“Didn’t I tell you I would complete it?”
Lin Cangyuan glanced at Gui Yin with a raised brow. “You said ‘soon’. What year is it now?”
Gui Yin lightly clicked his tongue. “Sect Master-shixiongi, it’s only been one year. You can’t be so petty. This is as soon as possible! Do you not believe me?”
“I believe you,” Lin Cangyuan murmured. He turned the metal disc in his hand. The raised brow on his face showed his confusion.
“I’ve already written it out. This is the matrix that needs to be drawn, these are the sigils that need to be made, and this is the spell that needs to be recited,” Gui Yin said, spreading the document out on the table.
The Yunjing Pavilion’s Peak Lords looked over the detailed blueprint.
Lin Cangyuan glanced at Gui Yin. “So, you’re not going to stay?”
“Why would I need to?” Gui Yin asked. He poked Lin Cangyuan with the head of his fan. “Don’t be so needy. With you three here, do you still need me?”
Ye Liuxing sank slightly against his hand. “You’re just thinking about your disciple. What about us? You’ve abandoned us for a whole year.”
“Again—do you need me?” Gui Yin asked.
“It’s not that we need you. We just miss you,” Jiu Jingyi said. She seemed a bit upset as well. “How is the situation over at the desert?”
Gui Yin’s fan fell open with a snap. He grinned. “With me there, how else do you think it went?”
“Cocky,” Lin Cangyuan scolded, though a smile still remained on his face. “When will you be returning to clean up the trash?”
“When?” Gui Yin hummed as he leisurely fanned himself. He glanced out. “It’s about to be spring. I’ll return in the second month of summer.”
He raised a brow at the other peak lords. “Hopefully everything is concluded on this side by then though.”
“Hopefully,” Lin Cangyuan said, brushing his thumb across the item that contained the new barrier. “We just need to set this up.”
“Be careful though,” Gui Yin warned. “The red moon is coming up. At that time, resentful energy is strongest, so it’d be best if you set the barrier up before then.”
“Do you know when it’s supposed to be this year?” Lin Cangyuan asked.
“I believe it’s in the next two weeks,” Gui Yin said. He sighed. “Please be careful, okay? I don’t know what I’d do if something happened to you three.”
“You can only say such words, but you still won’t stay,” Jiu Jingyi pointed out.
“My little disciple still needs help adjusting, okay? I took the chance to slip out just because she just returned to Zheng Yu Lake,” Gui Yin said. “I’ll have to fly back out there in a little to help her settle into her position. While Elder Shan was alive, those wily foxes didn’t dare make a move, but now? There’s fresh meat in front of them. If they don’t pounce, wouldn’t they have lived all those years for no reason?”
Lin Cangyuan sighed. “We understand.”
Right now, it was a fragile time for Shan Yu. In the midst of a war, she had to prove herself as an apt leader. And if her actions couldn’t prove it, she at least had to have a strong backer to ward off the annoyances.
“Make sure to make it clear that it’s not just you, it’s the entirety of Yunjing Pavilion behind her,” Lin Cangyuan said.
Gui Yin grinned. He snapped his fan shut. “It’s still you who’s the best, Sect Master-shixiong.”
Lin Cangyuan rolled his eyes. “Suck up.”
“That’s how you survive in the world, isn’t it?” Gui Yin chuckled. He turned to Jiu Jingyi and Ye Liuxing. “You two behave. When we go back, Shixiong will buy you something tasty.”
Ye Liuxing scoffed. “It’s not like we’re still kids.”
“As long as Gui-shixiong is buying, we’ll accompany,” Jiu Jingyi promised.
“You—” Ye Liuxing’s words stopped short. He let out a short sigh and shook his head. “Forget it.”
Gui Yin chuckled. It was a bit improper to hug these people in front of him. They were all lords in their own right and they were all adults now. Still, the shocked looks on their faces as Gui Yin forced them into a hug was a memory he wouldn’t forget for a long time.
Gui Yin laughed as he dodged the palm Lin Cangyuan sent out. He landed nimbly at the door and bowed. “Shixiong, Shidi, Shimei, I’m leaving.”
