novelraw Chapter 689: Xia Wuyou and Mengx Bingyun
Chapter 689: Xia Wuyou and Mengx Bingyun
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Ning Fan pondered as he looked at the burly man opposite him.
The man was dressed in rags, with a crazed expression, yet he was an acquaintance.
Wu Chen...
The one who calculated Ning Fan’s mother was in the Middle State, the one who escaped with Ning Fan’s help from the Four Rain Summoning Elders.
Unexpectedly, meeting Wu Chen in the Sword Realm was indeed a rare coincidence.
Ning Fan did not question how a Peak Divine Transformation Realm Cultivator managed to escape across realms.
Everyone has their secrets, and to Ning Fan, Wu Chen was someone with secrets.
"I am Wu Chen! Wu, who ignores the law, Chen, who slaughters cities!"
Recalling Wu Chen’s fierce self-introduction from years ago, Ning Fan couldn’t help but smile nostalgically.
To others, Wu Chen might seem like a lunatic, but Ning Fan knew Wu Chen was not ordinary.
Perhaps his cultivations weren’t high, but his abilities were definitely not small.
For instance, the incredibly mysterious Twelve Earthly Branches divination technique, which wasn’t something ordinary people could master.
"It’s been years, Brother Wu, you are as impressive as ever!" Ning Fan cupped his fists in greeting.
"Haha, impressive my ass, what impression do I have, it’s you, shaking the nine worlds, that makes me admire you endlessly! Hey, shopkeeper, why isn’t the wine served yet? Quickly bring the wine!"
Wu Chen impatiently glanced at the shopkeeper, only to see him leisurely picking his teeth with a bamboo toothpick. Seeing Wu Chen’s look, he snorted coldly, indifferent.
This was a mortal city; its people were all mortals.
They didn’t understand Ning Fan’s strength, nor did they understand that Wu Chen was an old monster at the Peak Divine Transformation Realm; all they knew was Wu Chen was a lunatic, a lunatic who often dined and dashed without paying for drinks.
"Wu Chen, you still owe me three thousand coins for wine; when you settle that, I’ll serve you wine." The shopkeeper sneered coldly.
"Haha! Wu Lunatic wants to drink without money, it’s killing me!" Several wine patrons laughed heartily.
"You think I have no money! I won five thousand coins gambling yesterday, here, take it! A bunch of money-grubbing fellows!"
Wu Chen indignantly grabbed his money pouch from his belt, took out five strings of coins, slapped them on the table, and then looked smugly at the other patrons.
The shopkeeper seemed to witness something unbelievable, other patrons were equally shocked, their mouths agape, enough to fit an egg.
"Wu Chen actually has money! He actually bought drinks with money! This can’t be real!"
"Still not serving the wine! Bring out the good stuff!" Wu Chen laughed like a lord, and the shopkeeper immediately ordered the waiter to swiftly serve the wine.
Ning Fan looked at Wu Chen in surprise, half-smiling, "Have you been living like this all these years?"
Ning Fan never would have thought that Wu Chen didn’t live among cultivators, but mingled with mortals.
That he was repeatedly humiliated by mortals yet remained unperturbed, such tolerance was unmatched by ordinary cultivators.
"Hehe, there is Dao in wine, truth in the ordinary, within the marketplace, often lies the great Dao. Living here is comfortable. It allows me to temporarily forget the endless killing. Cheers!"
Wu Chen revealed a hint of melancholy, as if he had experienced countless bloody mists, exhausted both in body and spirit.
Just one look gave Ning Fan a sense of shared empathy.
The endless killings in the Void Fragmentation Realm... There is Dao in wine, seeking truth among the mundane...
Ning Fan looked at the wine jar before him, his gaze gradually becoming lost. He raised the wine jar, drinking deeply, as if wanting to integrate all the killings of this life into the wine, swallow, and forget.
"Brother Ning has a great capacity for wine! No wonder Wu considers you a drinking buddy! Drink, drink, drink!"
Ning Fan gradually found peace, a peace he had never known.
Revenge for his master was fulfilled, his parents were found, and the matter with Bright Sparrow was temporarily settled...
All grievances resolved one by one, he looked out the window, watching the falling snow and the vastness of the night.
Is it time to prepare for ascension...
"I wonder if Brother Ning has any aspirations for ascension." Wu Chen chuckled, asking.
"Oh? Brother Wu is also concerned about ascension?" Ning Fan was surprised and then shook his head self-mockingly.
He was surprised that Wu Chen had not even reached Void Refinement Realm but was concerned about ascension.
