That night, all the residents of Treasure Pearl County had the same dream.
In the dream, disaster descended from the heavens, the earth quaked and mountains shook, corpses littered the ground, and the Pearl Seeking Festival turned into a day of annihilation. Amid the ruins, an immortal held a treasure cauldron and arrived stepping on the moonlight.
“By the order of Jiyang Zhenren, I open the Reincarnation Cauldron and alter the fate of the past.” The immortal’s voice was cold and solemn, resounding like thunder in their ears.
Time flowed backward. When the residents of Treasure Pearl County opened their eyes again, the Pearl Seeking Festival had only just begun.
“Found it!” Li Mianmian held up a sparkling stone pearl high, her delicate little face full of excitement.
“Mianmian, what wish are you going to make?” The townsfolk gathered around.
“I want my dad to pass on his blacksmithing skills… Huh?” Li Mianmian looked puzzled at the Treasure Pearl in her hand. “Why do I feel like I’ve already found one before?”
She turned around, as if searching for someone.
Amid the star lanterns and night strolls, with crowds weaving through, at a vendor selling masks, a pretty woman laughed and playfully put a Dog Mask on her husband’s face.
Treasure Pearl County was peaceful and serene, just as it always had been.
Du Xian Sect, Duansxue Peak.
Layer upon layer of snowflakes danced through the sky, swirling in endlessly, dyeing the peaks in a vast expanse of white.
The Snow Formation had long been withdrawn, yet the heavy snow continued without end, for the mountains and rivers possessed spirits and seemed to sense something.
The master of this place had reached the end of his oil and wick.
“Shizun, don’t be afraid. I’ll go invite Sect Leader Martial Uncle right now. There must be a way to save you!”
In the small hut on Side Peak, Lu Yun Ting’s eyes were bloodshot as he knelt by the bed. He had just formed his Nascent Soul and had yet to stabilize his realm, yet he had expended a massive amount of spiritual power to activate the Reincarnation Cauldron. His body was already at its limit. But at this moment, he couldn’t care less.
“No, don’t.” Xun Ji coughed lowly twice. “Calling him won’t help. This isn’t an injury—it’s my lifespan running out.”
On the simple bamboo couch, Jiyang Zhenren’s face was pale to the point of translucence. His silver satin-like white hair now resembled dry, lifeless fine snow.
“Right! If I return the spiritual power to Shizun—to Shizun, I can replenish your lifespan!” Lu Yun Ting reached out to touch Xun Ji’s Spiritual Veins, but Xun Ji lifted a hand to stop him.
“Do you think it’s like drinking tea? Pour it into your cup, and you can just pour it back?” Xun Ji said with a smile. “Don’t mess around.”
“If this won’t work and that won’t work, then how the hell am I supposed to save Shizun!” Lu Yun Ting’s eyes burned with anxiety. “Shizun acted so recklessly without regard for the consequences—did you ever think of a way out for yourself!”
Xun Ji felt wrongly accused. “Why are you snapping at me? You’re the one who advanced, and I’m the one dying—why am I the one getting scolded?”
How could he speak of life and death so lightly? The anxiety in Lu Yun Ting’s eyes faded, and his expression gradually turned cold.
“Even at a time like this, Shizun still won’t tell me? You’re so certain that I’ll help you of my own accord, aren’t you?”
Xun Ji was baffled. “Tell you what? Help me with what?”
Lu Yun Ting let out a cold laugh. “Master truly has a thousand faces and myriad schemes, using both favors and threats to toy with your disciple. You already had a way out planned, didn’t you?”
What the hell? Why is this little brat suddenly bringing up my alternate identities? Xun Ji scratched his cheek. Though he knew he couldn’t hide it forever, being called out face-to-face still felt incredibly awkward.
“As your Shizun, I disguised myself as Liu Xun because I feared you’d go astray during your mortal tempering. I followed out of concern.” Xun Ji spoke earnestly. “I wanted to help you.”
“Is that so?” Lu Yun Ting leaned in closer, his dark eyes staring straight at him. “But the one who helped me at Peach Spring Tower wasn’t Liu Xun—it was a snake demon with a human upper body and serpentine tail.”
Xun Ji’s heart skipped a beat. Damn, he really figured it out!
“Shizun, my mind wasn’t clear back then, but I wasn’t so muddled that I couldn’t tell who my benefactor was.” He bit down hard on the word “benefactor.” “Now that I think about it, how did that Little Silver Snake mysteriously end up on this bed? It must have been that Master was cultivating the Transformation Technique and accidentally got dragged to Passing Immortal Bridge by me…”
“Shizun’s Transformation Technique must have gone wrong, so you couldn’t fully revert to human form. On Passing Immortal Bridge, you could only help me in your half-snake state.”
Xun Ji kept a straight face. He’d harbored a faint hope of denying it earlier, but now it was clear—the guy had pieced everything together perfectly!
“In the mortal world, Shizun knew something was off with my body and prepared everything in advance to help me through the crisis. Counting the days, it’s exactly seven since Passing Immortal Bridge.”
Good that you know. Xun Ji grumbled inwardly. If you hadn’t been picky and chased off Xiao Tao, my identity wouldn’t have been exposed!
“But how did Shizun know my body would act up after seven days?” Lu Yun Ting lifted a strand of white hair scattered on the bed. “Could it be that the incident on Passing Immortal Bridge… wasn’t the first time?”
Xun Ji stiffened, then slowly turned his head and gave him a gentle smile. “Yun Ting, your body has issues, so as your Shizun, I should help. No need to stand on ceremony with me. As for how I knew in advance, well, I’ve seen much and guessed accordingly—better safe than sorry…”
“Shizun is still lying to me!” Lu Yun Ting’s face darkened like still water. “If you hadn’t infused spiritual power into me, I wouldn’t have known your realm had fallen to Nascent Soul.”
Xun Ji: “?”
“Has Master forgotten? We’re both at Nascent Soul now.” Lu Yun Ting enunciated each word, laced with sharp frost. “The Forget Worry Curse… has no effect on me anymore.”