Chapter 1683: The Melody of Parting, the Smoke Disperses (Part One)

Li Yan went to find the Eldest Senior Brother, Li Wuyi, and checked on the Second Senior Brother’s injuries. Wei Chituo’s Nascent Soul had been wounded, so his recovery was not as swift.

Li Yan and Li Wuyi sat in the courtyard, drinking a great deal of wine. Li Wuyi seemed to sense his mood and patted his shoulder.

“Junior Brother, do you finally understand my pain? A woman’s heart is truly difficult to decipher!” Li Wuyi felt that Li Yan was facing the same dilemma he had. When a man returned, whom should he accompany? For how long? It was just like when Li Wuyi had emerged from seclusion and found that Miao Wangqing and Li Changting were ignoring him, instead spending all their time chatting with each other.

They spoke of the past and the mysteries of the Immortal Spirit Realm. Li Yan eventually revealed his plan to take Li Wuyi and Li Changting with him during his ascension, but Li Wuyi refused.

“Let’s wait. Changting feels the same. If we leave Wangqing behind, she might develop a mental knot like our master’s wife did, making it even harder for her to reach the Nascent Soul stage.”

Li Yan agreed. The Eldest Senior Brother remained the loyal, affectionate man he had always been, and Li Changting was still that fiery, brilliant woman.

“I can take the Fourth Senior Sister with us as well,” Li Yan suggested.

Li Wuyi pondered this but eventually shook his head. He had prepared for ascension for years and knew how dangerous it was to carry others. Furthermore, he couldn’t bear to leave Little Bamboo Peak.

“Junior Brother, thank you. Master and the rest of you are leaving. Your Second Senior Brother’s nature isn’t suited for being a Peak Master; he’d turn the place upside down. Little Bamboo Peak has been recruiting many disciples. Some of the next generation have already reached the Late-stage Golden Core or Pseudo-Nascent Soul stage. I will focus on training them and choose the most suitable successor. Your Fourth Senior Sister still has plenty of time. If she can’t reach the Nascent Soul stage, I will take her and Changting with me to brave the Immortal Spirit Realm; at worst, we die together.”

“Eldest Senior Brother, I…” Li Yan felt a pang of guilt. Li Wuyi had never changed; his devotion to Little Bamboo Peak was as deep as their Master’s. Li Yan, on the other hand, had hardly spent any years guarding the sect.

Before he could finish, Li Wuyi raised his cup, stopping him.

“Junior Brother, I was the one who brought you into Little Bamboo Peak. I never expected you to be the most brilliant of us all. I am simple and my heart is narrow; I only care for the sect and the few people before me. Doing what I can is my heart’s Dao. If I lose what I care for, my path will end as well.”

Li Yan watched him silently and didn’t try to persuade him further. Everyone had their own Dao heart, the foundation of their path. He clinked his cup heavily against his brother’s…

In his heart, he made a plan. He would keep track of his Fourth Senior Sister’s lifespan. If his brothers hadn’t ascended by the time her end drew near, he would descend to take them away…

Before leaving, Li Yan gave Li Wuyi a jade slip containing the locations of three ascension nodes—valuable information he had obtained from Su Hong and Dong Fuyi. He marked the potential destinations in the upper realm and left four bottles of Immortal Transformation Fluid, one of which was for the Second Senior Brother. He also left pills to assist their cultivation, particularly some for the Fourth Senior Sister that would aid in her Nascent Soul formation.

Li Wuyi accepted them with a hearty laugh, his eyes bright and his form as resolute and handsome as it had been the day they met…

Soon after, Gu Jiuqi returned in secret and spoke with Li Yan at length. They hadn’t found a trace of the enemies—which Li Yan already knew, as the leader had been slain by his master. Over the past few days, Li Yan and Dong Fuyi had begun modifying the memories of many cultivators in the sect. There were quite a few, but under Dong Fuyi’s concealment, even the returned Gu Jiuqi noticed nothing.

