Chapter 38.

There exist all kinds of people, and demons didn’t fall far behind in this aspect.

They were different in appearance and abilities as well.

But almost all of them yearned to leave for the Human World. This world had countless resources for cultivation, and its cities were thriving, peaceful and prosperous, not like the freezing Darkest Abyss at all.

The ones who had gentle dispositions were willing to bow their heads and assimilate in the Human World, and even found daoist partners among cultivators or common people, concealing their identities. There were also ones like Zhang Mu, who chose a human to use his skin. They changed their names and travelled through the Human World openly. Even after several decades, they might still continue to live there unnoticed. And there were also fierce ones who seeked pleasure in tormenting people only to quench their desire to kill.

Cang Tian was not like any of them.

He wanted to be able to live openly and firmly under the bright sky, without concealing his origins, without hiding and running away just because people learnt about his nature.

This paragraph explains his name: Cang is ‘hide’, and Tian is ‘sky’.

That was why he decided to work together with the Wanxiang Palace without concern for their goals.

“They poisoned the Huliang Grass. Anyone who ate food containing it would have a greater or lesser reaction, vomiting worms and dying from stomach ache. However, it was actually not poison, but gu.”

Gu: a venomous insect or parasite.

Cang Tian was angered as well.

He thought the Wanxiang Palace to be good partners, and didn’t expect that once they would need a fake culprit to pacify the public, the first one to be cast aside would be Cang Tian, simply because he knew too much.

Those who are of another kin are sure to have a different mind. Cang Tian understood well why his kin loathed humans so much.

But he had to cooperate with these humans for now.

Changming said: “The Wanxiang Palace is not a sect of the three major religions. Many capable people gather there. One of Chi Bijiang’s shimeis is good at mixing poisons and controlling gus. It is said that she can chop a person’s head off while being a thousand lis away; this actually means that she can count the time of gu becoming active to kill her enemy when they are a thousand lis away.”

Cang Tian: “I don’t know what they did, but these gus belong to the Wanxiang Palace for sure. However, the gus alone weren’t enough if they wanted to kill all these people overnight, taking them under the gus’ control. They needed another ingredient as well.”

Changming: “And you were this ingredient.”

Cang Tian said calmly: “Correct. I inserted demonic qi inside, and the poisonous gus became a hundredfold more formidable. Wherever they went, they strangled everyone, and even cultivators couldn’t escape.”

After the sky went dark, Yuru Town turned into a scene of bloody slaughter.

A scene of foul wind and bloody rain, where neither people nor ghosts were safe.

If Changming and Yun Hai hadn’t interfered, this place would have turned into a ghost town, and traveling merchants would have prefered to go a long way around it than to pass through the town directly. Legends would have had it that people who break into this place would be captured by those resentful spirits with everlasting grievances. On one chance to survive—nine chances to die; everyone would have heard of it, and over time, the grass would have overgrown this place, burying it under the wind and sand, turning the town into a tale.

Things were mostly following the same direction. The massacre took place, and Cong Rong’s eyes were lost. But two things were different: Cang Tian switched sides, and Situ Wanhuo’s schemes were revealed.

In the past, Changming and Yun Hai hadn’t been there, and Cang Tian hadn’t appeared as well. If what he said was true, since Changming never heard of him later, he probably didn’t escape his bad luck.

Also, Yun Chang’an, Cong Rong and Nie Emei didn’t know what happened behind the scenes in Yuru Town, and that the culprits were Situ Wanhuo and the Wanxiang Palace, so they were able to live peacefully for many years. Now, events were sped up, and the number of variables increased.

Yun Chang’an and Cong Rong didn’t matter since they weren’t cultivators and their words had no weight. No one would have believed them, so their fate wouldn’t change.

But Nie Emei was different. She was a disciple of the Zhenling Clan, and Situ Wanhuo and the Wanxiang Palace surely couldn’t let her off.

Although the Zhenling Clan was large and had many disciples, Nie Emei didn’t stand out. Even if she disappeared somewhere soundlessly, the Zhenling Clan would think her to have had a mishap in her cultivation, and wouldn’t try to get to the bottom of it.

