Chapter 39. Learn from your teacher diligently

Proofread by P. & Lucia

The Sifei Sword moved swiftly as soon as Changming’s words fell as if it heard the Heavens themselves.

The sword’s blade was originally pitch-black, not eye-catching at all. But at that moment, dark flames covered it, and then stretched out to every corner, making all the spirits retreat and keeping them off; thousands of ghosts disappeared at the same moment.

The Sifei Sword created a whirlpool, and the ghost fires were sucked in and strangled there incessantly, and their shrieks, demanding human lives, turned into mournful wailing. But it was too late to cry about their resentment, as the blue colors were torn into pieces by the black flames, and its scattered bits fell to the ground.

This scene was exceptionally beautiful, like a cloudless sky on a summer night.

But no one had the heart to admire it.

Cang Tian’s remains hadn’t gotten cold yet, mostly swallowed by the ghost fires. Only half of his face with his eyes wide open was left, silently showing the terror of the scene that he had seen.

Since his sword is so formidable, why didn’t he use it earlier so that we would have won sooner?

This thought suddenly flashed through Yun Chang’an’s mind.

He couldn’t help but cast Changming a glance. But when Yun Chang’an saw his almost bloodless face, that thought immediately faded away, and he felt remorseful for needing protection and taking it for granted.

Yun Chang’an matured a lot that night.

Cong Rong trembled slightly, and he caught her hand subconsciously.

“Everything will be alright.”

He was comforting her and comforting himself as well.

Since the day their elders arranged their marriage, they never looked at each other amiably. Who would have expected that they would go through such a perilous experience together in a small town near the border.

Whenever Yun Chang’an saw Cong Rong before, he saw flaws all around. He never said it out loud, but always thought that her looks lacked charm, that she was too noisy, and annoyingly enjoyed seeing him lose. The two of them couldn’t get along at all. Even if they were forced to marry, this marriage would have probably been full of chickens flying and dogs jumping around, with no peaceful days at all.

Chickens flying and dogs jumping around: chaotic

Where were these thoughts now?

He could only wish she would jump around and quarrel with him for hundreds of rounds again, fearing that she would never enjoy talking to him after what had happened.

And it wasn’t even certain whether they would manage to save their lives today.

While Yun Chang’an was letting his imagination run wild, the ghost fires that were blotting out the sky and covering the earth partially dispersed.

The Sifei Sword killed every demon it met, and slaughtered every ghost it stumbled upon. The souls whose resentment almost soared to the sky were frightened, and didn’t dare to attack where the point of the sword was moving, looking for other gaps.

But others weren’t idle either.

The young Changming was very doubtful about the Chunzhao Sword in Yun Hai’s hands, but he said nothing.

The sword’s glow was falling everywhere like rain, and its spiritual powers compensated for Yun Hai’s and Changming’s inability to use them. It was helping Nie Emei as well, creating a barrier with four corners for them, so that the ghost fire wouldn’t break through.

The second rooster crowed.

Long shrieks resounded from the east to the west of the city, and the howling beasts and wailing ghosts couldn’t conceal their obvious excitement.

The innate fear of bright days angered these evil spirits who had long gotten used to living in the dark. Many ghost fires turned around and rushed towards the rooster, tearing it to pieces.

But even if the rooster was silenced, it didn’t mean that the dawn wouldn’t come.

The endless night was finally receding.

The evil spirits seemed to have noticed this.

They roared and howled insanely, attempting to swallow Changming and the others at the last minute.

But then they suddenly calmed down.

The fire ghosts swiftly scattered into every direction, drifting not far away and looking for gaps in the defence set by the humans who were already tired.

The Sifei Sword trembled slightly.

This spiritual weapon had been following Changming for many years, and encountered more desperate situations than the one they had to face today. It couldn’t have given up that easily.

There could be only one reason for this—

The Sifei Sword’s master couldn’t endure any longer.

Changming closed his eyes, forming a formula with his fingers.

The hem of his robes was fluttering in the wind, but his figure was steady and unmoved.

Showing not a trace of weakness.

But Yun Hai saw it clearly: even if his will was inordinately resolute, he was now like an arrow that was shot from a strong bow but had now become weak after flying a long distance.

He was painstakingly suppressing all his old and fresh wounds, injured everywhere, on the verge of breaking down.

He was like jade covered in cracks, and no one knew when it would finally rupture.

Yun Hai’s heart sank, and he stretched his hand out to hold the Sifei Sword.

But the Sifei Sword had already reached the state of seeing neither affection nor emptiness, and didn’t acknowledge other people. When Yun Hai’s hand got closer, the sword’s glow cut his skin, and blood started dripping from it drop by drop.

Seeing neither affection nor emptiness: enlightened, sees no distractions

As long as this person was not Changming, the Sifei Sword couldn’t tell friend from foe.

The evil spirits smelled the blood, and grew even more restless.

A few couldn’t help it and got closer, getting strangled at once.

But they realized that the Sifei Sword’s glow got a bit dimmer.

Obviously, its owner wouldn’t be able to maintain it for a long time.

Far away in the distance, a white ray broke through the dark clouds, as if the sword’s glow broke through the sky.

The evil spirits had no more time.

And the Sifei Sword’s glow got a little weaker.

They roared and rushed at them, breaking the barrier and thrusting into the circle of the sword’s glow.

Changming’s sleeve was destroyed by the ghost fires, reduced into ashes.

When Yun Chang’an saw this, he shouted, and wanted to help Changming.

Nie Emei couldn’t help but turn to him again.

The young Changming frowned, and wanted to block them with his sword.

But they all were half a step late.

The fire ghosts had already devoured more than half of his sleeve, and would inevitably reach his arm soon.

Changming was about to follow the track of Cang Tian’s overturned cart—

Track of an overturned cart: a way leading to a fall, a disastrous road that smn had already taken

But then the sword’s glow flourished!

Dashing up to the bright sky!

But this was not the Sifei Sword’s qi, but Chunzhao’s.

And not of the Chunzhao Sword that young Changming was holding, but the one in Yun Hai’s hands!

