Are There Only Demonesses Left in the Cultivation Realm?

Chapter 74: Chapter 71: Netherworld

Wind and rain intertwined.

Amidst the wails of countless ghosts, someone walked calmly by.

It was a path to an unknown destination, surrounded by a viscous darkness. It seemed to be the road from Abi Hell to the Mortal World, or perhaps a dark passage through time itself.

TAP.

A pair of hands reached out from the darkness, pressing against the black road as if searching for something.

Soon.

TAP. TAP.

More hands reached out from the darkness, flailing about as if trying to touch the person walking on the road.

He was a young man, his face placid, a longsword in hand. He was so cold, he scarcely seemed human.

"I’m getting out. Anyone who stands in my way will die."

he declared.

A ball of fire ignited in the darkness, the flames reflecting in the young man’s perfectly still eyes.

"I will not be your Monarch," the young man added. "Your Monarch will return on their own. So, I am leaving."

「Dawn broke.」

Lu Changyuan opened his eyes.

’I must have been dreaming about the past.’

’So soft.’

’Hmm?’

The maiden’s ethereal voice drifted over slowly. "If you’re awake, get up."

Only then did Lu Changyuan realize the delicate softness beneath his head was not a pillow, but the maiden’s supple thigh.

’He’d spent the entire night with his head resting on the Silver-haired Maiden’s lap?’

Lu Changyuan was the first to speak. "What happened?"

"You rolled over in your sleep and ended up on my lap. I saw you were sleeping so soundly that I didn’t wake you."

The Silver-haired Maiden’s tone was exceptionally placid, as if she thought nothing of the matter.

"Is that really what happened?"

Lu Changyuan recalled that he was a still sleeper; he usually woke up in the same position he fell asleep in.

Su Youwan was blindfolded, so Lu Changyuan couldn’t see her eyes. Yet, for some reason, he could sense a hint of a smile from the maiden behind the white cloth.

The maiden said, "Or what? Did I take advantage of your slumber and move your head onto my lap myself?"

Lu Changyuan didn’t want to argue the point further. "Let’s get back on the road, Third Prince," he said.

He touched his cheek. It felt slightly damp, but he paid it no mind. After a night of circulating his energy, he could now move freely enough and no longer needed support.

Suddenly, his left eye flickered.

[The Netherworld will soon re-emerge.]

’I know.’

’As if I need you to tell me. I can count the days myself.’

’I spent nearly a hundred years in that damn place. It’s as familiar to me as my own home.’

Lu Changyuan had already been planning to go to the Netherworld; he would have gone even without his eye’s reminder.

Legend has it that in the Netherworld flows a Nether River, with no known source or destination. By gazing into its waters, one can see their own Dao.

[The Sun and Moon Gnomon was lost in the Netherworld.]

This, however, gave Lu Changyuan pause. The Sun and Moon Gnomon was once the great treasure of the Sun and Moon Palace. After the palace fell, the thing had somehow found its way back to the Netherworld.

Now he had one more reason to go to the Netherworld.

"Young Master Lu?"

Lu Changyuan snapped out of his thoughts. "Let’s go."

CLATTER! CLATTER!

Before the two of them even reached the foot of the stairs, they saw an old man chasing something below.

Lu Changyuan was rather baffled.

Because he was chasing a memorial tablet. The carved wooden tablet was currently hopping about energetically, scurrying all over the floor.

’What in the world?’

The old man suddenly lunged, clutching the memorial tablet to his chest. Bizarrely, the tablet then lifted the old man and began hopping around with him, just like a frog.

The old man yelped a few times as he was bounced around, finally muttering, "Ancestor, please stop jumping around, Ancestor."

’How interesting.’ Lu Changyuan watched for a long while but couldn’t discern the mystery behind the tablet. ’It’s probably just someone’s lingering Thought invested in the tablet, causing mischief.’

The old man carefully wiped the tablet, then gave Lu Changyuan an embarrassed smile and moved aside to let them pass.

"My apologies, you two. I don’t know what’s gotten into my ancestor’s tablet lately, but it’s taken a liking to hopping all over the place."

’Strange occurrences were common in the Cultivation Realm; this was just one more to add to the list.’

The old man added with a sigh, "Alas, when the descendants are unfilial, the ancestors make their presence known."

Lu Changyuan thought nothing of it, but Su Youwan remarked, "Young Master Lu, you were very nearly turned into a memorial tablet yourself. If I were to present your tablet to Miss Xia, I wonder what her expression would be?"

"Don’t you have a rather vivid imagination, Third Prince?"

Despite chiding Su Youwan for her imagination, Lu Changyuan couldn’t help but picture the scene himself.

’A blindfolded, silver-haired maiden clutching a memorial tablet... no matter how he looked at it, she had the air of a widow.’

The two left and quickly activated the Lotus Platform.

Su Youwan adjusted herself. "You sit in the back. I’ll sit on your lap."

Before, Lu Changyuan had been resting in the maiden’s arms; now their positions were reversed, with the maiden leaning back into Lu Changyuan’s embrace.

The Silver-haired Maiden seemed to find nothing amiss, or perhaps she simply didn’t care, as she continued to guide the Lotus Platform.

Seemingly uncomfortable, the maiden shifted, snuggling a little deeper into Lu Changyuan’s arms before speaking. "The name on the tablet the old man was holding was Xiao Qingfeng."

Lu Changyuan shook his head. "I’ve never heard of him."

"Mm, me neither."

’Talents in the Cultivation Realm were as numerous as carp crossing a river. One generation died off after another. Unless one could enter Yao Guang and light their own star, they would always have to fear the Desire Demon.’

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Still clutching the memorial tablet, the old man left the inn with an awkward laugh.

No one paid him any mind.

He slowly walked out the door and headed west, but he hadn’t taken more than a few steps before someone blocked his path.

A voice that was seductive to the bone called out, "Elder Brother, I have a few questions for you. Might you spare me a moment of your time?"

The old man raised his head, trembling, only to find a remarkably beautiful woman smiling at him.

’In the Cultivation Realm, strength was everything. He was barely in the First Realm, whereas the person before him had the aura of the Third Realm. What could she possibly want with him?’

"Might I ask who you are?"

The woman giggled, extending a hand to gently stroke the old man’s cheek. At her touch, he felt as if his very soul were about to leave his body.

"Wang Lian of the Hehuan Sect."

’Someone from the Hehuan Sect? What would the Hehuan Sect want with him?’

"I heard that you hail from the Transformation Sect, Elder Brother. I recall that several hundred years ago, a senior from your sect attained the Dao, entered the Kai Yang realm, and even visited the Netherworld. He left behind a journal, I believe? Could I possibly borrow it for a look?"

Her voice was cloyingly sweet, as if refusing her would be an unforgivable sin.

"Such a thing did happen. If you want the journal, Miss, you’re welcome to it. This unworthy descendant can’t make heads or tails of it anyway."

He took a small booklet from his robes and respectfully offered it to Wang Lian.

Wang Lian didn’t take it. Instead, she let out a coquettish laugh and rested her cheek against the old man’s chest. "Oh, I don’t just snatch things from people. Besides, I can see you’re still quite hale and hearty for your age, Elder Brother. I don’t believe I caught your name?"

The old man breathed a sigh of relief. "Xiao Hai."

Wang Lian added, "How about this? I have some business to attend to. Why don’t you come with me, Elder Brother Xiao? I promise I won’t treat you poorly. I have certain... talents... that can show you what true paradise is like."

Xiao Hai found his eyes glued to the woman’s soft, pliant form. Before he knew it, he was nodding. "Alright. I’ll go with you."

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