Chapter 260: Becoming the Demonic Seed

The Wu Li Trading House was established last winter and has aided numerous destitute farmers across the Nine Provinces.

After spring arrived and the snows of Fengzhou melted, those previously aided who had signed employment contracts came to Fengzhou to work.

In truth, along the way, they were still filled with anxiety.

On one hand, they were strangers in an unfamiliar land, unable to predict what awaited them.

On the other, in Qingyun Heaven, those who left home for work in search of livelihood had always met their end as strangers in foreign lands.

But once they actually arrived in Fengzhou with the Wu Li caravan, their anxiety vanished, replaced only by shock.

For what they saw was a scene utterly unlike the other eight provinces.

Fertile soil, lush grass, numerous markets, children wandering the streets unattended, and cultivators walking about with gentle expressions—as if they belonged to a different world.

The government then assigned them housing: six people per room, with food and clothing provided by the state.

Some were sent to farmland; others to pastures.

But no matter their task, work hours were short—they even had time to attend lectures at the academy.

Yet even after fully integrating into Fengzhou and adapting to its rhythm, these outsiders still did not know what the immortal named Ji You wanted.

But good fortune did not last. As summer arrived, Fengzhou's atmosphere changed.

Some previously gentle cultivators suddenly lost their composure; the government fell silent.

Locals spoke cautiously, especially when encountering cultivators—fear reappeared in their eyes.

It was said the immortal lord had encountered trouble.

Though Qingyun Heaven separated immortals from mortals, the common farmers of Fengzhou knew well why their lives had improved these past years.

Fengzhou's improvement was not due to the compassion of outside immortals, but because Ji You, the young master of the Ji family, had grown stronger—and stronger still.

But since summer, after rumors spread that Ji You had emerged from the Sage Sanctuary without breaking through, they began hearing much discussion among nearby cultivators.

Some said Ji You might no longer be able to suppress Fengzhou.

Among those most troubled was Zhang Pingyang, from Tianyuan Manor.

He had married Lanlan, a farmer's daughter, settled in Fengzhou, and long since considered himself a native.

The notion that immortals towered above mortals, and mortals were mere ants, had long since blurred in his heart.

But after Ji You entered the Sage Sanctuary yet failed to break through, and the atmosphere shifted abruptly, he felt as if waking from a beautiful dream.

For he knew the manor lords and elders had not willingly participated in Fengzhou's farming—they were merely suppressed by Ji You, unable to act.

Now that he could no longer hold Fengzhou in check, it would surely revert to its former state.

Then the great immortal manors would reclaim their positions, divide taxes and tributes, and resume their lofty dominance.

Yet he could not abandon his pregnant wife, nor return to his immortal manor.

This anxiety peaked two days before Ji You returned to Fengzhou.

At that time, many noble scions from the Tian Shu Academy sent messages, asking whether Ji You had arrived.

Zhang Pingyang had heard from his manor folk that Ji You, due to his lowly origins, was unpopular in the Tian Shu Academy—otherwise, he would not have entered the Inner Court yet failed to enter the Immortal Hall.

Their keen interest in his return was surely to watch him humiliated.

But the expected event did not occur.

Ji You's return was not concealed—he entered the city by carriage, rested one day, then began visiting the immortal manors, starting with the larger nearby ones, then the surrounding ones.

He went to each alone.

After each visit, the manors grew eerily quiet; their lords became excessively respectful, appearing humble and meek, though their hair was disheveled and their eyes filled with fear.

The sixth manor visited was Qingxu Manor.

Ji You stayed inside for half an hour, then departed.

The lord of Qingxu Manor, accompanied by all his elders, stepped outside to watch the towering, flame-like figure depart, then raised a hand to his cheek.

Beneath his palm, a vivid red palm print swelled visibly, and blood trickled from his mouth.

In fact, upon hearing Ji You had visited the first five manors, the Qingxu lord had already recalled all disciples and gathered murderous intent.

