Chapter 196: A Mysterious World

Bai Xiaochun’s reply immediately caused Zhao Wuchang’s heart to tremble. How could this master of his speak with such shocking forwardness&h.e.l.lip;?

All of the other disciples gasped, and then pretended that they hadn’t even heard the Middle Peak grand elder be addressed in such a saucy fas.h.i.+on.

Song Junwan’s eyes went wide. Her first impression was that Nightcrypt was intentionally being disrespectful, but then she saw the gleam of infatuation in his eyes, and smiled flirtatiously. For some reason, he suddenly seemed even more charming than before.

“Big Sis?!” Strange expressions could be seen on the faces of the grand elders from the three other peaks. They looked at Bai Xiaochun, and then at Song Junwan. Finally, they shook their heads and turned to leave. As for Zhao Wuchang, he chose to go to Lesser Marsh Peak.

Before making his way off, the grand elder from Corpse Peak sighed lamentingly.

He truly felt regret that Bai Xiaochun had picked Middle Peak, and also wasn’t quite willing to lose such an exquisite disciple who was clearly connected to Corpse Peak by destiny. Stepping forward, he produced a jade slip, which he handed to Bai Xiaochun.

“Nightcrypt, this is my command medallion. If you ever change your mind, bring it to Corpse Peak. We’ll always have a Dharma protector spot open for you!”

Bai Xiaochun took the command medallion graciously, thinking about how wonderfully the Blood Stream Sect was treating him. Although they did things a bit brutally, they truly took good care of him.

“When I cause disasters, they don’t punish me, they reward me!” he thought. “The four grand elders even fought over me, and in the end, the Corpse Peak grand elder still has his sights set on me.” He sighed again.

As everyone left, Song Junwan of Middle Peak looked Bai Xiaochun up and down, smiling the entire time. She had a smoking hot body, and as soon as she took a step forward, her milky white thigh was revealed. It was incredibly enticing, and despite the fact that Bai Xiaochun felt himself to be a person with iron resolve, he couldn’t keep from staring. His heart also began to thump in his chest.

Steamily, Song Junwan swayed up to Bai Xiaochun and reached her fair finger out to stroke his chin. Her crimson lips turned up in a slight smile, and she sighed. “What did you just call me, you little rascal?”

“Big Sis Song&h.e.l.lip;.” he replied shyly, his face flus.h.i.+ng a bit as her delicate fragrance wafted into his nose.

When she saw him acting in such a way, Song Junwan laughed softly. Lifting her eyebrow slightly, she reached out and put a jade pendant in his hand. Then, she turned sensuously and floated away.

Bai Xiaochun stood there alone on the Precipice of Never-Ending Blood, holding the jade pendant in his hand, sighing at the lengths to which he had to go to get the relic of eternal indestructibility. He couldn’t help but admire himself. Then he thought about the matter of calling Song Junwan Big Sis; next time he met Song Que, he would obviously have the greater seniority.

Even more excited than before, he proudly returned to his immortal’s cave. By then it was evening. After arriving, he began to pack his bags in preparation for reporting in to Middle Peak the following morning.

Late in the night, as Bai Xiaochun was sitting there meditating, moonlight suddenly spilled in through the window, casting a shadow right in front of him. As it did, an unspeakable feeling of dread filled him; it was almost as if an invisible figure were about to take shape in front of him.

His eyes went wide, and his scalp went numb. Even as he watched, his shadow rippled and distorted, almost as if it were made from mist. In the blink of an eye, it filled the immortal’s cave, which went pitch black. It was as if even the moonlight were infected, and had been cut away!

As soon as he saw what was happening, Bai Xiaochun thought of the mysterious sect that imposter Nightcrypt had mentioned. Bai Xiaochun had never forgotten the stories of that sect, and at the moment, although his expression remained the same, inwardly he was getting very nervous. He quickly rose to his feet and began to look around the area carefully.

“Imposter Nightcrypt said that over the decades, the mysterious sect only appeared three times. It’s been quite some time since their last appearance. Why didn’t they ever show up again&h.e.l.lip;.?” His heart began to thump in fear; if that mysterious sect saw through his mask, who knew what could happen&h.e.l.lip;.

He soon found that within the shadow-wreathed immortal’s cave, the ground was rippling, almost as if it were water. Soon, it turned translucent, and Bai Xiaochun was suddenly out in an illusory world.

At first, it seemed like the world existed underground, but upon closer inspection, Bai Xiaochun was shocked to realize that it was actually a projection. It was almost as if he were on the other side of a mirror, looking into another location.

That world had mountains and bodies of water, as well as a blue sky dotted with white clouds. Gradually, a white-robed figure appeared, radiating a profoundly ancient aura; for some reason, Bai Xiaochun immediately knew that this was a powerful expert from that mysterious sect. In that instant, he gained a much deeper understanding of how powerful that mysterious sect was.

“Nightcrypt!” When the white-robed figure spoke into his mind, it was impossible to determine if the voice belonged to a man or a woman. Bai Xiaochun was already getting nervous, but apparently, the white-robed figure didn’t notice that anything was amiss. The figure waved a sleeve, and three medicinal pill bottles appeared, all of them decorated with the mark of a s.h.i.+ning moon. They immediately flew toward the translucent ground, as if they were going to pierce through and appear inside the immortal’s cave.