The self-mockery was for underestimating Wu Chen; who said Divine Transformation cultivators couldn’t contemplate ascension?
With a spot in the Four Heavens, even Divine Transformation cultivators could ascend.
For example, Yin Suqiu...
Ning Fan showed a reminiscent expression, falling silent.
Wu Chen chuckled, forming a hand sign, and mysteriously said to Ning Fan, "Brother Ning, did you know there’s actually an ascension passage concealed in the Rain Realm? One can ascend without becoming an Immortal or being controlled by any power!"
"Oh? Such a passage exists in the Rain Realm? How does Brother Wu know of this?" Ning Fan looked at Wu Chen, puzzled.
"Secrets. Wu has his secrets that he doesn’t wish to share. Of course, if you insist, I will tell the truth despite my reluctance."
"No need. Tell me about the ascension passage. Where is it, and where does it lead in the Upper Realm?"
Ning Fan had no intention of probing Wu Chen’s secrets.
Wu Chen’s divination skills were astonishing. Knowing some secrets unknown to others was not surprising.
Besides, Wu Chen had helped Ning Fan find his mother, so from that perspective, Ning Fan was willing to trust Wu Chen.
Wu Chen smiled without answering, set up 12 empty wine cups on the table, filled them with wine, and once again utilized the Twelve Earthly Branches technique.
Streams of light burst from the 12 empty wine cups, and Wu Chen quickly took out a jade scroll, collecting the streams into it.
Those streams represented the information Wu Chen had divined.
"Meeting is fate, and parting is inevitable. Wu has grown tired of the Sword Realm, and will now depart. Brother Ning, farewell! Consider this a parting gift!"
Handing the jade scroll to Ning Fan, Wu Chen picked up a wine jar, laughed heartily, walked out of the tavern, and departed into the night, treading on the wind and snow.
This scene astonished everyone in the tavern!
"Immortal... Immortal Master! Wu the Madman is actually an Immortal Master!" The shopkeeper went weak in the knees, and the patrons who mocked Wu Chen were also filled with fear.
They feared Wu Chen’s revenge; any Immortal Master could annihilate a mortal city without lifting a finger!
"The killing road is long, drink and revel. The ten directions wrong me; I wrong the ten directions!"
Wu Chen’s loud and wild singing echoed in the night for a long time.
Ning Fan watched Wu Chen’s departing figure, lost in thought.
His spirit sense scanned the jade scroll in his hand, and then his expression turned peculiar.
The ascension passage was actually there...
The Blood Slave Garden!
In the Rain Realm, there are three gateways leading to the Blood Slave Garden.
And within the Blood Slave Garden, an ancient ascension passage is hidden, directly reaching the Eastern Heaven Immortal World!
Even without an ascension quota, even without becoming an Immortal, one can ascend if they find that passage!
"The affairs of the world are filled with coincidences. I wish to go to the Blood Slave Garden, and it just so happens to have an ascension passage leading to the Eastern Heaven Immortal World... Eastern Heaven..."
Ning Fan showed a contemplative expression.
Ascending to the Eastern Heaven is a good choice.
After all, the lightning whip’s hometown is there, and he had promised Tai Su to send a Nine Revolution Dan Prescription back to his hometown...
Should his cultivations be sufficient, he also needs to help rescue that homeland.
The Eastern Heaven Immortal World is a good place to go.
Of course, ascending to Northern Heaven is also good, considering the Black Demon Sect’s roots are in Northern Heaven...
"Ascension is something to discuss with my master and hear his advice."
Ning Fan stood up, walked out of the tavern, and with a flicker, disappeared without a trace.
Dawn was already breaking.
The patrons in the tavern were stunned to see that Ning Fan was also an Immortal Master.
To see two Immortal Masters in one day, who knows if it’s a blessing or a curse...
Ordinary people might never encounter an Immortal Master in their lifetimes.
...
The old monster, after obtaining the Yin-Yang Dao Seed, had begun to engage in the cultivation of the Dao Fruit.
Sowing the Dao Seed perfectly wasn’t an easy task, so Ning Fan wouldn’t be able to see the old monster for some time.
These days, he was staying at the Ling Palace, and secretly dispatched Xudaozi to investigate the location of the second Sword Ancestor’s Secret Land in Tianjiang.
Xudaozi had once acquired a jade seal magical treasure by chance and learned from it that Tianjiang harbored a Sword Ancestor’s Secret Land with great opportunities.
That’s why he had come to the Sword Realm, to stand up for the Encompassing Heaven Hall.
