Sage Shen Zheng really regretted sending Zuo ZhouLei to fetch the red lotus four years ago.
The red lotus was a rare flower, blooming once every decade. However, despite the rarity, it was normally only coveted by wealthy merchants or nobles just for the sake of obtaining an aesthetically beauty. It was larger than a normal lotus and bloomed so vividly red that it was unusual indeed.
Of course, in the past, numerous herbalists and alchemists in the past had tried to incorporate such a rare item into something beneficial. There were various ancient records in every sect that mention about the lotus and the ancestors' efforts to refine it into pills or medicine. All the conclusions ended up to be the same:
['The red lotus is only beautiful to look at, but utterly useless.']
Thus, Sage Shen Zheng did have some doubts when he was visited by a pair of ethereal looking people - in his dream, no less.
At first his dream was dark and he thought he was still deep in meditation. Then as if fragments of the darkness slowly broke, pieces of light slowly formed slowly into a bright white moon that gave light to his surrounding.
Only then, he noticed the pair. He thought then, if deities existed, surely those two people in his dream were worthy to be called as such. The male possessed a gentle bearing, tall and elegant. His eyes were the lightest of blue, his face was almost as pale as moonlight, but it did not cause him to look weak.
The fragments of the moonlight seemed to come from his palm, giving an illusion that he was the one blessing Shen Zheng's dream with the moon's brightness.
(Yue)
As for the other deity-like person, the old Sage was awestruck.
Sage Shen Zheng had never cared for women, but even he must admit that he had never seen a female as enticing and perfect as the one in his dream. Even the many beautiful Sages and disciples of Ping sect pale in comparison to this fairy-like woman. Her facial features was as enticing as her azure eyes. Despite the softness of her outer appearance, her elegance commanded respect and awe, adding to her allure. Despite being in a dream, Sage Shen Zheng could even remember what she wore -- a purple loose robe that could not hide her beautiful curves.
(Tian Ming)
To say Sage Shen Zheng was utterly stunned was an understatement; he did not realize that he was staring at the woman with his jaw wide open until she flicked a look of disgust at him.
"Is this mortal really Lei's shifu? Urgh... . What a rude uncouth man!" The female talked to the beautiful man by her side.
Then she unleashed a short wave of her qi; the pressure did not even last for half a breath, but it caused cold sweat to form on Sage Shen Zheng's back. If she wanted to kill him, he really believed he would have died in his dream.
Only then did Sage Shen Zheng finally compose himself and divert his gaze away, bowing in humility.
"Mortal!" The female wrinkled her nose, lifting her chin lightly, "There's a red lotus that will bloom in a few days time, you should know which one I'm talking about. It's the same red lotus that blooms once every decade in a lake three hundred miles south of Ru'an."
"Ming... ," the ethereal-looking man addressed the beautiful woman, but his tone carried definite politeness, "I am unable to sustain our existence in this mortal's dream any longer. More than this, the Heavenly King would suspect that we are interfering with this world."
"Hmph!" She grunted in displeasure, "You have previously spent so much time entering the dream of that other mortal woman anyway! What are you being so stingy for! Don't think I did not know that you have also tempered with her Dantians. I have not said anything as Lei, Bian, and I all owe you one."
She pointed her elegant long finger towards the still silent Sage, "Anyway, send your youngest disciple – the one with the monstrous talent. You know which one."
"If that little one found that red lotus and brought it back to you, you might be able to attain the enlightenment of the Dao to ascend to immortality. Remember: only that person must be the one sent to pick the flower."
Then as abrupt as it had started, the dream ended as darkness obscured his sight once again, as if a lone candle had been snubbed out in the middle of moonless night.
Sage Shen Zheng opened his eyes, still sitting in lotus position, his hand languidly placed on his lap. Dream or not, in it he seemed to still have his full awareness, the whole experience felt as if it was real. He was not even really sleeping when he was visited by the two deity-like personages, he was merely deep in meditation.
Were they really actually deities?
