Unnamed District Arc, Chapter Eighty-Five: Master of the Board (10)

As Zhou Xuanhong departed, the Grand Evolution True Man also left soon after, going to pursue the freedom his heart longed for. Perhaps one day he would return to this region with a flood of emotions, but for now he only wished to see the wider world beyond, to savor the immortal realm of cultivation belonging to the Nascent Soul stage.

Upon reaching another region, the Grand Evolution True Man took a Soul-Devouring Worm of the Golden Core stage from his sea of consciousness, only to discover that it was already dead. Yet within its body, sealed by a restriction, was a jade slip recording the complete Grand Evolution Art.

Having pondered the Grand Evolution Art for thousands of years, he knew this was the true, complete version, and that there was nothing wrong with it. He could safely contemplate it and perfect his own incomplete art.

The Grand Evolution True Man gave a wry smile. “I owe you again, little friend. I only hope the next thing you ask of me is not too dangerous.”

...

Half a month after the end of the sect war, the true master of Free and Easy City, the Black Ghost Daoist, was finally able to announce his status openly and deal with the aftermath. Once he had finished, he came to the Beast Pavilion within the city.

Inside the Beast Pavilion, Gu Zhen, who had been outplayed by Zhou Xuanhong, was not especially indignant. After all, he had not contributed much, and in name he had still won the title of guardian beast. To say he hated it would be an overstatement; at most he found it a little dull.

Yes, dull.

Given his identity, he had treated the war as nothing more than a game. Having not fully taken part in it left him bored, and idling in the Beast Pavilion gave him nothing else amusing to do.

“Jiejiejiejie! Young Master Gu, you look rather exhausted. Why not join my Evil Corpse Sect as an honored elder and have some fun? It would be most interesting!”

The Black Ghost Daoist transformed into a wisp of black smoke and entered the Beast Pavilion. By now, his cultivation had firmly stabilized at the first layer of Nascent Soul. Both his strength and his insight had advanced enormously, yet to his astonishment, he still could not see through Gu Zhen’s true cultivation.

Gu Zhen stroked the fox lazily and said, “Forget it. You know very well how awkward my situation is now. What, did you come here today just to mock me?”

The Black Ghost Daoist’s appearance had also changed from that of an old man to that of a young man. After breaking into the Nascent Soul stage, not only had his cultivation soared, but his lifespan had as well.

“How could that be? I came today at someone’s request to bring you something. I do not know exactly what it is either.”

Gu Zhen took the Soul-Devouring Worm handed over by the Black Ghost Daoist and sent his divine sense into it, where he found a complex restriction inside.

After the Black Ghost Daoist took his leave, the fox in Gu Zhen’s arms transformed into a human form, leaned in to sniff the Soul-Devouring Worm, and said in confusion, “Young Master, isn’t this that bastard’s little worm? It shouldn’t be dangerous, right?”

Gu Zhen sent his divine sense inward, and the restriction dissolved at once at great speed. From within, a jade slip flew out.

“Young Master Gu Zhen, I have here a scheme for plotting against the small world of the Corpse Sect. I mean no other harm—take it as making a friend. After all, if my stage grows larger in the future, there will be certain matters on which I may still need your help. Enjoy yourself!”

A quarter of an hour later, Gu Zhen finally withdrew his divine sense from the jade slip and slowly exhaled.

“What a deep scheme. He had already foreseen the future destruction of the Evil Corpse Sect before the sect war even began. Such a person is terrifying indeed. I almost feel sorry for the Black Nether Extreme Corpse Sect, which took his wife away.”

...

Several hundred thousand li from the former site of the Manifestation Evolution Sect lay a blessed land of cultivation with abundant spiritual qi, yet at this moment it was filled with baleful energy, having just endured a fierce battle.

The battle had been a sect war between the Manifestation Evolution Sect, led by the Grand Elder’s faction, and the cultivation sect that had originally occupied this blessed land. In truth, the intimidation of True Man Tianhuo should have been enough to drive the small force away, but who would have thought they would prove so stubborn, preferring to die in battle rather than relocate their sect? Thus this great conflict came to pass.

