Upon the crown of a towering ancient tree that reached three hundred meters into the sky, Wang Yu gazed down with a furrowed brow at the cultivators scaling every high point in the vicinity. Their uniform robes and matching accessories left no doubt; they were all from the same sect. Their cultivation levels were generally clustered between the middle and late stages of Qi Refining. Leading them was a male cultivator with a mid-stage Foundation Establishment realm, a distinctive man with a slender mustache, flowing robes, and a blue ceremonial headpiece—his features were unmistakable.
"Over two hundred people… What are they searching for?" he murmured to himself.
In principle, he had no desire to interact with these people. However, their activities were unfolding entirely too close to the limestone cave he had been using for secluded cultivation, forcing him to emerge and investigate.
After a moment of contemplation, Wang Yu suppressed the flicker of curiosity in his heart. Turning away, he decided to skirt the perimeter of the disciples' operational area, intending to find another place to continue his training. He could not afford any mishaps at this critical juncture.
*The affairs of others are none of my concern; the higher I stay aloft, the clearer I see,* he thought. Now was not the time for idle curiosity.
Yet, the whims of fate are inconstant. On his journey back to the cave to gather his belongings, a sudden, silvery-moonbeam sword light descended abruptly, landing directly in front of him with an ethereal grace.
"What fellow Daoist lurks here, and why do you skulk about, peering covertly at our activities?" The voice was pure, almost crystalline, but the tone carried an arrogance that was instantly displeasing.
More importantly, the aura emanating from this individual was solidly at the peak of Foundation Establishment. Furthermore, they had seen through his concealment art in a single glance. This was no ordinary character. A weight settled in Wang Yu's heart. With no other choice, he dissolved his invisibility art, his form shimmering into view.
"Fellow Daoist," Wang Yu began, his voice calm, "this area is where I, Wang, have been living in seclusion. When such a large commotion suddenly occurs right outside my door, it is only natural that I would come out to investigate."
"Oh? Has Fellow Daoist Wang been residing here all along?" A gentle breeze seemed to stir around the silvery longsword, and in a flash, a woman of tall and graceful stature materialized upon it. Her form was curvaceous and alluring. Her delicate jade feet were clad in embroidered slippers, resting upon the sword's hilt with absolute stability. Her legs, visible through the slit of her robes, were full yet straight and slender. Following the line of her figure upwards, she was dressed in a moon-colored gauze dress adorned with blooming lotus patterns. One of her snowy, delicate shoulders was bare, and her swan-like neck seemed to be carved from frost, with a subtle, intoxicating fragrance wafting from her. She was a peerless masterpiece walking the mortal realm. Her facial features were obscured by a translucent veil, a magical artifact that prevented her true countenance from being seen, yet the overall impression she gave left no doubt that her beauty was extraordinary.
Wang Yu, however, felt no stirrings of desire. A certain part of him remained unresponsive, making it difficult to entertain such thoughts. Thus, he merely swept his gaze over her with detached indifference, utterly unmoved.
"Esteemed Fellow Daoist, I have dwelled in this place for several years now and rarely venture out. If you do not believe me, you are welcome to accompany me to my humble abode to see for yourself. How does that sound?"
Yielding when the situation demanded it was a skill Wang Yu had mastered through rich experience. When circumstances overpower the individual, there is no shame in strategic retreat.
"Very well. I have some time to spare. It would be best if Fellow Daoist Wang can prove his claims." Her tone was cool. "However, let me be blunt. The aura you carry does not seem remotely righteous. If you are deceiving Changxi, then the methods of the Sword Sect's Wandering Disciple will surely be employed to 'learn' from you."
It was a naked threat. But 'Sword Sect's Wandering Disciple'? Wang Yu was no fool. Before coming here, he had made some effort to understand the state of the cultivation world in the Taihu Region. While he lacked intricate details, he knew a little about what a 'Wandering Disciple' of the Sword Sect represented.
"Then, Fellow Daoist Changxi, please," Wang Yu said, gesturing for her to follow. As he did, his left hand unconsciously brushed against his arm. After his recent breakthrough, he had reattached the Arm of the Divine Strength Corpse. In the territories dominated by orthodox sects, practices like refining corpses or commanding ghosts were considered heretical paths. While not explicitly forbidden, few cultivators practiced them, as those who walked such roads were highly susceptible to straying into depravity. This was also influenced by the general environment of the Taihu Spiritual Domain; without corresponding cultivation resources and a market for such arts, practitioners who stumbled into these paths often developed malicious intentions and methods. Consequently, while not illegal, they were heavily discriminated against and viewed as potential criminals.
