Chapter 77: Nothing is Eternal...

The surrounding crowd immediately erupted in discussion. Everyone knew the notorious reputation of cultivators; aside from shouting and killing, what else could they do? Only the physicians were somewhat respectable.

The December Sect, in particular, was like a tribe of savages—devoid of order, with frequent internal massacres that turned the earth into rivers of blood.

At that time, the cultivation world had already separated from the mortal realm, but the methods of cultivation were still being explored. Geniuses were rare, and most were ordinary cultivators who couldn't find the path. The sect system had not yet formed; those processes of apprenticeship and learning were being discovered bit by bit by cultivators, who had to overcome countless obstacles just to collect and share cultivation methods.

Back then, it was far from the time of Zora and the others, where new disciples were taught how to draw Qi into their bodies. More people were exploring on their own, unwilling to share their methods, resulting in slow overall progress. Ordinary people only learned fragments of information about the cultivation world from hearsay.

Information varied from place to place. The people of the Zhou residence did not believe that cultivators could fly through the heavens, burrow into the earth, or live forever. After all, the closest place to them, Floating Cloud Valley, was just a bunch of doctors. The Emperor could order them killed at any time, and haven't they gone into seclusion to avoid the world now?

Mu Qiong watched from afar, her ears filled with the mockery and ridicule of the people. Even the furious Master laughed, telling her to stop daydreaming—immortals were not something humans could become.

Zhou Huaijin was no match for the numerous guards and was eventually locked back up.

However, that very night, Mu Qiong encountered Zhou Huaijin, who had snuck out. She didn't know what method she had used, but she had managed to walk out of a locked room and bypass the guards.

Seeing her draw her sword, Mu Qiong hurriedly said, "I... I won't expose you! I haven't seen you tonight!"

Zhou Huaijin smiled, her sharp features carrying a touch of casual amusement: "A pity, a pity."

A pity for what? A pity she couldn't use her sword to kill?

Zhou Huaijin lowered her sword.

On an impulse, Mu Qiong asked worriedly: "Why... go to such a dangerous place? It’s so easy to die an obscure death. You can live a good life here."

"Let's put it this way," Zhou Huaijin tapped her shoulder with the back of her sword as casually as if she were giving herself a massage. "If other fathers were open-minded, everyone would be treated as humans. Unfortunately, this father of mine has a bad brain. In his eyes, clever legitimate sons are humans, clever concubines' sons are humans, but those who aren't clever are pigs, dogs, or ants on the ground that anyone can step on. Life is incredibly difficult."

"Concubines' daughters are objects, and legitimate daughters are high-quality objects. No matter how well you live, there is only one road. Those people who say I live better than those illegitimate sons or hold a higher status are talking nonsense. We aren't even on the same path; what is there to compare?"

Unlike others, she didn't measure life by the condition of wealth, but by "opportunity."

Mu Qiong’s head was in a daze as she stared at her. Zhou Huaijin laughed far too wantonly, her tone leisurely.

"Now, I'm going to be a pig, a dog, an ant that anyone can step on. If I'm lucky, maybe I'll be a human."

She spoke of luck, yet her brow was full of flamboyant self-confidence.

Zhou Huaijin left, leaving the Zhou residence forever.

The December Sect recruited disciples by having people go there themselves. Cultivators flew on objects, while mortals climbed the Heavenly Ladder. It was said the ladder was perilous and no one wanted to go; everyone said she must have died on the road.

Yet Mu Qiong always remembered her free-spirited confidence. Zhou Huaijin was like a flame, burning of its own accord.

"She just had too much to eat and lived too well. Unlike us, who know the hardships of life, she does those idiotic things," someone said.

Mu Qiong whispered: "That's not it..."

The group didn't hear her rebuttal and continued to talk and laugh.

...That wasn't it. She had so much and discarded it all, while they had so little and feared losing it. Who was truly more powerful was clear at a glance. Even though Zhou Huaijin had received the most rigorous upbringing, she could still be like this.

It seemed innate. Some see a butterfly and think of freedom; some see a mountain and want to cross it.

Zhou Huaijin's belongings were thrown out of the residence like trash, a statement of her attitude toward that Prince. Many went to scavenge them, and Mu Qiong went too, though not to pawn them.

She looked at the jade lock again and again, carefully hanging it around her neck against her chest, hidden beneath her clothes.

Huaijin Woyu

—to carry fine jade in one’s bosom, to possess the qualities of a virtuous person. This was the origin of Zhou Huaijin's name. Though the "fine jade" they expected of her was proficiency in the arts and a grand marriage.

Later, the Zhou residence offended the Emperor and plummeted into ruin. Mu Qiong's father was going to sell her to a farmhand with wandering hands. For the first time, she resisted and secretly ran away from home.

