The Dao gave birth to yin and yang, and yin and yang gave birth to all things.
Yin and yang had existed between heaven and earth since ancient times.
Yang qi was mild, and immortal cultivators called it spiritual energy, which they used to practice breathing; yin qi was cold and fierce, extremely difficult to control, and prone to backlash. Over thousands of years, the path of yin cultivation had been recognized by the immortal world as the “wrong path” and the “devil’s way.”
During the calamity, yin qi raged across the three realms. The yang qi in countless cultivators was disturbed, and their meridians, golden cores, and souls were all corroded by the cold, and they uncontrollably entered the “devil’s way.”
This was a disaster of major proportions for those who practiced Daoism.
The term “immortal calamity” was derived from this.
Fang Zhiyuan really didn’t want Lin Fuqing to leave Taiqing Island.
He no longer wanted to recall the time when Lin Fuqing first became a demon. That was a nightmare that he could never face again.
Once touched even slightly, every nerve in his body would tense up and scream. He didn’t want Lin Fuqing to step into the source of tragedy again… and eventually become that white-haired, frailed man.
“I have made up my mind. I must go.”
But the next morning, Lin Fuqing sat on the Lotus Pond Stone in front of his cave and said this in a calm tone.
Although it seemed as if he’d thought about it all night before making up his mind, Fang Zhiyuan had the vague impression that this person was already determined to make this journey from the very beginning.
“Interesting.” Fang Zhiyuan stood behind Lin Fuqing, his eyes cold. “Who is Ji Na that he’s worth you…” He gritted his teeth and grimly finished, “..liking him so much!”
“Who said I like him?” Lin Fuqing glanced at him calmly, “I don’t like Ji Na at all.”
In the clear pond water, a clever carp swam over, holding a snow-white cloud-patterned headband in its mouth.
Lin Fuqing used his fingers to hook out his hair and casually tied it up. His lowered eyes were inexplicably cold and distant, as if covered with frost when he added, “…It’s just…that Ji Na’s divination can reveal the secrets of heaven. I do have some things that I can’t let go of, and I need to ask this person for advice.”
Fang Zhiyuan remained silent.
Only then did he vaguely feel that the person in front of him was no longer just the gentle and refined little brother in his boyhood memory, but also the black-robed emperor who once presided over the demonic path and looked down on the world.
It was as if there was a layer of cold snow between them, and Fang Zhiyuan could hardly see through him.
“A’Yuan.” Lin Fuqing poked him helplessly. “Are you jealous?”
Fang Zhiyuan turned his eyes away and said nothing.
In fact, he didn’t mind anything else. Lin Fuqing would never harm his own people no matter what. They had been brothers for more than a hundred years, and they still had some trust in each other.
The only thing he was afraid of was that Lin Fuqing would do something to hurt himself…and hide it from him.
Lin Fuqing said seriously, “Don’t make trouble, I like you.”
The emphasis was on the word “you.”
“……”
Fang Zhiyuan couldn’t hold it in anymore and his ears turned slightly red.
He sullenly said in annoyance, “Nonsense…!”
“Besides, going to the Golden Osmanthus Challenge is not just for Jina. This time, not only will I go…your three martial siblings will also go.”
Lin Fuqing said this slowly, and then took out a paper goose from his Qiankun bag.
“I just received a message this morning. The winner of this year’s sect test is the kid named Shen Xiaojiang. Hmm…I really want to take this kid with me.”
“Have you really thought it through?” Fang Zhiyuan was startled again. Judging from Lin Fuqing’s expression, it seemed that he wanted to completely let Xuyun Sect enter the secular world.
“Yes. When the nest is overturned, no egg is left unbroken. This paradise may be wonderful, and as true disciples, we’ll be fine once the sect’s Heaven and Earth Gathering Array is broken, but those people from the outer sect, with their own low cultivation and no power to rely on, how can they survive?”
“When I was young, I also thought I was omnipotent. A mere Xuyun Sect with a hundred or so people, a sword was enough to protect them.”
Lin Fuqing said calmly, “You saw what happened later. Once I became a demonic cultivator, Xuyun Sect was disbanded. Now that I have the chance to start over again, I must not repeat the same mistakes.”
“Since you have the honor of coming back again,” Fang Zhiyuan’s face became even uglier, “Can’t you focus on how to prevent yourself from being possessed by yin qi again?!”
Lin Fuqing smiled at him soothingly, “It’s just preparations for a rainy day. You understand this principle.”
“……”
Fang Zhiyuan bent his fingers and rubbed his forehead gloomily. After a long while, he sighed, “Forget it. I…ah.”
He didn’t go on to say what “I” was.
But Lin Fuqing knew that this tone meant that this person had already compromised.
===============
It was well known that the leader of Xuyun Sect, Yin Changxin, was a hands-off boss who never cared about anything.
This analogy may be a little inappropriate, but in a sense, Sect Master Yin was just a mascot who guarded the mountain. It was just that his cultivation level was a little scary, since he was in the peak of Tribulation Crossing.
