Watching the Mountain

Chapter 336: Chapter 192: Qingyu, Junior Brother, Ye Shan

Then, he saw a vision of Ye Xingchen returning one-armed from the Evil Demon Battlefield to place the Awakening Liquid in his hands. That represented the wish of the Spirit Stream Peak disciples to help him achieve the Dao.

The words of the old man from Wang Family Village seemed to echo in his ears:

”After my younger cousin heard that the Spirit Plant Masters of the Immortals had such abilities, he ignored our ancestral teachings and insisted on joining an Immortal Sect to become a Spirit Plant Master. He said he would use his skills to make sure no one in the world would ever starve to death again...”

”What was your younger cousin’s name?”

”His name was Wang Xingye.”

When the name Wang Xingye echoed in his ears once more, Xu Ran jolted, instantly snapping out of his myriad distracting thoughts.

’That’s right. I walk the Path of Sentiment. This was my choice.’

’Since that’s the case, why do I need to think about it so much?’

As all his distracting thoughts faded, Xu Ran was overcome with an unprecedented sense of tranquility.

Then, a profound aura enveloped him, and his cultivation advanced from the Purple Mansion Middle Stage to the Purple Mansion Late Stage.

But he paid it no mind. At this moment, he was in a state of utter tranquility. His Path of Sentiment, which had long been stagnant, was finally becoming clearer.

”Ye Shu, lend me your sword,” Xu Ran said to Ye Shu, his expression calm.

’Senior Sister Yue and the Sect have given me hundreds of years of peace. So what if I act impulsively for her and the Sect this one time?’

He had already made his decision. This time, he would give it his all. However, if he still couldn’t change the outcome after going all out, he would retreat without hesitation. He would take Little Xiyue and a group of people, find some remote corner of the world, and survive until the very end...

Ye Shu looked at Xu Ran and, after a moment of silence, took out the Ye Shan Sword. He then solemnly placed it in Xu Ran’s hands.

”Uncle Xu, be careful,” he urged.

Xu Ran nodded slightly. But just as his hand was about to touch the Ye Shan Sword, his vision blurred for an instant, and the sword in Ye Shu’s hand simply vanished.

”Junior Brother, you don’t need to get involved.”

Yue Qingyu’s ethereal voice resounded in Xu Ran’s ear.

Xu Ran turned around to see Yue Qingyu, dressed in a simple white gown, utterly pristine. She seemed to be formed from the first snows of a mountain peak, glowing with a soft radiance in the dim light. Her ink-black hair made her complexion seem whiter than snow, her cool eyes and brows as serene as an immortal in a painting.

A cool, refreshing fragrance, like that of a lone orchid in an empty valley, wafted over him, seeming to quiet the very air.

An invisible moonlight seemed to flow around her, transcendent and aloof. She was like a figure in a painting, isolated from the world’s clamor, possessing a cool beauty that was not of the Mortal World.

After a moment, Xu Ran finally shook himself from the reverie induced by this tranquil and beautiful, painting-like scene and asked softly,

”Senior Sister, why are you here?”

’At a time like this, shouldn’t she, the Sect Leader, be discussing countermeasures with the other Supreme Elders?’

Yue Qingyu’s beautiful eyes fell upon him, her gaze direct as she spoke softly,

”Junior Brother, I know you. At a time like this, you would definitely intervene.”

Xu Ran fell silent for a moment. Just as he had predicted Senior Sister Yue would act, she had also predicted that he would do the same.

Yue Qingyu watched his reaction and continued, ”Before Junior Brother Ye Shan unleashed that final sword strike, he came to me. He specifically instructed me that, no matter the circumstances, I must never let you fight. I must do everything in my power to keep you alive. As long as you are here, the Profound Pure Sect will endure.”

Xu Ran stared at Yue Qingyu in disbelief.

’What did Senior Brother Ye Shan mean by that?’

A jolt of shock ran through him as a thought suddenly struck. ’Senior Brother Ye Shan once achieved Heart Melt Heaven and Earth, which allowed him to perceive the traces of all things. Could it be that he...?’

The more he thought about it, the more likely it seemed.

’If it was Senior Brother Ye Shan, it’s entirely possible he discovered my secret. And given his pride, even if he knew I possessed the Longevity Dao Fruit, he would have simply laughed it off.’