Tianhuo True Man did not take action. Were he to bully the weak, experts from nearby powers would have grounds to target him. Everything depended on the disciples under his command fighting on their own.

The Old Mountain Spirit was also among the Manifestation Evolution Sect’s ranks. Knowing that failing to side with Zhou Xuanhong would earn Zhou Xuanhong’s resentment, he had secretly slipped away.

At the final moment of his choice, it was still the will dominated by greed for life that prevailed.

In this sect war, the Old Mountain Spirit displayed the cultivation of the Great Circle of the Golden Core stage, and only then did the disciples realize how deeply this strange old mountain spirit had hidden himself. His innate ability to control emotions was especially suited to sect warfare, and before long the war was over, with the Manifestation Evolution Sect claiming a great victory.

The Old Mountain Spirit likewise became the sect’s guardian beast, enjoying the worship and reverence of the disciples.

Yet good times did not last. Just three years later, the Old Mountain Spirit, who had been taking an afternoon nap, suddenly died. All of his soul power was inexplicably devoured, leaving only a corpse full of remorse.

A demon beast mountain spirit, who in adulthood raided a human squad by night and swallowed a thousand-year ginseng, awakening intelligence. At the Golden Core stage it entered the ranks of the Manifestation Evolution Sect, cultivated for 1,733 years, and lived to the age of 1,999...

This stood in contradiction to what Zhou Xuanhong had once said in the Scripture Pavilion. He had said that he wished the Mountain Spirit senior would live past two thousand years. If it had chosen to help him, that indeed would have been a blessing. Regrettably, it chose a different path.

...

After the sect war between the Manifestation Evolution Sect and the Corpse Sect ended, the Five-Spirit Pill Valley was not as happy, because their plan had fallen through. They had originally meant to scheme against the Manifestation Evolution Sect’s small world, but now that small world had been destroyed, and even the blessed land of the Manifestation Evolution Sect had been ruined by Zhou Xuanhong as well. Their gains were far too meager.

Fortunately, the Black Ghost Daoist still chose to ally with the Five-Spirit Pill Valley. The two sides interacted frequently, and many of the restrictions the Five-Spirit Pill Valley had in another small world were also loosened considerably.

In fact, the Five-Spirit Pill Valley’s choice had been the correct one. If Zhou Xuanhong had not emerged and turned the tide, everything would have been perfect. But no person is flawless, and no affair is absolute. Even Zhou Xuanhong, with all his intricate scheming, had set up multiple plans and left behind many contingencies, which allowed him to turn this sect war into his own stage.

Inside a room, Wei Changyuan and Wei Cuiyao were discussing the Five-Spirit Pill Valley’s future development and plans, and as they talked, the conversation turned to Zhou Xuanhong.

“Grandfather, how do you see this man?”

Wei Changyuan shook his head. “This boy has the bearing of a mighty hero and the heart of a true strong one. Just the fact that he could abandon his own body—what Foundation Establishment cultivator could ever do such a thing? Girl, I remember he once came to our valley, did he not? With your talent at the time, did you not notice anything unusual about him?”

Wei Cuiyao said helplessly, “I could not see through him. I only felt that he was not as simple as he appeared, that he gave off an extremely sinister and evil aura. He almost discovered my own abnormality as well.”

Wei Changyuan nodded. “As for what happened earlier within the Manifestation Evolution Sect’s small world, I have largely pieced it together. Those little worms were probably his means. Perhaps it was then that he eavesdropped on our conversation, which was why he was able to put you at such a disadvantage inside the small world.”

Wei Cuiyao felt a lingering fear. “If that is really the case, then this person is far too dangerous. One careless moment, and he could scheme against anyone. Perhaps even our Five-Spirit Pill Valley might have been destroyed.”

Wei Changyuan teased, “Now that the Manifestation Evolution Sect has already fallen and no one knows where it has gone, why don’t you go look for that fated one? I remember he seemed to have formed a Dao companion bond with a girl named Ran Ziyu.”

Wei Cuiyao’s pretty face flushed red. She spat lightly and then left the room.

...

