Prologue (Part 2)

Chapter 3: Prologue (Part 2)

"Bai Yu! You little brat, don't you dare run! If I don't beat you until you can't get out of bed for three days, I'm not the senior brother anymore!"

With a thunderous bang, Zhao Longguang's furious, resonant roar echoed from the Heavenly Secret Hall.

Following this, Ning Ye sprinted out of the Heavenly Secret Hall, shielding his head as he bolted. "Senior brother, have mercy! I really didn't mean it. I just set up that restriction for fun; who told you to be so grabby... Ouch!"

Having already taken a slap to the backside from Zhao Longguang, Ning Ye clutched his rear and sprinted, vanishing into the nearby woods in the blink of an eye.

Zhao Longguang rushed out, his face charred black, his clothes riddled with holes and scorched marks. It looked as though he had just been singed by flames; while the burns weren't severe, his dignity had certainly taken a hit.

His beloved beard, in particular, had been half-singed by Ning Ye's fire. His heart ached with fury, and he was now determined to teach this brat a proper lesson.

High in the sky, several cultivators were practicing their sword flight, led by Xin Xiaoye.

Her colorful robes fluttered as her sword light soared, agile as a swallow, riding the wind. She was having a grand time until she saw Zhao Longguang rush out. Her eyes rolled, and she descended toward the ground.

Arriving beside Zhao Longguang, she giggled, "Senior brother, did Xiao Jiu prank you again?"

Zhao Longguang was exasperated. "That wicked brat spends all day tinkering with messy, crooked paths instead of cultivating properly. He insists on using his fellow disciples as test subjects. When you fall for his traps, he just says it's your own fault for being grabby. It's truly infuriating! Today, I must teach him a lesson on behalf of Master."

"Oh, give it a rest. You say that every time, but I've never seen you actually use any real force when it comes down to it," a tall, plump woman descended from the sky. It was Shan Rou.

Zhao Longguang smiled bitterly. "Fifth sister, you say that, but we're all fellow disciples. Can I really beat him to death? Besides, if I actually did that, Master would beat me to death."

Hearing this, Shan Rou became even more indignant. "Master favors Xiao Jiu, and so do you!"

"Exactly, exactly," Xin Xiaoye chimed in, nodding repeatedly. "Ever since Xiao Jiu joined the sect, Dad only cares about him. He gives him all the best things first; there's nothing left for me."

"It's not just him; the fourth senior brother is the same. Last time he brought back a Nine-Ring Fleeceflower from outside, he gave the whole thing to the junior brother," Shan Rou complained.

Among the nine disciples under Xin Ranzi, only Xin Xiaoye and Shan Rou were women. They used to be the most pampered, but once Ning Ye arrived, he stole all the spotlight, and their words were now laced with jealousy.

Zhao Longguang laughed. "You are both senior sisters; why fuss over such things? We are all fellow disciples and should love and respect one another."

Shan Rou glared at him. "You're no better. Last time Xiao Jiu wanted Ink Flood Dragon scales, didn't you run off and fight that Ink Flood Dragon for three days just to peel them off for him?"

Seeing both women united against him, Zhao Longguang quickly said, "I'm going to find that brat right now and beat him for you to see. Today, I won't let him off easily."

With that, he darted into the woods.

Seeing this, Xin Xiaoye and Shan Rou looked at each other and shouted in unison, "Senior brother is going to teach Xiao Jiu a lesson! Everyone, let's go catch him!"

Hearing this, several more people descended from the sky, shouting "I'm in!" as they charged into the woods together.

When it came to disciplining Ning Ye, everyone was incredibly enthusiastic.

Xin Xiaoye rushed into the woods. Seeing no one there, she didn't mind and cast a spell, calculating with her fingertips while muttering, "Heaven and Earth are brilliant, nothing can hide, reveal!"

The scene before her cleared instantly.

Her bright eyes scanned the area, and she spotted Ning Ye lying on a small tree, resting with his legs crossed.

"Caught you!" Xin Xiaoye excitedly rushed over, closing in behind Ning Ye and reaching out to grab him.

With a poof, Ning Ye vanished. In his place stood a small pink pig, which released a cloud of pink gas from its rear. The mist swirled around Xin Xiaoye, accompanied by a foul stench.

Xin Xiaoye was completely stunned.

The little pig looked confused, turning its head to look at Xin Xiaoye, unable to understand why she would want to sniff its rear.

Did she like the smell?

So, it released another one—this time a multicolored "rainbow fart" that was sound, color, and scent all in one, even leaving a lingering dye effect.

