Translator: CKtalon Editor: CKtalon
Qin Yun looked at Yi Xiao and he made up his mind.
After all, it was her birth mother. Yi Xiao had always felt hatred and disgruntlement towards her mother, despising her for abandoning her family! If Yi Xiao knew that her mother had actually not abandoned her, but that she had been forcibly separated from her by the West Sea Dragon race, Yi Xiao might no longer feel any hatred for her mother. Then again, if she knew that her mother had once fallen in love with her father and was forcibly captured and imprisoned in suffering for five hundred years, Yi Xiao was unlikely to take the news quietly and would seek to save her mother.
“I should not tell Xiaoxiao of the news for the time being,” thought Qin Yun. “The West Sea Dragon race is powerful, in no way inferior to the Daoist and Buddhist sacred lands. Even I do not have the confidence to try saving Xiaoxiao’s mother.”
“I should investigate the matter in secret. I’ll find out where Xiaoxiao’s mother is imprisoned and ascertain if there’s any hope of rescuing her. It wouldn’t be too late to tell Xiaoxiao once I’m almost done with my investigations.” Qin Yun pondered secretly.
Revealing the matter now would not help in rescuing Xiaoxiao’s mother at all. Instead, it would only vex Xiaoxiao.
After all, how could a daughter feel at ease knowing her mother was suffering in a prison?
“I have to quickly make a trip to the West Sea,” thought Qin Yun.
“What are you thinking about?” Yi Xiao walked over.
Qin Yun said with a smile, “Nothing much. Crown Prince came looking for me to offer me his friendship! He even said that if there are any treasures I require from the East Sea, I should directly look for him.”
“I see.” Yi Xiao nodded. “Brother Yun, now that you are at the Paramount realm, the East Sea Dragon race would not want to make an enemy of you even though it’s powerful. After all, immortals and fiendcelestials cannot interfere with mortal matters. Besides, they probably believe that you will be able to step into the Dao in the future! It’s why they sent the crown prince here.”
Qin Yun nodded.
Stepping into the Dao…
Although the path of cultivation was difficult, he had practiced the way of the sword from a young age. He attained the state of being one with the sword early on and had suffered endless setbacks. He roamed the world for more than five years and walked the tightrope of death. In the northern borderlands, he risked his life on the battlefields. His life depended greatly on his sword, allowing him to grasp sword intent through Expertise Nearing Dao. After he attained Heaven Man Unity, Qin Yun felt that his cultivation had become a lot simpler.
After all, he was unable to see the big picture in his early days. After he attained Heaven Man Unity, he could sense the Heavenly Dao and so he naturally improved quickly.
“After the Paramount realm is stepping into the Dao!”
“It’s said that stepping into the Dao is very difficult. However, I have reached the Paramount realm at the age of twenty-seven. Even if it takes me thirty or fifty years… I refuse to believe I that won’t be able to step into the Dao.” Qin Yun had been confident of his cultivation all this while.
He would improve a little every day.
With time, there would come a day when a qualitative change would happen.
“By the way, Xiaoxiao, the Yi family made a request for help recently,” asked Qin Yun. “It was something about lost family members in the West Sea.”
“Yea.” Yi Xiao nodded. “The Divine Firmament Chapter had sent a Connate Golden Core expert to investigate the matter but failed to find anything. Therefore, Sister You came to plead with me. Brother Yun, you are a Paramount realm sword immortal, so you will have a higher chance of success than typical Connate Golden Core experts if you investigate the matter. Although the Divine Firmament Chapter has an existence at the Paramount realm, he has been in constant seclusion in a bid to step into the Dao. Patriarch has not been able to deploy him.”
Qin Yun nodded.
At the Paramount realm, one did not necessarily mind immortals or fiendcelestials. They respected them as seniors but only honored their requests at times. If they chose not to, the immortals and fiendcelestials would not act against them.
Especially those at the Paramount realm who were over three or four hundred years old; as their days were numbered, they would make use of their time in a bid to step into the Dao. This was because once they did so, they could condense their Essence Soul to become immortal! That ensured eternal youth!
As for the sword immortal lineage, there were no Dharmic formulations that allowed them to condense an Essence Soul to become immortal despite them being extremely powerful.
“However, there have been many people coming to seek your help. Two members of the Yi family vanished in the West Sea more than half a year ago. It won’t be an easy matter to investigate,” said Yi Xiao. “Brother Yun, do you plan on going?”
Qin Yun nodded. “It’s a member of the Yi family after all. I’ll make the trip.”
“I know it’s because of me,” said Yi Xiao softly.
“I’ll just be traveling around,” said Qin Yun with a smile. “I can’t just cloister myself at home in cultivation, can I?”
…
The Yi family was in the Kunlun Prefecture that neighbored the West Sea.
As for the Daoist sacred land, Numinous Treasure Mountain, it was also situated in the Kunlun Prefecture. The oldest family clan, the Bai family, was similarly close to the West Sea.
Just like how the cultivators in the Jiangnan area interacted mostly with the East Sea, areas like the Kunlun Prefecture and the Snow Prefecture had more interactions with the West Sea.
“Qin Yun.”
In one compound of the Bai family, an entire manor was quiet and desolate. All the servants were female, with not a single man in the manor.
“Will he help?” Bai Junyue looked very distant while dressed in white. She looked hesitantly at the bronze mirror in front of her.
After quite some hesitation, Bai Junyue waved her hand.
Soon, a youth’s figure appeared in the bronze mirror. It was none other than Qin Yun.
“Fairy Bai?” greeted Qin Yun with a smile. “Is there a reason why you are suddenly looking for me?”
