Ch61 - Feng Ci failed to keep his promise agaaaaain

Feng Ci was able to become one of the leaders of the Great War between Humans and Demons(魔) back then. Naturally, the reason wasn’t entirely because he had received the Heavenly Principles’ favor. On the contrary, even before the Heavenly Principles selected him, he had already become an outstanding figure amongst the cultivation disciples of the same generation.

Feng Ci was extremely gifted in terms of cultivation, and also very studious. It wasn’t until after the end of the Great War that he turned idle and pretty much stopped practicing. 

Never had he imagined that to prepare for the big battle ahead, he’d need to cultivate in seclusion seriously again like a youngster.

Speaking honestly, three months wasn’t that long, but it wasn’t that short either.

The body that Feng Ci was using currently had a pretty good innate constitution. Adding Feng Ci’s gift in cultivation, the progress has been rather successful in the early stages.

However, when approaching the end of his seclusion, Feng Ci actually encountered a rare bottleneck. 

The reason was none other than the fact that the power of his soul was too strong. Even after strengthening this physical body to its limit, it’s still very hard to endure his powers fully.

Deep inside the cavern, a white-robed youth sat cross-legged at the center of the cold-water pool. The faint light of spirit energy flowed around him, illuminating the entire cave.

Frowning slightly, Feng Ci seemed to have sunken into some kind of illusion.

When cultivators reach bottlenecks, it’s inevitable they’d fall into the deep parts of their consciousness. However, Feng Ci wasn’t using his own body right now. As such, what he saw was Lu JingMing’s memories.

When Feng Ci entered this body, he didn’t actually inherit the original owner’s memories. Later on, he also didn’t think about examining them.

As a result, it’s not until now that he finally learned about the life of the youth that he’s been residing in for so long.

Lu JingMing’s parents both died when he was young. He was adopted by a kind-hearted family, but not long afterwards, that family also encountered a mishap. Because of this, Lu JingMing was viewed as a calamity star. Since youth, he wandered the streets until 7-8 years old when he was rescued by an elder of TianXuan Sect and accepted as a disciple.

The experiences of his youth made Lu JingMing’s personality become somewhat reclusive. After formally becoming an apprentice of TianXuan Sect, he worried that he’d bring misfortune to the sect and never interacted with any of the fellow disciples of the sect. Because he always kept to himself, coming and going alone, he wasn’t very well liked within the sect. 

But who would have thought, 10 years after being accepted into the sect, TianXuan Sect still encountered disaster.

“Help, save me—”

“Can’t hold him off. Escape, quick—!”

The originally quiet and peaceful TianXuan Sect was now filled with clamor and noise everywhere. In the distance, beams of spirit energy flew across the night sky. Nevertheless, they couldn’t stop the young man that advanced slowly within the radiance of the light. 

The young man’s eyes flashed slightly, and the sword energies attacking him instantly dissipated. Then with a gentle raise of his hand, a disciple was dragged forward abruptly like being suctioned. The young man grabbed the disciple by the neck. The disciple’s spirit energy was siphoned ceaselessly into the other’s body. In a flash, all that remained in the young man’s hand was a withered and blackened corpse.

He released his grip and the corpse fell to the ground helplessly. The young man didn’t even spare it a glance. Stepping over the dead body, he began searching for his next target.

Hidden in the dark, Feng Ci observed everything through Lu JingMing’s eyes.

This was his first time watching the view of his own physical body slaughtering the cultivation disciples. 

It’s not until now that he finally understood why the Heavenly Principles didn’t pick him, nor anyone else, but rather selected an empty shell that had no consciousness or emotions.

Because humans couldn’t avoid feeling merciful. They’d become softhearted, feel reluctant, and unwilling, but a puppet wouldn’t.

This puppet was like a precisely programmed instrument. It didn’t matter if the people he encountered were stubbornly resisting or pleading desperately, he only completed his mission according to the established criteria.

“You killed my Shizun, killed my fellow sect brothers. Die!!” 

Feng Ci was slightly distracted, but he was dragged back by this familiar voice. He raised his head and looked over. A youth in Daoist robes unsheathed his sword and charged at that young man.

It was Meng ChangQing.

Feng Ci’s pupils constricted. The next second, he moved.

