City of Flowing Moon

It felt as though he had dreamed for a very, very long time—so long that even his consciousness had lost its way. In a daze, Shen Ye opened his weary eyes. "Wasn't I... dead...?"

The next instant, a vast flood of memories surged into his mind like the tide.

From beside him came that familiar voice, filled with surprise and excitement. "A'Ye, wonderful—you're finally awake..."

"Have I... been reborn?"

Shen Ye was neither panicked nor overjoyed. He merely rubbed the space between his brows lightly. "Yue'er, I'm fine. Let me calm down by myself."

After a moment, he had sorted through his thoughts and sighed inwardly. "So that's how it is. This is already my third life..."

His first life had been on Blue Star. For reasons unknown, he had retained the memories of his previous life upon reincarnation, but those memories had been far too vast for him, who had still been a fetus at the time.

As a result of his body's self-protective mechanism, those memories had been sealed away.

Only with this rebirth had they finally been unsealed!

"Could it be because of that drop of divine blood from Great God Shennong?" Shen Ye speculated inwardly.

Combining the memories of his first two lives, he had already deduced that the world he inhabited was not merely the Ancient Sword Worldview, but an elevated world born from the fusion of Ancient Swords and Celestial Swords.

And according to the memories of his first life, Great Goddess Nuwa had been capable of sending people into the past. By that logic, Great God Shennong most likely possessed the same ability.

However, Great God Shennong had already been missing for many years. Whether reality was truly as he had surmised remained open to question.

Still, he did not dwell on it.

No amount of thought would yield an answer to such a matter. It was better to consider his current circumstances.

With that thought, Shen Ye spread open his palm, and a mirror formed of clear water appeared above it.

The person in the mirror looked as he had at twelve or thirteen—young and immature, a world apart from the solemn, imposing High Priest he remembered.

"So it really is after being cast into Jumu's core... Hm? My command of spells seems to have improved greatly?" Shen Ye was startled inwardly. He immediately focused and sensed carefully, only to discover that his understanding of the principles and laws of sorcery had risen by far more than a single level.

In his previous life, he had needed only a dozen or so years to stand at the pinnacle of the Human Realm. He had relied on the outstanding aptitude and talent granted by divine blood, as well as the powerful Dao Heart born after the transformation of his state of mind. As for his own soul's capacity for comprehension, it had only been at the level of an ordinary genius.

But now, his comprehension was actually no weaker than his body's innate talent!

After pondering for a moment, Shen Ye quickly arrived at the answer. "Though it was due to my body's self-protective mechanism, the sealing of my first life's memories still left my soul shrouded in dust. Now that the shackles have been removed, I've finally regained the comprehension that should have been mine. No—it should be far beyond that!"

It was like cultivating while bearing weights. Once the weights were removed, the body naturally became as light as a swallow.

His soul had been covered in dust, long locked away by the burdens of the mortal world. Now that the dust had been swept away in a single day, its light naturally pierced through ten thousand blooms across mountains and rivers!

Just then, the tense yet reverent voice of a guard came from outside the door.

"High Priest!"

The door was pushed open, and a middle-aged man with a majestic bearing that made others dare not meet his gaze strode in.

Hua Yue hurriedly bowed. "Venerable Ziwei!"

The High Priest naturally paid her no mind. Instead, he scrutinized Shen Ye, then nodded faintly. "Your luck is not bad. Not only did you successfully withstand the trial of divine blood, but your illness has also been erased. I imagine you will no longer suffer the torment of Turbid Qi Corrosion for the rest of your life!"

Shen Ye met his eyes directly. "Then I should thank you?"

The High Priest raised a brow, somewhat surprised by Shen Ye's attitude. Yet his expression soon turned indifferent as he said, "That won't be necessary. If you had failed to adapt to the divine blood, then before your body collapsed, I would most likely have sent you to the Hall of Life and Death and made you City of Flowing Moon's second Living Puppet!"

Hua Yue's heart clenched at those words, so heavy she could scarcely breathe.

Because City of Flowing Moon's first Living Puppet was none other than herself!

No memories, no past—her only assigned meaning was to protect Shen Ye, to exist as his weapon.

And now, even the sole purpose of her existence had nearly been taken away?

Shen Ye nodded faintly. "Coming from your mouth, such words are hardly surprising."

