Arc 4: Cultivation
After a moment of silence, Shao Ci nodded eagerly. Who wouldn't want treasures?
Originally, Ling Wangchen didn't care about these treasures. But seeing Shao Ci's keen interest, he couldn't help but be intrigued.
"Alright, you stay here and watch."
Ling Wangchen smiled, reached out and patted Shao Ci's head, then stood up while holding him, looking at those treasures.
Then, with just one step forward, the scattered treasures flying around suddenly changed direction as if they were attracted by something, rushing towards this place.
At the moment they flew out, these treasures were protected by a shield. If ordinary cultivators wanted to snatch them, they would need to expend spiritual energy to break through the shield.
But the shields around these treasures automatically dissipated, and they floated in front of Ling Wangchen, as if waiting for him to choose.
Moreover, in order to catch Ling Wangchen's attention, these treasures even emitted a continuous glow.
The others immediately turned red with envy. Most of them had exhausted more than half of their spiritual energy just to obtain two or three treasures, while Ling Wangchen could easily obtain so many treasures. How could they not be jealous?
But they were also wary of Ling Wangchen's strength, so they didn't dare to approach.
The Nascent Soul cultivator from the Fang family saw this and said, "Don't be fooled by his strength. In reality, he doesn't dare to attack us."
The others looked at him in surprise, and the Nascent Soul cultivator sneered, revealing the previous incident.
He explained that if Ling Wangchen was truly powerful, he would have killed those disrespectful people directly. There was no need to just bind them like before. It must be because he was afraid of offending their families, so he didn't dare to act.
The more the others thought about it, the more they felt it made sense, and they became more audacious in their actions.
These people spoke self-righteously, "Friend, you've gone too far. Occupying so many treasures all by yourself, isn't that too greedy?"
"Yeah, these treasures were discovered by our families. As someone passing by, it would be enough for you to take one or two. Taking so many, don't you feel ashamed?"
These people spoke as if these treasures originally belonged to their families, completely forgetting that their families only discovered them slightly earlier than others.
Ling Wangchen didn't even bother to give a glance to those people's questions.
Those people immediately became angry and wanted to rush forward and snatch the treasures since they believed Ling Wangchen wouldn't dare to lay a hand on them.
But the moment they stepped into the area where Ling Wangchen was, their expressions changed. A chilling sensation rose from their feet, freezing their spiritual energy in its tracks. This power was extremely dominant, even freezing their own cultivation at the Nascent Soul stage.
What kind of cultivation level was this? They themselves had the strength of the Nascent Soul stage.
These people felt a sense of fear and tried to leave immediately.
But Ling Wangchen calmly said, "Since you're already here, there's no need to leave."
Then, ice began to form and climb up their ankles. They struggled, but realized that their own cultivation was completely useless against this force. Their faces showed disbelief as they remembered the words of the Nascent Soul cultivator from the Fang family. They shouted in desperation.
"I am from the Zhang family! If you kill me, you will offend the Zhang family!"
"I am from the Huang family. Do you dare to touch me?"
In the next moment, all their arrogant words disappeared. The cultivators who tried to attack were completely covered by ice and instantly turned into countless fragments. They were already dead and couldn't die any further.
"Annoying." Ling Wangchen didn't like killing, but if these people had already intended to kill him, he didn't mind dirtying his hands.
The others who witnessed this scene were terrified, and they glared at the Nascent Soul cultivator from the Fang family with anger.
The Nascent Soul cultivator from the Fang family was also shocked. He immediately pretended to be low-key and hid among the crowd, but he was filled with resentment.
If this person had such powerful strength, why did he tolerate them earlier? If not for that, how could he have thought that Ling Wangchen was someone he could bully, leading to the current situation?
In the next moment, he felt a sudden chill in his body. He lifted his head in astonishment and found everyone around him looking at him with pity.
Meanwhile, Ling Wangchen coldly stared at him.
How could this happen? He had clearly disguised himself so well...
