The emperor, delighted beyond measure, instructed everyone to clean the courtyard and burn incense in preparation.
There was a clear distinction between immortals and mortals. Even though he was the emperor of a nation, in the eyes of cultivators, he was merely a mortal. Although he owned vast territories, in the Central Plains, a country’s true reliance was on the status and power of the royal immortals behind it. The more immortals a royal family had and the higher their status, the less likely anyone would dare to invade. These immortals and cultivators were the real leaders behind the country, lofty and transcendent.
Just like the notification, regardless of the preparation or status, they were a step below. The royal family’s reverence for him was even greater, only because he had spiritual roots and was a one-in-a-million cultivator. In front of this young brother, the emperor would not and dared not put on any airs.
Moreover, Master Xuanshan Zi, who had the bloodline of the Yue Kingdom’s royal family, was, in terms of seniority, practically a true ancestor. Before he was severely injured by the Chaos Beast, he would visit Ji Tongzhou three or four times a year. After being gravely wounded, he never came again. After eleven years, he finally returned. Could it be that his cultivation had recovered?
Three-quarters of an hour later, everyone in the courtyard felt a fierce wind howling overhead, so strong they could barely open their eyes. They hurriedly lowered their heads to avoid it. Only Ji Tongzhou, with a look of pleasant surprise, suddenly flew up on his sword to greet the newcomer. In the moonlight, they saw an old man in a blue robe standing there, his figure thin and ethereal like an immortal. He had several strands of clear beard under his chin, and his face was lean and cold as ice. It was Master Xuanshan Zi himself.
“Disciple pays respects to Elder Xuanshan Zi,” Ji Tongzhou bowed respectfully.
A trace of satisfaction flashed in Xuanshan Zi’s cold eyes as he examined Ji Tongzhou carefully. He spoke, his voice so cold it made people shiver even on the hot summer night: “You’re doing better than I expected. Wu Zheng Zi indeed has put in effort.”
As the two landed in the courtyard, the emperor immediately moved to kneel and pay respects, but Xuanshan Zi stopped him, saying calmly: “I came here today only for Tongzhou. You all withdraw first.”
The emperor choked with emotion: “Master Xuanshan Zi, our Yue Kingdom has been in crisis for years!”
Xuanshan Zi said: “He will soon break through the sixth bottleneck and achieve an immortal body. He has been in seclusion for over a year.”
After saying this, his cold, faint gaze lingered on Ji Tongzhou for a long time. The flame aura on this child was the legendary Xuanhua Fire. He had heard about this from Wu Zheng Zi earlier but didn’t believe it. Who would have thought it was true?
This extremely rare innate black fire could only be possessed by those with a single fire attribute spiritual root. People with fire-attributed spiritual roots both longed for and feared it. The founder of Xingzheng Hall possessed the Xuanhua Fire, which was why this famous immortal sect was divided into two distinctly different branches: the Xuan Gate and the Hua Gate. Like those who possessed the Xuanhua Fire, they were extremely violent yet extremely restrained, embodying two contradictory extremes in one person.
When Ji Tongzhou was six years old, he discovered the other side of this child hidden in the deepest part: endless wild desires and all kinds of extravagant and unrestrained emotions. At that time, he wondered what it would be like when he dug out all the fierce fires hidden in his heart. For cultivators, intense, persistent, and even greedy desires were not necessarily bad things. On the contrary, they could forge the most solid cultivation mindset. Whether one’s desires were fulfilled or not, it was precisely the unfulfilled desires that would give rise to the Xuanhua Fire.
There were countless cultivators in the world. Since ancient times, people have been striving against the way of heaven, attempting to escape the cycle of life and death. Even among the masses who became immortals and reached today’s achievements, they still wandered. The various invisible fragilities of the human heart made achieving breakthroughs extremely perilous. There were thousands upon thousands of cultivation paths, and it was impossible to say which was right or wrong.
Just like Xuanshan Zi himself, his inability to recover his cultivation was not unrelated to the various crises in the Yue Kingdom. The Xuan Gate immortal techniques required cutting off emotions and desires, but he had concerns and worries in his heart. How could he cut them off? Like Zhengyun Zi, he had fallen into a dead end. Was this the dead end that all Xuan Gate cultivators faced in the end?
Xuanshan Zi stared at Ji Tongzhou for a long time, then said in a low voice: “You already have the Xuanhua Fire. Your life will be full of suffering. Do you know why the Xuanhua Fire has such a mixed reputation?”
Ji Tongzhou couldn’t help but feel dejected. He didn’t answer the question.
Xuanshan Zi said calmly: “One day, when you are fully satisfied, this fire will leave you. Only when you are in unbearable pain, when all you seek is unattainable, when you are immersed in the sea of desire and indulge in various wild thoughts, can it burn fiercely and magnificently. This is the fire of heart demons. Once tainted, there is no escape. Your cultivation is still shallow now, and you can still turn back if you give it up. When you achieve an immortal body and your obsessions deepen, everything will be irreversible. Have you thought it through carefully?”
Ji Tongzhou still didn’t answer. His black eyes stared blankly at the blue stone tiles on the ground, not blinking.
Xuanshan Zi looked at the young man before him, wondering whether to give him a hand or add fuel to the fire in his heart. His talent was extraordinary, rarely seen in a thousand years. His future achievements would far surpass his own. But their time, and the time of the Yue Kingdom, was running out.
He sighed deeply: “Think about it carefully yourself. It’s late today. Tomorrow, come with me to the Eastern Sea. The Sea Meteor is approaching, and it’s time for you to broaden your horizons.”
