320 Hidden Current 1

The apricot-colored windmill spun round and round with the wind blowing into the door of the pitch-black house.

It was an empty study room with no lights. There was only a curtain flapping in the wind.

On the desk was a pen container, an ink stone, and a piece of white rice paper with a tiny line of writing on the bottom-right.

'Pain is despair, hope, and the last salvation.'

"Tap…"

"Tap…"

"Tap…"

The faint sound of footsteps as if some kind of hard leather boots were hitting the floor came from outside of the open door.

"Where…. Where am I?" Fei Tianci whispered, and almost involuntarily looked at the doorway leading outside of the pitch-black room.

"Tap…"

"Tap…"

The footsteps were getting closer.

Fei Tianci tilted his head to look outside the window, yet he saw nothing but blackness.

"Tap."

Suddenly, the footsteps stopped as if someone had just stopped in front of the door and was now observing him from an angle he couldn't see.

"Creaakkkk…" The door opened.

Fei Tianzi opened his eyes, staring at the white mosquito net above his bed. He gasped for air as his chest rose and fell violently. His forehead was drenched with sweat.

"Another dream…." He felt tired, and propped himself halfway up to take a look around. The desk, chairs, bookshelf, decorative cabinet, and vases in the corner were all quietly just sitting there, reflecting the faint yellow light of a lamp.

Fei Tianci breathed heavily for a while before feeling his parched throat. He rose, about to go get some water.

"Boom, boom, boom."

Suddenly, someone knocked on his door in a rhythmic pattern.

Fei Tianci frowned. Who would knock this late into the night? At this hour, the servants wouldn't wake him unless there was something urgent.

"Who is it?" He turned over and got out of his bed, and walked toward the door. "Little Nian? What is it, this late into the night?"

He stopped before reaching the door, but felt that something was off right before he was about to open it. 

His maidservant, Little Nian, was a very bright girl. Everything she did would be done just right. Normally, she would never disturb his sleep in the middle of the night.

This was why she was chosen to be the Fei Family's maidservant.

If it was anyone else, the proper etiquette would be to inform Little Nian first, who would then come for him.

Fei Tianzi, still not fully awake, suddenly thought of this, and stopped his hand.

"Little Nian, if there's something you need, just tell me. If not, we can deal with it tomorrow." He was a cautious person, after all.

No one replied.

Fei Tianci frowned, and hesitated. Remembering the trouble his family had been having, he took two steps back.

"Little Nian?" He called out again.

"Boom boom boom."

The knocking sound started again.

Fei Tianci's heartbeat quickened a little. He hesitated again, but finally slowly walked toward the door.

"Little Nian? If you are the real Little Nian, do you remember our code?" he whispered.

Silence.

Still no sound from outside.

Fei Tianci listened carefully. Suddenly, as if he had heard something, his expression lightened.

"Ahh… you scared me. Why didn't you say so earlier? Alright, alright, I will be there in a bit."

He quickly opened the door. There was nothing but empty air and a dark hallway.

Fei Tianci's face was still filled with a smile. After making sure that no one had seen him, he slowly walked outside, and disappeared into the darkness of the courtyard in the blink of an eye.

***

On the main road to the Autumn Moon County Capital, a light-green carriage pulled by three horses raced along the road, kicking up a little dust storm. 

Lu Sheng and Wang Yunlong, as well as the grandson of Great Elder, Yun Xiufei, were sitting inside the carriage.

Yun Xiufei's face was cold as he carefully cleaned his white long sword.

Lu Sheng was flipping through a book in his hand, trying to learn more about the recent history of the Great Yin.

Wang Yunlong sat beside the window while pouring wine for himself. 

All three minded their own business; no one attempted to start a conversation.

Lu Sheng read for a while, and glanced at Yun Xiufei, who was next to him. This guy finally finished cleaning his sword. His handsome white face looked at the sword that he held as if it were his son. He even gave it a kiss before putting it back down.

"We are going to be there soon. The upper sect of the Thousand Sun Sect has a different culture than the Sleeping Moon County. Everyone, lay low and don't cause any trouble. If we can pass the test, us three will leave for real."

Wang Yunlong smiled as disdain flashed in his eyes.

"Senior Apprentice Brother Yun is right, but with so many recommendations from all the other lower sects, it wouldn't be guaranteed for us three."

"That depends on the person." Yu Xiufei smiled. "Junior Apprentice Brother, you have a Connected Veins body, while Junior Brother Lu here possesses godly strength. Plus, he cultivated the basic technique to full completion in such a short time. His talent is exceptional, even among the recommendations of past years.

