Dao Ginseng, Ruin Realm

"Don't be nervous. This old man has profound cultivation, and I'm pouring my Purple Mansion Peak cultivation into you. It's normal to feel dizzy."

"During the inheritance, you may lose some of your memories. Remember to open your minds and concentrate fully. Do not resist my power."

"It's just a pity. Who would have thought that after a lifetime of roaming the world and serving the imperial court, I would finally secure a marquisate in the Ministry of War, only to meet with death and the destruction of my Dao?"

"Those stupid asses in the Ministry of War, that useless intelligence from the idiots at the Ruin Mansion Bureau-the Ruin Realm had a full eight Purple Mansion cultivators!!"

Atop a barren mountain, inside a hastily constructed cave abode rich with spiritual essence.

"I can't suppress it anymore..."

A light breeze curled loosely about, its sound raging toward a frenzy. It formed wisps of wind calamity tribulation Qi that tore at the old man's body and lingered around him, creating a vortex of wind and Spiritual Qi that ripped at and affected the physical space around it. He looked particularly miserable.

Three Foundation Establishment cultivators were forced to kneel before the old man in gray robes.

They trembled, their bodies firmly bound by the wind calamity tribulation Qi leaking from him.

Their Dao foundations shook within them. They harbored hatred in their hearts but dared not show it on their faces.

The old man was in a sorry state at the moment. His eyes were kind and compassionate, his white hair billowed around him, and he clutched his chest and coughed as he spoke, looking as though he had little time left.

"Stop trembling. This old man went to great pains to lure you here, and not to see you behave like this."

His voice was hoarse as he patiently coaxed them. "My end is near. I can hardly take all this Purple Mansion cultivation into the grave with me."

"The three of you are the renowned and gifted members of the Foundation Establishment generation from the three great Foundation Establishment lineages within several thousand miles. As it happens, what you cultivate is compatible with my Cultivation Method. If you receive my inheritance, you can look forward to reaching Purple Mansion."

"Rest assured, if I succeed, I will also look after your lineages a little. When the time comes, I'll nurture a few promising talents..."

"You had best not resist. Otherwise, I guarantee that not a single soul in your lineages will be left alive and breathing."

As he spoke, tribulation wind Qi that washed over and scoured the soul seeped from the pupils of his compassionate eyes, turning into wisps of dark smoke that slowly rose upward.

At once, all three cultivators' eyes reddened and their pupils clouded over. Their souls and minds grew as murky as a turbid wind, unable to find clarity.

Before long.

The three said in unison:

"Master! You'll certainly get better!"

"That's right, Master! We'll go find spirit medicines. We'll definitely heal your injuries! Even if we have to burn up our Dao foundations and flesh and blood, we'll keep you alive!"

"Although we master and disciples have only known each other for a quarter of an hour, we feel that your kindness is as vast as the sea, beyond anything we could repay!"

The old man waved a hand and smiled bitterly. "It's no use. These injuries... I brought them out from deep within a superior Ruin Realm, the 'Wind Abyss Ruin Realm.'"

That place, tsk, tsk, tsk. The imperial court had finally found it beyond the realms after great difficulty and sent out countless spies. The place where the barrier between realms had been breached lay in the heart of Jiangnan.

As it happened, that was Ye Clan territory. Of the four aspects under heaven-wind, thunder, mountain, and marsh-how illustrious was the Dao of wind? The Cloud Mist Ye Clan had held the position of [Wind] for generations.

The profound Cultivation Methods and Divine Abilities of the wind Dao all came from the Ye Clan. No wind cultivator under heaven dared disobey them.

Now a Ruin Realm born of the origin of the wind Dao had appeared... The imperial court could not keep it hidden.

Unfortunately, those natives in the Ruin Realm could not read the times and had even tried to resist, injuring me so badly.

I expect it won't be long before the imperial court obtains the full truth, musters its armies, and sends cultivators to bear down upon the realm...

He paused, sweeping his gaze over the three as he pondered to himself.

Within a thousand miles, only these three cultivated the wind attribute.

I'll keep the most talented one to take over his body. The other two will cultivate two of my Divine Abilities, then I'll devour them as Dao Ginseng.