The Nascent Soul cultivator immediately sensed something was wrong and without hesitation, he let his Nascent Soul escape from his body. But in the next moment, an ice cone pierced through the Nascent Soul.
The Nascent Soul cultivator from the Fang family had a look of regret and unwillingness in his eyes, but in the next moment, he fell to the ground, signifying his complete death.
After this demonstration, no one dared to say anything to Ling Wangchen anymore. They didn't even dare to lift their heads and cautiously stayed in their original positions.
"All those annoying ants have finally been dealt with," Ling Wangchen looked at Shao Ci and asked softly, "Which treasure here do you like?"
Shao Ci looked at the overwhelming number of treasures in front of him. Most of them were ancient treasures, even more powerful than the current ones. Some of them even had remnants of Dao intent. Any one of them could be sold for a sky-high price if taken out for auction. And now, they were casually placed in front of him for him to choose.
This is what happens after attaching oneself to a powerful thigh!
All that talk about corruption and imprisonment was just too much!
Shao Ci felt a strange sense of satisfaction in his heart.
The cultivators who were watching felt jealous and envious of Shao Ci. They also wanted to have this kind of treatment. After all, Shao Ci was just a Qi refining cultivator, why did he deserve such treatment?
In the end, Ling Wangchen collected all the treasures since they belonged to Shao Ci anyway.
However, there was one missing ingredient for making the Solidifying Soul Pill.
After the peak eruption, the quantity of this treasure had significantly decreased. It took several hours for only four or five pieces to appear.
Everyone also noticed that Ling Wangchen didn't take every single treasure. Some powerful treasures didn't catch his eye at all.
And the treasures that Ling Wangchen didn't care about immediately caused countless people to fight over them.
As for the treasures that Ling Wangchen was interested in... there was no chance for them at all.
And two or three days later, when a few items covered by the light barrier flew out, Ling Wangchen turned his head to look.
If he didn't feel wrong, among them was the last material he was looking for this time, the Soul-Attracting Wood.
The Soul-Attracting Wood couldn't be obtained in the same way as other treasures, otherwise it would destroy its original effect. Ling Wangchen had to set up a defensive formation next to Shao Ci and personally go forward to retrieve it.
At this moment, Shao Ci was sitting there resting, but he felt something was off.
Looking at the lingering mist beside him, he suddenly remembered that when he came here in a soul state, he did see many treasures.
But in the center of that mist, it wasn't a formation made of rocks like it is now, but a pitch-black cave where nothing could be seen inside.
Moreover, if this really was such a secret realm, would it casually spew out treasures like this? Is there really such a thing as traps falling from the sky in the world?
In the instant that Shao Ci had such thoughts, the ground beneath his feet suddenly collapsed.
A powerful suction force came from it, and in that moment, not only the people standing on the ground, but even the cultivators flying in the air, who were fighting over other treasures, were uncontrollably pulled into it by the suction force.
Even at this moment, they found that their spiritual power couldn't be used, and even struggling was difficult.
Shao Ci looked down and could only see darkness, completely indistinguishable, like being in the depths of an abyss.
Shao Ci was startled by his own imagination. If he really fell into the abyss, with his cultivation level, he would definitely be in trouble.
Only Ling Wangchen was not affected by this suction force. He immediately flew towards Shao Ci and reached out to grab his hand.
Shao Ci also struggled to try to grab him, but before they could touch, the black mist surging from below completely covered his body.
Ling Wangchen clenched his teeth and tried to fly downwards, but was blocked by an invisible wall.
"This..." Ling Wangchen's expression darkened.
The only ones who could achieve this level in this secret realm were probably the owners of the realm.
To actually make a move against Shao Ci, it seems that they couldn't wait any longer.
Shao Ci finally regained consciousness, but he was now in a cave. The cave was extremely large, like a tomb, with two stone coffins placed in the center. It was obvious that this was not a normal place.
The only way out of this cave was a door on the side, but there was a formation on the door that couldn't be easily opened.
He didn't know what the power that had sucked everyone here was for.
