Chapter 55: Finally Attaining the Proper Outcome

"You scoundrel, so that's the name you go by, Wanqing Wanqing… hahaha, it's all a lie, a lie!!"

Yan Buji took the jade token and laughed wildly.

The jade token seemed unremarkable, but only Yan Buji knew that it was actually a disciple badge of a hidden sect!

In those days, Yan Buji left home at fifteen, mastered the evil Blood Essence Skill at sixteen, spent his seventeenth year killing and arsonizing to amass wealth, and at eighteen encountered a gravely wounded woman carrying a child.

No need to think further, that woman was the "scoundrel" Yan Buji mentioned.

He knew then that the woman's background was extraordinary, so he intervened and saved her.

However, the child was so badly injured that there was nothing he could do, so Yan Buji buried the child.

To his surprise, the next day the child actually crawled out of the ground; Yan Buji, terrified and trembling, dared not move, could only watch the child disappear while it cried out bizarrely, "Damn the heavens, what kind of ghostly place is this? What kind of opening is this?" He thought the corpse was possessed by evil and dared not approach it.

But a month later, Bei Chen Wanqing woke up and hurriedly asked about it; Yan Buji still dared not tell the truth, so he said he hadn't seen the child, perhaps it had been eaten by beasts.

Bei Chen Wanqing wept through the night, repeatedly saying they were sorry for the child and the like.

At that time, Yan Buji already guessed that the child must have been her child, but upon further thought, why would such a beautiful woman, gravely wounded, flee with a child? It could not be a good sign.

Bei Chen Wanqing originally intended to part ways here, but because her injuries were too severe she fell into a coma for a while.

Taking advantage of that period, Yan Buji carefully examined the items on Bei Chen Wanqing's body and finally uncovered an astonishing fact!

This woman, astonishingly, was a legendary celestial being!

Yan Buji was overjoyed then; when she revived again, he begged her to stay for a while.

Yet she not only failed to thank him for saving her life, but also intended to kill him and erase any trace of her presence.

At that time, Yan Buji's cultivation was low, and he nearly died at her hands.

Fortunately, Bei Chen Wanqing's injuries were even worse than he imagined; before she could strike, she fell into another coma.

In the days that followed, Yan Buji placed her under house arrest, dosing her daily with large amounts of medicine to keep her stupefied, and then did certain things.

After October, when Bei Chen Wanqing awoke, she discovered she was pregnant and about to give birth, becoming so angry she nearly killed herself.

Fortunately, Yan Buji said that the child hadn't died, that it was in his hands, which finally calmed Bei Chen Wanqing.

She actually still dared to negotiate a deal with him?

In short, although Yan Buji never learned why Bei Chen Wanqing was being hunted nor where she came from, she wanted to learn about the child, sensed his desire to cultivate, and thus revealed the disciple badge.

So how did Yan Buji determine its authenticity?

He, of course, didn't know, because after Bei Chen Wanqing gave birth to Rou Er, he killed her, took her skull and has kept it ever since.

Since he didn't find the item on Rou Er, Yan Buji took no action.

So why did Yan Buji know that the child back then would come to the Spring Literary Assembly?

Because she had said that every twenty years is the day when her sect's Elder descends the mountain to recruit disciples, and the location is within Yingchun Gu!

If one possesses her badge, the sect Elder would naturally notice!

Since he found no badge on her corpse nor on Rou Er, there is only one possibility!

The bizarre child who died and rose again!

He has Bei Chen Wanqing's badge; perhaps it will guide him to Yingchun Gu!

As expected, he waited for Zhang Xungui!

So what kind of person is Yan Buji, after all?

He doesn't even know whether Bei Chen Wanqing's words are true, yet he still dares to exploit someone's peril, even after she bore his daughter he killed her.

He spent the first half of his life in hypocrisy, scheming for twenty years over a single sentence from Bei Chen Wanqing, causing everyone to call for his death, and now he hides deep in the mountains, too afraid to venture out.

For the path of the immortal, he abandoned his family and daughter, opposed the worldly male king, and captured the man coveted by the Commandery Princess of Fengcheng…

But so what?

"The badge cannot be forged; at worst I can spend some time learning its origin. As long as I can locate that sect, with this badge I should be able to join it," Yan Buji thought.

If he hadn't been suddenly discovered by the Iron Tiger Guard, he could have secretly killed Zhang Xungui, retrieved the badge, and gone openly to Yingchun Gu to meet the sect Elder and request shelter. It wouldn't have led to the current blockade of Yingchun Gu, making him utterly unwilling to return.

Plans always lag behind changes.

The best way for Yan Buji to access the cultivation path is to lean on cultivation forces and gradually explore the new world he has long dreamed of!

Someone like him is unsuited to wander outside, practicing haphazardly as a free‑spirited lone cultivator. So even though he obtained the cultivation method Liu Feng gave to Zhang Xungui, Yan Buji dares not practice it lightly; he even struggles to grasp the hidden meaning of the verses on it.

The cultivation path, without guidance from predecessors, even if one truly has talent to master the entire manual, may still not yield any divine abilities.

This Zhang Xungui can die.

Crunch!

Yan Buji let out a cold laugh, reached out and snapped Zhang Xungui's neck.

Finding it insufficiently safe, he doused him with a large amount of fire oil, ignited it, and watched with his own eyes as Zhang Xungui turned to ash in the flames!

"With this, everyone connected to Bei Chen Wanqing is dead. At least those I know won't appear again to expose me."

Yan Buji pondered for a moment, packed his things, stepped out of the cave, and punched the cave ceiling!

Bang!

A torrent of rubble sealed the cavern; Yan Buji wasn't sure whether Zhang Xungui truly possessed any supernatural traits.

But even if this specter could possess another and survive, I will no longer be the mortal flesh I am today!

"The sea is vast for fish to leap, the sky is high for birds to fly! From today onward, I, Yan Buji, will finally walk the cultivation path!"

Yan Buji stood quietly there, his gaze fixed on the distance. In the sky, the evening glow burned like flames, dazzling and radiant, as if the whole world were bathed in golden light. The setting sun slowly sank westward, its final afterglow illuminating the earth, imparting a tranquil and mysterious atmosphere to everything around.

At that moment, a crisp chirping of birds reached his ears; Yan Buji looked up and saw a flock of migratory birds crossing the clouds, heading toward the forest. They flew in neat formation, like a well‑trained army, tracing beautiful arcs across the sky.

At the same time, in a nearby stream, several fish leapt joyfully, splashing crystal‑clear droplets. They seemed to frolic in the water, reveling in the moment's merriment. Yan Buji was captivated by the scene, his mood brightening, and he couldn't help to exclaim:

"Born early with a thin fate, the world's hardships wear body and mind."

"Traveling to the azure mountains under sunset, the murky dust of the mortal world is hard to dispel."

"Seeking immortality, asking the Dao—what is the pinnacle? Only then do I realize the path is full of wavering."

Half a lifetime's petty affairs are all cleared away; after reckoning, victory or defeat is decided today.

Look to today, look to today!

Half a lifetime's accumulation flows like water; cut off the head, trim the waist. On the single-log bridge, unafraid of a thousand troops, I laugh to the heavens.

Cultivation is no easy path; twenty years, finally attain the Dao. The threshold of the immortal way, hoping to rise step by step in this life.