Chapter 53 – The Time Has Not Yet Come

Tick.

A drop of water dripped from the bamboo shoot-shaped rocks hanging from the ceiling of the cave, falling into a small puddle of water below.

And along with the dripping, there was the dull sound of something heavy falling to the ground.

Feng Ye had found the entrance to the cave at the bottom of the sea, and instead of walking through the entire cave, he had simply walked to the center of the spirit stone mine.

He had avoided the parts where light was sparse and shadows lurked, and where the spirit stones were scarce.

Therefore, he failed to discover that at the other end of the underwater cave, there was a well-hidden passage near the ceiling that led directly to the surface.

At this moment, a dark form leaped down from the passage – a man in black robes.

The man stepped forward, and his face was revealed under the faint illumination of the spirit stones. It was covered in a cold iron mask.

He glanced around, then paced toward the center of the spirit stone mine with great familiarity.

Unlike Feng Ye, who had groped his way through an unfamiliar environment, he went on without pause, with a clear goal in mind.

Because he had been here before, one hundred years ago.

Ling Yun had taken this passage at that time, which was why he was able to avoid the monster guards and obtain the Jianmu seed.

He had happened upon the dark passage on land, and out of curiosity, felt his way down to discover the spirit stone mine three hundred meters below sea level.

He was initially drawn to the densely-packed, excellent quality spirit stones, but when he saw what was placed on the lotus platform – a seed which was absorbing all of the ambient spiritual energy – all thoughts of the spirit stones left his mind.

This seed was different from any other plant he had seen. Its coating was an irregular yellow hue, like a net or a snakeskin.

“There is a seed with skin like a yellow snake, its leaves like a net, and its fruit like a golden rain tree….” One hundred years ago, Ling Yun had recited the records he had read in a book, then reached out to pluck the magic seed.

Every feature matched. Ling Yun’s expression grew increasingly ecstatic, almost to the point of madness.

After he and his fellow disciple Ji Chengyue made their bold vows, he had been searching for a way to reach the heavens. For this purpose, he had looked through various ancient books and records, but the methods he found were bizarre and absurd to the point of being laughable. Either they were shrouded in mystery, or only existed in legends.

But today, he suddenly realized that the legends were true.

This was the tree that reached the sky – Jianmu.

Ling Yun clenched the Jianmu seed tightly in his palm. Filled with ecstasy, he felt that he was only one step from reaching heaven, and was eager to leave.

However, he had not walked far with the seed when he was spotted by monsters lingering near the cave. To this end, he fought a great battle with a group of Nascent Soul stage monsters. Finally, after a long, difficult battle and killing two Nascent Soul stage monsters, Ling Yun, who was at Hedao stage, successfully left with the Jianmu seed.

The events of a hundred years ago flashed through Ling Yun’s mind like a revolving lantern as he once again walked to the lotus platform where the Jianmu seed had been placed – but it was empty.

“God,” he called into the void.

“En, I see it,” replied a deep, magnetic voice. His tone was somewhat perplexed: “If there were another Jianmu seed here, it would definitely disrupt the circulation of spiritual energy. But the flow of energy here is very normal.”

“Unless…..a second Jianmu seed doesn’t exist in the world,” the man pondered, coming to the same conclusion as Feng Ye.

“God, what should we do?” asked Ling Yun.

The man was silent for a moment, then said decisively: “Go seek out Ji Chengyue again. He must still have Jianmu fragments with him.” His tone was resolute and extremely confident. Because after eliminating all possibilities, the only one left must be the answer.

“Yes,” Ling Yun replied, turning around to return along the original route.

But after a few steps, the man suddenly stopped him: “Wait.”

Ling Yun paused in his tracks. He didn’t need the man to remind him, as he had also noticed something strange.

Ling Yun crouched down and peered at the rock wall beside him. Hidden three hundred meters beneath the sea, this cave was not filled with water due to the air pressure, but it was still very damp.

This resulted in dense moss growing on the cave walls along with the spirit stones.

But the stone wall next to him, which should have been completely covered in moss, was missing a very conspicuous patch.

As if someone had brushed against it when passing by.

It definitely wasn’t him. He had come from the opposite side, and never got close to the wall. Then there was only one possibility…..

“Someone has been here,” Ling Yun deduced as he looked at the missing patch of moss.

He touched the stone wall and felt the remaining moisture on it, adding: “They just left, less than an incense stick of time ago.”

This time, the man didn’t answer for a long while.

