Departure

Time slipped by like a white steed flashing past a narrow gap, flowing away unnoticed.

Several months passed in the blink of an eye. Han Li celebrated his eighteenth birthday, while Jing Wen entered his nineteenth year.

In the Yue Kingdom's Cultivation World, the once-a-decade Ascension to Immortality Conference was about to begin. Like ripples spreading over a placid lake, this grand gathering stirred wave upon wave in the hearts of countless cultivators.

That day, warm sunlight spilled over the mountaintop, draping everything in a veil of gold.

Clad in a black robe that snapped in the wind, Jing Wen stood proudly on the summit.

He tilted his head slightly, his gaze piercing the clear sky toward a few drifting white clouds. His eyes were deep and distant, as though he were pondering something.

Jing Wen now exuded a steady, powerful aura. Having reached the consummate qi refining thirteenth layer, he possessed a commanding presence that needed no display of anger.

He had mastered the first layer of the Concealment Technique, allowing him to shift his apparent cultivation freely between the various levels of the qi refining stage.

Unless divine sense at the foundation establishment stage or above swept over him, no one could discern his true cultivation.

"It's time to leave," Jing Wen murmured, his voice sounding somewhat ethereal amid the howling mountain wind.

But... at the thought of Venerable Golden Light, his brow furrowed slightly.

Originally, he had intended to take Venerable Golden Light back to the Black Fiend Cult and refine him into a Blood Pill.

Yet bringing a cultivator on a journey of several thousand li would be far too troublesome.

Besides, he was not returning directly to the Black Fiend Cult. He first had to escort Han Li to Yellow Maple Valley, then visit the Startling Flood Dragon Society in Lan Prefecture.

During this time, Mo Juren had already sent him several letters.

At first, Jing Wen had little interest in Mo Juren and ignored them. After all, Mo Juren was merely a spare piece he had placed on the board.

But a secret Mo Juren mentioned in his latest letter had piqued his interest.

"That merchant Jin Guang is rather lucky. He's escaped disaster." Jing Wen's lips curved slightly, his smile faint as smoke yet utterly devoid of warmth-as though he were not celebrating a man's survival, but appraising a chess piece that had narrowly avoided capture.

Inside Jing Wen's courtyard

Upon receiving his summons, Enchantress hurried over with swift, graceful steps, her skirts fluttering like butterflies.

As she entered the courtyard, she immediately saw Jing Wen standing with his hands behind his back. His silhouette resembled a lone peak towering among the clouds, straight and coldly solitary.

A breeze passed, gently stirring his black robe, yet he seemed untouched by the warmth of the mortal world.

Sensing her arrival, Jing Wen slowly turned. His gaze settled upon her, as still as an ancient well, without emotion or warmth.

"I will be leaving this place soon."

That casually spoken sentence exploded like thunder in Enchantress's heart.

Her face suddenly paled, and a flicker of panic she could not conceal crossed her eyes.

The next moment, her knees buckled, and she fell to the ground with a thud, her urgent voice trembling, almost pleading:

"My lord! Please... take me with you!"

She raised her face, her eyes shimmering with tears, filled with both humility and the desperate sincerity of someone staking everything on one last chance.

"I'm willing to attend you wherever you go, make your bed, sweep and clean, toil like an ox or a horse, without a single word of complaint!

"All I ask... is to remain by your side!"

She stared fixedly at Jing Wen, as though he were the only piece of driftwood in this troubled world that could keep her safe-

Once she let go, only a bottomless abyss awaited.

Jing Wen watched her quietly, his brow faintly furrowed, but he remained unmoved.

After a moment, he gently shook his head.

"I will not take you with me. Nor will I take Venerable Golden Light."

He paused, his gaze like a blade piercing deep into her soul.

"You must remain here-and stay hidden.

"This is an order, and it is also the purpose of your existence."

Enchantress's body abruptly stiffened. All color drained from her face, and disbelief filled her eyes.

Ever since pledging loyalty to Jing Wen, she had hoped day and night to win his favor and obtain the subsequent portions of her cultivation art, along with resources such as pills and magical artifacts.

Yet in the end, she had received nothing.

He had begrudged her even a single gentle word.

Now he would not even take her away, instead ordering her to continue lurking in this place utterly devoid of spiritual energy-

With no deadline, no promise, and no way out.