Unexpectedly, his intervention led to him becoming Ning Fan’s slave.
Xudaozi didn’t know the exact location of the Secret Land, only its general vicinity in the Northern Territory of Tianjiang.
Knowing that the Secret Land held great opportunities, Ning Fan wouldn’t miss out on such a chance.
The Heavenly One, Xudaozi, sent countless strong figures from the Encompassing Heaven Hall to search for the location of that secret land. A month later, they finally found it.
No one expected that the secret land would turn out to be a most ominous place!
When Xudaozi led the Heavenly Emperor and countless masters into the secret land to investigate, a sudden change occurred!
There was an Absolute Kill Sword Formation at the periphery of the secret land that exterminated everyone, and only Xudaozi escaped.
That Sword Formation was an Immortal Array!
Just one formation destroyed almost all the cultivators above the Void Refinement Realm from the Encompassing Heaven Hall.
Even Tianyi Yunshui, who went along, perished under the Sword Formation...
Inside the Ling Palace, Ning Fan looked at Xudaozi, who was kneeling on the ground, covered in blood, listening to his report, and his gaze was exceedingly grave.
Ling Emperor’s expression was also solemn. Ning Fan did not hide from Ling Emperor the matter of searching for the second Sword Ancestor’s Secret Land.
Although the secret land was in the Sword World, even if Ning Fan went there to seek fortune, he did not plan to monopolize it.
After he left, this secret land should ultimately belong to the Sword World, existing as the second Sword Ancestor’s trial ground.
"An Immortal Array level Sword Formation... Just the periphery has such formidable formations, if we reach the inner area... Ning Fan, this secret land is too dangerous, you mustn’t go!" exclaimed Little Dugu nervously.
When Ning Fan initially sent people to search for the secret land, he had already informed Little Dugu that he intended to take Dugu along to seek the opportunity.
The opportunity in the Sword Ancestor’s Secret Land naturally benefited the Sword Cultivators significantly.
Ning Fan was not a true Sword Cultivator, but Dugu was.
Ning Fan initially hoped to use the opportunity in the secret land to help Dugu break through to the Void Refinement Realm, but now it seemed that, even if he went to the secret land, he could not take Little Dugu along.
Moreover, Ning Fan was already hesitant, unsure whether to proceed to this secret land.
Xudaozi only knew of a great opportunity in the secret land from intelligence in a magical treasure, and he hadn’t seen it with his own eyes, making its veracity uncertain.
If the secret land wasn’t dangerous, Ning Fan didn’t mind trying to explore it.
Now that he knew it was perilous, and unclear what the opportunity entailed, Ning Fan would have to be a fool to venture into an unknown forbidden place recklessly.
"You’re right, it’s better not to go into such a forbidden place."
Ning Fan’s words made Little Dugu breathe a sigh of relief, as she naturally didn’t want to see Ning Fan take risks.
Ling Emperor, holding the intelligence map, remained silent, but his expression grew increasingly serious.
"The location of this secret land seems to be... the ruins of Xia Kingdom from millions of years ago! It’s said that within this secret land lies the great secret of becoming an immortal, yet there are also great dangers. All the Xia Kingdom’s masters once emerged in full force, with just 17 rogue immortals alone venturing into this secret land, exploring the art of immortality... Yet overnight, they all perished in the secret land! Xia Kingdom, wiped out in one night!"
"Xia Kingdom... Wiped out in one night..."
Ning Fan’s eyes suddenly flashed, as if he had thought of something.
Xia Kingdom... perished for the pursuit of becoming immortal.
The sovereign of Xia Kingdom was Sovereign Xia.
Ning Fan speculated, could Sovereign Xia be the sole survivor among the Xia Kingdom’s strong?
Because of its destruction due to seeking immortality, Sovereign Xia loathed the concept of becoming an immortal? Could it be so...
The Xia Kingdom’s secret land holds the great secret to immortality, yet it also caused 17 rogue immortals to perish within... This secret land must be extremely perilous.
Ning Fan shook his head, even for the secret of immortality, he was unwilling to enter such a dangerous land.
The journey to the secret land would have to be abandoned.
The night was slightly chilly, Ning Fan stood alone in the courtyard outside the house, amidst the wind and snow, his thoughts gradually rising.
He used Tianjiang as a dowry to betroth Dugu, yet he wasn’t planning to consummate the marriage with Dugu at this time.
The cultivation technique Dugu practiced was called the Sword Ancestor Scripture, which she chanced upon during a journey.
