As Expected of You

The members of the Zhou clan were immersed in sorrow. The pillar of their family had collapsed, like a great tree that propped up the sky suddenly crashing down. Xu Ying did not leave, silently remaining behind to see off this pioneer. He did not know whether he felt grief or relief. Zhou Qiyun was dead; the shadow hanging over his head had vanished. The man who had held his fate in his hands, from whom he could never escape, was gone from this world forever. Through this contest with Zhou Qiyun, he had grown tremendously, learned endlessly, and stepped much closer to the truth of this world. Zhou Qiyun had not been a good man. His clan had brought devastation to the livelihoods of Yongzhou and beyond, reducing the common people to utter misery, driving countless civilians to death through harsh levies and miscellaneous taxes. Xu Ying had been bullied by the Zhou clan since childhood; people like this were precisely what he despised. He had not the slightest goodwill toward the Zhou clan as a whole. Yet Zhou Qiyun had been full of charismatic brilliance. The two had shared a bond as both mentors and friends. Xu Ying had been Zhou Qiyun's teacher, imparting the two great immortal arts of Qi Refiners, while Zhou Qiyun had also been Xu Ying's teacher, instructing him on how to survive in this world. Now that this mentor and friend had departed, Xu Ying felt an emptiness in his heart. "Xu Ying, before the old ancestor faced his tribulation, he left a letter for you." Zhou Heng, the corpulent regional inspector of Yongzhou, ambled over with heavy, labored steps and handed a letter to Xu Ying. "He said that if misfortune befell him, I was to deliver it to Mount Wuwang in person." Zhou Heng's expression was somber as he said, "Since you are already here, there is no need for me to make the trip. When the tree falls, the monkeys scatter. Heh, now that my Zhou clan's greatest backer is gone, we are those very monkeys. If we flee now, a few descendants may yet survive. If we don't, our entire clan will likely be wiped out." Xu Ying took the letter and asked in puzzlement, "Why do you say that, Regional Inspector Zhou?" Zhou Heng sounded utterly dispirited. "In the past, our clan could throw our weight around because we were sheltered by the invincible Nuo immortal Zhou Qiyun. But precisely because we lorded over everyone, we made countless enemies. Though our clan squandered an astronomical fortune for this tribulation, our foundation remains, along with wealth beyond measure. None of us ever considered what we would do if our old ancestor fell. Now, we have no choice but to face it." Without the invincible Zhou Qiyun, guarding such staggering wealth was no blessing. With Zhou Qiyun dead, his former enemies and political rivals would all move against the Zhou clan. Even those without prior grudges would gladly kick them while they were down. Only by seizing the window before news of Zhou Qiyun's death spread and fleeing in time could they hope to preserve a few drops of bloodline for the Zhou clan and avoid total annihilation. Xu Ying pondered for a moment, then said, "Take care of yourself." Zhou Heng waved his hand and leaped off the cliff. Behind him, the phantom of a plump Golden-Winged Peng emerged, grasping his shoulders and flapping its wings to carry him away. One after another, the other descendants of the Zhou clan displayed their divine abilities and fled in every direction. Before long, only Xu Ying remained on Mount Jiuyi. Yuan Qi slipped down from Xu Ying's shoulder and resumed his true form, asking, "Ah Ying, what did the White-browed Old Ancestor say in the letter?" Xu Ying unfolded the letter. The very first line was still intimately familiar: *Reading these words is like seeing my face.* Following that was the same polite pleasantries, appearing both disingenuous and sincere. Zhou Qiyun wrote in the letter that he had made thorough preparations for this tribulation. Yet as long as one was human, even out of a hundred meticulous plans, a lapse would slip through; there would always be moments of error. He had always wished to transcend the shackles of humanity and attain an inhuman realm, examining every judgment he made with absolute rationality. Yet he could never truly achieve it; traces of humanity still lingered within him. There would be times when his thoughts fell short, times when his heart softened, times when he grieved for an insignificant ant, and times when he rejoiced over a trifling revelation. He would appreciate a brilliant