“Go, go, go,” Lin Cangyuan waved his hand.
Gui Yin threw his head back and laughed harder as he left the tent. On his way out, he ran nearly head first into Deng Yenuo.
“Yenuo.”
“Gui-shishu, you’re leaving already?” Deng Yenuo frowned.
“Leaving. Take care of your shizun and shishu for me,” Gui Yin said. “And don’t stress out too much. I’ll see you again soon.”
Deng Yenuo hummed. He was a bit reluctant as he watched Gui Yin leave.
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.
In the next second, Gui Yin was just past the Kunlun Mountain Range, in the upper realm. He clicked his tongue. Even with the way his cultivation has evolved in just ten years, teleporting still didn’t allow him to go more than two thousand kilometers at a time.
Lf uijcmfv yjmx ja atf Beciec Zbecajlc Ejcuf. Lf rafqqfv obgkjgv jcv qijmfv tlr tjcv bc atf yjgglfg. Pa gfrbcjafv klat tlw rboais. Lf delmxis vgfk tlr tjcv yjmx klat j rjalrolfv rwlif bc tlr ojmf. Ktf yjgglfg kjr ralii tbivlcu eq.
Dfobgf tf aegcfv ab ifjnf, tf tfjgv j rboa mjklcu lc atf vlrajcmf. Ciwbra bc lwqeirf, Xel Tlc mbeivc’a tfiq yea ibbx yjmx eq.
His gaze focused on the birds and then on the large shadow, floating in the sky.
The Kunlun Mountain Range was already tall—piercing the sky and straight into the heavens—but this structure floated above the rest and pierced the sky. During his brief time in Kunlun, he hadn’t had half the mind to question what this structure was, but now that he was taking a leisurely stroll, he couldn’t help but stare at it a few more times.
A soft sigh left his lips. If he had the time in the future, or if the spirits in Kunlun didn’t detest him, he would definitely visit again and see what that ginormous structure was.
In another flash, Gui Yin was already within the confines of Beidou Alliance. With another two more, he made it to Zheng Yu Lake.
“Yu’er.”
Shan Yu jolted, her papers and scrolls scattering from her hands. She straightened and stared at her shizun in shock. The graceful man laid down on the divan bed nearby her desk and raised a brow.
“You don’t have to be that dramatic,” Gui Yin said.
Shan Yu sighed and patted her chest. “Shizun, you can’t scare this disciple like that! This disciple doesn’t have heightened senses like you! I can’t just sense if you’re coming through the change of the wind.”
“Such small courage—how can you be a sect leader like this?” Gui Yin sighed as he flourished his fan.
Shan Yu stared at her shizun for a moment before shaking her head and burying herself in her paperwork again. She was distracted by how much of a second-generation her shizun looked at the moment.
Gui Yin, ignoring Shan Yu’s criticisms, glanced out the building.
The Zhengyang Shan Sect was placed on top of Zheng Yu Lake. The lake was expansive, taking up the greater part of the Zhengyang region. While a lot of houses remained on shore, business had set up shop on the manmade land, with Zhengyang Shan Sect as the very center.
The sect itself sat on a large, round platform, taking up more space than Shuangye Peak. It was built up, with buildings protruding from larger, sturdier towers. Where Gui Yin and Shan Yu currently sat was a large, circular gazebo attached to the tower only sect leaders frequented. Like a scene from a fantasy period drama, the gazebo overlooked the entirety of Zheng Yu Lake and Zhengyang, with just a slight haze of clouds to create a perfect, immortal image.
Shan Yu’s ancestors sure knew a thing or two about style.
While saying that he was helping Shan Yu, Gui Yin was really just there as her and her family’s emotional support. The war in the desert had already concluded and the upper realm had returned to relative peace. For now, the ghost cultivators seemed to have scattered and had decided to focus their attention on the lower realm, where their homebase was originally located.
Gui Yin let out a short yawn and leaned back. He draped himself over the armrest of the divan bed and watched Shan Yu.
“You have good concentration,” Gui Yin noted.
“Isn’t it just because Shizun is watching me?” Shan Yu murmured.
