With Elder Shan’s help, Gui Yin’s division indeed manages to push the ghost cultivator further east. In a matter of a few months, the eastern border fell under Gui Yin’s control. The war, that had just barely leaked into the upper realm, was about to be pushed back down again. At least, that was what everyone had thought.
From the south, enemy forces managed to push up through Devil’s Desert, leaving corpses in their wake. A new army of undead rose along with them and plowed directly through the heart of the Beidou Alliance. Most of the fight took place in the heart of the upper realm. Cultivators, who hadn’t wanted to participate, were forced to protect their sects. Eventually, what people had assumed to be just a short battle of a few months, stretched on to become a battle of eight years.
In the darkness of the night, the wailing of a flute and the low, mournful plucks of the guqin could be heard over the battlefield. It was mixed by the confused howling of ghosts and the panicked screams of their masters. Gui Yin watched from the treetops, a sick satisfaction taking him over. Out of the corner of his eyes, he noticed a flicker of movement.
Immediately, Fenghua was raised. The fan transformed into a long sword, successfully blocking the attack the opposing general had just enacted. Gui Yin flew backwards, his sword moving rapidly in succession to defend himself. He turned, kicked off the tops of the trees, and hurled himself into the battlefield.
Explosions could be heard from up above as the two high-level cultivators fought. They didn’t fight with just weapons, but also with their spiritual aura.
The night sky was suddenly filled with light—a sickly green and a brilliant white. It was nearly blinding, but both sides knew that if they faltered for even a second, their enemies would take over.
Gui Yin eventually pushed back, forcing the enemy general into the ground. His sword pierced through the enemy general’s abdomen, pinning him to the ground. The shrieks of a thousand ghosts filled his ears, but he paid them no heed. He had long become used to the cries of the ghost on the battlefield.
A sliver of black blood leaked from the enemy general’s lips. He looked up at Gui Yin with a wry expression. “I’m impressed, Lord Immortal Ninglan, truly.”
“Oh?” Gui Yin raised a brow, his hand still tightly holding the hilt of his sword. “And I, by you, General Quan.”
“No, no, no. I’ve grown old, you see,” General Quan said, his hand wrapping around the blade of Gui Yin’s sword. “In the past four years, I’ve felt myself growing weaker and weaker. I was being eaten away by the ghosts. While it gives you power, ghost cultivation cares nothing about longevity. But while I’ve weakened, you…you’ve gotten stronger.”
Gui Yin’s eyes narrowed.
“I suppose it has been messy the past few years. Four years ago, you were a Soul Formation cultivator, but what about now?” General Quan’s eyes flashed. “You haven’t noticed because every time you have a breakthrough you were in the middle of a battle.”
“What are you trying to say?” Gui Yin asked, shoving his sword deeper into General Quan’s abdomen.
General Quan choked. His voice was more brittle now, but he still smiled. “I’m saying I admire you!”
“…Admire?”
“From your petty musical cultivation tricks, down to your own ascension,” General Quan said, “Everything has been perfect. Everything was beautiful. So, I will surrender to you—right now.”
Gui Yin looked on warily.
“This little charade has gone on for too long and I’ve grown bored. Besides, after seeing your display of power over these four years, I want you to win,” General Quan said. There was a manic look in his eyes as his pale, skeletal hand squeezed the blade tighter. “I want to see you win from the afterlife. And then I want to see what else you can do with this broken world.”
“What are you—”
“Before I go, allow me to tell you something,” General Quan said.
His eyes were bulging now and his voice was strained. From the spot where he had been stabbed, Gui Yin could see what looked like small golden rivers, flowering on his skin. It was the spiritual energy from Fenghua slowly purifying General Quan’s entire being.
“Just…just one more thing,” General Quan struggled. “Bend down for me.”
Gui Yin’s brows were furrowed tightly. He glanced behind him. The battle raged on, as if no one noticed that their two generals were locked in a life or death situation. Reluctantly, warily, Gui Yin knelt on one knee. He lowered his ear until he could smell the rotting flesh of the ghost cultivator beneath him.
“Things aren’t as they seem on the surface,” General Quan said. He laughed to himself before inhaling sharply. “Keep an eye on those monks of yours.”
