Lou Shuangzui left the secret realm on the last day. After sending off the disciples of Shi Yang Sect, the effects of the Xiuqiu Cluster Fruit finally wore off. In the last few days, he used his own face to seize quite a few resources.
The poisonous vines that crisscrossed the Hongxiu Forest made Lou Shuangzui famous among those who entered the secret realm this time, earning him the nickname “Ghost Wood Immortal.”
On the day the secret realm ended, the competition gradually ceased because the valuable items had long been taken, leaving only those that were either immature or unattainable.
The morning sunlight was nice, filtering through the ragged Hongxiu Forest and falling on Lou Shuangzui’s exquisite and enchanting face. The golden hue flowed in his eyes, as bright as the gold lacquer used to write heavenly scriptures.
The familiar feeling of weightlessness appeared, and in the next second, Lou Shuangzui found himself back on the clearing where he had arrived. Not far away were Mu Yunge and the others. The little shaman with light green hair smiled and waved at Lou Shuangzui, “Junior Brother! How was the harvest this time? Even if it wasn’t great, it’s okay. I got the Wen Yue Flower. If you call me ‘sister,’ I’ll give it to you!”
Lou Shuangzui walked over to them in a few steps. He took out the Luoxia Drunken Fruit and quickly waved it in front of Mu Yunge before putting it back into his storage space. “There was an unexpected situation, so I couldn’t meet up with you, but I brought back some good spoils.”
Mu Yunge’s eyes lit up, and she exclaimed, “Wow!” Even Shangguan Shu and Murong Rao looked surprised.
It was expected that Chen Yue Sect would get the Wen Yue Flower from the Sheji Canal. After all, some people from Bai Hua Sect and Shan He Sect went to compete for the Millennium Snow Lotus, while Shi Yang Sect and Tian Dao Sect were in the Hongxiu Forest. Even those from Shan He Sect, like Xue Chengming, who had no hope of getting the Snow Lotus, were there, leaving only Chen Yue Sect as the major sect at the Sheji Canal.
Although Chen Yue Sect only sent four people this time, and without Lou Shuangzui, there were only three, they only had to compete with rogue cultivators, so it was impossible for them to lose.
What was surprising was that the lone Lou Shuangzui managed to obtain one of the spiritual fruits, winning against three sects. And he was only at the early Golden Core stage!
“It seems we’ll be the first this time,” Murong Rao, usually cold and aloof, spoke up. He held the folding fan in his arms, and although his face was expressionless, his eyes showed he was quite pleased.
Sure enough, when the rankings were announced, among the Five Great Sects, Chen Yue Sect was at the top with over thirty thousand points.
There was an uproar all around, but the judges’ seats were unusually quiet, almost eerily so. Lou Shuangzui keenly sensed a resentful gaze on him. Looking up, he saw it was the Sect Leader of Shi Yang Sect, Xi Ming.
—That made sense.
So he lowered his head without any guilt, pretending not to notice.
The Luoxia Drunken Fruit was taken by Lou Shuangzui, the Wen Yue Flower by Mu Yunge, and the Qianshan Snow Lotus ultimately belonged to Bai Hua Sect. To prevent Xue Chengming from getting it, Xie Weining collaborated with Bai Hua Sect. Although Shan He Sect didn’t get the Qianshan Snow Lotus, Bai Hua Sect compensated them with many other spiritual herbs, so it wasn’t a loss.
The results were announced quickly, and the sect leaders didn’t have much to say, so the ceremony ended swiftly, and they could return to the inn.
The market after the secret realm would continue for another two or three days. Mu Yunge and the others were quite interested in going out, but Lou Shuangzui hadn’t even had a chance to leave when Wen Shunian blocked his way at the door.
The Sect Leader sat in a chair in the room, sipping tea, looking at Lou Shuangzui with eyes full of reproach. “Nephew Lou, do you have anything to say to me?”
He really did, although it might not be what Wen Shunian imagined.
Pursuing one’s own path of cultivation always carries risks. Lou Shuangzui thought for a moment and decided to tell Wen Shunian about absorbing resentment and curses to enhance the toxicity of his vines, seeking his opinion.
Wen Shunian was surprised for a moment, then quickly fell into thought. He temporarily set aside the matter of Lou Shuangzui using his face to cause a stir, biting his lower lip as he pondered. “Although nothing like this has been seen in a thousand years, it might actually be possible…”
“Back in the day, the Blood Sea Ancestor Minghe lived in the boundless Blood Sea, where countless resentful souls gathered. He cultivated with the help of the Blood Sea, and it wasn’t considered demonic. The Great Dao has three thousand paths, and touching resentment doesn’t necessarily make one demonic. Humans and beasts die and become ghosts, resentment is born from the souls of the dead, and this is also a law of the world.”
Wen Shunian’s expression softened a bit. He reached out and ruffled Lou Shuangzui’s hair. “However, absorbing resentment does carry risks. Let me think about how to make it safer…”
The sunlight outside was just right, lazily spreading between the mountains, more beautiful than any woven clothes of clouds and mist. The pink-haired Sect Leader stared at the sunlight, letting his mind wander for a moment.
“I understand now. What you need is merit,” he suddenly said, his light purple eyes as enchanting as a pool of clouds. Wen Shunian took a deep breath, struggling to suppress the spiritual power fluctuations in his body. He actually used this opportunity to break through, advancing from the early Transformation Stage to the mid-stage.
After a while, after adjusting his breath through several cycles, the Sect Leader of Chen Yue Sect opened his eyes again. “In the past, when the ten suns rose in the sky, all living things suffered, yet it didn’t attract karmic retribution. Instead, Hou Yi, who shot down the suns, incurred terrible karma and eventually fell from a great shaman to a mortal.”
