Chapter 88: That’s Just the Kind of Person He Is
Page (1/3) (Second Update)
“Who is it?”
“It’s the Fifth, our Fifth from the Immovable Peak.”
In Yang Xiaoman’s eyes, a different kind of brightness and laughter flickered.
Long Jinyi was momentarily stunned by the words, then chuckled, “Has the Immovable Peak taken in a new disciple? Just that identity alone isn’t enough to surprise me, you know how discriminating my taste is.”
Yang Xiaoman laughed again.
“His name is Fang Junmei. In the future—he may well be the one to surpass you and Gu Xijin. The sword you left behind, Second Senior Brother has already passed it to him.”
At these words, Long Jinyi’s eyes lit up, and he immediately said, “Tell me everything about him in detail.”
Yang Xiaoman nodded, and recounted from Fang Junmei’s arrival at the sect to all that had happened since, taking nearly half an hour.
Long Jinyi’s gaze flashed repeatedly as he listened, gradually taking on the look of a lion discovering new prey.
...
“He passed the six trials set by that old monster Chunyu Qian? And took the ultimate pill?”
After she finished, Long Jinyi began to ask questions.
“Yes.”
“He’s likely already reached the point where the sword is ingrained in his bones, perhaps even blood-letting. Is that why Grandmaster forbade him from joining the sect competition?”
“That should be it.”
Long Jinyi finished his questions, fell silent for a moment, then suddenly burst into hearty laughter, unable to conceal his joy. The look of discovering new prey in his eyes grew even more intense.
“Interesting, interesting. I had thought that Gu Xijin and I were already the most talented and fortunate cultivators, yet here’s someone even more extraordinary. Though his achievement is due to the pill, I know full well the power of Chunyu Qian’s concoctions. If the Fifth could pass, he must possess an exceptional will, and his fortune is astonishing.”
Long Jinyi praised him highly.
“Senior Brother, judging from your tone, it sounds as though fortune is even more important than talent?”
Yang Xiaoman’s eyes flashed as she asked.
Long Jinyi smiled enigmatically, looked at her and said, “For a cultivator to reach the pinnacle, talent, effort, and fortune are all essential. Compared to talent, those who are both talented and diligent are even rarer, but among all diligent and talented cultivators, the strength of their fortune may be the true determinant of their ultimate limit. What I’m saying may seem cruel to those of average talent who work hard, but that’s reality.”
His gaze was piercing, as if searching for the path of heaven and earth.
Long Jinyi continued, “The notion of fortune is elusive, but from my own experience in cultivation, it truly exists. It’s not simply luck, but something beyond our imagination—a force or law bestowed by some unknowable entity or intangible principle of heaven and earth.”
Yang Xiaoman nodded slightly. She understood only part of it, but increasingly felt the depth of Long Jinyi’s insight; he was not just cultivating, but contemplating.
“Grandmaster won’t let him take the stage, so I believe Lanzhou must have already secured considerable opportunities for him. Every fortune the Fifth has encountered since entering the sect has been closely linked, the path he’s taken is remarkably correct.”
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Long Jinyi returned to the main topic.
Yang Xiaoman nodded, “After I came out of seclusion, I heard rumors that Grandmaster personally led him into the Sutra Pavilion.”
“Which floor?”
“At least the fourth.”
Long Jinyi nodded slightly, but could not deduce which divine skill Fang Junmei had chosen.
At that moment, Yang Xiaoman recalled something, “After I came out of seclusion, I happened to meet Junior Brother as he was taking a break. He asked me how to comprehend the power of space.”
Hearing this, Long Jinyi’s eyes flashed, and he nodded with a smile, “I see. The Fifth didn’t enter the fourth floor of the Sutra Pavilion at all, but the fifth. The skill he chose must have been the Hidden Star Sword Technique from the Seven Swords of the Big Dipper.”
“Really? Have you learned it as well, Senior Brother? If so, you could give Junior Brother some guidance.”
Yang Xiaoman asked joyfully.
Long Jinyi shook his head, “I haven’t learned it. Once, while Master was explaining the Seven Swords of the Big Dipper to me, he briefly mentioned that one would need to comprehend some aspects of spatial Dao to use it, but even Master himself doesn’t fully understand it.”
Yang Xiaoman responded with an “oh.”
