Therefore, when Ning Buwei saw the small piece of rosewood in his hand, he was quite stunned for a moment.
Firstly, rosewood was not a common thing. On the contrary, it was extremely rare, and not something anyone could casually produce, let alone generously give to others.
Secondly, the familiar motion with which it was passed to him inevitably reminded him of that youthful and reckless “love story” from his past.
Although it was called a “love story,” it was merely a vague intimacy from his youth, and the ending wasn’t particularly satisfactory. After that, he had single-mindedly walked the path of solitude. Even though there was one time when his heart was moved, those memories had long been buried, and he normally couldn’t recall them at all.
Now, 500 years had passed, and looking back, it hardly stirred any emotions in his heart.
So many years had gone by that many details were no longer clear. He raised his eyelids to look at this vessel, unable to compare its similarities with Wanli.
There was just a slight, inexplicable discomfort.
“For me?” He examined the rosewood in his hand, which was not small.
The vessel, contentedly holding Ning Xiu, nodded slightly in response.
Ning Buwei snorted softly, reaching out to pull his son, who was grinning stupidly in someone else’s arms, back to him. He tossed the rosewood back, saying, “Don’t want it.”
Although the rosewood was precious and rare, he had no use for it. Keeping it would be tasteless, but discarding it would be a waste – truly a dilemma.
The vessel’s arms were now empty. It held the piece of rosewood and tilted its head. Though faceless, its entire being expressed confusion.
Ning Buwei ignored it, his mood somewhat complex.
He had accidentally entered that old monster’s sea of consciousness, stealing its spiritual power several times. Although he was caught each time, he always managed to escape successfully.
He had even accidentally “Shenjiao” with the other party once.
Afterwards, this vessel appeared on Yijian Peak. When controlled by its true self earlier, it showed no killing intent towards him, and even provided him with a protective sword qi while fighting others.
This vessel, with only a trace of divine consciousness disconnected from its true self, instinctively harbored no killing intent. It allowed him to pin it down and beat it, yet kept approaching him.
If the old monster whose spiritual power he had “borrowed” was Wanli from years ago, and if the other had recognized him, then sending this vessel to follow him all the way to Yijian Peak… seemed somewhat reasonable?
The most crucial point was that this vessel carried a fragment of the Suzaku knife.
First, it was Yan Lanpei, then Wen Zaiye, and now it was this vessel suspected to be Wanli’s avatar. The person behind this was truly powerful. Among the acquaintances he had interacted with in the past, there weren’t many, yet they managed to find them and send them to him one after another.
Then, these people were made to die one by one before him.
To kill a person, first kill their heart – the intention behind this could not be more malicious.
Ning Buwei’s gaze became heavy. He cultivated the path of ruthlessness, so to say there was a great disturbance in his heart would be an exaggeration. However, to claim there was no reaction at all would be self-deception.
The mastermind behind this probably knew this, which was why they kept provoking him repeatedly.
Ning Buwei had made too many enemies. For the moment, he truly couldn’t think of which enemy hated him so much to come up with such an insidious method.
He was now almost certain that after the Suzaku knife shattered, it must have been taken away by this person. He needed to find all the knife fragments as quickly as possible to restore his cultivation. The other party was confident that he wouldn’t give up on the fragments, showing a certain fearlessness.
Ning Buwei disliked being led by the nose, and he disliked these roundabout methods even more. In his view, if someone had a grudge against him, they should just fight it out directly – either you die or I perish. Going to such lengths seemed utterly nonsensical to him.
“Senior, Yijian Peak is indeed recruiting two menial workers. Should Xiao Jiang and I sign up?” Feng Zizhang came over to ask. He, Jiang Yizheng, and Chu Xin had been whispering and discussing for a while, but hadn’t come to any conclusion.
“It’s up to you,” Ning Buwei didn’t interfere much with their decisions.
“Then do you plan to stay at Yijian Peak with Xiao Shan?” Jiang Yizheng looked at him hopefully. “Zizhang and I will follow you. If you’re staying, we’ll sign up.”
