Every disciple of Xuantian Tower has a soul lamp. So long as even a breath remains, the soul lamp will continue to burn; once it goes out, it means that the person’s soul has been scattered.
After Ye Huaiyao’s soul lamp went out, Yan Chen retrieved it from the Hall of Soul Lamps and placed it in the Beginning with Spring Breeze for safekeeping.
Just now, Zhan Yu happened to glance over and suddenly noticed that a tiny spark had unexpectedly flared at the wick of the lamp!
He and Yan Chen simultaneously held their breath, their eyes fixed unblinkingly on the lamp.
Even two peerless masters, figures at the very pinnacle of the Immortal Path, could have moments when they were so tense that they dared not move an inch.
Under their anxious gaze, the soul lamp really did flare up, but the light lasted only for an instant before going out again.
Yan Chen completely forgot about maintaining his usual composure and rushed to the table, brushing his finger over it.
The soul lamp was scalding hot. At a single touch, several large blisters sprang up on his finger, while ash also clung to his fingertip, proving that what they had just seen had not been an illusion.
—Ye Huaiyao’s soul lamp had lit up!
Even if it had been for only an instant, there had to be a reason.
Zhan Yu was stunned for a moment before leaping to his feet in excitement. “Yan-shixiong, let me go down the mountain! I have to find Ye-shixiong! He definitely isn’t dead, he must still be alive. Perhaps… perhaps he’s trapped somewhere!”
Yan Chen’s palms had broken out in a thin layer of sweat.
His temperament was upright and reserved, yet he was exceptionally gifted. From childhood, he had been the archetypal “other people’s child”, the sort everyone envied and resented, and he had never had many playmates.
It was only after he and Ye Huaiyao entered Xuantian Tower and became disciples that he met someone who was witty and playful, and who always came pestering him whenever there was nothing else to do.
Yan Chen was not annoyed in the slightest. On the contrary, he thought Ye Huaiyao was clever and spirited, acting as he pleased, and that his looks were positively otherworldly, making him immensely likeable.
He had always been extremely protective of this shidi. After something happened to Ye Huaiyao, Yan Chen had to stabilise the situation and take charge of the sect. On the surface, he appeared calm and composed, but in truth, he was devastated, and the blow had been immense.
Now that he had seen a glimmer of hope, he was both overjoyed and frightened, terrified that it might all be nothing more than wishful thinking.
He said in a deep voice, “You’re right. This soul lamp couldn’t possibly have lit up for no reason… We have to find him! Go and call everyone over. We’ll discuss it immediately!”
While Xuantian Tower was discussing its plan to find the Illustrious Sage, three days later, the disciples of the Chensu Sect who had been dispatched had already descended the mountain and set off for Ghost Wind Forest.
Yan Jin, the Yan family’s Third Young Master, was travelling with them as well. Once they reached their destination, he intended to meet up with the other members of the Yan family who had also gone to Ghost Wind Forest.
This time, the Chensu Sect had sent people out for two reasons. First, to join forces with the other sects in eliminating demons. Second, to give the younger disciples more opportunities for training. Some of those being sent out had not yet mastered sword control, so they had deliberately set off several days early and travelled on horseback.
Ye Huaiyao stood before a brown pony, stroking its mane smooth. He was just about to mount when the clatter of hooves sounded behind him, and Cheng Yuan approached from the rear.
Ye Huaiyao sighed inwardly, “Like a ghost that just won’t go away,” then turned and bowed. “Cheng-shixiong.”
Seated on his horse, Cheng Yuan looked down at him and asked, “Do you regret it?”
Ye Huaiyao acted as though he had not heard him. With a faint smile, he said, “Cheng-shixiong is the leader this time, so how have you ended up at the back? Even if Ghost Wind Forest is somewhat dangerous, eliminating demons and defending the righteous path is what people like us ought to do. Shixiong, don’t be afraid.”
His words seemed to say nothing, but in reality, they had already answered the question.
Cheng Yuan stared at Ye Huaiyao with his sharp eyes for a moment before suddenly giving a cold laugh. He still spoke in a low voice. “Very well. Ye-shidi, take good care of yourself, and pray for your own good fortune.”
He had not originally wanted to resort to extreme measures. Unfortunately, Ye Huaiyao refused every polite approach and would not listen to reason, so he could hardly be blamed.
After all, Ghost Wind Forest was enormous, and there would be countless people there. As Yan Jin wished, making someone “die accidentally” would be very easy. Hiding someone away and taking them somewhere else would also be very easy.
Cheng Yuan knew only that he wanted this person and that he had to achieve his objective. As for Ye Huaiyao’s wishes, they were not something he needed to consider.
Ye Huaiyao swung himself onto his horse, glanced at Cheng Yuan’s departing back and shook his head.