Time flew, and years passed in the blink of an eye. Within the great grinding wheel of time that was the cultivation world, the fervor surrounding this enormous sect war also gradually cooled.

As for the protagonist, Zhou Xuanhong, ever since he left he had vanished without a trace, as if no such person had ever existed. In the Nameless District, no one had seen his figure again.

Everything remained as before. Cultivators uninvolved in the matter changed the subject and continued chatting, while the sects entangled with the Evil Corpse Sect still endured the trials of the immortal path. The Nameless District might be only a tiny patch of land on the Astral Maiden Star, but for the cultivators within it, a lifetime might pass without ever leaving it.

Were the Manifestation Evolution Sect and the Corpse Sect large? Not really. They were only large in comparison to many minor lineages. To the other great powers of the Nameless District, they were nothing special. The highest cultivator among them, Corpse Body True Man, had not even reached the later Nascent Soul stage.

Aside from the Black Nether Extreme Corpse Sect, the Nameless District even had major sects with several late Nascent Soul experts in charge. Compared with those sects, the sect war between the Manifestation Evolution Sect and the Corpse Sect was perhaps nothing more than a diversion for others to watch.

As for Zhou Xuanhong, his reputation among cultivators was poor. His greatness had been built upon the destruction of his own sect, and after some of his schemes were exposed, many righteous cultivators began to curse him, denouncing him for slaughtering his own sect-mates, colluding with an evil sect, betraying his master and ancestors, and slaughtering the innocent. He was a man whom all should unite to kill.

Even in the eyes of cultivators from evil and demonic sects, Zhou Xuanhong was regarded with hostility, because they could not bear to see him triumph over the strong while the weak, for envy gives rise to hatred. After all, no one likes seeing cultivators like themselves possess such methods and such a disposition.

Moreover, with the deliberate stirring of the Black Ghost True Man, Zhou Xuanhong’s image also plummeted. The shadow stone recording from the North Ridge Stronghold was released, documenting how Zhou Xuanhong had shown absolutely no mercy in killing his junior brothers and sisters. This only deepened the righteous cultivators’ hatred of him, until they longed to drink his blood and eat his flesh.

At the same time, a grand master of formations stepped forward to explain that the reason Zhou Xuanhong could possess such terrifying strength within great arrays was because he had already abandoned his humanity. He had refined himself as well, becoming a formation spirit; in this life, he would never again have the possibility of becoming a true cultivator.

Furthermore, as the restrictions of the arrays dispersed in the future, his own power would also vanish into the long river of history. In the end, the formation would be erased, and his will would likewise dissipate.

...

Within the Supreme Yin Corpse Sect, the recently emerged Xiao Na heard this news. For some reason, her heart ached, but she quickly suppressed the sorrow within her and chose to continue her seclusion.

Nearby, some Corpse Sect disciples whispered among themselves.

“See? Truly heartless. Her own man ended up in such a state, and she does not even think of going to find him. She must have been possessed.”

Another disciple objected, “Why can’t it be that she is simply someone indifferent to feelings? Look at her—has she ever smiled at anyone in all these years in the sect?”

Suddenly, a moving voice rang out. “What are you talking about?”

Seeing that it was Bai Youxuan, the disciples immediately took their leave. Only after they had gone far away did they begin complaining.

“How is it that she’s everywhere? A wild girl who crawled out of some corner somehow became the second chosen one, and now we direct-line disciples are the ones who must become her dogs!”

“Say less. She has Elder Tan backing her, after all. Be careful they don’t drag you off to open up a small world!”

“Tch. Elder Tan has already gone into seclusion. I hear his condition is very bad, and the technique he cultivates has entered a dangerous period. Whether he can survive this ordeal is still hard to say!”

Bai Youxuan’s expression dimmed somewhat. This could not be helped. She had gained sentience from a physical body, and her years of cultivation were not many to begin with. Added to that, she had come from the Corpse Sect—how could she possibly be looked upon favorably by the direct descendants of the Supreme Yin Corpse Sect?

Especially after the middle-aged Daoist went into seclusion, the looks directed at her by others were filled with desire to seize her. The position of second chosen one seemed utterly absurd.