With no place to go, she wandered for a few days. She discovered that some people were fanatical about cultivation, praising and worshipping those cultivators and calling them immortals.

Then let's go to the December Sect,

Mu Qiong suddenly thought.

Cultivation—what did it truly look like? Was it as insignificant as the people in the Zhou residence said, or as extravagant as the storytellers claimed? If the world was survival of the fittest everywhere, why not go to a place that relied on talent and hard work?

The place Zhou Huaijin went. What did it look like in the end?

Vane sensed the illusion cycling again as the surroundings distorted. He didn't blink; after returning to the starting point, the youth immediately looked toward Zora beside him.

Zora reacted rapidly. As soon as she opened her eyes, she turned toward the location of the realm eye.

Yiling Ke: "Why are we back again... Is entering the sect not her wish?"

Vane watched Zora’s disappearing back and calmly withdrew his gaze. "She recovers her memories the moment she crosses the white bridge. Perhaps to her who has recovered her memories, her wish is no longer to enter the sect."

"True... knowing you're dead, entering a sect and all that is definitely fake." Yiling Ke scratched her head in frustration.

Song Zhihuai: "Where is Junior Sister Zora going?"

He was looking at Vane. Vane met his gaze and smiled faintly. "Regardless, approaching the realm eye and finding her wish is the most important thing. Zora likely hurried there knowing this."

Song Zhihuai praised: "Junior Sister Zora is truly brilliant."

He then praised Vane: "Junior Brother Vane as well."

"..." Vane didn't reply immediately. His dark pupils scanned Song Zhihuai’s face unnoticeably, finding no emotion other than praise. Thus, he smiled and shifted his gaze indifferently: "It's nothing. I can't compare to Zora."

Yiling Ke saw through everything and watched Song Zhihuai with squinted eyes.

Senior Brother Song, it’s a relief your young heart didn't fall for Zora. Luckily you only feel friendship for her. Long live friendship.

...

Zora didn't know the exact path last time, so she was a bit late. This time, she arrived much earlier. At this point, Mu Qiong hadn't even met Granny Wang.

Having reached the new city, Mu Qiong was feeling a tightness in her chest when a cultivator suddenly appeared before her. Zora arrived on her sword and landed in front of her. Ignoring Mu Qiong's astonishment, she asked directly: "You are already dead now and are in an illusion. What do you want to do most? Say it."

"...What?"

"You are already dead now and are in an illusion. What do you want to do most?" Zora repeated.

Before Mu Qiong could excitedly call her "Immortal," she was stunned by these words. Furthermore, this immortal had absolutely no awareness of her need to react with surprise and even urged: "Have you decided?"

"...No, I..." Mu Qiong couldn't figure out the situation.

Zora had no more patience. She grabbed the back of Mu Qiong's collar, pulled her onto the sword, and flew all the way to the white bridge. Landing, Mu Qiong was forced to recover her memories.

Before she could sort through those redundant memories, Zora asked again: "So, what do you want?"

"..." Mu Qiong looked around blankly, then touched her own arm.

She was already dead. Dead on the road. Mu Qiong closed her eyes and opened them again, now composed.

"I... don't know either," she said slowly. "Immortal, what kind of place is the December Sect?"

"A cultivation sect."

"Is there a person named Zhou Huaijin?"

"You've asked before. I don't know her."

"Are you talking about Zhou Shijin?" Vane happened to arrive, putting away his spear with a calm expression.

"Zhou Shijin..." Mu Qiong murmured.

Vane hadn't just been monitoring last time; he had investigated many things on his own. For instance, the surname Mu Qiong gave the gate guards when entering the city was Zhou. The storyteller at the tavern repeated tales of the December Sect and the Zhou family over and over... Of course, he had to use some threatening methods to obtain some clues, but that's just his usual way of doing things.

This was just a guess, but what he needed to do was lead her to her true thoughts.

"Yes, Zhou Shijin. She entered the sect hundreds of years ago; the timing matches. She is an Immortal of the December Sect and also Zora's master."

Vane spoke without a change in expression. Seeing that Mu Qiong only had expectation and no ill will when mentioning Zhou Huaijin, he knew what outcome she wanted. He could have subtly wheedled the truth out of her and then made up someone to tell her, but with Zora there, he inexplicably didn't want to do that. It wasn't a moral issue; he was just afraid that wheedling would take too long and she would grow impatient.

...He was also afraid of not doing it well enough. Vane was clearly best at lying, yet before her, he couldn't help but doubt his own abilities—like a master writer who still worries their work isn't good enough in front of someone important.

Thus, it was better to use his brain to explore. Thinking of this, Vane’s smile deepened. He asked a few questions, and Mu Qiong recounted her past one by one and described her appearance.

Vane thought for a moment and said, "It should be her."

