Chapter 133: A Visitor from Feng Prefecture
(This novel is translated and hosted on Bcatranslation)
The grand city of Shengjing swiftly fell into night, the vast sky adorned with countless stars emerging from the flanks of Mount Ni.
The tea, slowly sipped, had grown faint in color.
Seated beneath the osmanthus tree in the courtyard, Ji You penned a letter to Yuan Cai Wei, detailing his recent affairs. He assured her that he had long forgotten that day’s events, yet with delicate strokes, he described precisely how he had managed to forget them.
Meanwhile, Pei Ru Yi, Wen Zheng Xin, and the others had finished their tea and were preparing to leave. Before departing, they did not forget to admonish him—stay away from his fiancée and focus on the upcoming Autumn Duel within the Inner Academy.
Among them, Pei Ru Yi was the most solemn and earnest.
She too hailed from Feng Prefecture, having entered the academy with a cultivation quota, yet she was not from an established cultivation clan. Because of their shared experiences, she did not want to see Feng Prefecture finally produce a prodigy, only to be denied entry past the threshold of greatness.
Like her, despite having reached the Upper Five Realms, she remained bound to Heavenly Script Academy, unable to establish a family lineage in Feng Prefecture without an Inner Academy identity. This lack of established families meant that Feng Prefecture perpetually lacked influence within the Nine Provinces.
Thus, it bore the heaviest tax burdens, had its resources controlled by the other eight provinces, and suffered the worst private cultivation banditry.
Now, Ji You was no longer merely representing himself. He stood for Cao Jin Song, for Pei Ru Yi, and for all of Feng Prefecture.
If he entered the Inner Academy of Heavenly Script, according to the Azure Clouds Immortal Edicts, he would gain the right to establish a recognized cultivation clan or immortal manor within Feng Prefecture.
According to immortal law, any clan founded under the banner of an Immortal Sect would control its own tax tributes, spirit stones, and immortal seedlings, save for the portion owed to the Seven Great Immortal Sects.
Furthermore, the disciples trained within such families and manors would be eligible to enter the Immortal Sects to cultivate.
Pei Ru Yi knew that her junior brother had a heart of justice, often meddling in injustices.
Yet, no one could rule the entire world. Not even the Headmaster of Heavenly Script Academy held such power.
However, if her junior brother could establish a clan and manor within Feng Prefecture, then at least he could govern his own land. After all, Feng Prefecture had no other cultivation clans—he would stand alone at its peak.
“Junior brother may have an unruly temperament, but when it comes to serious matters, he is meticulous. There is no need to worry excessively about his admission into the Inner Academy,” Wen Zheng Xin said with confidence.
“He has already reached the Mystic Enlightenment Stage and has studied the Sword Dao of Spirit Sword Mountain. I do not believe anything will hinder him.”
Ban Yang Shu nodded in agreement. “Indeed. If it were before, I might have doubted his entry into the Inner Academy. But now? Who could possibly surpass him?”
Yet, Pei Ru Yi could not shake an unease deep within her heart.
“Senior Sister Pei is anxious because she has too much hope riding on this,” Ban Yang Shu remarked. “But with Junior Brother Ji’s strength, even if I were to receive his sword, I am not certain I could escape unscathed.”
Pei Ru Yi gently nodded, knowing Ban Yang Shu spoke no falsehoods.
Ji You’s true combat prowess remained elusive. Whether at Qiling, during the duel at White Jade Terrace, or atop Spirit Sword Mountain, his displayed power far exceeded the norm for Mystic Enlightenment Stage cultivators.
Even those at the Dao Fusion Stage, facing his Sword Intent, would feel an instinctive dread.
Meanwhile, Chu He had yet to return to the academy, still in You Prefecture, preparing for the Autumn Duel. However, Pei Ru Yi could not fathom what more the Chu Clan could do to obstruct Ji You.
The deep night was cast in silence. Under curfew, Shengjing grew desolate, its streets bathed only in the cold silver of moonlight.
Though summer’s heat was gradually dispersing, it still left many sleepless.
As the second watch drum sounded from the city tower, a shadow suddenly leaped onto the western gatehouse.
His robes were tattered beyond recognition, his entire being trembling with anxiety. He darted into an abandoned house and curled behind the kitchen hearth, his complexion ashen as wax.
Even in such exhaustion, he continuously extended his spiritual consciousness, probing every whisper of wind, every rustle of grass.
The overuse of his spiritual consciousness made his mind feel as though pierced by needles.
Only after confirming that no pursuers approached did he finally exhale in relief. Yet, in the next moment, an unbearable fatigue crashed down upon him, as though a mountain had collapsed upon his body, grinding his flesh and bones beneath its weight.
Before long, unable to resist, he succumbed to slumber.
And then, the nightmares began.
“Villa Master, where is my son? He accompanied you to Mystic Origin Immortal Palace to deliver goods. Why has he not returned?”
“His talent was recognized. He has been retained at Mystic Origin Immortal Palace to cultivate. Do not worry; soon, you will be sent there as well.”
“Many thanks, Villa Master. But may I ask, what cultivation technique is being practiced within the villa lately?”
“Why do you ask?”
“Something feels… unsettling.”
“It is a technique bestowed by the Master’s Chosen Heir Disciple of Mystic Origin Immortal Palace. There is no cause for concern.”
