Chapter 167: Xie Jinhuan's Cultivation

Splash~ Splash...

The sound of tides rose beside his ears, sunlight spilled onto his eyelids, and a dazzling halo gradually awakened his divine sense.

The young man forced his eyelids open, and what met his gaze was a sapphire sky, along with the pitch-black skull of a black eagle, which held a small strip of dried meat in its beak, looking down to inspect him, as if to say:

You're awake?

"Damn..."

The young man propped himself up into a sitting position, squinting to scan the yellow beach, the coconut trees, and even the broken ship planks not far away; a look of relief after surviving disaster mixed with confusion in his eyes, and because his stomach was too empty, he took the small strip of dried meat and tasted it...

Five-spice beef jerky?

The young man froze, excitement at crossing Wang Yang and returning to the human world after several months flooding his eyes; he swallowed the dried meat in one gulp, picked up the black eagle, and looked around, only for his gaze to go blank.

Behind the beach lay a primeval forest, connecting to a massive black peak in the rear.

Shanfeng stood like a barrier separating the earth, its left and right sides stretching beyond sight, while upward it shot straight into the clouds, giving a sense of oppressive pressure like Mount Tai crushing down.

The young man, wearing an old, yellowed robe, stood before the towering mountain like a tiny shrimp just crawling out of the sea.

"What the hell kind of place is this..."

After scanning the area, the young man picked up the Tiangang Mace from the sand pile and walked barefoot along the small claw prints on the beach; not far out, he discovered that on a hundred-zhang stone cliff by the sea, the roof ridges of houses protruded.

A Bagua emblem adorned the roof ridge, making it look like a Taoist temple...

And below the stone cliff was a cave entrance; on the outer stone wall, some characters remained:

May the Dao Ancestor protect...

One day, two days, three, four days, five days, six days, seven, eight days...

Tick, tick, tick, tick...

When will this ever end...

Judging from the carvings, it was roughly over a hundred years ago.

The young man examined it closely, then raised his eyes to gaze at the hundred-zhang stone cliff, sharp as if carved by a knife:

"Hey? Is anyone there?"

From above the hundred-zhang stone cliff, a response came quickly, a voice ethereal and mixed with three parts soft allure:

"Mm-hmm."

Joy surged in the young man's eyes; leaning on the Tiangang Mace, he knelt before the hundred-zhang stone cliff and placed the black eagle beside him:

"Immortal, I wish to become your disciple and learn your arts; I hope the Immortal will teach me the methods of immortality!"

Step, step...

Footsteps came from above the hundred-zhang stone cliff; standing at the edge with the vast sky and blazing sun behind her, viewed from below she resembled a female Bodhisattva with a round halo suspended behind her, looking down from above, her red skirt fluttering in the wind.

The young man used his rough left hand to block the sunlight, trying hard to squint and inspect, but could not clearly see the face of the figure atop the cliff; he could only infer from the size comparison with the cliff that her height was no less than five meters...

This is a true immortal...

The young man had traveled thirty thousand li on a long journey, transforming from a cynical young master into a wild man who had now experienced the dangers of the Jianghu and the hardships of the mortal world; seeing this figure unlike any mortal, excitement at finally seeing the moon after the clouds parted surged in his eyes:

"I bow to the Immortal; may I ask the Immortal's name?"

"Ye Hongshang."

"Your junior, Xie Jinhuan, bows to Immortal Ye!"

"Heh~ Your mouth is quite sweet..."

The figure in red atop the cliff, with the great sun suspended behind her, possessed an aura like towering mountains looking down upon a tiny insect beneath:

"You are a martial arts prodigy; reaching here means you have already passed Sister's trial. Sister does not cheat or deceive; now I give you a choice.

"Leave right now, and with your talent and the tempering of your mind through the hardships along the way, you can found a sect and become a warlord of your generation.

"If you stay, Sister can point out a great path to immortality for you, helping you join the ranks of immortals and break free from the cycle of reincarnation, but if you fail, the cost may be too great for you to bear; think it over yourself."

The young man's journey had been one worse than death; if he could not gain anything from learning, he would rather die, so he replied:

"I stay."

The figure in red nodded, gesturing toward the cave entrance below:

"Inside the cave is an illusionary realm; each time I give you only one day.

"Whatever spoils you obtain from the illusionary realm, you can come and exchange with Sister for food, clothes, magical artifacts, protective gear, and pills.

"But if you die inside, or if you leave behind an 'overnight grudge,' all your accumulated possessions will be confiscated, and you must start over.

"If you do not meet Sister's requirements, you cannot leave this beach in this lifetime."

The figure in red spoke thus, then looked toward the small, ragged bird begging on the beach:

"As for it, if it does not complete the trial, it is not allowed to eat!"

"Goo-goo?!"

The black eagle, shaking its head and acting cute, was immediately shocked, shaking its head like a rattle drum!

The young man was somewhat puzzled:

"It must undergo the trial too?"

"Since it's already here."

"Oh..."

Thirsty and hungry, seeing that Nangong Xianzi had not given any food, the young man could only prop himself up with the Tiangang Mace, looking at the pitch-black cave entrance:

"As long as I complete the task and come out, will there be food to eat and water to drink?"