Moreover, this matter had too many implications, and the Zhenling Clan alone couldn’t handle it.

Changming frowned a bit. A thought crossed through his mind, and he quickly glanced at the three people near him.

Cong Rong was leaning on a wall, her eyes closed; it seemed that she had fallen asleep, still wearing Yun Chang’an’s outer robes.

Her eyelids trembled slightly, and her hands holding his outer clothes shuddered a little, so she hadn’t really fallen asleep.

Yun Chang’an was looking at the wall in a daze, his expression frozen. It was unknown what he was thinking about.

Whether it was the Wanxiang Palace or Situ Wanhuo, the two of them had never associated with them. Even if they understood all the schemes that Cang Tian revealed now, they couldn’t bear the shock from the massacred town.

The only cultivator, Nie Emei, was pale as well, and couldn’t believe what was going on.

“Refining one Gathering Souls Pearl requires so many lives. Since this one was broken, will they find a replacement by taking other lives?”

Cang Tian said with malice: “Do you think that one Gathering Souls Pearl is enough? If you want to set up a formation that goes against the heavens, turns the course of events and can start the primordial chaos, you need six Gathering Souls Pearls, and, naturally, the more souls that are gathered, the better. Who knows, maybe cultivators’ souls can grant a Gathering Souls Pearl more power. None of you can escape this fate!”

The more he said, the paler Nie Emei’s expression became.

“Maybe Chi Bijiang is possessed by a demon?”

Cang Tian sneered: “You humans are always like this. If you can’t explain something, you blame us, demons! You can continue to deceive yourself and others. Now that you’ve seen Situ Wanhuo’s true colors, when they come to kill you, you’ll have to kneel down and beg for mercy immediately!”

“I, I didn’t…” Nie Emei was unable to finish her words.

“There is no use in understanding this matter now. You and I are already in the same boat, and they won’t let a single one slip off.”

Cang Tian was speaking gloomily and sorrowfully, his intonation like a candle in the wind, its flame flickering in the darkness. It was ineffably strange.

Like a candle in the wind: person at death’s edge

“When the first rooster crows, this place will turn into hell once again. After that, no one will be able to run away.”

Nie Emei cried out involuntarily: “What do you mean?! The Gathering Souls Pearl is already broken, the dead are resting in peace now, right?!”

Cang Tian said indifferently: “This place has nets set above and snares below, and the poison with demonic qi is only one trap. Before you even entered the city, it was surrounded with a formation. Evil spirits and wronged ghosts that haven’t dispersed throughout the years are everywhere in the town. When the first rooster crows, the formation will be activated, and no one of the survivors will be spared.”

Yun Hai raised his eyebrows: “After the rooster crows, the sky will turn white. Even if it still isn’t dawn, how will resentful spirits exist here?”

Cang Tian: “Chi Bijiang has thought of this a long time ago. Those evil spirits are resentful ghosts from several hundred years ago. Their qi gathered from resentment still hasn’t scattered away, and they can move freely in bright light. What’s more, they were forced to be a part of the formation, so they have already accumulated deep grievances. As long as the formation is activated, they will be eager to come out and tear the living people here to pieces.”

Yun Chang’an got up abruptly, venting out his accumulated rage.

“Then we should get out of here before the first rooster crows!”

Cang Tian: “You can try.”

Yun Chang’an didn’t want to say empty words as well, so he jumped up suddenly, threw one line to Cong Rong, “I will return for you at once”, and rushed towards the parapet wall.

But Changming and Yun Hai didn’t move.

They knew that since Cang Tian said this, he had already tried himself.

If he could go out, he would have done so without asking them for collaboration and saying so many unnecessary words.

The entire Yuru Town had already become a large formation without people noticing it.

After the sunset, it was activated, and no one could leave the town.

Changming smashing the Gathering Souls Pearl was an unforeseen event. It could delay Chi Bijiang’s plan, but she had a backup plan, so Chen Ting and Situ left them immediately without starting a fight—

Because they were sure that Changming and the rest of them wouldn’t be able to escape the aggrieved souls after the first rooster crowed.

Which meant they would have to welcome a more challenging battle.