Most of the other cultivators were also here. At this moment, everyone had regained consciousness, but they couldn't use their spiritual power.
However, these people didn't pay much attention to it at first. They were still quickly picking up the scattered treasures around and storing them in their arms, occasionally erupting into arguments.
After all, their cultivation was still intact, and the inability to use spiritual power was only temporary. Right now, the treasures were more important.
Shao Ci felt that there must be a problem. Now that Ling Wangchen was not by his side, he didn't dare to do anything. Fortunately, after being taken care of by Ling Wangchen for some time, he regained some strength. He walked to a less crowded area to avoid getting involved in any conflicts.
When everyone had almost grabbed the treasures, they realized the problem. The walls of the cave were extremely hard, and even with the power of their Nascent Souls, they could only dig a small piece. As for digging their way out... they would probably run out of spiritual energy before they could even make it outside.
The door was also extremely sturdy and couldn't be opened.
"Damn it, how do we leave this place?" "If I still had spiritual energy, I would have smashed this door with a single palm."
"Everyone, don't panic. There must be a mechanism in this place."
Speaking of mechanisms, everyone's gaze naturally focused on the stone coffin.
However, in this secret realm, the corpse in the stone coffin was definitely not an ordinary cultivator. It was impossible for there not to be a powerful mechanism on it.
Because of this, no one dared to approach earlier.
If they still had spiritual energy, they could use their treasures to withstand any crisis that might arise when opening the stone coffin. But in the current situation, if they risked getting injured and went over, they wouldn't be able to heal their wounds for the time being.
And in such a dangerous place, they might be ambushed and killed by others.
Everyone here has enemies among the experts, so the situation is at a stalemate for now. They all shifted their gaze to those with lower cultivation levels, trying to find a few cannon fodder to send up.
And the person with the lowest cultivation level here is Fang Yan. Coupled with the misleading words spoken by the elder of the Fang family, which caused the deaths of many experts from other families, the looks from everyone towards him were very cold.
Fang Yan suddenly realized their thoughts and felt a sense of panic.
He was the young master of the Fang family, born to enjoy a life of luxury. How could he die in this secret realm?
Later, Fang Yan saw Shao Ci and immediately felt relieved. He spoke up, saying, "This person is not from any major family. In order to maintain peace among our families, let him go and open the stone coffin."
He had harbored resentment towards Shao Ci for a long time, but he didn't dare to do anything while Ling Wangchen was around. Now that Ling Wangchen was not present, no one would stand up for a Qi Refining cultivator like Shao Ci.
The gaze of everyone immediately turned towards Shao Ci, their expressions becoming complicated.
"But this person is the companion of that cultivator. If we force him to go and die now, will that cultivator retaliate and kill us?"
"That's not necessarily the case. This secret realm is so vast, we might not even encounter that cultivator. Besides, we haven't personally killed his companion, so even if he seeks revenge, he won't find us."
Most of the others had backgrounds and connections, while Shao Ci was the only one without strength or support. Therefore, he was pushed forward.
Shao Ci: "!!" Damn it, why did this fall on his head?
However, he had no choice but to step forward. Otherwise, he would definitely be killed by the people around him.
Shao Ci reluctantly approached and placed his hand on the stone coffin.
He initially thought that he wouldn't be able to push it open with his own strength, but unexpectedly, it easily moved and the stone coffin opened.
Because it was too easy, Shao Ci was shocked and almost stumbled into it.
Inside the stone coffin was pitch black, and in that instant, it perfectly matched the situation in Shao Ci's dream.
"!" Oh no... Shao Ci immediately wanted to step back, but before he could do anything, several dark hands reached out from within and grabbed him.
Shao Ci didn't even have a chance to make a sound or struggle. He was dragged into the coffin, and the lid automatically closed.
The onlookers widened their eyes in astonishment and felt a mix of fear and relief.
Fortunately, it wasn't them who went in. Even they couldn't be sure if they could escape from those black hands. They were clearly not something to be messed with.
But now, the problem was how to leave...
