VAP - Chapter 163
Chapter 163: Xuan Yin (2)
Yue Du once again transmigrated with her real body and no established identity.
Compared to the shock of landing squarely in a mushroom forest in the last world, this landing spot was clearly much more normal. Yue Du passed through the world barrier and opened her eyes to a quiet and elegant bamboo forest.
There was no sign of people, no sound of voices. The bamboo stood tall and straight, a sea of verdant green filling her vision.
Even though there was no one nearby, Yue Du didn't let her guard down. In xianxia cultivation worlds, a seemingly ordinary place could very well be the secluded cultivation ground of some powerful immortal lord. A setting like a bamboo forest ranked high on the list of most popular spots for hermitage.
So, she didn't rush to get up. Instead, she leaned against a bamboo stalk, feigning confusion and helplessness. After acting for a moment, she stood up and started walking in a certain direction, deciding to leave the bamboo forest first before thinking about anything else.
But after walking less than a hundred meters, she locked eyes with a large black-and-white animal. They stared at each other, big eyes meeting small.
This was a panda as large as a male lion.
The panda sat as still as a mountain under a stalk of green bamboo, its posture proper. It held a bamboo branch with its two front paws. It glanced at Yue Du once before looking away, continuing to munch on the bamboo with concentration.
Was it an immortal beast or the original form of a demon immortal?
The Xuan Yin encyclopedia she had just received came in handy. Yue Du quickly scanned through it. There were no similar species among Xuan Yin's native immortal beasts, but there was someone in the character index who matched the description.
Her name was Mo Bai, her title Yin Yang Demon Monarch. Her true form was a giant panda, and she had ascended from a small world. She held a high status among the demon immortals. If there were no surprises, she was the only panda in the Xuan Yin Realm.
Yue Du's heart skipped a beat. Of all the places to be transported to, she had landed right in a demon immortal's territory. The territorial awareness of demon-kind was much stronger than that of human cultivators. Fortunately, Mo Bai didn't seem to intend to bother with her.
The data also said that Mo Bai's temperament was gentler than other demon immortals, and she rarely fought with others. If it was just an unknowing person who had accidentally wandered into her territory, she probably wouldn't mind.
As these thoughts raced through her mind, Yue Du's steps didn't falter. She acted like a muddle-headed and ignorant trespasser.
However, before Yue Du could take more than a few steps, Mo Bai spoke leisurely, “Are you a half-immortal, or a cultivator from the lower realm who just ascended?”
Yue Du put on a surprised expression and bowed with the etiquette a junior from Qianhong Divine Province would use when meeting a senior. “This junior comes from Qianhong Divine Province and knows nothing of this place. I failed to recognize Senior just now, please forgive me.”
When she left the small world of Qianhong, her cultivation was at the peak of the Tribulation Transcendence Stage. Although she hadn't experienced the ascension lightning tribulation, her strength was about the same as an ordinary immortal cultivator who had just ascended.
Mo Bai mused, “Qianhong Divine Province?”
The great panda seemed to recall something, and her attitude toward Yue Du suddenly became serious. She rolled over and stood up on her hind legs, transforming into a human in the blink of an eye. She was a beautiful woman dressed in a black robe and white garments, though her dark circles were a bit heavy.
“Since you're from Qianhong, do you know Yun Yijiu?” Mo Bai asked bluntly.
Yue Du had originally planned to inquire about her host indirectly, but the other party had asked first. So, she went with the flow and said, “Is Senior referring to the Wushuang Sword Venerable? This junior has had dealings with the Wushuang Venerable before and holds her in high esteem.”
Mo Bai seemed a bit skeptical. “Just dealings? Let this Monarch ask you, do you know who Yun Yijiu's Dao Companion is? Is she still in your Qianhong Divine Province?”
Yue Du grew vigilant but continued to speak, “This junior knows. It is the Duyue Demon Venerable, Yue Zhuo. It is said that she ascended long ago with the Sword Venerable. Hearing Senior ask this, could it be that this Demon Venerable is not in the Upper Realm?”