[Turbid Bi Wind] [Wind Crushes Mountains] [Calamity Wind Shuo]

With one life-bound Divine Ability and two techniques for combat, it will be enough for me to establish myself in Purple Mansion after taking over a body and Dao Devouring.

Though I won't be at my peak, I can recover to the Purple Mansion Middle Stage within three years.

When this Ruin Realm opens, I'll surely kill until heaven and earth are overturned, to vent the hatred in my heart.

Once I have brought my Divine Ability to perfection, if I have a fortuitous opportunity, I might obtain a sliver of the Ruin Realm's origin.

With the Dao of [Wind] complete, even a False Core is possible. When that time comes, where under heaven could I not go?

The three Foundation Establishment cultivators trembled all over. Their Dao foundations began to shine within them, squeezed by the power.

The old man's terrifying power continued to pour into them, and the connection among the four grew ever stronger.

Bifeng, calamity wind, Gang wind.

The three winds intertwined and interwove.

The three cultivators' features gradually began to resemble the old man's.

Watching the light screen aboard the cloud boat, Ye Jinyu saw everything happening in the mountaintop cave abode displayed upon it.

"So these are the rules of this world..."

Ye Jinyu murmured to himself, but an indescribable feeling stirred in his heart.

"It's getting more and more interesting..."

"Tsk."

"What nerve. A demonic Outer Dao cultivator dares to hunt and kill wind Dao cultivators on my Ye Clan's territory."

Inside the cloud boat, Ye Zhanqiu watched silently, without a trace of emotion on his face.

Only when the old man was about to succeed.

Did he speak.

He flicked a fingertip.

A wisp of formless Sword Qi crossed barrier after barrier, and the terrifying wind calamity tribulation Qi trembled before it.

Bleak and murderous as a clear autumn, lonely and formless, it pierced the old man's soul.

"Damn it!"

The old man shuddered violently, blood seeping from all seven orifices at once.

The blood on his body turned into wind Qi and bloody mist, taking on a solid form throughout the cave abode. At once, the cave abode howled with wind and seeped with icy chill.

The three Divine Sense Marks twisted and scattered in the air, turning into wisps of black smoke.

"No!!"

The three Rogue Cultivators immediately came to their senses. They felt their bodies brimming with power, their Dao foundations within them dazzlingly bright, far beyond the peak of Foundation Establishment.

They looked at the old man before them, blood streaming from his seven orifices, his expression utterly listless.

But their first reaction was to scramble backward, desperate to flee.

As soon as they rose, it was as though mountains were collapsing and the earth splitting in the unseen, as though their bodies were about to shatter and turn into scattered wind Qi.

They immediately pressed themselves flat against the ground, feeling nothing but desolation.

What rotten luck was this? Whose ancestral graves had they dug up?!

They had originally been exploring Purple Mansion ruins, only to run into someone trying to take over their bodies. Now someone suspected to be a Golden Core True Lord seated high in the heavens had also intervened.

"My lord!" the old man roared, turning around as his Divine Sense frantically swept the surroundings.

Struggling to support his crumbling, shattered Dao body, he kowtowed.

"A man like Xu Feng still has value!"

"I beg you to spare this lowly one's life, my lord!"

"The Wind Abyss Ruin Realm!! The Wind Abyss Ruin Realm is a small world formed from Principles. There's a secret place where fragments of the wind Dao's origin Principle remain, and there's also a branch of the Azure Luan Clan, with royal blood... cough, cough..."

"And there's the hidden... hidden... moon..."

Pfft. Before he could finish, he spat out a great mouthful of blood.

At that very moment.

Countless streams of calamity wind tribulation Qi could be seen passing through the mountains, the turbulent currents of the Great Void, and the spaces around the cloud boat, traveling into the cave abode.

A blue-robed figure stood at the prow.

His eyes were calm and clear as autumn water.

Whoosh!

The entire mountain vanished.

"T-True Lord, have mercy! This lowly one didn't know the True Lord had arrived. I..." Xu Feng pleaded weakly.

Beside him, the three Foundation Establishment cultivators knelt like stone statues.

"Xu Feng." Ye Zhanqiu spoke quietly, yet his voice reached Xu Feng's ears clearly. Its coldness stung and carved itself into his soul.

