ILDV Chapter 47.1

“Qi…”

The voice stuck in his throat. His contracted pupils scattered, and the black-robed demonic cultivator slowly slid down from the sword blade, falling like a meteor into the dense forest.

Under the divine sword, soul scattered and spirit destroyed.

“Senior Martial Brother Xu…” Zhao Hejing clung tightly to Xu Rong’s shoulder, his teeth chattering. “I… I… what should we… we do now?”

The hills had little undulation, with concealment relying entirely on the lush vegetation that grew abundantly in spring. A few hundred meters from where the two had landed, a massive black mass of demonic cultivators gathered, coming and going in orderly fashion. Despite being such a large army, there wasn’t a single sound.

“They’re subordinates of First Demon Sovereign Yan Yan.” After confirming the disguise artifact on his body was working properly, Xu Rong’s tense shoulders relaxed slightly. He couldn’t even be bothered to scold the annoying pest clinging to him. “Let’s leave this area first. Demonic cultivators have keen perception. Move quietly and follow me.”

“…Where to? If Senior Martial Brother Xu knows the way, that would be great—”

“I don’t know! If you don’t want to die, shut up and be silent!”

Of course, not knowing was a lie. After the Tianxuan Secret Treasury incident in his past life, there were few in the entire Lantian cultivation world who dared say they weren’t familiar with the terrain near Beiyu City.

Perhaps the two words “protagonist” were naturally soothing to the heart. Xu Rong’s display of composure gradually calmed Zhao Hejing’s constantly pounding heart. The two tiptoed and zigzagged toward the perimeter, and the large group of demonic cultivators slowly disappeared from their perception.

“Senior Martial Brother Xu, when will the Daojun arrive to save us? Right before we fell, I think I heard his voice.” Zhao Hejing rolled his eyes and took two quick steps forward, asking quietly, “I heard the Daojun nearly fought with Elder Li to take you as a disciple. He must really like you, right?”

To be able to snatch the male lead away from the destined female lead—that definitely meant the cannon fodder truly loved him! What a pity that such a person of outstanding character, a great cultivator of a generation, was unfortunately born into a domineering protagonist’s story, destined to become an emotional catalyst between the male and female leads, his devoted affection misplaced.

“Master has always been impartial, treating me and Senior Martial Brother equally.” How could Xu Rong know about these transmigrators’ terrifying flights of fancy? His fingers gripping the disguise artifact tightened bit by bit, his voice calm and unwavering. “Senior Martial Brother is approaching the Spirit Transformation stage. It’s only natural for Master to spend more effort on him.”

“That’s right! That demonic cultivator earlier also said Senior Martial Brother Feng had already reached the Spirit Transformation stage.” Reminded of this, Zhao Hejing slapped his leg in dissatisfaction. “How can this be! A master is both teacher and father. How can a father favor one son and neglect the other completely?”

Xu Rong abruptly stopped.

Zhao Hejing, caught unprepared, crashed directly into him. His nose hurt terribly, but he didn’t dare complain loudly. “Senior Martial Brother Xu…?”

Xu Rong closed his eyes and lifted his foot to continue forward. “It’s nothing.”

Master.

Feng Lan called him ‘Master’ every day, but if not for Young Master Zhao pointing it out, he wouldn’t have known when he might have realized this.

Master, Master.

To Feng Lan, Shen Muxuan was first a ‘father’ and then a ‘master.’ To Shen Muxuan, Feng Lan was first a ‘son’ and then a ‘disciple.’ His Senior Martial Brother Feng… was a disciple that Master Shen had personally found and raised.

The two followed a winding path for three li. Just as the trees were thinning and a city was coming into view, Zhao Hejing suddenly grabbed Xu Rong’s sleeve. “Senior Martial Brother Xu, I suddenly remembered… My father told me before that this matter is serious, and told me not to rush home after the auction… um…”

His eyes darted about as he tried desperately to fabricate something. The sight was truly comical. Xu Rong remained calm. “Oh? Did the City Lord Zhao have any instructions?”

“Yes, yes! My father told me in advance about a hiding place outside the city. I’ll take you there!” With that, he pulled on Xu Rong’s sleeve and ran back. Xu Rong’s eyes flickered slightly as he followed.

The return journey deviated considerably to the right from their original path. Vines tangled and trees grew deep. Without using spiritual power, progress was extremely difficult. Zhao Hejing climbed until he was gasping for breath. Xu Rong broke into a sweat on his forehead, thinking to himself that this boy’s secret must be significant.

“We’re here!” Though Zhao Hejing tried hard to keep his voice down, he couldn’t hide his joy.

A pile of rocks that could barely be called a small mountain was covered with vines that had grown and spread over the years. What appeared to be a cave entrance was tightly sealed. Zhao Hejing covered his mouth with his sleeve and pulled aside the blocking vines with one hand, his expression twisted from the choking dust.

