42 - The Leaves* of the Ye Sect
Ye Sect, inside the Assembly Hall.
Ten cultivators of varying ages and genders—all clad in pure white robes with a golden leaf insignia embroidered on their chests—were seated facing each other in the center of the hall.
On the long table in the middle were freshly-brewed pots of tea, but there were no servants present to pour them on their cups, and the tea was cold and untouched after sitting there for hours.
In an elevated seat at the head of the table, an old man with silvery white hair and strong, muscular features listened with a solemn face to the reports of those seated below him. The old man was exactly Patriarch Ye Wuqing who was presiding over the closed-door meeting.
"The Purple
43 - When Big Shots have Too Much Time to Spare"The first-ranked assassin Ghost Blade is here!"Hearing that news, Ye Mo did not feel as surprised as he thought he would be. The moment he accepted that Little Yin would be staying with his family, he had long expected something like this to happen.Her appearance had just shattered a who-knows-how-long belief that cultivation starts at the age of ten. While most ten year olds were already considered geniuses if they had successfully strengthened their skin, muscle and blood to become a third stage Body Washing Realm cultivator, Little Yin had become a third stage Nascent Divinity Realm cultivator at the age of five!Even without that, with the way she deals with people, she was way too high profile.
44 - Why Worry?The winds were calm, and the waves were smooth (1) by the time Ye Mo arrived at his manor.... of course not.The man could hear the sounds of breaking stones and clashing blades. As he approached, he could even hear the sounds of wood being crushed mixed with the heavy grunts of the people fighting inside.The sight that welcomed him made him curse. Three courtyards inside his manor were destroyed; the gardens and the entrance a mess. Ye Mo's heart was bleeding blood as numbers flashed inside his head.The hundred-year-old constructions, rare stones and building materials, the defense and spirit-gathering arrays, the trees his mother planted when he was young...How much
"Stop! Don't pinch my cheeks! It hurts!""Hurts? Even if I use my cultivation, I won't be able to hurt you. You speak so much nonsense!""Nonsense your sister!""You even dare curse me, you brat?!""You ungracious dumb fogey!” Little Yin cried out in grievance. “Your house... okay! Fine! It's not lousy. It's mediocre. I'm giving you face already by changing my statement. Aiya~”Seeing him continue to pinch her dumpling-like cheeks, she continued to make wu wu sounds.Ye Mo gritted his teeth at her stubborn face. “Well, aren’t you going to help and fight?”“What do you mean?” H
46 - Little Sister, Are You Lost?Everyone was cheering!The infamous Ghost Blade, a true disciple trained by one of the strongest cultivators from the Demonic Faction and a dreaded assassin in all four Territories, had been successfully eliminated by the Righteous Path.The Qing Imperial Family was applauded and glorified for the good news.The Purple Plumed General was admired for killing a key figure among the evil demonic cultivators.Sword Flash Ye Mo received praise from everyone for playing a big role in the fight against the Demonic Faction.The Ye Sect of Leaf City, a first-tier city in the Northern Mei Territory, became famous for producing a hero like Sword Flash.The Righteous Path gained an upper hand in the war before the war had actually started.Banquets were prepared by different influences from across the lands in order to celebrate this good news, uplifting the spirits of not only the cultivators but also
47 - A Kiddo with a Missing Soul"Tut tut, is this east? Or, is that east?"A melodic voice chirped and hummed from time to time behind the ancient Chinese plum trees. A little girl in pink robes could be seen playfully hopping down a winding stone path that weaved past those trees.Of course, that little girl was none other than the ghostlike existence that confounded those poor naive disciples.Yin was sure that her lie would not hold for long. Therefore, before those youngsters realized the flaws in her words, she escaped towards the direction that they pointed at.East.To have the Sect Treasury placed inside a pocket dimension, that meant that it had good things stashed in there, pro
48 - Blockhead Zhang“Go… Leave…”The ten-year-old boy thought that the little girl did not leave because she did not manage to hear his words.Of course, he could not blame her; he should have spoken louder. Only, his throat badly hurt. One of his friends had tried to squeeze his neck, damaging his voice in the process.His mother once told him that communication is important. If the boy wanted to be understood, he had to clearly and honestly say what he needed or wanted to convey.How unfilial was he to not follow his mother's teachings?But... he could not talk. Even if he tried to, no sound would leave his mouth. Every time he forced his mouth open, he would
