Ying Ran woke in the middle of the night, mumbling groggily: “What time is it? Should I cultivate…?”
Xu Liling held her, patting gently: “No cultivation today or tomorrow. Sleep.”
Ying Ran mumbled a response, closed her eyes, and slept again.
Xu Liling’s warm hand patted her back like soothing a child until she was deeply asleep. He got up, slipped on his outer robe, and stepped out of bed.
Without lighting a candle, he took a cultivation manual from the table in the cool moonlight, grabbed an ink brush, and went outside.
The manual’s cover read Crane Sky Nine Nether Art. Xu Liling’s fingers traced the five characters, then he opened it, marking sections with the brush.
At dawn’s first light, he returned, placed the manual back, and got into bed to rest.
As he returned, Ying Ran stirred, half-opening her eyes: “Is it dawn?”
Xu Liling covered her eyes with his hand, saying softly: “Rest today.”
Her soft lashes fluttered against his palm before closing again.
Xu Liling pulled her into his arms.
The faint scent of cold fragrance mixed with ink lingered in her breath, and Ying Ran unconsciously nuzzled closer.
She slept until mid-morning, awakened by noises outside.
Ying Ran sat up abruptly, looking out: “What’s happening outside?”
Xu Liling: “Want to sleep more?”
Ying Ran shook her head. She’d slept well last night and felt refreshed now. Tossing off the blanket, she climbed over Xu Liling, opened the window, and looked out.
The noises outside grew clearer.
A loud “boom” rang out. Ying Ran looked toward the sound, seeing dust and smoke billowing in the distance, spells flashing chaotically, trees collapsing.
Her eyes widened, and she called to Xu Liling: “Huai Zhen, there’s a fight outside!”
Xu Liling got up calmly, dressing: “Ignore it. What for lunch?”
Ying Ran: “Shouldn’t we check who’s fighting? What if…”
Xu Liling: “Noodles, easy to digest. Want greens?”
Ying Ran:
She glanced at the distant chaos, then at the oblivious Xu Liling: “Yes, extra greens.”
Xu Liling hummed, heading to the kitchen.
He wasn’t interested, and her running over would only cause trouble, so she let it go.
Ying Ran dressed and went to the yard, asking Big Flower to investigate.
Big Flower lounged at the gate, batting a ball of grass: “Me and the dumb dog already checked out the commotion.”
Ying Ran: “What’s happening?”
Big Flower tossed the grass onto Little Yellow’s head, narrating vividly: “Those five cultivators are fighting Wuyin Village. They had backup outside the village. At sunrise, a big group attacked, blasting everything.”
Ying Ran’s heart tightened: “Is Uncle Xi hurt?”
Big Flower shook its head gravely: “No. Wuyin Village folks aren’t pushovers.”
Ying Ran relaxed slightly: “How so?”
Big Flower hopped onto the fence, recounting excitedly, paws waving.
“This morning, as the sun rose, me and the dumb dog were woken by explosions at the village edge. We ran over and saw…”
Today, early morning.
The forest’s darkness faded under sunlight.
A group in Xuansing robes, wielding Xuansing staves, emerged from the morning mist, closing in on Wuyin Village.
Their leader, clad in star-patterned robes, held a soul-lantern staff, floating like a celestial fairy.
Tan Mingsi, leading her group at the village gate, greeted them.
The woman asked: “Everything set?”
Tan Mingsi nodded, cautioning: “There’s a yin-yang cultivator in the village, likely far stronger than me. I couldn’t gauge her. Unsure if she’ll interfere.”
Mingda: “No need to worry.”
She flicked her wrist, her soul-lantern staff scattering starlight into the air.
In an instant, the world dimmed, stars raining over Wuyin Village.
When light returned, the stars exploded like fire, surging like waves across the village.
Yet, as the dust settled—
Wuyin Village stood unscathed!
Mingda’s expression froze, her sharp gaze piercing Tan Mingsi.