young talent, yet he would also detest and envy a youth cleverer than himself. Being such a man, he was bound to make mistakes. On the eve of the tribulation, as he picked up his brush to write this letter, he felt an ominous premonition, a faint restlessness that would not subside. After turning it over repeatedly in his mind, the issue most likely lay with the master of the Mud Pill Palace. Reading up to this point, Xu Ying collected his thoughts and continued reading. Zhou Qiyun wrote: *My elimination of the master of the Mud Pill Palace went far too smoothly. What if all of it was merely an arrangement orchestrated by the master of the Mud Pill Palace in advance? What if the master of the Mud Pill Palace I killed was not the true master of the Mud Pill Palace?* He was merely a snake catcher who had lived for a little over three hundred years, whereas his opponent's lifespan might be immeasurably vast. Across the three thousand years since the rise of Nuo masters, there might have been countless individuals like him who had been devoured by the master of the Mud Pill Palace. He might have had numerous senior brothers and senior sisters who had likewise cultivated the legacy of the master of the Mud Pill Palace, only to end up as delicacies on his table. The master of the Mud Pill Palace existed in an unknown state. At this late hour, Zhou Qiyun had no time left to lay further contingency plans to deal with such an unknown enemy. *"If I truly die, there is only one possibility: the master of the Mud Pill Palace is, as I anticipated, still alive in this world,"* he wrote in the letter. *"If that is indeed the case, then by the time you read this letter, I am already dead."* Then he laughed heartily in his writing: *"Yet if none of this came to pass, this letter would never have fallen into your hands, for I would have destroyed it before ascending. That way, my reputation for never miscalculating a single plan would remain intact.*" *"Therefore, since you have read this far, I am truly dead,"* he wrote. *"Before my death, I ought to have killed you. You slew many descendants of my Zhou clan—all of them my own bloodline. At the same time, you are exceptionally clever, with wisdom surpassing my own. You are younger than me and possess far more possibilities. All of this fills me with jealousy; I ought to kill you.* *"Yet I cannot."* He spoke candidly in the letter, as though sharing the journey of his soul with an intimate confidant. *"I must have been devoured by the master of the Mud Pill Palace, and no one in the Zhou clan can avenge me. After my death, the Zhou clan will scatter. In the past, they lorded over others because they had my shelter. From now on, they will have to pay for everything they have done.* *"They will change their names, hide in every corner, and fewer than one in ten—fewer than one in a hundred—will survive. I have no descendants left, only a single friend remaining. I cannot kill you.* *"I have one selfish request: I ask Brother Xu to avenge me. Yet I am proud, and I will not bow my head to beg you."* Xu Ying gripped the final sheet of paper. At the end of the letter, Zhou Qiyun stated that he knew Xu Ying lacked a Nuo method, could not mobilize the power of the Mud Pill secret depository, and had never been able to unify the secret depository, the Hidden Scenery, and the Realm of Xiyi. Therefore, he had left the cultivation technique of the master of the Mud Pill Palace inside the Demon Suppression Hall of Chaozhen Taixu Cave-Heaven. Besides the original technique of the master of the Mud Pill Palace, he had also left behind his personal insights on the ascension art he had comprehended by blending the strengths of both Nuo and Qi cultivation. *"I know you will go see it, and I know you will be unable to resist your curiosity to open the original technique of the master of the Mud Pill Palace. And the moment you read it, you will surely be unable to resist cultivating it.* *"The instant you begin cultivating it, a peculiar sensation will arise: a pair of eyes opening in the dark, quietly watching your back. That was precisely how I felt the first time I cultivated the original technique of the master of the Mud Pill Palace.* *"Doing so will plunge you into peril, yet you are bound to do it. For every Nuo method is a trap.* *"I searched the world for the Hidden Scenery latent transformation grounds of past Nuo immortals, yet I never encountered a single living Nuo immortal—that is proof enough. When Nuo immortals reach their twilight years and conceal themselves within their Hidden Scenery grounds, every single one meets with disaster. They are nothing more than the great ascension medicine for ancient Qi Refiners!