Xin Xiaoye was covered in the mess.

She froze for a moment before letting out a piercing shriek: "Xiao Jiu! You bastard, I'm not done with you!!!"

She zoomed away, clearly off to clean up the miserable aftermath caused by the Fragrant Dust Pig.

"Hahahaha!"

The senior brothers who had arrived to watch burst into laughter, all of them looking on with schadenfreude.

Zhao Longguang snorted and grabbed at the empty space beside the pig, pulling a person out of thin air—it was Ning Ye.

"You brat, it wasn't enough to prank me, now you're pranking your senior sister too," Zhao Longguang scolded.

"I'm innocent! How was I supposed to know who would come to catch me?" Ning Ye protested. "I just wanted to set up a decoy; who knew Senior Sister Xin would be the one to fall for it?"

"Give it a rest. If you hadn't guessed it was her, you wouldn't have used the Fragrant Dust Pig. Among the nine of us, Xiaoye has the strongest insight," the third senior brother, Shen Linxin, ruthlessly exposed Ning Ye's excuse.

Feng Buting curiously picked up the Fragrant Dust Pig, examining it from all angles. "But junior brother, how did you do it? To be able to set a restriction on a spirit beast—that's not easy at all."

The way of restrictions is the way of mechanisms, sharing the same origin as arrays. Both belong to the path of arrays, but their applications differ greatly. The former requires a trigger and is more agile and simple, while the latter is grander and more imposing.

Feng Buting excelled in arrays; in terms of raw power, he was far superior to Ning Ye.

Ning Ye, however, was different; he leaned toward mechanical restrictions. His methods weren't about power, but about being devious and clever. Never mind Zhao Longguang, even Xin Ranzi was occasionally tricked by Ning Ye, showing that in terms of stealth and trickery, Ning Ye had truly reached the pinnacle.

However, restrictions and arrays require a certain logic to function, so they are rarely used on living creatures. After all, spirit beasts are alive and usually don't cooperate.

That was why Feng Buting found it so remarkable.

Shen Linxin also praised, "Junior brother's methods are becoming more and more impressive. No wonder that fake hunchback fell for it last time."

"It's still not enough, unfortunately," Ning Ye shook his head. "According to my original plan, I shouldn't have needed the poison pill at all. By using the Refraction Art to plant Sunlight Powder into the target's body, it could be done silently. Once triggered, it would create the effect of a Blazing Sun Martyr Explosion. If I had the right means, I should be able to control the timing of the blast. That way, if we ever needed to deal with an enemy sect, we could just plant this in one of their disciples, send them back, and trigger it at the right moment to create a world-shattering effect. But the Sunlight Powder is too unstable; it needs to be condensed into a Sunlight Seed through magic to be truly silent. And to create a world-shattering impact, the planted Sunlight Seed needs to be powerful enough. To suppress such immense power, I need negative energy to balance it... In short, there are still many problems to improve. It's a pity this method is too vicious; it's not suitable for testing on you senior brothers."

Ning Ye was shaking his head and talking happily when, bang, Zhao Longguang rapped him on the forehead.

Zhao Longguang said sternly, "You spend all day thinking about these crooked paths instead of focusing on your cultivation. Look at you—it's been over three years, and you're still in the Cang Xiang Realm. It's a waste of all the resources Master has given you. Aren't you ashamed of yourself?"

Feeling depressed from the blow, Ning Ye rubbed his head and complained, "Can we talk without hitting people? You'll make me stupid. Besides, the Way of Profound Arts and the Way of Formations are the fundamental pillars of our Heavenly Mechanism Sect; how can you call them crooked paths? I study restrictions, innovate, and have invented the Moon Shadow Cold Sand, the Sunlight Martyrdom Blast, and the Spiritless Restriction. Some of these things you haven't even seen before. I am clearly the greatest genius of this sect."

Once he said this, Zhao Longguang was left speechless.

He wasn't wrong. While these things might be considered unorthodox in other sects, for the Heavenly Mechanism Sect, they were the authentic Great Way.

It was just that this kid spent all his time researching these things while neglecting his own progress, which was ultimately inappropriate.

One had to realize that no matter how good a mechanism or formation was, it still required a person to operate it. Without sufficient strength, one could not create powerful mechanisms or formations.

Zhao Longguang wasn't good with words, so he could only say angrily, "I don't care. In any case, I'm giving you two more months. Within two months, you must attempt to break through to the Hualun Realm, no matter what."

"Do we have to?" Ning Ye's face turned bitter.