49 - Ye Zhihao?"Don't disappoint me, weirdo!"After those cheeky words were uttered, with a pressure so sudden, so heavy and so terrifying in its bizarreness, the temperature in the forest plummeted.All living beings that happened to be within several li from where Yin was standing were startled.Cold!Freezing!It was as if they were enclosed in a block of millennium ice!The thin spiritual qi mist in the air even seemed to form snowflakes and ice crystals because of the extremely low temperature.Even using only the naked eye, frost could be seen forming on the top layer of the nearby leaves an
50 - Young Master QingThe continent of Ying Xian was a place where the most revered people are those with great strength, where the voices heard are only those with astounding capabilities and where those with achievements in cultivation are either worshipped as gods or feared as devils.Nowadays, it was the age of relative peace, but several millennia ago, Ying Xian was a nameless, war-torn land straight out from the depths of hell, a broken piece of a world that was wholly painted in blood and carnage. Ying Xian was once a battleground where hundreds of races and clans once fought for territory and resources—to be more precise, for survival.The 'Wood' Qing Clan was one of those that had given birth to the most Spiritual Body owners for generations and generations, an ancient family that had seen way too many heave
Scholar Rai held the ancient scroll between two calloused fingers, studying the faded ink with narrowed eyes. The papyrus was brown with age, the content written in a verbose and grand manner, as was usually the case with writings from hundreds of years ago. Its importance could not be translated into words. In fact, it surprised him that his lord father managed to keep these imperial treasures away from the capital.It had taken him twice the usual time to understand the runes. He found himself impressively overwhelmed not only by the sheer historic importance of these documents, but also because the prophecies spoke of the expiration of the bloods of the Old.He feared that the first of the visions written have come into passing.The scrolls he found were written by the last of the true prophets, during a time of historic darkness, the Legaliath Cross, back when magic was free to be harnessed by every man and woman and child. The Legaliath Cross was a devastating war that decimated
"You find this funny, Silver?" This was the first time that Lakas had directly addressed her in a conversation. She could not help but shudder at the slight amusement that colored his normally stern voice. "He could have killed you."Her smile widened.Lakas almost mirrored her expression, but then when he realized that he had spectators in the form of the other three girls inside her cage, he erased any trace of emotion from his face. "The four of you are currently part of the most prized collection of the emperor, but let me warn you. Not all warriors in this camp think the same as I do. You girls are precious, but you are replaceable. Think before you act."As soon as he left, the oldest of the girls, a beauty with curly flaxen hair and foliage green eyes scooted close to her. It was the first time anyone attempted to communicate with her. Most of the time, she was simply left alone in her corner of the cage. "That man just protected you, Silver," Green Eyes laughed excitedly. "He
The survivors were placed in metal cages where the heathens could openly leer at them, appreciating the goods before they were sold. The young warrior called Lakas looked incredibly silly with parchment and quill in his bloody hands, and his annoyed look did not escape her when he was tasked to make an inventory of the slaves."Name?"While the prisoners around her sobbed and wailed for their losses, Enna merely tried to make herself small in a corner. She never spoke. She never raised her head.Lakas snatched her chin. He was scowling. "Name?"When she refused to answer, the bald man behind Lakas growled before backhanding her. "Stupid girl! Tell us your name so that we can be done with this sham and leave!"Elbows shaking, she sat up, gazing at them with tired silvery eyes. Still, she did not open her mouth."You – "Lakas stopped the man with a wave. "Drop it. I will simply write Silver."The man smirked. "Yes, a name befitting a horse."They could call her whatever they want. Why
*She woke up to a strangled sound akin to an injured animal.Crying.Someone was crying.As the sound grew louder, she stirred, slowly, groaning due to the escalating pain at the base of her skull. Opening her eyes, she saw bloody bodies around her. Bile rose, and she emptied the contents of her stomach into the scarlet snow. After a few fuzzy seconds, she realized with relief that most of the bodies around her appeared to be moving. Bloody, but alive. She profusely thanked the good Spirits that there were people who still lived, despite the nagging thought that most of them would have preferred to have died along with their dignity and families.Her arms and feet were bound. Bound with thick ropes. She tried to stretch her legs, grasping too late that she was merely a stride away from the big fire that her captors made.She flinched from the pain.It was the same kind of burning pain that paralyzed her before she blacked out.It was also her first memory. Awakened by a burning pain