Dusk spread silently through the courtyard like ink, swallowing the faded flowers, withered leaves, and flagstones alike.

Where the wind passed, a few dying petals trembled, like her spirit now teetering on the brink of collapse.

Her fingertips dug deep into her palms. A thread of crimson seeped out and dripped silently onto the cold stone slabs.

At last, she raised her face. Her voice was so soft that the wind almost scattered it, yet it carried one final, feeble glimmer of hope, like a dying candle in the wind.

"My lord... when will you return?"

Beneath the covered walkway, Jing Wen's retreating figure paused slightly.

The bronze bell at the corner of the eaves rang softly, ding-dong-its sound cold as frost, sending rings of lonely ripples through the dusk.

He did not turn around.

He merely shook his head slowly, his black sleeves rolling like clouds in the evening wind, resolute and aloof.

Then his footsteps sounded-neither hurried nor slow, yet each fell like a heavy hammer upon Enchantress's taut heartstrings.

Across the flagstones, two shadows drew farther and farther apart:

One stood straight as a pine, advancing step by step without a trace of attachment;

The other knelt like a heap of mud, hunched and unable to move an inch.

Only after a long while did Enchantress slowly rise, her legs long since numb and her body trembling faintly.

No trace of allure remained on her face, only emptiness and loss.

She took one last, lingering look at Jing Wen's residence-that window, that lamp, once the only light in her heart.

Now, the light had gone out.

She turned away in a daze, her steps faltering. Her skirts dragged over fallen leaves with mournful rustles, as though even the earth were sighing for her.

Inside the room, Jing Wen stood silently behind the window, his gaze passing through the thin gauze as he watched her graceful figure recede into the distance.

The night wind was cool, and no candle had been lit. Only moonlight, pale as frost, illuminated one half of his face while leaving the other in shadow.

His eyes were deep as an abyss, without joy, sorrow, or the slightest ripple-

As though he were looking not at a subordinate loyal to him, but at a stalk of spirit medicine not yet mature, or a batch of unfinished pills not yet sufficiently tempered by fire.

Adversity could destroy a person, but it could also temper the heart.

And on the great path of cultivation, seven parts depended on fortune, and three on the heart.

Without a heart that could endure, even the possession of heavenly treasures would amount to nothing but squandering nature's gifts.

He reflected silently:

Enchantress lacked Mo Juren's seasoned methods and the calculating restraint he had cultivated over decades.

Nor did she have Han Li's fate-defying Little Green Bottle or the immense fortune that guided him unseen.

All she possessed was a heart full of obsession, a little beauty, and a Dao heart that had yet to take shape.

As she was now, she did not even qualify to become a "pill"-

Too little tempering, too many impurities. Refining her would yield no benefit and only foul the Pill Furnace.

She still needed to rise and sink in the mire of the Seven Mysteries Sect, struggle amid betrayal and suspicion, and be tempered again and again between despair and hope.

Until one day, if she was still alive, and her eyes no longer begged for pity but were sharp as blades and cold as ice-

Perhaps then she would be worth another glance.

Jing Wen slowly closed the window. The wooden hinge creaked softly, shutting out the last whisper of wind.

The room sank into complete silence.

Only a barely audible murmur from him drifted into the void:

"Keep grinding... become something of worth, or become dust."

Early the next morning, as dawn first broke, the sea of clouds along the horizon surged like golden waves.

On the highest cliff in the Seven Mysteries Sect, Jing Wen and Han Li stood side by side.

The mountain wind whipped their robes, one black and one blue-green, like two leaves about to part from their branch.

Jing Wen flicked his sleeve and released a faint pulse of spiritual power-

Two flying swords hummed into view and hovered beneath their feet, their clear, cold gleam reflecting the rising sun.

"Go." He spoke only one word.

The next instant, the two stepped onto their swords and soared into the air, becoming two streaks of light, one behind the other, that tore through the morning mist and shot into the clouds.

The sect gates below dwindled, the people shrinking to ants before finally vanishing from sight.

After flying for some time, Han Li steadied himself. While controlling his sword, he turned his head and asked, "Senior brother, are we going to Yellow Maple Valley now?"

Jing Wen gazed into the distance, his expression calm as a deep pool. "If you went straight to Yellow Maple Valley with the Ascension Token now, you would most likely never see its sect master."

