CH 10

Suspended in mid-air while emitting a soft glow was a palm-sized fruit wrapped in thin ribbons of silk.

Shen Liuxiang squatted in a corner. “Why tie it up?”

Zhou Xuanlan replied in a low voice, “The Shengming fruit has already developed its spiritual consciousness. If not for those bindings, it would have already escaped on its own.”

Earlier on, Shen Liuxiang had grasped onto the opportunity given by the dark and windy night to sneak past the patrolling disciples by using his spiritual consciousness. Now, Zhou Xuanlan silently unlocked the array and the two successfully slipped into the Wenxing Tower, heading straight to the Shengming fruit’s location.

“Shizun, are you done looking?”

The unlocking of the array could not be detected by ordinary disciples, but any elder who passed by would instantly be alerted of the intrusion.

Shen Liuxiang retracted his gaze and looked up at his disciple.

He was feeling strangely warm and was sweating all over; his fair face had long flushed a rosy colour. With his bright eyes wide open, Shen Liuxiang raised his hand and tugged at Zhou Xuanlan’s sleeve, letting out a heartfelt sigh. “You’re such a good person.”

Zhou Xuanlan’s heart skipped a beat.

This expression of Shizun’s did not bode well.

Zhou Xuanlan’s gut feeling was proven correct. 

The very next moment, Shen Liuxiang waved his little hand behind his back and a detonating talisman flew towards the Shengming fruit.

“I’m sorry! I’ll have to pit you this time!” 1坑 (“pit”) has roughly the same meaning as “screw [someone] over” / deliberately place someone in a bad position

Simultaneously, a few long streaks of rainbow-coloured light zipped across the horizon and landed at the main gate of the sect in the blink of an eye.

“Qingling Sect is a blessed land, filled to the brim with spiritual energy both within and outside of it. It is not surprising that a thousand-year-old sect was born here.”

“Out of all the immortal sects in the south, only Qingling Sect stands out. They gained another Soul Formation cultivator just recently. I’m afraid that the Xiyang Sect and the Beilun Sword Sect will not be able to directly compete against them for a while.”

“Sect Master Ling is young and powerful—I cannot help but feel ashamed at the difference between us.”

Although Qingling Sect was one of the three major immortal sects, it was neither as arrogant and domineering as Xiyang Sect, nor as proud and aloof as Beilun Sword Sect. Consequently, many other sects loved to associate with them.

Many Sect Masters had followed Ling Ye over to Qingling Sect for a visit. 

“Sect Master.” The disciples guarding the gates paid their respects.

The Sect Master they were calling out to was a slender man dressed in green robes. A scroll was tucked close to his waist, and his face had a gentle and humble look to it.

A cool breeze blew by, and a few withered yellow leaves were swept over, ultimately landing near Ling Ye’s feet. “It’s getting late. Gentlemen, please take a rest first.”

“We’ll follow Sect Master Ling’s arrangements. However, I’ve heard that the Shengming fruit that only appears every thousand years is currently in Qingling Sect. Would it be possible for us to take a look tomorrow?”

All the cultivators present were in the Nascent Soul Realm and naturally felt a strong draw towards the Shengming fruit. Upon hearing these words, their expressions all shifted.

Ling Ye swept his eyes across the group, gave it some thought and muttered, “Since this is everyone’s wish, why don’t we head over now…”

Boom!

Before Ling Ye could finish his sentence, an explosion was heard from Wenxing Tower.

Ling Ye frowned, took a step forward and instantly disappeared.

In Wenxing Tower, the Shengming fruit that had regained its freedom was frantically fleeing. Shen Liuxiang lifted the star cluster bag, stood in place and sucked the fruit in. 

Without the glow from the Shengming fruit, the room faded into darkness.

Shen Liuxiang grabbed Zhou Xuanlan’s hand. He was a cultivator in the Soul Formation Realm—retreating back to safety with his disciple in tow was naturally not a difficult matter. However, right as Shen Liuxiang was about to escape, something caught his attention and he shuddered once.

“Shizun…”

Torn pieces of clothing lay scattered on the cold wooden floor.

Zhou Xuanlan was momentarily dazed.

The hand holding on to him was pale, slender and as smooth as warm jade.

Shizun had returned to his original form.

Shen Liuxiang reacted very quickly. Turning his back to Zhou Xuanlan, he crouched down and curled himself up into a ball. His dark hair, swaying slightly in the air, slowly covered his bare back which was as white as snow. Only a soft, gentle suggestion of what lay below could be seen through the tiny gaps between his strands of hair.

Shen Liuxiang was a little embarrassed. “Do you have any clothes to spare?”