"When did the 'Wind Calamity Old Devil,' who roamed the Northern Frontier a hundred years ago, become a man of the imperial court? It seems you acquired some means to reach the Purple Mansion Peak..."

"A marquis of the Ministry of War, Marquis Xu. What an impressive title."

Xu Feng shuddered all over.

"To think you've heard this lowly cultivator's name, my lord... I'm not worthy of being called a marquis. Just think of me as a monkey..."

He could feel that, before a Golden Core True Lord, he could not even detonate his own soul.

"True Lord, please understand... This lowly one, this lowly one had no choice..." Xu Feng lay flat on the ground, his voice bitter. "Back then, I had only a little over a hundred years of life left and was only at the Purple Mansion Middle Stage. So I abandoned my lineage and joined the imperial court. I obtained resources and cultivated to the Purple Mansion Peak."

"Afterward, a lord from [Luo River Cosmic Heaven] gave an order, and the imperial court poured out vast amounts of supplies, apparently searching for something. Cough, cough, cough..."

As Xu Feng spoke, he suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood.

Ye Zhanqiu's expression changed slightly, and he raised a hand and pointed lightly.

A current of clear autumn intent surged into Xu Feng's body.

"Thank you... my lord."

After giving his thanks, Xu Feng continued.

"I accepted an assignment from the imperial court's Ministry of War. To gamble on a better future, I went searching for Ruin Realms in the vast expanse beyond the realms, gathering intelligence and charting coordinates."

"Who would have thought my luck would hold and I would actually discover an unexplored superior Ruin Realm? I slipped inside, but who would have thought that the native cultivators there would be so formidable? A full eight Purple Mansion cultivators had emerged there, including one who had spent a long time at the Purple Mansion Peak."

"They damaged my soul and reduced my cultivation. I risked my life and only barely escaped. All I could do was take over a body to prolong my life..."

Ye Zhanqiu paused for a moment, a hint of interest appearing on his face.

"Kill him, or spare him?"

"With Purple Mansion cultivation and the life-bound Divine Ability [Turbid Bi Wind], even on Cloud Mist Mountain, which is known as a holy land of the [Wind] Dao..."

"Even among the Ye Clan's direct descendants, he would be considered outstanding."

Xu Feng's pupils darted about. He seemed to sense Ye Zhanqiu's interest, as well as a sliver of hope for survival.

"The imperial court is probably close to finding out too... But it hasn't yet announced it to the world. If you're interested, my lord, the imperial court will surely give... My lord! This lowly one is willing to be your dog."

"A dog with Purple Mansion cultivation. This lowly one can wield Divine Abilities and has cultivated [Turbid Bi Wind]. I can do many things, whether it's acting as your hound or employing some underhanded, dirty means. I beg you to spare my life, my lord."

"I also found some of that extraordinary wind of heaven and earth, [Bifeng], in the Wind Abyss Ruin Realm..."

Ye Zhanqiu remained as detached as a clear autumn.

At that moment, a murderous chill gathered throughout the air.

"Father... I'm rather interested in that [Bifeng]," Ye Jinyu could not help interjecting.

At those words, Xu Feng immediately looked up. Seeing that it was a young man, he froze.

Why is he a mortal?

Ye Zhanqiu smiled faintly and thought it over.

On the path of wind and fire, refining that [Bifeng] would be a good choice.

Then he said, "Since my son is interested, I'll spare your life."

"So it's the young master." Xu Feng reacted quickly and immediately began to flatter him.

"Young master, you truly are... a kind man... kindhearted and compassionate, with the bearing of a dragon and phoenix. Even the sun and moon at their zenith cannot illuminate your magnificence... It's just that this lowly cultivator is now nearly a lamp burned dry, and most of my cultivation has dissipated..."

"At present, I'm no more than an ordinary Purple Mansion cultivator. Even my Divine Abilities..."

Before he could say much more, Ye Zhanqiu's cool words interrupted him.

"As for your injuries, I do have a few ways to deal with them." Those words from Ye Zhanqiu made Xu Feng snap his head up, his eyes gleaming.

"However," Ye Zhanqiu continued, changing tack, "from this day forward, Jinyu will be your master. If he lives, you live. If he dies..."

