Chapter 266: I’m Back!

He didn’t stay very long in the Shuiyue Clan. As evening fell, the cautious and respectful clan members threw a big ceremony. Later, Bai Xiaochun strutted out of the clan, then flew up into the air. A few hours later, he was getting close to the Luochen Mountains.

By now, the idea of finally going home surged strong in his heart. Taking a deep breath, he sped toward the mountains, carefully sending divine sense ahead of him to scan the path. Soon, he realized that there was something different about the mountains.

There was a strange aura lurking within them, something that caused Bai Xiaochun’s heart to jitter fearfully.

“What’s going on…?” he thought. More cautious than ever, he proceeded along until it was late in the night. At that point, he was nearing a ravine that led into the mountain range, and that was when he saw something completely shocking.

A faintly glowing screen of light was visible, stretching high up into the heavens, almost like a gigantic wall!

That wall of light rose up from the mountains, climbing as far as the eye could see, completely separating the territory of the Spirit Stream Sect and the Blood Stream Sect. There was no need for Bai Xiaochun to perform any tests to determine how powerful that wall was. He was sure that if he tried to force his way through it, he would instantly be destroyed in body and soul.

Face flickering, he confirmed that the s.h.i.+eld wall contained the fluctuations of Spirit Stream Sect magic.

“The Luochen Mountains are the Spirit Stream Sect’s strongest defense against the Blood Stream Sect!” Heart trembling, he thought back to some of the rumors he’d heard about the Luochen Mountains when he was in the Spirit Stream Sect.

Supposedly, the mountains formed the main line of defense that had been erected by the Spirit Stream Sect 10,000 years ago.

“Back in the Blood Stream Sect, I didn’t get the sense that much was happening in the outside world. But the truth is that the war has reached the point that this shocking s.h.i.+eld has already been put up. That’s very telling.” After a moment of thought, Bai Xiaochun approached the ravine, then turned back and looked in the direction of the Blood Stream Sect.

A long moment pa.s.sed. Finally, he checked the area to make sure he was alone, then took a deep breath and slowly reached up and put his hand on his face. After a pause, he removed the mask, revealing his true facial features!

He put the mask away and waved his sleeve to dispel the b.l.o.o.d.y aura of the Blood Stream Sect. Then he pulled in all the fluctuations of his Undying Live Forever Technique. A moment later, the aura of the Violet Qi Heavenspan Incantation erupted from his spiritual seas, and he began to walk toward the light s.h.i.+eld.

When he made contact with the s.h.i.+eld, a shocking presence gripped him, something that left him feeling icy and numb. From the feeling he got, he could be wiped out at any moment. He immediately stopped in place, unmoving, his anxiety mounting.

After a few breaths worth of time pa.s.sed, the icy presence slowly faded away, and he could move again. Taking a step forward, he pa.s.sed through the s.h.i.+eld.

“I doubt that was the divine sense of one of the patriarchs,” he thought. “It was probably the formation automaton of this spell formation!” Fear lingered in his heart as he looked back at the s.h.i.+eld. Taking a deep breath, he looked around at vegetation that was no longer crimson, but rather, lush and emerald green.

The feeling he got was completely different than the Blood Stream Sect. Here, he could sense the aura of the Spirit Stream Sect!

“Bai Xiaochun is back!” he murmured. With that, he blurred into motion, flying through the air and simultaneously unleas.h.i.+ng the Violet Qi Heavenspan Incantation. As he did, violet light shone out around him, filling the area with the same color.

His third eye opened on his forehead, and his view of the world suddenly became brighter and more colorful. Now that he didn’t need to conceal his techniques, he performed an incantation gesture and pointed out, drawing on Violet Qi Cauldron Summoning. Heaven and earth shook as he waved his sleeve, causing water vapor to roil about, which was the Waterswamp Kingdom.

He threw his head back and laughed uproariously. The feeling of not having to be worried about anything filled him with joy. The pressure and mixed emotions he had felt in the Blood Stream Sect were now gone, and he began to think about everyone he knew in the Spirit Stream Sect.

“Uncle Li, Big Fatty Zhang, Hou Xiaomei, Hou Yunfei, Xu Baocai, Elder Brother sect leader, Bruiser. I’m back!!” Spirits high, he shot through the air at top speed.

Eventually he stopped to rest a bit, and pulled out the turtle-wok. The mere sight of it left him sighing deeply.

“I didn’t dare to use it in the Blood Stream Sect. But now, I can finally perform fourfold spirit enhancements!!” Bai Xiaochun was very excited about the prospect. He had already collected plenty of material to create four-colored flame, and therefore, didn’t waste any time.

Without any hesitation, he took out all of his magical items and began to perform spirit enhancements. He was especially excited to enhance his signature little wooden sword. After the enhancement, it didn’t look like wood anymore, but rather, gold!

As for the Golden Crow Sword, it didn’t change very much, but the light that shone off of it was more dazzling than before. Before long, almost all of his magical items had been enhanced.

As for the lamp that the Song Clan patriarch had given him, he enhanced that too. As the silver designs glittered on its surface, he held it in his hand, and his soul trembled. The fluctuations coming off of the lamp were terrifying to the extreme.

“I’m so powerful I even frighten myself!” he thought, eyebrows dancing up and down. After carefully putting the lamp away, he savored the experience of proceeding along back to the Spirit Stream Sect.

At one point, he suddenly recalled the little turtle, which he pulled out of his bag of holding, then shook back and forth a bit to produce the usual knocking sounds.