The others noticed that Yun Hai’s expression had turned strict and fierce.

The white and black sword glows intertwined in the air, almost blinding people; the light was so bright that they couldn’t open their eyes!

In a short moment, they opened their eyes again, and saw Yun Hai slowly land with Changming.

The evil spirits and ghost fires had already vanished, leaving no trace.

The rays of the sun rising in the east shrouded Yuru Town, and the roof tiles were reflecting the lustrous light. As far as the eye could see, everything was quiet, covered with broken bricks and smashed tiles. Houses were ruined and people had perished.

Yun Chang’an’s legs went soft, and he collapsed to the ground.

Cong Rong was pulled down by him.

Nie Emei’s heart was beating fast, and her chest was heaving. She heard the young Changming’s voice.

“Don’t go!”

She turned her head, and realized that Changming and the others had disappeared all of a sudden.

“Why?!”

Although they were strangers who met by chance like patches of drifting duckweed, they almost died together last night. She thought that they were taken away by someone’s trick.

“Daoyou! Daoyou!”

She shouted loudly, but received no answer.

Changming and Yun Hai disappeared completely out of the blue, leaving no traces.

“Quickly, find them!”

Nie Emei urged them anxiously.

Yun Chang’an said blankly: “I saw a white light enveloping them just before they disappeared, as if…”

As if they were not taken away by anything, but were forced to leave because they had no time.

Because the one named Yun didn’t show a surprised expression.

The young man standing next to them hadn’t yet sheathed his Chunzhao Sword.

He was pondering, looking in the direction where they disappeared.

“Daoyou?”

Nie Emei’s voice returned him to his senses.

“They went where they should be. Don’t worry.”

The young Changming said, “We shouldn’t stay in this place any longer. I’ll send you off first.”

…

Yun Weisi was drifting through the chaotic sea, supporting Changming.

This place was the rim of the Void Shore, the place one entered after leaving their memories. It was easy to fall into the sea of chaos here, unless one could find another memory to enter.

He felt that Changming’s breath was weak, almost nonexistent.

At this moment, Yun Weisi didn’t even have to waste any strength, and that person would still die for good.

Just like every soul on the Void Shore, they were wandering through the past with no gains or achievements. People like this would eventually turn into dry bones; their souls wouldn’t be able to break the shackles, and they would relive their grievances again and again, not dissipating for thousands of years.

But Yun Weisi didn’t expect Changming to free himself from the past so fast.

He was like a bystander there, and all the resentments of the past were left undisturbed.

For this reason, Changming was able to leave the memories of Yuru Town easily in a short time.

Yun Weisi placed his hand on Changming’s neck.

He could feel his pulse with his palm.

Changming’s skin wasn’t warm, but rather a bit cold.

Changming had used too much energy in the battle, and the hair on his temple had even gone grey.

When the oil runs out, the lantern goes out. His life was coming to its end.

Changming moved slightly.

He opened and closed his dried lips, as if he wanted to say something.

Yun Weisi watched him for a while, and then lowered his head slowly to move his ear closer.

“The past has changed.”

He heard Changming’s words.

“But the general direction didn’t deviate.”

Yun Weisi poured a basin of cold water on him indifferently.

Poured a basin of cold water: told the harsh truth

“Although you hindered their formation by smashing the Gathering Souls Pearl, they’ll massacre another town to make up for the loss you brought.”

“Originally, slaughtering one town was enough for them to refine a Gathering Souls Pearl, but now they will exterminate one more town and one more city. You learned the truth, but at the price of killing the people from the town and city.”

“Moreover, although Nie Emei and the other two were under your protection then, later they died as well.”

“They received your help, but Nie Emei died once she left her sect to gain experience, and Yun Chang’an with Cong Rong, although they survived for a number of years, died the same way, because internal struggles at court ruined their family.”

“Moreover, you found no evidence proving the guilt of Chi Bijiang and Situ Wanhuo. After you had heard Nie Emei explain the reasons for the massacre in Yuru Town, you went to the Wanxiang Palace to find them at once, and came right to the grand ceremony of the new master taking over the position. It is said that their previous master, Chi Bijiang, fell down a cliff that night, and no one knows whether she is alive or dead. Situ Wanhuo was possessed by demons just like before, and his Situ Family declined and fell. He didn’t manage to resurrect the one he wanted, and his story ended right there.”

“You thought that the early knowledge would help you prevent everything, but in the end you achieved nothing.”

“There are many people like you who thought that this place would help them change the past, but in the end they all fell victim to their mistakes, and their souls are chained here.”

Yun Weisi seldom talked so much. Every sentence now was said to dispel Changming’s hopes.

But Changming only smiled.

“You remember it, how great.”

He was talking and coughing weakly, and blood started dripping down his mouth every time he moved. His voice was as light as a feather.

But Yun Weisi heard him clearly.

“I did not go to the past to change it, but to recall it.”

“When the past changes, our memories come back to us.”

“And them butchering another town to refine a Gathering Souls Pearl is not my fault. Even if it wasn’t for me, they would have massacred people for different reasons, killing one city after another. It has nothing to do with me.”

“It is very foolish to take responsibility for the culprits’ misdeeds. If you wanted to disturb my heart with this, you had made a useless move.”

“Look, don’t you remember a lot now?”

“Ah, my disciple, as virtue rises one chi, vice rises ten. Learn from your teacher diligently.”

Although he didn’t talk much with his past self in the short time that they had spent in Yuru Town, the young Changming mostly understood those several phrases.

He kept his word, and sent Yun Chang’an and the rest of them back.

The Yun and Cong Families still had disputes about the marriage, but Yun Chang’an insisted, and finally got married with Cong Rong smoothly.

They were living in harmony after they got married, and Yun Chang’an was steadily getting on his feet. Not only did he participate in the Imperial Examinations, but even took the position of a court official. He often debated with others, speaking frankly, and became known as the Iron Mask Censor.