Li Yan also sought out Wei Zhongran. Under his master’s guidance, he went to a beautiful area behind Little Bamboo Peak, hidden by a grand array. There, he saw the gravestone of his master’s wife, Zhao Zhi. It was merely a cenotaph; her soul and body had perished under the heavenly tribulation. Her spirit tablet was kept in the Wei family shrine.

Looking at the stone, the memories of his early days at Little Bamboo Peak flooded back like rain. He bowed deeply. On that day, Zhao Min and Gong Chenying appeared there as well. They were calm, and given their naturally stoic natures, even Wei Zhongran didn’t notice anything amiss. As Li Yan bowed, the two women knelt on either side of him.

Seeing the grave, Zhao Min recalled the moment her mother had looked at her and her father before her end. “Get back!” Zhao Zhi’s clear voice had rung out, louder than the tribulation, a final echo that still haunted Zhao Min. She pressed her face to the ground, her shoulders shaking with silent sobs…

Wei Zhongran looked away from the three of them and toward the gravestone, his eyes full of tenderness and longing. When he looked at the horizon, he could almost see a woman in white palace robes smiling at them. With her husband’s return and her daughter’s reunion, she had no regrets…

Late at night, high in the sky, Dong Fuyi appeared beside Li Yan, looking down at the land.

“Essentially everyone who needed their memories modified has been dealt with. You must keep track of those you chose to leave untouched.”

“Thank you, Master,” Li Yan said, bowing. Even with his own power, he wouldn’t have been certain of hiding such a feat from Gu Jiuqi once the man returned. Though a clone, Gu Jiuqi’s understanding of heavenly laws was unique and potent.

Dong Fuyi waved a hand.

“Master, I wish to leave a Spirit Transformation cultivator here to guard the sect for a thousand years. By then, the secrets I need to hide should be completely buried.”

“Oh? You have a Spirit Transformation avatar?” Dong Fuyi’s eyes flashed with surprise. He hadn’t expected his disciple to have such a means.

“No, but by chance, I enslaved a Spirit Transformation cultivator from the Immortal Spirit Realm. He is a Jadefall Demonic Vine and has reached the Late-stage Spirit Transformation. I was wondering if Master could place a restriction on him. I worry that once I am no longer in the lower realm, the heavenly laws might interfere with my control. Furthermore, he was the foundation of a third-rate sect in the North Pastoral Realm. Can Master alter his aura? I don’t want any upper-realm cultivators who descend in the future to recognize his origin.”

Li Yan knew that modifying memories wasn’t enough to solve the trouble he had caused. Some disciples hadn’t returned yet; they might be in dangerous areas or ancient grottoes. He couldn’t wait here for years. Furthermore, he felt that having a powerhouse stay behind to assist Gu Jiuqi was necessary. The upper-realm Malevolent Spirit Sect thought one person was enough, but only Li Yan knew the true situation. Gu Jiuqi had sent word to the upper realm to investigate, but that would take time. Without Li Yan’s explanation, Gu Jiuqi thought the attack came from the sect’s enemies in the upper realm—which was the wrong direction entirely.

Li Yan worried the Yin-Yang Primordial Chaos Sect might still find their way here before the trail went cold. Thus, he decided to leave Feng Hongyue, the Jadefall Demonic Vine, here for a thousand years. But he didn’t know if his soul-seal would hold across realms, so he sought his master’s guidance.

“A Late-stage Spirit Transformation Jadefall Demonic Vine? Let’s go to the chaotic space. Bring him out, and I will handle it!” Dong Fuyi agreed immediately. He was impressed that his disciple had captured the foundation of a third-rate sect. He knew exactly what that meant; such a sect might even have a Void Refinement powerhouse. The four great sects of the lower realm were nothing compared to them.

Inside the Earthen Patch, in a dense forest overflowing with wood-element spiritual energy, a thick tree was rooted in the earth, shimmering with green light. Suddenly, the tree blurred and transformed into a green-robed old man. Feng Hongyue looked at the sky; Li Yan hadn’t sought him for a long time. Just now, Li Yan had told him he had something to discuss.

As he looked up, a powerful spatial ripple formed around him. Feng Hongyue felt his vision blur, and he found himself in a pitch-black space.

