He Qing paid no mind to Yu Ci’s attitude and continued in a calm tone:
“There must be punishment for excessive behavior. From today on, you don’t need to concern yourself with Cliff City for the time being. You have two choices: one is to head to the newly opened mining zone in the north and work there for a year; the other is to go to the Mountain-moving Cloud Boat Dock in the west and serve as a patrol guard for a year. Choose one. No matter what you do, you must carry out your duties diligently without any slack.”
“Mining or patrolling?”
Yu Ci could understand the first part — just hard labor in the mines — but the second option was unclear.
He asked He Qing, who responded plainly, “The Mountain-moving Cloud Boat Dock is only two thousand li from Sky Rift Valley. Rampaging demons and feral beasts often cause trouble there, so it needs to be guarded.”
“Sky Rift Valley!”
So that was it. Yu Ci nodded in understanding. Recently, although the chaos in Sky Rift Valley had largely subsided and most of the Core Refinement-level demons had already been hunted down by cultivators from the Rifting Earth Sect and Sunset Valley, in such a vast mountain wilderness, it was inevitable that some would slip through the cracks. Being stationed just two thousand li from Sky Rift Valley meant being on the very front lines — it was indeed dangerous!
But rather than danger, what Yu Ci was really thinking about was something else. The thought surfaced suddenly, though it had been lingering in his heart for a long time. He spoke:
“Immortal He, I have something to ask.”
“Go ahead.”
Yu Ci pointed to the small creature floating nearby and said quietly, “Without the true form aura of the Heavenly Dragon, this Dragon Fish…”
“Is of no further use.”
He Qing glanced at him, not bothering to ask why he brought it up so abruptly, and replied briskly.
Yu Ci made a sound of acknowledgment. The thought in his mind became even clearer. He remembered back in Cliff City, the Manager Zhou Youde from the Heart’s Desire Pavilion had promised, due to the matter of the Golden Bone Jade Plate, to help him look for a life-extending treasure. It was meant for Daoist Yu Zhou.
He Qing’s mention of Yu Zhou had just reminded Yu Ci — now that the Dragon Fish in his hand had lost its value, even if the chance was slim, if that side ever really found a suitable treasure, he might not have anything to exchange for it. Wouldn’t that be a joke?
Of course, he knew that if news truly came, Xie Yan and Xie Liang wouldn’t let it go to waste. But others were others. He was himself. The responsibility and tasks that fell to him — how could he just shirk them?
Aside from that, there was one more thing he had to consider: heading north to mine… was his sword meant for digging?
NO.
So, without further hesitation, he spoke: “I will go to the Mountain-moving Cloud Boat Dock.”
*****
In a dim underground stone chamber, a monk sat with his eyes half-closed, hands forming seals. Black flames flowed between his fingers like writhing serpents, imbued with an eerie spiritual energy. In response, a layer of jet-black flame flared up around the naked body lying on the stone platform, unmoving for several months. The flickering tongues of flame almost licked the monk’s lower arms.
He did not retreat. Instead, he slowly lowered his hands, letting his forearms rest within the rising black flames. The serpentine spirit fire he had conjured naturally merged into the surrounding blaze, undulating like it was bathing and playing, before diving upward. It soon reached the body’s mouth and, without hesitation, slithered inside.
Raising his hands again, the monk formed a new seal, conjuring another black flame serpent. Like before, it climbed to the face of the body and this time entered through the nose. He repeated this again and again. In total, the monk created seven black flame serpents, sending them one by one into the body’s seven orifices. The final two serpents formed simultaneously and plunged into the body’s eye sockets together.
Stimulated by this, the body on the stone platform suddenly opened its eyes wide, black flames shooting out half a foot, and its body began to tremble. The monk remained unfazed. He reached out and gently touched the body’s crown, glabella, chest, lower abdomen, and soles of the feet, confirming each one. Then he took a deep breath, clasped his hands together, and slammed them heavily into the body’s chest.
“Wretch — awaken!”
The body let out a shrill scream, bouncing a foot off the platform before crashing back down. The flames in its eyes dimmed, revealing dull, cold irises — and in the center, the pupils had turned vertical!
Their gazes met. The monk sneered and turned away, wiping his hands clean as he left the stone chamber without another word.
In the dark underground, the monk walked at a steady pace. Beneath the heavy earth were secret chambers of varying sizes and a maze of connecting tunnels, spread across seven levels like a layered web. Anyone unfamiliar with the place would likely get lost within moments. But the monk wouldn’t get lost. Even so, he wasn’t following the layout of the tunnels at all. He moved in a straight line, propelled by pure mastery of the Earth Escape technique. Whether it was carved chambers or compact soil, none of it posed any obstacle to him.
This was Lu Mingyue’s favorite way of moving.
At this moment, Monk Yixin moved unhindered beneath the ground — yet his heart was anything but at ease.
Lu Mingyue was dead. After dragging out his miserable life for seventy years, he finally perished under the Great Net of Heaven and Earth.
Years of cultivation and reverence toward the Bodhisattva had made the monk’s heart as firm as iron, unmoved by emotion—but Lu Mingyue’s death was, in the end, something different.
From the day they met, Yixin had never held Lu Mingyue in high regard. Though the man had attained the cultivation realm of a True Immortal, the dream of countless cultivators in this world, he had reached it through improper means, and his nature was spineless. Back then, he had clung to their sect not only because he was tempted by the sect’s celestial maidens, but more because he feared the endless tribulations that came with the True Immortal realm, and wished to seek protection under the Bodhisattva.
