novelraw Chapter 213 : The Nascent Soul Patriarch of the Water Dragon Sect
Chapter 213 : The Nascent Soul Patriarch of the Water Dragon Sect
Chapter 213: The Nascent Soul Patriarch of the Water Dragon Sect
Did something serious happen to Han Feiyu?
Ji Yuan had just returned home and hadn’t even sat down when he sent a message summoning Dong Qian and Du Wanyi together.
Dong Qian arrived first. When Du Wanyi came in afterward and saw Dong Qian already there, she looked a bit surprised.
“What happened to Han Feiyu? Did something happen?”
Ji Yuan didn’t even have time to serve them tea and directly asked.
Dong Qian took a slight step back. “Junior Sister Du knows more about this than I do. She should explain it.”
Ji Yuan then shifted his gaze to Du Wanyi.
The latter nodded slightly and said, “This matter is still related to the Nine Nether Grotto-Heaven. Fourth Brother, you should still remember Feng Yichen, right?”
“I remember. He and Han Feiyu went to the Nine Nether Grotto-Heaven together and even entered Ghost Flood Dragon Lake, and ended up dying in there.”
Ji Yuan recalled that before entering the Nine Nether Grotto-Heaven, Feng Yichen had even acted as a lobbyist for the sect master, Real Person Xuan Shui, trying to persuade him to go as well. But he had avoided it by advancing to Foundation Establishment.
“He didn’t die.”
Du Wanyi spoke softly.
“Didn’t die?”
Ji Yuan’s tone rose slightly.
“Yes, he didn’t die.”
Du Wanyi nodded. “He was ambushed by Brother Han in the Nine Nether Grotto-Heaven and severely injured, but he didn’t die. Now he’s come out alive and returned to the sect, and he exposed everything.”
“How did the sect handle Han Feiyu? Attacking a fellow disciple is a serious crime.”
If it hadn’t been found out, there wouldn’t be a problem. But once discovered, it would be a huge issue.
Attacking fellow disciples… in other words, if even within the sect one’s safety couldn’t be guaranteed, how could it be expected outside? If such things happened often, no one in the sect would feel a sense of belonging.
So once it’s confirmed, it’s a grave crime.
“He was originally supposed to be executed by the Disciplinary Hall, but for some reason, Feng Yichen later took the initiative to speak with the sect master, saying that the situation at the time was special. If he hadn’t fought back, neither of them could have survived. So he understood Brother Han’s decision at the time and requested the sect to revoke the punishment.”
“What’s the situation now?”
“The judgment from the Disciplinary Hall was: capital punishment exempted, but the penalty must still be served. Brother Han must undergo punishment by Thunder Penalty and Fire Burning, and then leave the sect to patrol various regions, and must kill at least ten Foundation Establishment demonic cultivators. Only then will the matter be considered resolved, otherwise, he cannot return to the sect.”
Dong Qian added from the side, “Not only that, but Martial Uncle Sect Master also expelled him from his tutelage. From now on, he is no longer a disciple of a Golden Core Real Person.”
“This…”
Ji Yuan hadn’t expected such a turn of events.
But he also felt something wasn’t right. Feng Yichen, who survived the Nine Nether Grotto-Heaven, not only didn’t try to kill Han Feiyu but went and reported him?
If he wanted revenge, he should’ve killed him in one go. Now Han Feiyu had been half-ruined… once he recovered, he’d surely go after Feng Yichen.
As for the sect… Han Feiyu had already been punished and was expelled by Real Person Xuan Shui.
Then what reason did he have to remain loyal to the Water Dragon Sect?
He might as well just run and become a rogue cultivator.
Otherwise, he’d have to kill ten Foundation Establishment demonic cultivators? Could anyone even pull that off?
Killing one was hard enough, let alone ten. Wasn’t this just pushing someone to their death?
Ji Yuan could already see all this just from hearing the news. Could Feng Yichen, who’d narrowly escaped death, not understand this?
So something about this… felt very fishy.
“How is Han Feiyu now? Have you gone to see him?” Ji Yuan asked.
Du Wanyi and Dong Qian exchanged a glance and shook their heads together. “By the time we got the news, he had already been taken to the Disciplinary Hall. We couldn’t go see him. He should be undergoing punishment now. Once that’s over, he’ll be exiled from the sect and sent to kill those demonic traitors.”
