Chapter 31 – Seed

This was the first time Feng Ye had spoken since Administrator Zheng began talking about past events.

Fang Yang looked toward him and nodded vigorously. He still remembered the story Useless Shixiong had told him a few days ago, about the common jiao that could be found everywhere in the eastern sea turning into a yinglong. And there was only one. In tens of millions of years, there was only ever one.

Then the yinglong who killed Jianmu a hundred years ago was probably the one in Useless Shixiong’s story.

From this moment on, he set a goal for himself. He would be like Yinglong, becoming the one who stood out from amongst the thousands of ordinary jiao in the eastern sea. 

And the aforementioned goal was actually not contradictory to his previous goal. Wanting to become as powerful as Yinglong had just transformed into wanting to defeat Yinglong.

In short, it was just as Useless Shixiong said. He would have to become very strong.

Fang Yang clenched his fists, setting an extremely ambitious goal in his heart.

Administrator Zheng took in that ambitious look for a moment, and in the end, he swallowed down words that would have been a blow to Fang Yang’s confidence.

A mortal wanted to defeat a god? And it was the ultimate heavenly God of War? His madness was on par with that of Ling Yun, who dreamed of reaching the heavens a hundred years ago.

Administrator Zheng didn’t believe that Fang Yang could do it. He wanted Fang Yang to face reality, but Fang Yang’s resolute expression made him swallow his words.

He had been young once, and young people were like this, ignorant of the immensity of the world. They would not listen to the lectures of their elders. Only when they personally hit a wall would they understand what lay beyond human control.

“And how was Jianmu after the fire?” Feng Ye suddenly asked.

Administrator Zheng was somewhat puzzled, as he had obviously already given a clear answer.

But Feng Ye likely hadn’t been paying attention, so Administrator Zheng repeated once more: “Jianmu was reduced to ashes by the fire. Not even a branch or leaf was left.”

“Not even a branch or a leaf?” Feng Ye repeated in a vaguely probing tone.

Now Hao Chen was a little confused. In this story from a hundred years ago, Hao Chen and Fang Yang were focused on Ling Yun and Yinglong, which was a normal reaction. But Feng Ye didn’t care about these two people at all. On the contrary, he was very interested in Jianmu instead.

“Naturally, in a fire like that, only a few people survived. How could something as flammable as wood and leaves survive?” Administrator Zheng proceeded to answer.

“Did you see it with your own eyes?” Feng Ye asked again, almost a little aggressive.

“I…..” Administrator Zheng wanted to claim to have seen it with his own eyes, but he hadn’t. He had only just entered the sect a hundred years ago, and his cultivation was similar to the level three Qi Refining disciple in front of him. He couldn’t even fly on a sword. 

Naturally, he hadn’t participated in the grand ascent to heaven over the eastern sea. Otherwise he wouldn’t be standing here telling the story to these three. 

Everything he knew was either hearsay or his own imaginings. But Feng Ye’s questioning made him feel a little embarrassed, so with a hint of displeasure, he gave the following testimony: “Although I didn’t see it with my own eyes, after the fire, many people went to the eastern sea to search for their friends and relatives who died in the disaster.”

“The island made of Living Soil was covered in ashes, and the ashes of people couldn’t be distinguished from those of the tree. But those searching for their friends and relatives still turned over the ashes cun by cun, trying to find their remains.”

“If Jianmu had escaped being burned entirely, it would have been discovered long ago. With so many eyes searching, it would have been impossible to hide.”

“But after that incident a hundred years ago, there has been no news of Jianmu in this world. It was most likely completely reduced to ashes,” Administrator Zheng said firmly.

Feng Ye didn’t ask further questions after hearing this, but his expression made it clear that he was still doubtful.

He crossed his arms and thought, What Administrator Zheng said actually makes sense. With so many people searching for the remains of their friends and relatives in full view of everyone, if someone had discovered something related to Jianmu, then why was there no news at all?

But if Jianmu had truly been burned to ashes, what about his dream?

Every scene in that dream matched the events of one hundred years ago. Feng Ye had actually heard about this event not long before Hao Chen and Fang Yang, about a month ago.