"There will be wine and meat, plus a bathing tub, change of clothes, and a small thatched cottage; I'll even get you two quick-footed maids to serve you."

"Whoa..."

The young man, having wandered and suffered for over a year, had long forgotten the feeling of being a young master; hearing this, his eyes sparkled, and he was eager to try.

The figure in red robes turned and vanished into the cliff face, leaving behind a single sentence:

"Go. Your target today is to defeat Little Ye Zi, who is seventeen years old."

The young man wiped his sun-tanned, pitch-black cheek, somewhat puzzled:

"Who is Little Ye Zi?"

"The Twin Sages Ye Ci."

"Twin...?"

The young man's forward-moving action paused; he raised his eyes to look at the cliff's summit, incredulous:

"Me? Defeat the Twin Sages of Sword and Book?"

"Mm-hmm. If you can't even defeat the local mortals, how can you hope to join the ranks of immortals?"

"..."

The young man scratched his messy hair, thinking that martial arts at the Seventh Rank facing the strongest martial artist after Wu Zu carried a tiny bit of difficulty.

But the goddess immortal spoke truth; both are seventeen, both are human, what is there to fear?

The young man lifted the Tiangang Mace and walked toward the cave, saying to the Black Eagle:

"You go catch a few rabbits; I'll go in first to scout the path."

"Goo-ji~"

The Black Eagle sensed something extremely dangerous hidden inside the cave, turned its head, and fled, but not long after taking to the skies, it heard a perfectly enunciated Da Qian Yaya from behind:

"Damn! Is this really seventeen years old?!"

Boom—

Boom boom boom boom~...

Turning to look, a string of craters had been smashed into the beach.

The young man who had just entered was stuck head-first in the sand, motionless.

"Goo-ji?"

The Black Eagle hopped back, pressed its claws on the young man, found he wasn't dead, then continued running off to find food...

——

Time passed in a flash; it was two years later.

Lei Guang ripped through the sky's veil; raindrops the size of beans slammed into the deep mountains and wilds of Mount Zihui, crackling loudly.

Ye Hongshang sat sideways on the ground, her right hand supporting Xie Jinhuan's forehead, while her left hand floated a crystal ball.

Inside the crystal ball were the beach, stone cliffs, a Taoist temple, and Heishan; the scenes shifted rapidly, as if playing at hundreds of times normal speed.

On the beach, a disheveled young man was thrown out of the cave entrance again and again, then climbed back up; when hungry, he went into the forest to find water and fruit, drilled wood to make fire, and roasted meat.

On the hundred-zhang stone cliff, she leaned on a lounge chair, exposing her long white legs to sunbathe, unmoved by the young man's repeated defeats.

Thus days and months flowed; the young man fought for a month, entered no fewer than two thousand times, lasted longer and longer, finally found a chance to win against a peer once, excitedly rushed out, shouted at the sea, and hugged the Black Eagle while jumping up and down.

She, keeping the agreement, built a small thatched hut on the beach when the young man returned with food; inside were a bed, tables, chairs, a bath tub, a stove, etc., plus cured meat, vegetables, seasonings, and even two monkey maids to help boil water and cook.

The young man was greatly surprised, took a wonderful bath, ate and drank his fill with the Black Eagle until both man and bird lay on the beach too stuffed to move, then slept in a blanket that night; this was the most comfortable the young man had felt in over a year.

Then the next day, the young man carved the character 'One' on the stone wall, entered the cave again; this mission was to annihilate a hundred-bandit gang within a single day!

When he was thrown out for the first time, the thatched hut, bed, and monkeys earned through a month of fighting all vanished without a trace; even the dried meat the Black Eagle had hidden was gone, leaving only the fainted Black Eagle lying alone on the beach.

The young man, having gained and then lost everything, nearly collapsed; he charged into the cave with overwhelming killing intent, the Black Eagle also plucked up courage and followed in, then both man and bird were thrown out again.

This time, using half a month, the young man completed the goal; when he emerged, he held a bundle filled with jewels, ornaments, and silver.

The bundle of items, valued at Da Qian market prices, was exchanged for pills and armor; both man and bird enjoyed a delicious meal.

But the next day, upon entering, he went bankrupt again; all equipment was completely destroyed!

"Ah—"

The young man knelt on the beach, furious, pounding his chest and stamping his feet; the Black Eagle banged its head against the wall; both collapsed in despair.

But this was only the beginning.

The torment repeated endlessly; difficulty gradually increased; death or exceeding the time limit directly wiped out all possessions!

Such harsh punishment drove the young man to become increasingly mad, yet also increasingly cautious; after half a year, he stopped dying in the illusionary realm; after a year, he could complete the set goals every day.

Amid tens of thousands of life-and-death clashes, the young man also comprehended his own martial way; perhaps feeling that infinite reloading to practice was too overpowered, he carved five characters on the stone wall: 'Feng Ling Yue Ying Sect'; the red-robed sister was the Sect Master, he was the Dual-Flower Red Club, and the Black Eagle was the Sect-Protecting Divine Beast.

