“Brother Changshuang, your body…”
“At the very bottom of Kunlun Mountain, where they reside, lies the greatest seal of all. Apart from the base of Kunlun Mountain, there are five smaller seal sites left over from the Demon Fall War throughout the entire cultivation world.”
Aside from the matter of Kunlun being concealed, Weisheng Zhen was aware of the rest or rather, most cultivators knew of it.
Of the five smaller seal sites, four were firmly guarded by cultivators, but one seal lay at the border between the human realm and the demon territory.
This was also the reason why demonic energy had been leaking out all these years because the demon territory refused to yield and was unwilling to properly guard the seal, resulting in people and demons alike falling into corruption.
“If other seals were to be torn open, there might still be a way to remedy the situation, but if Kunlun Mountain were to fall, it would inevitably usher in another war between immortals and demons one that could be even more brutal than ten thousand years ago.”
“So this is the reason why the Kunlun lineage often appears and disappears like a divine dragon showing only its head and never its tail, yet still holds a high status throughout the cultivation world?” Weisheng Zhen was initially shocked, but quickly furrowed his brow and said, “Forgive my bluntness, but given how they’re hardly ever seen, if something truly went wrong, we probably wouldn’t find out until much later.”
“And… why is the credit for Kunlun’s deeds attributed to the Longhong Sword God? The Kunlun lineage has worked tirelessly with great merit yet has always been misunderstood. I find this whole matter rather strange.”
Li Changshuang nodded. “The Kunlun lineage took form from celestial cranes not of our kind. There will always be those who believe their hearts must harbor ill intent. Even if people knew it was Kunlun’s doing, what difference would it make? Most would still think, ‘How could they possibly be so benevolent? They must be plotting something.’ Besides, keeping them anonymous is a good thing at least they won’t be constantly harassed by those with ulterior motives.”
“The seniors of Lingjie seem to have some special method of knowing their situation. At least for now, it appears their condition is still acceptable. However, as you’ve guessed… this jade talisman, the moment I laid eyes on it, felt somewhat like a Kunlun artifact used for sealing.”
If it truly was a sealing artifact, then its appearance here might mean that part of the seal had already loosened.
Weisheng Zhen only remembered writing at the time: “Within that secret realm were tens of thousands of demons, led by demonic beasts as they charged out of the realm together. In just a few breaths, South Wugu City was turned into a living hell!” and then he died, before he could even expand upon the foreshadowing he had laid out. But calculating the time, there were still nearly twenty years before the chaos in that secret realm would erupt, and the existence of those demons certainly hadn’t come about overnight.
Weisheng Zhen placed the jade talisman back into his spatial storage and withdrew the barrier, a thoughtful look in his eyes.
Perhaps now or even earlier those demons had already begun to infiltrate.
If he followed the trail of the jade talisman, he might just uncover the truth.
The lively sounds of auction bidding rose and fell outside. Weisheng Zhen paused before realizing that the auction had already reached the final four treasures.
“Now for the fourth-to-last item up for auction: a fragment of the Longhong Sword God’s Heaven-grade sword manual! The starting bid is: one hundred thousand high-grade spirit stones!”
The moment those six words “Heaven-grade sword manual fragment” were spoken, the entire hall of cultivators stirred with excitement.
The Long Rainbow Sword God was the last cultivator in this realm to shatter the void and ascend to godhood, commanding a massive fanbase. Many cultivators took up swordsmanship precisely because of the Long Rainbow Sword God. Moreover, a remnant page left behind by a cultivator on the verge of ascending if one studied it carefully, enlightenment was bound to come in time!
Who knows? Perhaps the one who successfully ascends ten thousand years from now will be precisely because they obtained this remnant page!
Beyond that, what stirred them even more was that a treasure like this, which would normally be saved for the final lot of an auction, was now only the fourth from last.
That meant at least three more items of similar quality were still to come.