Zhou Xuanlan recovered from his previous shock and seemed to be even more flustered than Shen Liuxiang. Hurriedly closing his eyes, he took out his storage bag with slender, trembling fingers.

His mind was in chaos.

Zhou Xuanlan searched for his spare clothes for a long period of time, only to belatedly recall that he had previously given his outer robe to Shen Liuxiang when they were at the Juechun River. He had not prepared another set of robes.

At this moment, he felt a tremendous aura suddenly appear.

Zhou Xuanlan’s expression abruptly changed. He swiftly pulled off his belt sash and removed his outer robes to cover Shen Liuxiang up.

The spiritual energy in the room seemed to freeze.

Ling Ye appeared, then fell into a long silence upon the scene that greeted him.

His younger disciple brother, whom he had not seen for a long time, was wrapped in an ill-fitting black robe, standing barefoot on the floor. His dark tresses were scattered around his shoulders, wild and disorderly. An alluring blush adorned his cheeks.

Zhou Xuanlan, who was standing in front of Shen Liuxiang and blocking his figure, was wearing plain white inner robes. Though his appearance remained neat, his slightly reddened ears gave him away. It was obvious at a glance that he was not in a normal state either.

Ling Ye opened and closed his mouth several times, seemingly struggling to find the right words. “The two of you… were doing indecent things in Wenxing Tower?”

“?!” Shen Liuxiang was frightened.

“Senior brother, it’s a misunderstanding!”

“Sect Master, it’s a misunderstanding!”

“So you mean to tell me that I happened into this scene due to you abruptly recovering your original form.” Ling Ye stopped in the middle of the courtyard and turned his head back to stare at him.

Shen Liuxiang had changed his clothes and was listlessly following Ling Ye around, looking like a wilted eggplant.2Eggplants are warm-season vegetables and don’t do very well with cold. They tend to shrivel up a lot. “Every word I said is true.”

How could he make a move on Zhou Xuanlan? Perhaps given another decade or so… Pei pei pei, he wasn’t thirsty to that extent!

Ling Ye stared at him for a while. Brushing his sleeves lightly, he asked, “You took the Shengming fruit away?”

“I only took a look.”

“That junior disciple informed me of where the Shengming fruit has gone.”

“It blew itself up,” Shen Liuxiang said in a heavy tone. “The Shengming fruit has already gained its spiritual consciousness. I remarked that it looked a little ugly and the fruit, upon hearing my words, blew itself up in unhappiness.”

Ling Ye: “…Junior Brother.”

“Senior brother, don’t you believe me? That Shengming fruit is truly a simple-minded and unhappy little thing.”

Ling Ye lightly massaged the area between his brows. “Forget it. It’s just a Shengming fruit. You can have it.”

Shen Liuxiang was taken aback.

If other cultivators were to overhear this conversation, wouldn’t they cough up three litres of blood in anger?

Just a Shengming fruit?

To outsiders, it was a commodity that had a sky-high demand but no supply to speak of, a commodity that Nascent Soul Realm cultivators would brutally fight over!

However, Ling Ye truly did have the ability to utter such arrogant words. He was the Sect Master of Qingling Sect and his cultivation was unfathomable. There were no treasures or items he could not obtain.

“Senior brother is open-minded and generous. A true role model,” Shen Liuxiang flattered. “I am ashamed of my shortcomings.”

Ling Ye was a male supporting character in the novel who had extremely high popularity. Shen Liuxiang had also paid him a significant amount of attention. 

The fact that someone with such a calm temperament could fall for Su Baiche had caused Shen Liuxiang no small amount of shock, and he’d been stunned for a long time—though that had faded away after he’d recalled Su Baiche’s character setting as someone with countless admirers.

At this moment, Ling Ye already had a favourable impression of Su Baiche and was secretly biased towards him.

However, Ling Ye was not someone who would make decisions based on his feelings, but rather someone who would always make the choice that was most right. This was the reason behind Ling Ye giving the Shengming fruit to Shen Liuxiang instead of Su Baiche in the novel.

Ling Ye watched Shen Liuxiang, who was still spouting line after line of flattery, and remained silent.

Ling Hua was right—their younger martial brother had indeed changed a lot. In the past, Shen Liuxiang would always show a hint of repulsion and disdain whenever they bumped into each other.

His current appearance seemed much more obedient.

And was much more pleasing to the eye.

Ling Ye recalled the matters of the past. When Shen Liuxiang had first entered the sect a long time ago, he’d been vigilant of all the other disciples around him. Ling Ye was the only one he’d been willing to get close to.

Whenever Ling Ye practised flying on his sword, Shen Liuxiang would be seen running around on the ground, chasing after his figure.

Whenever Ling Ye practised spells under the scorching sun, Shen Liuxiang would be there watching him with a leaf over his head to block some of the heat.