Iron Mask Censor: there was actually a person with this title, Zhao Bian, a poet of the Song Dynasty, famous for being a strict and rigorous man

But the ruling dynasty of those years, the Hong Dynasty, pushed a reactionary policy. As if the emperor was drunk or entranced, the eunuchs held all the power, and the court officials were not united in ideas. Some split into cliques, some sought protection with the eunuchs, and some thought too highly of themselves and refused to empathize with the common people and take heed of their sufferings.

Although Yun Chang’an’s background was refined, the emperor was annoyed by his constant advice, and soon found an excuse to demote him and send him to distant lands.

When Yun Chang’an was about to set out to his new post with his wife, a coup took place, with a eunuch concocting schemes. He was arrested at once. The emperor was enraged and ordered to investigate this matter.

For a while, the capital was full of bloody rains and foul winds. Soon, Cong Rong’s parents’ home got implicated. Cong Rong and other married women from the Cong Family were not among them. However, for fear of being implicated, the Yun Family tried to force Yun Chang’an to divorce his wife, but he refused categorically. In a rage, the emperor accused Yun Chang’an of being one of the conspirators, and ordered him to be executed.

Full of bloody rain and foul winds: reign of terror

It was said that on his way to the execution ground, Yun Chang’an was not only fearless, but even recited poems written by sages to prove his innocence.

Sages: refers to certain famous wise people, like, say, Confucius.

These two had only one son, Yun Weisi, whom no one dared to offer shelter to. The Yun Family shut their doors in front of him, but he refused to die meekly, and ran away alone. He crossed a thousand li to come to the Yuhuang Temple from the capital, and waited for them to accept him in the rain.

The events took a detour, and finally everything returned to the original track.

The difference was that, because Changming was warned in advance, he sent his shidi to stay in the capital, secretly sheltering Yun Chang’an and his wife, and not only teaching Yun Weisi martial arts, but also teaching him how to cultivate.

Perhaps because Yun Chang’an and Cong Rong were not cultivators, and they hadn’t been in contact with cultivators for so many years, they posed no threat, so they had been safe and sound for many years, suffering no assaults. In the end, everything ended as in the original history, and they died due to the court fight.

But, having thought about it a little deeper, the culprits hiding in the dark may have already regarded Yun Weisi as an important piece on the chessboard. Since his existence was closely related to the Nine Layers of the Abyss, he couldn’t die.

Changming thought of this, and, naturally, so did Yun Weisi.

He also felt that the story behind this matter was very huge and dreadful, and he needed more time to study it closely.

The person in his hands was trembling violently, the hair on his temple was turning white. He regained consciousness.

Yun Weisi grabbed his ice-cold wrist, sending him a little spiritual power.

But Changming was like an emptied jar, and no matter how much spiritual power entered his body, it had the effect of quenching the fire of a cartload of firewood with one cup of water.

Changming’s hair was going gray.

Although his face didn’t change much, his hair was white as snow, like that of a beauty with flesh of ice and bones of jade.

He fell into a deep slumber, and said nothing more.

The chaotic sea was gently supporting them, letting them go up and down with the water surface without getting their feet wet.

Time should have stopped forever in this place, but the man in his arms was slowly wearing away.

Yun Weisi frowned slightly.

If they left this place now, that would only make his condition more grave.

He picked Changming up and floated towards the shimmering sea of stars in the distance.

Yun Weisi raised Changming’s hand and touched the closest of the glowing stars.

He had thrown away his memories, so only Changming would be able to go to the past.

Boom!

A white light suddenly burst in front of his eyes.

A fierce wind came abruptly, and Yun Weisi almost let Changming go.

It wasn’t just a fierce wind, they were in a storm.

Heavy rain turned the earth and the sky into a single whole, and Yun Weisi couldn’t even understand where they were.

Someone shouted from a distance in the rain.

“Young master, are you boarding the ship?”

“Young master, come here quickly, no boats except for this one are setting off to the homeland tonight!”

The heavy rain drenched the two of them, but Changming didn’t wake up nevertheless.

Yun Weisi quickly came closer to the man, and saw a boat on the shore indeed.

A few heads were popping out from the ship’s hold. It seemed that there were many people.

A boatman in a bamboo rain hat and straw rain cape was standing under a tree near the shore, shouting to them.

“Young master, are you going or not! The rain is too heavy, you can’t wait for the next boat! This lake is bigger than the sea, and the waves and wind are violent today; others don’t dare to sail, and only I am going out to the waters!”

Seeing him approach, the boatman breathed a sigh of relief but became anxious at the same time for fear that he was talking so much, but Yun Weisi wouldn’t leave with him anyway.

The people on the board started urging him.

“Let’s go.”

Yun Weisi, holding Changming, wanted to board the ship.

The boatman quickly grabbed him.

“Hey-hey, you haven’t paid yet!”

Yun Weisi stopped.

“How much?”

“Thank you, it’s one string. If you’re discontented with the high price, you’ll have to spend the night on the island, I won’t take you!”

Thank you: it’s a special thank you that a seller would say to their buyers

One string: of coins

Yun Weisi was puzzled: “What kind of money is used now?”

The boatman: …

He thought that Yun Weisi was trying to dodge the ship fare, so he said no more useless words, turned around and went away, sparing his breath.

Yun Weisi grabbed him, and passed him one piece of gold.

The boatman beamed with joy at once.

“Come, come, young master, quickly board the ship, I have precisely two empty seats left!”

He dragged for a long time before sailing, and the passengers were impatient from waiting. Many eyes fell on Yun Weisi who entered the hold last.

The hold was indeed quite spacious. Five people were sitting there.

This boat was considered a medium-sized one, and of course, there were more people working on it than just the boatman who was steering the ship. On the bottom hold, four people were paddling with force.

Yun Weisi had no intention to engage in small talks with strangers, and went to the free seats in the corner.

The people knew nothing about his identity, but they saw the Chunzhao Sword on his back, and guessed that he was not a commoner who could be pushed around.

The three guests returned to their unfinished discussion soon after, and only the two female passengers were still throwing curious glances at them, especially at Changming’s white hair.

“Just who said that a spiritual weapon with consciousness had appeared on the island? I made a futile trip, and even got caught in this hundred-year storm, what terrible luck!”

