Chapter 75

Chapter 75

Gearing up for the busy farming season, Qin Zhou bought a whole basketful of farming tools. When he got back to the village, he found Wen Jue already waiting for him.

Seeing him return, Wen Jue stepped closer, sniffed the air, and immediately asked, "Mung bean cakes, and osmanthus cakes... were they good?"

"You've got a good nose," Qin Zhou praised.

Wen Jue tilted his head. "How come you didn’t bring me any?"

He had a sweet tooth.

Qin Zhou had to explain, "Madam Qin made them."

Wen Jue keenly noted the term "Madam Qin"—it sounded oddly formal, as if deliberately drawing a line.

"You went back to the Qin residence."

"Just went to check in," Qin Zhou replied.

Qin Zhou told him about the letter and his visit to the Qin residence.

"About Chen San, I suspect he was either instigated or possessed," Qin Zhou said. "I'm leaning toward possession."

Chen San had only gone to the Medicine Moon Sect for just a month or two at most. As an ordinary man who had never cultivated before, even if influenced by the marrow-cleansing pill, his progress shouldn’t have been as rapid as He Wenfeng described in the letter—already nearing Foundation Establishment.

If nobody was coaching him, then his soul must have been replaced.

The Medicine Moon Sect was a medical and alchemical sect in the lower realm, their focus is on herb identification and pill refinement. If someone from the sect had truly guided him, He Wenfeng wouldn’t have omitted mentioning it.

"We'll find out when he shows up," Qin Zhou said.

"That sure he'll come?"

"If he’s still Chen San, he won’t refuse to come to the village to see me. If he isn’t, he’ll be even less likely to refuse." Leaving the Medicine Moon Sect but returning to Pingcheng and approaching the Qin family—what he's really after was likely information about Qin Zhou himself.

Qin Zhou glanced toward the foot of the mountain.

Those two premium-grade pills he casually gave Chen San had come back to bite him.

"What about the mung bean cakes?" Suddenly, Wen Jue’s words snapped Qin Zhou out of his thoughts.

"What?" Qin Zhou blinked.

"Did Madam Qin get suspicious? Was she also influenced by someone?" Wen Jue guessed. "Two types of cakes—was one of them something Young Master Qin wouldn't touch?"

When it came to reading Qin Zhou, Wen Jue knew this man well.

Despite the millennia between them, for over a millennium, he'd kept tabs on this man.

Apart from being a bit more mature, Qin Zhou hadn’t changed much.

When he was truly happy, there was a glint of amusement in his eyes.

But when he was truly unhappy, his voice would go flat, more distant—just like now.

The visit home had clearly put him in a funk.

Qin Zhou hadn't figured Wen Jue would piece that together. He gave a dry chuckle. "Close enough."

There's no point denying it.

"Madam Qin was probably egged on by someone. I'd figured it would take years more of interaction with her before I was exposed." At first she may have assumed her son had changed overnight after some setbacks and guidance from a benefactor.

But no matter how much he changed, old habits die hard.

Qin Zhou was prepared, but Madam Qin's testing came sooner than he anticipated.

"I like mung bean cakes, but the Young Master doesn’t. She must have noticed. The original owner's soul is still there, and by now... they've probably reunited by now."

Wen Jue couldn't care less about the original soul.

"I like mung bean cakes too," Wen Jue said, twirling a lock of hair on Qin Zhou’s shoulder. "Next time, make some for me. Not everyone likes them, but others will always love them."

Qin Zhou held his hand. "Shouldn't you be the one making them for me?"

Wen Jue faltered for a second before replying slowly, "Then... I’ll learn?"

Qin Zhou laughed.

He liked mung bean cakes, and someone was willing to learn how to make them for him.

His moon was gone, but a new sun had risen.

"By the way, there’s one more thing."

"Hmm?" Wen Jue pinched his earlobe.

"This body has to be returned to its original owner in ten years," Qin Zhou said with chilling calm.

Wen Jue’s hand trembled, releasing Qin Zhou’s ear.

It has to be returned?

"The Dao’s doing?"

"Mn. That way, there’s no lingering karma."

"What will you do after ten years?"

Qin Zhou: "I can just use a Reconstruct Pill to make a new one. But until then, I shouldn't kiss you. The original owner might see." He raised his hand and pressed a finger to Wen Jue’s lips.

Wen Jue: "..."

"Just ten years," Wen Jue averted his gaze. "It’ll pass in a blink. If all else fails, we can erase his memory when returning the body..."