“Alas, if only that were true.” Mo Bai shook her head and sighed.
Hearing her tone, Yue Du knew the Demon Monarch must have a strong desire to talk, so she adopted an attitude of listening respectfully. Sure enough, after sighing to herself for a moment, Mo Bai looked at her and said, “You've just ascended, so you probably don't know the current state of affairs here. Let this Monarch explain it to you, lest you unintentionally break a taboo later and cut short your immortal path.”
Only a gentle panda demon immortal would be so kind and helpful. If it were any other demon cultivator, they would be considered lenient for not biting the newcomer to death, let alone enthusiastically explaining these things.
To be precise, the basic situation in the Xuan Yin Realm at this time was no different from what was described in the data Yue Du had received.
The Xuan Yin Realm was the “Upper Realm” for all xianxia worldviews. Any cultivator who ascended, regardless of whether they had cultivated the Dao, demonic path, or something else, were all uniformly considered immortals and gods, with no factional divisions. Moreover, the very concept of “all xianxia worldviews” implied diversity. There were modern cultivation worlds, primeval demon cultivation continents, interstellar cultivation, and everything in between. Therefore, the cultivators who ascended came from all walks of life.
No wonder Mo Bai wasn't suspicious of the black-and-white uniform Yue Du hadn't changed out of yet. She probably thought it was a style of clothing from Qianhong Divine Province.
After explaining the basics, Mo Bai took a deep breath. “What this Monarch is about to say next may subvert your previous understanding. Are you prepared?”
Yue Du: “Please speak freely, Senior.”
What Mo Bai wanted to talk about was, naturally, Yun Yijiu.
Yun Yijiu ascended several decades ago. Ordinary cultivators came from different small worlds, but their strength was more or less the same right after ascension. Yun Yijiu was the sole exception.
It was said that when she walked off the Return to Immortal Platform, the aura around her climbed step by step. From a minor immortal just entering the immortal realm, to an accomplished True Immortal, and then to a God Monarch capable of standing at the pinnacle of the Xuan Yin Realm—this transformation was completed in just a few short breaths.
At that time, the various factions that stood guard at the Return to Immortal Platform year-round to recruit newcomers from the lower realms were all stunned. They waited there to find promising new talents and inject fresh blood into their respective powers. But in this situation, should they recruit her or not?
Don't recruit? Her talent was right there for all to see.
Recruit her? She was already a God Monarch, powerful enough to be on equal footing with the leaders of their factions. If they recruited her, would she be a new disciple for their power, or a new master?
But Yun Yijiu paid no mind to the surrounding factions. She took out a cattail hassock, sat down cross-legged on the spot, and remained there for eighty-one days. From the looks of it, she seemed to be waiting for someone.
In the end, she apparently didn't meet the person she was waiting for. She stopped her silent vigil and took the initiative to walk toward the people from Qianhong Palace stationed there, indicating that she wanted to go to Qianhong Palace with them.
Qianhong Palace was a power founded by a cultivator who had ascended from Qianhong Divine Province. Nine out of ten people from Qianhong Divine Province who came from the Return to Immortal Platform would join this faction.
Just as everyone watching thought Yun Yijiu would follow convention, she instead went on a killing spree in Qianhong Palace. To kill an immortal surnamed Situ, she first killed the group of people protecting him.
After killing that bunch, people from Qianhong Palace with higher cultivation levels naturally came to seek revenge. Yun Yijiu didn't even blink. She let them come, and killed them all the same. Afterward, even more people came for revenge…
This cycle repeated itself until, in the end, the master of Qianhong Palace also became an immortal slain by the Wushuang Venerable's sword.
Qianhong Palace, as a matter of course, became Yun Yijiu's territory.
After that, with lightning speed, she claimed the area around the Return to Immortal Platform as her own and even established her palace right beside it, refusing to budge.