Nevertheless, he ended up sending Zuo ZhouLei to fetch the red lotus, while Shen Wei and a few of other disciples would go to the land of Yanshi to obtain some crystals to be made into weapons.
A while later, Zuo ZhouLei came back safely, but without the lotus flower. Sage Shen Zheng could not make heads or tails about what the young boy had told him,
"Shifu, there was no red lotus. The lake had dried up, and the whole ground seemed to have turned rotten."
Then Zuo ZhouLei mentioned about some wild grass emitting killing intent and malicious aura.
"Fortunately, as long I did not directly get in contact with them, they were just normal grass, so I managed to return safely," ZhouLei recalled his peculiar experience,
"I think it will be dangerous to unsuspecting people though... . Perhaps the sect can dispatch some people to barricade the area to prevent normal humans from entering? It is not a high-traffic area so there's not much visitors, but some cultivators may still pass through every once in a while... ."
When Shen Wei, Zuo JinHai, Ding Shun, and Yu Mei returned, they reported of a rotting flower that wanted to kill them. Shen Wei told him that the phenomenon might have been caused by Daemons. Zuo JinHai also reported to his shifu – Sage Meng Ting – of the same thing.
The Sages examined the ancient records with haste, and more-or-less could only confirm their disciples' reports to be true.
Daemons once again were roaming the world. Malice, formed from departed souls that could not go to the underworld or to their next reincarnation cycle; souls that had accumulated bad karma, leaving their unfinished desire to wreak havoc in the world of the living.
But what caused Sage Shen Zheng to regret was not the disconcerting report of this ancient form of evil. It was because he soon found out the real tragedy that had befallen his youngest, monstrously talented Zuo ZhouLei.
Since little, Zuo ZhouLei possessed the purest qi and awe-inspiring talent. In heaven-breaking record – not that Sage Shen Zheng had ever been to heaven – the boy had broken through from being an Established, to Martial-Artist, to an Enlightened in merely six years. Sage Shen Zheng had not really boast about the boy's achievement, even to his fellow Sages in the sect. Nevertheless, everyone in the sect had noticed Zuo ZhouLei's extraordinary achievement. They were all pretty happy about it as well, after all, they all belong to the same sect. Some might be jealous, such in the case of Ding Shun, but Zuo ZhouLei's talent belonged only to Zuo ZhouLei, and no one could do anything about it. They could only work harder.
However, ever since Zuo ZhouLei returned, he stagnated. Although there seemed to be nothing amiss from his qi, he was unable to reach the later stages of the Enlightened rank.
Four years later, Shen Wei was already a top-ranked Enlightened, but Zuo ZhouLei's cultivation level stubbornly stayed at the novice Enlightened level he was at four years ago when he departed to fetch the red lotus. The sudden halt of his cultivation progress was a far cry to his previous breakthroughs.
Not only that, the boy seemed to have forgotten bits and pieces of his past memory as well. It was as if a chunk of himself had been taken out, making him incomplete.
For instance, although Zuo ZhouLei remembered Sage Shen Zheng and Shen Wei, he could not recall the memory of when he first came to Wu Shan sect. He also could not remember his late mother's two handmaidens – his own shishus who were still Martial-Artists at the moment. Granted, they had not spent too much time together in the sect, but Zuo ZhouLei had spent most of his childhood seeing the two older women almost everyday when his mother was still alive. To have forgotten their existence just like that, was too abnormal.
Then Sage Shen Zheng had another dream. As always, the beautiful female in the purple robe did most of the talking, while the man - that was as elegant as the moon behind the two - stood idly by her side,
"Now you know the existence of the Daemons."
"I asked you to send Zuo ZhouLei because if it were anyone else, they would have perished. I guess it is not without a price. His current cultivation progress – or lack there-of – is because of his close proximity with the Daemons at the lake."
"Nothing to worry about for you. Heavens dictate everyone's fate. Zuo ZhouLei is still a cultivator, and he will still grow, although at a more normal rate now."
"The existence of Daemons is more important. It is good that now you are aware of it. No need to thank me."