“Maybe the spiritual weapon was seized long ago?”

“No way! I hastened over here as soon as I heard the news, but found nothing in three days and three nights!”

“I heard that four days ago a flood dragon appeared and then vanished in the sea, creating clouds with one turn of his foot and rain with another, raising winds and waves. At that time, the island was flooded, maybe the weapon fell into the waters, and got lost there!”

Yun Weisi didn’t raise his head, looking at Changming.

His hair wasn’t getting darker, but didn’t continue to go grey either.

He couldn’t recall this event in the past. The conversation between the passengers gave him no clue as well, so he stopped listening to them and tried to send Changming spiritual powers again.

Roar!

A loud roar interrupted the speakers.

The boat that was swaying from the beginning now began to shake fiercely.

The female passengers screamed, and the male guests paled.

Someone popped their head out, and saw a small greenish hill heaving from the water.

The “hill” suddenly slid and went back underwater in the blink of an eye.

The person reacted immediately.

What hill, obviously, it was a giant dragon!

A flood dragon was almost a dragon, but still lacking cultivation to become one. However, it was still the overlord of this lake, and every time it moved, the people swayed violently, the waves almost overturning their boat.

The people in the hold were also swaying from side to side, rolling around and shouting nonstop.

Since they were hunting for the treasure, of course, they were cultivators. Even if their cultivation levels were low, they wouldn’t simply wait for their death in the hold.

Someone grabbed their weapons and rushed out from the hold in large leaps. The long whip in his arm wrapped around the flood dragon’s head.

This flood dragon was enormous. One turn of its body raised giant tides, and the whip was like a plaything for him. The dragon opened his mouth, caught the whip and raised both the whip and its owner into the air.

Holding the person in his mouth, the dragon raised his head and let go of the man. He fell into the surging waves.

Several more people went up to fight one after another, but not only was this dragon huge, it also had at least a master level cultivation base. Even a larger number of people would struggle to fight him, let alone this small pack.

When the boat had almost overturned completely, Yun Weisi moved.

The people saw a glowing sword fly out from the hold, brushing past the dragon’s face.

A part of the dragon’s whiskers was cut off. The dragon was enraged. He hit the surface of the water with his tail, attacking Yun Weisi.

The latter landed on the dragon’s head, and his sword moved according to his wish, entangling the giant scaly green tail.

The flood dragon felt a sharp pain, but Yun Weisi still threatened him in addition.

“If you dare overturn this boat, I will cut off your tendons.”

His voice was ice-cold, out-of-this-world, and the dragon shook.

“Why is it you?”

“Why did you come back!”

“Haven’t we agreed that you’ll let me off? Wu-wu-wu, you can’t go against your words!”

The flood dragon’s voice sounded in Yun Weisi’s mind.

Not only was it boorish and arrogant, but even resembled the voice of a girl who was crying and talking at the same time.

At first, she was talking and crying, but then, there was only the ‘wu-wu’ whining sound.

As if many flies were rushing in circles in Yun Weisi’s head.

Weng-weng-weng, weng-weng-weng.

Weng: *buzzing in Chinese*

“Shut up.”

The sea of his consciousness was finally quiet.

The sea of consciousness: his knowledge. It is said that people can enter it, for example, during the time they are asleep

The surface of the lake gradually calmed down as well.

The people on the boat still hadn’t returned to their senses. They didn’t know what Yun Weisi did, and only dared to watch from afar, but didn’t get closer.

“Have we met before?” Yun Weisi asked her.

“Four days ago you beat me up so hard that I couldn’t come out for some time. But I didn’t do it on purpose! The wind and rain were so heavy today, and I slept underneath for a long time, so I wanted to come out and roll. Who knew that they would hit me? They were the ones who started it, you can’t blame me! Why did you come back so soon, did you rescue your shifu?”

Yun Weisi froze.

The last words from the dragon were like a prick that pierced right through Yun Weisi’s heart.

As if it was actually pierced, and something was flowing out from it.

“Me, rescuing him?”

“Right! You said the Liuhe Zhutian Formation broke suddenly, and your shifu is gone forever. It was very strange, so there must be something behind this matter.”

“What else did I say?”

“You also said that you can use brute force to defeat anyone in the world, but you cannot dispel the misunderstandings for him. But you don’t want him to be dishonored forever, and you can’t allow anyone to say that he was bad at anything, so you must go to Sacred Mountain Wan in person and find the truth about what had happened on that day. Aiya, this Sacred Mountain Wan has now a horde of demons dancing in a riotous rampage there. I advised you not to go, but you didn’t listen, and said you have to! Did you come back now because it proved impossible?”

The flood dragon was proud of herself, and almost wagged her head joyously.

“I even offered you to wait until I refine a second Dragon Pearl, so that I would lend you the first. With a dragon’s abilities, you can reach twice the result with the same efforts. Yet you didn’t accept this. Do you regret it now?”

“A Dragon Pearl?”

“Right, bringing the dead back to life, nourishing powers. This dragon’s Dragon Pearl is a rare treasure, I just finished it a few days ago. Others long for it, but can never obtain it; however, I owe you, so you are the only one… Eh, why did your breath change so much? Obviously, you are still him, but why are you different?”

She uses ‘this dragon’ instead of ‘I’ from time to time to sound polite

“I am me, myself from the future.”

“This dragon doesn’t understand. But, if you finished, you came back at just the right time. I’ve made great progress in my cultivation these days, and I feel like I am about to transform into a dragon. Let’s exchange some moves, and see how my skills are at their peak. Tell you what, those guys from the Donghai Sea still look down on me, they think that they are more talented. Just wait for the day I become a dragon…”

The flood dragon was rambling annoyingly in a girl’s voice. She wanted to continue blabbering, lowered her head to drink some water, and asked Yun Weisi.

“Are you alright?”

Yun Weisi hummed and uttered five words.

“Give me the Dragon Pearl.”

The flood dragon: ???

Was this man not listening to her at all?!