Even Weisheng Zhen couldn’t help but sit up straighter with curiosity: “Speak of the devil, and he shall appear. Truly, don’t mention people by day, don’t mention ghosts by night. We just brought up the Long Rainbow Sword God, and now his remnant page shows up.”
Li Changshuang looked somewhat helpless: “So you still haven’t told me to this day, who exactly is this ‘devil’? Male or female? And where is their home?”
Weisheng Zhen turned his head and thought for a moment.
It seemed… thirty years ago, a similar conversation had occurred.
It was the same two of them, but how had he answered back then?
He couldn’t remember.
He cleared his throat: “It’s just a saying I read in a storybook, I don’t recall which one. Perhaps it was a relative of the storybook author?”
Li Changshuang nodded slightly: “So this time it’s become a storybook?”
Huh?
Weisheng Zhen’s eyes widened as he looked over, only to see Li Changshuang slowly take a sip of tea before drawling: “Last time, didn’t you say you heard it from a folk song? In just thirty years, it’s turned into a storybook?”
Weisheng Zhen’s mouth twisted slightly.
This guy there was a sly streak hidden beneath that calm exterior.
He’d already asked once before, and yet he’d tricked him again.
The boomerang of his casual fabrication thirty years ago had finally come back to strike him.
But then his Li Changshuang was actually a white-cut-black type?
Hadn’t he written him as a somewhat stubborn, cultivation-obsessed little naive sweetheart?
Weisheng Zhen lowered his eyes and drank his tea, shadows casting over his face, a hint of melancholy in his gaze.
Even his male lead’s personality had already diverged from what he’d written. No matter how similar this place seemed, it ultimately wasn’t the novel he had penned.
It was a real, genuine cultivation world one that changed due to environments and the actions of certain people real and cruel.
Actually, he’d known this all along. It was also why he’d been trying to save himself all this time.
Perhaps there really was some way to escape the fate that had been written for him.
**
The sword manual remnant page ultimately sold for three million top-grade spirit stones. Weisheng Zhen didn’t look closely, only noting that the bidder’s number plate was 93.
A very early number, indicating considerable strength and some background. He wondered if they’d cross paths in the Rising Talents Tournament.
The price far exceeded the expected amount, but it hadn’t reached what some had in mind, for many were holding back because the next three items might be the true highlights.
“The third-to-last lot is: a Xuan Bird egg.”
Compared to the sword manual, which was just a single page with considerable limitations, the Xuan Bird egg was far more beloved by the general cultivator populace.
Though the Xuan Bird clan were demon beasts, they understood human nature. With a bit of training, they could communicate in human language and be put to use.
They were entirely dark in color, with a small cluster of iridescent feathers adorning their backs. These feathers were not merely for show they could not only protect the body but also served as raw materials for artifacts that allowed human cultivators of lesser cultivation to tread through the air directly without relying on jade boats.
Throughout their entire lives, they remained Earth-tier demon beasts, but the curious thing was that their offspring were also born at Earth-tier from the moment they hatched.
Whether refined into artifacts or subdued as spirit pets, they were the finest choice across the entire cultivation world at present.
And if one were truly wasteful, swallowing a Dark Bird egg raw could allow a cultivator below the Void Refinement stage to leap two minor realms in one go.
Sure enough, no sooner had the starting bid been announced than many people scrambled to push the price past one million.
Any further bidding would exceed what ordinary cultivators could afford.
Yet the price continued to climb rapidly.
Weisheng Zhen had little interest in this. He took out his immortal jade slip and opened the chat with Xing Tan.
[Zhen’s: How’s it going? Did you get it done?]
Over ten days had passed without Xing Tan sending any message in the group. In the private chat between Weisheng Zhen and Xing Tan, this same sentence had been sent over a dozen times once a day but Xing Tan never replied.
However, Xing Tan had done this before, and given that the city was especially crowded with mortals this time, Weisheng Zhen wasn’t particularly worried despite the lack of news.
Someone in the six-person group chat tagged Weisheng Zhen.
He tapped in and saw it was a message from Wo Kuang Ke.