’He might even have added something like, ”Mere longevity? I, Ye Shan, would never deign to covet such a thing.”’

At this thought, Xu Ran looked at Senior Sister Yue with a complicated expression. ’With Senior Sister’s wisdom, she must have seen through the hidden meaning in Senior Brother Ye Shan’s words, right?’

”Senior Sister...”

Xu Ran began to speak, but before he could say more, Yue Qingyu raised a hand, cutting him off.

”Actually, during our excursion to the Demon Race lands, I should have stopped you from getting involved. However, I felt I had to consider your feelings.”

”If something had happened to your innocent little disciple and you were powerless to help, knowing your nature, you would have been tormented for a long, long time.”

”So, that time, I didn’t intervene. I didn’t want you to live your life in regret.”

She had deliberately steered the conversation away from the topic Xu Ran wanted to raise, and he understood her unspoken message.

Xu Ran stared blankly at Senior Sister Yue. After a moment of silence, he said slowly,

”But if I don’t act this time, I’ll still live to regret it.”

Yue Qingyu nodded gently, her tone exceedingly soft as she replied, ”I know.”

She lifted one hand, and the Ye Shan Sword was already resting in her palm, shimmering with a faint glow.

She looked at the longsword in her hand and said slowly, ”But you still cannot intervene, Junior Brother.”

She raised her hand, stopping Xu Ran before he could speak. ”Even if it is a temporary boost to the Divinity Transformation Realm achieved through other means, it is still the Divinity Transformation Realm. As such, it would give other Divinity Transformation cultivators a pretext to intervene.”

”But...” Xu Ran’s eyes flickered as he immediately understood the implication.

If he acted with the cultivation of the Divinity Transformation Realm, then the Profound Pure Sect would become a Divinity Transformation Influence, and certain restrictions that apply to Divinity Transformation experts would no longer be in effect.

And those with ulterior motives wouldn’t care whether the power was temporary or not.

He had a sudden realization. ”But before, with the Demon Race...”

Yue Qingyu smiled faintly. ”And that is why the Vermilion Bird’s foster father is no longer with us, is it not?”

Xu Ran was enlightened. No wonder Senior Sister Yue had made him change his identity after he returned from the Demon Race’s lands. There was another layer of meaning behind her actions.

She had foreseen this long ago.

Just then, Yue Qingyu continued, ”Besides, Little Xiyue’s Huaque Array has been active for so long now. Do you really think the Major Sects would allow someone to endlessly borrow the Heaven and Earth Qi, Junior Brother? After all, the scope of the array encompasses the territories of those very sects.”

She watched Xu Ran’s reaction and added, ”Its existence isn’t an issue. But once you actually use it, it will become an issue.”

”Therefore, Junior Brother, you must not use the Huaque Array again.”

Her expression was incredibly grave; it was a solemn warning from a senior sister to her junior brother.

”Besides, the power within Junior Brother Ye Shan’s sword is finite. It’s best not to use it all up.”

After speaking, she took a few steps forward and returned the longsword to Ye Shu.

Ye Shu accepted the longsword, gave her a slight bow, and then silently put the weapon away.

”In that case, Senior Sister... are you going to intervene?” Xu Ran asked after a long silence, looking up at Yue Qingyu.

Yue Qingyu observed his reaction and smiled faintly. ”I am the Sect Leader,” she said calmly. ”Of course, I will act.”

”But...” Xu Ran looked at her, his face filled with worry.

Yue Qingyu waved her hand gently and looked at him, her tone both soft and resolute. ”Junior Brother, I know you wish to achieve the Dao. I will protect you on your journey, for as long as it takes. Until that day, nothing will happen to me.”

She spoke calmly, but Xu Ran could sense the deep confidence hidden within her words.

This statement also confirmed that she understood the true meaning behind Senior Brother Ye Shan’s last words.

After she finished speaking, Yue Qingyu gave him a slight nod, her simple white dress twirling gently in the dim light.

She turned and drifted away, her slender, aloof figure like a sliver of freshly fallen snow.

Xu Ran stood silently where he was.

That cool, refreshing fragrance slowly dispersed, and the surrounding air seemed to stagnate in its wake.

He watched that white figure disappear into the depths of the sect’s gates, until only a silent, faint glow remained.