He just wants to find a replacement - Chapter 4

Chapter 4: Time to Run, Run, Run!

The moment he left the Qingping Hall, Bai Lianhua took Jingbao and rushed toward his own cave dwelling.

The two flew on their swords, soaring through a patch of misty haze. Then, a scene of lush greenery unfolded, the mountains smudged like an ink painting, gradually becoming clear before their eyes.

Flying up to the mountain gate, Bai Lianhua looked at the five-colored barrier before him. His hand movements shifted, forming several seals, which opened an entrance just wide enough for one person to pass through.

This place was Wuliang Mountain (Immeasurable Mountain), the blessed land that Li Daocheng and Bai Lianhua had built together when Li Daocheng was alive.

Entering the barrier, Bai Lianhua hurried straight toward the mansion within the mountain without stopping.

The place, rather than a mansion, was more like a pavilion built into the mountain body. Shrouded in clouds and mist, it gave off a transcendent aura.

The pavilion was primarily black and white, complementing the somewhat desolate exterior of Wuliang Mountain.

Although Wuliang Mountain looked somewhat dilapidated, the spiritual energy contained in the air was extremely dense, reaching a visible, misty level.

Beneath the earth veins of this area, two spiritual ley lines intersected, greatly increasing the spiritual energy, making the elders of the Flowing Cloud Sword Sect covetous.

The Immortal Venerable’s inheritance they coveted included these two underground spiritual ley lines.

The entire complex was structured with the residence at the mountain peak, the temporary palace on the mountainside, and beneath the tunnels of the back mountain, the Immortal Venerable’s Treasury.

And Bai Lianhua’s destination upon returning to Wuliang Mountain was the back mountain treasury.

Since he had decided to leave this place, the first thing he had to do was collect all his possessions.

Pushing open the treasury door, smoke and dust billowed in the firelight.

The last time he was here was just before the decisive battle in the Immortal-Demon War. Li Daocheng had come then to prepare for his final duel with the Demon Venerable.

And on that day, Bai Lianhua also stood right here to try and stop him.

Thinking of this, Bai Lianhua’s eyes darkened, but he quickly returned to normal. He swiftly passed through the tunnel, with Jingbao following behind him, curiously looking around.

The pitch-black environment did not frighten Jingbao; instead, it made him eager to explore.

Behind the tunnel was a twenty-zhang (approx. 66 meters) high cave. Embedded in the cave ceiling was a whole piece of top-grade spirit stone, acting as the eye of the array to guard the entire cavern.

Although it was easy for Bai Lianhua to enter, if it were anyone else stepping inside, anyone below the Nascent Soul stage would instantly be refined into ash.

Looking around, the mountains piled high with spirit stones hurt the eyes, as if one might be submerged in them at any moment.

Magical treasures and elixirs of dazzling colors floated in mid-air due to the effect of the array, a feast for the eyes.

And these were only a part of Li Daocheng’s post-mortem inheritance. The other part had always been hidden within his personal Sumeru Mustard Seed [spatial storage item].

The Sumeru Mustard Seed was a Daoist divine ability that cultivators could only comprehend after reaching the Soul Transformation stage. This divine ability involved carving out a space within one’s mind for personal use.

The size of the space depended entirely on the depth of the cultivator’s understanding of the Dao. Legend says that cultivators who achieved deep enlightenment could even create a universe within their Sumeru Mustard Seed and escape into it at any time.

Although Li Daocheng hadn’t reached that level in his lifetime, hiding his entire fortune inside was no problem.

It was only because he considered Bai Lianhua’s low cultivation, which made accessing it inconvenient, that he specially opened up another treasury in the back mountain for Bai Lianhua’s sole use.

Li Daocheng’s original intention was to entrust his entire fortune to his wife for safekeeping. Unfortunately, the cave was too small, and the capacity of Wuliang Mountain was limited. Even hollowing out the entire mountain wouldn’t be enough to store it all, so he placed the surplus into the Sumeru Mustard Seed to avoid the embarrassment of not being able to retrieve his treasures during a fight.

