Chapter 39

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Chapter 39: Long Time No See, Ye Shubai

Even the most mature young child still retains a bit of innocence, and Ye Shubai, despite his early maturity, was no exception.

At the age of nine, he sneaked out of the valley with his friends in a bowl, but before he could see how many peaks the Qingliu Sword Sect had, the four old Sword Immortals suddenly appeared behind him and took him back to the valley.

The consequence of running away was that his teachers felt he had too little homework assigned, so they added more training for him and officially began teaching him the two main sword techniques of the Qingliu Sword Sect.

The main killing move is the Clear Cloud Sword Technique, and the main agile footwork technique is the Flowing Mist Sword Technique.

Only the direct disciples of the Qingliu Sword Sect can learn these two sword techniques. Ye Shubai had previously taught Wen Yun, but due to limited time, it wasn’t taught in detail, causing her not to be able to use these two sword techniques up to now.

Of course, most of the swordsmanship she learned was actually memories from her original self. So, although she used them skillfully, they weren’t truly her own, unlike magic, which she was more adept at. However, now things were different. She not only had plenty of time to relearn swordsmanship from the basics, but she could also take lessons from Ye Shubai and the other top sword cultivators.

Wen Yun may be careless on ordinary days, but whenever she encountered something she was interested in, she became extremely focused and dedicated. Moreover, now the heavens had created a world for her where she could truly focus on learning. For hundreds of years, she had followed Ye Shubai like a shadow, unable to break free.

Ye Shubai practiced swordsmanship in the valley, and Wen Yun also practiced by imitating his sword-holding posture.

Thinking that she was at least older than this little guy, she was determined not to lose to him, so in everything, she wanted to do half a step better than Ye Shubai.

The so-called half a step better means—

The master asked Ye Shubai to practice swinging his sword ten thousand times, and Wen Yun tried hard to swing it ten thousand and one times.

In her memory world, she never felt hungry or tired, just numb.

After Wen Yun finished the last swing, the boy in front of her was about to put away his sword, but unexpectedly swung it two more times.

Wen Yun looked at him silently and sighed, "Poor child, doesn’t even know he counted wrong."

Years passed, and Wen Yun numbly learned to be a qualified sword cultivator with a young boy. They practiced basic sword skills millions of times, even though their hands were empty, they always felt like they were holding a sword.

Previously, her wooden sword grip was strange, now it was the proper way to hold a sword.

Ye Shubai, now a handsome young man, could occasionally use the Sword Intent Transformation move, making his masters very happy and finally praising him.

Though his face stayed calm, Ye Shubai couldn’t help but smirk under his breath, trying out a sword swing and successfully using Sword Intent Transformation, even shattering the pavilion where the masters often rested.

The third master, with his half-bald head from the broken pavilion, angrily rushed out to scold his unlucky disciple with a stick.

Wen Yun next to her was extremely excited, thinking about how she had practiced for so long and wondered if she could perform a real Sword Intent Transformation.

Thinking about it, she swung her sword, but there was no wind or rustling leaves in front of her.

Wen Yun frowned slightly in disappointment, realizing that the situation was special now, as she couldn’t access her spirit Qi, and therefore didn’t know how well she had mastered the sword technique.

After nearly a hundred years passed in Ye Shubai’s memory space, he finally changed locations.

Wen Yun followed Ye Shubai familiarly from the valley of the Qingliu Sword Sect to the entrance of the Dark Heaven Secret Realm, remembering the amazing Sword Intent Transformation that Ye Shubai had displayed at the Swordsmanship Contest, leaving everyone in awe. She was envious.

She was also impressive at the Swordsmanship Contest, but only managed to defeat Xie Mian, who was just a beginner, without giving others a clear look.

Unlike Ye Shubai, who showed his strength from start to finish without any blind spots, most of his opponents conceded before even forcing his Sword Intent Transformation out. Wen Yun also noticed that almost all female cultivators and some male cultivators were mesmerized by Ye Shubai. A young man from the Wan family even held up a banner for him.

Upon entering the Dark Heaven Secret Realm, everyone was scattered to different places as usual.

Wen Yun followed behind Ye Shubai, but saw him stand still after entering, seemingly intimidated by the overwhelming spiritual power within the secret realm.

After a while, Ye Shubai suddenly swung a sword towards the sky ahead, Wen Yun felt nothing inside, this poor kid was addicted to using Sword Intent Transformation once and loved to practice whenever he could.

Spiritual energy surged towards Ye Shubai, the power of that sword condensed into a dazzling light in the sky, like a radiant glow of the Immortal Realm spreading throughout the Dark Heaven Secret Realm, truly resembling the phenomenon of immortals descending.