As expected, in a short period of time, Yun Chang’an returned crestfallen.

After going through so many shocking events, he had toughened a lot, so this time he at least didn’t get angry with Cang Tian and the others. He jumped on the roof deck, came near Cong Rong, and sat near her.

“Every time I try to get out, it’s as if I stumble upon a ghost building walls—I eventually return back.”

A ghost building walls: or a ghost pounding walls: something leads you in circles to return to the original place

“Not only you are unable to go out, the people from the outside can’t go in either, facing the same situation. You cultivators are more sensitive than common people, and you won’t enter a trap willingly, unless—”

At that moment, they were taking a break on the roof deck of a building in the center of the city. Originally, it was used by its owner to grow grass for hay. It was two stories high and was located right opposite the city gates, so they could clearly see everything from above.

Just when they heard Cang Tian’s words, a sudden noise came from the gates that he was looking at.

A young man, as they could guess from his figure, slowly walked in through the city gate.

His hair was rolled up in a bun. His attire was waving in the breeze, and he was holding a long sword.

“Unless they are silly rash fellows who know for sure there are tigers on a mountain, but still go up this mountain stubbornly.”

Cang Tian finally finished his words.

Changming: … 

Yun Hai came closer and whispered in his ear.

“You used to be very cute.”

Changming was expressionless: “That year, I entered the city after the sunrise.”

At that time, he saw no survivors in the town, let alone Nie Emei and Cang Tian.

Yun Chang’an and Cong Rong managed to survive by chance because they hid in the basement of a guest house. But they knew nothing about the whole matter, and surely were unaware of the conspiracy.

“Which demonstrates that history has changed.”

Yun Hai looked at the approaching young Changming with great enjoyment.

His face revealed the aura of his future formidable strength, but he still looked a bit inexperienced. After all, at that time he was only thirteen to fifteen years old.

Yun Hai was very interested. He never thought he would see the young Jiufang Changming under such circumstances.

That feeling was like looking at secrets that Changming was keeping concealed under a veil.

Details changed, but overall the direction was still the same.

For example, the massacre in Yuru Town; for example, Cong Rong’s eyes.

But the young Changming who appeared there was a big change.

If he died in this place, there wouldn’t be ‘the strongest person in the world’ in the future, and Yun Weisi wouldn’t exist.

Later, that would lead to earthshaking changes.

Changming suddenly thought that the Liuhe Zhutian Formation was just one move in the game set by Chi Bijiang and others.

In a large chess game that went on for many decades, luring them all inside.

Perhaps, him entering the Nine Layers of the Abyss was also calculated by them.

“The person who set this trap is surely talented and bold.”

At the same time, another person was also thinking of the same thing. Yun Hai sneered.

“But the larger the game is, the more flaws will be exposed.”

As years and months passed, the flaws started to appear, and the game was slowly becoming evident.

Contrary to everyone’s expectations, after the battle on the Sacred Mountain Wan, Changming didn’t die, and finally returned after spending several decades in the Yellow Springs.

They didn’t expect Yun Weisi to cultivate the Heartless Dao in the Nine Layers of the Abyss, and Yun Hai of the nighttime to appear.

The young Changming came closer.

He saw people on the roof, raised his head, and stopped walking.

The night was dark, so everything was in dim and dreary colours.

But cultivators had good eyesight, and that wasn’t an obstacle.

Nie Emei saw the others were not moving, so she got up and saluted by cupping her hands.

“Where did the daoyou come from, and what is your name?”

“How did everyone in this town die?”

The young Changming didn’t answer her question, and even asked one in reply.

When one encounters a group of strangers they have never met before in a completely unfamiliar environment, the best choice is naturally to stay on guard.

Nie Emei saw that he was wary of them, and said with a bitter smile: “We weren’t the ones who did this. It’s a long story. Someone poisoned the city with gus, laid out a formation, and wanted us to die here to refine a Gathering Souls Pearl from the souls of the deceased.”

Young Changming: “There is a demon with you.”

He saw through Cang Tian with one glance.

Yun Hai continued to whisper to Changming.

“Shizun has had astonishing eyesight since childhood.”

