Chapter 60 Part 2

The implication was clear: Shizun, what did you do back then? What was your status? Care to share?

“Telling you is fine, but not now.”

Xie Linlang still needed Shen He’s help to undo the restrictions he had placed in the Mustard Seed Realm back then, so he had no intention of hiding forever. “Knowing too early might make it obvious to others.”

Shen He was a bit disappointed but nodded in understanding.

“Alright. Then, can Shizun tell me about some famous sects in the True Realm? Night Senior’s not here—give me some extra lessons?”

Watching Shen He deliberately squint and pull faces, Xie Linlang smiled.

He pondered briefly before saying, “Sure. Let’s start with Tianling Sect, the one most at odds with Silent Night Palace.”

Shen He’s expression soured. “Tianling Sect? Speaking of which, why are they at odds with Silent Night Palace? Last time, Tianling Sect disciples surrounded Senior Sister Le. If she hadn’t been clever and meticulous, sowing discord to make those disciples turn on each other, we wouldn’t have broken out so easily.”

“Eh? You and Le Qingping returned to the sect nearly a month late last time because Tianling Sect ambushed you?”

“They didn’t reveal their identities, but Senior Sister Le swore it was definitely Tianling Sect disciples. She recognized their True Transmission Technique.”

Xie Linlang hesitated for a long time before saying, “Ahem, just listen and don’t spread it—Le Qingping’s shizun might have been a True Realm cultivator once. She… probably, maybe, was the current Tianling Sect Master’s Dual Cultivation Dao Companion.”

Shen He gaped. “What?”

“But the Tianling Sect Master cultivates the Emotionless Dao.”

“…Huh?”

Shen He found it incredulous. “He cultivates the Emotionless Dao and still had a Dual Cultivation Dao Companion?”

Xie Linlang idly toyed with the jade pendant in his hand, a cold smile on his lips. “A case of matching doors, right? The Tianling Sect Master and Yao Huang Fairy… oh, that’s Le Qingping’s Senior Huang shizun. They came from prominent families in their respective sects. Due to family interests, resource exchanges, and spiritual root issues, their families arranged their Dao companionship when they were young. They seem to have grown up together…”

Xie Linlang had no interest in such gossip back then—his world had consisted only of Pei Ji and pill refining. This was hearsay Pei Ji had shared while helping manipulate flames for his pills, to pass the time.

Unlike the oblivious Xie Linlang, Pei Ji had many friends, loved excitement, and was always well-informed with insider news.

“Later, Yao Huang Fairy became Silent Night Palace’s Senior Huang. The Tianling Sect Master personally led the pursuit and exterminated Nine Spirits Sect alongside the Jiye Palace Lord. Something probably happened in between. Anyway, after returning from the Demon Domain, the Tianling Sect Master declared Yao Huang Fairy had fallen of her own accord. He claimed to wield the sword of wisdom to sever emotional ties, parting ways cleanly with her from then on.”

Xie Linlang sneered. “Who doesn’t know he cultivates the Emotionless Dao while pretending to lack emotions from birth? Just fooling people.”

Shen He was enlightened. “No wonder those Tianling Sect disciples, when surrounding Senior Sister Le, kept saying their shizun had difficulties and urged her to turn back… She even warned me not to spread it…”

Xie Linlang suddenly recalled Le Qingping asking about Yao Huang Fairy earlier and mused, “Do you know Le Qingping’s background? Is she from the Demon Domain or the True Realm?”

“I’m not sure, but I can look into it discreetly.”

Everyone had a taste for gossip. Shen He’s eyes sparkled—he’d been a tavern waiter and amateur sleuth before. Resuming old habits excited him a little.

Seeing Shen He rub his hands in excitement, Xie Linlang vaguely glimpsed the Pei Ji of old, who had loved gossip and neighborhood chatter.

Xie Linlang couldn’t help but smile.

“In any case, be careful of Tianling Sect cultivators in the True Realm. They’re easy to spot—always putting on icy faces, but poke them twice and they explode. They seem aloof, but break easily.”

Such was Xie Linlang’s assessment.

As a renowned pill master, he had occasionally visited major sects for exchanges and coldly observed their true natures.

“Next is our upcoming destination: Jiuxia Mountain.”

Speaking of his former sect, Xie Linlang’s expression grew complex.

There, he had embarked on the path of cultivation, met the love of his life, found the way to unleash his talents—but also lost many precious things.

“Do you know about the ancient era?”

“I’ve read in sect records that the era when the demon race dominated heaven and earth was called the ancient era.”

“The earliest cultivators were merely Qi Refining Cultivators who could wield heaven and earth’s qi freely, far weaker than demons and fiends—that era is collectively called the ancient era.”

Xie Linlang said leisurely, “The last era ruled by demons and fiends was the Great Xia Dynasty. After Great Xia’s fall, the surviving Xia Clan scattered and fled, hiding in a vast, endless mountain range.”

“Back then, with only nine Xia clanspeople left, scouring such a massive range in the barbaric ancient era to hunt just nine people would cost dearly. So a mighty one used bloodline ties to cast a curse: all Xia clanspeople would be devoured by ten suns.”

Shen He listened raptly. “What does ‘devoured by ten suns’ mean?”

As a true transmission disciple of Jiuxia Mountain, Xie Linlang knew the sect’s origins well. He explained unhurriedly, “One sun in the sky brings life to all things; ten suns together scorch the world dry, killing everything. ‘Devoured by ten suns’ is just a metaphor. In truth, Qi Refining Cultivators used blood ties to make the surviving Xia clanspeople’s bloodlines boil and burn from within, ultimately incinerating them to ash, vanishing between heaven and earth.”

Shen He drew in a sharp breath.

“But heaven has mercy for life. The Great Xia Dynasty endured for over ten thousand years, leaving merits enough to shelter a few survivors. In the end, three of those nine Xia clanspeople lived on.”

Xie Linlang sighed softly. “The eldest then declared that the Great Xia Remnants ended here. From now on, they were merely Boxia, Zhongxia, and Shu Xia. To honor their fellow clanspeople who entered the mountains together, they named the place Jiuxia Mountain.”

“So Jiuxia Mountain is actually a branch of the demon race, with techniques and divine abilities quite similar to theirs.”