Yet he was met with a massive palm—perhaps restrained, yet it made him feel as if a devouring beast sat before him…

The overwhelming, roaring aura made him certain the man could kill him effortlessly.

"Damn it, the first five manors kept their mouths shut too tight!"

"Lord, they must have done it on purpose."

"Whether intentional or not, the palm strike has landed—go, fetch all the sickles from the manor, sharpen them at the gate. I won't step out these next few days."

"Lord, be careful—that's not a sickle, it's called a Crescent Moon Saber…"

The chief elder of Qingxu Manor couldn't help but remind him.

Whether by agreement or by unspoken consensus among Fengzhou's outsider manors,

Soon, every manor's gate saw large groups of disciples sharpening their sickles.

Then, an elder from Qingxu Manor stepped out carrying a jade casket, hastening to a guesthouse outside Fengzhou's outer city.

On the second floor of the guesthouse, three men from Yunzhou sat across from each other, sipping tea, their expressions clouded with suspicion.

Two were from the Ding family: Ding Yuan, younger brother of the Ding patriarch, and Ding Shaojie, the eldest son; the third was the trade overseer from Yuyunzhou, all belonging to the Spirit Stone Guild.

Upon learning Ji You had emerged from the Sage Sanctuary without breaking through, the Spirit Stone Guild had already devised a series of plans.

In their view, Ji You, who had failed to achieve Fusion Dao, could no longer control Fengzhou; control would soon pass to the outsider manors, and the Snowland Demon Stone transport route would inevitably follow.

Previously, Ji You ignored them; they had no recourse.

Now, the problem solved itself.

They could control Fengzhou's official roads through these manors, thereby gaining de facto rights to the Snowland Demon Stone trade.

But since Ji You's return, every gesture of goodwill they had sent was returned, one after another…

This deviated sharply from their plans, leaving the three men in silence, their eyes still filled with doubt.

Fengzhou's common folk were insensitive to such matters, unaware of what transpired within the manors, yet they sensed the shift in atmosphere.

Cultivators in Qingyun Heaven now appeared noticeably gentler; government officials seemed to breathe easier.

Most obvious was their act of sharpening sickles at the gates—as if performing for someone.

Seeing this, the people knew: this year, peace would hold.

"Actually, this episode is beneficial. Now, no matter what rumors the manors hear, they won't act rashly until they've seen me with their own eyes."

"Otherwise, I'd have to soothe them every time—my hands would wear out."

Ji You had returned to Ji Zhai, gazing calmly at the manors along his route, murmuring to himself.

Lao Qiu noticed his master's mood was good and relaxed slightly.

His young master spent most years cultivating in the Tian Shu Academy; spring plowing and autumn harvest had always been his duty as a servant.

Through years of firsthand experience, he had come to understand the relationship between Fengzhou's immortal sects, the government, and his young master.

He knew that if Ji You truly became just another ordinary cultivator, the consequences would not merely be halted harvests and redistributed taxes.

After all, when Ji You first arrived to establish his lineage, he had killed many openly in the streets—retribution would inevitably be a matter of life and death.

Now that nothing had happened, his suspended heart finally settled.

Yet beyond this, Lao Qiu had another concern.

"Master should marry."

Lao Qiu had met Yan Shuyi and Yuan Caimei; he kept wondering when the two young mistresses from last year would finally arrive.

In the past, this poor place had nothing to offer for a bride.

But Fengzhou's fortunes improved daily, shedding its destitution; more women from other provinces now came to marry here. Lao Qiu felt confident and urged Ji You to propose.

"Didn't we already say this isn't urgent?"

"But according to Yuyang County tradition, if you're satisfied after the first visit, you must send the betrothal gifts the next day."

"Let me train a few more years—still, we can start with a child."

"?"

Pei Ruyi, walking with Qiu Ru in the courtyard, heard this and felt her scalp prickle.