Lin Fuqing was actually the one who managed the four peaks of Xuyun.
And because it was well known that everyone in Xuyun Sect loved their eldest senior brother, if Lin Fuqing said something as big as “leaving the island and going to Liuhua Continent to participate in the most grand competition amongst the immortal sects,” then it was pretty much decided.
Since their da shixiong said let’s go, then let’s go.
But before leaving, Lin Fuqing took Fang Zhiyuan to meet someone.
Baiduan Peak was located in the southwest of the main peak, and it was the home of Song Youdu, the fifth inner disciple of Yin Changxin.
Lin Fuqing and Fang Zhiyuan let their memories guide them, and they finally stopped in front of a large, deep cave.
There was a stone tablet in front of the cave, with the three characters “Tool Refining Cave” inscribed on it. Below those three characters were another two lines of characters, which said: Internal Mechanism, No entry for unauthorized people.
Lin Fuqing and Fang Zhiyuan were naturally not unauthorized people, and so they simply walked in. The cave was pitch black inside, and as they walked further in, they gradually heard the sounds of metal hitting stone, which sounded quite strange.
Lin Fuqing had no choice but to pinch a light, saying to himself, “Little Fifth’s cave is still so creepy.”
Fang Zhiyuan raised his chin and gestured forward, “He himself is even more creepy.”
As they were talking, they finally reached the end of the path and came upon two spirit stone lamps lit deep in the cave. In the center of the cave was a refining furnace, with refining parts scattered on the ground all around it.
A thin young man was sitting cross-legged in front of the stove, his long shadow cast on the stone wall, looking eerie as a ghost.
His clothes were soaked with sweat, and he’d rolled his sleeves up to his shoulders, revealing two strong arms. He held a mecha head in his left hand, and in his right hand was a small black hammer. The hammer was knocking on the mecha non-stop, making a deafening sound.
This was the fifth disciple of Xuyun Sect, named Song Youdu.
He was a tool cultivator.
Lin Fuqing couldn’t stand the ghostly noise and called out, “Youdu.”
Ping pong, ping pong… ping pong!!
Well, it was difficult to hear through all that noise.
Fang Zhiyuan suddenly raised his sword and slashed it at the cave wall without even drawing it from its sheath. Lin Fuqing wanted to stop him, but it was too late.
Boom boom…
The walls didn’t collapse. Fortunately, this was a tool refining/smelting room that the tool refining maniac had built for himself. Don’t be fooled by the dark cave on the outside; this was actually a house made of iron. Even a Golden Core cultivator won’t be able to shake its foundation at all.
However, there was a saying that “the most effective way to interrupt noise is to create louder noise.”
The young tool cultivator finally noticed that he had guests. He turned around with a pair of dead fish eyes. The first person he saw was Lin Fuqing, who was wearing white clothes and a white fur coat and was casting an illumination spell.
Song Youdu continued to bite the piece of spirit stone used for forging between his teeth, and he said vaguely, “Hmm, starving? Pot.”
They were all cultivators who had practiced fasting, so no one was starving here.
…and of course, there was no pot.
Fortunately, Lin Fuqing understood what his fifth shidi had said——
Da shixiong is here? Sit down.
Fang Zhiyuan came out from behind Lin Fuqing while still holding his sword, his eyes filled with anger. “This shabby place of yours is full of traps. Is there any place for people to sit?”
Song Youdu widened his eyes. “Why is Ah Shihong also starving? What’s wrong with the dried-up toad?”
—Why is second shixiong here too? What happened?
Fang Zhiyuan grew more irritated when this was mentioned, and snorted coldly. “Your da shixiong wants to take you guys to Liuhua Continent to compete in the Golden Osmanthus Challenge. How long will it take you to prepare a millet boat for the long journey?”
Song Youdu was not interested. “Root turtle thin? Toad east creak.”
—Golden Osmanthus Challenge? What’s that?
“Little Fifth, don’t talk with a spirit stone in your mouth.” Lin Fuqing couldn’t stand it any longer and stepped forward to pick out the spirit stone from his mouth. “The Golden Osmanthus Challenge is… ahem, a banquet where many highly skilled tool cultivators gather. You will like it.”
He was adept at handling various kinds of people and situations. When he saw a tool-refining maniac, he spoke the words of a tool cultivator. Most of the demonic cultivators under his command back then were people with strange personalities, and the Demon Lord was well aware of this.
Song Youdu was about to say “I’m not eating the spirit stone” in defense of himself, but when he heard this, he became shocked. Throwing the mecha head to the ground, he said, “We can set sail on the millet boat tomorrow…No, if da shixiong is willing to help me draw the formation, we can set sail tonight!”
Lin Fuqing internally celebrated his success, but his face did not show any emotions. “There’s no hurry. You and your fourth shijia should take today to pack, and we can set sail tomorrow.”