“This… this is it.” He walked to one side of the stone door and gestured twice with his back to Xu Rong. “Senior Martial Brother Xu, this door requires blood containing spiritual qi from two different people to open. Please stand over there and let out some blood.”

—Of course that was a lie. Anyone could open this stone door; the real test was at the inheritance site. But having gone through so much trouble to trick someone here, he had to demonstrate his value to be taken seriously. Hehe, he was so clever.

“Just stand there.” 

“Aim at the stone bead and bleed.” 

“Not that much, three drops will do…hiss, hurts—”

Xu Rong followed each instruction with one action, his expression calm throughout, neither asking reasons nor questioning. The process went so smoothly that Zhao Hejing began to feel something was off.

“Senior Martial Brother Xu…”

“I’ve actually been curious—why does the Young City Lord, a dignified Golden Core stage cultivator, address me, a Foundation Establishment cultivator, as Senior Martial Brother?” Pure black eyes swept over. Zhao Hejing’s heart skipped a beat. Just as he was racking his brain for an excuse, Xu Rong smiled again. “If it’s for the sake of the Immortal Sect, there’s really no need. Though your honored father hails from the Immortal Sect, the Young City Lord isn’t recorded in the disciple registry, so there’s no need to follow our sect’s generational hierarchy.”

False alarm. Zhao Hejing raised his hand to wipe away sweat and laughed foolishly twice in agreement, completely forgetting his earlier doubts.

Xu Rong lowered his head. A drop of blood red and trembling fell from his cut fingertip, staining the weathered stone bead.

Rumble—

The ground shook violently. Trees within three li swayed dramatically. The stone door made a tooth-grating creak as it slowly opened. Xu Rong felt a chill down his spine. Looking at Zhao Hejing, he saw undisguised panic on his face—a completely unexpected appearance.

Their psychological states synchronized completely at this moment.

How could this be! Just adding one more person, yet the commotion became this big!

“Quick, run! Run inside!”

This commotion would be felt by everyone but the dead. Xu Rong grabbed Zhao Hejing, whose brain had gone blank with panic, and bolted into the stone door!

“Wake up! Show me the way!” The protagonist who had lived two lives had rock-solid psychological quality. Even in this situation, he didn’t forget to maintain his disguise and extract information. After being slapped twice hard across the face, Zhao Hejing covered his face and tearfully gave directions, inadvertently allowing Xu Rong to completely see through him.

This thing that was neither human nor ghost rattled off the winding paths inside the stone cave as if reciting from memory, including dead ends and secret passages—every detail matched what Xu Rong knew from his past life without the slightest deviation.

He had come to this place in his previous life, but what about this thing?

The pursuing footsteps behind them gradually faded. Xu Rong tossed the person at his feet and leaned against the stone wall, gasping quietly. Zhao Hejing’s stomach hit a blunt rock painfully. He struggled to get up but didn’t dare yell at the protagonist. “…Senior Martial Brother Xu, what should we do?”

‘Senior Martial Brother Xu, what should we do?’

‘Senior Martial Brother Xu, save me!’

Xu Rong was mentally and physically exhausted, even mocking himself for suspecting this thing was also a reincarnator. Look at this pathetic, whimpering behavior—tricking him here had probably exhausted all his limited brains and terrible acting skills!

Hold it in, hold it in. His usefulness hasn’t been fully exploited yet. If he threw him out now, all the disgust he’d endured these past days would be for nothing!

He softened his tone. “Young City Lord, since the Beiyu City Lord told you about this place, you must know something about the mechanisms inside. Think carefully—is there anything that could help with our current predicament?”

“…There is!” Encouraged by the protagonist’s trust, Zhao Hejing endured the pain and racked his brain to recall the original novel’s content. Thinking hard, he actually did come up with a solution.

In the original novel, this was just a small opportunity left behind by a fallen Soul Separation stage cultivator. The underground stone cave was built so complexly entirely because this person was an array master who had traversed the cultivation world invisible and traceless relying on a ‘Nine-Curve Myriad-Ravine’ bewildering array, until he angered a Demon Sovereign who forcibly destroyed the array head-on, leaving him to die with bitter resentment outside Beiyu City.

“Senior Martial Brother Xu, do you trust me?”

Senior Martial Brother Xu expressed that of course he trusted him. Moved, Zhao Hejing revealed everything, not forgetting to add weight to his future position as ‘number one little brother.’ “Father strictly ordered me not to speak of this matter, but to Senior Martial Brother Xu, Jing is unwilling to hide anything. Please follow me, Senior Martial Brother. I’ll lead you to that inheritance site!”

The firelight flickered bright and dim. Xu Rong’s face was so pale it was turning greenish. He clapped Zhao Hejing heavily on the shoulder. “Once I obtain that inheritance, I will definitely bring you safely out of here!”

Zhao Hejing was ‘moved’ to tears, feeling the protagonist’s full trust. He climbed up and limped ahead to lead the way.

