“He will walk his own path!” the old madman said. “Life is unpredictable. Until the very end, no one knows what another’s path will truly be. All we can do is watch them walk it. On the road where they stumble and fall, we occasionally lend a hand to steady them. That is enough.”
Shui Gu nodded. “Bai Xuan and Yao Yao. They are actually from that lineage. You went to the general’s tomb back then and saw that item. It seems someone from her lineage took it this time. It is just unknown whether it is on Bai Xuan herself.”
“What a pity! Among them was a piece of naturally nurtured black iron. I am afraid no one knows its true value. It must have been inconspicuous. Probably sank into the depths of the earth along with the ancient tomb.” The old madman shook his head and sighed. “The golden child did research ancient texts and guessed it out, but he arrived too late.”
“Then what about Bai Xuan?” Shui Gu asked.
“You have always stayed on Wuxin Peak. You know no less about that lineage than I do. Handle it as you see fit!” The old madman clearly did not want to get involved.
Shui Gu did not take on the task either. Instead he said, “Ruo Shui was originally going to come to Qingmi Mountain soon. But with the news spreading that Ye Chu used the long sword, she is unlikely to come now. As for Ye Chu, let him go to the Ruo clan.”
The old madman did not reply. He simply stood up, took his delicate little cat-like steps, and left.
…
Ye Chu walked to the side of the high platform and gazed at the long sword that had been thrust back into place. He had not known that using this sword would bring such enormous consequences. Being tainted by the intent of a supreme being was not necessarily a good thing. Perhaps for the rest of his life he would be disturbed by this intent.
Ye Chu could not help sighing. A supreme being truly was invincible across the nine heavens and ten lands. Even a sword discarded after death could cause such headaches. Ye Chu stared straight at the sharp blade. Naturally he did not dare touch it again. He knew very well that the longer he remained in contact with this sword, the deeper the taint of its aura would become.
Ye Chu sensed the mark on his arm again. He felt the icy cold aura on it, like raindrops falling onto his skin. Ye Chu tried hard to dispel the sensation, but the more he tried, the deeper the coldness grew. He could even feel the desolate sorrow of that pouring rain. This startled Ye Chu. He did not dare make any further movements.
Finally Ye Chu withdrew his mind back into his qi sea. The black iron in his qi sea was now flickering with a faint cyan glow. His qi sea was slowly expanding. The spiritual energy it could now contain was several times greater than before.
The colourful-patterned murderous spider that had once resided in his qi sea had shrunk by more than half. Clearly it had been greatly consumed in this battle. Although the price of this battle had been enormous, it was not without some benefits.
That terrifying murderous aura had washed through Ye Chu’s body. His body had undergone immense tempering. Its toughness was far beyond what it had been before. The residual murderous aura left in his body was gradually converted by Ye Chu and slowly fused into his qi sea.
All of this had happened unconsciously. By the time Ye Chu felt fully recovered, his strength had already stepped into the sixth level of the innate realm. As for his physical strength, it had far surpassed the innate realm.
Of course, it was not only this kind of transformation. This battle had been incredibly brutal. He had faced powerhouses who were countless times stronger than him. Their violent intents had been terrifying. Ye Chu had confronted them with the long sword and murderous aura. In essence, that terrifying intent had been tempering him.
A originally very weak person being tempered by such powerful intent naturally produced terrifying results. Ye Chu clearly felt that his own intent realm was gradually taking shape under this tempering. It was developing characteristics unique to him.
For a powerhouse, the most important thing was to possess an independent intent of their own. Only by evolving through their own intent could they truly become a powerhouse of their generation.
At this moment, because of this battle, Ye Chu had taken a solid step forward. This was a realm that even primordial spirit cultivators found difficult to reach.
…
In the following days, Ye Chu spent his time constantly refining his intent realm. He converted the remaining murderous aura in his body and fused it into himself. When all the murderous aura had been converted, Ye Chu’s strength stabilised firmly at the sixth level of the innate realm.
His primordial spirit moved along the patterns of the black iron. Soul-shaping aura tempered his primordial spirit. Ye Chu sensed that the coordination between his primordial spirit and his intent realm had reached a level that astonished even him.
The strengthening of his primordial spirit naturally led to an increase in strength. The spiritual energy in his qi sea became denser and purer. Ye Chu could feel that his current strength had not merely doubled or tripled.
At this moment Ye Chu had confidence that below the primordial spirit realm, he feared no one. Even against primordial spirit cultivators, he would not be completely suppressed.
“Although the price was enormous, at least there is some small consolation!”
…
After the old madman and the others acknowledged Bai Xuan as a member of Wuxin Peak, Shui Gu would occasionally call Bai Xuan over to practise some basic martial techniques. Ye Chu had originally thought Bai Xuan would not be interested, but to his surprise, after trying it, Bai Xuan actually took to it. She would practise whenever she had time, and her progress was extremely fast.
This speed not only shocked Ye Chu. Even Shui Gu showed astonishment. His gaze towards Bai Xuan became increasingly strange. One day Shui Gu could not hold back and asked, “I heard from Ye Chu that your father entered the general’s tomb and took away an item. Have you ever seen that item?”
Bai Xuan was puzzled by this.
Seeing Bai Xuan’s reaction, Shui Gu seemed to understand something. He nodded and said to Bai Xuan, “If you do not know, then never mind! From now on, cultivate as you please. If you want to practise, then practise. If you do not want to, then do not. You have your own fortune!”
While Ye Chu and Bai Xuan were still confused, Shui Gu suddenly took out an item. This object was entwined with the qi of heaven and earth. It was a treasure of heaven and earth.
The object transformed into a bracelet and fell onto Bai Xuan’s wrist. “Wear this. As long as you have it on you, no one can harm you unless you encounter those transcendent powerhouses. From now on, you may freely walk the one hundred and eight peaks. Also, if you wish to go outside, you may do so.”
Shui Gu’s attitude towards Bai Xuan left the golden child and the others dumbfounded. They all felt as though they had seen a ghost. This treatment far exceeded their imagination.
That was not all. What shocked them most was that she could freely enter the one hundred and eight peaks? On what basis could Shui Gu say such a thing? Unless the old madman personally intervened and negotiated this privilege with the peak masters of the one hundred and seven other peaks, anyone who trespassed into another peak would naturally not be polite to Bai Xuan.
Amid everyone’s confusion, Shui Gu gave no explanation. He simply returned to his seclusion spot and began another deep sleep in closed cultivation.
Although Ye Chu was puzzled, seeing that this was beneficial for Bai Xuan and Yao Yao, he felt at ease and let Bai Xuan accept it.
On Wuxin Peak, Ye Chu spent his days together with Bai Xuan. Their life seemed relaxed and carefree. Ye Chu even felt a little reluctant to leave this place.
Such peaceful days continued until news arrived that Ruo Shui would no longer come to Qingmi Mountain. Only then did they end. Shui Gu emerged from seclusion once more and summoned the golden child, Ye Chu, and the others back to the Wuxin Cave.