I Was the Sun Before I Became an Immortal

The cave fell completely silent.

The bodies of Lü Ci and Old Mo lay still, drained of all vitality. The two Core Formation Stage Elders of the Liuyun Sword Sect had already breathed their last long before.

At this point, the Liuyun Sword Sect's expedition had been wiped out to the last man.

Together with the Fang Clan's Old Mo, two Nascent Soul Stage Cultivators had fallen in a single encounter — news that, once it spread, would surely shake the entire region.

It had to be said: once a Cultivator reached the Nascent Soul Stage, conventional means could rarely truly kill them.

The Nascent Soul was formless and intangible. Once freed from the fragile physical body, it could flee thousands of miles in an instant, making it nearly impossible to capture.

As long as a suitable body could be found for possession, spending a few years and months to recultivate back to one's original realm was no great difficulty — an endless source of future trouble.

Yet by the same token, once a Nascent Soul was destroyed, that was true annihilation — soul scattered to the winds, utterly erased from this world. That was precisely why Lü Ci had been so terrified and despairing moments ago.

"Ptui! Old scraggly hair! Serves you right!"

Heishan spat at Lü Ci's corpse, his tone dripping with contempt — yet his bear eyes glittered with excitement.

He lumbered over to Si Chen's side and gave him a heavy slap on the shoulder with one massive paw.

"Brother, that was awesome! Old me has truly had his bear-eyes opened today! How in the world did you get that big thing to listen to you?"

He simply could not contain his curiosity. The sight of Si Chen uttering a single sentence and making the corpse-dragon turn on its own master had been far too staggering — even now it felt slightly unreal.

Not just him — every demon who had survived, including Chifeng, pricked up their ears and fixed their burning gazes on Si Chen.

Si Chen swayed slightly from Heishan's slap. Red Bean, perched on his shoulder, let out a disgruntled "chirp" and pecked at Heishan several times in protest.

He thought for a moment, then offered an explanation that seemed reasonable enough to him:

"It was inside my head before. Maybe it... recognized me."

What he referred to, of course, was the remnant soul of the Flood Dragon that had once tried to erode his mind — only to be crushed by his stellar consciousness.

"Huh?"

Heishan's jaw dropped. He had no idea what that meant.

What did "inside your head" mean? Could something like that actually be stuffed into someone's head?

Chifeng and the other demons exchanged bewildered glances, equally at a loss — but they all wisely refrained from pressing further. This fellow Si Chen carried far too many secrets; asking would get them nowhere.

Chifeng flicked his tail. "Brother, this thing... what do you plan to do with it?"

Only then did Si Chen turn his gaze toward the corpse-dragon, which still stood upright, waiting in silence as though anticipating his next command.

The thing could certainly be used again. With it leading the way, he could probably walk sideways through Wanji Mountain and beyond.

But driving dead things, commanding animated corpses — this kind of method... he did not like it.

Whether it was his stellar will, the wood-element vitality of the Yimu Everspring Art he cultivated in this life, or the upright and unyielding nature of the Nine Tribulation Thunder Body — all of it was fundamentally at odds with this dark and sinister power.

He had used it against Fang Yuheng and Lü Ci only to let them reap what they had sown.

Without further hesitation, Si Chen spoke calmly: "Dust to dust, earth to earth. You may go now."

The moment the words fell, the corpse-dragon's massive frame gave a faint shudder. What it had received was not a command — but permission.

It had always been a physical shell forcibly awakened, denied its rest.

Now, it was permitted to rest.

Its rigid head tilted, ever so slowly, in Si Chen's direction — a final, silent bow of acknowledgment.

Then the black mist began to dissipate. The enormous body started dissolving from the tail upward, inch by inch crumbling into drifting ash that scattered and fell throughout the cave.

The ashes drifted gently down onto the wild grass growing unnoticed in the cracks of the corner stones.

The Flood Dragon that had dominated its entire life and nearly transformed into a true dragon ultimately returned to the most humble of things — grass and earth.

No matter how powerful it had been in life, no matter how many setbacks it had endured, how many tribulations it had weathered...

All its ambition and might now dissolved into a handful of dust, becoming part of the very world it had once fought across.

Dust to dust, earth to earth.

Heishan watched the dissipating ash and clicked his tongue. Though a little reluctant to lose such a powerful enforcer, he muttered:

"Better this way. Looking at it was bad luck anyway."

Chifeng shot him a sideways glance and said irritably: "Stop talking nonsense. Young Master Fang got away — we need to give chase now!"

He hadn't forgotten: the greatest threat had already slipped off.