“A mere Dust-level cultivator wishing to comprehend the Dao of space? What a joke. The Dao of space isn’t so cheap. When you return, tell him to abandon that idea and focus on his cultivation.”
Long Jinyi snorted coldly.
Yang Xiaoman giggled, “Senior Brother, isn’t there any way at all? You have seen so much, surely you know some clues about the Dao of space.”
Long Jinyi glanced at her, fell into strange contemplation, and for a while said nothing.
Yang Xiaoman knew her senior brother always had unique ideas, so she didn’t disturb him.
After the time it takes for a cup of tea, Long Jinyi said, “Since he’s joined the Immovable Peak, as its former head disciple, I’ll give him a tip.”
Yang Xiaoman quickly asked, “What is it?”
Long Jinyi said, “Xiaoman, do you remember that in the south of the Great River Nation, there is a vast and boundless wild jungle?”
“Of course I remember,” Yang Xiaoman nodded, “The Mountain of All Barbarians, one of the Five Great Demon Sects, is in that jungle.”
Long Jinyi nodded, continuing, “Actually, the Mountain of All Barbarians only occupies a patch of the jungle where the spiritual energy is richer. Outside its influence, there are vast stretches of wilderness, inhabited by mortals, rogue cultivators, and a great number of strange beasts.”
Yang Xiaoman nodded again.
Long Jinyi went on, “Over a century ago, when I traveled and explored there, I encountered a peculiar creature, whose evasiveness astonished me. Thinking back now... I suspect it was a being with spatial abilities.”
“Oh—” Yang Xiaoman drew out her response.
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Long Jinyi said, “Tell him when you return: if he truly wishes to comprehend the Dao of space early, and has no one to guide him, let him go there and seek out that creature. Perhaps he may gain some insight from it.”
After agreeing, Yang Xiaoman hurriedly asked what the creature looked like and where it appeared.
Long Jinyi said nothing further, instead taking out a blank jade slip, imprinting it with golden marks, and after several dozen breaths, handed it to Yang Xiaoman, “Give this to the Fifth. Whether he goes or not, let him decide for himself.”
Yang Xiaoman nodded, took it and put it away.
Long Jinyi asked, “Are there any other interesting people or matters?”
Yang Xiaoman tilted her head in thought, then smiled, “No one else could pique your interest, not even Duan Qingkuang.”
Long Jinyi laughed, “Then let’s return, Xiaoman. Master has slept too long, it’s time he woke up.”
“Senior Brother, will you never return again?” Yang Xiaoman asked, her expression tinged with sadness.
Long Jinyi’s gaze became complicated; after a moment’s silence, he said, “That old villain from the Sword Palace of the Abyss used despicable means to trap Master and forced me to become his disciple. To save Master, I swore an oath as a Human Ancestor. From now on, I am that old ghost’s pupil. The Peach Blossom Sword Sect... I cannot return.”
“Senior Brother...”
A dizzying feeling rose in Yang Xiaoman’s heart; tears streamed down her face and she sobbed like a child.
Everyone only knows Long Jinyi as a traitor, even Fan Lanzhou resents him, but who knows how much patience and sacrifice this man has borne?
Long Jinyi bit his lip, rubbed her head, and said, “You needn’t be too sorrowful. If one day my power grows strong enough to break free from the Human Ancestor’s oath, then that will be my homecoming. The Sword Palace of the Abyss—will be utterly erased from the earth by me.”
His words carried murderous intent.
Yet to reach the level where the oath no longer binds him, what realm, what strength would that require? Yang Xiaoman could not even imagine.
The sadness lingered.
...
A little while later, Long Jinyi suddenly stood up and shouted, “Xiaoman, let’s go back. You go ahead, I’ll follow and protect you from behind. If Master and the others ask, you can tell them the truth, but only to those of the Immovable Peak, no need to spread it further. I, Long Jinyi—do not need their understanding or sympathy.”
Cautious, consistent, yet proud and dignified.
Yang Xiaoman wiped away her tears, nodded, and set off.
The two left Chicheng Mountain one after the other, heading straight for the Peach Blossom Sword Sect in the Great River Nation.
Yang Xiaoman could not sense Long Jinyi’s presence at all, but she knew he was somewhere behind her. If she encountered danger, Long Jinyi would appear swiftly.
Long Jinyi—such is the man he is!