“Like a student who’s afraid to slack off in front of a teacher?” Gui Yin mused.
Shan Yu glanced at him with a pout. Gui Yin let out a sigh and stood, his fan lightly blowing back his hair as he glanced over Shan Yu’s documents. Many were just elders nitpicking about things that were forgotten about during Shan Yu’s grandfather’s ruling.
Gui Yin clicked his tongue. He pulled up a chair beside the desk, snapped his fan shut, and began to point at certain documents: “This one, this one, and this one—file them away.”
“W-what?” Shan Yu stared at her shizun. “But these are from Elders—”
“Who cares about the elders?” Gui Yin sighed. He began to scrape them over with his fan, despite Shan Yu scrambling to keep them under her nose. “Right now, you’re the sect leader. Elders aren’t there to backseat you.”
“Back…huh?”
Gui Yin cleared his throat. “What I mean is, they’re not there to boss you around. Think about it this way: you know how the other continents and regions have monarchies?”
Shan Yu nodded. For a world like this, where everything was cultivation based, the other places that ruled by government and monarchy were like a place of fantasy, only found in books.
“Well, when the old monarch passes, and the new one ascends, there’s usually a bit of power struggle behind the scenes, even if the new monarch is heir apparent,” Gui Yin said. “These elders are about the same age as your grandfather, yes?”
“Yes.”
“They’ve been retired for so long, away from the matters of the world, but since they heard your grandfather is gone and that you’re here, they’ll feel a bit uncomfortable. Now, you have the most power in the sect,” Gui Yin said, “and those old coots won’t like that.”
Shan Yu shifted uncomfortably. “That—”
“They’ll say you haven’t accomplished anything and you’re not fit to be sect leader. Until you’ve slain a monster or saved the world a few times, they’ll take care of everything for you,” Gui Yin said. He tutted as he flourished his fan. “But a lot of these people aren’t in it for your position.”
“Then…then what?”
“They’re doing this because of their own silly arrogance,” Gui Yin said. “After all, how could they let a kid who hasn’t even turned eighteen lead them around by the noses?”
Shan Yu fell silent as she carefully dissected Gui Yin’s words.
“Do you understand?”
“I…seem to,” Shan Yu nodded.
Gui Yin hummed. “Right now, is the beginning of your era.”
“Shizun…that’s a bit embarrassing to say…”
“Isn’t it? Even if you don’t think it is, you have to embody this arrogance,” Gui Yin said, tapping the table with his fan. “Only then, can you fake your confidence.”
“Fake…fake confidence?”
“That’s right. Unless, you’re telling me that you’re confident enough for me to leave and put the entire Zhengyang Shan Sect in your hands?”
Shan Yu quickly shook her head. “Not yet…”
“Exactly. But if you don’t have confidence, not only will your elders walk over you, those disciples who are a couple centuries older will also disrespect you,” Gui Yin said. “And confidence is built steadily over time. So, if you don’t have it now, you can only fake it. And, gradually, all those anxious and unsure feelings will miraculously disappear. By the time you’ve realized you’re no longer faking it, you will have enough skills to back up your arrogance.”
Shan Yu sat there silently. She fidgeted with the brush in her hands and then glanced at Gui Yin sheepishly. “This disciple…doesn’t seem to understand.”
“No worries,” Gui Yin reassured her. “We’ll start simple. Just think this: This is my sect. Even if my decision is wrong, it’s right. My own feelings come before anyone else’s. I’m Zhengyang Shan Sect’s heir apparent. No one else can replace me.”
Shan Yu stared at her shizun incredulously. While she had always carried the arrogance of a member from a grand clan, this mantra that Gui Yin was introducing to her was a different kind of…disrespect to others.
“Say it.”
“S-say it?!”
“Say it out loud, or else how will you get it into your brain?”
“O-okay. Um…This…this is—”
“Say it with more confidence,” Gui Yin said.
Shan Yu cleared her throat and straightened. “This is my sect.”
“Can you try saying it without your voice breaking?”
Shan Yu flushed slightly. She took a deep breath and tried again. “This is my sect. Even if my decision is wrong, it’s right. My own feelings come before anyone else’s. I’m Zhengyang Sect’s…heir apparent. I…No one else can replace me.”
