After being reborn, he and Senior Sister Qingleng he - Chapter 11
Chapter 11: Silver Moon (I)
She felt herself gradually descending, but could always…
The spirit spring pool was filled with rising heat and a dense mist. Song Qingtang lay in it, closing her eyes and recalling her master’s words. Her master seemed unsurprised by everything the two people in the illusion had experienced.
If that was the case, why did her master still want her to go and investigate the Wu Clan (Witch Clan)? Could it be that something had gone wrong with the Wu Clan?
Song Qingtang’s thoughts were interrupted by a golden butterfly that flew in. Chi Wanyin’s figure appeared in the hall, so she lightly draped a silk robe over herself, secured her hair with only a wooden hairpin, and went to see Chi Wanyin like that.
Chi Wanyin seemed surprised that her always dignified and reserved Senior Sister would have such an appearance. At this moment, the ends of her hair were still slightly damp with water vapor. Although it could be solved with a simple spell, Song Qingtang chose not to do so.
“May I ask why Junior Sister has come?” Song Qingtang’s voice, however, remained as gentle as ever.
“I apologize for disturbing Senior Sister, but Wanyin has an presumptuous request. When Senior Sister goes to the Wu Clan territory in Silver Moon Valley, may Wanyin go with you?” Chi Wanyin spoke sincerely.
Song Qingtang was not surprised. “Understood, I will report it to Master.”
“Thank you, Senior Sister.” Joy flashed in Chi Wanyin’s eyes. Seeing her like this, Song Qingtang couldn’t help but smile. “However, you must not be careless when you arrive at that place. Although not everyone is like Yin Xuechan, people’s hearts are ultimately unpredictable.”
“Yes.” Chi Wanyin nodded obediently in agreement. Seeing her docile appearance, Song Qingtang couldn’t help but recall a civet she had raised before she entered the Dao; it was only this compliant in front of her.
She shook her head inwardly, realizing she had been overly worried these past few days to have such a momentary lapse in judgment.
Chi Wanyin was naturally unaware of her Senior Sister’s thoughts. She remembered Ye Tinghe’s instruction, thinking it seemed the only way to find the truth was to go with her Senior Sister to the secluded place where the Wu Clan lived.
Chi Wanyin and Song Qingtang boarded the flying boat heading for Silver Moon Valley. Silver Moon Valley was located in Southern Xinjiang, and the Wu Clan was also there.
Chi Wanyin, having nothing else to do, simply drank tea and ate snacks on the flying boat. Song Qingtang, on the other hand, found ancient texts related to Silver Moon Valley to read. She had a gut feeling that the connection between the two was definitely not shallow.
The flying boat traveled for two days before finally reaching Silver Moon Valley.
The air inside Silver Moon Valley was humid and full of poisonous miasma. Ordinary mortals could not survive there, and most of the residents were cultivators unafraid of the miasma. Before they set off, Venerable Huaiyu had already sent a message to the Valley Master, who would naturally show some respect to the Yantian Sect.
As soon as the two alighted from the flying boat, they saw the Valley Master’s disciples waiting for them. However, Song Qingtang glanced around and noted that Yin Xuechan was not among them.
The leader was a tall female cultivator adorned with silver ornaments, who looked to be around sixteen years old. “Esteemed ones, please follow me.”
Most of the buildings in the valley were bamboo houses. Chi Wanyin and Song Qingtang were naturally accommodated in one of them. The tall female cultivator said, “Please rest here for the night. If you have any needs, just tell the attendants outside.” She made no mention of the Wu Clan, perhaps following the Valley Master’s instructions.
Song Qingtang merely nodded in response. “Thank you for your trouble.” After the female cultivator left, the two Senior and Junior Sisters finally had a chance to talk.
Chi Wanyin propped her arm on the window sill and looked down outside the bamboo house. “Senior Sister, tonight I want to explore the secrets of this Silver Moon Valley.”