He understood everyone around Zora—not that he actively approached them with a purpose, but simply by encountering them alongside Zora. When taken along by Zora to meet them, he would observe and note many details and information, making appropriate judgments from others' remarks. It was the duty of a servant to eliminate any potential threats around the master, was it not?

"Zhou Shijin... Zhou Shijin... True. She once told the Zhou residence that she was just a piece of stubborn, unrefined stone (

Shijin

), and where did they get this 'fine jade' (

Huaijin

) they spoke of..." Mu Qiong laughed as she spoke. "Now she has placed 'stone' before 'jade,' pressing them down hard. She really holds a grudge."

Zora didn't speak. Once Vane arrived, she became a hands-off manager, and the object of her urging became him.

"Finish it quickly." Zora tugged at his sleeve. Vane paused and handed her the storage bag. Zora took out a pastry and finished it in a few bites.

"...Thank you. Knowing her destination wasn't like mine is enough," Mu Qiong smiled.

Hearing this, Zora frowned in confusion: "Is this your wish?"

"Mhm... maybe?" Her figure was becoming transparent.

Zora looked at her and suddenly said: "Why are you crying? Master will definitely go down to accompany you."

"..." Mu Qiong was astonished by her lack of filter.

Zora said as a matter of course: "We will too."

Mu Qiong: "But isn't cultivation about eternal life?"

"It's just living longer. After thousands or tens of thousands of years, you still have to die."

"But I heard cultivation can truly lead to transcending tribulations and becoming an immortal?"

"Do immortals not die?"

"...I, I don't know."

"Only inanimate objects can exist forever. Humans are alive, and no living thing is eternal. The end of cultivation is not eternity either," Zora said calmly.

She didn't want to die, but that didn't mean literal immortality; it meant living longer and dying a natural death.

Vane tilted his head to look at her. Mu Qiong was stunned for a long while, then her eyes curved slightly.

"Is this your Dao?"

"Mhm... no," Zora thought for a moment and gave an example. "Just like mortals die if they are killed, it's just a truth practiced by everyone."

"Alright, I think I know why you are her disciple."

"...Thank you," Mu Qiong said softly.

Making a final farewell no longer a final farewell, and leaving no longer forever. Her body became increasingly transparent; the illusion was collapsing.

Zora reminded: "You can say 'I'm waiting for you all below.' It might make you feel better."

"..." Mu Qiong paused, squeezed her jade lock, and smiled. "...Let's come down a bit slower."

Zora nodded in agreement.

Mu Qiong’s lips held a smile as she sighed: "Cultivation truly is the most beautiful treasure left in the world..."

She was a mortal for her whole life, an illusion for her whole life, never having seen the mountains, rivers, or grandeur in a cultivator’s eyes. That must be breathtakingly beautiful and unforgettable. All those past hardships became stones left behind, allowing Zhou Shijin to head straight forward. That survival-of-the-fittest cruelty was much more important in her heart than fine clothes and food or the wealth of the inner chambers—a difference like that between Mount Tai and a feather.

Once you have seen a blazing fire, you can never forget it. So Mu Qiong had chosen to head toward it even knowing the danger. She could have chosen to marry an ordinary person and live a mediocre but safe life, or she could have stayed at a shop and asked the owner to take her in to learn a trade.

Yet she had overreached to find the December Sect. Death might have been inevitable, but she never regretted it. Since humans and immortals alike turn to dust, it was better to take a gamble.

Mu Qiong vanished completely. The illusion turned to ash, and Yiling Ke and the others in Tao County had already left the Crystal Secret Realm.

But at the moment Mu Qiong vanished, a wisp of demonic Qi spread from her body, drifting in mid-air. The youth’s spear hooked it, the tip wrapped in spiritual power, pulling the demonic Qi over.

Vane’s expression was composed. He had long suspected this and sneered: "It seems there truly was a demonic cultivator playing tricks. To break the seal of the Bright Mirror Sea, they really went through a lot of trouble."

Zora was also calm. She didn't care at all; it was going to break anyway. What she wanted was to stop the external demonic cultivators and prevent them from entering Drunken Lu Bay.

"Go kill him."

Vane smiled: "Yes."

Above the ashes, Zora took his spear, and Vane let go. She looked at the demonic Qi on the spear tip. Mhm... compared to the demonic Qi Vane erupted last time, it was very weak.

The demonic Qi gradually dissipated. The spear in her hand was as quiet as if it were dead; even when some demonic Qi broke through the spiritual power and touched the shaft, it didn't move.

Once the demonic Qi had vanished completely, Zora shook the spear, flicking off the remaining black mist from the tip. The secret realm was already in total darkness. Zora simply used the spear to strike, tearing through a patch of void to form a passage.

Vane glanced at his weapon, then at Zora. Even before she injected spiritual power, it had impatiently utilized the master's residual spiritual power to serve her and do her bidding.

It was quite obedient.