For women practicing this technique, it was inappropriate to lose their Primordial Yin Body before becoming a Sword Immortal.
Knowing this, Ning Fan naturally would not ruin Dugu’s Primordial Yin Body for a momentary desire.
What surprised Ning Fan was how fortunate Dugu was.
Entering the trial in the Sword Ancestor’s Secret Land in the Snow Frontier, she managed to acquire the Sword Ancestor’s created technique, Sword Finger.
During her travels, she encountered and obtained the Sword Ancestor Scripture.
Little Dugu’s fate seemed to be extraordinarily intertwined with swords.
"Young Friend Ning, this old man has some words to say to you."
A voice suddenly came from behind, carrying a hint of familiarity.
Ning Fan turned around and saw Sovereign Xia approaching and saluted with clasped hands, "Senior Xia, if you have something to say, please do not hesitate."
"This old man heard that you have found the Xia Kingdom’s Secret Ground and wanted to talk to you about the fall of the Xia Kingdom."
The Sovereign Xia’s golden pupils dimmed, carrying a hint of wistfulness, as if recalling the destruction of his nation.
"Senior came here to persuade the junior not to venture to that perilous place to seek immortality? Rest assured, senior, the junior has already decided not to go to that forbidden land..."
Ning Fan’s words were abruptly interrupted by the Sovereign Xia’s wry smile.
"No, this old man is here to ask you to go to that forbidden land."
"Why?" Ning Fan’s gaze suddenly turned grave.
Given Sovereign Xia’s strength and personality, he seldom uses the word ’ask.’
If he says ’ask,’ then what he seeks is certainly significant.
If he asks Ning Fan to enter the forbidden land, the purpose would definitely not be for seeking immortality.
Sovereign Xia himself disdains becoming immortal; if he wished, he could easily step across destiny immortal and become a true immortal now, but he doesn’t wish to.
"The reason... let me tell you a story, and you will understand."
Sovereign Xia displayed a look of reminiscence, beginning to organize memories from millions of years ago.
Very long memories, yet so deeply engraved...
"A long, long time ago, in the land of the Tianjiang Sword World, there existed a powerful nation of sword cultivators called the Xia Kingdom. The Xia Kingdom had been passed down for hundreds of generations, gradually declining, but even so, remained the foremost power of the Sword World."
"That year, a prince was born in the Xia Kingdom, his name was Xia Wuyou. He was a naturally gifted sword cultivator, a prodigy rarely seen in a million years in the Xia Kingdom. Harmonious Spirit in ten years, Core Formation in forty years, Nascent Soul in a hundred years, and Spirit Transformation in two hundred years, then Void Refinement in another two hundred years... After a thousand years of cultivation, he was in Loose Immortal Realm..."
"After the previous sovereign fell, Xia Wuyou naturally inherited the position of Sovereign Xia. He had a childhood friend named Meng Bingyun; when he was sixteen, they became Dao companions. Meng Bingyun was not beautiful but loved Xia Wuyou dearly. Xia Wuyou, proud and aloof, held Meng Bingyun in low regard and became obsessed with cultivation, often ignoring her for decades..."
At this point, Sovereign Xia’s eyes revealed a trace of sadness as he painfully closed his eyes, and after a long time, he continued.
"Xia Wuyou cultivated to the Loose Immortal Realm, taking only fifteen hundred years due to his exceptionally high aptitude, excessive arrogance, and profound desire for immortality. He wanted to become immortal, shattering destiny to seek truth, believing himself qualified to vie for the title of Immortal Emperor... he was too proud. Perhaps it was this pride that made it difficult for him to grasp the true meaning of life and death, always unable to take that step towards becoming immortal... he remained at the Loose Immortal Realm, stalled there for thirty thousand years."
"Meng Bingyun was always neglected by him, yet she bore no resentment and continually accompanied him, guiding him. Truly, Meng Bingyun, though not beautiful and less talented than Xia Wuyou, was also considered a remarkable sword cultivator seeking immortality, rarely seen in a hundred thousand years. During the thirty thousand years Xia Wuyou was stalled at the Loose Immortal Realm, Meng Bingyun advanced in cultivation and was the first to take the step towards shared life and death..."
"Xia Wuyou felt immense humiliation and discontent; he prided himself on being far more talented than Meng Bingyun, yet lost to her on the immortal path, how could he remain calm? He became more distant from Meng Bingyun and yearned more intensely for immortality, nearly falling into madness... until one day, within the Xia Kingdom, a secret ground was discovered... the Sword Ancestor’s Secret Land! It was said to contain the great secret of immortality!"