She had returned from the Heavenly Dao Assembly and heard that the Little Mirror Lord of Lingjian Mountain had visited. Rumor said she wandered the compound and outside, hearing people call Ji You "Madam" and "Young Mistress."

Pei Ruyi had imagined the scene for a long time, yet could not reconcile it with reality.

She also found it hard to picture living in the same courtyard with the Lingjian Mountain Little Mirror Lord, watching her stroll with a child…

In the afternoon, a carriage sped along the newly repaired official road, entering Fengzhou Prefecture and halting before Ji Zhai.

The carriage curtain lifted; Kuangcheng stepped down from the driver's seat.

He had returned from Shengjing with Ji You; Ji You went to "greet" the manors, while Kuangcheng went to Danshui Commandery.

The Zhenbei Army's garrison lay southwest of Danshui Commandery; during last year's road repairs, the Zhenbei Army supervised construction, and Kuangcheng had visited once then.

This time, he came primarily to thank the Zhenbei Army for helping Fengzhou eliminate the demonic seeds.

Though road repair and demonic seed eradication were both imperial orders, as Ji You said, emotional value must still be acknowledged.

Of course, these soldiers had long guarded the northern frontier—even if they had done nothing in Fengzhou, Kuangcheng deemed them worthy of visitation.

Kuangcheng now entered the courtyard and greeted Lao Qiu: "Where's Brother Ji?"

"The young master is in the study."

Kuangcheng went to the back courtyard, reached the study door, and saw Ji You seated behind his desk, carefully reading a volume: "How are the unruly manors now?"

Ji You looked up: "After my visits, they've become much more obedient. The autumn harvest should proceed without issue. What of the Zhenbei Army?"

"The northern frontier is unstable; they're discussing relocating and returning to the north."

"The barbarians have been unusually active lately—likely tied to events across the Nine Provinces this past half-year. With the Zhenbei Army back on guard, we can rest easier."

Kuangcheng nodded, yet still felt unease over the hidden forces behind the celestial anomalies and demonic seed outbreaks.

He had always known from studying history that the true cause of a nation's—or even an ethnic group's—downfall was rarely external threats, but rather internal decay.

Xiang Kuangcheng snapped back to attention: "Brother Ji, what are you reading?"

Ji You picked up the book in his hand: "I had someone bring me the county annals from Yuyang County—I wanted to see if any strange events had ever occurred here."

"Strange events?"

"Things related to immortals."

After reading the story of the Night Watchers, Ji You had begun paying closer attention to any related rumors.

He suspected the half-scroll of the Heavenly Book Academy he had found came from a Night Watcher, meaning the Night Watcher must have once come to Fengzhou.

This land was poor and isolated; even the histories of the foreign immortal estates he had cared about were not long.

So if Yuyang County had ever hosted powerful cultivators, it would surely have been recorded in the annals.

His guess proved correct: the annals did record matters concerning immortals—for instance, how the Ji family had been destroyed after offending an immortal, and how he and Fang Ruoyao had been taken into the Heavenly Book Academy, both described in great detail.

But earlier accounts were fragmented and rarely explicit.

Xiang Kuangcheng picked up one of the annals and flipped through a few pages: "If you're asking about strange events, I did come across a few while collecting folk tales and local legends."

"The elders say Yuyang County once had a truly formidable immortal who clashed with others, fighting until heaven and earth darkened and the mountains trembled."

Ji You gave him a strange look: "You're a scholar of the sages—why would you collect folk tales and local legends?"

Xiang Kuangcheng paused, startled: "Uh, I have a distant friend who's interested in Fengzhou."

"What else? Go on."

"There's also a legend that an immortal once lived in a nearby mountain for a time, occasionally coming out to gamble."

Ji You frowned: "When was this?"

Xiang Kuangcheng shook his head: "Long, long ago. No one knows the exact time."

"Nothing more recent?"

"More recent? The only immortal to appear recently has been you, Brother Ji."

Ji You fell into deep thought. Though vague, Xiang Kuangcheng's stories suggested that someone resembling a Night Watcher had indeed once appeared in Fengzhou.

