Bu Wei

“Five hundred years ago, when Venerable Jinghe was in seclusion, he was already the number one in Fusion Stage in the seventeen states, ranking first on the Tianji List. At that time, the Jiting Sect, Zen Master Mingsang, and our sect leader were still traveling abroad.”

(TL: Fusion, previously translated as Union)

“Why isn’t the Venerable on the Tianji List now?”

“You can tell you haven’t been paying attention in class. The elder said that the Tianji List can only display the names of cultivators up to the Fusion Stage. If one cultivates to Hinayana and crosses over to Mahayana, that’s almost no different from a half-step into immortality, naturally, they cannot be casually recorded. The truly powerful are very low-key.”

“Hmph, it’s not entirely true. I’ve heard from my master that many powerful beings have fallen during the calamity of God Transformation Stage ascending and merging. In today’s seventeen states, there are only about a hundred people who can reach the God Transformation Stage, and those at the Fusion Stage can be counted on two hands. The powerful ones who have cultivated above the Fusion Stage do not exceed five, but my master also doesn’t know who they are.”

“Did your master deduce it?” someone laughed.

“Of course, my master’s deduction technique has reached perfection and never errs.”

“Entering the Hinayana means one foot has stepped into the immortal realm. The less entanglement with worldly karma and secular affairs, the better. Like our martial uncle, once he secludes himself, it’s for five hundred years. He cultivates the Path of Purity and does not enter the mortal world or touch upon karma…”

Chu Xin sat cross-legged on the bed, listening to his senior brothers chatting while drawing talismans; this was the homework his master had left him today.

“But I heard that Venerable Jinghe didn’t cultivate the Path of Purity back then,” someone said softly.

Chu Xin completely lost interest in drawing talismans and asked curiously, “What path did Venerable Jinghe cultivate before?”

Before reaching the Golden Core stage, cultivators would mostly choose their path for future cultivation. Although it’s possible to change paths, it’s as difficult as ascending to heaven; a slight carelessness could completely destroy one’s Dao heart. Therefore, very few people choose to do so.

“It is said—” The person deliberately lowered their voice and said mysteriously. “The Path of Bloodshed.” (TL: or killing, slaughter)

Chu Xin’s hand trembled, and a large blob of cinnabar stained the talisman paper.

The room that was somewhat lively suddenly fell silent.

The Path of Bloodshed, as its name implies, was about entering the path through massacre; to stop killing by killing. Those who enter this path often have cruel and bloodthirsty natures; most who cultivate this path end up possessed by demons and do not meet good ends.

After a while, Chu Xin put down his brush and frowned, “Impossible! No one from our Wushi Sect has ever cultivated the Path of Bloodshed!”

“Yes, if it were thirty or forty thousand years ago when the demon and Rakshasa tribes hadn’t been exterminated, there were quite a few who cultivated the Path of Bloodshed. But since the division of the eight prefectures and seventeen states thirty thousand years ago, there has been no record of any cultivator practicing the Path of Bloodshed.” Someone agreed, “Where did you hear such news?”

“Um…I just heard it from others.”

An older senior brother said sternly, “Venerable Jinghe is an ancestor whom even our sect leader and the supreme elders must greet with a disciple’s salute. Be careful not to speak recklessly.”

The conversation ended on an unhappy note.

After everyone dispersed, Chu Xin collected the talisman that was drawn messily and Chu Zhi closed the door of the room, asking softly, “Senior brother, is what Chu Yi said true?”

“I don’t know. That martial uncle has lived for too long; I guess even our master isn’t clear about it.” Chu Xin shook his head, “It’s getting late. Let’s sleep soon. We have to go to Lishang Pavilion tomorrow morning to inquire about Yijian Peak.”

Chu Zhi had no choice but to blow out the candle with a disheartened expression.

Moonlight fell among the stone forest, casting shadowy figures on the ground.

Ning Buwei was known for his bad temper and lack of patience. In the past, relying on his high cultivation level, he would usually subdue others with force before discussing anything further, behaving very badly.

But now he could only “talk” with the other party.

However, this shell that was pinched out without a mouth was quite absurd.

With mid-stage God Transformation Stage cultivation, one could divide their divine consciousness, that was, send a wisp of divine consciousness into another body. Usually, cultivators create their own avatars; the higher their cultivation level, the more agile the shell becomes. With even higher cultivation levels, one could make the shell indistinguishable from a living person. Some powerful beings even use several bodies to walk in the world.

Those who were casual in their actions would create somewhat rougher shells; those who don’t mind the trouble prefer to make them look better. But no matter what, at least they would create a face.

Ning Buwei was seeing for the first time a shell without even facial features.

This white-robed faceless shell could only stand silently in place.

Ning Buwei originally came just to scout and look for someone. Seeing that the real person behind the shell had no intention of showing themselves and was not an accomplice of Dulu, he prepared to leave immediately.

As soon as he turned around, a sudden sharp pain shot through his wrist.

Dulu’s remnant soul burst forth violently; countless sinister ghostly qi fiercely pierced into Ning Buwei’s wrist flesh. Ning Buwei’s grip loosened slightly, and the entire remnant soul was about to escape his control.

Ning Buwei’s expression turned fierce, and with his fingers shaped like claws, he firmly trapped the remnant soul in his palm, while drops of crimson blood dripped onto the stones.

He was about to warn Dulu when a strange wind sounded from behind. A warm hand suddenly pulled him aside, and a streak of azure light came swiftly, shattering the strange rock that had been behind Ning Buwei into pieces.

Everything happened in the blink of an eye.

Dulu’s remnant soul cackled strangely, “He’s come to save me! He’s finally come to save me!”