No, it wasn’t him. It was Lu JingMing. 

When Lu JingMing was hiding in the dark just now, his body still trembled uncontrollably; he seemed to be extremely terrified. Yet right now, he charged out instead and thrusted his sword towards the young man before Meng ChangQing got there.

Ceng—

Raising his hand, the young man caught the sword with his two fingers.

Feng Ci raised his eyes, and through Lu JingMing’s eyes, he looked into an extremely familiar pair of eyes. 

“You, you’re…… Lu-shidi?!” Meng ChangQing’s voice spoke up behind him.

Lu JingMing said coldly: “Hurry and leave.”

“Shidi…..”

Lu JingMing yelled harshly: “I’ll hold him off. You guys, hurry up and escape!” 

We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.

His voice was staunch, but the hand holding the sword trembled slightly, revealing the uncontrollable terror in his heart.

Yo mbegrf, tf’v offi jogjlv. Lf kjr bcis j affcjufg joafg jii. Lbkfnfg, tf vlvc’a mbkfg. Pc ojma, tf fnfc gjlrfv tlr tfjv jcv ibbxfv ragjluta ja atlr eclcnlafv uefra lc ogbca bo tlw.

Jeggfcais wfgufv abufatfg klat tlw, Mfcu Jl mjc jirb offi tlr lcafgcji atbeutar.

Lf tjv ygbeuta tjgw ab batfgr jujlc. 

…… Sure enough, he truly was a calamity star.

“Escape?” The young man in front of him started smiling, his voice clear, sharp, and ice-cold: “This is fate. You guys cannot escape.”

The next second, Feng Ci felt the spirit energy of this body draining away rapidly.

The loss of spirit energy wasn’t actually painful, just very cold. Lu JingMing was so cold, his entire body shivered. His consciousness also gradually started to fade away. 

Suddenly, the young man made a noise of intrigue.

The spirit energy siphon stopped.

Lu JingMing raised his head. The young man’s ice-cold fingertip landed at the center of his forehead.

“Never thought I’d find it so quickly.” The young man said coolly without any discernible emotions: “The most suitable body.” 

Lu JingMing had already lost most of his spiritual energy. His complexion was extremely pale white: “What are you saying?”

The young man didn’t answer, but asked instead: “You’re willing to die for them, right?”

“You……”

The young man said: “If I agree to let them live, but I need to take away your life. Are you still willing?” 

“No!” The person who interrupted was Meng ChangQing: “If we’re going to die, we’ll die together. Our TianXuan Sect definitely won’t do something like exchanging a life for life!”

Lu JingMing was stunned.

He turned his head and saw the youth standing not too far behind him.

During the 10 years of being in the sect, he basically did not interact with anyone within the sect. At this moment, he actually felt a slight regret. 

If he knew this were going to happen……

Lu JingMing smiled softly: “Meng-Shixiong, thank you.”

Then he turned around and said to the young man: “Don’t hurt them. You can take my life.”

If his life could be exchanged to let the others live, then his death can be considered worth it. 

Lu JingMing closed his eyes; however, the anticipated pain did not come. He felt it was strange and was just about to open his eyes when he felt a wave of dizziness in his head and lost consciousness just like that.

When he woke up again, the 10+ TianXuan Sect orphans were currently rushing towards LingWu Mountain……

Feng Ci opened his eyes.

He was still deep within the cavern. Specks of spirit light illuminated the walls of the cavern. It also illuminated the fuzzy, transparent figure next to the shore of the cold-water pool. 

“Lu JingMing.” Feng Ci called out quietly.

The youth greeted Feng Ci: “This youngster greets the Saint Sovereign.”

“Your soul has dissipated long ago already. It can’t appear here.” Feng Ci tilted his head: “Is this the remnants of your consciousness? Or a dream?”

The youth shook his head: “I don’t know.” 

This was also Feng Ci’s first time encountering this phenomenon. However, there were countless things that couldn’t be explained in this world. He didn’t plan to investigate too deeply.

Feng Ci asked: “Why did you come to find me?”

Lu JingMing said: “To help free Saint Sovereign from the bottleneck.”

This was honestly a very fantastical affair. An ordinary teenage disciple of a cultivation sect actually proposed that he was going to help free this thousand years old Grandmaster of cultivation from a cultivation bottleneck. 

