Chapter 50: Chapter Fifty: Seeking Aid

The moment this thought arose, Pei Ye’s mind veered toward the Black Chi—what about it? Did it carry anything with it?

“Do celestial hunters have memories at birth?” Pei Ye asked Zhu Gaoyang.

Zhu Gaoyang paused. “What do you mean? They are born knowing how to forge a pact and how to wield their abilities.”

“No, I mean… that kind.” Pei Ye frowned, describing, “It knows what exists in the human world—even has read storybooks and can cite their plots…”

Zhu Gaoyang fell silent, then said after a long while: “I don’t understand what you’re saying. First, celestial hunters cannot speak at all.”

“…?!”

“They’re merely more sentient. Beyond certain innate talents etched into their bloodline, they’re no different from newborn infants. Only through growth and immersion among humans can they possibly learn to use human language.”

Pei Ye fell silent, yet suddenly understood.

So the Black Chi’s purpose in descending was to bring that speaking soul into the human world?

The conflict between celestial hunters and demonic evils is already a matter of high-level significance, requiring figures like Zhu Gaoyang to intervene—yet now they’re merely stepping stones for some other force?

“In any case, we still have one celestial hunter as an ally,” Zhu Gaoyang steered the conversation back. “Shuanghan is the Qiongqi’s innate ability; this celestial hunter should control fire. I recall this route passes a deep pool shaped like a rat—it likely dwells there.”

“No, it’s behind us,” Pei Ye said. “Chasing us.”

“What?” Zhu Gaoyang blinked, not catching on.

He looked at Pei Ye’s profile; Pei Ye kept his head down, pressing forward. Long moments passed before Zhu Gaoyang finally understood.

"Oh... you kid, so fast..."

For the first time, Pei Ye detected disappointment in the voice of this lone man who had walked into enemy territory, and he asked: “You really want a celestial hunter?”

“Who wouldn’t?” Zhu Gaoyang said. “But I especially do.”

“Oh.” Pei Ye fell silent.

After a while, the person on his back kept shifting, now turning this way, now that.

Pei Ye couldn’t help asking: “What are you doing?”

“You… have you considered giving it to me? I can recommend you to the Long Jun’s Dongting Sword Line. Honestly, at your stage, a celestial hunter won’t boost you much—but a sect can make you advance a thousand miles in a day.”

That was indeed true. Bonding with a celestial hunter meant shared fate and life; both parties mutually benefited, becoming inseparable, unbreakable partners.

But celestial hunters possessed no peerless martial arts, nor were they martial masters. For a peasant boy with no lineage, the benefits of a celestial hunter were too distant and abstract.

What helped a boy at this stage most was undoubtedly a sect—especially a famed immortal sect like the Long Jun’s Dongting, which dwarfed the previous Cloud Mountains in comparison, like a finger versus a thigh.

“This… I must ask its own opinion,” Pei Ye said.

“Of course. Ask it.”

Pei Ye was about to open his mouth when a calm voice echoed from within his abdomen.

“I think it’s acceptable.”

“?”

“Though not the full moon, this one is still a steady, enduring lamp.”

“…”

“How’s it… what’s its answer?” Zhu Gaoyang asked, watching Pei Ye’s suddenly silent face with anxious hope.

“It says no,” Pei Ye said without changing expression. “It finds you…”

Pei Ye turned his head, studying the face before him—weak yet flawless, its perfection unmarred. He recalled its flawless character, flawless talent, flawless birth… then looked away and said: “Its hair is too long.”

“?”

No matter how Zhu Gaoyang pleaded after that, Pei Ye ignored him. Gradually, the voice behind him faded, and when Pei Ye turned to look, he was asleep.

In the deep night’s dense forest, only Pei Ye remained, moving silently alone.

Only when daylight fully broke did Zhu Gaoyang awaken.

But the way he woke left him stunned.

A violent fall buried him beneath dry leaves.

Zhu Gaoyang pulled his head free and cast a questioning glance at Pei Ye, who sat on the ground, his own head covered in leaves.

How could you trip while running?

But Pei Ye’s expression was grave: “It’s interfering with me.”

“What?”

“That seed—I feel its hatching has deepened. Just now, when I tried to leap, it tugged my leg.”

Zhu Gaoyang looked up: between the two cliff walls above, the gap was roughly three zhang—they had fallen from there.

“It’s subconscious,” Pei Ye’s voice carried a chill. “Like fetal movement—but even this single unconscious act can control my body.”

Zhu Gaoyang took a deep breath: “Either we move faster, or I kill you—let’s die here together. Then it’s up to heaven who gets it next.”

Pei Ye rolled his eyes, then picked him up again: “Then let’s just hurry.”

Climbing back onto the cliff, they resumed running westward. Zhu Gaoyang whispered: “If it truly comes to the point, I will try to kill you.”

“...Mm.”

Pei Ye fell silent for a moment, then asked: “Have you ever heard of the ‘Immortal Seed in the Dantian’ method?”

He clearly felt Zhu Gaoyang’s body stiffen behind him: “How do you know about this?”

Pei Ye did not answer, but said: “Could this be the method to control it?”

Zhu Gaoyang fell silent, then said: “Do you know what it is?”

Pei Ye shook his head honestly: “I’ve only heard the name.”

“It’s a legendary extraordinary technique, a supreme scripture. Its true name should be The Bǐnglù. Its exact effects are unclear, but it is indeed an extraordinary art tied to the dantian seed.”

“Do you think this scripture is what the Candle World Sect uses to control this seed?”

Zhu Gaoyang fell silent, then said: “I don’t think so. Though mysterious, this scripture has traces of practitioners throughout history—all utterly unrelated to the Candle World Sect.”

Pei Ye countered: “Perhaps it wasn’t created specifically to control this seed—but perhaps it just happens to be able to control it.”

“Of course, that’s possible. But I have no leads now. In this deep mountain, where could we even look?”

Pei Ye fell silent.

“The Immortal Platform told me it might have drifted near Xincang Mountain, and urged me to search,” Zhu Gaoyang sighed. “This instruction was spoken, not written. I kept it secret even as Shang Lang inquired along the way. How did you learn of it?”

“A few days ago in Fenghuai, someone asked me about this martial art.”

“Who?”

“A woman named Ming Qitian.”

“...”

“Hey? Asleep again?”

“No, what’s her name?”

“Ming Qitian. She said her name is Ming Qitian,” Pei Ye enunciated clearly.

He clearly felt the body on his back stiffen: “Where is she now?”

“I don’t know. It was days ago. She asked me, then seemed to leave Fenghuai to search elsewhere.”

“...” Pei Ye felt the body behind him go limp again.

“Are you looking for her? She left me a small jade sword.”

The body behind him shot upright instantly: “Why didn’t you say so sooner?!”

Pei Ye realized his ignorance again and asked: “Who is she? What can you do by contacting her?”

Zhu Gaoyang rolled his eyes: “Save our lives.”