The Return to Immortal Platform was the only path for ascending cultivators from the lower realms. With Yun Yijiu occupying it, how were the other factions supposed to absorb fresh blood?
This time, the many observing factions could no longer tolerate it. They immediately took action to reclaim the territory of the Return to Immortal Platform.
One could guess that none of them succeeded.
Everyone gave up, helpless. They could only watch as Yun Yijiu dominated the Xuan Yin Realm single-handedly.
“Later, we found out that the Wushuang Venerable was making such a big fuss because she was looking for her missing Dao Companion. When we asked the others from Qianhong Divine Province, they had all ascended before her and had no idea who her Dao Companion was, let alone how to find her.” At this point, Mo Bai glanced at Yue Du and sighed again. “It was so hard to finally meet someone from Qianhong who ascended after her, but it turns out you only know bits and pieces too. Alas, perhaps this is the will of heaven.”
Yue Du was lost in thought. “I see.”
She felt an even greater sense of urgency. Yun Yijiu's situation was rather special among the hosts. She had no consciousness outside of the world, and because of the Main System's prohibition, she was completely unaware of Yue Du's identity as a System.
Although Yue Du always felt that she vaguely knew she couldn't ascend, this was ultimately just her speculation.
It was because Yue Du couldn't rest easy that she had tried every means to come to the upper world after the mission in the Qianhong small world ended. Now she was here, but several decades had passed. She had no idea how her host was doing now.
With this in mind, Yue Du frowned slightly and wanted to set off immediately to find Yun Yijiu.
But just then, another of Mo Bai's sentences drifted into her ears.
“The Wushuang Venerable not only guarded the Return to Immortal Platform, but she also sent people to search all over Xuan Yin, though it seems they all returned empty-handed. However, I heard she found several immortals who resemble her Dao Companion and locked them in her palace. There are both men and women, and it even includes the long-famous Chaos God Monarch. It's caused such a stir that now everyone in the Xuan Yin Realm is on edge, afraid of what other trouble she'll cause.”
Yue Du: “…”
Immortals who resemble her Dao Companion.
Locked in her own palace.
This sounded strangely familiar. Wasn't this the legendary “stand-in” trope?
Before the thought could fully form, Yue Du dismissed it herself.
Others might not understand her host, but how could she not? Finding stand-ins was impossible, absolutely impossible. Her host must have her reasons.
That being said, Yue Du still immediately pulled up the map of Xuan Yin from the data she had received. She quickly found the location of the Return to Immortal Platform and then the territory of the Yin Yang Demon Monarch—where she currently was. Coincidentally, the two were not far apart.
Yue Du wanted to leave at once, but reason told her that compared to the cultivation levels of the immortals in the Xuan Yin Realm, her peak Tribulation Transcendence Stage strength was completely inadequate. Setting out rashly would surely be dangerous.
So she turned her gaze to Mo Bai.
“Senior,” Yue Du said with a sincere expression. “This junior has a favor to ask. Please hear me out.”
Mo Bai: “Go ahead. This Monarch is listening.”
Yue Du: “This junior and the Wushuang Venerable are from the same world, and we had a bit of a friendship back in Qianhong, so I wish to go and seek refuge with her. However, my cultivation is shallow, and I know very little about Xuan Yin. I fear I might encounter misfortune on the way…”
Mo Bai realized, “Oh, you want to ask this Monarch to escort you there?”
“I wouldn't dare take up Senior's time. I have simply heard that there are teleportation talismans in the Upper Realm. This junior is willing to trade my entire fortune for one. I wonder what Senior thinks of this proposal.”
Mo Bai seemed rather uninterested. “No need to trade. This Monarch has a pile of those talismans here. I've never used them, so they're just gathering dust. Consider it a gift.”
Yue Du didn't say much more. She took a bag of spirit plant seeds from her system space. “If Senior doesn't mind, please accept these Hundred-Zhang Bamboo seeds as a small token of my appreciation.”
The Yin Yang Demon Monarch's greatest hobby in life was collecting all kinds of bamboo.
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