He never called him shizun, and this time, he was obviously assailing him with obscenities.

Changming: “…I was already thirteen.”

Yun Hai: “Fine, you were already a grown-up.”

This casual coaxing tone… 

Changming was too lazy to argue, so he pretended not to hear him.

Nie Emei had no time to explain more.

Somewhere in the town, a rooster’s crow broke the silence of the long night.

Except for the young Changming, the others became alarmed.

Even if they didn’t believe Cang Tian’s words entirely, what happened next dispelled their last doubts.

In the dark night, faint blue light started shining everywhere in the ghost city, transformed into human shapes, and gathered here.

First slowly, then faster; first few, then many, like a roaring tempest.

The rooster’s crow didn’t bring the dawn, didn’t paint the world with light colors, but brought thousands of wailing souls and countless ghosts crying at the same time. They were coming in disorderly waves upon waves, surging like tides.

The hustle and bustle of the daytime town was no longer there, replaced by a place filled with evil spirits and ghosts completely.

There were many towns of this size in the vast desert. After that night, Yuru Town, swallowed by evil spirits, would soon be forgotten by everyone. There would be new strongholds built in the Gobi Desert for travelers to rest. Everything that happened here would soon disappear into oblivion, and at most it would be told as a post-dinner tale. Because most of the people who died here were ordinary people and low-key cultivators, no one would go to the bottom of the matter and find out the truth.

When the young Changming swung his sword to cut through one of the evil spirits, even more blue lights gathered and began to burn his clothes and skin, so he decisively chose to jump on the roof and join the others.

But the moment he saw Changming and Yun Hai holding the same sword as his Chunzhao, this determined and mature youth couldn’t help but be taken aback.

Yun Hai brandished his sword to cut a resentful spirit behind his back, and the blue lights suddenly shattered, turning into sparkling stars in the sky, gracefully and beautifully. But, if they touched a person, the yin flames would burn them, leaving no remains.

“Don’t be distracted.”

Yun Hai showed him a teasing smile.

“If you are afraid, you can come here to our side.”

It seemed like he was taking pleasure in seeing the young Changming feeling embarrassed and uncomfortable in order to make the new Jiufang Changming, who was unperturbed by all desires, confused or angered.

But the young Changming let him down.

He threw Yun Hai a gaze, then looked at Changming again, as if he understood something.

He turned his head and swung his sword, cutting through the evil spirit in front of him silently.

It was unknown where Chi Bijiang found all these evil spirits and how she transferred them to the town. These evil spirits were not enough to refine a Gathering Souls Pearl, but they were a great threat to Changming and the others.

Roars and wailings were coming from all directions, and the blue light faintly depicted human faces. Those were faces that contained all the malice of the world, almost embodying the essence of all the evil sides of human nature.

They weren’t good people while they were still alive, and after their death they were forced to submit to the formation, which made them even more resentful, so they were eager to tear the people in front of them to pieces.

Yun Chang’an and Cong Rong were only common people, and they had never encountered anything like this.

Cong Rong couldn’t see them, and only heard their terrible ghost wailings. She couldn’t help but cover her ears tightly.

But Yun Chang’an was even more shocked. His martial arts couldn’t be put to use here, so he and Cong Rong could only be protected by others, watching Changming take out several white paper puppets that turned into fierce beasts after landing on the roof, rushing to the evil spirits to bite them ferociously.

The evil spirits were emitting blue lights, which were actually called ghost fires, a kind of flame that never appeared in this world. Ghost fire ignored every corporeal and immaterial thing, and even the puppets were quickly torn into pieces. The more puppets Changming released, the more violently the spirits attacked them.

Very soon, they were pushed back to a hopeless situation.

“Just what can we do to break out of this formation?!”

Nie Emei couldn’t endure it any longer and shouted. She was nearly exhausted. Even though Changming, Yun Hai and Cang Tian were doing most of the work, she was still having a hard time.

“When we kill all these things, the formation will break itself.”

Cang Tian said. The sword in his hand turned into two white lights, and he was cutting the spirits that approached him nonstop.

How can we kill them all?!

Nie Emei wanted to refute him, but she had no strength to speak anymore.