Xu Feng did not hesitate. "This lowly one swears to defend my master to the death."

Ye Zhanqiu nodded, a smile appearing on his face.

At his fingertip, a talisman seal formed from golden blood. The character [Autumn] shone brilliantly, containing boundless mysteries.

Faintly, a bleak, cold autumn wind could be felt.

He sent it into the center of Xu Feng's brow.

Xu Feng shuddered all over. He felt the agonizing pain tormenting his soul slowly begin to recede.

His injuries slowly healed, but the connection between his body and soul began to grow tenuous.

Even so, he was so excited that tears streamed down his aged face. "Thank you, True Lord! Thank you for granting me a new life!"

Ye Zhanqiu said calmly, "This talisman seal is the first wisp of clear autumn wind I obtained upon realizing the season of [Autumn]. The Dao transformed into a Divine Ability named [Autumn Wind Concealment]."

"You are a [Wind]-attribute cultivator yourself. It can heal your injuries and can be considered a fortuitous opportunity for you, but it can also take your life. From today onward, your life and death, your everything, rest on a single thought of mine."

Xu Feng naturally understood the True Lord's implication.

From now on, no matter how he cultivated, his cultivation would never advance.

But this Divine Ability was his lord's Dao. When his lord's cultivation advanced, he too would benefit.

Wouldn't that make me my lord's incarnation...?

Realizing the crucial point, Xu Feng kowtowed vigorously, then turned to Ye Jinyu and bowed solemnly. "This old servant Xu Feng greets his master, the young master! I am willing to brave boiling water and fire and be your loyal dog."

Ye Jinyu was a little stunned, then seemed to understand.

Just like that... I've acquired a servant comparable to a Purple Mansion Middle Stage cultivator? No, there's also all the experience he's accumulated. An Old Devil like this as my Dao protector.

Ye Zhanqiu then spoke meaningfully, addressing both Ye Jinyu and Xu Feng. "There has been a saying since ancient times: a Yin Spirit that has endured ten thousand tribulations can scarcely become a saint."

"Xu Feng's soul has been damaged in this life, and he has no hope of reaching Golden Core. But I have used my own Dao to make up the remainder. If one suffers, both suffer; if one prospers, both prosper."

"There are some unclean, dirty matters that would be inconvenient for me to handle personally. Having someone utterly loyal to take care of them is just right."

"He has enough cultivation to follow you, and he can also help you deal with worldly affairs. As it happens, if you refine that [Bifeng], he can also offer you some guidance."

Hearing this, Ye Jinyu nodded thoughtfully.

All right. It seems my father isn't exactly a purely good man either.

Xiao Qingyao was silent for a long while before stepping forward and patting Ye Jinyu on the shoulder.

She could not help saying, "Jinyu, this is simply how the world is. Sometimes, bad people are more useful than good people."

"Children of immortal clans cannot remain flowers in a greenhouse forever."

"Father, what... should we do about that Ruin Realm?" Ye Jinyu nodded, a questioning look on his face.

Ye Zhanqiu smiled, his face full of arrogance.

"Since I know of it, it shall be mine as easily as reaching out a hand."

"If I do not permit it, who would dare take it? If I want it, who can say otherwise?!"

"Just wait. When the time comes, someone will personally deliver it to me."

"Since you have chosen to refine that [Bifeng], my son, how about I give you a Ruin Realm as a gift?"

As soon as the words left his mouth, Ye Zhanqiu pointed a finger.

The three Foundation Establishment cultivators slowly opened their eyes and knelt before Ye Jinyu.

Their eyes were full of humility.

The three were also experts from a local Foundation Establishment Aristocratic Clan, and they had obtained a fortuitous opportunity.

So he left them with Jinyu as guards for him to command.

The cloudship continued through the sea of clouds, crossing the Great Void.

At last, they were nearing Jiangnan.

Ahead, the sprawling Cloud Mist Mountain Range was already faintly visible.

That was the ancestral land of the Cloud Mist Ye Clan.

Ye Jinyu gazed at the mountain range wreathed in clouds and mist, an indescribable emotion welling up in his heart.

Ten years.

He was finally... going home.

Ye Clan, your master has returned!