Tn:

This is probably what a flood dragon looks like:

https://j.17qq.com/article/wfqnfphqy.html, the one from Baidu had no whiskers, unforgivable

Chapter 39. Learn from your teacher diligently

Proofread by P. & Lucia

The Sifei Sword moved swiftly as soon as Changming’s words fell as if it heard the Heavens themselves.

The sword’s blade was originally pitch-black, not eye-catching at all. But at that moment, dark flames covered it, and then stretched out to every corner, making all the spirits retreat and keeping them off; thousands of ghosts disappeared at the same moment.

The Sifei Sword created a whirlpool, and the ghost fires were sucked in and strangled there incessantly, and their shrieks, demanding human lives, turned into mournful wailing. But it was too late to cry about their resentment, as the blue colors were torn into pieces by the black flames, and its scattered bits fell to the ground.

This scene was exceptionally beautiful, like a cloudless sky on a summer night.

But no one had the heart to admire it.

Cang Tian’s remains hadn’t gotten cold yet, mostly swallowed by the ghost fires. Only half of his face with his eyes wide open was left, silently showing the terror of the scene that he had seen.

Since his sword is so formidable, why didn’t he use it earlier so that we would have won sooner?

This thought suddenly flashed through Yun Chang’an’s mind.

He couldn’t help but cast Changming a glance. But when Yun Chang’an saw his almost bloodless face, that thought immediately faded away, and he felt remorseful for needing protection and taking it for granted.

Yun Chang’an matured a lot that night.

Cong Rong trembled slightly, and he caught her hand subconsciously.

“Everything will be alright.”

He was comforting her and comforting himself as well.

Since the day their elders arranged their marriage, they never looked at each other amiably. Who would have expected that they would go through such a perilous experience together in a small town near the border.

Whenever Yun Chang’an saw Cong Rong before, he saw flaws all around. He never said it out loud, but always thought that her looks lacked charm, that she was too noisy, and annoyingly enjoyed seeing him lose. The two of them couldn’t get along at all. Even if they were forced to marry, this marriage would have probably been full of chickens flying and dogs jumping around, with no peaceful days at all.

Chickens flying and dogs jumping around: chaotic

Where were these thoughts now?

He could only wish she would jump around and quarrel with him for hundreds of rounds again, fearing that she would never enjoy talking to him after what had happened.

And it wasn’t even certain whether they would manage to save their lives today.

While Yun Chang’an was letting his imagination run wild, the ghost fires that were blotting out the sky and covering the earth partially dispersed.

The Sifei Sword killed every demon it met, and slaughtered every ghost it stumbled upon. The souls whose resentment almost soared to the sky were frightened, and didn’t dare to attack where the point of the sword was moving, looking for other gaps.

But others weren’t idle either.

The young Changming was very doubtful about the Chunzhao Sword in Yun Hai’s hands, but he said nothing.

The sword’s glow was falling everywhere like rain, and its spiritual powers compensated for Yun Hai’s and Changming’s inability to use them. It was helping Nie Emei as well, creating a barrier with four corners for them, so that the ghost fire wouldn’t break through.

The second rooster crowed.

Long shrieks resounded from the east to the west of the city, and the howling beasts and wailing ghosts couldn’t conceal their obvious excitement.

The innate fear of bright days angered these evil spirits who had long gotten used to living in the dark. Many ghost fires turned around and rushed towards the rooster, tearing it to pieces.

But even if the rooster was silenced, it didn’t mean that the dawn wouldn’t come.

The endless night was finally receding.

The evil spirits seemed to have noticed this.

They roared and howled insanely, attempting to swallow Changming and the others at the last minute.

But then they suddenly calmed down.

The fire ghosts swiftly scattered into every direction, drifting not far away and looking for gaps in the defence set by the humans who were already tired.

The Sifei Sword trembled slightly.

This spiritual weapon had been following Changming for many years, and encountered more desperate situations than the one they had to face today. It couldn’t have given up that easily.

There could be only one reason for this—

The Sifei Sword’s master couldn’t endure any longer.

Changming closed his eyes, forming a formula with his fingers.

The hem of his robes was fluttering in the wind, but his figure was steady and unmoved.

Showing not a trace of weakness.

But Yun Hai saw it clearly: even if his will was inordinately resolute, he was now like an arrow that was shot from a strong bow but had now become weak after flying a long distance.

He was painstakingly suppressing all his old and fresh wounds, injured everywhere, on the verge of breaking down.

He was like jade covered in cracks, and no one knew when it would finally rupture.

Yun Hai’s heart sank, and he stretched his hand out to hold the Sifei Sword.

But the Sifei Sword had already reached the state of seeing neither affection nor emptiness, and didn’t acknowledge other people. When Yun Hai’s hand got closer, the sword’s glow cut his skin, and blood started dripping from it drop by drop.

Seeing neither affection nor emptiness: enlightened, sees no distractions

As long as this person was not Changming, the Sifei Sword couldn’t tell friend from foe.

The evil spirits smelled the blood, and grew even more restless.

A few couldn’t help it and got closer, getting strangled at once.

But they realized that the Sifei Sword’s glow got a bit dimmer.

Obviously, its owner wouldn’t be able to maintain it for a long time.

Far away in the distance, a white ray broke through the dark clouds, as if the sword’s glow broke through the sky.

The evil spirits had no more time.

And the Sifei Sword’s glow got a little weaker.

They roared and rushed at them, breaking the barrier and thrusting into the circle of the sword’s glow.

Changming’s sleeve was destroyed by the ghost fires, reduced into ashes.

When Yun Chang’an saw this, he shouted, and wanted to help Changming.

Nie Emei couldn’t help but turn to him again.

The young Changming frowned, and wanted to block them with his sword.

But they all were half a step late.

The fire ghosts had already devoured more than half of his sleeve, and would inevitably reach his arm soon.

Changming was about to follow the track of Cang Tian’s overturned cart—

Track of an overturned cart: a way leading to a fall, a disastrous road that smn had already taken

But then the sword’s glow flourished!

Dashing up to the bright sky!

But this was not the Sifei Sword’s qi, but Chunzhao’s.

And not of the Chunzhao Sword that young Changming was holding, but the one in Yun Hai’s hands!