A month ago, when he infiltrated Lingxiao Sword Sect under his current identity. That night, while the junior disciples nearby were fast asleep, he sneaked into the library on the peak of the mountain without anyone noticing.

Hao Chen’s supposition was actually correct. He went to sleep earlier than a chicken and woke up later than a dog, not because he actually liked to sleep in, but because he really was going out like a thief in the middle of the night.

He had learned about Ling Yun’s efforts to ascend to heaven from the files in the library, and knew that the figure with his heart dug out in his dreams was Ling Yun.

Ling Yun’s ending was just as he had seen in his dream. He had turned to ashes along with Jianmu.

But this was not the end. At least, it wasn’t the end of his dream.

Once the flames died down, something broke through the ashes and emerged from the ground.

By its shape, it was clearly the seedling of Jianmu.

He wouldn’t be having the same dream over and over for no reason. And the heart-stopping sensation he felt upon seeing the newly-grown seedling at the end of the dream was so real. So real that when he awoke from the dream, he was unable to recover from the shock of impending disaster for a long while.

Jianmu must still exist somewhere in the world.

Feng Ye’s first suspect was Ji Chengyue, Ling Yun’s fellow disciple.

The relationship between these martial brothers was pretty good. At least, it was pretty good before Ling Yun became an eternal sinner.

In fact, Ji Chengyue was probably the closest person to Ling Yun after their master passed away.

He was also the most likely person to have hidden Jianmu. 

The shixiong had failed, so the shidi inherited his legacy. This was a logical assumption.

Thus, taking advantage of Ji Chengyue’s absence, Feng Ye once again sneaked up the mountain in the middle of the night and entered Ji Chengyue’s rooms. He turned the rooms upside down, but didn’t find anything that resembled a seed or a sapling.

There wasn’t even a trace of Ling Yun inside Ji Chengyue’s rooms.

Normally, when a friend or relative passed away, people would put a portrait or the belongings of that person in their rooms to remember them by. But Ji Chengyue’s rooms had none of these.

He seemed to be like everyone else, regarding his shixiong as an eternal sinner for whom even death was an insufficient punishment. He refused to even display a symbolic object in mourning. 

After hunting in vain, Feng Ye temporarily gave up his search.

Apart from Ji Chengyue, he had no idea who else would have hidden Jianmu.

But conspiracy and ambition had long been quietly surging in unseen places. The abyss in his dream and the person watching him from behind it was the real culprit in all of this.

Unfortunately, Feng Ye didn’t know who the other party was, nor what their plans were.

In such a situation where the enemy was in the dark and he was standing in the light, Feng Ye had adopted the most conservative and helpless method – sit still and wait.

He could only wait, for he had no leads.

He had chosen to do his waiting in Lingxiao Sword Sect, because it had been the beginning of the events of one hundred years ago, and was also the location the other party was most likely to appear.

He waited for a month, serving as a junior disciple. But apart from sweeping the floor and sleeping, nothing else happened.

Until four days ago, when Hao Chen showed up.

This guy somehow knew about his fake identity. His origins were suspicious, and his purpose was even more suspicious. Thus, when Feng Ye saw Hao Chen making up all sorts of excuses to stay in Lingxiao Sword Sect, he didn’t stop him.

He actually only let Hao Chen stay in order to act according to the situation. Otherwise, no matter how shameless Hao Chen was, he wouldn’t be able to stay if Feng Ye really didn’t want him to.

He was waiting for the other party to show his true colors, while at the same time sounding him out.

After four days of testing him, Feng Ye could pretty much rule out Hao Chen as the party in his dream who would bring about disaster. This guy had no idea about the events a hundred years ago, and didn’t care about Jianmu. Instead, his focus was all on Feng Ye himself.

Although Feng Ye was somewhat puzzled, having ruled out the other party as a suspect, he couldn’t be bothered to care about Hao Chen anymore. He planned to continue being an ordinary, diligent, though sometimes lazy junior disciple as he waited for the true culprit behind the scenes to show up.

Administrator Zheng’s recitation of past events was pretty much the same as what Feng Ye had read in the library files. The only difference might be that Administrator Zheng was a good orator and told the story more vividly.

But hearing the story again gave Feng Ye some inspiration.