After she proudly explained the whole thing to him, as if she had done him a big favor, Sage Shen Zheng was abruptly tossed out of his own dream.
The old Sage hardly ever got angry, but at the time he really wished to fight that arrogant-sounding female. Most of all, he felt very bad for Zuo ZhouLei – it might be because of his dream that Sage Shen Zheng ended up delaying or worse, preventing, Zuo ZhouLei's future growth in cultivation.
What was with her righteously-sounding words: "No need to thank me"? Even if Zuo ZhouLei did not end up going to the lake, didn't Shen Wei and Zuo JinHai still end up finding out about the existence of the Daemons as well?
If those two people in his dream were really deities, was it really a hobby for deities to make fun of normal hard-working humans?
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Daemons aside, the already delayed sects' meet, that was supposed to happen every decade, had finally been decided to be held. The host would be Hui Lin sect, and Wu Shan sect would send some Martial-Artist and Enlightened disciples to participate in the friendly matches.
Some elders would also be dispatched from every sect to arrive at a later time when the final matches were to be held.
From Wu Shan sect, it was Sage Meng Ting and Sage Zhang Min.
From Chun Ping Gu sect, it was Sage Zhu Hong and Sage Hu Lan.
And there were also elders from smaller sects that would also come to Hui Lin sect.
The meet ended up being larger than the previous ones. The actual reason was to discuss about the existence of Daemons – four years after the first sightings by the disciples from the three big sects, the occurrence had become more common in the rest of the world. Some practitioners even had the misfortune to meet some wild animals that had been overtaken by malice.
The Daemons were getting bolder and seemed to be able to possess fleshly bodies.
At the meet, the best of the best would congregate, and the sects would unite together to form parties to be dispatched to the world to contain these Daemons. And hopefully, they could exterminate them.
Emperor Zuo JinLong would also attend, which would be the first instance that an Emperor of Zuo Dynasty would take part in a practitioners' meet. Although Zuo JinLing himself was a top-ranked Enlightened and was previously a disciple of Wu Shan sect, he currently governed the livelihood of normal people – non-cultivators.
However, the danger of Daemons' existence did not discriminate. If anything, it would be more dangerous for non-cultivators than Dao practitioners. After all, people without a cultivation base could not sense the malice. Thus, the Emperor justifiably should attend.
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YuLan finally got used to the bizarre world she was living in; the cultivation, prolonged lifespan, elemental beasts, flying swords... . After all, she was flying on one, and it was actually quite fun to do once she got used to it.
She remembered falling on her butt numerous times when she first tried to master the flying sword. At the end, it was all a matter of maintaining balance, and to keep focusing her qi when flying.
Besides, although the world was bizarre, she definitely had the fortune to experience a convenience that was lacking in her past two lifetimes: travelling light.
Cao Lu had once again been entrusted with the storage ring by Ping sect's elders, and the dull jade item proved to be really convenient indeed: YuLan could even fit her SongLi – the guqin – in it. It sounded weird even for her when she thought about it.
How she wished she could carry the actual person all the time as well – but of course that would be impossible.
She was not as oblivious to the world as she was four years ago as well. Her jade-green sword tassel and waist-belt were testament of her being an Enlightened. YuLan's cultivation level was a notch higher than Cao Lu who had just broken through to the Enlightened rank as well. She could definitely defend herself.
Xiao Zi and Zhen Zhu were already top-ranked Martial-Artists. It could be said that the four were the best of their peers. Of course there were other Enlighteneds back in the sect, but those cultivators had already experienced the meet back in their days years ago.
When the time comes, everyone would be somewhat involved in solving the issue pertaining to the Daemons' existence, but to maintain friendly relationships with all the sects was still necessary, especially amongst new faces.
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Hui Lin sect was also chosen to be the host of the meet because of Ao Xiang. As the strongest beast-master, and that his Fire Phoenix had already been known to effectively exterminate Daemons, everyone decided to conduct the meet at Hui Lin sect.
There would be some beast-masters from other sects coming as well, all would be seeking pointers from him.