The others noticed that Yun Hai’s expression had turned strict and fierce.

The white and black sword glows intertwined in the air, almost blinding people; the light was so bright that they couldn’t open their eyes!

In a short moment, they opened their eyes again, and saw Yun Hai slowly land with Changming.

The evil spirits and ghost fires had already vanished, leaving no trace.

The rays of the sun rising in the east shrouded Yuru Town, and the roof tiles were reflecting the lustrous light. As far as the eye could see, everything was quiet, covered with broken bricks and smashed tiles. Houses were ruined and people had perished.

Yun Chang’an’s legs went soft, and he collapsed to the ground.

Cong Rong was pulled down by him.

Nie Emei’s heart was beating fast, and her chest was heaving. She heard the young Changming’s voice.

“Don’t go!”

She turned her head, and realized that Changming and the others had disappeared all of a sudden.

“Why?!”

Although they were strangers who met by chance like patches of drifting duckweed, they almost died together last night. She thought that they were taken away by someone’s trick.

“Daoyou! Daoyou!”

She shouted loudly, but received no answer.

Changming and Yun Hai disappeared completely out of the blue, leaving no traces.

“Quickly, find them!”

Nie Emei urged them anxiously.

Yun Chang’an said blankly: “I saw a white light enveloping them just before they disappeared, as if…”

As if they were not taken away by anything, but were forced to leave because they had no time.

Because the one named Yun didn’t show a surprised expression.

The young man standing next to them hadn’t yet sheathed his Chunzhao Sword.

He was pondering, looking in the direction where they disappeared.

“Daoyou?”

Nie Emei’s voice returned him to his senses.

“They went where they should be. Don’t worry.”

The young Changming said, “We shouldn’t stay in this place any longer. I’ll send you off first.”

…

Yun Weisi was drifting through the chaotic sea, supporting Changming.

This place was the rim of the Void Shore, the place one entered after leaving their memories. It was easy to fall into the sea of chaos here, unless one could find another memory to enter.

He felt that Changming’s breath was weak, almost nonexistent.

At this moment, Yun Weisi didn’t even have to waste any strength, and that person would still die for good.

Just like every soul on the Void Shore, they were wandering through the past with no gains or achievements. People like this would eventually turn into dry bones; their souls wouldn’t be able to break the shackles, and they would relive their grievances again and again, not dissipating for thousands of years.

But Yun Weisi didn’t expect Changming to free himself from the past so fast.

He was like a bystander there, and all the resentments of the past were left undisturbed.

For this reason, Changming was able to leave the memories of Yuru Town easily in a short time.

Yun Weisi placed his hand on Changming’s neck.

He could feel his pulse with his palm.

Changming’s skin wasn’t warm, but rather a bit cold.

Changming had used too much energy in the battle, and the hair on his temple had even gone grey.

When the oil runs out, the lantern goes out. His life was coming to its end.

Changming moved slightly.

He opened and closed his dried lips, as if he wanted to say something.

Yun Weisi watched him for a while, and then lowered his head slowly to move his ear closer.

“The past has changed.”

He heard Changming’s words.

“But the general direction didn’t deviate.”

Yun Weisi poured a basin of cold water on him indifferently.

Poured a basin of cold water: told the harsh truth

“Although you hindered their formation by smashing the Gathering Souls Pearl, they’ll massacre another town to make up for the loss you brought.”

“Originally, slaughtering one town was enough for them to refine a Gathering Souls Pearl, but now they will exterminate one more town and one more city. You learned the truth, but at the price of killing the people from the town and city.”

“Moreover, although Nie Emei and the other two were under your protection then, later they died as well.”

“They received your help, but Nie Emei died once she left her sect to gain experience, and Yun Chang’an with Cong Rong, although they survived for a number of years, died the same way, because internal struggles at court ruined their family.”

“Moreover, you found no evidence proving the guilt of Chi Bijiang and Situ Wanhuo. After you had heard Nie Emei explain the reasons for the massacre in Yuru Town, you went to the Wanxiang Palace to find them at once, and came right to the grand ceremony of the new master taking over the position. It is said that their previous master, Chi Bijiang, fell down a cliff that night, and no one knows whether she is alive or dead. Situ Wanhuo was possessed by demons just like before, and his Situ Family declined and fell. He didn’t manage to resurrect the one he wanted, and his story ended right there.”

“You thought that the early knowledge would help you prevent everything, but in the end you achieved nothing.”

“There are many people like you who thought that this place would help them change the past, but in the end they all fell victim to their mistakes, and their souls are chained here.”

Yun Weisi seldom talked so much. Every sentence now was said to dispel Changming’s hopes.

But Changming only smiled.

“You remember it, how great.”

He was talking and coughing weakly, and blood started dripping down his mouth every time he moved. His voice was as light as a feather.

But Yun Weisi heard him clearly.

“I did not go to the past to change it, but to recall it.”

“When the past changes, our memories come back to us.”

“And them butchering another town to refine a Gathering Souls Pearl is not my fault. Even if it wasn’t for me, they would have massacred people for different reasons, killing one city after another. It has nothing to do with me.”

“It is very foolish to take responsibility for the culprits’ misdeeds. If you wanted to disturb my heart with this, you had made a useless move.”

“Look, don’t you remember a lot now?”

“Ah, my disciple, as virtue rises one chi, vice rises ten. Learn from your teacher diligently.”

Although he didn’t talk much with his past self in the short time that they had spent in Yuru Town, the young Changming mostly understood those several phrases.

He kept his word, and sent Yun Chang’an and the rest of them back.

The Yun and Cong Families still had disputes about the marriage, but Yun Chang’an insisted, and finally got married with Cong Rong smoothly.

They were living in harmony after they got married, and Yun Chang’an was steadily getting on his feet. Not only did he participate in the Imperial Examinations, but even took the position of a court official. He often debated with others, speaking frankly, and became known as the Iron Mask Censor.

