Why Don't You Look Behind You?

Li Fuchan slipped through the water using a Qi-Form False Body.

He made his way into a dark stretch of water.

As he traveled, he suddenly noticed something strange about the water ahead.

Instead of murky darkness, a cloud of mist rose there, illuminating a radius of several yards as brightly as daylight. Warm yang energy spread in every direction, heating that stretch of water into something like a hot spring.

Li Fuchan focused his gaze. At the heart of the radiance lay an enormous clam, as large as a millstone.

His eyes lit up at once. Clapping his hands, he laughed. "What fortune! What fortune! It really is a Resurrection Clam!"

The Resurrection Clam was a medicinal ingredient recorded in the alchemical text Flying Earthworm had left behind. In truth, it was an exotic beast.

It brimmed with yang energy. One as large as this possessed more yang essence in its flesh than a dozen ordinary tigers or leopards combined.

What made it truly precious was that such beasts usually contained a crystallized mass of yang essence; otherwise, they could not breathe yang energy in and out.

Over the long term, it could not compare with Black Mountain's yang-gathering configuration. But Li Fuchan estimated that swallowing its yang essence would be enough to restore his physical body.

Li Fuchan did not rush to touch it. He considered whether this might be another scheme, and only after a long while did he make up his mind.

Thinking it over, I ought to thank the schemer behind the scenes for letting me find this Resurrection Clam so quickly, he thought with a cold sneer. He suppressed my Illuminating Light too ruthlessly. Things reverse themselves when pushed to extremes, and he forced me through one danger after another. Once I escaped those shackles, my Illuminating Light surged, stirring the unseen workings of Destiny. It was just like a Flood Serpent entering the water, finding life in its proper element. Unless a fatal tribulation specifically meant to counter my Destiny stands before me, turning danger into safety and misfortune into fortune shouldn't be difficult.

After thinking it through, he was spared the toil of searching everywhere for a place to house his Yang Vessel.

Without further hesitation, Li Fuchan set up a Concealment Spell there, then carefully moved the Yang Vessel out of his "Brow Peak" and placed it inside the Resurrection Clam to nourish it.

By his calculations, he would need only three years to grow a complete, sound physical body.

Not daring to be careless, he guarded it for two days, then hurried away without pause to seek mortal turbidity to mingle with, keeping his consciousness from dimming.

Yet when he rushed back, he spotted three figures from afar. Each maintained a Water-Repelling Spell as they fought fiercely, churning the water around them.

"What happened? Have I fallen into another trap?"

Li Fuchan's heart tightened. His Yang Vessel was still inside the clam, so he dared not make the slightest rash move, much less flee. He could only restrain himself, hide deeper, and watch from a distance.

"Gao Qin! This isn't territory governed by your Gao Household! How dare you take the Resurrection Clam away without permission!"

One of them rebuked him in a voice like muffled thunder. He shook the White Banner in his hand, and wherever its surface swept, Water Arrows shot out like a swarm of flying locusts, piercing layer after layer of waves to strike the man called Gao Qin.

Gao Qin gave a muffled grunt. Without a word, he thrust his broad hands out and grasped at empty space. Black light surged, blocking every Water Arrow filling the water.

But his palms trembled continuously. Clearly, taking that attack had been far from easy.

"Yuchi Liang, Yuchi Yun! Ambushing me to steal my treasure—you've gone too far! Aren't you afraid my ancestor will learn of this?"

Yuchi Liang stood holding his banner. He merely sneered, making no effort to hide his contempt. "The Gao Household's ancestor has been in seclusion for five years without a word. Do you really think you're still the Golden Bow Aristocratic Clan that once held seven towns in awe? Besides, you've been sneaking around on this trip. I suspect you've kept everyone in your Gao Household in the dark, haven't you? If you die here without even bones left behind, who will ever know?"

Gao Qin's face alternated between green and white before slowly turning ashen. His eyes filled with both resentment and regret.

"There's a traitor in the household!"

Two months earlier, he had happened to pass through this place and accidentally discovered this Resurrection Clam breathing pure yang energy. He had been delighted, planning to move it back to his lineage in secret. He dared not claim the chief credit, but at least he would earn some small merit.

Yet when he cast an inspection spell, he unexpectedly discovered a faint radiance flowing within the Resurrection Clam. It seemed to be nurturing some extraordinary treasure, occasionally emitting faint gleams of gold and purple and an exceptional aura of auspiciousness.

His great-grandfather had originally married into the household from another surname. Only after risking his life had he been granted the surname Gao. By Gao Qin's generation, his branch had long fallen into decline, and cultivation resources were painfully scarce.

Seeing such a treasure now, his heart immediately stirred, and greed rose in him to seize it for himself.

But that did not necessarily mean he truly dared betray his lineage.

He had sounded out several fellow cultivators with whom he was usually close, saying only that he had stumbled upon a fortunate opportunity. They had settled on a foolproof plan for dividing the treasure once it finished forming and then claiming credit from the Ning Household.

