The Prodigies War

Chapter 1660: Senior Brother Xue Ya

After his emotions calmed down, Lin Xun raised an eyebrow. “Why do you assume that I will be able to find this senior of yours?”

The red-clad woman’s face flashed with a strange look. “Because the golden cicada told me that you came from Fangchun Mountain.”

Fangchun Mountain!

Lin Xun’s eyes flickered. “Go on.”

It wasn’t strange that the golden cicada was able to tell that he was related to the Fangchun Mountain Lineage. What was strange was that he had told the Thousand Feather Sword Flower about that.

The red-clad woman took another deep breath, seemingly trying to calm herself, before she said with a solemn expression:

“That senior who led me on the path of cultivation came from Fangchun Mountain. His dao name is Xue Ya[1], and he was the nineteenth heir of Fangchun Mountain.

“So he…should be your senior brother!”

As soon as these words dropped, Lin Xun was rooted in shock. The senior who helped the Thousand Feather Sword Flower open up her intelligence and taught her cultivation arts was actually his nineteenth senior brother?

It was scary just thinking about it. The Thousand Feather Sword Flower currently already had the qualification to become an Emperor!

So, just how high should his nineteenth senior brother’s cultivation be now?

“Senior Brother Xuan Kong said that since I have obtained that Daoist verse on top of the Dao Endless Pagoda, I’m already recognized as the fiftieth heir by the lord of Fangchun Mountain, but the thing is…I have only met Senior Brother Xuan Kong so far! Not to mention the lord of Fangchun Mountain, I don’t even know where Fangchun Mountain is located…” Lin Xun was lost in thought.

Senior Brother Xuan Kong was Ghost King Xuan Kong. Back then, at the Tragic Death City in the Stupa Brahma Land, it had been Ghost King Xuan Kong who had given Lin Xun some information on Fangchun Mountain.

However, during his cultivation experience over the past several years, Lin Xun had rarely come into contact with anything related to it.

Therefore, suddenly hearing about Nineteenth Senior Brother Xue Ya had caught him off guard.

But the red-clad woman had obviously already deemed him the junior brother of Xue Ya, a disciple of Fangchun Mountain.

“What do you want me to do after finding Senior Brother Xue Ya?” asked Lin Xun after a long contemplation. Whether he wanted to admit it or not, he had already formed a close relationship with Fangchun Mountain.

The Dao Endless Pagoda in his possession was the key treasure of Fangchun Mountain.

In fact, the Sacred Combat Art he practiced was one of its nine great arts!

The red-clad woman took out a bamboo sword that was only seven inches long and one finger wide.

The sword had already turned yellow, giving it an old feel. The blade was engraved with two beautiful, ancient characters that meant ‘Listen to the Snow.’

The red-clad woman held it with both hands, her expression solemn and sincere as she said, “I want to return this sword to Senior Xue Ya. He had once said that if we were to meet again in the future, this sword will be a token.”

Hearing Snow Bamboo Sword!

Inwardly, the red-clad woman was very reluctant to part with it.

She still clearly remembered what she had been 160,000 years ago – a weak and soulless grass spirit.

Cowardly, timid, and lonely.

She had had no choice but to hide in rock crevices, discreetly absorbing sunlight and drinking dew. She had lived in constant fear because any demonic beasts that wandered close would, without fail, consider her their food.

After numerous years living like that, her worst fear had come true on a stormy night in the rumbles of thunder.

A huge golden-spotted python demon had suddenly appeared. Its mountainous body had been horrifyingly vicious under the flashes of lightning.

She hadn’t been able to hide in time before it had set its sight on her.

Even now, she still remembered how desperate, stunned, and helpless she had been at that moment when the shadow of death had loomed over her.

There was only pure terror in the moment between life and death.

At that time, she had vowed that if anyone would come and save her, she would repay them with her own life and would never regret it for all eternity!

As if hearing her prayers, or perhaps because the aura of the python demon had been too ostentatious and savage, their situation had caught the attention of a cultivator passing by.

It had been a man clad in a wide-sleeved, scholarly robe and adornments that gave off an intellectual vibe. Holding a book, he had looked just like a scholar as he approached them through the pouring rain and raging lightning.

His demeanor was forthright and dashing, while his eyes were gentle and clear.

At that moment, all the despair, helplessness, and confusion had suddenly vanished from her heart. It was as though she had seen a ray of sunshine that tore through the storm and lit up the darkness shrouding her, bringing an indescribable warmth and light.

He pinched the demon python between his fingers, shook his head, and laughed, “How will you step onto the correct path for demon cultivators if you let your ferocious nature reach the point of madness? I advise you to keep a sliver of clarity in your mind; only then will you find the opportunity to realize the dao.”

The demon python then turned into its human form, knelt down, and kowtowed three times as if to express its gratitude for the enlightenment, before disappearing into the night.

The young man squatted down, his eyes soft as he looked at her and said, “Aren’t you pitiful as well, little flower? But how rare it is that you have a heart that yearns for the dao despite having no intellect. Such is probably fate. Since I’ve seen you, I shall help open up your wisdom and pass on with you the teachings of dao, so that you will no longer have to be scared.”

His voice was like a warm stream of water that seeped into her heart. She could never forget it in her life. Even now, she still firmly believed that it was the warmest voice she had ever heard in her life.

When it was time for the young man to leave, he took out a piece of ordinary bamboo, cut it into a sword, and engraved it with ‘Listen to the Snow.’