Before they could ponder further, the door of the tomb suddenly opened, and Ling Wangchen, who had just arrived, stood outside.
Everyone: "...?!"
——
After being swallowed by the stone coffin, Shao Ci found himself in a strange space.
There were mirrors on both sides, reflecting people clearly.
Shao Ci felt a bit uneasy. This could either be some kind of illusion or hallucination. Maybe he was trapped in a maze.
But staying here wasn't a solution. Shao Ci slowly walked forward, hoping to find an exit, even though the chances were slim.
At first, everything seemed normal. However, after turning a corner, the reflection in the mirror was not his own, but that of a teenage boy.
The boy appeared to be around fourteen or fifteen years old, with a pale complexion. He wore a slightly oversized school uniform and always instinctively lowered his head when facing others, too afraid to speak.
Upon seeing the boy's appearance, Shao Ci was stunned.
It was him... his past self before transmigrating.
He never expected this illusion to directly show him his past. He had no desire to recall those memories.
Shao Ci turned his head, not wanting to look anymore. But no matter where he looked, he could clearly see his reflection in the mirrors.
During that time, whether at home or at school, he was isolated by everyone, without a single friend.
But one day, that situation began to change.
"... " Shao Ci walked forward quickly. When he turned another corner, the mirror in front of him reflected the appearance of that person.
That person is someone Shao Ci never wants to remember in this lifetime.
Shao Ci clenched his teeth, closed his eyes, and ran forward without caring about anything else.
Even though those things were already in the past, he didn't want to think about them anymore.
He seemed to have bumped into something and heard the sound of breaking glass, and then he fell forward.
Did he escape from that damn illusion?
Shao Ci gasped for breath, cautiously opened his eyes, and saw nothing. He let out a sigh of relief and collapsed on the ground, completely lacking the strength to get up.
Then footsteps approached, and someone stood in front of him.
Shao Ci looked up and was instantly stunned.
The person in front of him was none other than Ling Wangchen.
Although something felt off, the person's aura was very familiar.
"Are you okay?" the person asked, gently helping Shao Ci up.
"I'm fine," Shao Ci replied.
He couldn't help but gaze at the person's face. It looked exactly like Ling Wangchen, but there was something that didn't quite match.
Could this be Ling Wangchen's true form? But the appearance of that true form was slightly different from Ling Wangchen's.
"It was my fault just now," the person said, sighing. "I shouldn't have left you alone in that place, otherwise, such a thing wouldn't have happened."
Those words immediately relieved Shao Ci's worries, and most of his doubts disappeared. "It's okay, after all, you didn't do it on purpose. It was just unexpected that such a thing would happen at that time..."
Ling Wangchen smiled and hugged Shao Ci.
Only then did Shao Ci notice that the scenery here was very familiar, exactly the same as the floating island where they were at the Star Point Gate.
Shao Ci asked, "What's going on here?"
"What's going on?" Ling Wangchen asked with a smile.
"Well, just now we were still in... the secret realm... huh?" Shao Ci thought for a long time but couldn't remember what happened earlier. It was as if he had been staying in the Star Point Gate all this time. "Maybe I remembered it wrong..."
"Yeah, you've been through a lot during this time," Ling Wangchen said, kissing his forehead. "Your clothes are all soaked in sweat. It looks like you need to take a bath first."
"Yeah... you're right," Shao Ci nodded, and the two of them went to the hot spring in the courtyard.
After soaking in the hot spring, Shao Ci immediately relaxed and was almost about to fall asleep. In the end, he leaned against Ling Wangchen and fell asleep.
Ling Wangchen gently picked up Shao Ci and helped him put on his clothes. Even though it was the first time he did something like this, it felt as if he had done it countless times before.
Yes... he had indeed done it countless times, in the memories of his other self.
Ling Wangchen carried Shao Ci to the room and placed him on the bed. He smiled and gazed at Shao Ci, his eyes revealing a hint of obsession that no one could detect.
He was not really Ling Wangchen, but the Immortal Lord who had been sleeping here for thousands of years.
