Chapter 3

In the midst of cherry blossoms dancing in the wind, Misaki opened the old diary and read the words of promise written there.

Xiaoming stood at the classroom door, took a deep breath, and firmly gripped the secret letter from his mother.

Usually, in battles, the number of injured is much greater than the number of dead, but today's situation was different. This was not a battle but a pure and brutal massacre, the scene was particularly gruesome. The entire Qing Shui clan, including the elderly, women, and children, picked up weapons and slashed at the vital points of the killers with疯狂的疯狂的狂热. Every enemy killed was a revenge for themselves and their clan.

If one of Bai Sha's subordinates was injured, they would immediately be attacked by a group of Qing Shui clan members. In the end, the number of dead was more than ten times the number of injured. Now that the Qing Shui clan had been wiped out, what should be done next?

Bai Sha turned around and said, "Xing Yao, I'll leave the aftermath to you. Leave no trace of Chiwang Hill. Today's events must be kept absolutely secret; no one is to reveal any details, not even when they return to Chiwang Hill. As for how to explain things in the future, I will teach you."

The man in the tight-fitting clothes was named Xing Yao, a disciple of Bai Sha and his most trusted and relied-upon confidant. Xing Yao looked at Li Qing Shui, who remained seated on the stone platform, and asked telepathically, "Lord Sha, have you obtained it?"

Bai Sha shook his head and gestured for Xing Yao to follow him away from the peak. They flew down the mountain and outside the array, and Bai Sha said telepathically, "As long as Li Qing Shui is still alive, we still have hope."

Xing Yao: "Are you going to let him live? Since he didn't speak today, he will never fulfill your wishes."

Bai Sha: "With his cultivation, if he wanted to commit suicide, I couldn't stop him. But in this situation, he still insists on living, which itself indicates something. Given his hatred for me, as long as there's the slightest chance of revenge, he won't give up. Even though he no longer speaks, I know what he's thinking."

Xing Yao: "You mean he will try to find a successor and teach them everything he knows. What you can't get from him, you can get from his successor."

Bai Sha nodded: "He won't tell me what he knows, but as soon as the opportunity arises, he will definitely tell his successor, with the goal of revenge. The reason he is still alive is because of this belief. This is a simple truth, and I understand it."

Xing Yao: "But how long can he endure in this state of hatred, and how long can he hold on? More importantly, how long can you wait, Lord Sha?"

Bai Sha: "I have studied the cultivation of many so-called mountain deities. I have already sensed that he has integrated his aura with this Shude Hill. As long as the vitality of Shude Hill remains, he can continue to live, like a stone in the mountains that cannot move or speak, until the end of his life. I can wait at least another hundred years. Even if I don't get the result I want, there's no loss. In these hundred years, I still have the hope of crossing the Heavenly Path, and I don't necessarily need his secret teachings. I'm just giving him a chance, a chance he believes he can seize, which is also my chance."

Xing Yao: "But in this state, how can he find a successor?"

Bai Sha: "If he wasn't in this state, I wouldn't dare let him live. But since he insists on living, it means there's still a possibility. He is the mountain deity here and can still hear the prayers from the tribal altars, knowing what happens within a hundred miles. Unfortunately, the means he can use now are limited, and I'm very curious to see what he will do."

Bai Sha kept the array around Shude Hill and quietly set up another array to monitor any changes in Li Qing Shui. Now, Li Qing Shui can still "see" what happens within a hundred miles, but it's difficult for him to communicate with the outside world. Even if he uses the mountain deity's secret method to gather his remaining spirit and communicate with someone, Bai Sha will immediately know.

Li Qing Shui should also realize that Bai Sha is monitoring him, so he will try to avoid Bai Sha's surveillance when looking for a successor, or at least think he can avoid it. But no matter what, as long as there's a glimmer of hope for revenge, Li Qing Shui won't give up. He no longer cares about the risks, and Bai Sha is waiting for this opportunity.