Zhao Longguang became even more annoyed and started patting Ning Ye's head frantically, "I'm telling you to break through for your own good, you unmotivated brat! You're going to be the death of me."

Feng Buting and the others were curious about what the Moon Shadow Cold Sand and the Spiritless Restriction were, but seeing Zhao Longguang in a rage, they didn't dare to ask.

"Alright, alright." The other fellow disciples stepped in to smooth things over.

Zhao Longguang's anger had not yet subsided, "The same goes for you lot! You spend all day idling about instead of cultivating properly. Tonight's evening session is doubled!"

Hearing this, everyone wailed in unison.

Shan Rou was so angry she kicked Ning Ye's backside, clearly annoyed that he had dragged them down with him. Ning Ye could only offer a bitter, apologetic smile.

"Eh? Where are the Fourth, Second, and Seventh?" Zhao Longguang noticed Yin Tianzhao was missing and asked.

"Second Brother is practicing his sword, Fourth Brother went to drink, and Seventh Brother is naturally off to see his Miss Chang," Feng Buting said, being a lover of gossip.

"Call them all back. Tomorrow is the Ancestor Worship Ceremony; not a single member of the Heavenly Mechanism Sect can be missing!" Zhao Longguang ordered.

"Yes!" everyone replied in unison.

Just then, Xin Xiaoye, having washed off the "rainbow farts" caused by the Fragrant Dust Pig, charged out with murderous intent, "Bai Yu, I'm going to slaughter you!"

Ning Ye was startled, "Senior Brother, Senior Sister, Junior Brother is off to save his life!"

With a whoosh, he vanished without a trace, with Xin Xiaoye chasing after him, sword in hand.

The group of senior brothers shook their heads, sighing endlessly.

"The Junior Brother is still a bit too mischievous," Lin Yufeng said, shaking his head with a sigh.

The Junior Brother was certainly intelligent, and usually quite steady, but for some reason, he just couldn't find any motivation for cultivation, leaving everyone feeling like they were trying to forge iron that refused to become steel.

"Exactly, exactly." Xin Xiaoye walked over. It seemed she hadn't caught up to Ning Ye after all. Although her cultivation was higher and her strength greater than his, she couldn't handle how slippery the kid was. He was proficient in all sorts of tricks and had vanished after a few turns. She huffed, "My father treats him so well, giving him every treasure he has. And yet? He just hangs around like a loafer all day. He's eaten so many good things that even a Fragrant Dust Pig should have advanced by now!"

The little Fragrant Dust Pig grunted a few times, as if to say, don't just talk, do something.

This left everyone feeling helpless and sighing.

When night fell, the Heavenly Mechanism Sect returned to its usual peace and tranquility.

The starry sky of Heavenly Secret Mountain was known as the most brilliant in the Evergreen Realm.

Whenever the moon hid away, the stars would shine, casting threads of starlight that dappled the ground in strange, mysterious patterns.

Ning Ye quietly walked out of the Heavenly Secret Hall and arrived at the plaza, where he took out a handful of dark blue sand and scattered it. He then walked to a quiet room and did the same. He continued this all the way, scattering the blue sand in various places around the Heavenly Mechanism Sect before carefully covering it with dirt and sneaking back to his room.

It was a success.

Ning Ye was beaming with joy, and just as he was about to do something, he saw Xin Ranzi sitting in his room, draped in a Bagua robe and holding the Heavenly Secret Staff.

"Master?" Ning Ye froze, his heart skipping a beat.

Xin Ranzi looked at him and held out a hand, "Hand it over."

Reluctantly, Ning Ye took out a bag and handed it to Xin Ranzi.

Xin Ranzi opened it and looked inside, feeling puzzled, "What is this?"

Ning Ye lowered his head and said, "A little something I researched myself, Master."

Xin Ranzi picked up some of the sand and felt it carefully, finding that he couldn't perceive the mystery within it. He was a bit curious, "What is the use of this?"

Seeing that he didn't know, Ning Ye said excitedly, "Master, you didn't figure it out?"

Xin Ranzi's face darkened, "Speak quickly."

Ning Ye said happily, "This is Moon Shadow Cold Sand. I researched it myself—the name isn't bad, right? As for its function, it's meant to be used in conjunction with the Kunlun Mirror."