Yet the expression on Feng Ci’s face didn’t change. He said coolly: “What do you plan to do?”

“Saint Sovereign, the reason your cultivation is limited right now… is simply because you still worry about this body’s safety.” Lu JingMing said: “As long as you stop worrying, success will come naturally.”

Feng Ci asked: “Do you know the consequences of your choice here?”

How could Feng Ci not know what Lu JingMing was talking about? But if he did that, Lu JingMing’s physical body might risk the danger of collapse and destruction at any time. 

By that time, don’t even talk about leaving behind a complete body, it might even turn into ashes and disperse into the wind.

Yet Lu JingMing said: “I’m already dead. Why do I still ask for that?”

Feng Ci: “Then what do you want?”

Lu JingMing said seriously: “I wish to sacrifice myself to stop the massacre to come.” 

Feng Ci stared at him transfixed.

In the illusion just now, he had observed the entirety of Lu JingMing’s short 10+ years of life.

It was a life that was both ordinary, dull, and yet filled with difficulties and hardship.

This youth had encountered such misfortune in his life; he didn’t even get the chance to experience the wonders of this world. Nevertheless, he was still willing to sacrifice himself for others right now. 

Feng Ci asked: “Why?”

Lu JingMing asked him instead: “Back then, Saint Sovereign had stepped forth courageously and swore your life to save the world. Why?”

Feng Ci fell silent.

Why’s that? 

Naturally, it was because he couldn’t stand watching innocent people suffer. Couldn’t stand the destruction of lives. Couldn’t stand seeing others re-experiencing his own misfortunes.

Lu JingMing said: “My answer is the same as yours, Saint Sovereign.”

In this world, some people bow their heads and accept their fate, submitting to the Will of the Heavens. Some people are courageous and fearless and would rather break than yield.

But there are also others, who perhaps do not have enough strength to oppose a strong opponent; yet they are still willing to sacrifice themselves, even if it’s just to become a cornerstone or a building block. 

Like Feng Ci back then.

Like Lu JingMing right now.

Feng Ci didn’t answer. Only the slight sound of flowing water could be heard inside the cavern. However, that blurry figure couldn’t last for too long. Lu JingMing’s figure dimmed gradually. Feng Ci asked him: “Do you have any other wishes?”

“TianXuan Sect……” Lu JingMing said quietly: “My sect suffered an unexpected misfortune and was pretty much extinguished. If possible, I hope the Saint Sovereign can protect the last remaining disciple of TianXuan Sect to preserve the bloodline.” 

Feng Ci: “Meng ChangQing.”

“Yes.” Lu JingMing’s voice started to turn ethereal: “I hope the Saint Sovereign can fulfill this……”

His voice faded. That blurry figure finally transformed into faint dots of light that disappeared in this cavern.

Feng Ci opened his eyes. 

The soft sound of flowing water could be heard next to his ears. He was the only person within the cavern.

As if everything that he saw and heard just now was nothing more than a dream.

Feng Ci looked down at the surface of the water.

The majority of the spirit energy inside the cold-water pool has already been absorbed. The clear limpid water reflected the youth’s pretty and clever looking face. Feng Ci quietly looked at that face and chuckled softly: “Xiao Lu, you’re really making things difficult for me here.” 

“……You should be aware that everything I’m doing right now is not to save the people of the world.”

On the contrary, he was cultivating in seclusion right now just so he could better complete his mission for the Heavenly Principles.

The mission that the Heavenly Principles gave him was to eliminate the puppet after the end of the massacre.

Whether he should do it or not, what should he be doing… In these last 3 months, these were questions Feng Ci has been pondering incessantly over since learning the truth of the current situation from the Heavenly Principles. 

He felt conflicted, and also wavered back and forth. Even now, he still has not made up his mind.

But if he wanted to stop that massacre, it’s not merely as simple as stopping the puppet. His true enemy would become… the Heavenly Principles.

That’s an act of rebellion against the Heavens.

Feng Ci sighed softly. 

He closed his eyes again. The glow of the spirit energy surrounding him changed. Feng Ci stopped worrying about the safety of this body and did his best to fully release all of his spirit energy.