There were dozens of Langgan trees on the mountain, and Bai Sha picked all the ripe Langgan fruits. There were also hundreds of Dragon Blood Treasure Trees, and he ordered his men to collect the Dragon Blood Resin using secret methods at noon. However, Bai Sha did not touch the unripe Langgan fruits or harm the roots of the Langgan trees and Dragon Blood Treasure Trees, allowing them to continue growing and be harvested regularly.

Dragon Blood Treasure Trees are already rare in the wild, and cultivating Langgan trees is particularly difficult, almost impossible to transplant. This grove of precious trees is almost impossible to find in the world. Bai Sha's Chiwang Hill also has a Langgan tree, but only one, which was carefully cultivated over a hundred years with countless secret methods.

Now, Shude Hill has become not only the place where Li Qing Shui is confined and where Bai Sha waits for an opportunity, but also a secret medicinal field owned by the Chiwang Hill sect. After collecting the ripe Langgan fruits and Dragon Blood Resin, Xing Yao also ordered his men to dig up some Dragon Blood Jie. Dragon Blood Jie is the resin that flows from the tree nodes of Dragon Blood Treasure Trees and solidifies on the ground. It is not only a spiritual medicine that aids cultivation but also has many other uses.

By using secret methods to dissolve the Dragon Blood Jie and mix it into the soil, it can help rare medicinal herbs grow better and faster. There are hundreds of Dragon Blood Treasure Trees on this mountain, and over the years, a lot of Dragon Blood Jie has accumulated in the soil. The growth of the grove on the peak is closely related to this. Xing Yao and his men only collected the Dragon Blood Jie on the surface of the soil, leaving the medicinal field intact.

Dragon Blood Resin and Dragon Blood Jie are holy medicines for healing wounds. The Chiwang Hill sect has its own secret methods for using them to treat injuries, and the injured were temporarily treated in Shude Hill.

After all this was done, it was already dusk the next day. Xing Yao reported to Bai Sha, "Lord Sha, the medicinal herbs collected from Shude Hill are a significant harvest. But you led everyone out of the mountains under the pretext of slaying a demon king and ordered that no one can talk about what happened here. How will you explain it when you return to Chiwang Hill?"

Bai Sha smiled: "Today, we obtained so many Langgan fruits. Even if they can't make us immortal, they can at least help me extend my life by several decades. This alone makes the trip worthwhile! After leaving Shude Hill, we will go and slay the Rockscale Beast. I know where it is, and what I said before was not a lie. ... Let's go first, and after slaying the demon king, I'll leave the rest to you."

...

The city was in ruins, and the valley surrounded by mountains was silent. The fire from last night had driven away the surrounding birds and beasts, and the fire had not yet completely died out. The ashes of the ruins still emitted a faint blue smoke.

Xing Yao left no trace that could lead back to Chiwang Hill, even taking away the damaged weapons from the battle. There were no bodies left in the ruins. The remains of the Qing Shui clan and Bai Sha's fallen subordinates were all turned to ashes. The final fire that destroyed the evidence was so thorough that only countless ashes rose with the ascending air currents and slowly scattered over the mountains.

Bai Sha and Xing Yao left at dusk the next day, disappearing quietly into the rugged mountains as the night fell. This was a display of confidence and skill, as no one in the wilderness dared to travel at night, not only because of the threat of fierce birds and beasts but also because the paths were unclear and a misstep could lead to a fall into the abyss.

Another dawn arrived, and a faint blue smoke still drifted over the valley, emitting a faint, indescribable scent. The surrounding forests finally echoed with the chirping of birds, and a few brightly colored tree ibises flew by, but they seemed startled and turned away from the ruins of the city.

When the sunlight crossed the mountain ridge and shone on the ground, another person arrived. This person flew from the sky, wearing a white dress with a faint golden hue at the hem and cuffs, like a cloud in the morning light. She was a young woman, not yet twenty, with long, black, silky hair, a beautiful face, a graceful figure, and skin as smooth as jade, like a celestial being descended to earth.

She hovered above the ruins, and if a high-level cultivator used their divine sense, they would detect a pair of transparent, invisible wings behind her. This was a wind-condensing technique, using a magical artifact to enable flight. Sweat beads appeared on her delicate nose, indicating she had come from a great distance.

