Chapter Index

    “Arrogant! This old man will teach you a lesson on behalf of your masters today!”

    The Beast Taming Sect Elder flipped his hand, and a cold blue light swept across the street, shooting like lightning toward the young woman from the Taiyi Sect who was charging at him. Wary of the Taiyi Sect, the foremost of the immortal sects, and the Divine Lord who watched over the Twelve Continents, he didn’t dare to deliver a fatal blow. However, being publicly berated several times had already enraged him.

    Can’t kill her? Surely I can cripple her, can’t I?

    “Xiaoxiao!”

    The little junior brother shouted, dragging his saber as he rushed forward.

    As he charged, he cursed Lu Xiaoxiao no less than one hundred and eighty times in his heart. It was true that every disciple of the Taiyi Sect was an extremely capable fighter, and taking on multiple opponents or fighting above one’s rank was commonplace. The problem was, no matter how much of a scumbag the man opposite them was, he was a genuine Elder of the Beast Taming Sect.

    An Elder who controlled a City Blessing Seal!

    Lu Xiaoxiao simply didn’t have the ability to fight him head-on, let alone kill him.

    If that direct attack landed, even if her cultivation wasn’t destroyed, Lu Xiaoxiao would be severely injured!

    The cold blue light shot forth.

    Lu Xiaoxiao lunged, planting her longsword into the ground. The blade bent like a crescent moon, and using the force of its rebound, she flipped high into the air, her pale purple skirt spinning in a circle.

    Swallow on Light!

    Seeing this, the little junior brother almost cried out in applause. It was only then that he suddenly remembered that while Lu Xiaoxiao lacked the strength to confront the Beast Taming Sect Elder directly, she didn’t need to. Her lightness skill was unmatched among the younger generation of the Taiyi Sect!

    At the Taiyi Sect, during the morning lesson of crossing the river on suspended cables at dawn, disciples who had entered at the same time as her, and even some older senior brothers and sisters, were still cautiously inching their way across, terrified. Yet she was already able to be as nimble as a swallow, her toes tapping the horizontal cables as she danced gracefully over the Ren River.

    That was the first time Senior Brother Ye Cang had taken them to cross the river on the cables.

    The day before, a few of them had climbed over the courtyard wall to go drinking at night and were caught by the senior sister on duty, resulting in a hefty deduction from their peak’s monthly stipend. Senior Brother Ye Cang, who had been planning to get a new scabbard with his monthly allowance, was furious and wanted to put them in their place. He dragged the three of them to the river cables. Standing on a suspended cable, Ye Cang deliberately withheld the lightness skill incantation and didn’t mention that falling into the river was actually fine, as there were River Dragons acting as “river-fall rescuers.”

    With a cold face, he said, “Sword cultivators and saber masters fear neither death nor life. Cross this, and you’ll be considered to have entered the sect. Fail to cross, and it means you have no immortal fate.”

    He put on a more convincing act than anyone.

    Taiyi North Star Mountain was just a meter from the heavens, and the swirling Ren River could break one’s spirit upon sight.

    The little junior brother and Junior Brother Liu stood at the cliff’s edge. Looking across, the suspended cable was a thin, narrow line, swaying in the wind over a river a hundred meters wide. Looking down, the Ren River was a torrent of waves, with Dragon Turtles lurking, their teeth bared menacingly—a soul-shattering sight. Their legs went weak on the spot, and each grabbed one of Senior Brother Ye’s thighs, crying for their parents.

    “Pathetic.”

    Lu Xiaoxiao raised an eyebrow.

    “If you’re so capable, you go! If you can do it, I’ll call you ‘daddy’!”

    At that time, Lu Xiaoxiao had not yet established her status as a ‘great aunt,’ so the little junior brother retorted sharply.

    “If I go, I go.”

    Lu Xiaoxiao was straightforward.

    Then she really did jump onto the cable bridge. Not just him, but even Senior Brother Ye was stunned. As Senior Brother Ye fumbled to call her back, she was already tapping her toes on the cable, gliding out with light undulations, her wide sleeves like the wings of a swift. At first, she wasn’t too fast, but once she got the rhythm of the river wind and the sway of the cable, she performed a spin right in the middle of the river where the iron cable swayed the most and where most people had fallen.

    “Senior Brother, is that all?”