A tongue of ghost fire assaulted her senses, as sudden as a lightning bolt. She heard her own heartbeat, and retreated, but too slowly.

Bang!

The ghost fire was smashed into pieces!

It was Yun Hai’s sword, Chunzhao.

“Go back!”

Nie Emei quickly moved to the centre, to Yun Chang’an and Cong Rong. The other four people swiftly adjusted positions, narrowing the circle to fill in the gap.

Looking into the distance, the ghost fire was like a sea, almost occupying their sight.

The endless flames were hiding the sky and covering the earth, arousing despair in people.

“I’m going to make him come out in advance,” Yun Hai suddenly said.

Others couldn’t understand his words, and only Changming knew what he meant.

Yun Hai wanted Yun Weisi to appear earlier.

He didn’t want to admit that Yun Weisi was stronger. Since they shared one body, their abilities should have been equal.

But Yun Hai was tired, which usually indicated the approaching dawn. Rather than making a mistake, it was better to let Yun Weisi take over.

He closed his eyes and concentrated, but opened them again, obviously having failed.

The sky was still dark, and, according to the rules, that time still belonged to him.

The young Changming was in trouble as well.

Ever since he started going out of his sect to practice, he had never encountered such a perilous situation.

Although it was a good chance to advance in cultivation, he didn’t need this chance if he would lose his life in the process.

Previously, he encountered a ghost building walls outside of the city. If he was an ordinary person, he would have already left, but he felt that there was something weird about this matter, so he became interested and set up a small formation to break through a created gap and enter the city. But now he was trapped inside, and couldn’t go out even if he wanted to.

Seeing that there might not be a second chance this night, he took the opportunity to ask Changming standing beside him in a low voice.

“Just who are you?”

He was really lacking self control back then.

Changming smiled slightly.

“You already know the answer, why ask an unnecessary question?”

“I’m only confirming my guesses. I never thought something that profound existed in this world.”

“Your guess is right.”

“Since you are like this, my future seems bleak.”

“I want to entrust you with one matter.”

“Tell me.”

“If you can leave this place, you should look after the three of them, and ensure their safety.”

“Is this important?”

“Very important.”

“I promise you.”

One from the past and the one from the present, they reached a tacit understanding without asking many questions.

Many things that one Changming said, the other could understand at once.

And even if they weren’t clear yet, he would understand them after years.

The ghost fires suddenly broke through Cang Tian’s defense and pounced on him violently. Cang Tian made a mistake in confusion, exposing gaps in his defense, and the evil spirits viciously started swallowing his face.

He uttered a heartrending cry, and his body fell to the roof, his double-edged sword crashed the ghost fires. But they were biting his skin even more violently, and very soon the ghost fires devoured his whole body, and his white bones came into sight.

Yun Chang’an and the others were shaken by this scene. Nie Emei gritted her teeth and filled the gap with her sword.

Cang Tian was very powerful, but he was swallowed by ghost fires because of a momentary distraction. The pressure on the others could be easily imagined.

A long night invites bad dreams. It can’t be delayed any longer.

A long night invites bad dreams: a long delay can cause many troubles.

Changming thought.

He knitted his fingers in a formula, slowly raising his sword.

“Sword points to the east, breaking through the Highest Heaven.”

The black qi of the sword became denser, suspended in the air, and the Sifei Sword hummed, as if it was suppressed, and wanted to start pouring down in torrents.

On the contrary, Changming’s face was getting more and more pale.

“[The spirit pulls the spiritual nature, its might illuminating the universe, go]!”

The author has something to say:

ps1, Unexpectedly, the young Changming met the present Changming, it’s a historical moment.

ps2, Some friends are confused about how the past and the present influence each other (tn: +++). There is no need to try to remember everything, just one thing is fine:【Major events can’t be changed, only details like breaking the Gathering Souls Pearl】. Yun Chang’an and Cong Rong will have Yun Weisi, and the Liuhe Zhutian Formation will be set.

Tn:

I’m sorry for incantations, this one and the rest of them you still haven’t seen, but they are really a torture… If anyone has a better translation for this “灵牵天机，威临六合，去！”, you’re welcome to correct me!