Ning Buwei said, “Stay.”
Even if he met Ning Xiu’s mother, he wouldn’t immediately hand the child over. He would need to observe for a while. Moreover, he needed a quiet place to recuperate properly. Yijian Peak was quite remote and seemed rarely visited, which was strangely suitable.
The great demon didn’t consider at all whether the other party would be willing.
But even if they weren’t willing, there was nothing they could do. He would give them a reason they couldn’t refuse.
Having decided to sign up, the sooner the better, so the group prepared to go to Wushi Sect.
However, there was some disagreement about how to deal with a certain vessel – mainly between Ning Buwei and the vessel itself.
Ning Buwei thought this was possibly Wanli’s vessel with a trace of divine consciousness, so it wasn’t good to deal with it rashly. He prepared to stuff it into a storage ring to carry along, but the faceless vessel was utterly unwilling and seemed to glare resentfully at Ning Buwei.
It was unclear how it could express so many emotions without a face.
“Senior, you don’t have a face. Going out like this would cause panic,” Feng Zizhang tried to reason patiently.
The vessel ignored him, focusing only on “looking” at Ning Buwei.
Since realizing that the other might be Wanli’s avatar, Ning Buwei’s tolerance had reluctantly increased a bit. Seeing the situation, he said, “Wear a veil hat.”
Jiang Yizheng took out a veil hat from her storage ring that seemed to contain everything, and handed it to the vessel. “Senior, please put this on.”
The vessel took it, somehow “looked” at it for a while, then put on the veil hat and walked to Ning Buwei’s side, tugging at his sleeve.
Ning Buwei looked at him with a blank face. “What are you doing?”
The other party placed a small porcelain bottle in his hand.
Ning Buwei opened it to find a bottle full of Jade Spirit Pills. A rich spiritual energy wafted out…quite suitable for healing.
Although Ning Buwei had once been “wealthy,” he was now short on funds. He couldn’t afford even a single Yangyuan Pill, let alone Jade Spirit Pills, so this bottle of medicine was truly tempting.
Indeed, gift-giving is an art that requires finesse.
Not intending to exchange it for his son, the great demon accepted this bottle of Jade Spirit Pills as a generous thank-you gift without refusal.
The vessel’s hand was now empty. It paused briefly, then immediately followed along again.
Ning Buwei said somewhat impatiently, “Don’t stay so close to me.”
The vessel then very cooperatively moved a bit farther away – truly, just a “bit.”
Ning Buwei felt annoyed, but having accepted the Jade Spirit Pills, he didn’t speak up again.
Feng Zizhang and Jiang Yizheng walked behind, watching in amazement.
“Xiao Jiang, don’t you think Senior’s temper has improved?” Feng Zizhang said softly.
“Hmm, I thought Senior would knock him out and stuff him in the storage ring.” Jiang Yizheng peeked ahead and saw that the vessel was almost touching Senior without being pushed away. Shocked, she said, “I don’t understand.”
“Me neither—” Feng Zizhang looked puzzled, “Senior even beat him up last night.”
Chu Xin deliberately slowed down to walk with them and said, “If you come up and offer a piece of rosewood too, I guarantee Senior won’t dislike you.”
Feng Zizhang looked up at the sky, “I couldn’t afford it even if I sold Yunzhong Sect. He might as well dislike me.”
Chu Xin gave a big yawn.
“Didn’t you sleep well?” Feng Zizhang asked with concern, “Our affairs must have worried you.”
“No, these small matters don’t count for much.” Chu Xin rubbed his eyes, but his tone was somewhat excited as he said, “You don’t know, but last night our martial uncle seems to have come out of seclusion. It was quite a spectacle. According to my master, the pressure was so overwhelming that it made it hard to breathe. Unfortunately, I was asleep and missed experiencing martial uncle’s pressure… Later, I was woken up by my senior brothers and listened to immortal music for half the night.”
“Wow, your martial uncle sounds amazing,” Jiang Yizheng said enviously.