This voice was always vague and illusory, and would only speak to Ling Yun when he was willing to do so. Ling Yun had no idea what he was doing.

He never knew if the man was listening to him or not.

But this time, he knew that he was.

Because…..Ling Yun reached up and touched his chest, just to the left of middle where his heart was.

His heartbeat was speeding up, not because of his own emotions, but because…..

“God?” Ling Yun asked with some confusion.

“Go find him!” The man’s voice was so urgent that he nearly lost his composure, no longer as contemptuous and mocking as usual.

“The one who jumped into the sea first?” 

The man’s words were abrupt, and it was unclear who he was referencing, but Ling Yun easily guessed it. 

Because ever since he got his heart back, it had been beating regularly, without any abnormal fluctuations. The owner of this heart was not moved by anything, and didn’t experience any emotions, whether joy, anger, or sorrow.

Therefore, the rhythm of this heart was consistent and unchanging.

But in just one day, this heart had already beaten wildly twice.

The reason for this could only be because of the same person. 

“Go find him for me!” The man urged impatiently.

There was no need for Ling Yun to stop and search for the direction Feng Ye had left. In half an incense stick of time, the other party had already run off to who knew where.

The deep sea was no habitat for humans, and Ling Yun wasn’t a good swimmer. Looking for someone in the watery depths – whom he had only met once, and didn’t even see his face clearly – would be like looking for a needle in a haystack.

Thus, Ling Yun intended to return to land, where it was more convenient for him to search. The other party couldn’t stay in the deep sea for long anyway, and would have to return to the shore.

He moved quickly, hoping to reach the shore first and intercept this person as he surfaced.

Soon after he reached the surface and started to run to the coast, he saw something strange abruptly appear in the sky.

Dark clouds rolled in, and in the blink of an eye, the sunlight was completely drowned out by darkness.

Gazing up at this scene, he felt his heart beating faster and faster, and he could vaguely sense the emotions of the heart’s owner.

Anticipation, mixed with joy.

This man, who had always been indifferent to worldly affairs, was feeling such pure, intense emotions for the first time.

Other people just thought that the weather had shifted. Weather on the seaside was like the masks in a Sichuan opera, changing at any time. It wasn’t surprising for a storm to roll in on a sunny day. 

But Ling Yun knew that those weren’t black clouds at all. The black mist covering the sky was…..

Resentful energy.

Such resentful energy that covered the earth and sky could only be found on a battlefield where tens of thousands of lives were taken. But now, it had appeared above this peaceful floating island.

This was summoned by someone, Ling Yun thought. Immediately after, he watched as a light pierced the sky.

A sword glare.

A sharp, dazzling sword glare.

It cut through everything in its path, whether the three hundred meter-thick rock or the raging waves.

The mountains and seas were severed by the sword glare, and shocking fissures appeared in the ground as it shook violently.

The bisected seawater transformed into a hundred-meter-high curtain of water and slammed against the shoreline. Monsters with low cultivation bases fled across the floating island, desperately escaping from the location of the sword glare.

As the earth trembled, ancient trees toppled, and rocks split apart, only Ling Yun stood firmly in place.

He stared at the dazzling sword glare that reflected in his pupils, and murmured: “That’s…..”

At the same time, he covered his chest as his heart beat more and more violently. This was the rhythm of ecstasy. 

Suddenly, there was a faint laugh in his ears. The heartbeat stabilized when it couldn’t go any faster, but it was still slightly faster than usual.

The man’s tone was more delighted than ever before. He looked toward the place where the sword glare had vanished and said with a nostalgic sigh: “It’s really you…..”

Ling Yun didn’t ask who it was, because he had already guessed the answer. He only asked: “God, should we still go look for him?”

“No need. Now is not the time for us to meet again.” The man sighed with some regret, but then became cheerful again: “After all, you will come and find me…..”

“Feng Ye.” He spoke the name softly, his tone as intimate as a whisper between lovers. 

Contrary to the man’s joy, Ling Yun frowned slightly: “God, will he become an obstacle for us?”

“Haha, an obstacle?” The man laughed again, as if he had heard an amusing joke. He shook his head and asked in turn, “How could he be an obstacle?”

“In fact, by luring him to the human world, my plan is already half successful.” The man’s voice went lower and lower, slowly turning into an uncontrollable laugh that gradually dissipated into the void.

Ling Yun took one last look at the place where the sword glare had vanished, then turned away and kept his distance.

The time had not yet come.

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