TIC Chapter 7: Picking the Golden Osmanthus and Climbing the Immortal Palace

Swish…

A handful of red beans, freshly washed, fell into the pot from between fingers with distinct joints and mixed with the soaked rice, red dates and glutinous rice.

Fang Zhiyuan put the pot on the stove, threw a small spell over it, and a cluster of flames suddenly popped up from below.

Candles were lit in the room. Lin Fuqing was half-lying and half-leaning on the carved bedside. Half of his face was buried in the snow-white fur on his collar, squinting as he watched him methodically “washing his hands and making soup.”

It was already nightfall when they’d returned from the sea. Lin Fuqing had asked Fang Zhiyuan to go back to his own cave to rest, and they could discuss the matter of the Golden Osmanthus Challenge tomorrow…As expected, he was rejected.

He couldn’t argue with Fang Zhiyuan, and he was too lazy to waste time arguing over such a small matter anyway, so he just let Fang Zhiyuan do as he wished.

After a while, two bowls of red bean porridge were served.

Lin Fuqing took a spoon and tasted it first, “Not sweet enough.”

Fang Zhiyuan sat across from him with one leg crossed, looking unhappy. “I fetched the water, I washed the rice, I started the fire – you didn’t do anything, and you still complain?”

Although he was talking, he reached for the jar of sugar, unscrewed the lid, and handed it over.

Lin Fuqing was satisfied. “That’s right.”

Cultivators could practice fasting after Foundation Establishment. They won’t need to eat, drink, or sleep; they just needed to sit in meditation and breathe to absorb the essence of the spiritual energy of heaven and earth.

But Lin Fuqing was a person who had lived a life too elaborately, too well-enjoyed, and too carefree when he was young.

Although he was not hungry, he still had to eat well.

Although he was not tired, he must take good naps.

Although he wasn’t dirty, he still had to take a good bath.

And so on, very seriously.

Just like how he wore a snow-white fur coat every day. Of course it wasn’t because he was cold, but it was simply because he liked beautiful, furry and soft clothes.

The pond of white lotus outside the cave, the twenty or so golden and red carps, the immortal trees and flowers on the stone walls, including some rockery and so on, were all personally picked out by Lin Shixiong when he was in his teens.

Fang Zhiyuan was at the other extreme.

Lin Fuqing was a little immortal who followed his heart and was unrestrained, but Fang Zhiyuan was a bastard covered with scars and hatred. He only knew to hold his sword and practice day and night, practicing, practicing madly.

He pushed himself to the limit without caring about his life, just to be able to return to Liuhua Continent one day and claim a blood debt from the majestic Fang family.

At the time, Lin Fuqing had no idea what to do with him, but he felt that he couldn’t let this person go crazy. So he used both soft and hard tactics, coaxing him into doing everything he wanted, and relying on his high level of cultivation to force Fang Zhiyuan to eat and sleep every day.

Although Fang Zhiyuan did not appreciate it, scolded him, and even chopped at him with a sword, the little immortal in white was patient and remained calm and unmoved. It took several years of hard work to finally raise his junior brother back to a human form.

But he didn’t expect that after nearly a hundred years, it was Fang Zhiyuan who would cook porridge and hand him sugar. He really had to…sigh…things change.

Lin Fuqing was eating porridge while sighing. Unfortunately, before the great Demon Lord could finish sighing, he heard the Immortal Sovereign put down his empty bowl and said, “I suddenly remembered… Is there a place on the main peak of Xuyun where you used to hide your wine?”

Lin Fuqing recalled and swallowed the last spoonful. “…Yes.”

Fang Zhiyuan took the empty bowl consciously, his eyes flickered for a moment, and he said casually. “Ahem… After I wash the dishes, will you drink with me?”

“……” Lin Fuqing was both angry and amused. He knew it would be like this. It wasn’t just that he suddenly remembered it, it was obvious that he had been thinking about it for a long time.

What kind of person was this who liked to drink strong liquor after eating light porridge?

With a sound, Lin Fuqing threw the spoon into his bowl as well.

“Alright, I’ll drink a little with you.”

==========

Just like there would always be people in the world who clearly could not eat spicy food but still preferred to eat spicy food; Fang Zhiyuan was the type of person who clearly could not drink very well but still preferred to drink.

Lin Fuqing had never been able to understand it since he was a child, but this did not stop him from learning the craft of brewing wine in order to coax his shidi.