…

When Ling Ye became the next-in-line for the Sect Master position, a lot of things had required his attention, and the amount of time he could spend with Shen Liuxiang decreased.

After that, his younger disciple brother got injured and he started to show extreme disgust towards Ling Ye. Shen Liuxiang would get into countless little conflicts with him and even forced his hand with the threat of suicide at Lingxiao Hall for the sake of a man.

“It is good this way.”

Ling Ye lowered his half-raised hand, uttered that strange sentence which seemed to come out of nowhere, and left.

Shen Liuxiang was puzzled by Ling Ye’s behaviour. Turning around, he started to head back to his own room and caught a glimpse of the faint glow coming from Zhou Xuanlan’s quarters. He raised his eyebrows, curious about his disciple’s activities.

Shen Liuxiang released his spiritual consciousness, and his old face flushed red.

He felt ashamed.

Zhou Xuanlan was currently meditating.

“Rascal, you’re only worthy of being a salted fish!” Shen Liuxiang covered himself with the quilt, spoke his last sentence for the night, and fell asleep.

The next day, a group of Nascent Soul cultivators wandered around the sect. The Qingling disciples were not surprised at their presence and carried on with their usual tasks.

“I believe that this road here leads up to the Cliff of Rebirth.”

The group of cultivators stopped and looked up at the towering mountain peaks. “It is said that Qingling Daojun3Translates literally to “dao lord”. Kept it as is to make it sound better. was enlightened to the Dao after falling from this cliff, and Qingling Sect was thus established.”

“This is how the rumour goes. Nobody knows whether it is true.”

“The Cliff of Rebirth is truly mysterious. Immortal Shen was punished here not too long ago, and he entered the Soul Formation Realm the very next day.”

“Why don’t we follow suit? Perhaps a miracle will happen.”

“Follow what? Follow him in chasing men?”

The harmonious atmosphere came to an abrupt halt. The speaker of those words exuded an air of arrogance and luxury, decked from head to toe in various artefacts of high quality.

Someone in the group recognised him. He was Wuya Sect’s Young Master Wei.

Wuya Sect had always been on good terms with Xiyang Sect—and for some reason, cultivators from the latter had appeared here in Qingling Sect.

Sensing the dissatisfied gazes around him, Young Master Wei unhurriedly moved his folding fan and sneered, “Doesn’t everyone know what kind of person Shen Liuxiang actually is? Who cares if he’s a cultivator at the Soul Formation Realm? He will still be nothing more than the Sword Venerable’s lapdog in the days to come.”

As soon as he finished speaking, a person approached and stood in front of him.

Young Master Wei frowned and was about to lecture the man, but was met with an incoming palm instead. That man actually started a fight!

“It’s the new Sect Master of the Daqian Sect, Ming Tan!”

“What deep grudge does he have with Young Master Wei? His every move is made to kill—he seems to have no qualms about burning that bridge.”

“I heard that Sect Master Ming is ruthless and vicious in his actions, and cold and heartless in his demeanour. I wonder what Wei Tianji did to cause his ire.”

“Both of them are in the late Nascent Soul Realm. I wonder who will come out the victor.”

However, it took only a few more moves before the result was clear.

Ming Tan slammed Wei Tianji to the ground with a bang, his hands around his neck. A cold, eerie smile appeared on his face. “Spouting big words with those pathetic skills of yours. It seems that you know no shame.”

Wei Tianji’s face was ashen.

He’d been forced into a duel for no reason at all and even lost said fight. It was extremely humiliating.

“I have no grievances nor enmity with Your Excellency. Is there perhaps a misunderstanding?” Wei Tianji was not Ming Tan’s opponent—all he could do was bow his head and speak in an amicable manner.

Ming Tan’s face was dark, giving off an incredibly chilly air. “Listen well, Immortal Shen is someone who will stand at the top of the cultivation world sooner or later. Someone as lowly as you is not even qualified to speak his name.”

Fury caused Wei Tianji’s breathing to go out of rhythm.

All this was for Shen Liuxiang?

How could he be so fucking unlucky? He’d met an absolute madman.

Unfortunately, Wei Tianji was truly not Ming Tan’s opponent. Forcing a smile, he said with a pleasant expression, “Your Excellency’s skills are extraordinary. Why do you look up to Shen Liuxiang? That kind of—mmph!”

“Presumptuous! You are to refer to him as Immortal Shen!” Ming Tan yelled in fury. Putting greater strength into his hands, he applied pressure on the veins at the top of Wei Tianji’s neck, preventing him from speaking any further.

“You dare call the Immortal by his name! If you have a death wish, I will gladly fulfil it!”

Ming Tan was shaking with rage.