    The young woman shouted triumphantly, tapping the suspended cable in the morning mist, spinning, bending at the waist, then rising and circling back.

    Her flying purple robes, her black ponytail.

    From then on, Senior Brother Ye never again nagged them about how much of his monthly allowance they had cost him. Afterward, as they grew more familiar with each other, the little junior brother learned that Lu Xiaoxiao was born in Bamboo City. Growing up, the things she did most often were either jumping from the top of one bamboo to another in the bamboo forest or riding a single bamboo stalk down the river, dancing on the water.

    The little junior brother calmed down, telling himself that Lu Xiaoxiao was the most talented Bamboo Maiden of Bamboo City.

    Even though she left Bamboo City long ago, what the stone bamboo gave her must still be rooted in her bloodline.

    He took a deep breath and stopped rushing toward the Beast Taming Sect Elder, instead focusing on finding an opportunity.

    The Beast Taming Sect Elder manipulated the City Blessing Seal, his powerful formation light crisscrossing the air. No one but the exceptionally nimble Lu Xiaoxiao could get close. Lu Xiaoxiao danced gracefully within the light formation, gradually approaching the elder. Though dangerous, her movements were precise and flawless. In contrast, the Beast Taming Sect Elder, having lost control of his blood contract, couldn’t command his servant demonic beasts, robbing him of most of his sect’s greatest strength.

    His only threat was the City Blessing Seal he controlled.

    The City Blessing Seal could mobilize the entire grand array of Crane City, turning the accumulated spiritual energy of heaven and earth into attacks.

    If Lu Xiaoxiao could approach the Beast Taming Sect Elder without a single mistake.

    She could kill him, or break Crane City’s core formation.

    “Tianying, Xuanji!”

    Nearby, Lou Jiang, who had been about to help, noticed the change in the situation sooner than the little junior brother. He stopped and loudly pointed out several key points of the formation.

    The Beast Taming Sect Elder’s expression changed.

    The young girl from Taiyi Sect’s agility exceeded his expectations. If she really managed to break Crane City’s formation under Lou Jiang’s guidance, then this City Blessing Seal would be useless.

    With a shift in his thoughts, the Beast Taming Sect Elder no longer cared about the Taiyi Sect’s status as the number one immortal sect. With a low shout, he spread his hands, and the City Blessing Seal shone brightly. The cold blue light suddenly contracted, and hundreds of thousands of cold blue lines crisscrossed, sealing the space around him and Lu Xiaoxiao.

    “Fuck!” The little junior brother, who had just calmed down, cursed loudly. “Xiaoxiao, be careful!!”

    A Heaven and Earth Net.

    The sudden change in the light formation caught Lu Xiaoxiao, who had been gradually mastering the rhythm, off guard. A cold light pierced her shoulder. She grunted, her steps faltering, and was about to be hit by two intersecting beams of light. Amidst the little junior brother’s tense shouts, she spun around, narrowly avoiding them.

    “Little girl,” the Beast Taming Sect Elder’s hands trembled slightly. The City Blessing Seal floating in the air was a great burden on him, and cold sweat appeared on his forehead. “If you retreat now, considering the help from the Taiyi Sect and the Mountain Sea Pavilion tonight, I promise not to pursue this matter further.”

    “To hell with you…”

    The little junior brother gripped his heavy blade, about to charge into the light formation.

    A hand pressed down on his shoulder.

    Lou Jiang, his face pale, stared at Lu Xiaoxiao, who had her back to them inside the formation, and slowly shook his head. “Wait. Wait a little longer.”

    “Wait for what… How can anyone get through that?” the little junior brother struggled to break free.

    “Trust your companion,” Lou Jiang said in a deep voice.

    His voice carried an indescribable power, mixed with wind and rain, mixed with the storm of Zhunan twelve years ago… He didn’t know Lu Xiaoxiao before this, didn’t know what trump cards she held, but the girl’s straight back reminded him of that night.

    The same great fire, the same dark night, the same seemingly insurmountable power, as several youths who knew no fear ran wildly through the rainy night of Zhunan.

    Lu Shiyi bringing up the rear, Monk Budu clearing the path.

    The unconscious Chou Bodeng, the ever-present threat of a demonic outbreak.

    Trust your companions…

    Trust that they will definitely succeed!

