“Master.” Lu Qing turned around, lowering his gaze to look at his toes as he obediently called out.
“Raise your head.” The voice fell from above. Lu Qing’s expression shifted through several changes, and when he looked up, his face was adorned with a smile, his eyes bright. “Master, you’re here. Master, where have you gone?”
“Were you just now speaking ill of this Monarch behind his back?” Immortal Yunchuan lowered his head slightly, his narrow eye tails pressing downward with a sense of oppression.
Lu Qing chuckled, his eyeballs rolling around. “How could that be? Master is so amazing, how could your disciple ever speak ill of Master? You must have misheard, Master.”
Immortal Yunchuan raised his hand and waved it, causing a blue bell to appear on his right side, transmitting a testing and dissatisfied complaint:
‘Immortal Yunchuan, if you don’t want to take me as your disciple, just let me go. There’s nothing to eat or drink, and even the path was guided by someone else.’
‘Immortal Yunchuan, you might as well take back your words about taking me as your disciple. As for me, I won’t trouble you to teach me cultivation either.’
‘If you don’t speak, I’ll take it that you agree. I’m leaving.’
‘Where are you going?’
‘I’m really leaving, you know.’
Lu Qing’s expression stiffened; there had never been a moment quite like this when he felt so socially dead. If possible, he really wanted to find a crack in the ground to crawl into.
His face and neck flushed red as he looked at the sky and looked at the ground, deliberately refusing to look at Immortal Yunchuan.
“Master, what is this?” A wave of heat flowed through Lu Qing’s entire body. This was the first time he had ever been caught red-handed while talking behind someone’s back.
A hint of a smile flashed across the depths of Immortal Yunchuan’s eyes as he put the bell away. “A sound-recording device made using spiritual power just a little novelty. If you like it, Master can give it to you.”
Lu Qing’s face lit up with pleasant surprise, and he reached out to take it. “Really? Thank you, Master.”
The sound-recording device was very pretty; it was blue and hollowed out. Whether used as an accessory or an ornament, it was small and took up no space.
“It doesn’t make a sound?” Lu Qing held it by the cord and shook it, but couldn’t hear the slightest noise.
Yunchuan stepped past him to push open the main hall doors, walking inside at a leisurely pace. “The purpose of the sound-recording device is to record and restore; there is nothing placed inside, so naturally it cannot emit sound.”
Seeing that Lu Qing hadn’t followed and was standing in place studying the sound-recording device, Immortal Yunchuan turned his body slightly sideways. “Still not coming in?”
“Coming!” Lu Qing put away the sound-recording device and hurried in to follow him.
Compared to the side hall, the main hall was far more opulent and spacious. The room was adorned with sparkling stones of varying sizes, and even three-meter-long wind chimes hung from the windows. When the wind blew, the chimes tinkled with a pleasant sound.
Inside the room stood a white jade table, flanked by carved screens on the left and right. Passing the screen on the left revealed a bookcase filled to the brim with books. The screen on the right served as a passageway, draped with pearl and gauze curtains that swept the floor.
Lu Qing guessed that side led to Immortal Yunchuan’s inner chambers. He hastily glanced over and retracted his gaze, sitting down cautiously as he asked, “Master, do you have anything to eat here? I’m starving.”
“Earlier, someone complained that this Monarch didn’t care about them; could it be that this Monarch misheard after all?” Immortal Yunchuan lifted his eyelids, casting his gaze toward him.
“Master, I was wrong. You are magnanimous, so please don’t bicker with someone ignorant like me.” Lu Qing pouted, sitting up straight and proper.
What else could he do? He had already said it, and the other person had already heard it. If the guy was unhappy, he’d just have to get beaten up.
“It was Master’s oversight today. I have already been to the dining hall to fetch some food for you.” Immortal Yunchuan reached out and tapped the table, and several dishes instantly appeared on the surface.
Spirit meat, spirit vegetables, spirit rice porridge, and even soup and pastries. Just sitting there, a sweet fragrance circulated throughout the hall.
Lu Qing’s eyes lit up as he reached out, grabbed a pastry, and shoved it into his mouth. He had been hungry for a long time, and his stomach had long since started protesting.
He thought as he chewed that this temporary master wasn’t half bad, actually going to the dining hall to pack food for him.
“Eat slower; no one is fighting you for it.” Immortal Yunchuan frowned slightly upon seeing him eat with such urgency.