In this City of Divine Descendants, nearly a third of the people had lost limbs to Turbid Qi Corrosion, howling in agony until they died.

In a sense, turning their bodies into Living Puppets might not necessarily be without a way out.

But it was still far too cruel and coldhearted!

Seeing Shen Ye's reaction, the High Priest was truly somewhat astonished. Yet before he could speak, he heard Shen Ye ask, "Where is Xiao Xi?"

A flicker passed through the High Priest's eyes, but it was quickly smoothed away. In an even tone, he said, "Her luck was not as good as yours. Though the divine blood cured her of the torment of Turbid Qi Corrosion, her body will never grow again. Every three days, her memories will vanish, returning her to that rainy night before she was cast into Jumu!"

Shen Ye lowered his eyes and murmured, "Is that so?"

The High Priest narrowed his eyes slightly. "I had thought you would either hate and curse hysterically, or become numb and indifferent. This reaction of yours truly surprises me!"

"Hate? Is such an emotion useful? It only exposes one's weakness!" Shen Ye stepped down from the bed, calmly passed by him, and headed outside. "As for Xiao Xi, I'll find a way to cure her!"

Hua Yue followed closely behind Shen Ye, step for step, while the High Priest watched Shen Ye's retreating back with a complicated gaze, as if he were seeing his son for the first time.

Only after that figure had completely disappeared did he give a self-mocking laugh. "Never having to grow up—how is that not a kind of happiness?"

Outside, the north wind howled, bitter and bone-piercing. As the frigid wind swept over him, Shen Ye felt as though a lifetime had passed.

With his level of magical power, he had naturally not experienced such cold for a very long time.

City of Flowing Moon lay beneath the skies of the northern lands, bitterly cold all year round. Beyond the suffering of Turbid Qi Corrosion, the severe cold was also their great enemy.

Walking through the city, it was difficult to see more than a few pedestrians.

"What ancient divine descendants? They're nothing more than a group of old, weak, sick, and disabled people." Shen Ye sighed softly.

Their current predicament was somewhat like the dinosaurs of his first life—powerful though they were, they had long since been eliminated by this world!

Just then, a voice tinged with guilt and delight called out from afar.

"A'Ye, A'Ye!"

Looking toward the voice, he saw a little girl about his age running excitedly toward him. Though her features had yet to fully mature, one could already tell she was a budding beauty.

Several attendants followed behind her in a panic. "Miss, slow down! Slow down!"

Shen Ye frowned slightly. "Cang Ming, your illness hasn't improved. How can you be running around like this?"

Not a trace of color showed on Cang Ming's pale face, yet she did not mention her own condition at all. She merely apologized again and again. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry. If it weren't for me, Uncle wouldn't have treated you like that, sending you and little sister Xiao Xi..."

Shen Ye gently shook his head, cutting off her next words. "There's no need to blame yourself. This matter had nothing to do with you to begin with!"

Though the Ziwei High Priest held an exalted position, above him stood the lord of the City of Flowing Moon.

In his previous life, Cang Ming had contracted a terminal illness from the turbid qi. In an attempt to treat her with the power of divine blood, Father Shen had proposed sending Shen Ye, who suffered from the same illness, and his younger sister Xiao Xi into the core of Jumu for experiments.

But just as he himself had no say before his father, Cang Ming, the city lord's daughter, had in truth been unable to change anything either.

None of their younger generation had the right to choose their own fate, much less Cang Ming. Though she had nominally been his liege in his previous life, in reality, she had always worked tirelessly for his ideals, even—giving up her life!

If Cang Ming had not paid with her life to severely wound the heart demon, he would not have been able to destroy Li Ying so easily in his previous life.

With a confidant like this, how could he demand more of her?

PS: A brief explanation: the talents mentioned in this chapter mostly refer to aptitude, physique, and innate foundations. At the weaker end, they grant affinity with the world's primordial qi; at the stronger end, direct closeness to the Great Dao. In other words, even if you understand nothing, so long as your aptitude is good enough, Heaven will spoon-feed you. As for comprehension, it can likewise be divided into innate and acquired. Innate comprehension is inborn talent—for instance, some people are naturally sensitive to numbers, while others are naturally skilled at delicate operations. Acquired comprehension, meanwhile, is the ability to learn. Even someone utterly dull when it comes to mathematics can, through systematic study, at least begin to grasp it.