That radiance became even more dazzling. Countless dots of light gathered into an intricately linked web that enveloped Feng Ci completely.

It also illuminated the entire cavern as if daylight.

Before Feng Ci started cultivating in seclusion, he had added prohibition arrays outside of the cavern to prevent people from disturbing him. No one could break through them besides him, not even Pei QianYue. 

One morning, the prohibition arrays outside of the cavern suddenly shattered and a youth walked out from inside.

A faint spiritual energy aura surrounded the youth. His demeanor was no longer the same as before. The light in his eyes was heavy and composed. Even just standing there quietly was enough to make people feel a formless sense of intimidation.

Much closer to Feng Ci’s original demeanor.

He stood at the entrance of the cavern and took a deep breath of the fresh morning air from the mountains. He looked around the vicinity. 

As expected, there was no one.

Before entering secluded cultivation, Feng Ci once promised Pei QianYue that this would take 81 days. According to that person’s personality, he definitely would have guarded and waited at the entrance of the cave around the appointed time.

But……

Feng Ci failed to keep his promise agaaaaain. 

He had struggled a long time in that bottleneck period, so long that he had forgotten the specific time. He didn’t know how long he had been cultivating in seclusion, but he knew that it must have surpassed 81 days.

His family’s little black snake… was bound to be angry again.

Unable to find him in front of the cavern, Feng Ci had no other choice but to head to Shaman Valley to try his luck.

Fortunately, Xiao Guo was still here. 

The Immortal Alliance’s evaluation was a major event within the Immortal Alliance. The leaders of the Six Sects needed to participate. When Feng Ci rushed to Shaman Valley, he just happened to bump into Xiao Guo getting ready to leave the valley with his disciples.

Seeing the youth appearing, Xiao Guo was also slightly stunned. He immediately ordered the disciples to await further orders and dragged Feng Ci off to a corner.

“Looks like your cultivation was successful, Saint Sovereign.” Xiao Guo examined Feng Ci up and down but then frowned: “However……”

He paused and asked: “How long do you have?” 

Feng Ci said: “Three days.”

To make this physical body accommodate the power of his soul, Feng Ci had cleansed the bone and marrow and strengthened the physical body to its extreme limits.

But this state couldn’t last for long.

After three days, this physical body will fail and become completely useless. 

Feng Ci didn’t plan to explain too much. Instead, he asked: “Are you planning to go to the Immortal Alliance evaluation right now? Has the content of the evaluation been decided? When does it start?”

“The evaluation starts today at noon. I can tell you the details slowly along the way, Saint Sovereign. Here, the flying ship sent by the Immortal Alliance to pick us up has just arrived.” Xiao Guo pointed at the flying ship stopped in the air outside and said: “If Saint Sovereign arrived a moment later, you might have missed it. Could this be the so-called ‘why arrive early when you can arrive right on time’?”

Feng Ci didn’t reply.

Pretending to look at the flying ship, he did his best to keep his tone calm and indifferent: “Did Pei QianYue come by?” 

Xiao Guo: “Of course City Master Pei came by.”

“Then why……” Feng Ci rubbed his nose, feeling somewhat guilty: “Why didn’t he wait for me?”

“Who said he didn’t wait?” The smile in Xiao Guo’s eyes deepened: “He had waited at the entrance of Saint Sovereign’s cavern for an entire seven days and seven nights. Unfortunately, you never came out, Saint Sovereign. The Immortal Alliance couldn’t be left alone so he had no choice but to leave early.”

“Speaking of which, it’s actually rather coincidental. City Master Pei had just left at dawn this morning. He seemed to have just missed you, Saint Sovereign.” 

“Seven……Seven days?”

Oh no. He made Pei QianYue wait for him for seven days.

Now it’ll really be hard to placate him.

Feng Ci only felt his heart turn half-cold directly. 

Realizing that he had lost some of his composure, Feng Ci coughed softly and shifted his gaze: “Then…… before he left, did he say something?”

Xiao Guo: “Yes.”

Feng Ci: “What did he say?”

Xiao Guo cleared his throat and deliberately slowed his words, saying: “He said, ‘Sure enough, none of Grandmaster QianQiu’s words can be trusted. What a complete. and. utter. liar.’”