The dialogue in his dream shattered into scattered fragments of unease.
The sight of countless disciples, their bodies exuding an ominous black mist, their eyes void of emotion.
The dense black fog winding through the mountain, enveloping the lifeless carcasses of cattle and sheep, piled high within a pitch-dark pit.
Bao Yong Sheng found himself once more in that eerie stone cavern, where twisted, pulsating flesh clung to the walls, sending out tendrils of bloodied sinew in erratic motions.
In an instant, his eyes snapped open. His entire body trembled, teeth chattering uncontrollably. This was a dream he had every night.
Yet, it was no hallucination born of madness—it was something he had truly witnessed.
At present, Bao Yong Sheng was curled behind a water vat, his grip on his long blade so tight that his knuckles had turned rigid. A chill wrapped around him like a ghostly shroud.
He lifted his gaze towards the bright moon. Beyond this point lay the Heavenly Script Academy of the Divine Sect of Great Xia.
But he was not one of their disciples. The grand protective formation of the academy would bar his entry, leaving him no choice but to wait until dawn for one of the disciples to escort him inside.
[Heavenly Script Academy disciples…]
At that thought, his mind drifted back to the second year of Taiwu—just last autumn.
He had descended from Immortal Worship Mountain Manor, traveling to Yuyang County to collect the tribute. Along the way, he spotted a girl by the Whitewater River, her entire being radiating with ethereal light. His intent had been to seize her and deliver her to the Mystic Origin Immortal Palace.
However, on that day, within Yuyang County’s Magistrate Hall, he had encountered a youth in pristine white robes, exuding such overwhelming spiritual energy that it roared like tidal waves.
That youth was Ji You.
Later, that very same youth was admitted into the Heavenly Script Academy, taken away to the Capital.
Bao Yong Sheng had thought that would be the last he heard of him. After all, the Capital was far from the impoverished lands of Feng Prefecture—news of minor figures rarely traveled so far.
Yet, before long, rumors reached Yuyang County that Ji You had entered the academy and resonated with the Heavenly Tome.
That revelation had left Bao Yong Sheng dazed for a long time.
[So the boy I encountered was a heaven-defying genius?]
Fear had clung to him ever since. He dreaded the thought of Ji You growing ever stronger, feared the day he would return to exact his vengeance.
“Ji You…”
Bao Yong Sheng took a deep breath, a bitter smile stretching across his lips.
Leaning against the wall, he maintained a poised stance—his waist slightly suspended in the air—ready to spring forth at the slightest sound of danger.
But this position made his chest shudder when he laughed, tearing open a wound at his heart’s center. Blood spurted forth, and agony surged through him—not from the injury, but from within his Ling Yuan.
Gritting his teeth, he struck his lower abdomen with a force so great that his qi nearly ruptured his flesh. A mouthful of blackened blood spewed from his lips.
He had no idea what kind of sinister sorcery afflicted him, only that something within his body was ravaging his Ling Yuan, tearing it apart piece by piece.
“Commander Bao’s wounds seem rather fatal.”
Bao Yong Sheng’s body went rigid. He followed the direction of the voice, lifting his head slowly, only to see an aged figure standing atop a decrepit rooftop, covered in fallen leaves and shattered tiles.
The man had a pronounced hook nose, his eyes clouded with an eerie gloom, yet his tone was gentle and amicable.
Bao Yong Sheng clenched his blade tightly. “So it’s Elder Hong Si Sha. I am merely here in the Capital to visit my kin…”
He knew well who Hong Si Sha was—a guest elder of the Chu Family, one who had followed the Master’s Chosen Heir Disciple, Chu Xian, into the Mystic Origin Immortal Palace over a decade ago.
Since Immortal Worship Mountain Manor was subordinate to the Mystic Origin Immortal Palace, addressing him as ‘Elder’ was only proper.
Every year, their Villa Master sent spiritual treasures as offerings to Hong Si Sha, so Bao Yong Sheng had met him on numerous occasions.
“You’re far too wounded. Come with me. My young master will see to your recovery.”
“…Could I not at least finish my visit first?”
Hong Si Sha remained silent. Instead, he descended from the rooftop, striding towards Bao Yong Sheng, step by deliberate step.
Seeing this, Bao Yong Sheng straightened his back, gripping his long blade with both hands, his voice trembling uncontrollably.
“Elder Hong… Just what kind of forbidden cultivation is our Villa Master practicing?”
“A new Immortal Dao, one that surpasses the Heavenly Dao.”
“If it is the Immortal Dao, then why would the Master’s Chosen Heir Disciple forbid me from coming to the Capital? Why pursue me all the way here?”
Hong Si Sha gazed at him impassively. “Because secrecy breeds power. Do you recall Qiling? How many great sects coveted it? Such knowledge cannot be allowed to spread.”
Bao Yong Sheng swallowed nervously. “Then… may I ask, Elder Hong… where does this new Immortal Dao originate? I, too, wish to learn.”
“You ask too many questions.”
Before Bao Yong Sheng could react, Hong Si Sha’s palm swung forth.
A monstrous surge of qi crashed into Bao Yong Sheng’s Heaven’s Aperture.
The overwhelming force penetrated his skull. His eyes widened in sheer agony, blood gushing from every orifice. His entire body crumpled like lifeless clay, collapsing into a heap upon the cold ground.