[Wo Kuang Ke: @Zhen’s @Jian Han You two spent this long together this time? Does that mean Chang Shuang’s current descent into the mortal world is about to end?]
Actually, Weisheng Zhen had originally set this period for Li Changshuang as fifteen years, but since other things had changed, it wasn’t surprising that this had shifted too.
Weisheng Zhen had no intention of answering on his behalf.
[Zhen’s: @Wo Kuang Ke That long? We’ve only been together for a little over ten days far from enough compared to before.]
[Wo Kuang Ke: Aww, I get it You two haven’t seen each other for ten years, so ten days definitely isn’t enough ]
[Zhen’s: The words aren’t wrong, but… isn’t that tilde a bit too weird?]
[Zhen’s: Speaking of which… when I was eating this afternoon, I think I sensed your aura? When did you come to Manyun City too?]
[Wo Kuang Ke: You’ve got a pretty sharp nose. I was summoned here by my old man.]
[Wo Kuang Ke: Besides, aren’t you about to compete soon? It’s not just me, @Baihua Tower Fan Fan is coming to watch too.]
[Jian Han: What’s he coming for?]
[Wo Kuang Ke: To watch Ah Zhen’s match, of course. You know how he is every time Ah Zhen has some competition, he likes to come join the fun. Honestly, he’s just been cooped up at home too long and wants an excuse to get out.]
[Baihua Tower Fan Fan: @Jian Han What? Not happy to have this young master here? So what? This young master is coming to watch darling Zhen Zhen’s match, and what are you going to do about it? Just die of jealousy!]
[Zhen’s: Would the two of you kindly address me by my proper name!]
[Jian Han: @Baihua Tower Fan Fan Perfect timing. Come out and have a spar.]
Weisheng Zhen set down the immortal jade slip, looked at Li Changshuang, and said with deep meaning, “Han cub, you’re not still holding a grudge from when you were ten and Fan Fan beat you in that spar, are you? All the way from back then to now?”
“It’s been over fifty years since you two met again, and in all that time, every time you see each other, you’re still at each other’s throats. I really can’t understand how a grudge from childhood could last this long.”
Li Changshuang seemed to see something amusing in the group chat, the corner of his mouth curling slightly before he put away his immortal jade slip: “It’s nothing, I was just joking with him.”
The tone of the conversation didn’t feel like a joke at all.
Weisheng Zhen didn’t press further, and it just so happened that the auction was nearing its final item.
“This last item for bidding is the Void Spirit Dew!”
At those words, not only did everyone seated erupt in excitement, but even Weisheng Zhen’s eyes widened involuntarily, and the hand holding his teacup trembled slightly.
Then, Weisheng Zhen looked at Li Changshuang with utmost seriousness.
“Brother Changshuang, do you have enough spirit stones on you?”
Li Changshuang: “…”
He knew it.
Weisheng Zhen only called him “brother” when he needed a favor.
However…
Li Changshuang quietly tucked away the memory-recording stone hidden in his sleeve.
**
Spirit stones were hardly a concern, and Weisheng Zhen, seated in the Heaven’s First Hall, successfully secured the Void Spirit Dew with the highest bid of two hundred million high-grade spirit stones.
Though it was only a single drop, not quite enough for what Weisheng Zhen needed, it at least offered a glimmer of hope!
But when it came time to hand over the auction item, the steward approached Weisheng Zhen with an apologetic expression.
“My sincerest apologies, Daoist Weisheng. The anonymous seller asked me to pass along a message to you.”
Li Changshuang glanced at the two of them, then left the mustard-seed space ahead of him.
“What message?” Weisheng Zhen asked, puzzled.
“He said…”
“‘He knows who you are, and he knows what you need the five drops of Void Spirit Dew for. He says he wants to make a deal with you.'”
“‘He’ll waive the spirit stone fee for this purchase and give you an additional four drops of Void Spirit Dew.'”
“‘He asks that you come to Wuzhi Province to discuss matters with him. Everything else has already been arranged for you.'”