Gui Yin’s eyes widened. He wanted to ask what the man meant, but when he looked down, he was already looking at a pile of sand.
Immediately, sounds of resentful ghosts took over the battlefield. Gui Yin stood in alarm and watched as thousands upon thousands of ghosts gathered in the skies, swirling in a manic panic. Gui Linghuo and Qin Siyi’s duet could no longer be heard against this new cacophony of sounds. The righteous cultivators began to retreat in shock, but the ones who held the most fear were the ghost cultivators below.
Without their general, who had been tightly holding onto their legion of ghosts, the ghosts who were suddenly free began to turn on their previous masters.
Seeing the situation in front of him, Gui Yin quickly threw out a voice transmission. “Everyone, fallback! General Quan is dead! The ghost cultivators are suffering a rebound!”
The moment Gui Yin’s voice fell, the spiritual cultivators all began to leave. They took to the skies, evacuating from the battlefield and leaving the horrendous scene behind them. Before they completely left, Gui Yin turned. He used Fenghua to draw several purifying incantations in the air. He pushed it forward.
The four incantations blocked the four corners of the battlefield. Gui Yin closed his eyes and mumbled the spell over and over until the golden strings wove together to form a large dome, trapping in ghosts and ghost cultivators alike. As a last seal of reassurance, Gui Yin wrote one last incantation and pushed it forward, locking in the array.
Once the task was finished, he flicked his sleeve and arrived back at the camp, where everyone else was still arriving.
“Shizun!”
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
Xel Tlc ibbxfv bnfg jr Xel Olcuteb, Ol Tjc, jcv Hlc Vlsl gjc bnfg ab tlw.
“Qtja tjqqfcfv? Qts lr fnfgsbcf mbwlcu yjmx?” Xel Olcuteb jrxfv kbgglfvis.
“Qf kbc,” Xel Tlc rjlv, yea atfgf kjr cb pbs lc tlr nblmf. Lf uijcmfv ja atf ubivfc vbwf cba abb ojg jkjs. “Coafg obeg sfjgr, kf’nf olcjiis kbc atlr yjaaif. Dea kf’ii tjnf ab pblc Vfma Zjrafg ab atf rbeat. Aera yfmjerf Xfcfgji Hejc ujnf eq, vbfrc’a wfjc Xfcfgji Zb klii abb.”
“Gave up?” Li Yan asked, her brows furrowing.
“He said he was impressed by me,” Gui Yin said, smirking. “Who knows what other little tricks they’ll have up their sleeves.”
Gui Yin’s three disciples looked towards the golden dome and to the people who were returning from that direction.
“No matter,” Qin Siyi finally concluded. She turned to Gui Yin with a small smile. “Since Shizun won this battle, then we should celebrate!”
Li Yan nodded. “Laoshi, a new batch of supplies just arrived. We don’t have to worry about medicine for now. And there’s a large supply of flour and rice!”
“Earlier today, Da-shixiong and the others also caught a huge basket of fish,” Qin Siyi added excitedly.
The three youths looked at Gui Yin expectantly, their eyes shining.
Gui Yin’s expression eased. A soft sigh could be heard by the landing cultivators. A warm hand ruffled Qin Siyi’s and Gui Linghuo’s heads. Despite their age now, their shizun still retained the little habits he used to express his fondness.
“Alright. We’ll eat good tonight,” Gui Yin said.
A large cheer echoed throughout the camp. Just as Gui Yin noticed the extra people, he was hit by a heavy weight from his back. A pair of slender arms wrapped around his waist. He twisted to look over his shoulder at the young woman who looked back up at him.
“Shizun, can you also make Wulian Flower Cakes?” Shan Yu asked. “This disciple has missed the taste!”
Gui Yin’s eyes widened. Gui Linghuo and the others held a hand over their mouths to keep their laughter from escaping. The cheering and hooting from those of the Zhengyang Shan Clan only got louder. The tired cultivators who returned from the battlefield laughed brightly at the spectacle.
“Shan…Shan Yu?” Gui Yin pulled arms from his waist and turned around to get a better look at the girl.
