelang repeated with perfect seriousness.
“Well, if it isn’t funny, it isn’t funny.” Ren Yijue sounded aggrieved. “Clearly the Jade Beauty is unbearably dull and simply cannot appreciate my jokes.”
Qian Xuelang could tell Ren Yijue probably had a dozen more lines prepared depending on his response. He therefore said nothing.
“Won’t the Jade Beauty contradict me?”
Just as I thought.
“You’re stating a fact. Why would I contradict you?”
“Who would call himself dull? It’s heartbreaking to hear. It makes it sound as though I’ve been bullying the Jade Beauty on purpose.” Ren Yijue looked at him with tender affection. “I won’t allow that. Come now, Jade Beauty, contradict me.”
Qian Xuelang betrayed nothing. “And what did you intend to say if I did?”
“Hmm… why, naturally… since the Jade Beauty is so very interesting, your punishment would be to tell me a joke.” Caught out, Ren Yijue did not seem troubled. He smilingly laid bare his plan. “It only counts if you make me laugh.”
Qian Xuelang could not help thinking, If Ren Yijue were not genuinely a good person, a mind as intricate as his would make him seem not endearing as he does now, but terrifying.
Elio’s Notes: The chapter title 百无禁忌 means “without taboos” and echoes Bai Wujin’s name, 百无禁. Ren also makes a pun on 无耻 (“shameless”) and 无齿 (“toothless”), pronounced alike in Mandarin; Qian is thoroughly unimpressed by his wordplay.