“So it’s come to this…”
Ji Yuan didn’t know what else to say for a moment.
“I told Senior Brother Qingming from the Disciplinary Hall, if Brother Han gets released, he’ll send me a message immediately. When that happens, we can go meet him and hear what he says himself.”
Dong Qian spoke softly.
“Alright. In the end, this is something he has to resolve himself. We… can’t help.”
Ji Yuan shook his head. If it were any other offense, Real Person Xuan Shui might’ve been able to bear the responsibility. But in this situation, frankly put—it was hopeless.
The matter had gone too far, and there was no turning back.
The three of them chatted a bit more, then Dong Qian and Du Wanyi went back to their respective places.
Ji Yuan, meanwhile, deployed the repaired Spirit Energy Cannon on Wuyou Island.
……
At the same time.
Water Dragon Sect, in an unknown valley.
A stream of water-blue Escape Light descended from the sky and arrived at the valley, transforming into Real Person Xuan Shui’s form. He cupped his hands respectfully toward the inside of the valley.
“Junior Xuan Shui seeks an audience… with Patriarch!”
After speaking, he remained bowing without rising.
From deep within the valley, an old silver-haired woman walked out slowly, supported by a snake-headed cane. Though her hair was white, her face was youthful, and her silver strands were meticulously groomed.
At first, she was still deep in the valley, but in the blink of an eye, she appeared before Real Person Xuan Shui.
The silver-haired elder circled around Xuan Shui with her snake-headed cane.
“Little Shui, what happened? You’ve been shouting nonstop for days. This old lady thought the Water Dragon Sect was done for.”
Her plain words sent a chill down the sect master’s spine.
“No… no, it’s just that a strange matter occurred in the sect, and I require Patriarch’s judgment.”
“What is it?”
“It’s like this: a few years ago, the Nine Nether Grotto-Heaven opened. A disciple from the sect died in there, but now he’s come out alive…”
Then Real Person Xuan Shui explained Feng Yichen’s matter in full detail, holding nothing back.
“You mean to say, you suspect this Feng Yichen is one of the Shang Court’s remnants?”
The silver-haired elder asked.
“Yes.”
Xuan Shui straightened up. “I can’t think of any other explanation. For someone who lost his cultivation to survive in Ghost Flood Dragon Lake in the Nine Nether Grotto-Heaven… that’s bizarre enough.”
“But to find an entrance that hasn’t been discovered for thousands of years… it’s just too strange.”
“Other than the possibility that he’s a Shang Court remnant, I can’t think of another explanation.”
The silver-haired elder paced back and forth before him with her cane.
“Your suspicion isn’t baseless.”
“The Shang Court bunch… who knows what methods they used. Quite a few Nascent Soul cultivators didn’t die completely. Now, after so many years, they’re starting to awaken. They won’t let go of the mortal realm easily.”
She let out a cold laugh. “Alright, I understand. Feng Yichen, is it? Give me his aura. I’ll find time to meet him and see for myself.”
“Yes.”
Hearing the Patriarch agree to act, Real Person Xuan Shui let out a long breath and handed over a blood-stained tattered robe.
“This is the robe he wore.”
The silver-haired elder glanced at it, and the bloodied robe vanished.
“Go on. Don’t disturb me unless it’s important.”
With the dismissal, Real Person Xuan Shui quickly took his leave.
But right after he left, the silver-haired elder raised her snake-headed cane and gently tapped the ground. A green ripple spread outward.
As the ripple passed the tree stump to the right of the valley—
A flash of light appeared, and a human figure now sat on the stump.
A handsome man, with one foot propped on the stump, wore the standard robe of a Qi Refining stage disciple of the Water Dragon Sect, holding a wine flask in hand and sipping slowly.
Had Real Person Xuan Shui been here, he would have instantly recognized this man—Feng Yichen, the very person he had just intended to report.
“Don’t look at me like that. I only did it to survive.”
Feng Yichen drained the last of the wine and casually tossed the flask away.
The silver-haired elder just watched him without speaking.
Helpless, he sheepishly picked up the wine flask again.
“I’ve been wondering… how much truth is there in the words of you Shang Court people?” the silver-haired old woman slowly spoke.
Feng Yichen chuckled, put the emptied wine flask back into his Storage Pouch, then stretched lazily as he stood up.