Then perhaps the origin of his half-scroll truly lay here.

But without details, verification was impossible.

After a long while, Ji You closed the annals.

He didn't truly need to trace the scroll's origin—his curiosity was simply drawn to anything connected to himself.

After all, the claim that it was "lost" didn't quite hold up. He simply wanted to know whether the matter surrounding the half-scroll was truly as simple as it seemed…

After warmly checking on the unruly immortal estates and confirming the autumn harvest could proceed as planned, Ji You and Xiang Kuangcheng departed Fengzhou and returned to the Heavenly Book Academy.

Ji You had vanished from public view for some time after entering the Sacred Ground of the Ancients yet failing to break through.

After all, there's an old saying in Qingyun: "Each generation produces its own talents."

In the past, some cultivators advanced rapidly but hit eternal bottlenecks due to innate limits, gradually fading from public attention.

Now, the most watched figures in the inner and outer courts were the disciple from the Elder Pavilion who entered last year after the Heavenly Dao Assembly, awaiting his breakthrough into Tongxuan.

But the autumn harvest seemed to have drawn those wandering gazes back again.

If last year's harvest had made the Fengzhou immortal estates fear Ji You, who had returned from the Sacred Ground, then his failure to enter Rongdao should have erased any threat he posed—yet no one understood why those estates had not resisted at all.

Cao Jinsong, of course, knew the reason. Seeing the returning estates, he couldn't help asking: "Did you act?"

Ji You shook his head: "I just paid a visit."

"Then it must still have hurt…"

Cao Jinsong had no doubt about Ji You's current strength.

Ji You looked past the wall toward the southwest: "Has the Office of Management returned yet?"

"Not only that—several days ago, all three Managers left, and several Elders departed the Heavenly Book Academy too. I doubt I'll receive my stipend this month."

As Ji You pondered, footsteps suddenly sounded outside the door.

Wen Siyuan of the Office of Management arrived, pushed the door open, and bowed slightly: "I heard in the courtyard that Brother Ji had returned—I didn't expect it to be true."

Ji You immediately spoke: "Brother Wen, you've come at the perfect time—I have something to ask."

"Brother Ji, speak freely."

"What was the Office of Management's mission this time?"

"This… I don't know. The senior brothers sent out by the Office of Management—those above the Fifth Realm—had their destinations and tasks kept secret. I came only to deliver a letter for you—it's been here three days."

Wen Siyuan reached into his sleeve and pulled out a letter, handing it to Ji You.

The letter contained only a single line of small characters: the name and room number of Chunhua Inn.

Ji You had assumed the letter came from Lingjian Mountain—never expecting it to be from Shengjing.

The only person in Shengjing who would write him was Xiang Kuangcheng—but Xiang Kuangcheng had just parted from him.

Moreover, the letter bore no signature, and it didn't match Xiang Kuangcheng's style.

After examining the handwriting, Ji You found it vaguely familiar, then rose and left the Heavenly Book Academy.

Arriving at the inn, he followed the room number to a second-floor chamber and pushed open the door.

Ding Yao and Zhuo Wanqiu sat inside. Upon seeing him, they immediately stood.

"Master-in-law."

"Young Master."

Neither wore Lingjian Mountain's sword robes; instead, they wore ordinary dresses that clung to their fine figures, accentuating their curves.

After closing the door, Ji You looked at them: "Why are you in Shengjing?"

Ding Yao and Zhuo Wanqiu exchanged glances: "Earlier, you wrote asking the Mirror Master about Dou Yuankong. The Mirror Master felt sending a letter was unsafe, so she sent us here personally."

Hearing this, Ji You's expression grew grave.

The tone of their words suggested the matter was serious indeed.

"What exactly happened?"

"The Seven Immortal Sects have been tracking Dou Yuankong's movements and discovered someone capable of transforming into a Demon Seed."

(End of Chapter)