Wen Yun had a bold guess in her heart, remembering Ye Shubai’s words about his opponents kneeling at the entrance begging for immortality, could it be…

Sure enough, after Ye Shubai used the intimidating Sword Intent Transformation, a group of people swarmed towards them.

They approached with awe and excitement, devoutly kneeling under the sky.

"Disciple Ouyang, respectfully greeting the Supreme Immortal of the upper realm."

"Disciple Xie Huaidan, respectfully greeting the Supreme Immortal of the upper realm, only wishing for the Supreme Immortal’s presence!"

Ye Shubai glanced at them inexplicably, then casually flew away on his sword.

Behind him, the people who knelt and greeted sneered, "Huh, look at him being so proud, not even paying attention to the upper realm phenomena just within reach, he’s already failed at the beginning of the immortal’s test!"

Wen Yun, "…"

She was sure that Ye Shubai was able to empty the Dark Heaven Secret Realm back then because he misled the young cultivators himself, and later he dared to act innocent when mentioned this matter!

Ye Shubai didn’t feel guilty at all. He was like a locust passing through, sweeping all sorts of treasures in the secret realm without any reservation. Wherever he went, trees were cut down and mountains were dug, showing no sign of the gentle and noble appearance of an immortal young man.

It was not until he saw the towering Phoenix tree that he finally stopped walking.

Wen Yun also looked up and stared at this giant tree in a daze. It was her first time seeing a mature Phoenix tree, and she was amazed by its appearance.

The branches intertwined, the branches were as dark as water, the leaves were as red as fire. When the leaves fell, they turned into ashes to nourish the tree, going through a cycle of life and death.

A mysterious feeling emerged in her mind as if a string was resonating, and the power of rules was vaguely revealed in front of her. It was elusive and hard to grasp, like being shrouded in mist.

Instinctively, Wen Yun raised her hand and made a slight movement following the direction of the Phoenix tree’s branches swaying.

On the other side, Ye Shubai also made the same movement, slowly swinging his sword.

At this moment of dawn, the light was yet to appear, with only a thin line separating light from darkness. The sword passing by seemed to cut through this vast thin line, making the sky suddenly bright.

Wen Yun slowly opened her eyes and took a long breath.

She understood, just as Ye Shubai had understood the subtle laws of the universe back then. Finally, she realized why he could use the Phoenix tree to bring back the dead.

Life and death intertwined in a single thought, where life was death, and death was life.

This is…

The path of life and death!

After Wen Yun comprehended the laws of life and death through the Phoenix tree, the scene in front of her gradually began to disintegrate, like a torn painting unraveling into blankness.

Did Ye Shubai’s memories really end here?

She took a step forward, looking at this clear and cold young man in front of her.

At that time, he had not yet experienced the battle between good and evil, nor had he suffered the pain of being abandoned by the people. His youthful spirit still shone in his eyes, and his white clothes seemed to float around him like clouds, not like cold snow on a mountain.

How long had she been with him? Even Wen Yun couldn’t remember.

She only saw him growing taller and maturing, then watched as he transformed from a child who couldn’t even hold a sword properly into the most elegant and fearless sword cultivator. His journey forward had always been accompanied by her, and she had learned swordsmanship along with him.

"Ye Shubai." Even though she knew he couldn’t hear her, Wen Yun still called out to him with curved eyes, bidding him a serious farewell.

"See you in five hundred years."

*

The Dark Heaven Secret Realm was as mysterious and dark as she remembered before she fell into the depths of her memories, with thick black mist always lingering around her.

In that brief moment of awakening, Wen Yun also felt a moment of confusion.

She had spent over a hundred years in another place, so when she returned to reality, it all felt somewhat unreal.

Time went back to the moment she entered her memory, going through his hundred-year memories in just a blink.

In the mist, Yu Qinghong’s body was dead, only the eerie voice of the demon cultivator echoing around.

"Once I find the demon in the deepest part of your memory… right in the midst of the battle between good and evil, to make you experience the fear and despair of losing your nascent soul, I want to make you…"

"Make me what?"

A cold male voice sounded, Ye Shubai responded with a question.

"Make you… Huh? You have awakened so quickly!"

Not awakened, but not even harmed in the slightest by Yu Qinghong’s soul.

The demon cultivator wanted to bring out the most brutal memory in Ye Shubai’s mind, to awaken his inner demon and control him, even fantasizing about taking over Ye Shubai’s body.

After all, Yu Qinghong’s body was no longer usable, and Ye Shubai’s body was far superior to anyone else’s. If he could take over Ye Shubai’s body, reclaiming those scattered nascent souls, how could he not achieve the path to ascension!

However, Wen Yun reacted too quickly at that moment.