Thousands of years had passed in the blink of an eye during his slumber here, but occasionally, when he woke up, he still felt incredibly bored.
However, thousands of years ago, some cultivators had entered the secret realm.
With the intention of passing the time, the Immortal Lord had separated a strand of his soul to wander in the secret realm. Soon, it was taken away by one of the cultivators.
And after all these years, that strand of soul finally woke up and obtained its own body.
He could see all the memories of that soul, but it felt as if he was watching someone else's memories.
At first, it could be seen as a pastime, but as time went on, a sense of jealousy arose.
Yes... he was actually jealous of his own other self.
Even though it was just a part of himself, it could live so happily, while he had been alone in this broken palace for thousands of years.
"If only it was him... There have been many times when this thought has crossed his mind.
But because of the constraints of the formation, he couldn't wake up from his slumber.
And after who knows how long, that person's soul suddenly appeared in the secret realm.
This entire secret realm is under the control of the Immortal Lord's consciousness. Whatever he wants, he can do. He immediately wanted to keep that person's soul and used the mark left by his other self in that person's soul to attract him to this place.
In the end, he succeeded, but also failed.
The moment he woke up, the other person's soul was already gone.
And later on, that person's soul unexpectedly returned to this place, and even came back with the other self.
That other self was just a remnant soul, but it developed feelings it shouldn't have had and deluded itself into thinking it could leave. How could he let it succeed?
And now, Shao Ci has come to his side, so that remnant soul is no longer needed.
Inside the cave, the people were barely maintaining their composure, filled with fear in their hearts.
When Ling Wangchen barged in and asked about Shao Ci's whereabouts, they initially wanted to come up with excuses to deceive him and then escape.
But Ling Wangchen directly sealed off the cave and proceeded to capture one of the cultivators, intending to extract the answers from him.
If they had known Ling Wangchen would come, how could they have forced Shao Ci to open that stone coffin? Shao Ci is probably dead now, not even a complete corpse left.
"I don't know anything!" This person naturally couldn't reveal what they had done to Shao Ci before, so they pleaded, "Sir, I really don't know. That Qi Refining cultivator wasn't here from the beginning, and we have no idea if he was absorbed by the black mist. We have never seen him."
"Is that so?" Ling Wangchen looked at him coldly.
"It's absolutely true!" The person hurriedly spoke, "Besides, even if we did something to him, there are no bodies here..."
"Very well." Ling Wangchen released his grip.
The moment the person fell to the ground, he breathed a sigh of relief, thinking it was over. But in the next moment, his entire body froze, turning into ice shards.
The onlookers were all frightened, trembling in fear, afraid that Ling Wangchen would come for them next.
Ling Wangchen casually pointed at someone, and that person immediately knelt down. "I'll talk, I'll talk!"
The others immediately became anxious, saying, "What are you talking about? Clearly, that Qi Refining cultivator has nothing to do with us!"
But the person gritted his teeth and said, "It's not you who's being sought out, so of course you don't care."
The others wanted to say something else, but a single glance from Ling Wangchen made them all silent.
"We were all fine here, but that kid from the Fang family insisted on pushing out the Qi Refining cultivator, saying he was useless, so he made him open the stone coffin." The person shifted all the blame onto Fang Yan, sweating profusely as he continued, "And after opening the coffin, he was immediately pulled in... We don't know what happened to him now."
That clone was just a remnant soul, and yet it had the audacity to think about leaving. How could I let him succeed when Shao Ci is already by my side? The remnant soul is no longer needed.
Meanwhile, inside the cave, everyone struggled to maintain a calm demeanor, but they were filled with fear.
When Ling Wangchen barged in and asked about Shao Ci, they initially wanted to come up with excuses to deceive him and then escape. But they didn't expect Ling Wangchen to seal off the cave and capture one of the cultivators to extract the answers from him.
The captive cultivator breathed a sigh of relief as he fell to the ground, thinking that it was over. But in the next moment, his entire body was frozen in ice and turned into fragments.