To Lu Qing’s ears, this sounded simply like celestial music. Whatever coldness or stern unsmiling demeanor there was had been completely thrown to the back of his mind.
“There are many disciples within the sect who have not yet reached inantion ( – abstinence from grains); the dining hall serves three meals a day, and all these foods contain a trace of low-level spiritual energy. Once you reach inantion, you will no longer need to dine at the dining hall. Have you committed this to memory?” Immortal Yunchuan took out a book to read, though his gaze remained fixed on Lu Qing.
Lu Qing nodded like a chick pecking at rice, his mouth stuffed full as he mumbled vaguely, “Got it, Master.”
“I have understood the cause and effect; rest well today, and I will teach you cultivation tomorrow. Return to your own room after you finish eating.” Immortal Yunchuan paused after speaking, lowering his eyelids. “Since I have taken you as my disciple, you ought to know my name as well.”
“Huh?” Lu Qing raised his head, his eyes showing confusion. “Master, isn’t this inappropriate? This name…”
Seeing Immortal Yunchuan’s expression turn cold, Lu Qing spoke softer and softer. “Is it an absolute must to know?”
It was merely superficial affection; why bother understanding so much? Was this Immortal Yunchuan breaking character a bit?
Weren’t they supposed to be an unapproachable high-ridge flower? Taking on a disciple was just taking on a disciple did he really need to tell people his name?
“Lu Qing.” Immortal Yunchuan’s voice carried an unarguable authority, his gaze chilling. “I have been in seclusion for a full five hundred years, and many people have long since forgotten my name. Within the Lingyao Sect, only a handful of people know it, though they are used to calling me by my Daoist name.”
He stood up, a cold aura radiating from his entire body as he said expressionlessly, “Listen well: my name is Yeqing.”
Yeqing stepped forward past the white jade table, his wide, soft-textured sleeves sweeping across Lu Qing’s shoulder. “Get back to your room the moment you finish eating.”
Lu Qing stood dumbfounded what kind of operation was this?
By the time he snapped out of it, Yeqing had already walked into the inner chamber, leaving the coldness to erode the space.
Tch.
Lu Qing let out a soft huff, finished his meal, left the main hall, and returned to his own quarters.
Musing over what had just happened, the more he thought about it, the more wrong it felt, prompting him to poke the system. “What do you think he meant by that?”
[Unknown.] Dropping those two cold words, the system ignored Lu Qing no matter how persistently he asked thereafter.
Lu Qing raised an eyebrow, pillowing his head as he lay on the bed, swinging his legs back and forth. “There’s something fishy going on.”
The system ignored him. Overwhelmed by a wave of drowsiness after a full meal and feeling unbothered to fuss over those details, he flipped over and fell soundly asleep.
“You ought to know that even if they look identical, Lu Qing is not that person.” Shen Zhixing sat lazily, his gaze sharp. “He vanished five hundred years ago without a trace, leaving no clues behind—that means he fell. Just when are you going to wake up?”
In the snow-viewing pavilion of the main hall, spirit tea was set out on the table as the two sat facing one another.
The cloud-shrouded pavilion was located directly behind the Wangxu Hall. After Lu Qing returned to the side hall, Shen Zhixing had arrived.
Yeqing wanted to learn some matters concerning Lu Qing, which was why he agreed to see Shen Zhixing.
Who could have guessed that before he even settled into his seat, the other party would blurt out such words.
Yeqing fell silent. The surrounding wind swept past while white clouds drifted by; he lifted his eyelids to stare at Shen Zhixing.
Looking closely, Yeqing’s pupils were a pale golden hue. When focused upon intently by him, it felt as though one were being watched by a beast, causing even the soul to tremble.
Shen Zhixing cracked under the pressure, averting his gaze first as he picked up the spirit tea on the table to take a sip, softening his tone. “He came with the outer disciple Bai Li. Back when they fell into Qiongming, Bai Li felt there was something strange about him.”
“Yunchuan, five hundred years have passed; it’s time for you to awake.” A hint of pity laced Shen Zhixing’s brows. “By doing this, not only do you defile Yuqing, but it is also unfair to Lu Qing.”
If one wanted to cultivate, they should just cultivate properly why insist on stirring up all these complications? He had heard all the rumors within the sect, about replacements and whatnot, which were simply an unmitigated mess.
Acting on Zhaoming’s words and offering a warning, he had decided to come talk this ancestor over.