After playing around with it for a bit, he found to his surprise that he could actually grab the tail and stretch it out. When he let go, it would snap back into place with a tw.a.n.g.

“Wow, you can do that!? he said, shocked. He tried the same thing with the turtle’s limbs, and even the head, and they all did the same thing.

He even tried throwing it down, and found that the little turtle could actually be used like a weapon. After finding some boulders, he threw the turtle at them, and they shattered. The little turtle, however, wasn’t even scratched in the process.

Bai Xiaochun was starting to get the feeling that this was no simple turtle. As he made his way back to the Spirit Stream Sect, he would often shake it, stretch it, and throw it around. A few days later, he suddenly realized that a faint aroma was emanating out from the turtle.

It was hard to detect, but after inhaling it, Bai Xiaochun found that his cultivation base suddenly stirred. Then he rotated it, and large amounts of spiritual energy from the area rushed toward him, causing his spiritual seas to emanate shocking fluctuations.

“Whoa!” he exclaimed. He tried to reproduce the effect, but failed. However, after examination, he realized that brief rotation of his cultivation base had resulted in the same progress it would normally take him a month of meditation to produce.

Gasping, he looked closer at the little turtle.

“Don’t tell me this really is the relic of eternal indestructibility…?” he thought, heart thumping in his chest. After thinking about all the marvelous aspects of the little turtle, he once again gently shook it back and forth in his hand.

However, no matter which way he shook it, he couldn’t reproduce that fragrant aroma. Not wanting to give up, he kept shaking it in his hand as he went along. Finally, three days later, the turtle once again emitted a fragrant aroma.

Bai Xiaochun immediately sucked it in, causing his cultivation base to surge, and the surrounding energy of heaven and earth to rush toward him. He was almost like a vortex, sucking in all the local spiritual power.

There were some cultivator clans in the area, and when people saw what was happening, their eyes went wide, and their hearts trembled.

Elated, Bai Xiaochun threw his head back and laughed uproariously.

“Hahaha! Yet again, Bai Xiaochun’s wits come out on top. This little turtle is great. I don’t have to expend any effort at all, and can increase the speed of my cultivation.” At that point, he decided that he would spend time every day shaking the little turtle.

A few more days went by, and he finally caught sight of the Spirit Stream Sect. The three mountain peaks of the south bank rose high into the air, as did the four mountain peaks of the north bank, and Mount Daoseed, which hung high over the Heavenspan River. Scintillating light rose up from all of the mountain peaks, as if they were building up energy….

Powerful pressure and fluctuations rolled out in all directions, with the Spirit Stream Sect being in the middle of it all.

Excited, Bai Xiaochun shook the little turtle back and forth a few times.

“I’m finally back…. I can still remember how everyone could hardly stand to part with me….

“Considering I’ve been gone so long, everyone definitely misses me…. I wonder if Uncle Li has come out of secluded meditation yet…?” The more he thought about it, the more he was nervous for Li Qinghou.

Giving the turtle a few good shakes, he picked up speed and shot toward the entrance of the sect.

When he got close, four beams of light shot out from the sect, accompanied by a hoa.r.s.e shout.

“Halt! Who goes there!?”

Four cultivators appeared, one of them in the great circle of Qi Condensation, and the other three in the fifth or sixth level. Even as the words rang out, the glow of magical techniques sprang out of their hands. However, when they caught sight of Bai Xiaochun, their eyes widened.

That was especially true of the cultivator in the great circle, who immediately began to tremble. It was none other than Chen Fei….

“Bai Xiao– er, Sect Uncle Bai!” Thankfully, he was quick to change his wording. Without any hesitation, he clasped hands and bowed. The other three disciples’ jaws dropped, and then they also clasped hands in greeting.

It felt wonderful to finally be home. Striking the pose of someone of the Senior generation, Bai Xiaochun nodded magnanimously and said, “Excellent, all of you. Remember to always work hard at cultivation.”

With that, he proceeded along into the sect, bringing the group with him.

The Spirit Stream Sect’s grand spell formation didn’t hinder his path at all. As soon as he entered, he saw the south bank stretched out in front of him, bustling with activity. There was Green Crest Peak, Violet Cauldron Peak, and Fragrant Cloud Peak, as well as the servants district at the bottoms of the mountains. A few phoenixes were flying in the air, along with numerous cultivators. To Bai Xiaochun, nothing could have been more familiar. He suddenly felt the urge to make sure that everyone who missed him knew that he was back.

Hovering there in midair, he threw his head back and roared, “Ladies and gentlemen of the sect, I, Bai Xiaochun, am back!!”

His voice echoed about like thunder.

Chen Fei stood off to the side, feeling bad for the south bank.

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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. AWE Glossary. Xianxia-inspired T-s.h.i.+rts.

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Since we’re obviously going back to the Spirit Stream Sect for the first time in quite a while, I’d like to remind everyone about the AWE Glossary, the link to which is right above this message. You can use that for a quick refresher on any characters you’ve forgotten about. For anyone coming through and reading this message later on, be aware that the glossary will contain spoiler information from later in the story.

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Hey everyone, I posted another video in my Chinese fantasy novel FAQ series, talking about face. Back when I first started reading novel translations, I always thought that the way the characters acted seemed unrealistic, especially when it came to losing face. I talk about that and give some personal experiences, including a situation where I felt the killing intent of Madam Deathblade. Check out the video here.