Chapter 50 Part 1

Lin Yu quickly fished Kill Matt Little Bird out from under the stool.

Due to Pei Jiye’s special circumstances, aside from Lin Yu and a handful of his confidants in the sect, no one else knew his exact situation.

The Soul Transformation Cultivator who had come with Lin Yu to watch the sect disciples in the Grand Pill Competition was focused on pill refining and clearly was not one of Pei Jiye’s confidants, so he naturally did not know Kill Matt Little Bird’s true identity.

The old man even smiled and teased Lin Yu, “Is this bird of yours for testing pills? To think it was so terrified by low-rank cultivators refining pills.”

Lin Yu laughed it off, brushed it aside with a few perfunctory words, and with a flick of his sleeve robe, tucked Kill Matt Little Bird inside.

However, Kill Matt Little Bird was clearly not one to stay put. He directly pecked a hole through Lin Yu’s robe with his beak and stuck his head out. The gray-black long feathers on top of his head stood on end, making him look rather comical.

Lin Yu unleashed a torrent of complaints in his mind, but he didn’t dare say them aloud. He could only grit his teeth and send a voice transmission to him: “What exactly is wrong with you?”

Pei Jiye ignored Lin Yu. He simply stared dazedly at the young man dressed in a black sleeve robe.

He looked very young, probably fifteen or sixteen years old, with fair skin and black hair. His eyebrows and eyes were a pure black—the most common colors—yet the contrast of black and white on the youth was exceptionally striking.

A serene peace that ordinary cultivators rarely possessed lingered around him, like a breeze brushing through a bamboo grove or the dew that made vibrant flowers bow their heads slightly.

Especially when he lowered his brows and gaze, he resembled an elegant immortal crane gently folding its wings, meticulously preening its broad plume feathers in tranquil purity.

Most importantly, he was named Xie Yu!!

Pei Jiye naturally knew what name his junior brother had when he first came up the mountain.

Xie Linlang hailed from a scholarly family in some mortal dynasty. His clan was full of refined scholars, which had shaped him into a graceful gentleman with elegant poise and cultivation.

He was the child born late to his parents, deeply cherished by his grandparents, who thus named him with “jade.”

Later, Xie Linlang proved exceptionally talented. Upon perusing ancient texts passed down in the Xie family, he learned of cultivation. Under the pretext of traveling for studies, he bid farewell to his parents and sought immortal opportunities amid famous mountains and great rivers, successfully joining Jiuxia Mountain.

He had been only thirteen when he entered Jiuxia Mountain.

A noble young master from a great clan, cultivating alone in the sect from the lowest Qi Refining Stage, advancing to Foundation Establishment in a mere two years—it showed just how terrifying Xie Linlang’s talent was.

Pei Jiye’s shizun valued Xie Linlang and thus took him as a True Transmission Disciple, making Xie Linlang his junior brother.

At the time, their shizun had deemed Xie Yu’s talent extraordinary and given Xie Linlang a courtesy name, having him go by Linlang to the world, lest his extreme brilliance lead to harm or the tragedy of a prodigy fading young.

Centuries had passed since Xie Linlang changed his name. Most who knew the past had passed away, their shizun had reached the end of his lifespan and fallen on Jiuxia Mountain, leaving only their eldest senior sister wandering who-knew-where.

And now, a youth named Xie Yu appeared before him, bearing a temperament similar to Xie Linlang’s—even able to refine pills. As Pei Jiye watched, he found himself utterly captivated, desperately wanting to rush over and ask: Youth, do you have a past life? Are you Xie Linlang?

Lin Yu tightly gripped Kill Matt Little Bird’s neck, fearing he might suddenly charge into the crowd of low-rank cultivators and wreak havoc.

“What’s up with that Xie Yu?”

As Lin Yu asked Pei Jiye, he quickly pulled Xie Linlang’s file from the documents on the desk.

“Oh, found it. Xie Yu, twenty-five years old this year, a Sunset Death Gate cultivator. Came to our Silent Night Palace for advanced study to seek a Core Formation opportunity. Recommended by Le Girl…”

As Pei Jiye listened, the few Kill Matt feathers sticking up on his forehead gradually drooped.

A twenty-five-year-old late Foundation Establishment cultivator… Could that be Xie Linlang? Anyway, it definitely wasn’t his reincarnation. Reincarnations didn’t happen that fast—they had to go through a turn in the Underworld before being reborn…

Pei Jiye’s heart, which had been thrilled with excitement, instantly turned ice-cold. He felt like he had been doused with a bucket of ice water. He stubbornly tried to come up with excuses: Maybe Xie Yu was body-snatched? Maybe he wasn’t called Xie Yu before?

But his junior brother’s temperament was gentle and kind; he wouldn’t seize someone else’s divine soul or foundation…

“I also got information from Sunset Death Gate.”

After all, given the youth named Xie Yu’s talent and skill in pill refining, he was likely to stand out in the Grand Pill Competition and represent Silent Night Palace in heading to the True Realm for Jiuxia Mountain’s Mustard Seed Realm selection.

Lin Yu naturally wanted to investigate each disciple’s background in advance.

“Sunset Death Gate’s sect master vouched for him, saying Xie Yu was a disciple Li Pinghu took in True Realm long ago—apparently the child of an old friend. Back then, Xie Yu’s parents insisted on keeping him and didn’t want him coming to the Demon Domain, so he wasn’t brought back to the sect.”

Li Pinghu was quite reliable. With Xie Linlang’s instruction not to let Jiuxia Mountain know his whereabouts for now, he had naturally gone to some effort to fabricate a complete identity for Xie Linlang.

“A few days ago, Xie Yu’s elder ran into some trouble. Staying longer in True Realm might cause issues, so Sunset Death Gate brought him back. Considering Silent Night Palace’s expertise in nurturing disciples—with broader and more advanced cultivation paths and techniques here—Xie Yu came to us for advanced study.”