    “She hasn’t given up.”

    So, we shouldn’t either.

    Lu Xiaoxiao didn’t hear the voices of Lou Jiang and the little junior brother, nor did she hear the Beast Taming Sect Elder’s hypocritical persuasion. All sounds faded away, and before her was a crisscrossing web of light, reflected in her pupils.

    …Xiaoxiao, you can’t be afraid. You can’t just think about how to avoid them. You have to dance with them.

    The stone bamboo is breathing, the bamboo leaves are breathing. The bamboo forest is everywhere.

    You must learn…

    …to dance with them…

    A familiar voice echoed in her ears; it was her grandfather, who had guarded the bamboo forest his entire life. The old man was not a cultivator, just a bamboo guardian, a mere mortal, yet he could move through the bamboo forest without a single leaf touching him. After she joined the Taiyi Sect and cultivated for several years, she was permitted to descend the mountain. She eagerly returned to Bamboo City, wanting to compete with her grandfather again.

    The result was another crushing defeat.

    She could move freely through the bamboo forest, able to avoid touching any branch, yet she couldn’t evade all the bamboo leaves like her grandfather did.

    The world disappeared, leaving only wind and perception.

    …The bamboo god is in our hearts. No matter how far you go, it will always be there.

    The people of a city are not so easily separated from it; we are all its breath. Leaving Bamboo City is merely to see the world on the bamboo god’s behalf, to be its feet and hands.

    Wherever you are, the bamboo god is.

    In the darkness, countless bamboo shoots broke through the earth, replacing the crisscrossing lights. Countless bamboo leaves fluttered in the wind, everywhere. Horizontal leaves, vertical stalks, slanted branches… Don’t be afraid. You must become a bamboo leaf, and with them… dance!

    She closed her eyes.

    And danced!

    ***

    Far away in the East Continent. Bamboo City.

    The bamboo rustled. Sasha.

    The bamboo guardian looked up and asked with a smile, “Bamboo God, which little one is out adventuring again?”

    The bamboo forest didn’t speak, nor did the bamboo god, but the entire forest undulated, its canopy like a tide, a faint light glowing on the bamboo stalks.

    The bamboo guardian was a young man.

    The previous old guardian had passed away from illness two years ago and was buried in the bamboo forest. This was a custom in Bamboo City; after death, people were cremated in a fire rite, and their ashes were buried under a bamboo stalk. The following year, when the earth stirred and spring rains fell, a bamboo shoot would emerge from the burial spot, growing into a tall, straight new bamboo.

    When the old guardian was gravely ill, he told the young guardian all of Bamboo City’s rules and legends, one by one.

    Some were well-known, while others were unheard of.

    Some even sounded like the old guardian’s fantasies.

    He said the connection between a city god and its people lasted a lifetime and could not be severed. As long as you had the bamboo god in your heart, the bamboo forest would protect you, no matter where you were. See, sometimes, when there’s no wind in the forest, some bamboo stalks still move. That’s the bamboo god protecting those who are far away.

    He found it amusing and asked, “Then what if the whole forest moves when there’s no wind? Does that mean everyone in Bamboo City is in trouble?”

    The old guardian replied solemnly, “If the whole forest moves without wind, it either means Bamboo City is facing a great disaster and the bamboo gods are doing their utmost to avert it, or it means one of Bamboo City’s children is about to do something great, something all the bamboo gods approve of, and they are helping her.”

    He didn’t pay it much mind at first, but when he truly began to guard the bamboo forest himself, he gradually discovered many gentle things.

    The silent resilience and gentleness of the bamboo god.

    When there was no rain or wind, a brittle bamboo would suddenly snap despite having no pests. Years later, a townsman who had returned would mention in passing that he had once fallen off a cliff but felt something support him, strangely surviving near-death… So many things, little by little, the young guardian came to believe that what the old guardian said was true.

    Even when its people were far from the East Continent, the bamboo god protected its children.

    A bamboo leaf danced in the air.

    The young guardian caught the leaf and brought it to his lips, blowing on it gently.

    He had just produced a single note when he saw the entire bamboo forest.

    Move without wind!

    “…Bamboo God?!” The guardian shot to his feet in astonishment.

    This was the first time he had ever seen such a thing.