He was born smart, and when he was serious, he was extremely serious. He could learn even the most profound array runes in one go. The art of brewing wine was even easier for him.

All the brewed wine was buried under the largest ancient tree on the main peak of Xuyun.

Since the species and age of the tree were unknown, yet it was so thick, tall, and hard as iron, it had a certain sense of mystery, so the children outside the sect half-jokingly called it the “old sacred tree.”

No one knew that there was fine wine hidden under the old sacred tree.

It was just past midnight, and the crescent moon was bent high.

Two disciples of Xuyun Sect, one dressed in black and the other in white, were sitting under the old sacred tree, carrying two jars of wine.

Lin Fuqing broke the mud seal and deliberately joked, “I am Lin Fuqing from Snow Bone City, respectfully honoring the Immortal Sovereign.”

Fang Zhiyuan also reacted quickly, raising the wine jar with a smile on his face, “Fang Zhiyuan from Golden Osmanthus Palace, respectfully presents himself to the Demon Lord.”

Immortal Sovereign was a respectful title given to their leader by immortal cultivators, while “Demon Lord” was a respectful title given to their lord by the demonic cultivators…If there were outsiders here, they would be scared to death just by hearing these two sentences.

In the entire Three Realms, only these two people could afford to play this kind of horrible joke of trying to lower their status against each other.

The two smiled at each other and drank together. The wine was mellow and fragrant. Fang Zhiyuan choked and slapped his thigh, saying, “Good flavor!”

The cool night breeze blew in, and the shadows of the old sacred tree danced in the wind.

Lin Fuqing looked at Fang Zhiyuan’s young and flamboyant profile, and suddenly an idea struck him, so he opened his lips and whispered, “….Little Calamity Star.”

“……!”

Fang Zhiyuan’s hand trembled and a few drops of wine spilled.

He turned to look at the person next to him in surprise.

“Hmm? Are you scared or shy?”

Lin Fuqing took another sip of wine and said with a lazy smile, “Has it been a long time since I called you like this?”

Fang Zhiyuan grinned. “I am the calamitous star, then what are you?”

His eyes darkened a little, and he put his arms around Lin Fuqing’s neck and pulled him over. “Compassionate Immortal, Savior Immortal…? Didn’t Master alway say that you’re destined to be an immortal?”

“Shige, now that everything has started over again,” Fang Zhiyuan drank the wine slowly and unceremoniously leaned towards Lin Fuqing, “In three years, a calamity will come…Do you want to save the world?”

Lin Fuqing embraced him, his face calm. “I was in such a miserable state in my previous life that I couldn’t even protect myself, how could I have the energy to save the world?”

Fang Zhiyuan laughed grimly, holding up the half-empty wine jar. “You’re a genius cultivator, admired in all the Three Realms; you’re a demon cultivator, revered by all living beings. Shige calls himself a wretched man, how would the world feel about that?”

“Many thanks to Immortal Sovereign Fang for praising me,” Lin Fuqing said dimly. “Unfortunately, God was not kind to me. When I was cultivating immortality, my golden core was shattered and my meridians were destroyed. When I was cultivating the demon path, I was backlashed by yin qi and all my powers dissipated. I also caused my own shidi to die with me…”

“—That’s enough.”

Fang Zhiyuan interrupted him with a gloomy face, “Don’t say it.”

He couldn’t bear to hear Lin Fuqing say such things.

Lin Fuqing stopped talking and turned to smile at his junior brother. He had just drank some wine, and his lips were slightly red and moist.

Fang Zhiyuan felt dizzy for a moment, and his voice became hoarse. He couldn’t help but call out softly, “Demon Lord Lin, shige…”

But Lin Fuqing said in a gentle voice, “I don’t have any plans to save the world, but I still have to save one person. Even if you decide not to go to the Golden Osmanthus Challenge, I will go anyway.

Fang Zhiyuan’s face turned cold in an instant.

What was meant to come would come.

He held the edge of the wine jar, feeling angry. Ever since he saw the golden osmanthus flower, he had guessed that this would be the outcome.

In the following Golden Osmanthus Challenge… too many things happened.

During that time, accidents happened one after another, and fate took them on different paths. Lin Fuqing, who was originally a carefree little immortal lord on Taiqing Island, was no longer the same after this disaster.