Heishan smacked his own head with a bear paw. "Right! Can't let that little punk escape! Brother, let's go after him!"

Si Chen glanced at the carnage of bodies strewn across the ground.

Old Mo had fallen in battle, but he had truly fulfilled the final duty of a guardian, sacrificing his life to buy Fang Heng precious time. Si Chen raised his head and looked toward the opening Old Mo had blasted open — beyond it lay a deep, winding passage.

"Wanji Mountain is enormous, and it's easy to get lost in. Getting out won't be so simple for him."

The demons: "...?"

Heishan and Chifeng, who had been bristling with killing intent and ready to give immediate chase, both froze at the same time.

The two demons looked at each other. The expressions on their beast-faces grew complicated, and for a moment neither knew how to respond.

Heishan rubbed his big face vigorously with a bear paw, held back for a long while, then finally said in a muffled, carefully diplomatic tone:

"Well... brother, is there any chance... not everyone is like you — wandering around the mountain for two whole years?"

Afraid of wounding Si Chen's pride, he quickly added:

"What I mean is, that kid may be injured, but his sense of direction... might, possibly, perhaps... still be just a tiny bit better than yours?"

He held up two thick fingers to indicate an almost imperceptibly small gap.

The other demons wanted to laugh but didn't dare, and could only suppress it desperately, their shoulders bobbing up and down.

Their little brother here had unfathomable abilities — but his sense of direction was truly... in a class of its own.

Chifeng let out a sigh and took over: "Si Chen, leave the pursuit to us. I'll give the order immediately and have every demon in Wanji Mountain that can move start searching. Even if we have to turn the entire mountain upside down, we'll find Fang Heng."

Si Chen heard this and nodded. That was indeed more reliable.

He did need to find a safe place as soon as possible to use the Yang Thunder within the dragon pearl to cultivate the second tribulation of the Nine Tribulation Thunder Body.

"Good." He agreed, then swept his gaze over the ownerless Storage Rings scattered on the ground. "These things — divide them among yourselves."

The moment those words left his mouth, even Heishan's breathing grew heavier. Those were the entire fortunes of two Nascent Soul Cultivators and two Core Formation Stage Cultivators!

"Ha! Brother, you're too generous!"

Heishan wasted no time. Demonic power surged across his body, and his massive bear frame began to shrink and shift.

In the blink of an eye, a powerfully built man with thick, dense hair and rugged features stood in his place.

His posture was a little awkward, however — he kept twisting his neck and rolling his shoulders, grumbling: "Damn, this is uncomfortable. Four legs are so much more natural!"

Chifeng noticed Si Chen's expression and offered an explanation: "Once we reach the third rank, we can all take on human form. It's just that this blockhead and I don't much like it — too restrictive, nowhere near as comfortable as our true forms."

He himself remained in his crimson-eyed tiger form.

Si Chen nodded — he had learned something new today.

Now in human form, Heishan moved with considerably more dexterity. He crouched down and began pulling Storage Rings off the corpses one by one, muttering under his breath: "Old scraggly hair, still clutching these so tight even in death..."

Before long, all the Storage Rings on the ground had been collected.

Though Heishan looked rough and brutish, he divided the spoils with surprising order and fairness.

He poured everything out into a pile, then distributed it equitably among every demon present according to their contribution and cultivation level. He even set aside separate shares for those who had been wounded or killed, intending to pass them on to their kin.

"You — you held off that old stick for a blow, this Magical Artifact is yours!"

"And you — you nearly got your ear sliced off, take an extra bottle of Pills!"

"Nobody rush, there's enough for everyone. Bear Lord here won't pocket a single thing!"

He bellowed as he worked — loud, but methodical. Every demon was satisfied, and the gazes they turned on Si Chen grew even more grateful and warm.

They all understood: these spoils were rightfully Si Chen's war trophies. The fact that he was willing to split them equally meant he truly regarded them as his own people.

Watching the scene, Si Chen felt that easy, comfortable feeling of being among the demon folk return to him.

Once the distribution was done, Chifeng wasted no more time. He let out a low growl, and several demons known for their speed accepted the order and shot out of the cave like gusts of wind, spreading the command to search for Fang Heng across all of Wanji Mountain.

Heishan shifted back into his giant bear form and gave his whole body a satisfied shake. "Now that's the stuff!"

He looked over at Si Chen. "Brother, what's the plan now? Head back to the den?"

Si Chen sensed the Yang Thunder aura emanating from the dragon pearl inside his Storage Ring — an aura that made his Cultivation Technique stir with eagerness — and nodded.

"Yes. I need to enter Closed-Door Cultivation."

It was time to welcome the next transformation.

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