Chapter 69: Farewell

Chapter Sixty-Nine: Parting

With the master’s cultivation advancing and the original master awakening, the Immortal Palace now flourished more than ever before. Decades ago, Hansu had tossed a lotus seed from the Xintang Lotus, which she had gotten from her father, into the hot spring lake, hoping it would someday sprout. Now, it finally showed signs of life, lazily unfurling two tiny leaves.

Since Rong Ling’s primordial spirit had awakened, he could now heal himself; recovery was merely a matter of time and there was no need to rush. At least, he was able to leave that icy coffin, reclining on a beauty’s chaise which seemed to have appeared out of thin air, lost in thought. Xueling calmly lay by his hand, letting him absentmindedly stroke her fur. Meanwhile, Hansu stood respectfully by, awaiting the Immortal Lord’s command.

At first, she sat upright, not daring to interrupt his train of thought. But as the silence dragged on and on, her restless nature got the better of her; by the time the Immortal Lord glanced up at her, she was already fiddling with her flying puppet walnut.

“That… is the puppet-making technique from the Construction Sect?”

“Ah? Yes, it is. Immortal Lord, you know of the Construction Sect?” Rong Ling made no reply, only glancing lazily at Xueling. Hansu could not help but grit her teeth in anger. This traitorous beast! Ever since Rong Ling had awakened, Xueling had cozied up to him and never returned to Hansu’s side; she supposed the fox had, by now, already spilled every detail of her affairs to him.

Granted, her mother was the Immortal Lord’s spirit beast, but still, Xueling had a master too! Was it really necessary to cling shamelessly to the stronger one? Sensing Hansu’s murderous glare, Xueling shrank back, only to sidle even closer to Rong Ling in a show of defiance.

“Go and make preparations. In three days, we depart for the Realm of Jingxiang.” The Immortal Lord issued his command and then closed his eyes to cultivate, paying them no further heed. Although she had known this day would come, Hansu had not expected it to arrive so soon. There was no time for sentiment; she could only go and bid farewell to her family and friends in turn.

A few days later, in a remote town on the southern borders of the Luoxing Realm, a plain-looking middle-aged woman appeared.

The clothes and accessories she wore seemed ordinary at first glance, but a closer look revealed nearly all were high-grade magical artifacts. Such a lone woman traveling the roads—how unlikely was it that no one would take notice? She appeared to be at the mid-stage of the Golden Core, and laden with treasures; anyone wishing to rob her would have to be fully prepared.

Old Li had followed her for some time, observing her closely. She seemed to be someone who had spent most of her life in secluded cultivation, rarely venturing out. Such people were always easy marks, but also potentially very troublesome.

Judging by her attire, she was no poor cultivator, likely from a large cultivation family or perhaps a direct disciple of a great sect. Her manners were far more naive than the impoverished cultivators, her adaptability weaker. Still, she might be carrying rare treasures—if it came down to it, a single talisman-weapon flung his way could obliterate him in an instant. Or, if she panicked and self-destructed, it could all end in disaster.

So, though he had tailed her all this way, Old Li still hadn’t decided whether to make his move.

But today, as he watched her in the inn, nonchalantly handing over a hundred spirit stones for information without blinking, he couldn’t hold back any longer. In just a short while, she had spent five or six hundred stones—money that should have been his! Watching those piles of spirit stones, Old Li’s heart bled. He could not bear it any longer; he decided to act here and now, telling himself he was doing the world a favor by ridding it of such a spendthrift demon!

Out in the wilds, amid a stretch of earthen mounds—an ideal spot for an ambush—Old Li, who possessed wood, water, and earth spiritual roots with earth as the primary, prepared to strike. His mixed spiritual roots had made his path to the Golden Core exceedingly difficult, and it was only through countless robberies and mountains of spirit stones and pills that he’d reached the mid-stage.

Over the years, many had died by his hand. Thanks to his mastery of ambush and concealment, even late-stage Golden Core cultivators had fallen to him. This was the confidence that emboldened him to target this wealthy middle-aged woman.

On this moonless, windy night, he silently merged into the earth, becoming one with the darkness. From afar, the slender figure of the woman approached, short and frail with nondescript features, walking alone in the night. If not for her face, the graceful steps possessed a certain elegance.

Unfortunately, she was doomed to perish tonight. Old Li swallowed, nearly making a noise that would have given him away.

Her vigilance was still not enough… As she was about to step within his range, Old Li silently activated his art, transforming the earth for ten miles around into drifting sand that began to swirl in the wind…

All this time, Hansu had been considering when she should deal with the person tailing her.

Since she had left Yaohua, she had disguised herself as a middle-aged female cultivator—a method taught to her by Linxiu. Linxiu, though the third disciple of Lord Lanhe, came from a humble background; aside from her meager disciple stipend, she had nothing else. Lord Lanhe was not stingy, but he disliked worldly affairs, and his first two disciples came from wealthy families, so he never thought his only female disciple might be dirt poor. Thus, he rarely thought to give her extra support.

Linxiu was cautious and courteous by nature and would never complain to her master or senior brothers. From the day she entered the sect, she had earned spirit stones by taking on all sorts of sect tasks. After forming her foundation, she left Yaohua, traveling from place to place in search of ancient sites or secret realms, honing her mind by doing tasks, gathering spirit herbs, and catching spirit beasts…

Thus, her survival skills were the most outstanding among the three disciples. She compiled all the knowledge she had amassed over the decades into a thick booklet and gifted it to Hansu before her journey, along with teaching her the art of mundane disguise.

