Chapter 259: Likely Unprecedented
Chapter 259: Likely Unprecedented
The marketplace wasn’t very big, but it had everything for sale. There were even some remains. Most of these remains were used for making weapons. The Yao Race wouldn’t waste such things. After being remade, they could still extend their usefulness. It was a peculiar kind of obsession.
Chen Changsheng’s gaze swept over the stalls and soon paused at one of them.
Displayed on that stall were some remains. Alongside them lay a jumble of other items: a bloodstained sword, the fur of a fox demon, and even a tripod vessel reeking of copper…
In front of the stall sat an old man wearing tattered clothes. His face was covered with a faceless mask. Waves of Fifth Realm Demonic Qi emanated from him. Wisps of white beard peeked out beneath the mask.
Several monsters stood before the stall, examining the items.
A Fourth Realm Snake Demon pointed at an object and said, “This one.”
The masked old man glanced over and raised a hand in response.
The Snake Demon spat out two fire essences.
The old man looked, then shook his head. Instead, he held up four fingers.
The Snake Demon hesitated, frustration evident. Finally, it shook its head helplessly and left.
After the Snake Demon departed, Chen Changsheng walked up to the stall.
He looked at the bloodstained sword lying near the old man’s feet and asked, “That sword. What’s the price?”
The old man paused. He looked at the person in front of him. Through the mask, a pair of deep, intense eyes scrutinized Chen Changsheng.
Locking gazes, a faint smile touched the corners of Chen Changsheng’s mouth.
The old man chuckled dryly and said, “You’ve come to the wrong place. In the Demon Realm, there’s no price. Only trade.”
Chen Changsheng smiled slightly, his eyes returning to the sword at the old man’s feet. “It’s a good sword.”
“Naturally,” the old man replied, surprisingly straightening his hunched back. He picked up the sword. “This sword once shone brilliantly in the hand of a Sword Immortal.”
After a moment of silence, Chen Changsheng asked, “Which Sword Immortal, I wonder?”
“Heh heh heh…” The old man let out a raspy chuckle. “That’s ancient history.”
He then pinched a corner of the long cloth covering his stall and flipped it over, bundling everything on the stall inside.
Chen Changsheng looked up at the sky. “It’s still early. Packing up already?”
The masked old man retorted, “If it won’t sell, there’s little point staying.”
Slinging the large bundle over his shoulder, the old man headed for the outskirts of the marketplace.
Chen Changsheng watched the man’s retreating figure, lost in thought.
A moment later, he started walking and followed him.
The masked old man made his way into remote territory. The surrounding Demonic Qi gradually faded. The woods on either side grew denser as well.
Chen Changsheng looked around. Ahead, he spotted a shadowy mountain path winding deep into the clustered peaks.
It was so well-hidden, one might miss it without careful observation.
Chen Changsheng followed the old man down the path.
They passed through the dark, narrow trail, and the view opened up. Nestled among six encircling mountains, this place was completely hidden by the dense forest.
Slivers of light cut through gaps in the leafy canopy.
A thin waterfall tumbled from several zhang high above — a mountain spring.
Beside the pool fed by the waterfall stood a waterwheel, steadily revolving. It carried the flowing water into bamboo channels, directing it towards a distant wooden cabin.
The cabin looked old. Moss and weeds clung to its weathered surface, yet the ground in front of it was unusually clear and flat.
The old man placed the cloth bundle on a stone table nearby.
Without turning his head, he called out.
“Come and sit.”
Chen Changsheng hesitated only for a second, then walked over and sat down at the stone table.
The old man went inside the cabin. He came back out carrying a few liang of dried wild tea leaves. Then, he set up a small stove to boil water.
Crackle-pop!
The snap of burning firewood mingled with the sound of flowing water as the old man settled opposite Chen Changsheng.
Chen Changsheng looked at him directly, his curiosity rising.
Then, the old man reached up and took off the mask.
Beneath the mask lay a deeply wrinkled face. A tangled white beard hung down. His eyes were sunken sockets, showing his great age. But within them, sharp currents of Sword Qi faintly swirled around his pupils.
As the mask fell away, the Fifth Realm Demonic Qi clinging to the old man vanished entirely. Instead, the unmistakable aura of a human revealed itself to Chen Changsheng.
Chen Changsheng spoke up. “I initially thought it was Daoist Arts at work. I hadn’t expected it was due to the mask.”
“I slew an old ram of the Fifth Realm years ago,” the old man said plainly. “I grinded its skull and carved some runes and formations onto it. That’s how it achieved the effect of feigning Demonic Qi.”
“Truly ingenious,” Chen Changsheng acknowledged. He withdrew his focused stare and cupped his hands slightly. “I am known as Changsheng. May I ask your honored name?”
“Bai Ziqiu,” the old man returned evenly. He added two more sticks of firewood to the stove. “If you’d been born earlier, that name might have rung a bell.”
Chen Changsheng replied, “I rarely tread the paths of the Cultivation World, so…”
“A Cultivator of the Mortal World?” Bai Ziqiu probed.
“I suppose so,” Chen Changsheng nodded.
Bai Ziqiu showed mild surprise. “That’s rare. I recall when I first arrived in this realm, the Mortal World was already long bereft of immortals.”
“When did you come here, Senior?” Chen Changsheng inquired.
Bai Ziqiu cast his mind back. “Judging by this place’s measure of time… roughly three thousand years ago.”
Chen Changsheng started. “Three thousand years?”
Bai Ziqiu offered a thin smile. “A thousand summers is the great hurdle for most Cultivators. That I’ve lived three millennia here owes much to my cultivation technique.” He paused, then added, “And also because the Heavenly Dao is flawed in this place. Thus, I linger, a husk.”
Chen Changsheng considered this. “If we calculate the flow… perhaps only a single sexagenary cycle (60 years) has passed outside.”
Bai Ziqiu’s heart stuttered. “An Outsider’s sixty years… three millennia within… and in a blink, one becomes an old relic.”
“Did you ever try to leave?” Chen Changsheng asked.
“I did,” Bai Ziqiu answered. “The result remains… unsatisfactory. Before Heaven and Earth, we Cultivators are but chickens and dogs. Even a Miniature World can crush one to dust.”
He let out another dry chuckle, his eyes locking on Chen Changsheng again. “Had I possessed even half your caution, I wouldn’t have been imprisoned here so very long.”
“How do you mean?” Chen Changsheng queried.
“I’m old,” Bai Ziqiu stated, “not blind. Though you bear the Five Elements Qi within, it feels… unnatural. Clearly, this isn’t your true body.” He tilted his head, a spark of deep curiosity lighting his ancient eyes. “I simply wonder how it’s achieved. The method must hold profound mystery.”
“Senior’s insight is acute,” Chen Changsheng conceded. “This technique for a detached avatar came to me by chance. Its profundity is negligible, really.”
Bai Ziqiu didn’t press further. Shaking his head slowly, he uttered, “To achieve spirit-division and bodily incarnation… your underlying cultivation… that is likely unprecedented.”
“I remain greatly inadequate,” Chen Changsheng demurred, his tone quiet. He offered no further explanation.