“That’s not important. What’s important is… what are your odds of breaking through to late Nascent Soul stage, Kong Xifeng?”
The silver-haired old woman, Kong Xifeng, was silent for a moment before she finally said:
“I’m the only Nascent Soul cultivator in the Water Dragon Sect, so if it really comes down to a critical moment, I must protect our sect. That much, you old monster Situ, must understand.”
“Understand, I understand.”
Feng Yichen nodded repeatedly. “We’ve all been through this. Of course I understand.”
“……”
“If only I had three units of the 【Spirit Energy Cannon】. One placed on Wuyou Island, one on Misty Island, and one carried on my person. No matter where problems arise, there’d be a safety net… Three cannons fired together—even if they were only level 1 【Spirit Energy Cannons】—would make even many Golden Core Real Persons hesitate, wouldn’t they?”
“Unfortunately, they’re hard to buy. Looks like I’ll have to wait until my weapon refining skill improves so I can make them myself.”
Ji Yuan mused to himself, pacing around the 【Spirit Energy Cannon】.
Since the building had already been unlocked, he might as well see whether it could be upgraded to level 2.
If it could blast a peak Golden Core cultivator to death, it would definitely count as a trump card.
With that thought, Ji Yuan summoned the Panel to take a look.
【Upgrade Requirements: 2000 × Middle-Grade Spirit Stones; Tier-2 Weapon Refiner; Tier-2 Formation Master; 5 × Spirit Energy Stones; 50 jin of Silver Moon Meteorite Rock; 1 × Tier-3 Demon Core. (Unfulfilled)】
Two thousand Spirit Stones was a lot, but Ji Yuan could manage that.
As for becoming a Tier-2 Weapon Refiner—he wasn’t one yet, but with some effort, he could get there.
A Tier-3 Demon Core—he could afford it. If not, he’d just ask his master for one.
The difficult part was those Spirit Energy Stones.
By now, Ji Yuan counted as a Weapon Refiner himself, and he had naturally heard of these materials.
Silver Moon Meteorite Rock was the main material for crafting Spirit Energy Cannons, but the amount required now was absurd.
According to the 《True Explanation of Weapon Refining》, crafting one Spirit Energy Cannon only required ten jin of Silver Moon Meteorite Rock.
Now upgrading to level 2 required fifty jin… Ji Yuan figured that even if he ransacked the entire Water Dragon Sect, he still might not be able to collect that much.
After all, good materials were never short of buyers, and those who owned them often preferred bartering for treasures they needed.
The remaining Spirit Energy Stones were even rarer.
That stuff was mostly used by Golden Core Real Persons for crafting magical treasures. Even Everything Island under the Water Dragon Sect didn’t have it.
If Ji Yuan couldn’t find them himself, he planned to ask Li Changhe or Hua Yaoyue.
Going to those two—he figured—it should be doable.
As for venturing out to gather the materials himself, Ji Yuan wasn’t interested.
So the current top priority was still to improve his Weapon Refining skill first.
Without meeting the basic requirements, everything else was meaningless.
As for other matters—Ji Yuan planned that once the 【Spirit Energy Cannon】 was upgraded, he’d head off to the next sword embryo condensation site. After all, no matter how many buildings he had, it ultimately came down to his cultivation.
With three flying swords successfully condensed, it was time to prepare for the next one.
As for where to go next… Ji Yuan planned to handle the nearest location first.
The closest site to the Water Dragon Sect was the ancient battlefield ruins within the Corpse Herding Mountain territory to the north—
Specifically, the Blood River that could condense the “Blood Slaughter Sword”.
Everything else was farther.
So in the period that followed, Ji Yuan spent his time refining weapons on Wuyou Island, and also returned to Misty Island to comprehend the 《Sword Manual》, striving to gain enlightenment and condense the next sword embryo as soon as possible.
A month passed in the blink of an eye.
On this day, Ji Yuan was on Misty Island, contemplating the 《Sword Manual》, when he suddenly received a message from Dong Qian—Han Feiyu had completed his punishment and was released.
She asked Ji Yuan if he wanted to go see him.
Ji Yuan thought, since they were acquaintances, no matter what decision Han Feiyu made next, he would support him in his heart. So after some thought, he decided to go.
