Shen Liuxiang opened his eyes, finding himself in a long-missed place.
Qinglin Sect, Zhaoyun Peak.
He moved his head slightly, looking at Zhou Xuanlan sleeping deeply beside him. His fingers pinched Zhou Xuanlan’s cheek, but there was no response. He seemed extremely tired.
Shen Liuxiang got up, dressed, and went out.
Zhaoyun Peak hadn’t changed much from before, but other places seemed quite unfamiliar. Shen Liuxiang couldn’t find anyone. After meeting a few disciples on the way and asking for directions, he finally found Ling Ye’s cave dwelling.
Inside the quiet cave dwelling, the stone table was covered with scrolls and ancient books. The blue-robed man waved his hand, and they all went into his storage pouch.
Shen Liuxiang paused: “Is Senior Brother leaving?” When Ling Ye used to go out for training, he wouldn’t prepare medicinal pills or magical tools, just these two things.
Ling Ye turned around: “I’m going to travel the Three Realms.”
The old Heavenly Dao had dissipated, and a new Heavenly Dao needed to be born, using laws as a basis to maintain the order of the continent. Ling Ye, with a strand of the Heavenly Dao on him, was the most suitable person to establish new laws, but he felt his experience was still shallow and his understanding of the continent not profound enough.
He needed more experiences, more insights, to formulate laws suitable for the continent’s long-term operation.
“Sit down and talk,” Ling Ye poured a cup of tea and asked: “In your view, during the primordial era, when the Heavenly Dao sent down tribulations to exterminate the great demons, was it wrong?”
Shen Liuxiang casually picked up an apple, pondering: “With demon beasts rampant, other beings on the continent could hardly survive. Punishment was necessary, so no, it wasn’t wrong.”
Ling Ye continued asking: “The dragon clan defied heaven by sending their younger generation to escape the tribulation. Ten thousand years later, the Heavenly Dao continued to kill them. Was that wrong?”
Shen Liuxiang took a bite of the apple, silent for a while: “Yes.”
Ling Ye’s lips revealed a slight smile: “Why?”
“The Heavenly Dao deviated from its original intention, killing for the sake of killing,”
Shen Liuxiang frowned and said: “Several hundred years ago, the four great demon beasts were also present, but the Heavenly Dao didn’t act, knowing there were people on the continent who could resist them. Father Emperor took action to resolve the demon beast issue and spared Zhou Xuanlan, who was still in a dragon egg. This was Father Emperor’s decision, proving that the current continent could accommodate Zhou Xuanlan. As he grows, he might not necessarily push the continent toward a better state.”
“The Heavenly Dao’s original intention ten thousand years ago in exterminating the great demons was to maintain the continent’s stability. But times have changed. Now it still executes with the same mindset from ten thousand years ago. When it couldn’t get its way, it became enraged and acted with bias and injustice. If not for this, the power of the Heavenly Dao wouldn’t have declined, leading to its destruction.”
Ling Ye didn’t comment on right or wrong, putting down his teacup and saying lightly: “After punishing the demon race for ten thousand years, with none ascending, it’s about enough. But before that, there’s still a long way to go.”
Shen Liuxiang finished the apple, looking at Ling Ye’s thoughtful expression. He blinked, placed his hand on the stone table, and rested his chin on his arm, watching him.
The sound of flowing water could be heard in the cave dwelling. Shen Liuxiang listened for a while, drowsiness overtaking him. In his hazy state, he felt a gaze fixed on him for a long time, heard a light sigh, and felt fingertips touching his forehead.
Shen Liuxiang heard the words “Junior Brother,” his long eyelashes trembling slightly as he opened his eyes. The cave was silent, and the blue-robed figure that had been at the table was gone.
He raised his head slightly, discovering a small pillow underneath, soft and somewhat familiar-looking.
Shen Liuxiang was stunned for a while, his fingertips tightening as he picked up the small pillow and left the cave dwelling alone.
When Zhou Xuanlan woke up, the two left Qinglin Sect together, though they weren’t in a hurry to leave the cultivation world.