“Absolutely amazing. He’s the top candidate for ascension in the seventeen states,” Chu Xin said proudly. “Moreover, the elder is indifferent to fame and fortune, unconcerned with worldly affairs. He cultivates the Path of Purity and has now reached the Hinayana stage.”
“Hinayana!” Feng Zizhang exclaimed in shock, “This is the first time I’ve heard of a living Hinayana master.”
Chu Xin became even prouder, “My master’s master’s master and martial uncle are direct martial brothers.”
Although they couldn’t quite figure out the relationships, it didn’t stop Feng Zizhang and Jiang Yizheng from thinking he was impressive.
The three younger ones talked at the back while Ning Buwei also overheard them in front.
These days, there were still people cultivating the Way of Purity?
As the group walked and chatted, they soon arrived at the entrance of Wushi Sect.
Wushi Sect spanned two states, Jia and Yi, occupying most of Zhen Prefecture. In the mortal realm, it would be equivalent to the size of a country. There were over a hundred entrances, and they chose the closest one from Huiyuan City.
Registration and selection had begun yesterday, and now the entrance was crowded. Many outer disciples were maintaining order. Some disciples saw Chu Xin and came forward to greet him, “Senior Brother Chu Xin has returned.”
Chu Xin returned the greeting and turned to explain to Ning Buwei and others, “Normally, the recruiting peaks and blessed lands should be responsible for the first round of selection, but since Yijian Peak didn’t send anyone, according to the rules, Lishang Pavilion is in charge. I’ve inquired, and this peak is only recruiting two menial workers with no requirements and very little spirit stones offered. Basically, no one wants to go there, so it shouldn’t be a problem.”
As an inner disciple, Chu Xin was somewhat useful. He directly led Feng Zizhang and Jiang Yizheng to Lishang Pavilion, openly using his connections.
“Senior, are you coming with us?” Jiang Yizheng turned to ask.
Ning Buwei waved his hand, “You go on your own. I’ll just wander around.”
While the two young ones went to register, Ning Buwei “casually” wandered to Yijian Peak with the vessel.
Yijian Peak was exceptionally quiet, still deserted with strange rock formations. Ning Buwei took out the locator talisman, and like last time, the other party was only tens of zhang away from him.
Ning Buwei narrowed his eyes, looking at the strange stone forest.
Inside the illusion of the stone forest, Chu Jun was examining the wound on his shoulder.
Last night, while fighting with that blue light in the void, he was careless and got hit on the shoulder. Although he dodged at the time, his divine and spiritual consciousnesses were already injured, so he was somewhat affected.
The person behind the blue light never appeared. He had clearly crushed the other’s divine soul, but for some reason, he felt uneasy.
As a result, since last night, the wound had been continuously expanding. Dense, black evil qi clung to his flesh and bones, refusing to disperse. No matter what method he used, he couldn’t remove it, and instead, the wound worsened.
Yesterday, when he divined the “destined person” hexagram, he vaguely sensed trouble.
Sure enough, upon waking from meditation today, he found his cultivation fluctuating, likely due to this wound.
Chu Jun felt somewhat relieved for a moment – after all, compared to complete destruction of his Dao heart or going mad from cultivation deviation, losing his cultivation wasn’t so bad.
However, before he could fully relax, there was a disturbance in the outer illusion.
Someone had entered.
Ning Buwei broke through the stone forest illusion and stepped into a completely different “Yijian Peak.”
In the distance, layers of verdant mountains rose, islands winding around them. Nearby, a bamboo forest stood deep green, with an exceptionally vast lake before it. The misty waves stretched far, water vapors rising, creating a serene and quiet atmosphere.
Before the lake was a blessed land, its entrance draped with spiritual vines swaying in the wind. Although Ning Buwei wasn’t well-versed in feng shui, he could see that this cave dwelling was set against the mountain and beside the water, its positioning extremely particular. As soon as he entered, he felt countless surges of powerful spiritual energy, suggesting that beneath this peak lay one or several rich spiritual veins.