Qin Zhou: "No."

Wen Jue: ?

"I don’t want to," Qin Zhou’s eyes darkened.

"Oh." Wen Jue’s heart fluttered. He hadn’t eaten any mung bean cake, but a sweetness welled up in his chest.

"Actually, a physical body isn’t strictly necessary," Qin Zhou said.

Wen Jue: ?

"Once I reach the Nascent Soul stage, I can easily leave my body in spirit form." A spiritual body wouldn’t count as a physical one—it would be more like a solid form condensed from his spiritual energy.

Wen Jue: "Hmm."

"And in the cultivation world, there should be some dual cultivation techniques for Nascent Soul cultivators..." Qin Zhou murmured thoughtfully.

Wen Jue: !?

D-dual cultivation!

Had he and Qin Zhou already reached this stage?

Seeing his obvious shock, Qin Zhou smirked to himself.

Unconsciously, the gloom in his heart had completely dissipated.

...

Meanwhile, at the Thousand Mystic Sect.

As soon as Fourteen returned to the sect, someone announced—

"The Supreme Elder is back!"

The Sovereign of the Thousand Mystic Sect rushed over and stopped Fourteen before he could flee the sect in his spiritual form.

"Where have you been?" The Sovereign was so worried he was nearly bald.

After news of the Demon-Slaying Plan reached the Thousand Mystic Sect, Elder Fourteen had disappeared, leaving everyone frantic with worry.

The sect only had this one precious elder left—frail in health, usually kept within the sect to live a peaceful retirement. But this year, for some reason, disciples had repeatedly seen Elder Fourteen leaving the sect in his spiritual form, only to return each time spitting up blood.

The disciples stationed at the Supreme Elder's peak were terrified and helpless.

Just when they thought the elder's health had started improving, a few days ago, as soon as the Thousand Mystic Sect received some news about the Demon-Slaying Plan, their elder disappeared again.

This time, it wasn't just his spiritual form—he had disappeared entirely, body and soul.

Fourteen felt somewhat guilty. He cleared his throat, "I just went for a stroll and came back."

The Sovereign wasn't convinced.

Last time, the demon leader had come to the Thousand Mystic Sect and abducted their Supreme Elder, only to return him completely unharmed within a day. Because of this, rumors spread that the Thousand Mystic Sect was aligned with demons.

Even the Guiyuan Sect's Demon-Slaying Decree hadn't been issued to the Thousand Mystic Sect.

But how could the Thousand Mystic Sect possibly be aligned with demons?

The Sovereign had been absolutely certain before.

But now, he had doubts.

Because as soon as news of the Demon-Slaying Plan reached the Thousand Mystic Sect, their elder disappeared!

"This elder truly just went out for a walk," Fourteen attempted to evade the question.

"How was your walk, then? Is the demon leader dead?" the Sovereign demanded bluntly.

Fourteen was about to reply when he froze when he heard the words "demon leader."

Seeing this, the Sovereign's heart turned cold. His expression darkened, "Elder Fourteen, tell me honestly—are we really about to become a demon-allied faction?"

Though the Sovereign was reluctant to believe it, he pondered for a long time afterward.

Supreme Elder Fourteen and that demon were contemporaries—they likely knew each other early on and might even go way back. Over the years, the Supreme Elder had kept to himself all these years, yet the moment he heard about the demon hunt, he vanished.

It was... hard not to be suspicious.

Fourteen tucked his hands into his sleeves and said nonchalantly, "He's not dead. Alive and kicking."

"You... you actually joined the battle?! In your condition... you're okay?!"

Fourteen chuckled, "Just a little. Haven't fought in years—stretched my old bones, felt fantastic."

The Sovereign: "..."

So it's true then...

Seeing his expression, Fourteen laughed and patted the Sovereign's shoulder. "Don't worry. If word gets out, I'll take full responsibility. The Thousand Mystic Sect remains the Thousand Mystic Sect. I'm the only one who's demon-friendly."

Not that anyone would live to tell about it.

The Sovereign fell silent. "You... and that demon, what exactly..."

Fourteen rubbed his nose. "He's my brother."

Sovereign: !?

"The other demon lord of the demonic sect is also my brother," Fourteen said with fake innocence.

Sovereign: !?!

Man, he lived for these shocked reactions.