The Eastern Sea? Ji Tongzhou’s lips moved slightly. He had just returned from the Eastern Sea, and now he had to go back? Jiang Li Fei and Lei Xiuyuan were there. He both wanted to see them and didn’t want to. Moreover, Xuanshan Zi’s cultivation had not recovered to its peak. It didn’t seem appropriate to take him to the Eastern Sea at this time. He was about to speak, but Xuanshan Zi’s figure had already disappeared. Ji Tongzhou stood in a daze for a while before returning indifferently to his courtyard.
The bedchamber was brightly lit with candles, and sweet, cloying Hehuan incense burned in the jade censer. A young woman in luxurious clothes stood by the bed. Her skin was fair and smooth, her figure graceful. Seeing him, even the skin on her neck blushed red. She bowed, standing there motionless, and said in a low voice: “… Your Highness, Miaoqing is here to serve you in washing and changing clothes.”
Was this arranged by the stewards? They had known how to please him since he was young. Whatever he liked, whatever he looked at a bit longer, would be sent to him by the next day at the latest. Before, it was toys; now, it was women.
Ji Tongzhou walked over slowly, looking down at the palace clothes she wore. In less than an hour, they had transformed her from a maid into a woman in luxurious clothes. Her exposed forehead and the shy, coquettish look in her eyes reminded him of that illusory dream.
He wanted to laugh. There was indescribable anger in his heart, anger at himself for becoming a loser, anger at this powerless self-deception, but also a supreme joy. The imperial power, the rivers and mountains, everything here was his, at his disposal, as long as he could protect it.
Ji Tongzhou reached out and lifted her chin, raising her face. He said softly: “Say sorry to me.”
The little maid looked at him, bewildered and terrified. He seemed to be looking at her, yet also through her at someone unknown. After a while, she trembled and said: “S-sorry…”
Ji Tongzhou waved his hand, extinguishing the candles. The luxurious clothes of the little maid instantly shattered into pieces.
How wonderful, all this indulgence, this bitter yet exhilarating, unattainable temptation. There were too many things he wanted, and too few he could get, which made it all the more addictive.
Could he turn back?
Bai Ligelin stood in front of Li Fei’s guest room. She had been knocking for quite a while, but there was no sound from inside. She turned back to look at the others helplessly: “Should we break in?”
Li Fei and Lei Xiuyuan were now Dao companions. If they rashly broke in, they might encounter an awkward situation.
Ye Ye stepped forward and knocked again, calling out: “Xiuyuan! Li Fei! Are you up? If there’s no sound, we’re coming in!”
After waiting for a while, there was still no movement inside. Unable to hold back any longer, they pushed the door open. The room was quiet, with curtains drawn down. It seemed there was no one inside. Su Wan pulled open the curtains and saw that the bed was neatly made, with only a letter placed on the pillow.
“No way! When did they leave?!” Bai Ligelin was extremely surprised. Tamed beasts were hiding in the shadows of the courtyard, how could they not have reacted when someone left?
Ye Ye quickly opened the letter. There was only one line, which looked like Li Fei’s handwriting: [Leaving in haste, apologies for the inconvenience. Do not pursue. Various reasons will be explained another day.]
He sighed: “What’s going on? One after another, leaving without a word.”
Bai Ligelin laughed: “They must have quarreled with Lei Xiuyuan. Hmm… it must be related to Ji Tongzhou! Hmph, it must be so!”
No one knew the specific reason, so they could only let her speculate wildly. As everyone was discussing where to go next, they suddenly heard a thunderous boom from far away, shaking the ground. The entire town on the outskirts of the Ten Thousand Immortals Meeting in the Eastern Sea was alarmed, and people ran out to look.
They saw dense dark clouds gathering in the sky far over the Eastern Sea, with countless lightning bolts striking down. The sky seemed to be split in two: the town was bathed in bright sunlight, while the Eastern Sea shore was engulfed in fierce wind, lightning, thunder, and heavy rain, as dark as night.
Everyone was stunned. Bai Ligelin exclaimed in shock: “This… could it be the Heavenly Thunder Disaster? Wasn’t it supposed to come in a few months?!”
Countless streams of powerful immortal spiritual energy instantly streaked across the sky, flying rapidly towards the Eastern Seashore. Almost in an instant, a dense network of spiritual energy covered the sky. A deep, prolonged horn sound echoed throughout the town, accompanied by Mr. Shen’s urgent and clear voice transmission technique resounding in everyone’s ears.
“Ferocious beast approaching! Cultivating disciples immediately retreat three hundred miles away! Do not make any mistakes!”
Ferocious beast? Everyone flew up to look from a high vantage point. They saw the surface of the Eastern Sea churning like boiling water. Under the thunderclouds, the seawater was unusually black. Then, a pair of white horns as large as small mountains suddenly burst out from the sea bottom—just the horns were this big?!
Bai Changye pulled the stunned Gelin: “Quick, let’s go!”
In an instant, countless immortal disciples in the city fled like a tide. The thunderous sounds behind them grew louder and louder. The spiritual energy network could hardly withstand such might, seeming about to shatter at any moment. A roar that shook heaven and earth suddenly echoed, stunning the disciples. The seawater suddenly rose thousands of feet high, and amidst the white foam, a huge ferocious beast appeared in everyone’s view. It had a body like an ox but was covered in long hair all over.
It flapped its blood-red wings on its back, and in the blink of an eye, it had flown to the center of the town. The spiritual energy network was shattered by its impact, and tyrannical demonic energy swept around like huge waves. The disciples were pressed down, unable to move.