The heathens burned the temples. They attacked the farms. They destroyed everything from tiny peasant homes to historical monuments more than hundreds of years old. People who resisted died. People who surrendered died. The snow-clad village of Cardia was stained red. Blood of men. Blood of women. Blood of children.The enemy's arrival was silent; their attack sudden. The sleepy spell brought by winter on the border village was broken by animalistic screams of pain. Cries of people burning were everywhere. There were shrieks of villagers dying. By midnight, half of Cardian population was slain mercilessly by the bronze-skinned men covered in wolf pelts.The invaders relished the sight of the pale people bleeding, enjoying every slash of sword and arrow released as the village burned. They meant to annihilate every Northerner. They were humans on bloodlust — hungry predators on the hunt.They proudly called themselves the sons of Summer. The Cardians called them heathens from the Sout
Even if the Mind Forgets, the Soul Remembers (3)A fair-skinned human girl no taller than the height of his waist, wearing a satin robe that was neither stained by blood or mud. Big eyes on a small face, perfectly arranged black hair in a style of braided bun, delicately balanced features that indicated she would surely grow into a gorgeous young lady given a few years.Her adorable appearance made one have an urge to pinch her chubby cheeks, and if there were any females around, Ye Mo felt that they would fawn over how the little girl looked like a beautiful living, breathing doll.‘And it’s not a sight that should be seen in the middle of a battlefield.’Ye Mo tried to open his mouth to say something, but he remained unable to utter even a single word.‘Dangerous.’It didn’t make sense, but that was what his intuition was telling Ye Mo. His body wasn’t responding—there was no flight impulse, no, there wasn’t even an attempt to fight against the girl, even if it’s a last act of survi
265 - The Girl Who Cannot be Remembered (2)“This body is truly inconvenient.”Little Yin sighed as she sat on the eaves of the roof, looking like a tomboy leisurely camping when in fact she’s trying to reconstruct her soul with the help of moonlight.At first, she thought of leaving the Ye Clan while Ye Mo was unconscious. She felt like staying would give her a huge headache, but she was tied up by all the connections she made in this city.The Qing Blessed Lands had officially entered the state of war.Though communication was crippled, Little Yin was able to overhear the intelligence gathered by the hidden experts brought by the Purple Plumed General.Immortal Wuwei’s timely arrival managed to save Ye Sect and the entire Leaf City, but that wasn’t the same with the other cities. Even the news about the situation in the imperial capital could not be found.That little pretty boy, Qing Wu You, wanted to return to check on his family. Just last night, he came to visit her, asking if i
264 - The Girl Who Cannot be Remembered (1) “Uncle, are you all right?” It was Ye Hua who first noticed that Ye Mo was acting strange. The man’s eyes were looking at the people in the room as if they were people he had not seen for a long time. There was recognition in his gaze, as well as a kind of dissonance. “Huh? Yeah…yeah…” After staying unconscious for days and almost crossing the fine line of life and death, it was reasonable for Ye Mo to be in a daze, and everyone thought so as well. But Ye Hua’s intuition was telling him that his uncle was not just confused, but actually not in a normal state of mind. However, he decided to stay quiet. Because he felt that Little Yin had something to do with this. The young man’s eyes glanced in the direction of the little girl, who brought them all towards the room saying that Ye Mo should be waking up soon. Ye Hua remembered that incident several days ago, that eerie darkness that made his soul tremble. A power that could oppose n
263 – Even if the Mind Forgets, the Soul Remembers (5)‘I died?’Ye Mo tried to remember the last thing that happened to him, but only fragmented pieces of images appeared in his mind. Confusion was the only thing he could feel aside from the head-splitting pain, though he was trying to calm himself and follow the words of the little girl to embrace his memories.‘Since I died, shouldn’t I undergo samsara? Why am I seeing the memories of my former reincarnations?’What happened to him before he appeared and walked around that endless darkness?No, wait, what was he doing before the little girl appeared?He was swinging his sword against—The little girl frowned when she saw the images swimming inside his mind.“Outers.”Gaaaasp!She reached out her small chubby hands and touched the crown of his head, and she channeled her spiritual energy inside his body, focusing it on erasing those images that did not belong to him or to this era.“You are in so much pain because you took a peek at