She had grown a lot in height and, from what Gui Yin had felt, also in muscle. Her hair, which used to be tied in two cute buns, had become a long ponytail. Her skin was tanner now, giving her a healthy glow, and her soft hands were now covered in calluses. Still, despite all those changes, her smile was still the same. At her side was a sword that Gui Yin didn’t recognize. It was obviously expensive—pure white, yet covered in the finest rubies. She no longer wore the Yunjing Pavilion uniform but, instead, wore a dark blue Yuanlingpao with a simple black belt around her waist.
Shan Yu’s smile only grew as Gui Yin gently cupped her face. She watched as a tinge of red entered her shizun’s eyes and immediately panicked.
“I—Shizun, why are you looking at me like that?!” Shan Yu exclaimed quickly. “It was this disciple’s fault for not saying anything before leaving! This disciple is sorry! I—ah, Da-shixiong! Shijie!”
Gui Linghuo scoffed, making his way beside the two. “Shizun is upset not because you left without saying a word, but because you came back looking so ugly.”
“You—”
“What? Am I wrong? What’s with your clothing? It’s so dark and murky. It doesn’t match you at all,” Gui Linghuo said, rolling his eyes.
“You…your personality has gotten worse, I see,” Shan Yu said, glaring at Gui Linghuo.
“It’s okay. Clothing is something we can easily change,” Qin Siyi said, quickly butting in before the two got into an argument. She held out a set of clothes to Shan Yu with a sheepish smile. “I hope you don’t mind hand-me-downs. You’re a little taller than me when I was fourteen, but they should still fit.”
Shan Yu’s aggression immediately receded. She carefully took the robes and looked at Qin Siyi tearfully.
“Don’t look at me like that. It was your Da-shixiong’s suggestion,” Qin Siyi quickly said.
“I don’t care. Shijie is still the best to me!” Shan Yu said giddily.
“Look at her! Even if I do something nice for her, she won’t say a good word to me,” Gui Linghuo grumbled.
Li Yan giggled. She gave her partner a placating peck to the cheek. “I think this is also quite good.”
Gui Yin watched the mess in front of him. He smiled to himself as he quickly wiped away his tears. Under the watchful eyes of his disciples, he lifted his head and grinned.
“You’re finally back?” Gui Yin asked.
The familiar sound of the flourishing fan brought tingling joy to Shan Yu. She nodded emphatically. “Shizun, this disciple is back!”
“Then, as a special treat, I’ll make Wulian Flower Cakes,” Gui Yin said, ruffling Shan Yu’s head.
“Shizun, can I have some?” Qin Siyi asked.
“Shizun, I also want some.”
“Laoshi…”
Gui Yin laughed as he nodded along to their words. “I’ll make enough for all of you.”
That night, while the chefs took most of the kitchen to cook up the largest feast they had in four years, Gui Yin and his little disciples took up a corner to make some cakes.
“There were few things my parents taught me,” Gui Yin said as he gently kneaded the dough, “but my mother did teach me how to make Wulian Flower Cakes. She said when she wasn’t around anymore, I could still make it for my siblings. Who knew that I would leave them before she did.”
The memory was vague now, made misty by the throes of time, but he still remembered how happy he had been. Even if it was for another person’s benefit again, at least his mother was taking the time to gently teach him how to make them.
“Do you four want to learn?” Gui Yin asked with a raised brow.
Shan Yu, who was leaning against the table, stubbornly shook her head. “Why should I learn? If I want to eat them, I can just find Shizun.”
“What if you leave again and you can’t come back?” Gui Linghuo pointed out.
Shan Yu glared at her da-shixiong. “I won’t leave again. I’m going to stick by Shizun until I’m wrinkly and gray all over. How about you worry about yourself first? Aren’t you going to marry Li-jiejie? What are you going to do after? Are you still going to hang around Shuangye Peak? No, right? You’ll move out?”
Li Yan’s face flushed as Gui Linghuo straightened. “Shan Yu! Mind your words.”
“Am I wrong? I’m not wrong?” Shan Yu said, straightening as well. She stuck her tongue out and immediately went to hide behind Qin Siyi. “What are you going to do after? Are you going to climb back up the mountain every time you crave something sweet? Pathetic.”