Song Qingtang had also been thinking the same thing, but it was inappropriate for her to act rashly. Entrusting this task to Chi Wanyin was most suitable.
“Junior Sister, be careful in all things,” Song Qingtang instructed, feeling a bit worried.
Chi Wanyin nodded slightly in agreement.
As night approached, Chi Wanyin transformed her peach wood sword into an identical replica of herself. With a slight thought, the puppet moved as she intended.
She draped a cloak over the puppet and had it head in the opposite direction from herself.
Butterflies emitting a blue-violet glow fluttered in Silver Moon Valley, leaving scales in the air as they passed.
Chi Wanyin noticed that the butterflies were quite similar in appearance to the Nightmare Beast. She, too, was now dressed in black, lurking in the darkness of the night.
She indeed wanted to investigate the truth of Silver Moon Valley, but another matter weighed on her heart. With that thought, she arrived at Xu Anzhi’s former residence. It had been sealed with a formation, but Chi Wanyin naturally knew how to break the spell. However, she knew that the broken formation would be noticed quickly, so she had to act fast.
Like a silent wisp of wind, Chi Wanyin infiltrated Xu Anzhi’s former residence. It was not much different from the small building where the two of them were staying, but a thick layer of dust covered all the objects, making it look as though the owner had gone on a long journey.
Chi Wanyin searched everywhere but failed to find any clues until she picked up a fragment under the table. The end of the fragment had burn marks, suggesting it had likely been thrown into a fire, leaving only this trace behind.
Chi Wanyin frowned slightly as she looked at the writing on it. She had naturally seen Xu Anzhi’s handwriting in her previous life and could confirm that it was written by Xu Anzhi, but what was written was not some great secret.
I finally know the biggest secret of this world.
Chi Wanyin looked at this line of somewhat crooked and even messy bl00d-written words. She could not deduce the rest of the message. So, she put the fragment back and restored everything to its original state.
After all this was done, Chi Wanyin immediately left Xu Anzhi’s small building.
In the main hall of Silver Moon Valley, thick, arm-sized candles burned silently on the candle holders.
Yin Yueying looked at her eldest disciple, Lingsu, who was kneeling below to apologize. Her tone was calm but still revealed a hint of displeasure. “You can’t even catch the person who broke the formation.”
The cultivators in Silver Moon Valley were skilled in (Gu/Poison Arts) and toxicology. By Yin Yueying’s generation, the talent in the valley had declined. She was only at the Nascent Soul stage and could see the end of her lifespan now, with no hope of achieving the Deification stage in this life.
Moreover, the most talented non-bloodline disciple of the sect had already defected and become a demonic cultivator, making Silver Moon Valley’s position even more difficult.
“Three days. Capture this person within three days.” Yin Yueying gave the order. Lingsu naturally complied, but she remembered another matter and hesitated whether to report it. Seeing her hesitation, Yin Yueying said, “Speak.”
“There is news of Xuechan’s whereabouts…” she said hesitantly, not daring to look at Yin Yueying’s face.
Yin Yueying’s expression remained calm, but the words she spoke were ice-cold. “Once she is found, bring her back immediately. Silver Moon Valley cannot afford to lose another personal disciple.”
“Yes.” Lingsu bowed and withdrew. She knew what Yin Xuechan’s talent meant to Silver Moon Valley.
After Lingsu left the hall, the expression on Yin Yueying’s face became playful. She recalled the two cultivators that Venerable Huaiyu had specifically sent a letter asking Silver Moon Valley to host. According to Lingsu, the two cultivators had not shown any abnormalities, except that they went out of the valley every day as if searching for something.
“Could it be…” Yin Yueying muttered to herself. She was not worried that these two Foundation Establishment stage cultivators could pose any threat to Silver Moon Valley, but their actions seemed more like they were investigating something. Recalling her agreement with Venerable Huaiyu, Yin Yueying could only sigh.