And even the demon cultivator did not expect that there would be someone in this world whose spiritual strength far exceeded his own understanding of spiritual laws, protecting Ye Shubai perfectly.

How could an ignorant demon cultivator understand the terrifying power of a mage who neglected physical training and focused solely on spiritual cultivation?

This lack of perspective led to Ye Shubai being fully alert from start to finish!

The strange voice, neither male nor female, became furious after a brief pause, realizing that all the schemes had turned into a joke. He hoarsely shouted, "This is impossible! This is the law of heaven, the irresistible crushing of the soul. You cannot break free!"

Wen Yun and Ye Shubai had no intention of explaining, they both attacked towards the direction of the voice again.

However, there was no shadow there, just an untouchable black mist.

"His soul has left his body, he must be trying to possess someone else!"

After hastily saying these words, Wen Yun flew towards her senior brothers, ready to take action if they were being possessed.

As expected, the strange feeling was heading towards Zhu Erchong, but Wen Yun quickly used her mind power to protect the three unconscious people on the ground, keeping a close eye on her surroundings.

However, this demon cultivator understood the laws of the soul. Even though their soul left their body, they hadn’t died. Now, invisible and intangible, it was impossible to catch their movements.

The more dangerous the situation, the calmer Wen Yun became.

"Soul… spirit… evil spirit?"

Wen Yun clenched her teeth and sternly told Ye Shubai, "Get the sword! Protect us!"

Without hesitation, Ye Shubai understood her intention and swiftly threw his wooden sword towards her, then leaped beside her to distract the demon cultivator.

Unable to use spiritual power at the moment and with weak magical abilities, Ye Shubai, who had lost his sword, looked like an easy target to the demon cultivator.

The soul that was originally targeting Zhu Erchong suddenly changed its direction and went straight towards Ye Shubai.

"You are mine!"

"Your mother… foul language!" Wen Yun took the wooden sword angrily and said, "He is my father’s sword spirit!"

As she spoke, she threw a thick stack of magic scrolls back towards Ye Shubai.

In the next moment, Wen Yun stood still with the wooden sword in her hand, drawing several graceful arcs in the air with strange yet elegant movements. Her pale lips moved quickly, murmuring cryptic dragon language.

Behind her, a gust of cold wind followed by another, Ye Shubai dodged skillfully, continuously unfolding the magic scrolls in his hand to block the attacks on his soul.

Is it daytime or nighttime at this moment?

Wen Yun, shrouded in mist, had no way of knowing.

She only knew that even in the darkness, this time must be brightened like daylight!

The magic wand in her hand emitted golden light, a divine aura appeared around her, the dull star pattern gradually turned dazzling, making her with black hair and eyes look like a goddess.

Wen Yun’s expression was solemn, her voice extremely soft and calm, as she recited the final part of this advanced light magic spell in the dragon language.

"May the god of light grant his followers the power to dispel evil spirits."

"Holy Light Sanction!"

The starlight formation suddenly burst out with a brilliance comparable to the sun. The dense black mist stubbornly resisted, erupting with screams that seemed to come from the depths of the soul. This light seemed to bring him great pain.

Wen Yun gritted her teeth, feeling a strong spiritual attack within the voice. She diverted her mental energy to protect others while continuing to cast Holy Light Sanction. Thousands of sharp needles seemed to pierce her mind, almost making her faint from the pain.

The black mist desperately spread, trying to overwhelm the golden holy light, but the holy light never went out. Like a stubborn star, it gradually burned into a sun in the darkness.

Black against gold, a long tug-of-war began like this.

At this stalemate, another slightly weaker light magic silently intertwined with Wen Yun, pushing her forward.

Wen Yun burst out with all her strength without hesitation.

The pure light suddenly lit up the black mist, shining under the sky of the entire Dark Heaven Secret Realm, as if the scorching sun fell on snow. With the demon cultivator’s extremely harsh scream, all the black mist quickly dissipated.

The dark fog disappeared, and the world returned to its clear state.

The mysterious demon cultivator, the python, and Xie Xun could no longer be found, as if they had vanished along with the black fog.

Wen Yun was too exhausted to continue tracking the demon cultivator. Her strength was drained, and she collapsed after the intense battle, saved only by her strong willpower.

Instead of landing on the cold ground, Wen Yun fell into the warm embrace of someone.

Wen Yun felt dizzy and weak, unable to see clearly, but she recognized the familiar presence and trusted the person holding her.

She knew it was Ye Shubai and recognized the scent of white plum blossoms that he always carried.

Ye Shubai had planted a white plum blossom tree since he was young, and it had grown beautifully under his care. Every winter, the tree bloomed with white flowers, as pure as snow.