“Is… is this the chaotic space?”

He felt the astral winds howling against him. Before he could make sense of why Li Yan had brought him here, a cold voice rang in his ears.

“Little brat, your cultivation is at least somewhat decent.”

Feng Hongyue was startled; that was not Li Yan’s voice. Before he could react, a force enveloped him from above. To his horror, his magical power was completely paralyzed by this force.

Dong Fuyi knew his power in the lower realm was limited, but he had already shielded this area with his energy. Feng Hongyue had fallen straight into a trap.

‘Is he going to kill me?’ This was Feng Hongyue’s first terrifying thought.

In the chaotic space, Li Yan watched as Dong Fuyi seized the man and vanished behind a meteorite…

Less than half a cup of tea later, the two figures returned. Dong Fuyi was shrouded in a black mist. Li Yan couldn’t see him at all. Feng Hongyue, though following, looked utterly dazed. Even as he flew to Li Yan’s side, he stared blankly, as if he didn’t see him.

“Very well. Take him back. You can arrange his movements later. He will guard the sect for a thousand years without issue,” Dong Fuyi’s voice drifted from the black mist. Li Yan didn’t hesitate; with a thought, he sent the dazed Feng Hongyue back into the Earthen Patch.

The black mist vanished, revealing Dong Fuyi’s tall form.

“Master!”

“I have placed a mark within him. If he leaves this world and can no longer sense the laws of the lower realm, his soul will perish. I also gave him some pointers on his cultivation; he should see a significant boost in strength once he contemplates them. Furthermore, I gave him a promise: in a thousand years, I will help him reach the Mid-stage Void Refinement and restore his freedom.”

Li Yan understood his master’s method immediately. It was the classic ‘carrot and stick.’ But while it sounded simple, making someone truly fear and obey you was not easy. Li Yan could only use the stick with Feng Hongyue; he couldn’t promise a breakthrough to Void Refinement. Dong Fuyi, however, had demonstrated his power clearly. With Feng Hongyue’s experience, he surely realized the shadow was at least a Body Integration expert. Such a being was untouchable even in the upper realm; even the Moji Daoist Sect would treat him as an honored guest.

The pointers from a Body Integration expert specializing in the five elements were a beacon in the dark for a Spirit Transformation cultivator. Thus, after the intimidation, the promise of freedom and a breakthrough was more than enough to ensure obedience. Even if the Moji Daoist Sect found out, they wouldn’t turn against a Body Integration expert for the sake of a single Spirit Transformation cultivator. No wonder Feng Hongyue looked the way he did; he couldn’t imagine how Li Yan had summoned such a deity.

Dong Fuyi began to size up Li Yan again and chuckled. “Heh… brat, your soul cultivation isn’t bad!”

Li Yan’s heart tightened. His fears had come true. In just moments, Dong Fuyi had found the clue in Feng Hongyue. Li Yan had thought his soul-seal was undetectable even by a Void Refinement cultivator, especially under the suppression of the lower realm’s laws. He was indeed a ‘frog in a well.’

“Master, I obtained…” Li Yan began, but Dong Fuyi cut him off.

“You need not explain. You have cultivated alone; any immortal fortune is yours to keep, and any calamity is yours to bear. In the future, unless you find something you don’t understand and must ask me, you need not speak of it. I only want you to know that our sect’s techniques are the truly powerful ones; other methods are merely supplements. Furthermore, once your Gui Water Divider Thorns reach a certain level, even a soul cultivator of the same rank won’t be able to handle your attacks. The five elements encompass everything: heaven and earth, the physical body, the soul, and reincarnation—all are within the five elements.”

Dong Fuyi waved a hand, his voice full of absolute confidence. When he personally wielded the Gui Water Divider Thorns, what could a soul cultivator do? He simply assumed Li Yan had found some fragmented soul cultivation manuals or basic soul arts; such things were occasionally found. True soul cultivation inheritances were rare, let alone a complete one. The soul cultivators guarded their techniques strictly, preventing soul-searching through various bizarre means.