The Withering and Flourishing Cycle, a Century of Scheming (IV)

North of the governor's residence, deep in a barren valley where Demon Beasts ran rampant and mist lay thick, there was a cave.

Within it, an aura was concealed, while boundless Spiritual Qi gathered to bolster it.

A youth in green suddenly opened his eyes and called out haltingly before abruptly spitting out a mouthful of blood.

"Withered... Yin Puppet!"

"The Withered Yin Puppet... has been broken."

An ancient-looking jade pendant floated before him. Cracks were spreading across it, and its spiritual light had dimmed.

"Something... has happened to the Zhao Household."

The youth had delicate features, and radiant green light bathed his body in a brilliant glow. He slowly wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, his eyes flickering with a world-weariness beyond his years.

Then, all at once, he felt dazed and his hair stood on end. Unable to move, he sensed murderous intent erupt as danger descended.

It was a Purple Mansion Divine Ability!

Even though he realized it, how could he evade it with his Foundation Establishment Early Stage cultivation?

Then, deep within his sea of consciousness, an aged voice slowly rang out like a thunderclap:

"Qinglin, leave at once!"

A wind capable of decaying plants and severing their vitality formed a protective barrier around the youth.

The next breath.

Ye Guyi tore open the Great Void and crossed through it to arrive.

His green robes billowed, and his face was as still as water.

A Divine Ability descended from the heavens after him.

Countless currents of wind Gang and surging fury filled the air, while wind Sha Qi hung thick and heavy, weighing as much as a million jun.

It crashed down, obliterating the entire valley. The mist dispersed, the Demon Beasts were wiped out, and rubble from the valley lay scattered across the ground.

Purple Mansion Divine Sense swept over the area, sparing not a stone, a blade of grass, or a tree.

Nothing, nothing, still nothing.

But Yu Qinglin had vanished without a trace.

Ye Guyi's face was as still as water, fury suppressed in his eyes. The pressure of the Purple Mansion Realm made heaven and earth change color for thousands of miles, while air continually swirled and gathered into tornadoes.

"Anlan, issue the governor's order. Seal off Qingyu and search the entire realm. Find this rat for me," Ye Guyi shouted angrily.

"Yes."

Ye Anlan answered with an expression that said he had expected as much, a faint smile curling his lips.

I should have butchered him back then. It was all Father's fault for hesitating, and the Zhao Clan's for getting in the way.

Now I've lost so much face in front of the young master.

I, Anlan, will make sure to give you, little rat, a proper working-over to vent the hatred in my heart.

The governor's residence, the banquet hall.

"A little rat ten thousand miles north of the governor's residence, and even after the governor himself acted, he still couldn't capture him?" Xu Feng looked at Ye Guyi with a sinister expression and a mocking tone.

Ye Guyi's face darkened, and he was about to explain.

Ye Jinyu raised a hand to stop him, toying with the jade-green cup in hand and looking at the Qingyu Spirit Marrow Wine sent by the Zhao Clan.

At the same time, the Twelve Cloud Guards rose into the air, swift, precise, and ruthless. Their embroidered robes hidden as they moved, they continued hunting down every member of the Zhao Clan.

"The Zhao Clan's foundations, destroyed in a single day... cough, cough, cough."

"My Zhao Clan is so innocent... our ancestor... utterly loyal, enduring humiliation for a hundred years, and now we're cast aside just like that. I hate this..."

Every bone in Zhao Yuan's body had been shattered, and his Foundation Establishment cultivation was constantly leaking out as a dark Qi mixed with withered wood Qi.

Zhao Yuan's son had been reduced to ashes, while his two daughters had their five senses sealed and knelt silently on the spot.

Zhao Yuan lay prone on the ground, trembling, blood flowing across the floor.

He kept muttering under his breath. At times, his eyes turned vicious and his fingers dug into the ground, leaving bloody marks; at others, he fell into a frenzy and wailed.

When the heads of the other five clans in the hall learned that Xu Feng had withdrawn his Divine Ability, a trace of awkwardness hung in the air.

They had long since been scared out of their wits and lay prostrate, too afraid to move. Quite a few of the Ye Clan's stewards and cultivators also lowered their heads in shame.

"As for you," Ye Jinyu said in a somewhat gentler tone, "go home for now and reflect on your conduct behind closed doors. If there is any suspicious movement, the Zhao Clan will serve as your example."

"Thank you for sparing our lives, young master!" The five kowtowed repeatedly and fled the place at once.

Ye Jinyu surveyed the blood covering the floor, feeling a strange excitement.

The Bifeng inside was incomparably active, flowing through the body and constantly tearing at it, accompanied by a desire to destroy.

After reining it in for a moment, Ye Jinyu looked at the Yin Qi leaking from Zhao Yuan on the ground and asked Xu Feng:

"Is this the Withering and Flourishing Yin Body Scripture, a castrated version of the Purple Mansion Divine Ability Withering and Flourishing Cycle? Shouldn't it build the immortal foundation of the Withering and Flourishing Body?"

"Lush grows the grass upon the plain; each year it withers and flourishes again. When plants wither and flourish, they should be dying but not yet dead, able to sprout anew when spring comes. It should be an orthodox Wood-aspect art."