Yet judging by this ancestor’s expression, this conversation clearly wouldn’t yield a good outcome.
Yeqing blinked, tilting his head to look outside as he said in a calm voice, “I am not as unbearable as they think; I can tell them apart. You don’t need to worry. The Lingyao Sect was built by his own hands, and I will do nothing to harm it.”
“That’s good, that’s good.” Shen Zhixing let out a heavy sigh of relief, shifting the subject. “Then do you think Lu Qing could be the ominous star? After all, the things happening around him defy all imagination.”
“There is demonic aura in the mortal realm’s Luoxia Village, yet no demons were spotted. During the sudden ambush on the flying boat, Qingmu was discourteous to everyone else, yet singled him out wanting to abduct him. After falling into Qiongming, he stirred up turmoil and loosened the Qiongming seals.” Shen Zhixing’s expression grew grave as he said, “If he truly is the ominous star, he must be suppressed; otherwise, the consequences will be unimaginable.”
“He is not the ominous star. Whatever happened was accidental, and I sensed no malicious aura whatsoever from him; he is merely a mortal possessing a wood spiritual root.” Yeqing denied Shen Zhixing’s speculation, feeling somewhat baffled by the occurrence of these events.
“As for why demons run rampant and the Qiongming seals are loosening, I have a guess in my heart.” Yeqing turned his head to stare at the cold spirit tea on the table, his expression dazed. “It should be that he has returned.”
“Impossible.” Shen Zhixing’s expression changed drastically as he gritted his teeth. “If he had returned, he wouldn’t be living in obscurity. Five hundred years ago, storms followed his every step; if he really had come back, whether it was the Ten Directions Prefecture or the Nine Vaults Crossing Dao, the whole place would have boiled over long ago.”
“If not him, who else do you think it could be?” Yunchuan’s expression grew colder and expressionless. “Only he could provoke such anomalies. After all, back then, both demons and the demon race shrank back into their corners solely because of him. Toward us, they are far more sensitive to his aura.”
Shen Zhixing opened his mouth, yet failed to produce a single word of rebuttal. Shifting his perspective, wasn’t it precisely as Yunchuan had said?
What ominous star it was simply that he couldn’t determine what the root cause was, leading him to attribute everything onto an ominous star.
“Regardless, this matter must be investigated clearly.” Shen Zhixing raised a finger to point toward the direction of the mortal realm. “Every mid-month in the mortal realm brings a blood moon; when the blood moon rises, demonic energy surges. They devour the vitality of mortals, and I suspect their goal is to shatter the Qiongming seals and storm the Ten Directions and Nine Vaults.”
“The inner disciples dispatched have had their soul lamps extinguish in droves, incurring rather heavy losses.” He sighed, looking deeply troubled. “The Nine Vaults Shengying City has also dispatched people to the mortal realm; I worry they will come into conflict.”
Nine Vaults was different from the Ten Directions Prefecture. The Ten Directions Prefecture valued retributive justice and exterminating demons, whereas Nine Vaults operated recklessly the weak deserved death, while the strong demanded contracts.
Consequently, demons could be seen walking about everywhere in Nine Vaults, and routine deaths resulting from unmet whims were a frequent occurrence.
Because of this reason, the two sides rarely interacted. This situation had begun ever since Yuqing’s fall.
At the very beginning, countless people died due to forcefully contracting demons. Later on, an Immortal Monarch of Nine Vaults became a demon cultivator, discovered their weaknesses, and invented a unique method of contracting.
If a demon harbored evil intentions, the contract would cause the demon to perish in ashes; if it submitted to its master, it would become a lethal weapon in their hands.
Broaching the topic of Nine Vaults Crossing Dao, Yeqing’s expression turned even frostier as he declared coldly, ” Courting death. Pass down my order: if you encounter people from Nine Vaults, avoid them if you can; if you cannot avoid them, there is no need to show mercy.”
Shen Zhixing nodded. “That was my thought as well. I still feel there is something strange about Lu Qing; you should investigate him further. In these turbulent times, talk of an ominous star is not groundless.”
“Mm.” Yeqing stood up, standing before the pavilion pillar to gaze outside, his back as straight as a pine. “If there is nothing else, you may return. I am mindful of everything you’ve mentioned.”
Shen Zhixing opened his mouth as if to speak, but ultimately said nothing, rising to depart.
Yeqing stood in place for a long time. Time flew by as white clouds drifted past one after another, and only then did he snap back to his senses.