Fourth Master, a female cultivator, made scented sachets from the white plum blossoms and hung them on Ye Shubai’s sword sheath. Wen Yun admired them but could only dream of having one, while she listened to her masters’ teachings under the white plum tree.

Wen Yun used to envy Ye Shubai back then.

Wen Yun smelled the familiar scent in his arms, her lips turning pale but still smirking proudly, saying, "That’s the Holy Light Sanction, cool right?"

Ye Shubai helped her steady herself and praised her generously, "Very cool."

Wen Yun seemed to not hear Ye Shubai’s reply, as she had been talking to herself for the past hundred years. So this time, she murmured out of habit, "I learned that by secretly watching on the roof of the God of Light temple for half a year. If you want to learn, I can teach you… but you have to go get me a…"

Get a fat fish, the kind that is fattened with the Inedia Pill.

Before she could finish her sentence, Wen Yun’s head quietly fell into his arms, falling into a deep sleep.

*

Wen Yun woke up to the smell of grilled fish.

Having tasted it for a hundred years, she immediately opened her eyes, wanting to sit up but feeling a splitting headache, so she had to lie back down.

"Martial Sister Wen, you’re awake… Oh my goodness, my head feels like it’s been pounded by a turtle’s grandson for a year."

Zhu Erchong grumbled, and then Wen Yun realized there were three people lying nearby.

Two senior brothers were lying at her feet, not far away was Jiang Si with empty eyes, muttering something.

"Great, it seems our senior brothers were not possessed after all," Wen Yun thought.

Bao Pilong, carefree as always, chuckled and said, "Junior Brother Ye mentioned our spirits were damaged, having a headache for a few days is normal. Not becoming foolish is already worth celebrating."

Wen Yun lay still on the ground, enduring the headache and reminding, "Next time, be more careful."

Zhu Erchong sighed and said sadly, "We didn’t expect Yu Qinghong to be a demon cultivator. That’s how we fell into his trap, making Martial Sister Wen worry again."

However, Zhu Erchong felt less guilty this time, as Martial Sister Wen had helped them many times before. He believed it was reasonable for a female hero to save a male hero in distress.

Suddenly catching a whiff of grilled fish, Zhu Erchong eagerly shouted, "Junior Brother Ye, is the fish ready?"

There was no response, only the smell of grilled fish getting closer.

A string of crispy golden roasted spirit fish was handed to her, and then… it bypassed Zhu Erchong and reached Wen Yun’s mouth.

She blinked and met Ye Shubai’s gaze directly.

He brought the fish closer again, calmly saying, "No spicy."

Wen Yun opened her mouth and took a bite. The roasted fish she had been craving for over a hundred years finally entered her mouth. The aroma and the satisfaction of the meat almost made her tear up with excitement.

This was meat, this was the taste of food! Roasted fish could be this delicious!

Her eyes sparkled, even the remnants of her blue malaise were almost healed. After licking off a small piece of fish from her lips, she looked at Ye Shubai moved, "How did you know I wanted to eat roasted fish?"

She had only casually asked, not expecting an answer from Ye Shubai.

Little did she know, he gave Wen Yun a meaningful look and said seriously, "You have mentioned wanting to eat roasted fish three hundred forty-two times."

"That’s impossible, I never said…"

Wen Yun’s voice suddenly stopped, she looked strangely at Ye Shubai and then suddenly realized something.

She had mentioned many times before that she wanted to eat grilled fish, but that was in Ye Shubai’s memories because at that time she couldn’t eat anything and could only stare at the fat fish all day, imagining grilling them hundreds of times in her mind.

"Can you see me? Can you hear what I’m saying?"

But this couldn’t be happening, it was just his memories, she hadn’t actually traveled back to Ye Shubai’s childhood.

Ye Shubai naturally brought the boneless fish to her lips and said softly, "You didn’t know then, but you know now."

In the blink of an eye, a century had gone by.

She appeared in his memories without changing the course of events, the events of a century ago were like a landscape painting, the mountains were still mountains and the water was still water.

But she had come, so a new floating cloud was added to this painting.

Before she came, every time he recalled his youth, it was just monotonous training, walking alone for a hundred years.

After she came, all his memories were redrawn, with an extra figure in each scene.

Afraid of hurting his soul, that person was willing to endure a hundred years of solitude, always by his side like a shadow, shielding him from the wind and rain, practicing swordsmanship with him, and eagerly talking about eating the fish he raised.

Ye Shubai lowered his gaze and quietly stared at Wen Yun, then softly said, "Long time no see."

Wen Yun paused for a moment, and the clever she soon understood the cause and effect of everything.

She lightly laughed, her gaze moving from his eyebrows to his mouth, every detail delicate and familiar to her from their youth.

"Yes, long time no see, Ye Shubai."