The shabby stone forest outside was indeed an illusion. Judging by this setup, this immortal should be a very particular cultivator. To be able to suppress such dense spiritual veins, their cultivation and wealth must be considerable.
The great demon’s heart relaxed a little.
“Ah~” Ning Xiu, held by his father, curiously looked at the beautiful scenery around, twisting and turning to stretch his neck for a better view. Ning Buwei simply held him higher, warning him in a low voice:
“Behave well when you meet your mother later. Best make her love you so much she can’t let go.”
The kind that would hold on and never let go, even willingly changing diapers.
His son was born with the Luo Tian spiritual body, at Golden Core stage cultivation, and contracted his own spirit beast within three months. Crucially, he was adorably cute and well-behaved… well, relatively well-behaved and sensible. If there were any flaws, it might be his bed-wetting and gluttony.
No one could resist such an adorable child, especially that beautiful, kind-hearted, gentle, and virtuous female cultivator. Ning Buwei thought very confidently.
He reached out to pinch Ning Xiu’s chubby little face, saying seriously, “Be confident, you’re a Golden Core stage cultivator.”
With a bit more effort, he’d be a little genius in the top hundred of the Tianji Rankings before ten years old.
“Ah~” Ning Xiu squinted at his father and blew a spit bubble.
Ning Buwei wiped the drool off his face with a handkerchief, then ruffled his little head, feeling that the days of constantly changing diapers were finally coming to an end, and life was showing a glimmer of hope.
As he looked up, he saw someone walking out of the blessed land.
The newcomer wore a white robe, with half-tied ink-black hair, tall and graceful with extraordinary features, like an immortal who had stepped out of an ink painting, naturally exuding a cold elegance in every movement.
Like an exiled immortal descending to the mortal world.
Ning Buwei’s breath caught, his first thought being that the child’s mother was truly that fairy maiden from the Ninth Heaven.
Although Chu Jun had seen Ning Buwei’s spiritual consciousness in the sea of consciousness, it wasn’t as vivid as seeing him in person. Perhaps because he was holding a child, that fierce and vicious aura was well concealed. At first glance, he appeared to be a young cultivator with cold, handsome features and an upright posture.
However, his cultivation level was low, and recalling his battered state in the sea of consciousness earlier, Chu Jun had a misconception that the other was lonely and helpless. Just as he was about to speak, the person in front of him suddenly stepped forward.
Perhaps too shocked by the other’s beauty, Ning Buwei instinctively shoved his son into Chu Jun’s arms.
Holding a real child felt vastly different from holding a small spiritual consciousness in the sea of consciousness. Chu Jun’s body stiffened, his expression slightly stunned. For the first time in five hundred years, he spoke, “Your son—”
“No, your son,” Ning Buwei answered firmly.
Then the gentle expression he had been deliberately maintaining cracked, and he looked at the other person with shock.
He hadn’t looked carefully before, thinking it was inappropriate to stare at a “female cultivator.” But now, upon closer inspection, although the other’s features were delicate, the obvious Adam’s apple and flat chest were so apparent, and he was even slightly taller than Ning Buwei.
The child’s mother was a man.
And with that cold, otherworldly appearance, he didn’t look like someone who would change diapers at all!
The great demon felt his worldview was facing an unprecedented challenge.
Why was the child’s mother a man!?
How could two men have a child!??
How could he be even more beautiful than a woman?
Ning Buwei’s shock was undisguised. Chu Jun glanced at him nonchalantly, then caught sight of the faceless vessel behind him, finally realizing who had taken his vessel.
He was silent for a moment, then slightly turned aside while holding Ning Xiu, saying, “Please.”
Though the cave dwelling looked grand from the outside, the interior was extremely simple – just a bed and a table, roughly carved from stone, simple to the point of being desolate.
“Yiya~” Ning Xiu was delighted to be held by the white-robed figure, grabbing Chu Jun’s sleeve and trying to stuff it into his mouth.