    Stunned for a moment, the guardian suddenly remembered the old man’s words and scrambled to his feet, running to find the City Diviner. Regardless of the reason for the forest’s movement, it was a major event!

    He had just turned when he heard a faint sigh from behind him.

    The moment the sigh reached his ears, the young guardian froze as if chilled to the bone. As the bamboo guardian, he was intimately aware of every change in the forest; otherwise, he wouldn’t be able to catch the mischievous children causing trouble. But before this sigh, he hadn’t sensed anything unusual at all!

    Who was it?

    The guardian was frozen stiff, his fingers struggling to reach for a city tablet at his waist.

    The next moment, he lost consciousness.

    An enchanting, cold face slowly emerged from the dark bamboo forest.

    Her dark blue skirt trailed elegantly on the ground like the feathers of some bird. The moment she appeared, a great wind suddenly swept through the entire forest, not a real wind, but one stirred up by the violent swaying of the bamboo.

    Moon Mother!

    It was the Moon Mother, who had vanished without a trace after the Night of Dusk and Dawn’s Division!

    For twelve years, not only the immortal sects of the Twelve Continents but even the demons of the Thirty-Six Islands had no idea of her whereabouts. Only a select few from the Taiyi Sect and the Witch Clan knew that she had met with the Divine Lord alone before her disappearance. Now, with the turmoil in Crane City and the winds of change sweeping the West Continent, she had appeared in the East Continent.

    The Moon Mother stopped in front of a bamboo stalk.

    “No need to be so tense,” she said. “It’s just a little girl. I won’t make things difficult for her.”

    The bamboo forest quieted down slightly, but leaves continued to fall.

    The Moon Mother waved her sleeve, clearing a small patch of ground, and sat down. She drew up her knees, wrapped her arms around them, and rested her head on her arms. The posture suddenly made her look much more childlike, the cold severity on her face receding, vaguely resembling a lonely little girl.

    “You remember so many people, but have you forgotten me?” she asked mournfully. “Are you like him, too?”

    The bamboo forest suddenly fell silent.

    …A long time ago, a girl with blue-feathered wings, still clumsy in her learning, stumbled from the top of one bamboo to another. Frustrated by her falls, she simply hugged a bamboo stalk and looked down, discovering a god in white who had appeared in the forest, exceptionally handsome.

    The god in white sat beneath a bamboo, and a bamboo branch in his fingers transformed into a beautiful arched bridge. He tossed the small bridge into the void, and somewhere in the mortal realm, a bridge appeared over a rushing river.

    The blue-winged girl thought he was amazing.

    Only later did she learn that he was the Divine Lord from the clouds.

    A bamboo leaf landed gently on the Moon Mother’s shoulder.

    The Moon Mother picked up the leaf, brought it to her lips, and played a desolate little tune.

    All love and hate had been spoken.

    All that remained was bewilderment, boundless bewilderment.

    The sound of rustling footsteps arose, and the bamboo forest once again shook violently, the sound like clashing armor.

    The upright bamboo stalks seemed to transform into armored warriors in an instant.

    A second figure emerged from the bamboo forest, his white robes fluttering in the wind.

    The little tune from the bamboo leaf stopped abruptly. The Moon Mother didn’t turn around, but her expression changed, becoming cold and fierce once more. “You’re not planning the big move in the West Continent, what are you doing here? Aren’t you afraid those idiots from the Beast Taming Sect will mess things up?”

    “The Beast Taming Sect…” The slightly ethereal figure of Huai Ningjun emerged from the gloom and chuckled softly upon hearing her words. “Actually, it doesn’t matter if they win or lose. As long as they fight. Neither the West Sea Demons nor the Beast Taming Sect can stop now. The earth fire has been accumulating for a long time… Even the Divine Lord couldn’t stop it.”

    The Moon Mother rose and looked at him coldly. “When did the Desolate Lord become so idle? So idle that while demon gods challenge your position, you still have the energy to send an external avatar to wander the Twelve Continents?”

    “No need to look at me like that,” Huai Ningjun said. “After the Heavenly Dao fell to a demon, everything is different.”

    There was no need for desolate calamities or attacks.

    “We just need to wait.”

    Wait for a civil war in the mortal realm.

    ***

    A huge sand table slowly formed in mid-air.

    The mountains and rivers, their contours, were all perfectly clear.