If it were someone else, they might not dare to go—afraid of unnecessary trouble.
But Ji Yuan wasn’t afraid. They were both from the same hometown, and with Hua Yaoyue backing him, he wasn’t worried about idle gossip.
Half a day later, Ji Yuan returned to Wuyou Island.
After reuniting with Dong Qian and Du Wanyi, the three of them headed to Han Feiyu’s Luohun Island...
“What, are you here to laugh at me too?”
Han Feiyu looked at the three approaching, laughed self-deprecatingly, then continued to swallow pills to heal his injuries.
“Brother Han, you…”
Dong Qian looked at the man before her who seemed like a different person—it felt unfamiliar.
Du Wanyi had the same reaction. She still remembered how spirited Han Feiyu had been the last time she returned from Yulan City—he’d even gifted her a Mid-Grade Spiritual Artifact right off the bat.
But now?
His complexion was pale and weak, and he was shrouded in a faint air of death.
To put it harshly—he looked more like a corpse than a living person.
“Brother Han, what do you plan to do next?” Du Wanyi asked.
“Plan?” Han Feiyu seemed as if he hadn’t even considered the question—he looked surprised. “What plan could I have? The sect’s told me to go kill demonic cultivators. If I don’t go, what else can I do?”
He seemed a bit self-destructive… Ji Yuan didn’t ask further and only said, “Since Feng Yichen came back determined to get revenge and then suddenly let you go, there must be more to it. Once you’re out of the sect… be careful.”
Han Feiyu, hearing this, gave Ji Yuan a deeper look.
Their eyes met in the air.
A trace of sorrow flashed in Han Feiyu’s eyes—barely perceptible.
In the end, he shook his head and said, “You don’t understand.”
“Ji Yuan, you’re luckier than me. Your life is better than mine.”
Han Feiyu shook his head and sighed deeply.
He stopped cultivating and stood up from the ground. “Alright, the sect only gave me three days to pack up. I’ll be leaving soon. I won’t see you off.”
“Alright.”
Dong Qian nodded slightly.
“Then we’ll head out first. Brother Han, take care of yourself. If you need help, just send us a message.”
Seeing their old friend reduced to this, Du Wanyi’s expression also darkened.
After all, killing fellow disciples in the Nine Nether Grotto-Heaven… to be honest, that wasn’t a big deal. Among ten who came out alive, nine had done it.
Han Feiyu was just unlucky—he got caught.
“Brother Han, take care.”
Ji Yuan cupped his fists toward him and turned to leave.
But just as he reached the doorway, he paused slightly—then summoned his flying boat and departed.
Once the boat rose into the air, Dong Qian sent a voice transmission to Ji Yuan. “Junior Brother Ji, did Brother Han say something to you?”
“He mentioned something minor. Nothing to worry about.”
Ji Yuan answered, and Dong Qian didn’t press further.
So what did Han Feiyu say to Ji Yuan in the end?
He warned Ji Yuan to be wary of someone—Island Lord Yun Miao.
He didn’t explain why—just told Ji Yuan to be careful and to not tell anyone else.
Island Lord Yun Miao… ever since she had last contacted Ji Yuan and was ignored, she hadn’t reached out again.
Of course, it was more likely that Ji Yuan had left the Water Dragon Sect afterward and gone to Linhai City, missing her messages. So no matter how many she sent, they all vanished without a trace.
But why be careful of her?
‘Didn’t she want to be friends with me before, even asked Han Feiyu to send me a message… could it be she has other intentions… wants to kill me?’
Ji Yuan couldn’t figure it out.
Next time they met—he’d just keep his distance.
Several leisurely months later, with his exceptional comprehension and some help from the 【Enlightenment Room】, Ji Yuan finally grasped another small part of the 《Sword Manual》—enough to condense the next sword embryo.
Along the way, he also crafted his first Spiritual Artifact.
Though it was just a Lower-Grade Spiritual Artifact in the shape of an iron rod, it marked his advancement to a Tier-2 Weapon Refiner.
It was enough to proceed with the next upgrade of the 【Spirit Energy Cannon】.
Now that his weapon refining skill had matured, Ji Yuan naturally planned to first upgrade the 【Spirit Energy Cannon】 to level 2.
Once he gained this powerful trump card, he would head north to condense the sword embryo.
——