The corpse energy emanating from his left arm was quite pronounced and impossible to conceal from someone like Changxi, who had seen through his advanced隐身术 (yǐnshēn shù - invisibility art). *If I had known it would come to this, I would never have emerged,* he thought with inward bitterness. Yet, he knew that was an unrealistic fantasy. Swallowing his frustration, he led the way, deciding to use the opportunity to gather some information.
"Fellow Daoist Changxi, for the Sword Sect to suddenly dispatch so many people… has something occurred in the outside world? Or perhaps a rare treasure has been born in this area?"
Changxi's elegant brows furrowed slightly, her gaze turning wary as she scrutinized Wang Yu. "You are unaware?"
"I am not."
Silence fell between them once more. It stretched for a long while before she answered his question, instead posing one of her own to verify his identity. "Fellow Daoist Wang, would you be willing to share your origins and which sect you hail from? If your identity can be confirmed, I will share the information you seek. How about that?"
"Agreed." Wang Yu nodded. He was, after all, native-born to the Taihu Spiritual Domain, his roots pure and orthodox. There was nothing he couldn't disclose, though he might need to adjust the sequence of events slightly. "This humble one is Wang Yu, from a small city several thousand miles away, named Stone Lake. It's a place you've likely never heard of. Decades ago, during the Spirit Measurement ceremony, I was betrayed by a vile individual, sold into slavery, and taken to the Scarlet Kite Demon Domain to become a spirit slave."
"Wait… A spirit slave?" she interjected, a flicker of surprise in her eyes.
"Yes," Wang Yu confirmed calmly.
"Continue," she said, her expression becoming inscrutable.
Changxi's gaze held a strange complexity. She cultivated the [Secret Tome of the Lucid Sword Heart], one of the Seventy-Two Great Techniques of the Heavenly Void Sword Sect. It was a top-tier secret art for refining divine sense, unparalleled in the world. While discerning the absolute truth in a person's heart was still slightly beyond her current mastery, seeing through a Body Cultivator at the Foundation Establishment level was effortless. This secret tome not only aided her in tempering her spiritual consciousness but also greatly benefited her sword dao cultivation. In her eyes, Wang Yu appeared like a walking furnace of heterodox energy. He was wreathed in corpse energy, grey tinged with black, and carried a faint hint of deathly aura. His abundant blood and qi lacked the normal, scorching, masculine quality, instead feeling cold and sinister—hardly the mark of a righteous man. His appearance, while peerlessly handsome, was marked by features that set him apart from ordinary people. A head of silvery-white hair only added to his Yin and eccentric air.
Unaware of the Sword Sect Wandering Disciple's internal assessment of him, Wang Yu's greatest virtue was his ability to recognize the reality of a situation. And so, he began his tale honestly. For the parts that took place within the Taihu Spiritual Domain, he had no need to lie and spoke the truth. For the events that occurred in the Scarlet Kite Demon Domain, however, he began to weave a fabrication.
"After the Spirit Measurement," he continued, "while I was being transported to the Scarlet Kite Demon Domain, not long after passing through Black Mountain Pass, our caravan was ambushed by a band of fierce brigands. They slaughtered the demonic cultivators escorting us and took us prisoners to a mountain stronghold. That fortress was located on the other side of the Black Mountain Demon Territory, a place called 'Black Wind Fort.' There, I was forced to cultivate a life-burning demonic art, to produce Spirit Sand for those rogue cultivators…"
After a lengthy, creatively embellished account, Wang Yu let out a heavy sigh. "Through a series of chance encounters, I managed to risk the traverse across the Black Mountain Demon Territory. By sheer luck, I stumbled upon a rare opportunity and recently managed to break through to Foundation Establishment using a body refining technique. I was just planning to return to Stone Lake City to seek out my remaining family when I encountered you, Fellow Daoist."
This story, half-truth and half-lie, was difficult for Changxi to verify on the spot. However, she had the resources of the Heavenly Void Sword Sect's intelligence network at her disposal. As she followed Wang Yu towards his cave dwelling, she discreetly used a communication method to dispatch subordinates to investigate the Wang Family of Stone Lake City to verify his claims—a process that would require some time.
Thus, for the remainder of the journey to the Fissured Cliff cave, the two of them proceeded in a heavy, mutual silence.
Before long, the sight of the fissured cliff face marked their destination.
"This is the place, Fellow Daoist. Please," Wang Yu said, stopping before the entrance. He deliberately dissolved the Eight Directions Spirit Confusion Array he had set up right in front of her, hoping to alleviate at least a fraction of her suspicion.
Inside the limestone cave, the chamber where he had been processing Wang Wu had already been destroyed by his own hand. Only the small pool he had dug during his breakthrough remained in the open space. Changxi paced through the cavern several times, her spiritual sense sweeping over every nook and cranny repeatedly. She found no issues. The cave indeed bore the traces of someone having lived here for several years.
(End of Chapter)