"Speaking of which, there have been rumors of members of the Fei Family disappearing. We aren't sure if it's real or not. If it happens nearby, we might be assigned to this case as a central part of our test. Be prepared."

"Fei Family?" Lu Sheng didn't have the information the other two had.

"They are responsible for the communication between upper and lower sects, so they aren't a small family at all. Their family members are everywhere in the sects nearby. Some of their members are part of upper sects, while others are direct disciples of lower sects," Wang Yunlong said flatly. "I heard that that only ordinary members without any power had disappeared."

"Since they are receiving us, this incident might be used as part of our test. Such was the case for past years as well—the test always uses the newest case if possible," Yun Xiufei said with a smile.

"Any clues on where to start?" Wang Yunlong stared at his companions.

"Nothing. Just that many people have disappeared, while all the masters who were hired to deal with this also disappeared without a trace. The situation is getting worse," Yun Xiufei said flatly, looking confused. "My grandfather has mentioned this incident before. The Wanqian Sect recruited someone with substantial power this year, so let him take the brunt of it. There's no need for us to show off."

Lu Sheng and Wang Yunlong both nodded in understanding.

The carriage raced on nonstop, and quickly left the wild plains. Smoke and signs of civilization started to appear on the side, as well as diverging paths to different places. Occasionally, they would pass by carts and carriage. Donkeys that were transporting goods were all herded to the side to make way for them.

In less time than boiling a pot of tea required, the enormous walls of the Autumn Moon County Capital appeared in the distance as well.

Lu Sheng narrowed his eyes. Staring at the enormous city walls in the distance, it was obviously at least double the thickness of the Great Song's city walls.

Above the heads of the soldiers patrolling on top of the wall, a faint golden glow occasionally appeared. That was the enormous Essence Qi formation protecting the city.

Lu Sheng's heart jumped.

'Of course. Even ordinary people aren't spared. Their Essence Qi is being absorbed to nourish more powerful cultivators all the same…' He could feel the endless stream of countless amounts of Essence Qi gathering somewhere deep within the city.

"This world… how…" Lu Sheng' eyes darkened as the carriage slowly rolled into the city.

The three came into contact with the golden protection field, and immediately passed through without any resistance. A tiny sliver of Essence Qi left their body and also floated deep into the city like all the others.

Lu Sheng looked outside.

People crowded and walked along the streets, while the center lane was a wide road for horses. Horse carriages, bull carts, donkey carts, and even some masters riding lions, leopards, and other beasts rode calmly along the street.

Lu Sheng observed every single passerby. With his senses, everything within tens of meters had been checked by him, all while not getting discovered by the protection field.

"There are quite a lot of people with True Qi—about one in every ten. Bind level, on the other hand, is extremely rare. I can only sense one occasionally. "

The whole reason he came here was to find a better way to break through the bottleneck, and to find a place to settle his family and the Prime Devil Sect. 

But what he had seen so far wasn't promising. The atmosphere of the Great Yin felt very oppressive for him. Integrating into such an environment might not be a good thing for Prime Devil Sect and the Lu Family.

***

Sandstorm plain, Great Song.

"Bammm!"

A black human-like shadow stepped onto the golden dune heavily, looking into the distance.

The shadow had a really weird appearance. His whole body was covered by a big black robe. His upper body was thin, while his lower body was bloated. He didn't seem to notice the burning sun above, as his body was covered tightly from head to toe.

Even stranger were the tracks he left behind. They were not human footprints, but rather, many lines tangled together as if many snakes had just crawled by. 

"Snap… snap… snap…"

The man walked step by step in front of the dune, his eyes flashing with a gray light.

"Carfe? What are you doing here?"

Suddenly, a face tens of meters high floated above the sand.

The place the man stood happened to be the chin of the face.

"Your Majesty, the Devil's Abyss seal has been broken… I have nowhere else to go, and could only come here to serve you." Ancient Devil Carfe flipped up his robe, exposing his scarred bald head.

The gray light in his eyes flashed intensely as he stared at the face with a sliver of fear.

"The Devil's Abyss's seal has been broken?" The giant face turned blank, then frowned. "That seal lasted for five thousand years. I had an agreement with the human that no one would touch it. What happened? How was it destroyed? Do you know where it leads?? It's not just the seal for Devil's Abyss!"

With a weary expression, Carfei explained, "I'm very sorry, Your Majesty. The one who broke the seal is a human that looked like a devil. I think it might be a human who integrated with a Devil Blade using some kind of Devil Secret Art."