Chapter 5: The Secret of Peach Blossom Mountain
“Is there still a long way to go?” Xiao Fan asked breathlessly.
Fang Mu didn’t ask, but he wiped his sweaty forehead. Neither of the two expected that Peach Blossom Mountain was so big and vast. They had walked for quite a while but had yet to find the end of this place.
“I’m not sure, Uncle. I’ve only been there once with Uncle Liu… I’ve never gone this far to look for food.”
Fang Mu and Xiao Fan had heard about Uncle Liu and the letter he left behind. The problem was, Li Hao forgot where he put the letter, so he couldn’t find out what Uncle Liu’s last message before he disappeared. This Uncle Liu’s story made Fang Mu and Xiao Fan think there was a way out of this place.
It was about an hour later that they arrived at the boundary of Peach Blossom Mountain. Fang Mu and Xiao Fan were taken aback by the sight before them.
“Why do you want to get out of Peach Blossom Mountain? It’s always night out there, isn’t it?” Li Hao pointed at the pitch-black darkness that was beyond the bounds of Peach Blossom Mountain.
Fang Mu and Xiao Fan walked closer to the border until the two of them were only a step away from the darkness.
“This place is completely separate from the Eastern Star Continent…” Fang Mu muttered under his breath.
“Not only that.” Xiao Fan stretched out his hand, then felt an energy wall between Peach Blossom Mountain and the darkness. “There’s a barrier; it won’t be easy to break through.”
Fang Mu and Xiao Fan spent quite a while studying the barrier. Both of them came to the conclusion that they could only forcibly break through if they used their full strength together.
“This Uncle Liu who was with Hao Er… Could he be a cultivator?” Xiao Fan frowned.
“If so, he must be stronger than the two of us.” Fang Mu stroked his chin, still looking at the energy wall in front of him.
“No way. Is the Uncle Liu Hao Er mentioned referring to the Pill Immortal? Only he might surpass us.”
“I’m not sure… I’ve heard the Pill Immortal has the surname Yao.”
The two of them researched the barrier further until it was getting dark, and both of them finally came to the conclusion that they couldn’t leave this place.
“We accidentally entered here when we fell down the sky… Looks like getting in here is easier than getting out.” Fang Mu shook his head, looking disappointed. In contrast to Fang Mu, Xiao Fan actually laughed loudly, astonishing Fang Mu.
“Anything funny?” Fang Mu raised his eyebrows.
“Perhaps this is for the best.” Xiao Fan sighed after laughing. “After all, one of us should have died in that battle. Let’s just say that we are both dead and this is another realm. I believe the war will end with the death of both of us, right?”
Fang Mu wanted to say something but ended up dropping it.
“I see. Unlike you, returning to Five Poison Valley means nothing to me. The only thing that matters to me is Master She, and she is already too old. She won’t live too long.” Xiao Fan smiled bitterly. “You have a better life in Heaven Mountain Sect, so we will find a way to let you out of this place.”
“There’s no need. You’re right—we’re both dead. If we can’t go back, it’s fate.” Fang Mu and Xiao Fan looked at each other until they finally started laughing together.
Li Hao had been squatting while watching the two. “Uncle, do we still have to stay here for long? I’m already hungry…” He rubbed his stomach.
***
Another few days had passed since Fang Mu and Xiao Fan found the dividing wall. The two who decided to live in Peach Blossom Mountain had built their respective homes because they didn’t want to live crowded together with Li Hao.
Neither Fang Mu nor Xiao Fan had recovered enough strength to hunt for food on their own, so both of them had to rely on Li Hao. They spent their time telling each other their stories while waiting for Li Hao to come home with his catch. Sometimes Li Hao also listened to their stories together.
The two had already spent hundreds of years as enemies without having a chance to talk as friends. Naturally, there was a lot they could tell each other.
“Aw. Every time I think about it, I feel embarrassed. To think that one day, I’ll have to depend on a child like this for my life…” Xiao Fan groaned when he saw Li Hao cutting the Demonic Beast’s meat in the distance. Fang Mu didn’t comment, but he actually felt the same way.
“Fang Mu, what happened to you? You’ve been a lot quieter this morning.” Xiao Fan noticed that there was something different about Fang Mu today.
“I’m still thinking about the question Hao Er asked last night…”
The previous night, Xiao Fan had talked about him killing several people who tried to take resources from him, and one of the people he had killed was a famous figure in the cultivator world during his peak.
Li Hao listened to the story. In the few days of hearing the stories of Fang Mu and Xiao Fan, he began to understand the meaning of cultivators and the path of immortality they pursued. A human being could train themselves to absorb qi and extend their life to attain immortality—that was a cultivator.
While listening to Xiao Fan’s story, Li Hao suddenly asked, “Uncle, if one really becomes a cultivator to pursue immortality, why do cultivators kill each other? Isn’t that contradicting their original goal?”
Fang Mu and Xiao Fan couldn’t answer for a long time. Of course, they understood the simple answer was because the world’s resources were limited, which was why everyone fought to achieve immortality. But on the other hand, Li Hao’s question made them both aware that the world of cultivators had changed.
One no longer became a cultivator for the sake of immortality but for the sake of strength in order to protect oneself from other people who might become cultivators. The world turned into a place where the strong survived and the weak would forever be oppressed.
“Xiao Fan, do you think it is possible for the world of cultivators to be such a peaceful place? No more war and everyone living together?”
“Forget it. The world of cultivators has been split into two large groups, the righteous and evil factions1. Unless there is a cultivator who understands both schools at the same time, there is no way peace will be created. The problem is, which cultivator can learn from the both righteous and evil faction?” Xiao Fan frowned.
Xiao Fan and Fang Mu looked at each other—until they both realized something.
Both of their gazes landed on Li Hao.
***
1 the raw text can also means orthodhox and unorthodox, but I think it’s more like righteous and evil because the name poison valley reeks of evil 🙂