Chu Jun lowered his head to gently pull out his sleeve, wiping the drool off the baby’s chin.
Ning Buwei, still dazed, scanned the cave but saw no sign of a second person. He then fixed his gaze back on Chu Jun.
“Thank you… for helping me heal my injury earlier,” Ning Buwei said, managing to be polite when he wanted to be human, nodding to express his gratitude.
“It was nothing, no need for thanks,” Chu Jun replied coolly while holding Ning Xiu, but reached out to pinch the baby’s chubby cheek.
“Ah~ah~” Ning Xiu smiled at him, eyes disappearing into crescents.
Mother~ Mother~
Seeing his son smile so happily at his other “father,” Ning Buwei felt inexplicably uncomfortable. Resisting the urge to snatch his son back, he sat down at the stone table.
The vessel followed closely behind Ning Buwei, sitting right next to him, even helping to adjust Ning Buwei’s sleeve.
Chu Jun’s eyelid twitched at the sight.
A trace of his divine soul was still sealed in this vessel, but something had been done to it, preventing him from reclaiming that soul fragment for now.
Chu Jun was more curious about why this person had taken his avatar. With his cultivation unstable, it wasn’t wise to act rashly. So he suppressed the strange feeling and sat down opposite the man and the vessel.
Ning Buwei completely failed to connect Wanli’s vessel with the person before him. Firstly, he was biased by his preconceptions – although he had never seen Wanli’s true face, he subconsciously felt Wanli wouldn’t look so… beautiful. Secondly, the vessel’s master had profound cultivation, while this person’s cultivation was ordinary – at best Golden Core stage – making it impossible for him to have an avatar.
If there was one similarity between the vessel and the person opposite, it was that they both wore white clothes. But upon closer inspection, one would notice that the clothes on the person opposite were more exquisite, with a subtle elegance, while the clothes on the vessel looked old, with pilling on the sleeves, clearly not of the same style.
The fragrance of tea wafted through the air. The people on both sides of the stone table had different thoughts, but their faces revealed nothing, both maintaining an air of composure.
“This child—”
“This child—”
They spoke in unison, then simultaneously stopped.
After all, two grown men sitting together and seriously discussing their shared child sounded somewhat bizarre.
“I am Li Chengfeng, wandering cultivator,” Ning Buwei cleared his throat and introduced himself—though it was made up.
“I am Chu Shan, disciple of Yijian Peak, Wushi Sect,” Chu Jun said with a straight face.
“Is this Fellow Cultivator Chu’s cave dwelling?” Ning Buwei probed.
The spiritual veins beneath this cave and the illusion outside didn’t seem like something a Golden Core cultivator could suppress.
“My master had only me as a disciple. After he perished, it came into my possession,” Chu Jun replied smoothly.
“I see,” Ning Buwei smiled kindly. “May I ask if the Fellow Cultivator knows the origin of this child?”
Chu Jun shook his head, “Three months ago, the child’s spiritual consciousness suddenly appeared in my sea of consciousness.”
Ning Buwei narrowed his eyes at the happy little one in the other’s arms, surprised that his son had connected with this “father” right after birth.
The great demon felt even more displeased.
“Some days ago, I met with an accident. When I woke up, I found this child suddenly appeared by my side,” Ning Buwei said, half truth and half lie. “Someone told me he should have taken form from our blood, flesh, and spiritual essence, then developed three souls and seven spirits. Unlike others born after ten months in their mother’s womb, this is why his soul has been unstable.”
Hearing this, Chu Jun looked at Ning Buwei, “I haven’t left the sect for many years, and my blood, flesh, and spiritual essence have not been depleted.”
“I don’t know the reason for that, as that person only mentioned it casually,” Ning Buwei said calmly.
At this moment, the vessel reached out to test the temperature of the teacup. Finding it just right, it picked up the cup and placed it in Ning Buwei’s hand.
Ning Buwei was slightly startled but took the cup and sipped.
Chu Jun, watching this clearly: “……”
His vessel seemed to have developed some issues.