Hui Lin sect was located in a lush forest. No one knew how old the large trees in the forest actually were, but the entrance to the forest had ruins of an ancient sect that no longer existed. The pure qi that the forest possessed still lingered until the current days though, and thus Hui Lin sect made the forest their home when their ancestor found the site hundreds of years ago. To respect the ancient sect's ruins, they have chosen a deeper part of the forest to be their sect's base.
As soon as they entered the vicinity of the area where Hui Lin sect was actually located, everyone soon noticed some buildings and paths harmoniously built amongst the trees. The terrain of the place was also uneven, but none of the natural boulders and small hills were compromised to build the structures. It seemed that the buildings, pagodas, and pathways were built to suit the terrain instead. From afar, it was as if all the structures form a winding pathway to the sky itself.
The atmosphere soon became loud with hubbub from the cultivators already present. They noticed young disciples of Hui Lin sect – all garbed in light-green robes – welcoming the guests who had come from afar.
The Ping sect's disciples, all garbed in white and wearing veiled hats, garnered some curious looks.
As soon as she stepped foot in Hui Lin sect's forest, she already felt something was amiss. It was a familiar sensation, that she had felt years ago when she set foot in Zuo Imperial Palace. At that time, she noticed a space distortion; Lady Mei Gui said that an imperial concubine was giving birth.
YuLan frowned and shook her head to clear her mind. The pull was stronger this time, but she could not be unfocused.
Soon, YuLan and her friends also noticed a group of young swordsmen wearing familiar looking blue colored uniforms.
(Wu Shan sect's disciples. Can someone please transmigrate me to the middle of the sect? I'll cook their food)
"I guess Wu Shan sect is already here... ." Cao Lu craned her neck, trying to find her third younger brother amongst the crowd. However, Zuo JinHai was nowhere in sight.
"My dear friends from the valley of Chun Ping Gu. Welcome to Hui Lin." a familiar kind voice was heard to their side, and Yulan noticed Xiao Zi's ears reddening. YuLan smiled at her friend's blatant fluster, she did not need to see the person to know who the owner of the voice was.
(Ao Xiang and the white tiger)
Nevertheless, as she turned her head to greet Ao Xiang, her breathing halted.
It was definitely not because she saw Ao Xiang, or the white tiger standing by his side. She seemed to recall that it was the fourth spirit beast that Ao Xiang could summon, though the latter claimed it normally acted as a guardian of the sect.
That was not what had turned her whole body frozen.
Her heart seemed to hammer against her chest, the sensation was almost painful and caused her eyes to be dotted with blackness. But she did not want to faint. Not when her gradually-blurry eyes caught sight of the person standing behind Ao Xiang, his figure slightly obscured by Shen Wei who was smiling happily towards the four young women.
He was wearing a dark colored cloak on top of the familiar Wu Shan sect's blue uniform. His face was younger than what she remembered should be, but then again that was a different lifetime ago. The person lightly glanced at her direction and lingered his gaze longer. She was not sure if he actually saw her. After all, outwardly she looked the same as her fellow friends from Ping sect - all wearing white robes and veiled-hats.
Nevertheless, was that a light frown that she saw on his handsome youthful face? Was he feeling what she was feeling?
Then he nodded politely and clasped his fists towards her and her friends in standard greeting. Then he turned to walk away, walking towards Zuo JinHai who turned out to be chatting with Zuo BingTan and several other Hui Lin sect's disciples by a pillar not too far away.
There was a slight ache in her heart when he turned his back on her.
She could not tear her sight off the youth, who was now showing his sword to the Hui Lin sect's practitioners when he was asked to do so by Zuo BingTan.
(Do I even need to say who this is?)
Could someone tell her that this was not just another similar-looking person?
He ... looked as real as could be, as perfect as could be. She was not going insane, was she?
She lifted her veil and stared wistfully at his direction. Her eyes were getting blurry and warm by each passing second, and the hat obstructed her view.
"YuLan?" Xiao Zi touched her shoulder in concern, but she could barely hear her friend, "Why are you crying?"
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