The people around him were all ignorant fools—too stupid to understand the greatness of Shen Liuxiang!

Ten years ago, Ming Tan had the privilege of witnessing how Shen Liuxiang had rescued a child from a hell overrun with demons.

With his power alone, he’d washed the Myriad Demon Realm with blood!

At that time, Ming Tan’s cultivation had been low and weak. All he could do was watch from a distance—but even so, he could still feel that unparalleled sense of oppression firsthand. His scalp had gone numb and his body would not stop shaking from such a pressure.

Ming Tan had understood at that moment—Shen Liuxiang was a deity. He was someone who would someday hold the fate of the cultivation world in his hands!

However, there was someone who dared slander that immortal being. How could he tolerate it? He would definitely take this vermin’s life today!

Right as Ming Tan raised his hand to crush Wei Tianji’s head, an exclamation came from his side, “Immortal Shen.”

Ming Tan’s expression instantly shifted. He turned his head to look.

“I’m just passing by.” Shen Liuxiang stood by the fork in the road and gently smiled. “I did not mean to disturb. Please continue.”

Ming Tan was frozen in place. It was as if he’d received an immense shock.

It was indeed Immortal Shen—

He was so close to Immortal Shen—Immortal Shen was still as attractive as before—Was the immortal smiling at him? Ah ah ah ah ah!

Though it was impossible for the immortal to be smiling at him, the thought alone was enough to drive Ming Tan crazy!

Ming Tan loosened his hands and stared blankly at Shen Liuxiang’s departing figure. Unknowingly, his cheeks had already flushed bright red at some point in time.

Ming Tan really wanted to approach Shen Liuxiang and greet him—but would it seem too abrupt?

How should he start?

This lowly one is called Ming Tan? This lowly one is the Daqian Sect Master? This lowly one…

Ming Tan fidgeted nervously and paced around in anxiety as if he was about to make the most important decision in his life.

The onlookers had dumbfounded expressions on their faces.

They did not understand why the Daqian Sect Master’s cold, ruthless face akin to that of an asura’s had suddenly turned red, nor did they understand the reason behind his nervous pacing.

Finally, at some moment, Ming Tan made up his mind. Taking large strides, he quickly disappeared from the eyes of the crowd.

Shen Liuxiang headed to Wuwang Valley to peel lotus seeds. He’d been craving lotus seed dessert for a long time but was unable to purchase any. The only way to get it was to make it himself.

Unexpectedly, halfway along the road, a person suddenly appeared in front of him and blocked his way.

The man had a broad and tall figure. Though his appearance could not be said to be extraordinary, it was still more than deserving of the adjective ‘handsome’. The only flaw was that his skin had an issue; the symptoms were especially prominent on his face, which was as red as a tomato. It was as if it would start bleeding the very next moment.

A vigilant look appeared on Shen Liuxiang’s face.

Ming Tan sensed the hostility and immediately flew into a panic, at a loss for what to do. Opening his mouth, he stuttered out, “Immortal, please don’t misunderstand, I, I am your god!”4Not a typo. He was so nervous he said it in the wrong order.

“Huh?” Shen Liuxiang was stunned.

***

IMPORTANT NOTICE 

Hey everyone, Chapter 11 and onwards will no longer be posted on Dummy Novels. I’ll be shifting them over to Google Docs. The chapters will still be free and publicly accessible. Upload schedule will not change; it’s still 1 (or more) chapters per week.

The reason behind this is that I’ve been seeing a lot of copying, reposting and re-translating. I don’t allow any of this, and I’m sick of seeing others repost/re-translate my chapters without crediting the author and providing the JJWXC link. I’ve also seen a couple of re-translations on various platforms. One of them locked Chapters 6 and onwards so that only readers who pay can access the translations. Another decided to ignore my warnings not to re-translate and took things a step further by complaining about how tiring translating my numerous footnotes are. Honestly, if I didn’t see all your comments on Dummy/Discord/Kofi and your enthusiasm for the translations, I might’ve dropped this novel.

All this rambling aside, I’m truly very sorry for the inconvenience. If you’re reading on a mobile device, please download the Google Drive/Google Docs app (opening on a mobile browser tends to mess up the formatting). New updates will not be pinged on Dummy Discord, so please check Novel Updates for new releases. If you have any suggestions for this (e.g. Twitter to announce updates?? Idk…) do let me know. 

坑 (“pit”) has roughly the same meaning as “screw [someone] over” / deliberately place someone in a bad position

Eggplants are warm-season vegetables and don’t do very well with cold. They tend to shrivel up a lot.

Translates literally to “dao lord”. Kept it as is to make it sound better.

Not a typo. He was so nervous he said it in the wrong order.