Cultivators had robes and spells to hide their appearance, but sometimes, mundane disguise was even more effective. Most cultivators, once they develop spiritual sense during Qi Refinement, rely on it entirely, paying attention to magical alterations but often overlooking simple, physical changes.

Initially, Hansu had wanted to disguise herself as a gallant young man, like the heroines in storybooks. Unfortunately, her voice was delicate and her movements too proper; even in men’s clothes she could not emulate a man’s stride, making her attempt laughable and affected.

She settled for the guise of a middle-aged woman, which, matched with her cultivation, seemed less suspicious.

She had long since noticed someone tailing her, but at first, she hadn’t cared. In a remote town like this, cultivators above Foundation Establishment were rare; a Golden Core could be a city lord. Her sudden appearance as a mid-stage Core Formation woman was bound to attract attention.

After all, a single cultivator like her could control the fate of an entire small cultivation family.

Soon, though, she realized her pursuer was no ordinary man. First, he was extremely well-hidden, far surpassing his peers—she would not have noticed were it not for her innate spiritual sense. Second, his tracking skills were formidable; wherever she went, he remained at a distance. Third, he did not just target her; along the way, he watched anyone who appeared wealthy.

Each of these traits alone was unremarkable, but together, they clearly pointed to one thing: a professional robber.

Though she could have dealt with him at any time, his professionalism fascinated her. His skills in stealth, tracking, positioning, and using the terrain were all at the pinnacle. Out of admiration, she allowed him to follow, even feigning carelessness to lure him with displays of wealth.

Now, she deliberately stepped into his trap, wanting to study his techniques further. Her senior brother had said, “You learn as long as you live; among three people, there is always one I can learn from.” How true! Yet it seemed this fellow was even more formidable than she had imagined…

Watching the swirling sand around her, Hansu felt a powerful suction pulling her down. She slapped herself with a lightening talisman and used spirit sight to search for the male cultivator through the thick sand, but he was thoroughly concealed. Here on this mound, he reigned supreme, darting unseen through the sands with such speed that even spirit sight could barely track him.

The talisman’s effect was nearly spent, and the suction at her feet grew stronger. The floating grains of sand pressed ever closer, soon forming solid walls that advanced from every direction to engulf her.

She knew dozens of ways to break out, but she did nothing. At this critical moment—the sand walls closing in, threatening to crush her, the first hints of suffocation upon her—she finally located the cultivator. Twin spiritual flames, one icy, one fiery, pierced the earth’s barrier and shot into his body.

Instantly, the immense sand prison crumbled, splitting and shattering like a lifeless thing to fall heavily to the ground. From the pile, Old Li—having had his spiritual power sealed—could only stare in a daze.

“How… how did you do that…” The sand, no longer under his control, fell in heaps upon him, half-burying his body. Hansu flicked her sleeve and pulled him out of the sand.

“Boss! You’re the boss here! You surely don’t care for my meager possessions—just spare my life, I’ll give you anything you want!” Though his spiritual energy was sealed, Hansu had not restrained his movements. Old Li crouched on the ground, pleading miserably.

This was the first time Hansu had been worshipped like this, especially by a fellow Golden Core cultivator. “D-don’t do this; you’re a Golden Core master, you shouldn’t…”

Old Li’s face stiffened at her words, his expression turning bitter. After a long pause, he said heavily, “You’re right. I am a Golden Core cultivator; a man can be killed but not humiliated. Victory and defeat are common in life. If I dared to act, I should dare to accept the consequences. Kill me.” With that, he tore off seven or eight storage bags and hurled them to the ground.

“You… you’re a bit too cooperative, aren’t you…” Hansu was startled by his performance, but she soon realized what was happening.

“Don’t move! So that’s why you were so quick to surrender. Did you think I only sealed your spiritual energy?” Hansu grasped a tiny bug trying to scuttle away and glare at Old Li, who had tried to send it off when handing over his bags. She formed a quick set of hand signs.

Old Li felt an unbearable itch all over; since his spiritual power was sealed, his senses were heightened, and it felt as if two little serpents—one icy, one burning—were writhing through his bones, meridians, and organs. The sensation was excruciating and unprecedented.

He collapsed, convulsing, as if he could shake the things out of him by moving. Instinctively, he tried to muster his energy to expel them, but with his power sealed, the attempt only activated the internal restriction, bringing not only more itching but also a piercing pain.

“You’re quite a piece of work, aren’t you? I’ve fallen into your hands today—take whatever you want, kill me if you must! Serves me right for running into a wicked woman like you!” No longer the pitiful figure he’d been, Old Li now snarled like a hard-headed brute.

Hansu burst out laughing. “I won’t kill or harm you. I don’t want your things, either. I just need you to help me with a few tasks.”

Author’s Note: My first time writing a little skit—so excited!!

Huaiyin: “Hey! You just left me in some unknown corner, letting my dear Hansu go off all by herself—is that appropriate?! If everyone’s heading out, why not send us together?!”

Hansu: “Aren’t you going to find your mother, little tadpole?”

Huaiyin: “Wouldn’t it be better to take you along, little dumpling?”

Rong Ling: “Ahem. I thought my little disciple lacked experience, so I’m taking her out to see the world. Why are you meddling, little fox? We don’t need more spirit pets—we already have a puppy.”

Hansu: “Eh? When did I become the Immortal Lord’s disciple?”

Xueling: “I am not a puppy!”

Rong Ling: “Call me little fox, will you, old man?! Dare you reveal your age?!”

Rong Ling smiled lightly. “So what? You learned my techniques, took my Immortal Palace, claimed my spirit beast egg, held my hand—now you want to pretend none of it happened? What does age matter?”