This Hearing Snow Bamboo Sword had become the only treasured item of the red-clad woman during her countless years of cultivation, and she had been caring for it like it was her heart.

Later on, she had found out later on that the gentle, righteous, and dashing scholarly young man was the nineteenth heir to Fangchun Mountain—

Xue Ya!

……

After gazing at the red-clad woman for a while, Lin Xun eventually decided to not turn her request down. He accepted the bamboo sword and scanned it. “I can’t guarantee that I will be able to meet Nineteenth Senior Brother in the future, but as long as I do, I will definitely give this sword to him.”

The red-clad woman excitedly said, “That’s good enough, thank you!”

Although she was now a top existence under the Emperor stage with unfathomable strength that could make the world tremble, at this moment, she was happy like a young girl leaping around.

She then inhaled deeply to curb her excitement and said earnestly, “Little friend, my name is Ling Yu[2]. I will definitely repay your kindness one day.”

Lin Xun said, “There is no need for that. I only hope that you won’t cause any trouble during your stay at the Great Emperor Pass.”

The red-clad woman named Ling Yu nodded without hesitation.

……

On this day, Mister Shen saw Lin Xun off. Before the latter departed, he couldn’t help but ask, “Little friend, what are your plans after you return?”

Lin Xun suddenly had an idea. “Senior, with my current strength, do you think that a trip to the Sunset Current Valley will be dangerous?”

He planned to go and rescue the No-Nonsense Bow’s spirit!

The Sunset Current Valley, however, was the lair of the Golden Crow Clan. Lin Xun dared not to take it lightly.

Mister Shen looked complicated as he could guess that Lin Xun’s trip had nothing to do with visiting but was most likely to take revenge.

After giving it some thought, he replied, “The quasi-Emperors of the Golden Crow Clan are also serving in the Great Emperor Pass nowadays, but I surmise that they still have Saint-Kings presiding over Sunset Current Valley. Therefore, unless you step into the Supreme Big Saint Stage, you still need to watch out for their force.”

Lin Xun’s dark eyes flickered as he nodded.

“Little friend, although the Golden Crow Lineage is notorious for its ferocity, it’s still a force to be reckoned with in the Ancient Wasteland Domain. They have produced several Emperor experts, all of whom are currently cultivating on the Ancient Nebula Road, so if you are going to confront them…”

Without waiting for Mister Shen to finish, Lin Xun laughed, “Don’t worry, Senior, I’m just going to rescue a ‘friend’ who is imprisoned in Sunset Current Valley.”

Mister Shen sighed in his heart. With the ferocity and arrogance of the Golden Crow Clan, how could they obediently hand over Lin Xun’s friend?

Despite being very aware of this, he couldn’t persuade Lin Xun on this matter.

Not long after, the teleportation array in the Sun Pass was opened. Not only Mister Shen, Shun Ji and his group had also come to see Lin Xun off.

The red-clad woman, Ling Yu, was also present.

“Farewell, Seniors!” Lin Xun stood in the large array and cupped his fist.

“Take care, kid!”

“Come and see us more often if you have the chance.”

“Little friend, next time we meet, let’s play some more games.”

Shun Ji, Madam Mu, Ling Xiaozi, and the other old monsters all bid Lin Xun farewell with smiles on their faces.

Buzz~

With a strange fluctuation, Lin Xun abruptly vanished from the grand array.

For a while, everyone’s heart was filled with emotions.

Lin Xun, who had only arrived at the Great Emperor Pass less than three months ago, had brought them too many pleasant surprises and just as many shocks.

It was clear to everyone that such a young man, as long as he didn’t fall prematurely, was destined to be above them in his future achievements in cultivation!

“Worry not about finding friends on the road ahead, for who in the world doesn’t know you?” said Mister Shen leisurely with his hands on his back.

On this day, Lin Xun, who had just made a name for himself at the Great Emperor Pass, set off on his journey back to the Ancient Wasteland Domain.

Some people secretly rejoiced as if they had gotten to send away a plague because ever since Lin Xun’s arrival, there had been too much bloodshed and turmoil at the Great Emperor Pass.

Old Practitioner Qiu and a number of other quasi-Emperors had been killed. Even Gu Liangqu had been sentenced to be suppressed for ten thousand years. All of this was simply frightening.

Now that this plague god of a junior had finally left, many old monsters were relieved.

It was as if a huge disaster would be stirred up if they let Lin Xun stay on longer…

……

In the Ancient Wasteland Domain.

Buzz~

Accompanied by an obscure fluctuation, Lin Xun appeared on an altar in a secret realm of the Divine Apparatus Pavilion.

At a glance, he spotted Elder Yin, who was wearing a straw raincoat and a bamboo hat, sitting cross-legged in the distance with his eyes closed.

Lin Xun walked down the altar and respectfully said, “Greetings, Senior.”

This trip to the Great Emperor Pass had allowed him to see the elegance of many quasi-Emperors. With some comparison, this, in turn, made him more and more aware of how unfathomable Elder Yin’s cultivation was. This old man in front of him was definitely an unparalleled existence!

Elder Yin did not make a sound. His expression remained withered and silent. He was like a clay statue without any reaction.

Seeing this, Lin Xun said no more and walked away.

When he disappeared into the distance, Elder Yin, still sitting still with his eyes closed, sighed softly, “This man’s path is shrouded in deadly tribulations. How many more trials and refinement does he have to go through in order to rise as an Emperor and set foot on a historically unprecedented path…?”

1. Xue Ya means Snow Cliff ☜

2. Ling Yu means Spirit Feather ☜