Gu Tie was now imprisoned in the Sword Sect. Shen Liuxiang went to see him. The once fierce Taotie had become a small demon beast, sulking in an iron cage.
Gu Taotao was outside the cage, muttering, “Serves you right, you almost lost your life,” while handing him a banana. “Are you hungry? Your favorite fruit.”
Gu Tie and Gu Taotao’s mother had passed away after giving birth to them. The brothers had grown up without guidance until a human woman raised them. Thus, despite being the demon beast Taotie, the two barely knew any techniques, relying only on instinct to fight. So that day, it wasn’t long before Gu Tie was defeated by the combined efforts of Ye Bingran and Nan Yuequan, and was imprisoned here to reflect.
Gu Taotao turned to look at Shen Liuxiang. That day in Yanming City, he truly hadn’t expected that the person who invited him to eat was Shen Liuxiang. At that time, he had rushed toward the impostor, a person Gu Tie had found, intending to use him to get close to Zhou Xuanlan in order to strike, though he hadn’t succeeded.
Shen Liuxiang nodded slightly to Gu Taotao, then turned and left.
When Gu Tie and Gu Taotao were young, they lived a turbulent life, sometimes eating well, sometimes starving. As demon beasts that everyone in the cultivation world wanted to kill, they could only hide here and there.
Until a young woman secretly adopted them. They called her Sister Luo, and the three relied on each other to survive. Unfortunately, the good times didn’t last long. When the brothers grew a bit older, they were discovered to be demon beasts by others in the village. Fearing them, the villagers wanted to kill them, and didn’t spare the young woman either, beating her to death.
Gu Tie slaughtered the entire village, preserved the woman’s body in an ice coffin, and tried every means to bring her back to life. After discovering the technique recorded on the dragon eggshell, he had been thinking of disrupting the Three Realms, using the time-space technique to save the woman.
Gu Taotao had been stopping him all along, and that day, barely saved his life.
The air was cool. Shen Liuxiang looked up; the sky was gloomy.
Zhou Xuanlan didn’t like this place and was standing at the entrance of the Sword Sect waiting for him. Shen Liuxiang had planned to see Lan Xiaosheng, but was told that Lan Xiaosheng had left the Sword Sect to travel.
Ning Runxin did come, still with a face like jade, but after being the sect leader for several years, his temperament had become much more steady. Seeing Shen Liuxiang, he smiled slightly.
“Lan Senior Brother is away and asked me to pass on a message. He doesn’t know what’s going on with your mother. After disappearing for a while, she returned to tell Lan Senior Brother that he has a nephew. As for who the nephew’s father is, your mother said to find the most capable person to be the father.”
Shen Liuxiang: “…”
He had previously thought that his mother, Lan Linlang, was a gentle and quiet woman. Now it seemed he had misunderstood something.
Shen Liuxiang chatted casually with Ning Runxin for a while, hearing him say that the demonic energy in Yu Fusheng was gradually dissipating, and perhaps one day he would fully awaken.
Then a disciple came to report something. After listening, Ning Runxin shook his head and said helplessly: “Nephew Ye has gone into seclusion. I thought…”
Shen Liuxiang laughed lightly, picked up an orange from the fruit platter, tossed it in his hand: “I’m leaving. Take care.”
Ning Runxin watched him wave goodbye with a carefree face, stood in place for a while, glanced at the white-robed figure on a distant mountain peak, sighed softly, then turned and left.
Zhou Xuanlan stood at the mountain gate, watching the red-clothed youth tossing an orange. Upon seeing him, the phoenix eyes brightened slightly as he caught the orange from mid-air and hurried over in a few steps.
Zhou Xuanlan: “Have you seen everyone?”
“Ye Bingran is in seclusion, so I couldn’t say goodbye. It’s a bit of a pity,” Shen Liuxiang laughed lightly, but in his heart, he knew clearly that the talk of seclusion was too false; he probably just didn’t want to see him.
Zhou Xuanlan looked at Shen Liuxiang with his black eyes: “I’ll take Master to see him.”
Shen Liuxiang was stunned, his expression becoming strange: “There’s no need. It’s not like I must see him.”