He never thought that these considerations would instead help Bai Lianhua retain the majority of the inheritance. As for the rest…

Bai Lianhua pursed his lips and gave a cold laugh: “The Sect Leader speaks nicely, but even now, I haven’t seen any of the things in that fool’s Sumeru Mustard Seed.”

Not only did this group of people appropriate the assets in Li Daocheng’s Sumeru Mustard Seed, but they were unwilling to let go of Wuliang Mountain either.

Seeing the barrier on the mountain weaken, all sorts of ghosts and demons showed their heads. Even the Elder of Dan Peak, who was completely unrelated to him, dared to covet the Immortal Venerable’s inheritance.

“A group of people are bullying Wuliang Mountain because they think we are weak. Sooner or later, I will make them spit it all out, principal and interest!” Bai Lianhua clenched his right fist, fiercely flicked his sleeve, and looked up at the cave ceiling, his eyes filled with unwillingness and anger.

He dared to say this, certainly not without confidence.

Within the Fenjing Sword [Dividing Scenery Sword], a spirit had been nurtured. Although it was only a nascent consciousness, it possessed half of Li Daocheng’s strength.

A Sword Spirit is an extremely rare entity. It can only be awakened by someone who has reached the pinnacle of the Sword Dao and possesses the right time and place—it is the dream of every sword cultivator in the world.

Although Bai Lianhua did not know how to maximize the power of the Sword Spirit, as long as they escaped this place, he would have a way to turn the tables in the future.

However, the records regarding the Sword Spirit were too ancient, and many were vague, leading Li Daocheng and Bai Lianhua to stay up late reading ancient texts to confirm its existence.

It was a pity that the Sword Spirit was born after the Immortal-Demon War had already started.

The pressure of the front lines and the constant harassment of the demon cultivators made Li Daocheng increasingly unable to give his all to cultivation.

Even after discovering the Sword Spirit’s special nature, he had no energy to tap into its deeply hidden potential.

If only the Sword Spirit had appeared sooner…

Bai Lianhua’s hands suddenly clenched, then slowly relaxed.

Thinking too much only binds oneself. It’s better to be pragmatic and make the best use of things.

Before confronting the Demon Venerable, Li Daocheng knew the journey was fraught with danger, so he extracted the Sword Spirit from the Fenjing Sword and entrusted it to Bai Lianhua, nurtured by a Sword Nurturing Stone, hoping that the Sword Spirit would protect him in the future.

And this Sword Spirit, taken from the spiritual sword, was Jingbao.

Bai Lianhua lowered his gaze to the young figure beside him, his eyes moving slightly. After a long silence, he took several Qiankun Bags [spatial storage bags] from his waist and handed them to Jingbao, “Jingbao, how about we play a treasure hunt? Put anything you like into the bags.”

Jingbao’s eyes lit up when he heard this, and he happily hugged the bags and ran toward the mountain of spirit stones.

Bai Lianhua watched his little legs bouncing and his expression grew gentler.

As a congenital spiritual being, Jingbao has a strong perception of high-grade treasures and rare artifacts. Letting him pick things out would surely yield only exceptional items, saving him a lot of trouble sorting things out.

The items in the treasury had been stored for too long, and some artifacts were genuinely old, making it quite difficult for Bai Lianhua to organize alone.

Furthermore, although Jingbao looks only six years old and is actually younger, he is a bona fide Sword Spirit who inherited half of Li Daocheng’s strength.

Calculating it, Jingbao is at least a Body Integration Stage grand expert, comparable to any peak elder in the Flowing Cloud Sword Sect. A light punch from him could knock his old father, Bai Lianhua, flat. Asking him to do some small tasks is perfectly fine.

Fortunately, Jingbao was given to Bai Lianhua shortly after he woke up and, being naive, is extremely attached to Bai Lianhua. Otherwise, Jingbao alone would be enough to give Bai Lianhua a headache.

However, the strength of the Body Integration Stage is both strong and not so strong in the Flowing Cloud Sword Sect.

If it were just a one-on-one fight, with Jingbao around, Bai Lianhua would not fear any peak elder.