"Upon learning of the great secret of immortality within the secret land, the whole Xia Kingdom became fervent, especially Xia Wuyou, who desperately desired immortality to the point of frenzy. Without hesitating, he was prepared to muster all experts of the Xia Kingdom to explore this secret land for the immortal secret. On the day he was to depart, Meng Bingyun appeared before him, covered in blood, informing him that the secret land was extremely dangerous, extremely dangerous, as she had personally gone to explore and almost died inside... she begged Xia Wuyou not to go..."
"Xia Wuyou was deeply moved, unable to fathom how Meng Bingyun, whom he had always neglected and ignored, would venture into an unknown secret land for him... She returned, drenched in blood, unable to heal herself, only to tell him that the secret land was perilous and not to approach."
"Yet the allure of immortality was too great, too immense... Ultimately, Xia Wuyou disregarded Meng Bingyun’s warning and stubbornly took all the Xia Kingdom’s experts into the Xia Kingdom’s Secret Ground... On that day, nearly all Xia Kingdom’s experts perished, although Xia Wuyou’s talent was exceedingly high, he remained just a Loose Immortal, destined to die within the secret land..."
"But at his fatal moment, Meng Bingyun saved him, giving her life to rescue him... it was at an icy, bone-chilling Sword Lake that Meng Bingyun lifted him, but then submerged forever into the lake herself... Her final gaze still gazed infatuatedly at Xia Wuyou, apologizing faintly... ’Sorry, Wuyou, I cannot stay with you anymore, sorry’..."
"It shouldn’t be her who apologizes... Immortality, immortality! Xia Wuyou spent his life seeking immortality, but what did he ultimately acquire? He never truly realized what he sought! When he did know and understand, it was lost forever..."
Sovereign Xia clenched his fists, closing his eyes, shedding turbid tears.
Ning Fan remained silent, aware that the gold-eyed sword cultivator before him was the Xia Wuyou of the story...
"Help me, lend your strength and enter the relic with me!" Sovereign Xia abruptly opened his eyes, determination glistening.
"I don’t understand; with my cultivation, how could I assist senior?"
Ning Fan sighed; with Sovereign Xia accompanying him, no danger could truly be called dangerous.
However, how could he aid Sovereign Xia?
"You help me enter Sword Lake, help me see if I can still find Bingyun’s remains beneath the lake..." Sovereign Xia revealed an expression of pain.
"With senior’s cultivation, you can’t enter Sword Lake yourself?" Ning Fan was astonished.
"That Sword Lake lies at the deepest core of the secret land, rumored to harbor the great secret of immortality beneath it. It seems there exists a bizarre principle within this Sword Lake, that anyone can only enter the lake once in their lifetime; attempting entry a second time would cause the lake’s waters to obliterate them into dust. Every time I improve my strength, I attempt again, but each time, before even entering the lake, I’m critically wounded... that lake, I cannot descend into."
"A Sword Lake that can only be entered once... The junior’s first entry to the lake naturally wouldn’t result in obliteration by the lake’s waters. But how is senior certain that the junior can enter and return from Sword Lake? Perhaps the junior would also remain eternally submerged..."
"Don’t worry, before you enter the lake, I will exhaust my primordial spirit to temporarily enhance your cultivation to destiny immortal for your protection. If you recover Bingyun’s remains for me, I can promise you one thing!" Sovereign Xia decisively stated.
"Even if I ask senior to protect the Rain Immortal World, senior would agree?" Ning Fan’s eyes gleamed.
"Of course!"
Sovereign Xia’s firm response genuinely intrigued Ning Fan.
With Sovereign Xia’s assistance, this venture into the secret land posed no significant danger.
And if he successfully recovered Meng Bingyun’s remains, Sovereign Xia would honor his promise and help Ning Fan defend the Rain Immortal World.
With Sovereign Xia present, even if the Sect Master of the Pill Sect came personally, there would be no chance of survival...
This favor was indeed worth undertaking.
Ning Fan was about to reply when, outside the courtyard, a woman with plum blossoms tucked at her temples quietly walked out.
She had been hiding there, yet neither Ning Fan nor Sovereign Xia had sensed her presence. "Young Friend Ning, if you are determined to go to the Xia Kingdom’s Secret Ground... I will accompany you! If we live, we live together; if we die, we die together!" Dugu spoke calmly, as if stating the obvious. (To be continued. If you enjoy this work, you are welcome to vote for recommendation and monthly votes on Qidian (qidian.com). Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please read at m.qidian.com.)