Tan Mingsi, stunned: “How…”
Dou En hurried to explain: “Holy Maiden, we followed the plan. We exposed ourselves deliberately, letting the yin-yang cultivator warn the village. While they thought we’d target their river, we spread star seeds in the village.”
“The seeds are tiny as sand—impossible to detect!”
The Holy Maiden’s glare stayed on Tan Mingsi.
Dou En, thinking, glared at Lin Fei: “Was it you? Did your soft heart tip off the village?”
Lin Fei protested: “I didn’t!”
Lin Tuo, despite disliking Lin Fei’s softness, shielded her: “I’ve been with her these days. She had no chance to snitch.”
“Then what happened?”
“Failing to destroy Wuyin Village directly, this commotion must’ve alerted them. There’s a traitor among us…”
Mingda cut in: “Pointless arguing.”
Everyone fell silent.
Mingda looked at Wuyin Village: “Don’t overestimate our strength or assume the enemy is foolish. No plan is foolproof.”
“Kill the Wuyin villagers.”
“At all costs, seize Wuyin Village’s source—Wuyin Xumi.”
She spread her arms, robes fluttering, staff returning to her hand.
In Wuyin Village, as the dust cleared, villagers, young and old, emerged in simple clothes.
Leading them was Uncle Xi, no longer his usual kindly self.
Big Flower continued: “Me and the dumb dog hid in a haystack, watching. The Holy Maiden Mingda waved, and daytime stars blasted at the villagers.”
“The villagers’ faces changed instantly, shrouded in thick corpse qi…”
Big Flower shuddered, waving its paws: “You’d better not look. I realized then—Wuyin Village is full of the dead.”
Uncle Xi blocked an attack single-handedly, trading blows with the Holy Maiden. Both sides clashed fiercely, even with the villagers weakened by daylight.
Hearing the situation, Ying Ran felt reassured, recalling when she warned Uncle Xi.
After mentioning the five cultivators by the river, hinting at tampering with the water, she’d added cautiously: “But I think their goal isn’t the river. They hid their identities and came here. If they planned something, why speak so openly, unafraid of being overheard?”
“Yet if they weren’t afraid, why feign panic when spotted? Just be extra vigilant, Uncle Xi.”
Uncle Xi had been calm, likely because Wuyin Village had the strength to handle it.
Back in the present, Ying Ran asked curiously: “What does Uncle Xi’s face look like?”
Big Flower: “Like an evil ghost.”
“Like those ghosts in paintings?”
“Very much. And his body can grow huge!”
“Did you hear why they’re after Wuyin Village?”
“Yes,” Big Flower said gravely. “They came because of the Yaoxing Goddess’s prophecy.”
The Goddess foretold that Wuyin Village would join the Holy Demon, cultivate the Nether Demon Path, slaughter Yunzhou, and spread nether demon qi like a plague, pushing the world toward ruin.
Ying Ran frowned: “Goddess?”
Big Flower nodded: “There’s only one Goddess—the Taskgiver. But she doesn’t know we’re here.”
Ying Ran and Big Flower exchanged a look.
Though their mission was to save the world, the Goddess hadn’t assigned them this task, so they’d stay out of it.
Meddling could drag them down.
Understanding each other, Ying Ran raised her hand, high-fiving Big Flower’s paw: “But I’ll never let Wuyin Village join the Holy Demon.”
Big Flower understood: “Xu Liling helped Uncle Xi. If they join the Holy Demon, it’d be because of him.”
Ying Ran nodded, “If they pledge allegiance to the Holy Demon, Huai Zhen will surely be involved…”
She couldn’t let him get dragged into world-ending chaos.
As they spoke, the noodles were ready.
Xu Liling brought out two bowls—one clear broth, one mixed, each with an egg.
He set them on the table, letting Ying Ran choose: “Which one first?”
Ying Ran thought for a moment: “Mixed.”
They always did this with noodles.
Since she wanted to try both mixed and broth, he’d make both, and they’d share.
Xu Liling handed her the mixed noodles, took the broth for himself, and offered her half the boiled egg from his bowl with his chopsticks.
Ying Ran ate half, then split her fried egg with him.