Yet it was this very man, through some tenuous connection to the Pearl Palace, that the Bodhisattva ordered to work alongside Yixin. During the great battle between the Rakshasa Demon King and the Grand Mysterious Demon Progenitrix, they, along with several sect experts, set up an ambush to slay Yu Qingxuan. The plan was nearly a complete success—Yu Qingxuan had been poisoned and heavily injured, his cultivation reduced to only twenty percent. But it was Lu Mingyue who couldn’t withstand Yu Qingxuan’s intimidating presence, broke down first, and ruined the entire operation.
Of the seven tribulation cultivators who laid the ambush—including one Tribulation Immortal—all were slain by Yu Qingxuan in an instant. Yixin and Lu Mingyue were lucky to escape with their lives, though their Immortal Bodies were destroyed and their Yang Spirits wounded. Since then, they had been unable to make any progress in their cultivation and could only do disgraceful things to survive in Cliff City.
The death of someone like that actually came as a bit of a relief—Yixin wouldn’t deny he felt a hint of that himself. But he also remembered how elated and full of anticipation Lu Mingyue had been before he died. For Lu Mingyue, completing a seemingly trivial task would have ended his century-long nightmare in the Broken Boundary Mountain Range. Yet in the end, he fell precisely because of that “trivial” task. All his past joys and sorrows vanished like smoke.
In the near future, would such a fate befall Yixin as well?
He didn’t know.
But after a fleeting moment of reflection, that question no longer held meaning for him. In his heart, there was the Bodhisattva—what did Lu Mingyue have in his?
Taking a step forward, the spring sunlight bathed him. Yixin had broken through to the surface and now stood before the main hall of the Pure Water Altar on the southern outskirts of Cliff City. His appearance caused no stir; the surrounding monks simply bowed respectfully and continued with their duties.
At that moment, a disciple approached from the front, announcing:
“Master Bichao of the Mysterious Moon Sect has come to visit.”
Yixin’s expression didn’t change. He gave a slight nod and headed toward the front of the temple. In no time, he arrived at the main gate.
There stood a luxurious carriage—one Yixin recognized as the favorite sedan of the former Immortal Chi Yin. It was about twelve feet long and eight feet high, like a small house, lavishly furnished inside and out. It used to be carried by eight strongmen, but now it had been converted into a fragrant carriage pulled by four majestic Cloud-Treading Beasts, with only a single driver. Though slightly less imposing, the extravagance remained undiminished.
As the monk stepped out the gate, he saw a female cultivator already waiting by the carriage. Compared to the tall guards of the Mysterious Moon Sect standing beside her, she appeared petite and delicate. Her hair was styled high, she wore robes like drifting clouds, and though it was unclear how long she had been waiting, her smiling face betrayed no trace of impatience. Her bright eyes sparkled, and when she saw the monk emerge, her fair and delicate face bloomed with a smile. She stepped forward and called out from afar:
“Greetings, Master Yixin. Bichao of the Mysterious Moon Sect offers her respects.”
Yixin chanted a Buddhist title with solemn grace and returned the greeting according to custom. “Fairy Bichao, coming from the west, must surely bring new vitality to the Mysterious Moon Sect.”
With that, he invited her into the temple. The guards of the Mysterious Moon Sect followed, forming a grand procession. A receptionist monk led the group to direct the carriage driver on where to park the vehicle. The driver remained silent, steering the Cloud-Treading Beasts toward the side gate.
At that moment, Yixin cast a glance back. His calm expression remained unchanged.
*****
Spring arrived late in the mountains.
But as time passed, the spring breeze finally reached even the secluded peaks. Looking out from a high vantage point, one could see green mist-like foliage deepening in hue day by day.
On a tree that had just sprouted new buds, a half-man-tall gray ape leapt nimbly from branch to branch, covering several miles in an instant. Wherever it passed, the chirping of birds ceased, beasts crouched low—an eerie silence swept across the forest.
Tiring of its rapid movement, the gray ape paused on a pine that had just grown new shoots. With a sudden stretch of its long arm, it snatched a trembling squirrel from a nearby branch.
The ape grinned wide. Its wrinkled face featured a sinister, hooked nose darkened at the tip. Its gaping mouth revealed four iron-blue fangs distinct from the rest of its teeth.
The squirrel was so terrified it froze completely, not even attempting to struggle. The gray ape studied it for a moment, then opened its mouth even wider—wide enough to swallow a human head whole.
But just then, the branch beneath the ape suddenly flared with heat.
To its credit, the beast reacted swiftly, twisting its body and swinging its arm to strike. But the flash of a sword-light was even faster—it slashed through the air beside its cheek, cleaving half its skull away.
Beneath the shimmering green canopy, the scent of blood rapidly spread.
“Nice sword!”
A man in short green robes emerged from the forest on the other side, applauding as the ape’s corpse hit the ground. Freed, the squirrel scrambled up the tree and disappeared after a few agile leaps.
The middle-aged man jogged over to the body. Without caring about the filth, he picked up the severed half of the skull and examined it with satisfaction, laughing:
“As expected, it’s a Hook-nosed Ape. These four Iron-Blue Fangs will net us a tidy sum!”
Then he looked up and gave a thumbs-up toward the treetop. “To get this close without alerting the ape’s nose, and decapitate it with a single strike… tsk, Brother Yu, your swordsmanship just keeps getting sharper.”
From the pine, Yu Ci sheathed his sword and chuckled. As he leapt down, a loud rumble rolled down from the sky above.
The middle-aged man froze for a moment, then exclaimed:
“The Mountain-moving Cloud Boat is here!”