The ripples in the floor grew more intense as the pill bottles grew close.

“I sensed the fluctuations of Foundation Establishment coming from you,” the figure said. “You succeeded. Excellent. These are the medicinal pills you need. They should get you all the way to mid Foundation Establishment. The cost of sending these pills to you far exceeds the value of the pills themselves.

“Remember, the relic of eternal indestructibility is located beneath the immortal’s cave of the grand elder of Middle Peak. It doesn’t matter how long it takes; you have to figure out a way to get it.” The pill bottles finally pierced their way through the ground and into the immortal’s cave. At the same time, the white-robed figure faded away. The floor returned to normal, and the shadows vanished. Once again, moonlight spilled down through the window.

Only a few moments had pa.s.sed, and Bai Xiaochun hadn’t spoken a single word. However, he was already covered with sweat. Taking a deep breath, he calmed himself down. The strange behavior of this mysterious sect far exceeded anything he could have imagined.

“Just what kind of sect are they?” he thought. From what he could tell, they were so much more powerful than the Blood Stream Sect that the two were beyond compare. Obviously, despite their power, they were located very, very far away.

“Over there, it’s actually daytime&h.e.l.lip;.” he thought. He reached up and touched the mask he was wearing. The fact that his secret ident.i.ty remained a secret left him feeling a lot better than before.

“So not even the white-robed emissary noticed that I took the imposter’s place? Or did the emissary notice and just not say anything?” After a moment of hesitation, he decided to try to get confirmation from imposter Nightcrypt.

Imposter Nightcrypt felt truly bitter at what had just happened. He had requested these medicinal pills several times, and only now had they finally been delivered. Except, now they belonged to Bai Xiaochun. After a long moment, he sighed. Not daring to complain, he began to answer Bai Xiaochun’s questions.

In the end, Bai Xiaochun was left frowning. There really was no way to determine if the white-robed figure had seen through his disguise or not.

“Whatever. There’s no use in thinking about it too much. Even if he did notice, he didn’t say anything. In that case, we have a mutual understanding. Based on my previous a.n.a.lysis, it seems more likely than ever that they’re just putting on a show. Or who knows, maybe he really didn’t notice.” Bai Xiaochun shook his head and looked down at the three pill bottles with the s.h.i.+ning moon marks. One by one, he opened them all.

Within the medicinal pill bottles were a total of thirty medicinal pills. Upon closer examination, Bai Xiaochun’s eyes went wide.

“They’re all superior-grade!!! Tier-4 spirit medicine!

“What sect is this? They’re terrifying!

“I don’t even recognize what type of spirit medicine it is! And the medicinal plant ingredients&h.e.l.lip;.” After a.n.a.lyzing what he could smell, he was sure that there were dozens of ingredients in the medicine, and yet, he could only identify about half of them.

However, he could a.s.sess their efficacy, and was certain that it was just as the white-robed figure had said; these three pill bottles were enough to get a Mortal-Dao Foundation Establishment cultivator from the early level to the mid level. Of course, they wouldn’t be of much use at all to Bai Xiaochun. After all, he was already in the Heaven-Dao Foundation Establishment stage.

Although medicinal pills could help him to some degree, what he needed more was refined Heavenspan River water. However, these pills would definitely help him significantly in his concocting.

Bai Xiaochun spent the whole night in thought. The following morning at dawn, he yawned and put his thoughts regarding the mysterious sect to rest for the moment. Emerging from his immortal’s cave, he looked back at the floor for a moment, then flew at top speed toward Middle Peak.

Upon arriving, he looked at the upper half of Middle Peak, stretching at an angle up into the sky. Thinking about how it was really the finger of a giant, he sighed inwardly.

Almost as soon as he arrived at Middle Peak, he ran into a s.h.i.+mmering field of light. Once it sensed the jade pendant he held, it dispersed, allowing him to enter Middle Peak.

Without that jade pendant, he would receive severe punishment for trying to charge onto the mountain. The ranking system of the Blood Stream Sect was strictly enforced, and only Foundation Establishment cultivators were allowed onto the four peaks.

As he proceeded along, he could sense how majestic the mountain was. All of the plants and vegetation were crimson, and there were even blood-colored rivers and streams visible. His Undying Live Forever Technique stirred, and when he looked over at one of the blood-colored waterfalls off in the distance, the sensation of being summoned by the hand grew even stronger.

That summons was stirring his Undying Live Forever Technique, calling out to him, making him feel almost as if he were becoming the giant.

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Translator: Deathblade. Chinese language consultant: ASI a.k.a. Beerblade. Editor: GNE. Memes: Logan. Meme archives: Tocsin. Transcendent Patrons: Daoist Elder N, BLE, ttre208

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As I mentioned a couple chapters ago, I joined the Bedrock Podcast to talk about Heroes Shed No Tears. Check it out here. If anyone can count how many times I say the word “like” you will receive a n.o.bel Prize in math. Please note: there are tons of spoilers in the podcast, it’s intended for people who have read the translation, or watched the movie, or both. Here’s a trailer for the movie, and my translation is here.