The woman looked at the ruined city, her eyes filled with shock. She clearly sensed that something had happened, but she arrived too late. The Qing Shui clan had mysteriously disappeared, and no one knew where they had gone. However, the woman detected a terrifying aura in the ashes and smoke.

The 1,600 members of the Qing Shui clan had not gone far; they were still here, but they had turned to ashes, making it difficult for ordinary people to find any traces. However, the woman could sense it clearly. She quickly waved a white bamboo-like artifact, and a cool sensation spread, like invisible raindrops. The remaining embers in the ruins finally extinguished, and the smoke gradually dissipated, restoring the fresh air in the valley.

The woman seemed to be using powerful divine techniques to sense and search the ruins. Suddenly, her expression changed, and she flew down to the center of the ruins, pointing her artifact forward. The ground was covered in charred ashes, surrounded by collapsed buildings. In front was the altar of the city.

The sturdy stone altar was half-destroyed, no longer resembling its former sacred and solemn appearance. This was the final battlefield where the Qing Shui clan resisted. Although there were no bodies, the atmosphere was still intensely tragic. An invisible force was unleashed, and heavy stones were lifted and thrown away. Another corner of the altar was dismantled, along with the ruins of a nearby building.

An invisible magical fluctuation came from the ground beside the altar and was absorbed by the woman's technique. It seemed that an array had been destroyed, and a bamboo basket lined with soft grass and animal skins flew out, emitting the cry of a baby.

There was actually a survivor, a male infant less than a year old. At the bottom of the altar was a secret room, known only to the generations of priests of the Qing Shui clan. Someone had hidden the baby there and sealed the entrance, using a protective array to conceal his presence.

The baby had temporarily escaped the disaster, and even a high-level expert like Xing Yao had not detected him. However, after the Qing Shui clan was wiped out, no one would find this secret room, and the child would be buried helplessly in the dark underground. Fortunately, he was found by this woman.

The fragile baby had been in the dark for a day and a night. When he saw the bright sunlight, he cried loudly.

...

On the peak of Shude Hill, far away from the world, Li Qing Shui, who had been like a stone statue, suddenly opened his eyes and looked toward the altar where the baby's cries were coming from. Li Qing Shui could no longer move, and even opening his eyes was as heavy as lifting two mountains, making him look like a stone statue with a crack.

At the final step of the Heavenly Path, his cultivation was destroyed, and he suffered irreversible physical and spiritual injuries. He struggled to integrate his aura with Shude Hill to continue living.

Bai Sha did not kill him, and Li Qing Shui knew why Bai Sha left him alive. Li Qing Shui was the mountain deity worshipped by the tribes within two hundred miles, and he still knew what was happening in the area. However, he could not move, speak, or communicate with people as he used to.

He knew the woman had flown in and could "see" her in his divine mind. In his current state, his ordinary eyes could not clearly see beyond Shude Hill, and he could only sense things through the mountain deity's secret method. He didn't need to open his eyes, but this was an unconscious action, showing how deeply he was affected.

There was actually a baby still alive in the ruins. The priests of the Qing Shui clan fought to the death but left this child in the secret room, waiting for a seemingly impossible chance of survival. If others saw this, they might be relieved that the Qing Shui clan still had a surviving descendant, but Li Qing Shui sighed inwardly because he knew this baby was not a member of the Qing Shui clan.

The baby had been brought two months ago by someone who entrusted the priests of the Qing Shui clan to raise and care for him. The person who brought him was the woman who had come today. The baby might have been found by her while she was traveling through the mountains and saved and brought to the nearest tribe.

Although Li Qing Shui was a mountain deity and knew what was happening within two hundred miles, he was not always paying attention to all the endless trivial matters. Recently, he was at a critical point in his cultivation and was about to enter seclusion to face his tribulation, so he did not pay much attention to the trivial matters of the tribes, only knowing about this incident.

However, the secret room under the altar was not built by the generations of priests of the Qing Shui clan but by Li Qing Shui himself, to store the most precious items, including the inherited magical artifacts.