The young man's realm did not advance very quickly, but his combat experience and Jianghu techniques improved with astonishing speed.

As possessions accumulated more and more, the young man also used gains from the illusionary realm to exchange for a large house containing various items; in the leisure time after completing daily goals, he began playing music for the immortal on the cliff, telling stories, recounting tales never heard before, even writing poetry, painting, performing magic tricks, and so on...

Ye Hongshang on the cliff, initially unmoved by the martial training process, truly did not expect that this young man hid so many skills; after knowing each other for over a year, she called the young man up to the cliff for the first time to perform face-to-face.

And the young man did not fail his past accumulation; for three hundred and sixty days, day after day, he made Ye Hongshang happy, ensuring no single day was repeated; his appearance also improved with time, gradually growing taller, fairer, and more handsome.

Originally, this trial should have lasted a long time, until the young man touched the threshold to reach Super Rank before leaving the mountain.

But as they grew closer, Ye Hongshang suddenly changed her mind, unwilling to drive a very likable little bug to commit a great crime against the world, digging open the black mountain behind both of them.

The Black Dragon colliding with the Heaven Pillar is a disaster of the sky tilting; it will cause death.

Coincidentally, at that time, a group of tomb raiders was digging up the cave residence of another one of her disciples.

For this reason, Ye Hongshang sent the young man back to handle the matter and take the Zheng Lun Sword as an opportunity.

And when the young man woke up again, he and the Black Eagle were already lying in the depths of Mount Zihui; in the distance, four tomb raiders were breaking open the mountain and digging the earth.

The young man killed three minions, pulled out the Demon-Suppressing Sword as instructed, and simultaneously triggered the Soul-Locking Curse.

Before leaving, Ye Hongshang had left a trigger on the soul; the young man sensed something wrong and ran out of the tomb; the Soul-Locking Curse triggered simultaneously, making him forget the 'miraculous encounter' from three years ago.

He also forgot the Feng Ling Yue Ying Sect, Nanhai Heishan, the small Taoist temple, and the red-robed big sister who had spent two years with him and whom he already regarded as 'the woman he must marry in this life'!

Ye Hongshang did this hoping the young man would live well for the rest of his life, whether seeking immortals and asking the Dao, or having three wives and four concubines; living according to his own will and achieving a good outcome.

If she had not done so, given the young man's crazy nature, he would have done anything.

Ye Hongshang had actually taught more than one disciple; before this, there was Qixia True Person, equally steadfast in the Dao and desperately eager to grow, yet between the welfare of all under heaven and the debt of teaching, she could only helplessly choose the former.

She did not mind this, after all, "raising little bugs to fight" was also one of the joys on her long journey toward immortality.

But this young man was different; this fellow had a touch of evil. Between the welfare of all under heaven and her, he would choose—I want it all; I will become the Heavenly Dao; I will beat the question-setter into dumpling filling; whether I live or die is unimportant, what matters is making those who displease me die; why does the world need a method that satisfies both? First strike down the Tathagata, then strike down you...

In any case, he would not choose one of two.

If he did choose, he would not deserve the name "Jinhuan."

Ye Hongshang might want to overturn this towering mountain above her head, but she did not want the young man to fall into a desperate situation for her, nor did she want to see him, after giving up, struggle with guilt; her heart would ache too.

For this reason, should the young man follow the old path of Qixia True Person, she buried all the secrets of the south of the South Sea, even sealing away her own memories.

Yet she still remained before him.

Before Qixia True Person departed, she took a strand of her divine consciousness, attaching it to that red umbrella.

She could use that strand of divine consciousness to walk among humans, just as a hundred years ago the Shoubashou Sect taught Qixia True Person how to become a great figure of the human path; the only drawback was wandering the human world as a ghost, having lost all supernatural powers and being unable to protect this young man anymore.

The young man has grown to this point; the road ahead should be walked by himself, otherwise how could it be called his own life...

She wanted to be like the stories she wished to tell the young man, a common yet kind ghost, walking the Jianghu with the young man for a lifetime.

She sealed away her own memories precisely to fully enter the world; from now on, she is only Ye Hongshang, with only the beauty of meeting, and no more worries of being imprisoned for ten thousand years...

The images within the crystal ball flashed continuously, gradually arriving at the moment of spring breeze and proud success, rushing toward the Demon-Suppressing Tomb where they were located.

Ye Hongshang closed her palm, looking at Xie Jinhuan lying beside her.

The young man was still that young man, and his actions were no different from what she had predicted.

Even without remembering the overseas matters, having only recalled a silhouette, between the Demon-Suppressing Tomb and her, he chose without hesitation to overturn the Demon-Suppressing Tomb.

Ye Hongshang pondered for a long time, then lowered her head and pecked the young man on the lips:

"Foolish boy, is it not enough for sister to accompany you for a lifetime? You are thinking of life after life. You must simply be the Wu Zu Human Emperor; you cannot be so insane as to overturn even the table..."

"Sigh, you have made sister heartbroken. Seal it up, seal it up; it was hard to find a month or so of peace..."

(End of this chapter)