    The terrain of the West Continent was laid out plainly, with cities scattered among the peaks and rivers like stars, forming a giant chessboard. Right now, many of the pieces were burning, sending up plumes of smoke.

    “Yun City, Whale City, Crane City, Qianlai City, Crocodile City, Stone Elephant City…”

    Zhuang Xuan, the Sect Master of the Beast Taming Sect, recited the names of the burning cities one by one as the elders and supreme elders sat around the sand table.

    The main hall of the Beast Taming Sect’s main peak had been destroyed by that one sword strike from Gu Qingshui, which had come from the Ancient Sea. The Bottomless Abyss Sword was still embedded in the peak’s summit, its attached sword intent too sharp. Even with the intervention of several supreme elders, they couldn’t remove it without damaging the main peak—if it were pulled out carelessly, the sword intent within would plunge vertically, splitting the entire peak in two.

    Helpless, they had to leave it there, merely using an obfuscation spell to conceal it slightly.

    “The City Gods have gone berserk, becoming Bloodthirsty Great Demons, slaughtering innocents and devastating the populace. Thirty-six cities have already suffered,” Zhuang Xuan said. “The situation in many of the cities has been reported.”

    His face was cast in shadow.

    “All preparations are complete.”

    ***

    Undercurrents, whirlpools.

    Impacts came from all directions.

    Zhuang Jiuzhu paddled with his arms, desperately fighting against the bone-chilling ocean current. That day on the flying boat, he had stumbled upon a bloody scene. As a painter who had never been good at combat, he had, in a moment of panic, smashed through the deck and jumped into the Glazed Sea. He was an excellent swimmer and astonishingly heavy, so he sank straight to the bottom, perfectly demonstrating what it meant to “find a needle in a haystack.”

    He had escaped by a stroke of luck, but he didn’t know if those unidentified people were still above. He could only feel his way, swimming against the current.

    Zhuang Jiuzhu didn’t know how far he had swum, nor for how long.

    Only one thought kept his arms moving:

    I have to get back to the sect!

    I have to report to Master and Senior Brother immediately!

    He was a dandy who only knew how to rely on his master’s reputation as a Sword Saint and his senior brother’s prestige to cause trouble, it was true, but he wasn’t completely brainless. During the days he was held by the Taiyi Sect disciples, although he was indignant at their accusations against the Beast Taming Sect, he had seen the sea of blood beneath Hundred Bows Manor in Plum City with his own eyes.

    Even the flying boat carrying grain for the cranes had an incident.

    A conspiracy.

    A massive conspiracy had enveloped the Beast Taming Sect and the entire West Continent.

    Even he could smell the blood in the wind.

    Darkness, cold.

    He lost his sense of direction, his strength draining away bit by bit.

    His consciousness grew fuzzy, and he began to sink.

    The jade pendant carved with the God-Listening formation lit up in the water.

    His Eldest Martial Brother Zeng Qing’s hoarse voice entered his ears.

    Jiuzhu, don’t come back to the sect.

    Master is dead…

    His ears roared, his mind trembled. The moment his last breath escaped, a pair of crimson-gold eyes opened in the lightless depths of the sea.

    A dragon roared in the deep sea.

    ***

    The jade pendant that had sunk into the dark seabed was drawn by an invisible force and flew out of the sea.

    It landed in a pale, slender hand.

    “A Luo, look.”

    The Divine Lord, with white hair and red robes, sat high among the clouds, gazing down upon the West Continent.

    “This dragon is so beautiful.”

    The beacon fires were rising in the West Continent.

    An unprecedented demonic beast rampage had begun. The once-friendly City Beasts had suddenly gone mad, gruesomely devouring people. The beacon fires of Yun City, Whale City, Crane City, Qianlai City, Crocodile City, Stone Elephant City… thirty-six cities in all, formed a winding line. Viewed from above, it resembled a crimson dragon with its head pointing northwest.

    Its mouth was open, as if to swallow the harsh wind.

    Shi Wuluo lowered his hand, his five fingers pointing down, hovering over the peaks where the Beast Taming Sect’s main sect was located.

    “No rush,” Chou Bodeng grasped his wrist. His beautiful black eyes were as innocent as a child’s, and just as cruel. “Let’s wait a little longer.”

    The beacon fires were reflected in his eyes.

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