“This is because the suns, as the world’s celestial bodies, naturally possess great merit. Resentment and souls of the dead cannot approach them, and even karma can be dispelled. My suggestion is for you to take on more tasks that can earn merit, accumulating it to suppress the violent nature of resentment.”
Lou Shuangzui lowered his eyes, nodding thoughtfully.
Wen Shunian watched him, drinking the remaining cold tea in his cup. The pink-haired Sect Leader helplessly curled his lips. “It’s okay, I’ll keep an eye on things for you when I return. It’s also a good opportunity to avoid those from Shi Yang Sect.”
Speaking of this, Wen Shunian couldn’t help but feel a bit angry, so he reached out and tapped Lou Shuangzui’s nose. “Next time, use your master’s face, not mine. I’m too old to have my face used to attract bees and butterflies.”
Lou Shuangzui looked up, nonchalantly staring at the ceiling, uncharacteristically silent with a guilty conscience.
Wen Shunian also told him about the exchange he made with the sect leaders. Several elders agreed not to tell the disciples of Shi Yang Sect that Wen Yuyao was actually Lou Shuangzui. So after leaving the room, Lou Shuangzui went to find Murong Rao and the others, explaining everything and asking his senior brothers and sisters to help keep it a secret.
Coincidentally, Murong Rao also had golden eyes, but his were light gold, slightly different from Lou Shuangzui’s. However, the light in the Hongxiu Forest was always strange, and a slight color difference could easily be attributed to the lighting, making it quite believable.
Shangguan Shu and Mu Yunge were more than willing to help. Shangguan Shu was a bit more reserved, but Mu Yunge, being very familiar with Lou Shuangzui, was particularly blunt. “Junior Brother! Give me a copy of the Recording Stone too. I want to see the legendary sword cultivator’s abs!”
Hearing this, Shangguan Shu also looked over, clearly interested, while Murong Rao was momentarily surprised. He glanced at Shangguan Shu, then at Mu Yunge, and decided not to say anything. He shrank his head, pretending he hadn’t heard anything.
Lou Shuangzui “tsk”ed in his heart, silently apologizing to Ying Qi and Li Jiyun, then cheerfully curled his lips. “No problem, I’ll deliver it to you two senior sisters tonight.”
With Murong Rao to confuse the situation and Mu Yunge to lighten the mood, Shi Yang Sect, upon waking up the next day, found out that the Luoxia Drunken Fruit was with Chen Yue Sect. However, after several attempts, they got no results, and with Chen Yue Sect returning to the mountain on the third day, they could only helplessly look for another opportunity to find the culprit.
As expected, Lian Chaoxi was waiting at the foot of the mountain to pick up Lou Shuangzui. The white-haired master, whose hair was like snow, fluttered in the wind like the softest silk. He walked up with gentle eyes and handed Lou Shuangzui a box of pastries.
“Made with immortal fruit. I worked on it for quite a while. Try it.”
Wen Shunian really couldn’t bear to watch. He couldn’t help but roll his eyes. “Junior Brother, you were apart for over twenty days, not over twenty months, let alone over twenty years.”
Lian Chaoxi, righteous and firm, seemed completely unaware of his extreme bias. “My disciple is so good, so excellent, so adorable, and considerate. You just don’t understand, Senior Brother!”
The pink-haired Sect Leader chuckled helplessly, rolling his eyes again.
Tasks with a lot of merit are hard to find, but Wen Shunian quickly found one. The reason this task fell smoothly into Chen Yue Sect’s hands was because…
“That National Teacher Luo Jiu from Yu Dynasty, he’s considered your junior brother. Two years ago, the Divination Peak calculated his location, but when your Uncle Mu from Divination Peak went to find him, he didn’t come back with him. It seems because the chaotic world hasn’t settled, he can’t let go of his country.”
Wen Shunian placed a large stack of documents in front of Lou Shuangzui, indicating he could read them himself.
“This time, your task will take a long time, at least five years, possibly ten. You need to wait for the person with the Emperor’s Fate to grow up and hand over a relatively stable court to him. Moreover, the difficult part is that you must take human form, unable to use magic, and personally experience illness and death.”
Lou Shuangzui picked up the stack of records and began to read carefully.
It’s not actually complicated. Simply put, the destiny line arranged by the Heavenly Dao went wrong. It was supposed to be ten years of chaos, followed by a sickly monarch taking charge, ruling for ten years, and dying just before completely stabilizing the country, leaving a not-too-bad situation for his successor.
But the destiny line went wrong. The sickly monarch’s father, a prince who indulged in pleasure, somehow took a new wife, and together they suppressed the sickly monarch. As a result, this monarch, who was supposed to bridge the past and future, died young, just one year after being pushed to the throne.
But this is very bad. The other person with the Emperor’s Fate is only five years old, far too young to take charge. Without such a fate to suppress, normal people can’t touch the throne. If they do, they’ll be cursed with misfortune. Without someone in charge, ten years is enough to start a warring states period, setting back civilization’s progress.
“The Heavenly Dao needs a new monarch, so it handed the task to the Immortal Mountain. This should have been the responsibility of Tian Dao Sect, but not all immortals can take charge. Even without discussing ability, without a sufficient fate, one can’t suppress the throne of this relatively large world. Coincidentally, Divination Peak calculated a divination, and the most suitable candidate is you.”
“Nephew Lou, you have the Emperor’s Fate. If it weren’t for your brother also having a fate, even if Tian Dao agreed, the small world wouldn’t have let you leave.”
Author’s Note:
A bit late, miumiu, but not too much. Good evening, everyone!