But the Flowing Cloud Sword Sect has more than just one mountain peak. Not only that, but Li Zishū, as the Sect Leader, has unfathomable strength.

The single matter of the Immortal Venerable’s inheritance already disrupted the peace of Wuliang Mountain, let alone the Sword Spirit, a once-in-a-millennium rarity.

In this situation, once Jingbao’s identity as a Sword Spirit is exposed, it will undoubtedly cause a sensation within the sect, leading to competition and snatching from all sides.

At that time, if various forces unite, the two of them might not be able to escape even with wings.

Therefore, Jingbao can only be used as a trump card, hidden as deeply as possible on normal days.

While pondering his current predicament, Bai Lianhua didn’t forget to speed up his actions, picking and choosing from the pile of magical treasures.

“Azure Dragon Heart-Protecting Armor, good stuff, take it!”

“Nine Revolutions Soul-Returning Pill, good stuff, take it!”

“Exquisite Pagoda, Six Yao Cup, Flesh Ganoderma, all good stuff, take them all! Take them all!”

Although his knowledge was limited, he had gained considerable experience following Li Daocheng all these years and recognized most of the magical treasures. His speed of action grew faster and faster.

Bai Lianhua carried the Qiankun Bags and stuffed in most of the treasures he thought were good. Looking at the several bags filled to the brim, his heart was deeply satisfied.

Even though these were originally his.

But the thought of his “good” fellow sect members ascending the mountain to ransack the place after he left made Bai Lianhua wish he could scrape off the paint from the walls and leave nothing behind.

After dividing most of his possessions into bags, Bai Lianhua looked at the remaining mountain of spirit stones and collected them all into his storage ring.

The originally glittering and resplendent treasury was instantly hollowed out by Bai Lianhua, not even a single piece of yellow paper left behind.

Still feeling it wasn’t enough after clearing out the treasury, Bai Lianhua took Jingbao and flew into the sky, instructing him to sever the earth veins of Wuliang Mountain and dig up the two underground spiritual ley lines.

Since the barrier laid down by Li Daocheng was still intact, no one could probe the specific situation on the mountain. Bai Lianhua simply emptied the entire Wuliang Mountain, leaving it an empty shell.

With the spiritual ley lines stripped away, the spiritual energy within Wuliang Mountain drastically decreased. The spiritual mist, which was originally misty to the point of nearly condensing into water, also thinned out.

Bai Lianhua looked at the spiritual ley lines, which immediately shriveled from being separated from the earth veins’ nourishment, a flicker of pain in his eyes.

But the thought that if he didn’t dig them up, they would be taken by others, made him feel a sense of gain. Finally, he handed the spiritual ley lines to Jingbao to place into his Sumeru Mustard Seed, to be re-buried and nourished later.

Having done all this, Bai Lianhua glanced up at the sky, realizing the night had fallen.

He lowered his head and silently mused that the timing was perfect, immediately flying out of the mountain on his sword.

Before leaving, Bai Lianhua stood outside the barrier and looked back at Wuliang Mountain once more. After a long silence, he shook his head and turned away, feeling an emptiness in his heart.

Decades had passed since Bai Lianhua married Li Daocheng. The scenes of red candles and solitary shadows from years past were still vivid, yet in a blink, the place was desolate, and he was alone.

In these decades, he and Li Daocheng, though not as passionately devoted as others might perceive, were inseparable and respectful of each other, and he had long considered this place his second home.

He only regretted that fate had played a trick. The person of their past agreements was no longer there, and even this place, which held their memories, could not be guarded.

But one day, he would return here, reclaim everything that was taken from him, and repay all the bullying and trampling they endured.

Time was urgent. This escape was entirely impromptu on Bai Lianhua’s part. The best window of opportunity was these last three days remaining of the Immortal Venerable’s tóuqī [seventh day after death].

Although he was using his sudden plan to exploit their complacency, it was still too rushed.

If they missed this window, he and Jingbao would likely face certain death.

Thinking of this, Bai Lianhua immediately cast off his complex emotions, turned his head, and darted into the distance.

He looked at the murky night sky and silently sighed in his heart: “I hope everything goes smoothly from here on.”