“Shige…”

Fang Zhiyuan frowned. He had been clenching his teeth to control his emotions, and his eyes were red from enduring. He finally managed to say, “Shige, don’t go…”

“I know you want to save Jina’s life, but in the end, you and that person have only met once. Why bother…?”

“In this life… I’ll stay with you in Xuyun. We’ll guard Taiqing Island and we won’t go anywhere else. Isn’t that good enough?”

============

The Past

“A’Yuan, don’t go.”

On this same night in the previous life, with the same couple.

They also sat side by side under the old sacred tree, drinking under the moon.

The handsome young man was wearing a snow-velvet fur coat, revealing a little bit of white. His slender fingers were holding the corners of his coat, and his long black hair extended down his back like flowing black ink.

Lin Fuqing stretched his waist lazily and smiled softly, “Liuhua Continent was so bad to you…Why don’t you stay with me on Xuyun and we’ll guard Taiqing Island together?”

The mountain wind whistled past, messing up Fang Zhiyuan’s black hair and revealing a pair of sharp, icy eyes. He sneered, “Impossible.”

“Liuhua Continent, the Fang family, those people back then…They broke my bones and tore my flesh, and they took away my things with blood dripping from my body. I want to take it back with my own hands.”

Fang Zhiyuan leaned on the black hilt of his sword with both hands and said hoarsely, “Shige, don’t stop me.”

Lin Fuqing suddenly laughed, his dark eyes curving, “Oh, it was just a joke…How could I stop you?”

He took a sip of wine slowly, his eyes flickering, as if thinking about something. “Since you don’t want to accompany me, then I’ll have to accompany you…”

“This Golden Osmanthus Challenge, I’ll go with you.”

Unexpectedly, God’s will was unpredictable and the cause and effect were hard to predict.

The Demon Lord’s life-long calamity began with the word “accompany” under that old sacred tree.

Back then, Lin Fuqing and Fang Zhiyuan went to Liuhua Continent together, and they performed brilliantly in the Golden Osmanthus Challenge. These fellow disciples were like a sleeping dragon emerging from the sea and a young phoenix crying on the mountain, astonishing all the geniuses.

After the Golden Osmanthus Challenge, Ji Na, the Saint of the Ziwei Pavilion, who was recognized as the best of the younger generation in the Immortal Realm, felt that he had met Lin Fuqing too late and personally invited him to visit Ziwei Pavilion.

That night, a shocking change occurred, and half of the people in Liuhua Continent saw it with their own eyes. On the Mountain, Sea and Stars Terrace of Ziwei Pavilion, the spiritual power of heaven and earth suddenly rioted, and divine fire descended from the clouds.

The Holy Son of Ziwei died suddenly in the heavenly fire.

That night, Jina acted against the will of heaven when he tried to use astrology to spy on the secrets of heaven, and so he lost his life at a young age.

He knew it was impossible but still did it, and he was willing to sacrifice his life to figure out the “secret” that was going to happen suddenly three years later…that terrible disaster.

Knowing that the situation was more dangerous than good, Ji Na entrusted the Purple Star Astrolabe, a sacred artifact of the Ziwei Pavilion, to Lin Fuqing. He asked him to make this ominous sign public and protect all people in the three realms.

…In the days that followed, Fang Zhiyuan almost thought that the “savior immortal” that his master had talked about every day had come true.

For, Lin Fuqing did not return with him to Xuyun Peak of Taiqing Island.

He stayed in Liuhua Continent.

Ji Na’s death stimulated the carefree young immortal, changing his personality overnight.

He labored day and night without sleep, almost exhausting himself, and pouring his heart and soul into planning for the impending calamity.

There were many immortal sects who did not take Lin Fuqing seriously because of his young age and inexperience, and even secretly spread rumors that the Holy Son was actually murdered by him.

Lin Fuqing had never suffered such injustices when he followed Yin Changxin on Taiqing Island, but he endured it. He endured all the humiliation, irritation, and suffering…

However, three years later, the calamity could not be completely prevented.

The sky cracked and yin qi poured into the three realms like a rushing tide.

Lin Fuqing was the first to be hit.

His golden core shattered and all twelve meridians were destroyed.

His most beloved Immortal sword Tunan was shattered into rubble.

His sanity was damaged, and he fell into the devil’s way.

_____________________

The author has something to say:
Fang Zhiyuan: In my previous life, I was only one step away from a happy ending but I refused. So, I will start my life by setting myself up in a crematorium.

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Translator Notes :
As astrolabe looks something like these:

 

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