This was the fifth day since Chi Wanyin and Song Qingtang arrived in Silver Moon Valley. That night, Chi Wanyin naturally reported the abnormality she found at Xu Anzhi’s former residence to her Senior Sister, but she concealed the matter of the fragment.
From the information on the fragment, Xu Anzhi’s defection was due to something she had discovered. Chi Wanyin did not want to involve her Senior Sister in this matter.
“Junior Sister, it’s time to go back.” Song Qingtang called out to her. In the past few days, the two of them had explored most of Silver Moon Valley, but they seemed to have found nothing about the Wu Clan.
Today, the two of them seemed to be returning empty-handed again, but Chi Wanyin did not intend to go back. As the sky grew dark, the butterfly with the blue-violet wings that she had seen that night appeared again. A moon disc was visible in the sky; it seemed to be a full moon tonight.
Unlike on ordinary nights, the butterflies were not flying randomly but were gathering in groups as if heading somewhere. Chi Wanyin naturally noticed this anomaly.
So, she and Song Qingtang followed them. They found that the surrounding grass and trees emitted a faint glow, the same color as the butterflies’ wings.
The further they went, the more secluded the area became, and the light emitted by the plants grew stronger.
The butterflies finally stopped beneath a giant tree whose branches and leaves also emitted a purple-blue light, rustling faintly in the breeze.
For a moment, Chi Wanyin felt that the tree’s aura was familiar. She reached out to touch the trunk. “I seem to have encountered this aura before.”
Song Qingtang carefully observed the tree but then heard Chi Wanyin’s surprised voice, “Ruomu (Fusang/Divine Tree).”
Yes, the aura emitted by this tree was exactly the same as the Ruomu she had seen in the Yantian Sect’s forbidden area.
Song Qingtang couldn’t help but frown upon hearing this. “This tree might be a branch of the Ruomu. It seems the Wu Clan worships the Ruomu.”
Chi Wanyin sensed the similar aura. “Yes, but why is there no aura of any living creature here? Didn’t they say the Wu Clan lived in seclusion here?”
Song Qingtang shook her head, she didn’t know the reason, but she couldn’t help but think that her Master’s relationship with the Wu Clan must be profound, to the extent that she could give them a branch of the Ruomu.
“Senior Sister, Elder Ye once gave me something and said it would be useful when reaching the Wu Clan’s Divine Tree.” Chi Wanyin spread her palm, and the fruit in her hand shone brightly, clear and translucent like jade.
However, as soon as the fruit touched the Ruomu, the surrounding scene instantly seemed to twist and change.
In front of the Ruomu, led by a Wu Clan priest in luxurious robes, all the Wu Clan people were kneeling in worship, but she looked very solemn.
She frowned and seemed to say something. It was not clearly audible in the illusion, but it was not difficult to guess from the demeanor of the remaining clansmen that it must have been something very serious.
Chi Wanyin took a closer look at the Ruomu and found that it was no different from when she saw it in the Yantian Sect, but red fruits had already formed on the tree.
The next moment, the Ruomu where the two were situated was still emitting a purple-blue light, apparently having escaped from the Ruomu’s memory.
“Senior Sister, the Ruomu in the illusion is not the same as the current one,” Chi Wanyin reminded her.
Song Qingtang pondered, “The Wu Clan worships the Ruomu likely because the Ruomu protects them… But this current tree cannot feel any spiritual power, and it has even changed color, stained by the surrounding spiritual power.”
Perhaps the Wu Clan was destroyed because the Ruomu lost its function?
She looked around the Ruomu and found nothing unusual, only a cold pool that was bottomless.
Song Qingtang came to the edge of the pool, and her reflection appeared in the water. “Junior Sister, you guard this place. I will go and explore the depths of this cold pool.”
Chi Wanyin nodded. Song Qingtang chanted a water-repelling spell and leaped into the pool. She felt herself gradually descending, but could always fail to reach the bottom.