“Left, right, left, left… right, right, left, left… ah, we should retreat here, then left… right, left, left, left…” Thank his past self for being obsessed with the original novel and memorizing all the secret realm solutions.

The smoother they progressed, the more Zhao Hejing’s mentality stabilized. After turning another corner and lifting his head, he came face to face with a black-robed demonic cultivator radiating violent intent. His smile gradually collapsed. Zhao Hejing fled in a panic, stumbling over himself. “Senior Martial Brother Xu, save me—!!!”

The scream echoed endlessly in the narrow stone passage.

Senior Martial Brother Xu wanted to kill him.

“Chase!”

The demonic cultivators who had finally caught sight of their targets pursued relentlessly.

The underground grotto twisted and turned a thousand times. Even a brain blank with terror couldn’t prevent Zhao Hejing from finding the correct escape route. Behind them, demonic qi constantly pressed closer, and icy, chaotic auras rushed from intersecting passages.

“Senior Martial Brother Xu, go this way! I’ll lure away the demonic cultivators. Quick, get the inheritance and come back to save me—”

At the critical moment, he unlocked the sound-transmitting skill. His wailing nearly pierced Xu Rong’s fragile eardrums.

Zhao Hejing plunged toward the left path where the cold air was denser without looking back. From the corner of his eye, he noticed Xu Rong standing motionless and urgently urged, “While they haven’t caught up yet, Senior Martial Brother Xu, go quickly!”

Xu Rong tilted his head. “Actually, Young City Lord doesn’t need to sacrifice yourself for me like this. Your cultivation is higher—wouldn’t it be faster and better if you went to get the inheritance?”

“What do you mean by that, Senior Martial Brother Xu? I—” Meeting Xu Rong’s dark, calm eyes and seeing the mocking smile at the corner of his lips, Zhao Hejing felt all his hair stand on end!

In a flash of insight, “You know?!”

Xu Rong walked toward him. “The Young City Lord’s heart is still too soft. Though walking through the cold cellar won’t kill anyone, I’m not the type who enjoys suffering hardships in place of others. This cold cellar—the Young City Lord should enjoy it yourself.”

One Golden Core not cultivated by himself, one ruthless person reliving a second life—Zhao Hejing had no ability to resist being grabbed by the throat and pressed against the right path leading to the cold cellar. Soon his face turned purple-blue, his eyeballs bulging from their sockets.

Xu Rong leaned close to his ear. “You’re not Zhao Hejing, are you?”

‘Zhao Hejing’s’ struggling movements froze.

“The rules of Taihua Immortal Sect state that the next generation of personal disciples, regardless of talent or bone structure, can be granted the grace of being listed as inner sect disciples. The Beiyu City Lord added your name to the registry twenty years ago.”

“I… of course I’m in the registry. I just… just forgot earlier because I was too nervous!” He explained, his hands and feet ice-cold.

“Pfft.”

Xu Rong laughed until his shoulders shook. “See, I tricked you again. What kind of ridiculous rule would Taihua Immortal Sect have? Can trash like you enter the number one Immortal Sect of the Lantian realm?”

His expression suddenly turned cold. “What kind of ghostly thing are you exactly! Why are you desperately trying to get close to me! What do you know!”

‘Zhao Hejing’ remained silent with a blue face, one hand secretly reaching behind. Xu Rong raised an eyebrow and flung him out. Suddenly came a series of ‘crack crack‘ sounds. The grotto collapsed, earth caving and sky falling. Xu Rong couldn’t control his body as he fell toward the right path. From the corner of his eye, through gaps between falling rocks, he glimpsed Zhao Hejing bent over, rushing into the darkness of the left path and disappearing.

…He had underestimated him after all!

Curling his body into a ball with spiritual power wrapped around him, the sounds of demonic cultivators grew closer and closer. Xu Rong gritted his teeth and rolled along the collapsing stone slope. Above his head, the mountain rocks collapsed even more violently and frequently. With a thunderous crash, a hand swiftly grabbed his belt. With a throw and catch, the thin youth curled in a ball fell into a warm embrace.

“Poor little disciple, you run too fast. You’ve made Master search so hard.”

Xu Rong instinctively opened his eyes.

Golden sword light flowed and crisscrossed like warm sunlight illuminating half the dark depths. Scarlet blood waves rolled and splattered, forming an aesthetically beautiful picture of red plum blossoms in snow.

Except the big sun and sky full of hail were a bit out of place.

The grotto collapsed too quickly. The array foundation of the last Nine-Curve Myriad-Ravine Array that the array master had laid before death was self-destructing.

“Master, let’s go quickly! If we don’t leave now, we’ll really be trapped here!” Once the bewildering array’s foundation finished self-destructing, the entire array would seal itself from daylight until the inheritance found a new successor.

“It’s not that I don’t want to run.”