"How did it become like this, neither human nor ghost?"

Xu Feng had become one of Qiuran's dependents and had received a True Lord's teachings on Divine Abilities, giving him a clearer understanding of such things.

He needed only to observe carefully and ponder for a moment before understanding.

Xu Feng answered, "Young master, according to the clan's records, it is indeed the Withering and Flourishing Yin Body Scripture. But if it were altered and evolved using the Divine Ability Withering and Flourishing Cycle, the Qi of plants withering and flourishing..."

"If it were replaced with the yin of the Spirit-Withered Pine, one could cultivate the Withered Yin Puppet. It was also the means True Person Qingyu once used to rule Qingyu... holding life and death in his hands. It should have been lost long ago."

"But how could the death of an ordinary Purple Mansion cultivator cause such a commotion? At the time, we only assumed this realm had favored him."

"But if ordinary vegetation were watered with Demon Beast Essence Blood once every fifty years, it could also grow rapidly. That sounds rather like a Spirit Plant farmer's method of growing medicinal herbs.

"Add to that the selection of a pure Yu Clan bloodline once every hundred years, every ten years, under the pretext of brewing wine... that Yu Qinglin is the key."

"As for that little rat..." Xu Feng's eyes grew brighter as he continued, "I only wonder what his fate and destiny are... This realm is rich in the Wood aspect, so Qingyu should have had a withered-wood yin fate."

"That Yu Qinglin has a wood-yang fate and also possesses the Azure Wood Spirit Body. Three years ago, my son Anlan... fought over the Zhao Clan... traitor out of jealousy and insisted on taking him to brew wine, but he escaped... The Zhao Clan paid... quite a price for it." Hearing this, Ye Guyi answered at once, though he found it somewhat difficult to speak of his disappointing son.

"Withered yin, wood yang... sprouting anew with spring's arrival. Qingyu has made an enormous move, attempting to defy heaven and change his fate? Could such a method exist in this world?"

"So that's how it is..."

Ye Jinyu suddenly recalled the Qingyu Notes.

Why did Father give this to me?

Spirit wine, the Azure Wood Spirit Body... heh.

Ye Jinyu murmured:

"A Purple Mansion's scheme, a century of calculations."

"It seems this True Person Qingyu possessed uncommon methods and intellect. He understood the situation and was not driven by hot blood alone."

"The realm's talents truly are as numerous as crucian carp crossing a river."

"Four hundred years ago, he faked his death, deceived my Ye Clan's True Person, and turned into that thirty-thousand-mile Spirit-Withered Pine Forest. We thought it was the Withering and Flourishing Cycle. The wind fell with a mournful sigh, blowing ten thousand trees to decay—that was Wind of a Thousand Decays. Yet we never imagined he had a third Divine Ability..."

Hearing this, Xu Feng also understood, though he stammered somewhat as he spoke.

"It's Spring's Arrival. With one turn of withering and flourishing, all things sprout anew when spring comes... But this Divine Ability... belongs to the Great Peace Temple of Cangxuan's Wood-aspect lineage. How could a cultivator from a Ruins Realm..."

Ye Jinyu's gaze grew still, then suddenly turned toward the sky of the Qingyu Ruins Realm. Beyond the sky, the Cloud Mist Qingming Heaven could be seen pressing down over eight million miles.

"This is no longer something we can contend with. It must be the scheme of one Heaven, perhaps even several... Are even Purple Mansion cultivators mere ants in it...?"

Ye Jinyu spoke softly.

Perhaps this is the real test for me.

The thought crossed Ye Jinyu's mind.

I wield power; I command the masses.

If I kill a servant or two, the likes of ants, must I really probe and test, taking things slowly like a thin stream flowing endlessly?

Scheming much but deciding little, failing to cut when it is time to cut, only invites chaos in return.

If I have a thought, if I have a doubt, then the fault lies with you.

Perhaps this is how cultivators above think?

Seated high above the heavens, why ponder the thoughts of mayflies and ants?

Father and Grandfather never troubled themselves over ants. Strength reigns supreme. Since I cultivate Divine Abilities, my mind should naturally be open and free of restraint.

With this thought, Ye Jinyu's mind cleared.

[Congratulations to the host on breaking through in State of Mind. Reward: 10,000 Heavenly Mandate Points]

[Current host balance: -20,000]

[Mission: Take control of one Ruin Realm (in progress)]

[Mission 2: Qingyu Ruins Realm. Seize the Yin-Yang Spirit Wood Heart. Turn from death to life, being born as one dies, dying as one is born...]

"Three days from now, execute them all. Search for the Yu Clan's line. Regardless of the loss or gain of any city or place, I want to restore clear skies to Qingyu."

"As you command." Xu Feng's and Ye Guyi's voices drifted from behind, sinking into the night like shadows.

Above the Cloud-Heaven Azure Palace, the Azure Nether Wind blew without cease, stirring the Yunlan.

Ye Qingming caught a wisp of wind and said calmly:

"There has been some improvement..."

"Fellow Daoist of the Great Peace Temple, you have overstepped somewhat..."