Han Li's heart tightened. "Why?"

"That token is too precious." Jing Wen's tone was indifferent, yet every word was like a knife. "Once word gets out, never mind rogue cultivators lying in ambush-even Yellow Maple Valley's higher-ups might harm you."

Han Li's brows knitted tightly, doubt clouding his eyes. "Then... where exactly are we going?"

"The Ascension to Immortality Conference," Jing Wen answered crisply.

Seeing that Han Li still looked bewildered, he slowed his speech slightly and explained patiently, "This conference takes place once every ten years. It is a grand event in the Yue Kingdom's Cultivation World.

"When the time comes, the Seven Great Sects will gather at Heavenly South Market, throw open their gates, and select outstanding disciples.

"With the Ascension Token in your possession, you can hand it to Yellow Maple Valley's envoy in full view of everyone at the conference. With so many eyes watching, who would dare act rashly?

"Your safety will naturally be assured."

At this, the doubt in Han Li's eyes eased somewhat, and he nodded in agreement. "I see. You really have thought of everything, senior brother."

What he failed to notice was-

The almost imperceptible lift at the corner of Jing Wen's lips, and the faintest trace of amusement that flickered deep in his eyes.

Thought of everything?

It was merely on the way.

In truth, those words were only an excuse.

The venue of the Ascension to Immortality Conference happened to lie along the route he had to take to reach the Startling Flood Dragon Society in Lan Prefecture.

Escorting Han Li was merely a convenient favor.

He could ensure Han Li entered the sect safely without delaying his own subsequent plans. Why not?

Several days later, after traversing a thousand mountains and passing over countless waters,

The two finally stopped before an immense peak that seemed to hold up the heavens.

A sea of clouds churned beneath myriad rays of rosy light. Palace roofs and upswept eaves appeared faintly at the summit, while the distant sound of bells and chimes drifted down from the highest heavens-this was Mount Tai Nan, the venue of the Yue Kingdom's once-a-decade Ascension to Immortality Conference.

Jing Wen stood with his hands behind his back, his black robe stirring gently in the wind. He raised a hand toward the mist-shrouded summit, his voice as calm as ever.

"That is where the Ascension to Immortality Conference is being held.

"Go on by yourself."

"Senior brother... aren't you coming in with me?" Han Li turned in astonishment, his eyes filled with surprise and reluctance to part.

After three years together, he had long since come to regard Jing Wen as a guiding light. Faced with this sudden separation, his heart felt strangely hollow.

But Jing Wen merely shook his head, looking toward the distant horizon as though important business awaited him. "I have other arrangements. We part here."

Han Li's throat moved slightly, but in the end, he asked no further questions.

Instead, he bowed deeply and spoke solemnly. "Take care, senior brother!"

Before his words had faded, Jing Wen flicked a finger-

A fierce surge of sword qi coalesced with a roar, becoming a silver rainbow a hundred zhang long that tore through the sky!

In an instant, his figure shot upward amid rolling waves of spiritual power, like a meteor piercing the sun. In the blink of an eye, he disappeared into the clear blue sky without a trace.

Only an afterimage lingered in Han Li's eyes.

The mountain wind howled, whipping the hem of his blue-gray robe with sharp snaps.

The Ascension Token tucked against his chest suddenly felt heavy, as though it carried gratitude, debt, opportunity, and a road from which there could be no turning back.

In the distance, Mount Tai Nan's morning bell echoed through the sea of clouds, stroke after stroke, as though knocking upon the door of his heart.

Cultivators carrying swords were already arriving along the mountain path in twos and threes. Some were aloof, others boisterous, but all bore their own dreams of immortality.

Han Li took a deep breath and secured the Jade Slip and token close to his body. As his fingertips touched the smooth, warm surface of the Little Green Bottle, his heart steadied somewhat.

He took one last look at the horizon where Jing Wen had vanished, then turned and stepped onto the stone stairs-

One step into the crowd;

One step into destiny.

Meanwhile, deep within the clouds high above the ground a hundred li away, a blood-red streak of escaping light tore through the heavens, racing like lightning straight toward Lan Prefecture.

The man within that light wore a snapping black robe, his eyes like cold stars-

It was Jing Wen.

His lips curved slightly as he murmured:

"Mo Juren... don't disappoint me."