“Congratulations on attaining the Paramount realm. Although my Numinous Treasure Mountain is a Daoist sacred land, our current generation doesn’t have anyone at the Paramount realm.” Bai Junyue tried her best to smile. She did not like to smile and by deliberately doing it, it looked a little forced.
“It was only by chance. The Numinous Treasure Mountain is the origin of the Daoist movement. It was the place where the Dao Ancestor taught the Dao. It’s nothing if a particular generation lacks a Paramount realm,” said Qin Yun.
Indeed.
The Divine Firmament Chapter, Primordial Chaos Sect, Mahākāśyapa Monastery, and the imperial government had all gone from weak to strong throughout the ages.
Only Numinous Treasure Mountain was an exception! After the Dao Ancestor taught the Dao, many disciples naturally gathered to form the sect, Numinous Treasure Mountain. The Dao Ancestor had also bestowed numerous treasures upon them. Numinous Treasure Mountain was strong from the very beginning. Even when the Godfiends ruled the world, Numinous Treasure Mountain was always the hegemon of their territory. Up to this day, it had never been weak. Numinous Treasure Mountain would even release heritages frequently.
Many of the top cultivation sects had a heritage that was deliberately handed to them by Numinous Treasure Mountain.
“Yea,” Bai Junyue maintained her faint smile. “Qin Yun, I have something to request of you. I know my request is a little overboard.”
“Please tell me,” said Qin Yun.
Bai Junyue was clearly a little nervous. “My brother, Bai Junchen, had gone to the West Sea a hundred odd years ago. He never returned and even his transmission mark dissipated. However, his corpse has never been found. I would like to request you to investigate the matter. I once came to the conclusion that my brother might have been killed by a great fiendish demon of the West Sea, Curmudgeon Blacktide. Curmudgeon Blacktide has extraordinary strength. When deep in the sea, his strength is nearly at the Paramount realm. I can only ask you for help. Please investigate this matter for me. Please confirm if… my brother really died at that Curmudgeon Blacktide’s hand.”
“Curmudgeon Blacktide?” Qin Yun knitted his brows.
This fiendish demon was exceedingly powerful and he was closing in on the Paramount realm. In the sea, Qin Yun’s strength would be reduced by thirty percent. It was truly something he was not equipped to deal with.
When Bai Junyue saw Qin Yun frown, she could not help but feel her heart jolt. “I know that my request is a little overboard. However, I have no one else I can turn to. I do not have any other treasures. I am willing to offer a third-grade Dharma treasure, Cold Moon Flower, to get your help.”
“Cold Moon Flower is the most precious Dharma treasure you have, isn’t it? I can’t take something that precious from you,” said Qin Yun with a smile. Bai Junyue had used the Minor Stellar Heavenly Cycle back when she entered the immortal abode but it was only a temporary loan. The Bai family took it back the moment she was out of the immortal abode. Typical Golden Core cultivators mostly used third-grade Dharma treasures. Few had access to second-grade Dharma treasures.
In fact, quite a number of immortals and fiendcelestials only used first-grade Dharma treasures.
Fairy Bai’s intrinsic Dharma treasure had reached the fourth-grade and its strength was greater than a third-grade Dharma treasure. But in terms of pure value, the Cold Moon Flower was indeed Bai Junyue’s most valuable Dharma treasure.
“Fairy Bai, you helped me in the immortal abode back then. There’s no need for me to take your treasures,” said Qin Yun with a smile. “Leave the matter of finding Curmudgeon Blacktide in the West Sea to me.”
Bai Junyue was taken aback.
Did he just agree?
Qin Yun agreed so readily?
“However, Curmudgeon Blacktide has extraordinary strength. I probably won’t be able to kill him,” said Qin Yun.
“There’s no need,” said Bai Junyue immediately. “I just want to know if my brother really died under his hand.”
Qin Yun nodded. “Alright, don’t worry. I’ll be going to the West Sea in the near future.”
“Qin Yun, thank you.” Bai Junyue was very grateful. “In fact, back at the immortal abode, I didn’t help you that much.”
“Back then, if you had joined forces with Ji Lie, I would probably have had to flee early on,” said Qin Yun with a smile. At the time, he had yet to consume the Golden Core Outer Pill. It was already tough for him to withstand Ji Lie. If Bai Junyue had joined forces with Ji Lie, he would really have had to flee with Yi Xiao and the rest.”
“Alright. This is more detailed information regarding my brother.” Bai Junyue immediately transmitted the information through the messaging treasure.
“I will message you when I finish the investigation,” said Qin Yun.
After they were done with their conversation, their transmission was cut.
Bai Junyue took a deep breath.
All these years, she had been trying to investigate the matter. However, Curmudgeon Blacktide was a force to be reckoned with in the West Sea. She was out of options.
“Qin Yun, thank you.” Bai Junyue was sincerely grateful.
“Brother… I believe you must be alive. I can sense you. You are living in a certain corner of this world.” Bai Junyue looked at her reflection in the bronze mirror as she murmured.
…
Qin family.
Qin Yun and Yi Xiao were chatting in bed, nestling with each other.
“I’ve long heard of Fairy Bai’s brother too,” said Yi Xiao. “Fairy Bai nearly went crazy looking for him. To be honest, I understand her pain very well. If you disappeared, I will probably go crazy too.”
Qin Yun extended his hand to hug Yi Xiao and said with a smile,” Don’t worry. It won’t happen. We will be together forever.”
In his mind, Qin Yun was already planning his trip to the West Sea. The matter regarding Yi Xiao’s mother was naturally at the top of his priorities.