Iron Mask Censor: there was actually a person with this title, Zhao Bian, a poet of the Song Dynasty, famous for being a strict and rigorous man

But the ruling dynasty of those years, the Hong Dynasty, pushed a reactionary policy. As if the emperor was drunk or entranced, the eunuchs held all the power, and the court officials were not united in ideas. Some split into cliques, some sought protection with the eunuchs, and some thought too highly of themselves and refused to empathize with the common people and take heed of their sufferings.

Although Yun Chang’an’s background was refined, the emperor was annoyed by his constant advice, and soon found an excuse to demote him and send him to distant lands.

When Yun Chang’an was about to set out to his new post with his wife, a coup took place, with a eunuch concocting schemes. He was arrested at once. The emperor was enraged and ordered to investigate this matter.

For a while, the capital was full of bloody rains and foul winds. Soon, Cong Rong’s parents’ home got implicated. Cong Rong and other married women from the Cong Family were not among them. However, for fear of being implicated, the Yun Family tried to force Yun Chang’an to divorce his wife, but he refused categorically. In a rage, the emperor accused Yun Chang’an of being one of the conspirators, and ordered him to be executed.

Full of bloody rain and foul winds: reign of terror

It was said that on his way to the execution ground, Yun Chang’an was not only fearless, but even recited poems written by sages to prove his innocence.

Sages: refers to certain famous wise people, like, say, Confucius.

These two had only one son, Yun Weisi, whom no one dared to offer shelter to. The Yun Family shut their doors in front of him, but he refused to die meekly, and ran away alone. He crossed a thousand li to come to the Yuhuang Temple from the capital, and waited for them to accept him in the rain.

The events took a detour, and finally everything returned to the original track.

The difference was that, because Changming was warned in advance, he sent his shidi to stay in the capital, secretly sheltering Yun Chang’an and his wife, and not only teaching Yun Weisi martial arts, but also teaching him how to cultivate.

Perhaps because Yun Chang’an and Cong Rong were not cultivators, and they hadn’t been in contact with cultivators for so many years, they posed no threat, so they had been safe and sound for many years, suffering no assaults. In the end, everything ended as in the original history, and they died due to the court fight.

But, having thought about it a little deeper, the culprits hiding in the dark may have already regarded Yun Weisi as an important piece on the chessboard. Since his existence was closely related to the Nine Layers of the Abyss, he couldn’t die.

Changming thought of this, and, naturally, so did Yun Weisi.

He also felt that the story behind this matter was very huge and dreadful, and he needed more time to study it closely.

The person in his hands was trembling violently, the hair on his temple was turning white. He regained consciousness.

Yun Weisi grabbed his ice-cold wrist, sending him a little spiritual power.

But Changming was like an emptied jar, and no matter how much spiritual power entered his body, it had the effect of quenching the fire of a cartload of firewood with one cup of water.

Changming’s hair was going gray.

Although his face didn’t change much, his hair was white as snow, like that of a beauty with flesh of ice and bones of jade.

He fell into a deep slumber, and said nothing more.

The chaotic sea was gently supporting them, letting them go up and down with the water surface without getting their feet wet.

Time should have stopped forever in this place, but the man in his arms was slowly wearing away.

Yun Weisi frowned slightly.

If they left this place now, that would only make his condition more grave.

He picked Changming up and floated towards the shimmering sea of stars in the distance.

Yun Weisi raised Changming’s hand and touched the closest of the glowing stars.

He had thrown away his memories, so only Changming would be able to go to the past.

Boom!

A white light suddenly burst in front of his eyes.

A fierce wind came abruptly, and Yun Weisi almost let Changming go.

It wasn’t just a fierce wind, they were in a storm.

Heavy rain turned the earth and the sky into a single whole, and Yun Weisi couldn’t even understand where they were.

Someone shouted from a distance in the rain.

“Young master, are you boarding the ship?”

“Young master, come here quickly, no boats except for this one are setting off to the homeland tonight!”

The heavy rain drenched the two of them, but Changming didn’t wake up nevertheless.

Yun Weisi quickly came closer to the man, and saw a boat on the shore indeed.

A few heads were popping out from the ship’s hold. It seemed that there were many people.

A boatman in a bamboo rain hat and straw rain cape was standing under a tree near the shore, shouting to them.

“Young master, are you going or not! The rain is too heavy, you can’t wait for the next boat! This lake is bigger than the sea, and the waves and wind are violent today; others don’t dare to sail, and only I am going out to the waters!”

Seeing him approach, the boatman breathed a sigh of relief but became anxious at the same time for fear that he was talking so much, but Yun Weisi wouldn’t leave with him anyway.

The people on the board started urging him.

“Let’s go.”

Yun Weisi, holding Changming, wanted to board the ship.

The boatman quickly grabbed him.

“Hey-hey, you haven’t paid yet!”

Yun Weisi stopped.

“How much?”

“Thank you, it’s one string. If you’re discontented with the high price, you’ll have to spend the night on the island, I won’t take you!”

Thank you: it’s a special thank you that a seller would say to their buyers

One string: of coins

Yun Weisi was puzzled: “What kind of money is used now?”

The boatman: …

He thought that Yun Weisi was trying to dodge the ship fare, so he said no more useless words, turned around and went away, sparing his breath.

Yun Weisi grabbed him, and passed him one piece of gold.

The boatman beamed with joy at once.

“Come, come, young master, quickly board the ship, I have precisely two empty seats left!”

He dragged for a long time before sailing, and the passengers were impatient from waiting. Many eyes fell on Yun Weisi who entered the hold last.

The hold was indeed quite spacious. Five people were sitting there.

This boat was considered a medium-sized one, and of course, there were more people working on it than just the boatman who was steering the ship. On the bottom hold, four people were paddling with force.

Yun Weisi had no intention to engage in small talks with strangers, and went to the free seats in the corner.

The people knew nothing about his identity, but they saw the Chunzhao Sword on his back, and guessed that he was not a commoner who could be pushed around.

The three guests returned to their unfinished discussion soon after, and only the two female passengers were still throwing curious glances at them, especially at Changming’s white hair.

“Just who said that a spiritual weapon with consciousness had appeared on the island? I made a futile trip, and even got caught in this hundred-year storm, what terrible luck!”