“You just said that Ling…..” Feng Ye was about to directly say the name, but when Administrator Zheng heard that first word, he looked as terrified as if calamity was about to befall him. Feng Ye was forced to change his words halfway through: “That he…..found the seed in a secret realm?”

Fang Yang, Hao Chen, and Administrator Zheng were all unable to keep up with Feng Ye’s train of thought, and didn’t understand why he changed the subject so quickly.

But Administrator Zheng still nodded and answered affirmatively.

“Which secret realm was it?” Feng Ye asked.

“By coincidence, it was the same one that’s opening in a few days.” Administrator Zheng said with a sigh: “A hundred years ago, the Floating Island Secret Realm wasn’t as unstable as it is now. Back then, the lowest cultivator qualified to enter had to be at Golden Core stage.”

Having said this, he gave the three of them a warning: “Be careful if you go to the Floating Island Secret Realm. Although the highest level of cultivation of those entering the secret realm cannot exceed Foundation Establishment due to the secret realm’s impending collapse, the monsters inside are not subject to such restrictions.”

“The previous sect leader single-handedly fought two Nascent Soul monsters at the bottom of the sea in the Floating Island Secret Realm and obtained the Jianmu seed under their protection. It’s unknown if it was because he brought the Jianmu seed out of the Floating Island Secret realm, but after that, the secret realm showed signs of collapse. It was also after that when he established the convention that cultivators above Foundation Establishment were no longer allowed to enter the secret realm.”

It was a pity that while Administrator Zheng exhorted them earnestly, Fang Yang was the only one listening attentively to his enthusiastic advice.

When Feng Ye heard the words “Floating Island Secret Realm,” he had fallen deep into thought once more. He was just wondering why the Floating Island Secret Realm sounded so familiar, and it turned out that he had actually seen it.

At least, he had seen its name in the files in the library. Unfortunately, he had sneaked in during the middle of the night, and guards would walk past the door from time to time. He had read the files very hastily, and didn’t catch how Ling Yun had obtained the Jianmu seed.

After hearing Administrator Zheng’s words today, he suddenly realized that the seedling in his dream may not be the same one as a hundred years ago.

Who stipulated that there could only be one Jianmu tree in the world? Was there another seed where Ling Yun had found the first one?

The answer was unknown. The monsters at the bottom of the sea in the Floating Island Secret Realm were terrifyingly powerful, and ordinary Nascent Soul cultivators wouldn’t dare to stray down there. Only Ling Yun, who was at Hedao stage, dared to go in alone.

Therefore, only Ling Yun knew if there was an additional seed there.

It seems that no matter what, I must personally go to the Floating Island Secret Realm, Feng Ye thought.

Feng Ye was lost in thought, and so was Hao Chen. All of the questions Feng Ye asked were related to Jianmu. It seemed Feng Ye had a great interest in this topic. 

Why? Hao Chen looked at Feng Ye and pondered this question.

“The Floating Island Secret Realm is so dangerous? There are actually Nascent Soul stage monsters there?” Unlike the two who were distracted, Fang Yang was slightly apprehensive after hearing what Administrator Zheng said.

Although he was unable to participate in the afternoon competition due to his poisoning, the ranking he achieved that morning qualified him to enter the Floating Island Secret Realm.

Administrator Zheng comforted him: “There’s no need to worry too much. The powerful monsters are all hiding at the bottom of the sea, and there aren’t any particularly strong ones on the island. As long as you’re careful, you shouldn’t run into any major problems.”

“Oh, I see. Many thanks.” Fang Yang thanked him very politely.

Feng Ye’s musing was interrupted by their conversation. He also gave thanks, then turned to leave.

He wasn’t qualified to enter the Floating Island Secret Realm. It was his own fault for not noticing the secret realm’s name in the files, and for not thinking that there might be another Jianmu seed. He hadn’t even registered, and now he had to go through the trouble of somehow getting a spot.

The Floating Island Secret Realm was opening in three days. He had to make haste.

Thus, he was in a hurry to leave.

Administrator Zheng stopped him in disbelief: “Wait, did you just come here for a story? Aren’t you here to select an earth-grade magic weapon?”

Feng Ye paused: “……”

He had completely forgotten.

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Chapter 30 << Table of Contents >> Chapter 32