"Well, that's the gist of it, hahaha." Fourteen grinned, patting the Sovereign's shoulder again. "Don't worry. The whole cultivation world's balance is about to change. Long divided, they must unite; long united, they must divide. After so long apart, maybe the righteous and demonic paths will merge one day."

The Sovereign stared hard at his Supreme Elder.

Though Fourteen usually acted like an overgrown kid, he couldn't just dismiss this.

With the Mechanism Bell's divination, there was only one person in all the realms who could foresee the future of heaven and earth.

The Sovereign felt reassured and nodded.

"Well, if there's nothing else, I'll be off." Fourteen waved in farewell.

The Sovereign quickly grabbed him. "Supreme Elder, one more thing!"

Fourteen: ?

"Would you check the back mountain? The high-tier spirit beasts you keep there have had... an incident. A young Cultivator wandered in two days ago and hit it off with them."

Fourteen did a double take. "Wait, what?"

Please tell me 'hit it off' doesn't mean they brawled. Those spirit beasts were all from his village's mountains—he'd relocated them to the upper realm due to the lower realm's lack of spiritual energy and kept them in the Thousand Mystic Sect's back mountain.

Any one of them could be his elder.

With the place crawling with high-tier spirit beasts and being remote, Fourteen never lost sleep over intruders messing with them. Yet somehow—

Some punk actually waltzed right in.

When Fourteen [name/rank] arrived, the handsome young man was sitting by the cliff, feeding the Scarlet Phoenix in the air.

The Scarlet Phoenix was a Unity Realm spirit beast, its strength comparable to a Great Ascension Cultivator.

The typically aloof Scarlet Phoenix was actually eating food offered by this young man.

Meanwhile, the Wind Sparrow standing at the cliff's edge noticed Fourteen's presence before its master did.

It hopped onto Fourteen's leg and perched on his shoe, chirping twice, seemingly curious about who he was.

Fourteen possessed the Divine Myriad-Spirit, naturally beloved by all creatures.

This little Wind Sparrow was no exception.

The Mechanism Bell on his wrist chimed softly, and the chirps seemed to transform into baby-like murmurs. Fourteen bent down and picked up the Wind Sparrow.

"Chirp chirp chirp!" You smell so nice.

Fourteen patted its tiny head. "As if I'm food."

"What are you all doing here?" he asked the little creature.

"Chirp chirp."

"Just enjoying the view?" Fourteen was surprised. "This isn't a safe place. There are more powerful spirit beasts that could swallow you whole."

The Wind Sparrow launched into an elaborate chirping explanation.

After listening, Fourteen looked up—the youth was the Wind Sparrow's master.

The youth was also staring at him with wide-eyed disbelief, as if unable to comprehend how he could understand his little sparrow's speech.

"Excuse me, Senior! You... you can understand my sparrow?"

"Who are you, and why have you trespassed into the Thousand Mystic Sect's rear mountains?"

Fourteen's tone was calm—truthfully, this person didn't seem like a bad sort. A villain wouldn't carry such glowing spiritual merit.

Shen Yun quickly bowed in greeting. "Honestly, I am a disciple of the Beast-Taming Sect 'Spirit Awakening Mountain,' passing through this area when I was lured in by the spirit beasts here. I meant no harm—I simply enjoy being with spirit beasts."

Fourteen: "Spirit Awakening Mountain?"

"Yes."

Fourteen frowned. "Is there a sect called 'Spirit Awakening Mountain' in the Upper Realm?"

Shen Yun: "There is, though our sect is small and little-known. It's likely you haven't heard of it, Senior."

Fourteen narrowed his eyes. "Is that so?"

But there was something odd about this body.

He had just dealt with a Body-Snatching incident in the Immortal's Prison.

Shen Yun held his tongue, wiping sweat from his brow.

"Scarlet Phoenix, what do you say?" Fourteen ignored him completely, addressing the phoenix circling the skies above.

The crimson bird gave a piercing cry in the sky, as if responding to Shi Si's words.

But to Shi Si, the sound carried a different meaning.

"No harm meant," Shi Si remarked, sizing Shen Yun up.

He knew this man likely wasn’t a bad person.

But he still needed to know who he was.

During the Demon-Slaying Battlefield, that Cultivator who had seized another’s body had kept babbling about being from someplace…

It hit Shi Si out of nowhere, and he asked abruptly, "Do you know of the Spirit Mountain Realm?"

As expected, Shen Yun went pale in shock.

Clearly, he couldn’t fathom why those three words—Spirit Mountain Realm—would come from the mouth of this senior in front of him.