“Once Master has said goodbye to all these people, you won’t think about them anymore,” Zhou Xuanlan’s thin lips curved slightly as he said word by word, “Then I can take Master away.”
Shen Liuxiang raised his eyebrows slightly: “In that case, come with me to a place.”
Shen Liuxiang found a snowy mountain and at the foot of the mountain began making snowmen, one after another, his fingers turning red from the cold.
At first, Zhou Xuanlan didn’t understand why Shen Liuxiang wanted to make snowmen, until he saw the appearance of the snowmen: palm-sized, holding small twigs, resembling a certain sword-wielding person.
Zhou Xuanlan narrowed his eyes slightly, then looked at the next snowman resembling Shen Liuxiang, and the air pressure around him dropped a bit.
When Shen Liuxiang placed the two snowmen together, he finally couldn’t hold back. He bent down and picked up the small snowman that looked like Shen Liuxiang, leaving the other snowman standing alone on the ground.
Shen Liuxiang had just finished making a third one when he turned around and found the snowman symbolizing himself was gone.
He looked up at Zhou Xuanlan, his gaze falling on his hand, blinking in confusion: “What are you doing? Don’t melt it.”
Zhou Xuanlan’s face was cold: “The snowman Master made, you’re not planning to give it to Ye Bingran, are you?”
“Yes, I am giving it to him,” Shen Liuxiang said. “I’ve given him two before. After thinking about it, snowmen are the most suitable farewell gift.”
Zhou Xuanlan’s face was as cold as frost. The snowflakes floating in the sky unconsciously disappeared, and strands of hot air spread out. Shen Liuxiang noticed this and quickly covered the snowman in his hand and the one on the ground with spiritual energy: “Why did it suddenly get so hot!”
Shen Liuxiang was puzzled, then placed the small snowman wearing a black robe on the ground, pointing: “Does this one look like you?”
Zhou Xuanlan was stunned, his eyes widening slightly. The hot air in the atmosphere instantly dispersed, and cold wind with snowflakes returned: “If Master is giving them to Ye Bingran, why make one of me?”
Shen Liuxiang said: “I’m not just making you; I’m making many people.”
Zhou Xuanlan suddenly understood, placing the small snowman topped with a green leaf back on the ground. After a while, he glanced at the snowman holding a twig and snorted coldly.
At North Lun Sword Sect, the white-robed figure had been standing on the mountain peak for an unknown length of time. As the sky gradually darkened, he finally turned to leave, but before he could take two steps, he saw Zhao Lin hurrying over with quick steps, holding a large brocade box in both hands, the box emitting icy mist.
Ye Bingran said: “What’s the rush?”
“It’s from Brother Shen Xiang,” Zhao Lin caught his breath, smiling as he handed over the brocade box. “Brother Shen Xiang sent this to you.”
Ye Bingran was stunned, his gaze slowly falling on the brocade box. After a moment’s pause, he reached out, his slender fingers landing on the ice box, opening it.
Inside the box was a large ice mountain inscribed with the four characters “North Lun Sword Sect,” and around the ice mountain were more than ten small snowmen with various appearances.
Ye Bingran’s eyes moved over them one by one, his heart trembling slightly as he recognized all these snowmen: there was Master Lan Xiaosheng, Junior Brother Zhao Lin, Uncle Master Ning Runxin…
And facing them was a familiar-looking small snowman, holding a twig, with a cold expression.
Zhao Lin looked on in amazement: “Isn’t this our Sword Sect? But why is Senior Brother standing alone on the opposite side?”
Ye Bingran was silent for a moment, then turned the twig-holding snowman around and placed it in the empty space in the center of everyone. After staring at it for a while, the corner of his lips curved: “I understand.”
As he spoke, he suddenly discovered two small figures behind the large ice mountain.
Ye Bingran turned his head to see a small snowman topped with a leaf, exactly like the one from years ago, except now there was a black-robed small snowman beside it.
The white-robed figure was silent for a while, the corner of his lips curving slightly.
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(advanced chapters available on kofi)
Thank You for the new chapter ( •ॢ◡-ॢ)-♡