Today, he had come secretly to check on the treasure. Who could have expected the two men from the Yuchi Household to interfere, brazenly attacking him to seize it?

By now, Yuchi Liang had lost his patience. He shook the White Banner in his hand and snorted.

"Stop wasting words on him. Kill him quickly, before a long night breeds more dreams!"

"Mm."

Beside him, Yuchi Yun answered in a low voice. The two moved again, one from the left and one from the right, attacking more fiercely and swiftly than before as they lunged at Gao Qin's vital points.

Already at a disadvantage, Gao Qin was plunged into mounting peril under their all-out assault.

He fended them off desperately, stretched thin on every side. The black light around his bare hands gradually dimmed. Several wounds deep enough to expose bone appeared across his shoulder and beneath his ribs. The moment blood welled out, the current swept it away into crimson clouds.

In the thick of the fight, Gao Qin stumbled. The Resurrection Clam he had been protecting so tightly behind him finally lost its cover and was fully exposed.

The enormous clam lay quietly on the riverbed, its shell still breathing radiance in and out, seemingly oblivious to the life-and-death struggle before it.

Li Fuchan took it all in.

I'll wait until both sides are badly wounded before I act.

Within the battle, Gao Qin was already an arrow at the end of its flight, making hoarse, low growls.

Spotting an opening, Yuchi Liang abruptly swept his White Banner around. Its tip silently pierced the curtain of water and struck Gao Qin squarely in the back of the heart.

The light in Gao Qin's eyes dimmed at once. His body swayed twice, then sank into the mud on the riverbed and lay silent.

Yuchi Liang withdrew his White Banner without so much as glancing at the corpse. He turned his gaze back to the Resurrection Clam, and a smug smile finally appeared on his face.

"Heh. After all that trouble, the treasure is ours at last."

As he spoke, he stepped forward and reached out to open the Resurrection Clam.

"Stop!"

At that moment, Li Fuchan suddenly shot out of a distant undercurrent and struck, slamming Yuchi Yun into the mud.

Caught off guard, Yuchi Liang also fell to his surprise attack. Gravely wounded, he staggered and was swept away by the undercurrent.

Having dealt with both men in one go, Li Fuchan had no time to feel even the slightest relief before rushing to the Resurrection Clam. Just as he reached out to open it,

a hand settled on his shoulder without warning.

"Caught you."

Every hair on Li Fuchan's body stood on end. A chill shot straight up from his tailbone, and several eerie gleams burst from his venomous eyes.

He froze, not daring to move. Through his Illuminating Light, he saw Gao Qin, who had been thoroughly dead, standing behind him with an ambiguous smile.

Forcing down the storm raging in his heart, Li Fuchan said coldly, "I've seen you before, haven't I?"

"Gao Qin" chuckled. The flesh on his face rippled like the surface of water, his features shifting until he became a middle-aged Daoist with a yellow cap and a long beard. He offered a formal salute and smiled. "Red Serpent Lord, this humble Daoist is Jia Hua. My greetings."

So it was an "old acquaintance" from Black Mountain.

Li Fuchan stared at him for a long while, then slowly nodded. "Senior, did you stage this elaborate spectacle to take my Life Force?"

"No, no." Jia Hua withdrew his hand from Li Fuchan's shoulder and waved it, his smile all genial warmth. "There's merely a task I'd like to trouble you to undertake for me, my lord."

"What task?"

Jia Hua refused to say. He merely turned his gaze leisurely toward the Resurrection Clam and smiled. "As for that... I must first see your physical body with my own eyes before we can discuss it."

The Yang Vessel was still inside the clam. This was a blatant attempt to hold him in check.

Knowing he could not defy this wicked Daoist, Li Fuchan said no more. He crouched and reached out to open the Resurrection Clam. Curious, Jia Hua leaned closer as well to look inside.

The next instant,

A ray of Golden Light suddenly shot from the gap in the Resurrection Clam's shell. Incomparably sharp, it pierced Li Fuchan's body with a whoosh. His body dissolved into vapor as the Golden Light churned through it, then continued unabated toward Jia Hua's brow.

The change came without warning, as swift as lightning striking flint.

Before the smile could fade from Jia Hua's face, a bloodstain fine as a strand of hair appeared between his brows, piercing straight through his skull.

His body swayed twice before he toppled backward, falling stiffly into the sand and mud on the riverbed, following "Gao Qin" to the same end.

After an unknown stretch of time, the water gradually settled.

Yuchi Yun, who had been slammed into the mud, slowly began to move.

He propped himself up and climbed out of the sludge. The flesh on his face also writhed and shifted, becoming the face of a middle-aged man.

He walked forward and looked down at the unscathed yang essence inside the Resurrection Clam, still breathing radiance in and out. His brow creased slightly.

"What happened?"

"There's only this one Resurrection Clam within a hundred miles, yet it failed to lure him here? Or... did he abandon such a wonderful opportunity merely out of a little caution?"