Big Flower and Little Yellow returned to their bowls, slurping eagerly.
Ying Ran took a bite of mixed noodles—slightly salty—and sipped broth from Xu Liling’s bowl with a spoon.
Half-full, she heard Xu Liling say, “A petty thief is stealing.”
Ying Ran looked around: “Where?”
Xu Liling: “I’ll check. Keep eating. Leave the bowl when you’re done.”
Ying Ran nodded, watching him leave the courtyard toward the village entrance, relaxed and seemingly in a good mood. Unworried, she continued eating.
She saved a bowl for Xu Liling, washed her own, and strolled in the courtyard to digest.
The past few days, noon was for cultivation. Today, with nothing to do and Xu Liling gone, Ying Ran felt oddly idle.
After a thought, she went inside to grab the manuals.
Xu Liling had put away the others, leaving just one.
Opening it, she noticed fresh ink marks among the uniform transcribed text.
The handwriting was bold and sharp—Xu Liling’s.
When had he written this, when they were together every day?
Ying Ran couldn’t figure it out, deciding to ask when he returned.
She studied his notes carefully. He’d refined and simplified the cultivation methods, restructuring the path.
Following his guide, her cultivation would be much easier.
Ying Ran’s fingers traced his handwriting, her eyes crinkling with a smile as she pored over each word he’d written for her.
At the village entrance, a collapsing roof and splintering wood echoed with howling winds.
The battle, nearing its end as the noon sun waned, saw Wuyin villagers at their weakest, gradually losing ground.
A muffled cry of pain—Uncle Xi, transformed into a three-zhang-tall green ghost, clutched his charred right shoulder, burned by a soul lamp, stumbling back.
Ming Da sneered at the crowd, her soul lamp hovering midair as she chanted:
“Mustard seed holds Sumeru, dust conceals the vast. Seas embrace the boundless, rivers and mountains race to the moon!”
As her words fell, the distant emerald mountains around Wuyin Village dissolved into starry illusions, condensing into a jade-ring-sized moonlike glow, drifting toward Ming Da.
The villagers panicked, charging at Ming Da with desperate attacks.
Her disciples flanked her, guarding as the battle resumed.
As the glow neared Ming Da, Uncle Xi’s face twisted in despair, his eyes flashing fiercely. His form swelled, ready to stake everything in a final, suicidal strike.
But Ming Da’s expression suddenly changed, and the sounds of battle halted.
Uncle Xi turned, puzzled, to look behind.
A figure approached—a azure-robed silhouette, graceful as a crane, strolling calmly.
Dust and smoke swirled, the sun obscured, blurring his form.
The glow drifted, ignoring Ming Da’s spell, landing like a moon in his pale, jade-like palm.
In a daze, memories of a youth overlapped with the newcomer.
A thousand years ago, Uncle Xi was a helpless child, trapped among a crowd, awaiting slaughter.
A youth drove off their killers, summoning the Wuyin Mustard Seed.
The seed, like a moon, expanded into Sumeru in an instant.
In a world that rejected them, it carved out a hidden sanctuary.
The seed was named Wuyin, and thus, this place became Wuyin Village.
Born of fate, shaped by destiny.
The Yin-Yang Path achieved,
I wield Wuyin,
And see you, Wuyin.
The youth’s clear voice still echoed in his ears.
Uncle Xi, blood staining his white beard, called out like the aggrieved child of a thousand years ago: “My lord…”
In the courtyard, a flash of light flickered across the manual’s pages.
Ying Ran paused mid-flip, looking up to see a moonlike glow soaring toward the village entrance under the clear sky.
The fierce battle sounds there fell silent instantly.
Curious, she carried the manual to the courtyard gate, peering toward the village entrance.
She saw nothing but towering trees, settling dust, and birds too wary to approach.
Big Flower and Little Yellow wagged their tails excitedly, eager to check out the commotion.
Ying Ran, knowing her strength was lacking and she’d only be a burden, smiled at their enthusiasm: “Go ahead, help me protect Huai Zhen.”