Gui Yin stared at the girl with her head buried in her hands. He sighed as he took a sip of tea. “What’s wrong now? Weren’t you doing fine? Why are you suddenly like this?”
“This is so embarrassing!” Shan Yu shrieked. Her head shot up and she glared at Gui Yin accusatorily. “Shizun, are you purposely trying to embarrass this disciple?”
“How could that be? I’m teaching you valuable life lessons. If you’re unsure, just fake it until you make it,” Gui Yin shrugged. “Do you think every sect leader starts off knowing what they’re doing? Of course, not. Some don’t even know what they’re doing after they’ve warmed the seat up and are about to get off. They just have to put on a strong face and push through it. If you’re too weak, you’ll get eaten.”
Shan Yu pouted. She placed her chin onto the table and looked up at Gui Yin. “Shizun…”
“Even if you whine, you can’t get out of it. Sit up and say it again.”
“I can’t! I’ve never been so embarrassed in my life!” Shan Yu exclaimed.
“It’s just you and me. What’s there to be embarrassed about?”
“I’m embarrassed of myself!”
Gui Yin watched Shan Yu roll around and sighed. “You can’t be this way. If I’m not here, those elders will surely try and start something. Sit up. Say it.”
“…How many times do I have to say it?”
“Until you sound confident in yourself,” Gui Yin said.
Shan Yu sighed. She straightened and began to recite Gui Yin’s ridiculous mantra again.
It wasn’t until the sun was beginning to set that Gui Yin told her to stop. She groaned again.
“Shizun! It’s already getting so late, but I’m not even halfway through these documents!”
“I said you don’t need them,” Gui Yin sighed. He gathered some of the more useless things and hid them behind his back. “These are the ones you worry about.”
Shan Yu looked at the three documents remaining on the table. “I…I already did these.”
“Exactly. Remember this order,” Gui Yin said, holding up five fingers. “First, reports from outside of the sect. Second, reports from within the sect. Third, letters from other sect leaders. Fourth, invitations. Fifth, elders.”
“…Why are elders…”
“They’re there to give you advice. But you have to learn to rule without their useless advice,” Gui Yin said, putting his hand down. “Nine times out of ten, they don’t have anything useful to say anyway, so why are you wasting your time? They’re up in the mountains, while you’re the one who’s sitting in this seat. You’re the one who’s going through missives and reports every day. You’re the one who understands the current world better than they do.”
The more Shan Yu listened, the more she felt it made sense. She slowly nodded along.
“Me too.”
“You?” Shan Yu frowned.
“In the future, when you’ve warmed up this seat, if I have anything to say, just take it with a grain of salt,” Gui Yin said. “Trust your own instincts. Don’t let yourself be swayed.”
“But what if my instincts aren’t right?” Shan Yu asked. This was the first time she felt so small.
Gui Yin smiled softly. He rubbed Shan Yu’s head and chuckled. “You’re my disciple. How could your instinct be wrong? Besides, I’m not telling you to completely ignore outside opinion. You should listen and absorb it, but the conclusion should be your own.”
Shan Yu nodded. She leaned slightly into the large warm hand and let out a soft sigh of relief.
“Alright. Congratulations! You’re done for today.”
Shan Yu smiled. “Thank you, Shizun.”
“But don’t get relaxed,” Gui Yin said, standing. “Every morning for the next six months, you will grab a mirror, look yourself in the eyes and repeat what I just taught you ten times in a row.”
Shan Yu’s face fell.
“T-ten?!”
“That’s right,” Gui Yin grinned. “That’s how you’ll get it in your head.
Shan Yu wanted to say something, but quickly swallowed her words. She sighed and thumped her head with the heel of her palm. Her shizun had always been so mischievous. What else did she expect?
The following week Shan Yu indeed listened to Gui Yin. Whenever Gui Yin stopped by her room in the morning, he already heard her reciting the mantra. Gui Yin chuckled to himself, thinking that this little girl was surprisingly so gullible. He just said it once casually, but she was actually following his instructions.