His physical body had been destroyed, yet he dared not seize such a heaven-sent opportunity placed before him. That was no longer caution, but foolish cowardice. If he really was that sort of person, how could that task be entrusted to him?

Thinking this, Jia Hua shook his head lightly. His resolve wavered, and for the first time, a trace of doubt arose over his decision.

"No! It's a method that works on Spiritual Nature!"

A hand suddenly settled on his back from behind, and a familiar cold laugh sounded eerily against his ear.

"Caught you."

Golden Light wrapped around a fist-sized black stone and instantly blasted Jia Hua's head apart.

Li Fuchan's form appeared. As Jia Hua's last shred of spirituality escaped the Illuminating Light's restraint and dissipated, he glimpsed Li Fuchan's true form and cried out in shock, "Why is it a chick—"

Li Fuchan swept the area with his Illuminating Light. Only when he could no longer detect the slightest trace of foreign spirituality did he breathe out in relief. "I knew it. Better to trust myself than Destiny. Never covet an opportunity that comes from nowhere. Good thing I kept a precaution in reserve. Jia Hua? He must be the cultivator from Peaceful Way Abbey who came to the foot of Black Mountain that day. As long as his true body isn't here, a mere strand of spirituality is nothing to fear... Hm? Clever trick!"

His gaze fell on the sand and mud, where a line of writing had appeared.

"Jia Hua acted presumptuously and begs your forgiveness. Should you have any instructions, please visit the Gao Household in Huaishuo and allow me to offer my apologies."

Li Fuchan sneered and swept the words away with a wave of his hand.

Only then did he carry the Resurrection Clam to another water vein he had painstakingly found, settle it there, and burrow inside to recuperate.

"—en?!"

Inside a guest residence belonging to the Gao Household in Huaishuo, Jia Hua cried out, then quickly shut his mouth.

Two bloodstains appeared between his brows. Azure light flashed, restoring them to their former state.

Before he could breathe a sigh of relief, two more bloodstains appeared.

His Outer Scenery teetered on the verge of collapse, presenting a dim and gloomy vista.

This was an injury to his Spiritual Nature, not something easily healed.

Jia Hua could not help sighing. "What a vicious Flood Serpent."

Jia Hua had never wanted to provoke a variable like Li Fuchan. Yet whenever he saw his senior brother's increasingly aged face and the white hair at his temples, saw him exhaust his mind and strength for Peaceful Way Abbey, Jia Hua's own cultivation was too low to offer any help.

All he could do was shoulder the consequences in his personal capacity, so that the vicious Flood Serpent could be put to use by Peaceful Way Abbey in what was to come.

But he had failed to find him.

He could only come to the Gao Household first to make preparations.

He had already reached the stage of seeking his "Nature Root" and had long since made a plan: he would plant a precious medicine in his "Outer Scenery" to complete his "Nature Root." Thus, he sent out two motes of Spiritual Nature to temper his spirit and mind in preparation for planting it.

Unexpectedly, he happened to notice Gao Qin's unusual behavior. Following him, he also discovered the Resurrection Clam on the riverbed. After some calculations, he worked out exactly where Li Fuchan would appear.

He waited until Gao Qin fought the two men from the Yuchi Household, then tricked Li Fuchan into revealing himself. But he never imagined that neither of his two motes of Spiritual Nature would prove a match. With one effortless suppression, Li Fuchan had robbed him of the initiative. Now the injury had reached his own body, delaying his pursuit of his "Nature Root" by at least five years.

What a formidable method!

Recalling the method that had suppressed his spirituality, Jia Hua murmured, "I thought he had no real teaching lineage. So it was an Ancient Art Cultivator's method—cultivating nature and life before aperture opening, with Destiny upon him as well. Pitting my spirituality against him was truly asking for suffering."

The two bloodstains between Jia Hua's brows finally stopped appearing. His outer scenery receded, and pain gradually arrived. His brows arched, his long, gently sloping eyebrows pressing desperately downward. The corners of his mouth twitched as though he were about to laugh, pulling toward his ears. His teeth gleamed white and sharp, revealing a savage, venomous face. In an instant, the Daoist with an immortal's bearing became a wicked ghost, a Delusion-Fury Baleful Spirit. He cried out in pain for a long while. "I don't want to eat people. Neither does Senior Brother. But in this world, who can survive without eating people? Ancient Art Cultivator? Nothing but an inferior beast whose path is cut off."

That night, in territory governed by the Gao Household, twelve hundred women were driven into an array. All possessed complete essence, energy, and spirit; none had suffered great upheavals or grievous harm; all retained their primal yin and were known for their intelligence. They were refined into Blood Qi and yin essence, which Jia Hua swallowed.

The injury to his Spiritual Nature was repaired in an instant.

Yet he did not seek out Li Fuchan again. He merely gazed in the direction of Peaceful Way Abbey, silent for a long, long time.