As he spoke, Ning Ye took out the Kunlun Mirror, made a gesture in the void, and continued incessantly, "Master, I've always felt that using the Kunlun Mirror to calculate heavenly secrets is a waste. Heavenly secrets are ethereal and difficult to discern. Although it has the power of profound insight, the success rate is too low, and heavenly secrets shouldn't be leaked lightly, so its practical value isn't high. But we can think about it in reverse. Using the Kunlun Mirror to see the future or the will of heaven is indeed difficult, but using it to see the past, or things that have already happened or are currently happening, is very easy. Therefore, if the Kunlun Mirror is used to spy on people's secrets, it is an excellent treasure. Of course, there is a problem: my strength is still low, so I can't see through cultivators stronger than me. That's why I made the Moon Shadow Cold Sand. I combined Mystic Heaven Cold Nether Grass with Void Spirit Stone and exposed them to the Kunlun Mirror daily to give them spiritual resonance. This way, wherever there is Moon Shadow Cold Sand, I can see what is happening there. If you don't believe me, Master, look..."

As he spoke, he activated the Kunlun Mirror. The surface of the mirror rotated, and various parts of the Heavenly Mechanism Sect appeared on it.

Ning Ye had clearly been planting the Moon Shadow Cold Sand in secret for a long time; even his senior brothers' rooms had some.

As the Kunlun Mirror turned, it showed Senior Brother Zhao Longguang's room, where he was currently cultivating. It turned again to Second Senior Brother Lin Yufeng's room, where he was admiring himself in a mirror, intoxicated, waving a paper fan and muttering to himself, "A jade tree in the wind, none can compare to me."

Second Senior Brother Lin Yufeng had always been narcissistic, but Ning Ye hadn't expected him to be this bad. Ning Ye chuckled, but noticing Xin Ranzi's darkening expression, he quickly turned the mirror again. This time, it showed Seventh Senior Brother Yin Tianzhao's room, where a woman was present, and the two were embracing passionately.

"Eh? Isn't that the Chang girl from down the mountain?" Ning Ye blurted out.

Before he could say anything, smack, Xin Ranzi had already struck him on the head: "Absurd! Stop this at once!"

Ning Ye was startled and hurriedly deactivated the Kunlun Mirror.

Xin Ranzi said angrily, "The Great Dao of Heavenly Secrets is meant for discerning profound mysteries; how can it be used to pry into people's private affairs? Such behavior is base and beneath our kind. You are forbidden from doing this again, and you are strictly prohibited from peeping at your senior brothers and sisters!"

"Oh." Ning Ye, however, did not agree with this in his heart.

The former Ning Ye had been an intelligence analyst. Perhaps due to his background, Ning Ye was actually quite unimpressed by the Great Dao of Heavenly Secrets and the ability to foresee the future.

In his view, using the Kunlun Mirror to peer into the ethereal and illusory future was a complete waste. Its true purpose was not to look into the future, but to gather information and spy on things that were already known.

Knowing the past is sometimes equivalent to knowing the future.

It was just a pity that in this world, the mindset of cultivators was too rigid. It wasn't just Xin Ranzi; in the eyes of the vast majority of cultivators, only by discerning the unknown could one walk the righteous path.

The difference in their thought processes meant Ning Ye had nothing to explain, so he could only promise not to use the Kunlun Mirror for peeping in the future.

Fortunately, Xin Ranzi could also understand him. At this moment, Xin Ranzi beckoned with his hand, and the Kunlun Mirror floated above his head.

After his fingers performed a few rapid calculations, the ancient mirror hanging high above began to rotate continuously. Patches of clouds and mist appeared on the mirror's surface, with characters seemingly flickering in and out of view, yet they remained unclear. Furthermore, starlight flickered on and off, making it difficult to discern.

"So it is still like this, is it?" Xin Ranzi was not surprised. He sighed, "The heavenly secrets are not revealed, and the path of survival is hard to predict. It is no wonder you would seek another path and walk the way of the unorthodox. But this is not a fundamental solution after all. If it really comes to it, you should just focus on breaking through to the Hualun Realm first. Perhaps by then, you will know everything."

Hearing this, Ning Ye finally turned serious.

Shedding his previous absurd demeanor, Ning Ye lowered his head and replied, "This disciple understands Master's intentions, but I have never dared to forget what I saw that day. Until I find a way to resolve it, I dare not."

Xin Ranzi shook his head: "Do you think that if you don't advance, these things won't come to pass? What is destined by heaven will happen regardless of how hard you try."

Ning Ye replied, "This disciple understands, but I believe more that human effort can change things, and it is not entirely determined by heaven."

Xin Ranzi waved his hand, taking down the ancient mirror that hung like a bright moon and sending it into Ning Ye's body: "Then you must have sufficient strength to defy the heavens. Living in cowardly concealment is not the way of our kind."

Ning Ye replied, "If there is nowhere left to retreat, I shall rise up and fight!"