On the night of the tragedy, the priests heard the mountain deity's warning of an impending attack and the impending doom of the Qing Shui clan. The priests must have urgently opened the secret room, took out several powerful magical artifacts for the clan to use in battle, and perhaps left the baby in the secret room.

The baby was not a member of the Qing Shui clan. The priests might have wanted to save him from the disaster or remembered the promise to take care of him, giving him a chance to survive. Whether he could live was left to fate.

What Li Qing Shui found more interesting was the woman. How could she find the secret room and the baby inside? Li Qing Shui knew how hidden the secret room he built was. Even if he had not lost his powers, it would have been difficult to detect without knowing it was there. Yet, this woman found it so accurately!

Li Qing Shui did not know there was a baby in the secret room beforehand. When he warned the priests, he was already severely injured, and Bai Sha soon arrived to force him to reveal his secrets, leaving him no time to think about other things. Now, although he could still sense what was happening outside Shude Hill in his divine mind, he could not see beyond what ordinary people could see, and the underground secret room was beyond his reach.

Li Qing Shui closed his eyes again, only using his divine mind to observe. The baby's cries were loud, and the woman bent down to pick him up from the bamboo basket. The baby started waving his chubby arms and legs, crying even louder, as if he was very upset—probably thirsty and hungry.

The woman, holding the crying baby, seemed at a loss, clearly having no experience. She could only use her magical techniques to soothe the baby's spirit. The baby was healthy and uninjured, with a loud cry and full spirit, and the woman's powerful magical techniques were useless against this innocent baby.

After a while, the woman seemed to suddenly realize something and waved her sleeve, casting a spell. In the distant forest, a shower of flowers fell. The morning dew and sweet nectar from the flower stamens were gathered by a subtle magical technique, condensed into droplets, and then formed a gentle stream, which was wrapped in an invisible force and sent into the baby's mouth.

The baby stopped crying and, after a while, fell asleep in the woman's arms, his chubby face showing a contented smile. The woman looked down at the baby, her eyes filled with tenderness, but she also frowned, unsure of what to do next.

Li Qing Shui was recalling the past. Two months ago, the woman had come to the city of the Qing Shui clan with a group of merchants from the rugged mountain path leading to Ba Yuan. From her attire, she did not seem like an ordinary girl, and the merchants were likely her guards.

At the time, the girl did not attract much of Li Qing Shui's attention, as many merchants had come to the Qing Shui clan's city in recent years to trade goods from Ba Yuan for the unique products of the mountains. However, today, Li Qing Shui realized he had overlooked her, as she was a high-level expert, and her spirit was perfectly concealed.

Had Bai Sha's subordinates, disguised as merchants, bribed the Qing Shui clan members? Was this woman one of them? But what about the baby? The woman had first come two months ago, but Li Qing Shui had been in seclusion for his tribulation and was unaware of external events. Although he was a mountain deity, he could only deduce what he did not know. After careful observation, he finally solved one of his doubts and understood how the woman found the secret room.

The woman did not know there was a secret room under the altar. She was looking for the baby, more precisely, the object on the baby. The baby's left ankle was wrapped in a dark brown vine bracelet, which seemed unremarkable but was made of the rare Heavenly Blue Vine, with a lustrous surface, as if it had been polished for a long time.

The Heavenly Blue Vine has calming, moisturizing, and blood-circulating effects. The bracelet, like a bangle, was curved with a gap, elastic enough to be opened and worn on the wrist, but the baby's wrist was too thin, so it was worn on the ankle. The bracelet was also enchanted, making it very durable and more effective.

This object was rare for ordinary people but common for a high-level expert like her. She might have left it with the baby casually. Li Qing Shui speculated that the vine bracelet had a divine imprint left by the woman, and as long as the divine imprint and the magical power within it did not dissipate, she could still sense its presence, allowing her to find the baby.

Li Qing Shui could now see things in his divine mind as clearly as an ordinary person, so he did not see the pair of invisible wings behind the woman when she flew in. However, based on his experience, the woman's cultivation was not as high as his, and she could not fly freely. She must have used a magical artifact or a special technique.

In the past, Emperor Shaohao observed the flying birds and beasts in the world, studied the innate magical techniques of various