Just as Gui Yin was about to knock on the door, Shan Yu’s personal attendant, Feng Yu (丰羽) appeared. He stopped in his tracks and bowed low.
“Lord Immortal.”
“Mn. What’s wrong? Why have you come to find her so early in the morning?” Gui Yin asked.
“This servant wasn’t here to find Sect Leader. I actually came to find you,” Feng Yu said.
“Me?” Gui Yin raised a brow. “Why were you looking for me?”
“There is a person at the front of Zheng Yu Lake. Their surname is Su and they claim to know you,” Feng Yu said.
“Surnamed Su?” Gui Yin’s eyes widened in surprise. He hesitated for a moment before knocking on the door. “Yu’er, it’s Shizun. Someone has come to look for me. I’ll be right back. Today, you just do your own thing. Don’t forget what I told you.”
“Yes, Shizun!”
The excitement wasn’t even hidden in her voice. Gui Yin shook his head and followed Feng Yu.
The person he expected at the entrance of Zheng Yu Lake, was just who it was.
Su Wen turned. His expression brightened immediately. He bowed in greeting. “Lord Immortal!”
“You may leave first,” Gui Yin murmured to Feng Yu.
Once the man left, Gui Yin turned to Su Wen with furrowed brows. “Su Wen, why are you here? How did you know I was here?”
“Master knows many things in the universe. Finding news of you is naturally no big deal,” Su Wen said proudly. He cleared his throat and recovered his serious expression. “But I’m not here to meet up with you and I’m not here to extend an invitation from my master.”
“Then…did something happen?” Gui Yin asked, his brows furrowed.
Su Wen nodded. “Just two days ago, my master was reading the stars. In particular, he was reading your line of fate. While your trajectory was following its dictated route, he noticed that a neighboring cluster of stars had gone off course.”
“Off course?” Gui Yin’s frown tightened. “Who’s stars? How are they off course?”
“Master said without you by the peak lords of Yunjing Pavilion’s side, their fates have now become jumbled. You need to head back right away,” Su Wen said.
“Yunjing Pavilion’s peak lords?” Gui Yin echoed. His expression eased. “The war in the lower realm is about to wrap up. Victory is within our grasp, so what else is there to worry about?”
Su Wen noted Gui Yin’s skepticism and shook his head. “My Lord, you have to listen to my master! The things he sees become true nine out of ten times. If he says someone’s going to die, they’ll barely make it out alive. If he says someone’s fates have become tangled, that person definitely won’t have any good luck. He rarely ever sends us to tell people what fates he’s seen because he believes he shouldn’t mess with fate, but he actually sent me here today. That means that if you go there, you can actually change something.”
“But…”
“It’s better to believe and have it not come true, then not believe and have it come true,” Su Wen said. “I know you’re skeptical about Master and his odd power, but you’ve seen it work too, haven’t you? Don’t you remember?”
Gui Yin did remember. Even in things like fighting, Erlang seemed to always be half a step faster than his opponent. If it was really because of his supernatural powers, then Gui yin wouldn’t be too surprised.
“My lord!”
“Alright, alright,” Gui Yin murmured. He sighed and looked at Su Wen. “Then, tell your master I thank him. I will depart as soon as I saw a word to my disciple.”
Oooh is that scorpion demon gonna be there?? Also when shan yu returns to see her shijie again she’s gonna have an even bigger personality lol
She’s growin into herself uwu thanks for reading!!!
part of me feels like Gui Yin is teaching Shan Yu silly things but then i remembered i did the “fake it till you make it” with my own confidence by also being overconfident. so. i get it. HANG IN THERE SHAN YU!! you will soon join the “smugly toss the ponytail (actually a softie at heart)” club!!!!!
Fake it till you make it is honestly Real advice and if anyone is having trouble with confidence, I suggest you try a variation of what Gui Yin said to do– THANKS FOR READ
Thanks!! Can’t wait for the next chapters ^_^
Thanks for reading!!!
Thank you for the update ❤️💯
thanks for reading!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Finally, getting caught up, almost…
thanks for reading!!
Ohohhhh!!! Hope nothing bad happens!