"Shen Yue."
"Senior Brother Fusang?"
"I knew I'd find you here."
Central Region of Canglan, atop Demon Suppression Pass.
The night sky was silent, the moon bright and the stars sparse.
Baili Fusang climbed an observation tower on the pass's eastern side and, unsurprisingly, found Shen Yue standing there alone, gazing into the distance.
It had been two years and eleven months since the Five Elements Dharma Assembly.
Ever since the Demonic Path had begun rearranging its lines for a counteroffensive, more than ten large-scale battles of varying sizes had broken out between the two paths.
Heavenly prodigies listed on the rankings, such as Shen Yue and Baili Fusang, had likewise been dispatched by the Dao Academy's Demon Eradication Order to frontlines across the land.
After parting ways with Yang Lingrui, Shen Yue had traveled alone through the Central Region. Several years later, he arrived at Ruyi Immortal Valley.
He already possessed profound learning. During his time in the Earthly Treasure Secret Realm in the northwest, he had also formed ties with several senior Confucian cultivators from the valley. Thus, he had smoothly entered the valley as an outside guest, sitting in on the masters' lectures.
As the saying went, gold would always shine. Shen Yue possessed outstanding talent in cultivating the Dao and was a renowned prodigy on the rankings. His skill in composing and debating texts was equally impressive, and he held deeply insightful, uniquely perceptive views on the writings of sages throughout the ages.
Before long, he stood out among the Confucian scholars and caught the eye of an ancestor of the Baili lineage, who directly accepted him into his branch.
Since Shen Yue already had a master, he entered under that ancestor only as a nominal visiting disciple.
It was there that Shen Yue met the