The onlookers were terrified, trembling with fear, afraid that Ling Wangchen would come for them next.
Everyone immediately remembered the words spoken by Fang Yan at that time, and they deeply hated him.
Fang Yan gritted his teeth and tried to escape, but his feet were frozen by ice, and he fell to his knees when he saw Ling Wangchen approaching him.
"I was wrong, I was wrong!" Fang Yan felt immense regret and fear. "I shouldn't have done what I did. Please spare me. I am the young master of the Fang family. If you spare me, I am willing to give you most of the resources of the Fang family..."
Before he could finish his words, he coughed up blood and his eyes filled with extreme horror.
Ling Wangchen didn't kill him directly. Instead, he froze his dantian, meridians, organs, and gradually made them burst.
Fang Yan kept screaming in agony, wishing for death, but the torture was slow and far from over.
The remaining people looked at Ling Wangchen in fear. "Sir, the culprit has been handed over. Can we leave now?"
"Who said you can leave?" Ling Wangchen spoke, "Today, all of you... will die here."
He deeply regretted it. If he hadn't looked down on these people and refused to take action, how could they have pushed Shao Ci into that stone coffin?
Everyone was shocked, and then some begged for mercy, some swore to give up all their treasures, and some used their family's power as a threat.
But without exception, after a few breaths, these people all perished.
However, their deaths were clean and they turned into ice sculptures, leaving no trace of blood.
Looking towards the direction of the stone coffin, Ling Wangchen's gaze was filled with complexity.
He knew very well that Shao Ci was probably with his true self now. This time, if he went over, he would definitely not be able to leave easily... he might even die here.
But Shao Ci was there, and he couldn't escape.
After the previous turmoil, the original capital of the Demon Realm had become a dead place.
And the former Demon Lord, Si Wuyue, had disappeared. Even Si Wuxing's whereabouts were unknown. The forces in the Demon Realm underwent many changes, with many small clans rising and many large clans being destroyed.
But all of this has nothing to do with the current Si Wuyue.
In the underworld.
The underworld is completely different from the place where human cultivators reside. Here, it is always in darkness, with a blood moon appearing in the sky only once a month.
There is only one sect in this realm, and this sect rules over the entire underworld.
The highest position in the sect is held by the Divine Child, whose status is equivalent to that of the ruler of the underworld. Whatever the Divine Child does, no one will question it.
The other Sacred Sons and Daughters are candidates for the position of the Divine Child. These individuals covet the position of the Divine Child but also fear the Divine Child's power.
Before ascending to the position, the Divine Child is sent into reincarnation to gain experience in the outside world before returning here.
In the original text, the main reason why the Sacred Daughter helped Shao Ci was because by killing Si Wuyue, she would be able to ascend to the position of the Divine Daughter herself.
After Shao Ci disappeared, Si Wuyue couldn't find his whereabouts at all, and he couldn't even find traces of the completed spell that had been cast on him before.
Because she couldn't unleash his full power in the human realm, Si Wuyue returned to this place.
As long as he was here, even the souls of the living could be forcibly summoned, let alone Shao Ci, who was already far from an ordinary living being.
In a pitch-black hall, pale blue flames floated in the air, while countless figures in black robes knelt on both sides, their eyes filled with fanaticism.
On the ground, there was a formation emitting a faint blue light, looking extremely eerie, as if it could devour one's soul.
Si Wuyue stood by the formation, took out a blade, and cut open a wound on his wrist.
Immediately, a drop of blood fell into the formation.
There was a hint of madness in Si Wuyue's eyes as he murmured, "It's time for you to return to my side."
I'll update the 71-74 later. Please comment if you see some wrong pronounce and repetitive parts. My glasses was broken by my cat( ◜‿◝ )♡ that's why I couldn't read well. I'm going to edit all the chapters after I finished rhe cultivation arc. And please suggest any Danmei novel that has 40-120 chapters (it can be dropped or hasn't translated yet but please do remember that I hate translating cultivation/xianxia)