Translator: CinderTL
Whoosh—
Deep within the Ancient Village, a shadowy figure darted past. Lin Fan gripped his dark, long sword tightly, his eyes scanning the surroundings for another path.
He turned and retreated again, this time staring intently at the residence without blinking.
Thump!
The familiar sensation, the familiar sound—he had kicked the threshold again. Without even turning, he knew the residence had reappeared behind him.
"Damn it!"
A surge of anger rose within Lin Fan, feeling mocked. He silently retrieved his child stone and sent a message before striding into the Ghost Residence.
"I'll see what tricks you've got!"
If he couldn't escape, he'd face it head-on!
Xu Sanyan had awakened from the jade slip, his eyes closed as he meditated on his newfound understanding of the heavenly dao. The insights he had gained were profound, making his arduous struggle to obtain the slip well worth the effort.
The jade slip contained more than just insights into the heavenly dao; it also explored the connection between the heavenly dao and the human dao, as well as detailed explanations of various Great Daos.
For example, while Xu Sanyan didn't cultivate the sword dao or formation dao, he knew that "stones from other mountains can polish jade." Gaining a broader understanding of these paths would undoubtedly prove beneficial.
Moreover, the content within the jade slip was incredibly profound. He had only grasped a fraction of its wisdom, with vast realms of knowledge still untouched.
"Ah..."
Xu Sanyan sighed deeply and transmitted a message telepathically. "Senior, I truly mean it. My admiration for you is like the endless flow of the Yangtze River, or the overflowing waters of the Yellow River..."
Before he could finish, the old man interrupted, "What don't you understand?"
"Heh heh," Xu Sanyan replied with a fawning smile. "Could you please explain the Blood Sea Dao again?"
As the old man was about to speak, Xu Sanyan frowned and retrieved the mother stone. A message was inscribed on its surface:
[Disciple Lin Fan has mistakenly entered a Ghost Residence. Within, I hear the laughter of children and the mournful singing of actors, with fleeting white shadows passing by. I cannot escape nor shake them off, so I must investigate. Holy Son, if you encounter this place, exercise extreme caution.]
Xu Sanyan's frown deepened. Where had this Ghost Residence come from?
Xu Sanyan turned to the old man and asked, "Senior, do you know the cause of this?"
The old man remained silent for a moment before sighing softly, "Ah, unexpected events..."
"Please elaborate, Senior."
"The Peach Blossom Secret Realm... do you know why it's called that?" the old man asked, avoiding a direct answer.
"No, I don't."
"Because the foundation of this realm is shaped like a peach tree, and each secret realm is like a peach hanging from its branches. Hence the name 'Peach Blossom Secret Realm.'"
"There are a total of one hundred and thirty-seven peach fruits, each corresponding to one of the one hundred and thirty-seven sages. In the past, each of us was responsible for forging a secret realm, which the great elder then hung on the tree to form the whole."
Xu Sanyan suddenly understood. No wonder each time the secret realms opened, they were different.
"So, there are a total of one hundred and thirty-seven secret realms here?"
The old man shook his head. "No, there are two hundred and thirty-seven secret realms. The great elder forged one hundred of them alone."
"Hiss..."
Xu Sanyan gasped, drawing in a cold breath. Is this the power of an immortal?
The old man continued, "This secret realm was personally forged by me. There should be no Ghost Residence within it. Yet it has appeared. There's only one possible explanation..."
"The secret realms have merged!"
"Secret realms can merge?" Xu Sanyan murmured, struggling to comprehend.
The old man sighed, "Two hundred and thirty-seven Small Secret Realms, ultimately all connected, like fruits from the same tree. Their merging isn't surprising, but... why would a Ghost Residence appear?"
Xu Sanyan frowned. "If they've merged, why is the Ghost Residence so strange?"
The old man shook his head. "You don't understand. This secret realm was originally designed to train Dao Seeking and Foundation Establishment Realm disciples. It's the lowest level of the Peach Blossom Secret Realm, where ghostly entities should never appear."
Xu Sanyan's eyes widened as he grasped the old man's meaning. "You mean... the merged realm might be from the Soul Refinement cultivation level?"
"Exactly," the old man replied with a bitter smile.
"Hiss..."
Xu Sanyan felt a headache coming on. If that were the case, wouldn't the danger be exponentially greater?
Originally, Dao Seeking and Foundation Establishment Realm disciples only needed to deal with corpse demons. Now, they had to face powerful ghosts as well?
Wait...
What about Lin Fan?
Xu Sanyan cautiously asked, "One of my Foundation Establishment disciples entered the Ghost Residence..."
"He's as good as dead!" the old man declared flatly.
"The merging of secret realms is a slow and gradual process. There's no need to panic. By the time you leave, the fusion might not even be complete."
Xu Sanyan nodded. That was some consolation, though he still felt a pang of regret for Lin Fan. He had high hopes for that disciple.
Perhaps... he wasn't necessarily doomed.
Lin Fan huddled in a corner of the hall, his hand clamped over his mouth, his eyes wide as he watched two children play.
The Red-Clothed Child, blindfolded with a black cloth, groped around trying to catch the Green-Clothed Child.
The Green-Clothed Child winked at Lin Fan, smiled, and pressed a finger to his lips, signaling him to be quiet.
Lin Fan wouldn't dare make a sound. He merely tightened his grip on the longsword in his hand.
The Red-Clothed Child began moving, arms outstretched, feeling around as if genuinely playing a game. But...
How did he keep groping his way toward Lin Fan?
Lin Fan shifted his position quietly. The Red-Clothed Child paused, slowly turned, and groped toward him again.
Lin Fan moved again, and the child followed. The hall was crowded with tables and benches lining both sides—how did the child avoid bumping into anything?
Lin Fan suspected the blindfold was useless.
The Green-Clothed Child seemed delighted to have someone join his game, his eyes gleaming with excitement.
Two green lights flickered in the darkness, like the pupils of a wild beast, staring unblinkingly at Lin Fan.
"Eee-yah~"
A shrill, piercing voice echoed in Lin Fan's ear, its source unknown.
Lin Fan's eyes narrowed slightly. Having entered, he had no intention of leaving peacefully. He lightly bit his finger, drew a pattern on the ground with the blood, then quietly rose and slipped out of the main hall.
The green-robed child seemed oblivious, its gaze fixed on the spot where Lin Fan had been standing.
The Red-Clothed Child charged straight toward the blood-drawn pattern, its grin widening with excitement. It reached out to grab it, but its hand closed on empty air. The child's euphoric smile froze instantly.
Refusing to believe it, the child reached out again, only to grasp at nothing once more.
By this time, Lin Fan had already left the main hall and was cautiously advancing along the long corridor.
The estate was vast; he walked for quite a while without seeing its boundaries. Moreover, he hadn't encountered a single ghost along the way, as if the entire mansion were inhabited only by those two small spirits.
Suddenly, a noise came from around the next corner. Lin Fan held his breath, tensed, and cautiously peeked around the corner.
"Fuck!"
For a split second, his heart nearly stopped. He instinctively thrust out his sword, but it was easily intercepted.
A youth in a red robe, his hair tied in two skyward-pointing buns and a large hoop earring dangling from his left ear, peered around the corner as well. The two were now face-to-face, their noses nearly touching.
The youth flashed a sudden smile, revealing two rows of pearly white teeth.
"You're here to play too?"
(End of the Chapter)
---
📖Read (HB) on Pa.treon@CinderTL - c266. [+2]
🔑Early Access at $5.
✍Translated (6) Series, (4.1K+) Chapters, (5.8M+) Words.