If this man’s personality had been given the role of protagonist in another book, he would probably have been the sort of domineering CEO who took whatever he wanted by force. Unfortunately, he had chosen the wrong person.
Although Ye Huaiyao was not the sort to take revenge for every little grievance, neither was he someone who would simply let others carve him up at will.
Cheng Yuan had yet to settle the score for crippling his spiritual veins, and now he was trying to play another trick. That phrase, “pray for your own good fortune”, really ought to have been directed at himself.
However, Ye Huaiyao vaguely remembered that the original Tale of the Useless Immortal Cultivator had mentioned Cheng Yuan as one of Ji Lanying’s admirers. After all, in that book, there were very few men, women, or even animals who did not fall in love with the protagonist.
There was a plot line in the book where Cheng Yuan, in order to win Ji Lanying’s heart, forcibly kidnapped and imprisoned him. At the time, Ye Huaiyao had only wanted to read a satisfying cultivation novel about the male protagonist levelling up and becoming stronger. He had not expected the author to throw in such a bizarre twist, which had left him thoroughly stunned, and he had stopped reading afterwards.
So, was this incident taking place before that plot line? Was Cheng Yuan practising on him before kidnapping the protagonist?
In that case, unfortunately, he probably would not live long enough to reach the later parts of the story.
Ghost Wind Forest was not far from the Chensu Sect, and they arrived in less than half a day.
Quite a few people had already gathered at the entrance to Ghost Wind Forest. They wore all sorts of different clothes and came from various sects and schools, most of them young.
After all, although Ghost Wind Forest was dangerous, there were no particularly formidable great demons within it. The cultivators on this side also had strength in numbers, making it an ideal place for the outstanding younger generation of the various sects to gain practical combat experience.
As for someone like Ye Huaiyao, who had had his spiritual veins crippled and had nevertheless come here to die, he was the only one.
Yan Jin soon found the Yan family’s magnificent and imposing convoy. He went over to join his family, exchanged greetings with them, then said, “I see Xuantian Tower has sent quite a few people this time?”
The disciples of Xuantian Tower all wore matching Azure Snow Moonlight Robes. Against an azure background, a crescent moon was outlined in silver thread, commemorating the sect’s founder, Heng Qing Zhenren, who had attained enlightenment in the snow.
The fabric was all of the finest quality, with wide sleeves and fitted waists. In the gentle breeze, the hems and sashes fluttered, giving them an exceptionally elegant appearance. Compared with ordinary disciples, the robes worn by the Illustrious and Law Sages had additional elaborate wave patterns along the edges.
Another Yan family disciple said, “Yes. Their Zhen branch is near Ghost Wind Forest, so it’s convenient for them to come over.”
Xuantian Tower’s twenty-eight branches corresponded to the names of the twenty-eight constellations, and Yan Jin immediately became displeased upon hearing this.
Lowering his voice, he said, “They’re the ones who took the lead in calling everyone here, so why have they only sent a few branches to deal with it?”
The disciple speaking to him knew that Yan Jin had always harboured some resentment towards Xuantian Tower because of the incident involving the Illustrious Sage.
But, frankly speaking, he felt that what the painter had said, that Ji Lanying was inferior to the Illustrious Sage, was simply the truth. There was really nothing to feel aggrieved about. After all, how many people in this world were worthy of competing with Lord Yunqi?
Now that the Illustrious Sage had been gone for many years, if Yan Jin insisted on opposing the powerful Xuantian Tower for the sake of a pretty boy, that would be the truly irrational thing to do.
He lowered his voice and said, “Even among the branch sects, there are plenty of talented people sent out by the main line for training, and their abilities are still outstanding. Word has already spread that you made things difficult for an ordinary disciple in the Chensu Sect this time, forcing him to cripple his own spiritual power. What an ugly reputation that gives you. Third Shidi, you’d better be careful what you say and do.”
The one who had spread the news was Cheng Yuan. Although he had been scheming by every possible means to get Ye Huaiyao into his hands, he felt that he could do whatever he liked himself. Yan Jin’s rude and forceful behaviour, however, had displeased him.
So he had sent people to spread an embellished version of the story.
The rumour deliberately left out the sensitive subject of Ye Huaiyao’s appearance. It merely said that, because a junior disciple of the Chensu Sect had accidentally offended Ji Lanying, the Yan family’s Third Young Master had forced the Chensu Sect to cripple that disciple in order to vent Young Master Ji’s anger, and had even demanded that the disciple accompany them to Ghost Wind Forest to eliminate demons.
This was blatantly bullying someone on their own doorstep. After hearing the story, quite a few people secretly remarked that Yan Jin had gone too far, while Ji Lanying was always good at relying on other people to get by.
When those who had come saw the Chensu Sect disciples arrive, some were still covertly looking them over with curiosity, wanting to see which young man had been so unfortunate.