“Maybe the spiritual weapon was seized long ago?”

“No way! I hastened over here as soon as I heard the news, but found nothing in three days and three nights!”

“I heard that four days ago a flood dragon appeared and then vanished in the sea, creating clouds with one turn of his foot and rain with another, raising winds and waves. At that time, the island was flooded, maybe the weapon fell into the waters, and got lost there!”

Yun Weisi didn’t raise his head, looking at Changming.

His hair wasn’t getting darker, but didn’t continue to go grey either.

He couldn’t recall this event in the past. The conversation between the passengers gave him no clue as well, so he stopped listening to them and tried to send Changming spiritual powers again.

Roar!

A loud roar interrupted the speakers.

The boat that was swaying from the beginning now began to shake fiercely.

The female passengers screamed, and the male guests paled.

Someone popped their head out, and saw a small greenish hill heaving from the water.

The “hill” suddenly slid and went back underwater in the blink of an eye.

The person reacted immediately.

What hill, obviously, it was a giant dragon!

A flood dragon was almost a dragon, but still lacking cultivation to become one. However, it was still the overlord of this lake, and every time it moved, the people swayed violently, the waves almost overturning their boat.

The people in the hold were also swaying from side to side, rolling around and shouting nonstop.

Since they were hunting for the treasure, of course, they were cultivators. Even if their cultivation levels were low, they wouldn’t simply wait for their death in the hold.

Someone grabbed their weapons and rushed out from the hold in large leaps. The long whip in his arm wrapped around the flood dragon’s head.

This flood dragon was enormous. One turn of its body raised giant tides, and the whip was like a plaything for him. The dragon opened his mouth, caught the whip and raised both the whip and its owner into the air.

Holding the person in his mouth, the dragon raised his head and let go of the man. He fell into the surging waves.

Several more people went up to fight one after another, but not only was this dragon huge, it also had at least a master level cultivation base. Even a larger number of people would struggle to fight him, let alone this small pack.

When the boat had almost overturned completely, Yun Weisi moved.

The people saw a glowing sword fly out from the hold, brushing past the dragon’s face.

A part of the dragon’s whiskers was cut off. The dragon was enraged. He hit the surface of the water with his tail, attacking Yun Weisi.

The latter landed on the dragon’s head, and his sword moved according to his wish, entangling the giant scaly green tail.

The flood dragon felt a sharp pain, but Yun Weisi still threatened him in addition.

“If you dare overturn this boat, I will cut off your tendons.”

His voice was ice-cold, out-of-this-world, and the dragon shook.

“Why is it you?”

“Why did you come back!”

“Haven’t we agreed that you’ll let me off? Wu-wu-wu, you can’t go against your words!”

The flood dragon’s voice sounded in Yun Weisi’s mind.

Not only was it boorish and arrogant, but even resembled the voice of a girl who was crying and talking at the same time.

At first, she was talking and crying, but then, there was only the ‘wu-wu’ whining sound.

As if many flies were rushing in circles in Yun Weisi’s head.

Weng-weng-weng, weng-weng-weng.

Weng: *buzzing in Chinese*

“Shut up.”

The sea of his consciousness was finally quiet.

The sea of consciousness: his knowledge. It is said that people can enter it, for example, during the time they are asleep

The surface of the lake gradually calmed down as well.

The people on the boat still hadn’t returned to their senses. They didn’t know what Yun Weisi did, and only dared to watch from afar, but didn’t get closer.

“Have we met before?” Yun Weisi asked her.

“Four days ago you beat me up so hard that I couldn’t come out for some time. But I didn’t do it on purpose! The wind and rain were so heavy today, and I slept underneath for a long time, so I wanted to come out and roll. Who knew that they would hit me? They were the ones who started it, you can’t blame me! Why did you come back so soon, did you rescue your shifu?”

Yun Weisi froze.

The last words from the dragon were like a prick that pierced right through Yun Weisi’s heart.

As if it was actually pierced, and something was flowing out from it.

“Me, rescuing him?”

“Right! You said the Liuhe Zhutian Formation broke suddenly, and your shifu is gone forever. It was very strange, so there must be something behind this matter.”

“What else did I say?”

“You also said that you can use brute force to defeat anyone in the world, but you cannot dispel the misunderstandings for him. But you don’t want him to be dishonored forever, and you can’t allow anyone to say that he was bad at anything, so you must go to Sacred Mountain Wan in person and find the truth about what had happened on that day. Aiya, this Sacred Mountain Wan has now a horde of demons dancing in a riotous rampage there. I advised you not to go, but you didn’t listen, and said you have to! Did you come back now because it proved impossible?”

The flood dragon was proud of herself, and almost wagged her head joyously.

“I even offered you to wait until I refine a second Dragon Pearl, so that I would lend you the first. With a dragon’s abilities, you can reach twice the result with the same efforts. Yet you didn’t accept this. Do you regret it now?”

“A Dragon Pearl?”

“Right, bringing the dead back to life, nourishing powers. This dragon’s Dragon Pearl is a rare treasure, I just finished it a few days ago. Others long for it, but can never obtain it; however, I owe you, so you are the only one… Eh, why did your breath change so much? Obviously, you are still him, but why are you different?”

She uses ‘this dragon’ instead of ‘I’ from time to time to sound polite

“I am me, myself from the future.”

“This dragon doesn’t understand. But, if you finished, you came back at just the right time. I’ve made great progress in my cultivation these days, and I feel like I am about to transform into a dragon. Let’s exchange some moves, and see how my skills are at their peak. Tell you what, those guys from the Donghai Sea still look down on me, they think that they are more talented. Just wait for the day I become a dragon…”

The flood dragon was rambling annoyingly in a girl’s voice. She wanted to continue blabbering, lowered her head to drink some water, and asked Yun Weisi.

“Are you alright?”

Yun Weisi hummed and uttered five words.

“Give me the Dragon Pearl.”

The flood dragon: ???

Was this man not listening to her at all?!

Tn:

This is probably what a flood dragon looks like:

https://j.17qq.com/article/wfqnfphqy.html, the one from Baidu had no whiskers, unforgivable