The wind howled, and a mass of azure mist charged at Ning Buwei like lightning from among the rugged rocks, aiming straight for the remnant soul in his hand.

With his sword drawn, Ning Buwei stepped on a boulder and spun upward. The blood talisman on the sword was not yet dry, perfect for channeling spiritual power. He was about to directly confront the incoming attack when the silent shell beside him moved at the sound, pushing him lightly at the waist and sending him onto the boulder. The other palm met the raging azure mist head-on.

In an instant, the dim stone forest was filled with dazzling light, and spiritual power surged, sending fragments of rock flying.

For the first time in a fight, Ning Buwei was thrown out by someone. He sat grumpily on a rock, staring at the white-robed faceless shell, feeling as if he had seen it somewhere before.

A silhouette flashed through his mind, but before he could ponder further, the Suzaku knife fragment and hilt in his arms began to vibrate violently.

There really was a fragment of the Suzaku knife nearby!

Ning Buwei’s spirits lifted; for him, the attraction of a Suzaku knife fragment was much greater than that of some mysterious shell. He immediately brought out his fragment to determine its direction.

Inside the illusion, Chu Jun frowned slightly.

He was fighting with an avatar.

And judging by the opponent’s cultivation level, it was not lower than his own.

This person had infiltrated Wushi Sect silently; it was a great concern.

With this thought in mind, Chu Jun decisively dispersed his spiritual consciousness. His vast and powerful divine consciousness instantly spread throughout Wushi Sect. Whether it was elders meditating or disciples about to sleep, their spirits were all shaken.

Which venerable ancestor had released such formidable pressure!?

At Wushi Sect’s main peak.

Chu Linyuan abruptly opened his eyes.

Chu Bai hurried in from outside with an anxious expression and bowed in salute, “Master.”

Chu Linyuan stood up and said, “The martial uncle has left seclusion. Quickly gather all elders and disciples within the sect and go to Yijian Peak to welcome him.”

“Yes!” Even someone as composed as Chu Bai couldn’t hide a hint of excitement in his eyes.

The renowned Venerable Jinghe’s reputation precedes him; it’s just unfortunate that this old ancestor has been in seclusion and out of sight for many years. It was expected that we would have to wait another half month, but to everyone’s surprise, the Venerable came out of seclusion ahead of schedule.

In an instant, the vast Wushi Sect was filled with the sound of bells, and immortal cranes and spiritual boats were everywhere. Countless streaks of light flew out from each major peak, valley, and blessed land, all converging near Huiyuan City.

This person was extremely difficult to deal with. Chu Jun engaged in a battle with the opponent in the void and simply withdrew the divine consciousness from his body. However, he then remembered the person on the stone who had lost all spiritual power, so he casually attached a sword qi to the opponent’s heart.

Ning Buwei was fully focused on searching for the fragments of the Suzaku knife. Unexpectedly, he felt a sudden warmth in his chest, followed by a protective sword light spreading from his heart to cover his entire body. It even expelled the ghostly qi left in his wrist by Dulu’s remnant soul, securely wrapping his soul and consciousness together.

Judging by the strength of this sword qi alone, the cultivator’s level was definitely above the Fusion Stage.

Moreover, the spiritual power permeating the sword qi felt eerily familiar to him; it was something he had often used before—Ning Buwei’s expression suddenly stiffened.

When he was previously short on spiritual power, he had mistakenly entered the sea of consciousness of an old monster several times and stole spiritual power from it. He had nearly been caught several times and even, with the small part of the old monster’s divine consciousness, had.…

Ning Buwei’s face darkened.

The spiritual power within this sword qi was identical to that of the old monster!

But he couldn’t fathom what this old  monster intended by doing this. Could it be that after their accidental Shenjiao, it had taken an interest in him?

The thought sent shivers down Ning Buwei’s spine.

Unable to use his spiritual power, he could only vaguely sense that several powerful beings were battling nearby, and the scale was not small. However, since it was happening in the void, there were no visible signs around him.

The Suzaku knife in his hand vibrated violently. Ning Buwei leaped down from the boulder only to find that the knife was pointing directly at a motionless faceless body opposite him.

Battles between powerful beings changed in the blink of an eye. Without time to think further, Ning Buwei discovered that there was no divine consciousness within this body at present. He immediately drew a concealment charm on it to block any tracking and stuffed Dulu’s remnant soul back into the handle of the Suzaku knife. Without saying another word, he picked up the body and entered a nearby teleportation formation.

Moments later, Ning Buwei landed with the faceless body into a pile of soft and warm fur. Just as he looked up, he was unexpectedly licked across his face by something.

Irritated, Ning Buwei raised his sword to strike.

“Senior! Spare this dog!” Feng Zizhang suddenly pounced forward, grabbing his sleeve and explaining. “Da Huang didn’t mean it, it licked you because it likes you!” (TL: Da Huang=Big Yellow)

Ning Buwei wiped his face with one hand and faced off against a huge dog head.“…What is this?”

“Ah~ Ah!” Ning Xiu sobbed in Jiang Yizheng’s arms while reaching out towards Ning Buwei. His face was covered in tears and anger as he shouted. “Ah!”

Wuu wuu wuu Father~ Father! Father!

Ning Buwei casually threw down the person he was carrying, pushed away the approaching fluffy dog head with one hand, and picked up Ning Xiu with the other. Seeing the little child’s tearful and aggrieved look made him want to laugh at his lack of spirit. “Look at you, can’t even do anything.”

Kind-hearted Feng Zizhang saw that the white-clothed person thrown on the ground was about to be stepped on by dog paws. He quickly reached out to help him up. “Fellow Cultivator you—ah ah ah ah ah how come you have no face!?”

A scream of terror instantly filled the small room of the inn.