“You—”
“I can just learn…” Li Yan said softly.
Gui Yin smiled in amusement. “Alright, alright. If you want to learn, come over here and I’ll teach you.”
Li Yan embarrassedly walked around the stunned Gui Linghuo to Gui Yin’s side.
Shan Yu felt Qin Siyi move beside her, but immediately held her back. Qin Siyi looked at the arms wrapped around her waist and frowned. “Let go.”
“Where are you going?” Shan Yu asked, her chin just barely failing to touch Qin Siyi’s shoulder.
Qin Siyi pulled Shan Yu’s arms away with a slight frown. “To learn how to make Wulian Flower Cakes.”
“Why? Are you planning on leaving?” Shan Yu asked, her grip tightening.
“There are going to be times when Shizun isn’t at the peak, right? What are you going to do then?” Qin Siyi said, rolling her eyes.
Realization hit Shan Yu slowly, but who knew what she had actually realized. Gui Linghuo and Qin Siyi watched Shan Yu’s eyes brighten as her cheeks turned red. She clicked her tongue, forced Qin Siyi to sit back down and hurriedly jogged to Gui Yin’s side.
“You’re learning now?” Gui Yin asked with a raised brow.
“I almost forgot a promise!” Shan Yu declared. She looked to Qin Siyi with a big grin. “I promised Shijie I would learn to make a bunch of sweets for her, so she doesn’t have to worry about running out of sweets to eat.”
“Oh, how admirable,” Gui Yin praised, amused by Shan Yu’s bold declaration.
Qin Siyi’s face flushed at the sudden attention. She glared at Shan Yu, but the hyperactive teenager had already turned back to Gui Yin. She let out a huff and turned her attention back to shelling peanuts, only to notice Gui Linghuo observing her.
In the past four years, Gui Linghuo’s confidence had grown. As one of the youngest people to break through Core Formation already, the high praises being sung to him had boosted his confidence, giving him an arrogance similar to Gui Yin’s. And how could he not be arrogant? At twenty-years-old, he had to slow down his cultivation to make sure he wasn’t stuck at such a tender looking age. However, he was still the gentle, ill-tempered Da-shixiong Qin Siyi and Shan Yu was used to, but he was now a bit more foul-mouthed and talkative now.
However, this didn’t mean he didn’t grate on Qin Siyi’s nerves. She glared at him from across the table and turned to her plate of peanuts, only to hear a soft voice transmission playing in her ear.
“You’re still her favorite.”
Qin Siyi’s face grew redder. She glared at Gui Linghuo. “So?”
“Favoritism is fine when you’re a child, but when you’re older it might be something else,” Gui Linghuo sang, punctuating his words with each shell he dropped on the table.
“You’re only jealous because Shan Yu’s relationship with me is better,” Qin Siyi gloated.
“It’s always been better,” Gui Linghuo shrugged. He rested his chin against the palm of his hand as Qin Siyi’s rate of shelling peanuts became more and more rapid. He glanced at Shan Yu. “But I missed her. No one argues with me like she does.”
“Do you want me to argue with you?” Qin Siyi asked, glancing at Gui Linghuo.
Gui Linghuo scoffed. He ruffled Qin Siyi’s hair. “Would you be able to even if you wanted?”
Qin Siyi slapped Gui Linghuo’s hand away. “Stop that. You’re getting peanut dust all over my hair.”
Gui Linghuo laughed.
“At least you had A-Yan,” Qin Siyi mumbled. “When you two were together, who did I have?”
“I thought you were friends with Su Wen now.”
“Now I am,” Qin Siyi said, glancing at Gui Linghuo.
“And now you have Shan Yu,” Gui Linghuo said, throwing a few already peeled peanuts into Qin Siyi’s bowl. He smiled apologetically. “And you can always just hang out with me and A-Yan. I promise we don’t do anything inappropriate.”
“I know you don’t,” Qin Siyi grumbled.
“Then—”
“I’m single and lonely. Do you think I want to see my best friend and my Da-shixiong flirting with each other?” Qin Siyi said. She threw a shell at him. “Have a bit more consideration.”