As they were talking, Yan Jin caught sight of Ji Lanying, and his entire heart immediately flew towards him. He no longer had the slightest interest in what his shixiong was rambling on about and said distractedly, “If it got out, then it got out. I wasn’t the one who did it. He’s only an ordinary disciple of the Chensu Sect. What sort of trouble could he possibly cause? Don’t bother with them.”
Having said that, he paid no further attention to his shixiong and headed towards Ji Lanying.
“The Child of Heaven! Truly the Child of Heaven! In all my years of life, I have never seen such a perfectly complete destiny!”
Not everyone had arrived yet, and disciples from the various sects were all standing outside Ghost Wind Forest waiting. Ye Huaiyao was leaning against his horse, feeling rather drowsy, when Huaijiang’s sudden bellow jolted him fully awake.
He yawned, rubbed his eyes and asked, “What’s happened? Are you praising me?”
He had not even opened his eyes, yet he already knew how to take flattering words for himself. He certainly had some talent.
Huaijiang sneered contemptuously. “Praising your wretched, miserable fate? Do you think this old man is blind? I’m talking about Ji Lanying.”
Ye Huaiyao followed his indication and looked towards the distance. He saw Yan Jin talking to a young man dressed in a sapphire-blue robe.
Several people were clustered around them, occasionally joining in with their jokes and laughter, yet their eyes kept drifting towards the young man. That person was presumably the famous protagonist, the universally adored heartthrob, Ji Lanying.
Ye Huaiyao said, “You mean him? Then your judgement is pretty accurate.”
The protagonist’s destiny naturally could not possibly be anything less than perfect.
Huaijiang said smugly, “My true form is a mirror. I reflect both face and heart, and there can be no error. It’s just that, although his destiny is excellent, for some reason, the halo above his left shoulder is somewhat dimmed. It almost looks as though he is missing the assistance of a force that he was originally meant to subdue.”
Ye Huaiyao could not see the halo he was talking about. He was just about to speak when he saw Yan Jin, Ji Lanying and the others turn their heads towards the place where he was standing.
A trace of surprise appeared on Ji Lanying’s face. Yan Jin said a couple of words, and the group immediately walked straight towards Ye Huaiyao.
As the distance between them narrowed, both sides gradually saw each other’s faces clearly.
The moment he saw Ye Huaiyao, Ji Lanying’s face suddenly went pale, while the young people surrounding him could not help showing astonishment in their eyes.
In the face of their various gazes, Ye Huaiyao smiled and calmly looked them over in return.
When he had been reading the book, he had always been fascinated by Ji Lanying, this extraordinary “useless protagonist”.
In order to highlight the satisfying fantasy of “I can’t do anything, but people still love me and I am incredibly lucky”, the author frequently used extensive parallelism and metaphor to describe the protagonist’s beauty, making readers long to see him with their own eyes.
Whenever this happened, the plot would suddenly turn, and with just a few casual words, it would lightly reveal that Ji Lanying had once again made a complete mess of something because of his uselessness, whereupon a lackey or heroic woman would promptly appear to rescue him.
For instance, rescuing a monster that could release deadly poison, losing an important family token, accidentally pushing a companion into a puddle… and so on.
Back then, the various astonishing things this fellow managed to do had practically given Ye Huaiyao a masterclass in male tears. He had wanted nothing more than to pound the table and ask the man whether he was, in fact, a complete thick-headed fool.
Now he had finally seen the real pig himself. Whether he was actually stupid or not was impossible to say, but at the very least, in terms of appearance, he really was quite like the description in the book.
Cultivators lived long lives. By Ye Huaiyao’s estimation, Ji Lanying should have been around six hundred years old by this point, yet outwardly he looked like a young man in his early twenties.
His features were refined and delicate, with an oval face and exquisitely handsome features. His whole person looked like a piece of porcelain that had been painstakingly carved. At first glance, he was even more beautiful than the women accompanying him.
At the same time, Ji Lanying’s attire was exceptionally luxurious. He wore brocade robes and a silver belt, with a golden crown securing his hair, while a blood-jade ruyi pendant hung from his waist as an ornament. Even the tassel on his sword was woven with several coral beads, which glittered brilliantly beneath the sunlight.
The Ji family, to which he belonged, was also one of the Four Great Aristocratic Families, and naturally possessed immense wealth. Ji Lanying had originally come from a collateral branch, but by this stage of the story, with the assistance of various forces that had rallied behind him, he had already secured his position. Consequently, everything from his clothing and food to his travel arrangements was extremely particular.
This man did not look like a sword cultivator at all. He was practically a fluttering flower butterfly, constantly surrounded by a dazzling array of people, with no shortage of admirers around him. He truly carried himself with an air of effortless romance.
The group had now reached Ye Huaiyao, and the two sides stood facing one another, each with their own thoughts.