Song Youdu nodded. “Okay, I have modified a batch of general-purpose magic weapons in the past few days, and I’ll prepare a few more for you, Shixong.”
He began to rummage through the pile of scrap copper and iron beside him, and immediately pulled out a pile of various magic weapons, which he was about to stuff into Lin Fuqing’s arms.
Fang Zhiyuan hurriedly stopped him and exclaimed, “Fifth Song, are you looking for death? For such dirty things, can’t you throw a cleansing spell at them first?”
Song Youdu was stunned. “Second Shixiong…I really don’t know any cleansing spells.”
Fang Zhiyuan: “…Trash.”
Lin Fuqing looked at them with both anger and amusement. He put the things into his Qiankun bag one by one, and while the two were arguing, he went inside to look for a millet boat.
What he found was a small wooden boat the size of a walnut.
A grain of rice could cross the vast ocean.
In fact, this millet boat was the highest-level flying magic weapon there was among other general magic weapons. As long as there was enough spiritual power applied, it would transform into a giant boat capable of carrying hundreds of people.
However, activating the millet boat required a large amount of spirit stones, which ordinary immortals won’t be able to afford.
Lin Fuqing pinched his fingers to make the little millet boat float in the air and began to form talismans and draw array formations.
A spirit gathering array that automatically absorbed the spiritual energy of heaven and earth…
A Spirit Flow Array that would improve the efficiency of spirit stones…
A light wind spell to lighten the ship’s weight…
In the eyes of the Demon Lord, these were all low-level formations, and he didn’t have to think hard about them. His hand speed in forming the formations was very fast, and his jade-like fingertips drew out complicated patterns with flashes of light.
In the blink of an eye, two formations were superimposed, and then three formations were superimposed…
Song Youdu looked back just in time to see Lin Fuqing calmly adding a spell to the bow of the ship to reinforce defence by seven to eight times.. He was almost scared to death.
“Da, da shixiong…you…”
The young weapon cultivator swallowed sluggishly and said in shock, “…Did you go into seclusion this time to comprehend some ancient work left by a great formation cultivator?”
Lin Fuqing said calmly. “Yes, I’m very lucky. I received the inheritance of a great demon by chance.”
==========
The next day brought clear skies and jade green clouds.
Five young cultivators gathered on the main peak of Xuyun.
Lin Fuqing was wearing his dust-free white clothes, sitting lazily under the shade of a tree.
Fang Zhiyuan stood beside him, leaning against the tree, and scolded in a low voice with a hint of displeasure, “Why hasn’t Ye Huaguo, that clumsy girl, come yet?”
Xun Mingsi advised gently, “Second Shixiong, please be patient. I just asked at Huichun Peak and they said that the fourth shimei has already come down. I think she’ll be here soon.”
The wind was blowing fiercely at the edge of the cliff.
A huge wooden boat was suspended in the air, a full three feet high. Three evil dragon heads were carved on the bow, and the wings were modeled after phoenixes, making people tremble with fear.
The shadow cast by this huge monster completely enveloped Song Youdu, who was doing the final inspection. The latter turned around and said expressionlessly, “We can set sail now.”
Lin Fuqing suddenly spoke up. Smiling, he looked at the only young man who exuded the aura of “I don’t fit in with you all,” and said, “How is it? Is it spectacular?”
Standing in a corner on the edge of the cliff, Shen Xiaojiang’s legs felt weak and stars appeared before his eyes. “Spe, spe, spe…”
—Poor outer disciple Shen Xiaojiang, a weakling at the third level of Qi Refining. He couldn’t figure out why several of his fellow disciples went down the mountain and left the island, but took an ordinary person like him with them!?!
Last night, after receiving the message from the paper goose, the child was stunned for nearly an hour, and then slapped himself twice before he was barely sure that this was not a daydream.
Then he was so nervous that he couldn’t sleep all night…
Suddenly, a figure running in panic appeared on the mountain road in the distance. As it got closer, it turned out to be a beautiful girl in green.
Everyone looked over and saw the girl with disheveled hair running over, stumbling and panting. With a timid look on her face, she stammered, “Sor, sor, sor, sorry..!! Am I late, Da Shixiong?!”
Shen Xiaojiang recognized the person and bowed quickly, saying, “Outer disciple Shen Xiaojiang greets—”
The girl in green didn’t notice the child at all. She was so anxious that she almost cried and waved her hands incoherently, “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry!! Just now, just now, a child in the outer sect was sick, and by the time I finished preparing the medicine for him, it was already–”
Before she could finish speaking, she accidentally stepped on the hem of her skirt and fell to the ground in a typical dog-chewing-mud posture, “—Ahhh!!”
Meanwhile, Shen Xiaojiang had just finished his greetings, “…Ye Shijie.
This was very embarrassing.
Xun Mingsi was unsurprised and smiled. “Very good, everyone is here.”
Song Youdu clapped his hands and said, “I’ll go drive the boat.”