“I—”
“Shijie!” Shan Yu excitedly bounced over. She had a bud of flower held carefully in her chopsticks. When Qin Siyi turned to see what she was so excited about, she found a burst of sweetness entering her mouth. “Isn’t it good?! It’s so sweet! Shizun said he doesn’t even add more sugar in Wulian Flower Cakes.”
Qin Siyi pursed her lips, her eyes brightening. Gui Linghuo watched Shan Yu silently for a moment before straightening and clearing his throat. The two girls looked over at him. He opened his mouth expectantly.
“Where’s mine?”
Shan Yu scoffed. “Tell your future wife to give you one. Hmph!”
Gui Linghuo clicked his tongue. He stood and followed Shan Yu back over to the oven. His arms were crossed over his chest as he bent down slightly to watch Shan Yu carefully boil the flowers. “You know, if some people didn’t know, they’d think you were jealous.”
“Of what? I actually feel bad for Li-jiejie. She’s so pretty, but she’s attached to an ugly monster like you,” Shan Yu said.
“Ugly?” Gui Linghuo let out an exaggerated cough. He leaned against the counter and pinched Shan Yu’s cheek. “Look at me again and say I’m ugly.”
“You’re. Ugly.” Shan Yu swatted Gui Linghuo’s hand away. “The only attractive man I’ve ever seen is Shizun!”
“Shan Yu,” Gui Yin spoke sternly. His face warmed slightly at Li Yan’s giggling reaction.
“It’s true. Shizun is like an immortal, descending upon earth. Everyone else looks like a slug compared to you,” Shan Yu said boldly. She turned to Gui Linghuo and smirked. “Especially you.”
Gui Linghuo rolled his eyes. “If I’m a slug, then what are you?”
“A pretty princess,” Shan Yu said, flipping her ponytail in his face.
Gui Linghuo scoffed. He turned to Li Yan with a small pout. “Am I ugly?”
Li Yan shook her head, a soft smile on her face. “Not at all! To me, you are the most handsome.”
Gui Linghuo’s pout immediately melted into a smile, but seeing as they were in their shizun’s presence, he didn’t make a move to kiss her. On the other hand, Gui Yin could only sigh and resist the urge to roll his eyes.
Not only was he old and alone—he had to be old and alone around kids who were in their honeymoon phase.
Thank you for the update ❤️💯
thank YOU for r e a d!!!!!!
Shan Yu~ i loveeee youuuuu (๑˃ᴗ˂)
hang in there Gui Yin, i’m sure you can make them roll your eyes when you get your chance
i believe in Gui Yin to be the one to disperse dog food when he falls in love =n= let’s pray for his success LMAO thanks for reading!!!
I think they will definitely get their dose of revenge when gui yin can’t stop looking at them golden eyes babyyy. Also what level is beyond nascent soul cultivator, and does that mean he would be able to sense if er-ye is hiding in the shadows around him now?
BUT UM let’s pretend it says “four years ago you were soul formation”, then the next step would be soul transformation . The realms aren’t mentioned too much after this? It’s just kind of a bookmark to be like “Oh this is where gui yin is”
(but also, i wanna point out that the cultivation realms in this story are kinda skewed from what people might normally are used to bc the world is split between upper and lower but not in the regular way, but they use the same naming systems….so, simply speaking, Gui Yin’s “soul formation” is a lot closer to ascending to godhood than the humans in the lower realm bc upper realm people are Special uwu….and closer to Celestials lmao………………basically, don’t think about it too much LSDKFASL;HG)
oh omg it’s my mistake i don’t really keep track of the level names and stuff so like we are 8 years in and 4 years ago he made progress from where he was when the war started and now again he has changed, right? Welp so is there like 2 years to go to when he and er-ye meet up cus i remember er-ye being like 7 years to go when we were 3 years in
Okay!! Now I’m really looking forward to the series of unfortunate events that probably follow from now on cus i feel the amount of young couples in this story need some type of obstacle in their love (or a catalyst in the case of gui yin’s love life).
Thanks for the chapter 😄
thanks for reading!