* *"The ancient history of cultivation is written full of deep affection between master and disciple, yet look closely, and every page is inscribed with cannibalism.* *"If you wish to harness the power of the Six Secret Depositories of the Human Body, if you wish to achieve unification, you must cultivate the original technique of the master of the Mud Pill Palace. Once you cultivate to the pinnacle, if you cannot overcome the master of the Mud Pill Palace, then consider it my scheme that killed you to avenge the Zhou clan's descendants; but if you triumph, then after my death, I will have borrowed your hand to avenge myself!* *"Brother Xu, will you cultivate it? I cannot help but worry over gain and loss.* *"Qiyun, bowing in respect."* Xu Ying folded the letter, put it away, exhaled a breath of turbid air, and murmured in a low voice, "As expected of you." Yuan Qi asked cautiously, "Ah Ying, will you cultivate it?" The bronze bell could not help but grow tense as well, saying, "Ah Ying, this is a trap! Across three thousand years of Nuo immortals, probably not a single one survived! All of them died in their own Hidden Scenery latent transformation grounds!" Chaozhen Taixu Cave-Heaven, Demon Suppression Hall. Xu Ying stood quietly before the shrine. Upon the shrine rested a thick stack of ancient texts. The ones beneath contained Zhou Qiyun's insights on cultivating both Nuo and Qi simultaneously; having integrated Nuo methods with Qi Refiner arts, they held the abundant experience of a pioneer. This experience was the greatest treasure of Zhou Qiyun's life, possessing value that even surpassed his dual Nuo and Qi cultivation technique! Resting at the very top was the scroll containing the original technique that the master of the Mud Pill Palace used to fish for prey. A line of characters was written on the cover of the scripture, bearing the name of the art: *Mud Pill Hidden Scenery Longevity Art*. Xu Ying seemed to see that white-browed youth standing at the other end of the shrine, smiling at him with eyes that seemed to hold all-penetrating wisdom. *"Brother Xu, will you cultivate it? I cannot help but worry over gain and loss,"* he said to Xu Ying with a smile, his voice and expression so vivid, so real. *Thump, thump!* *Thump, thump!* Xu Ying heard his own heartbeat, then his own breathing. He felt somewhat nervous. Faced with such a life-defining choice, it was hard for him to remain calm. Yuan Qi stepped forward and shouted, "I'll destroy these pernicious books! Ah Ying, one can achieve longevity through Qi refining too. We don't need to open any secret depositories; we can just be pure Qi Refiners!" The bronze bell chimed repeatedly, "Indeed! Indeed! Although this foolish snake usually only reads books by rote, what he said isn't wrong in the slightest. Since all Nuo methods are meant to harm people, can't we simply not cultivate them? Who says Qi refining cannot bring longevity?" Suddenly, Xu Ying reached out a hand to stop them, saying softly, "If a person in this world cannot live freely and settle their grudges with vengeance, how are they any different from dirt?" His other hand reached out and turned the first page of the *Mud Pill Hidden Scenery Longevity Art*. The words inside entered his eyes. *The disciple asked: Can the Mud Pill secret depository bring longevity through nine revolutions?* *The immortal master answered: Nine revolutions of the Mud Pill can bring longevity. If one consumes the qi of heaven and earth, one may steal from the Sea of Chaos. Harvest qi in the Mud Pill Palace to angle for the divine medicine of immortals...* As Xu Ying read through word by word, the vitality within the cave-heaven of his Mud Pill secret depository involuntarily stirred in resonance, angling for the "divine medicine of immortals" from the Sea of Chaos. This "divine medicine of immortals" was human vitality! As the "divine medicine" was drawn in, Xu Ying felt an endless stream of vitality refined into his physical body and his soul. Both his body and soul grew stronger at a perceptible rate! At the same time, he felt as if boundless darkness was surging forward, engulfing him whole. In the darkness behind his back, a pair of eyes slowly opened, gazing silently at him with an eerie stare that made his hairs stand on end, sending a wave of chill washing through his heart. *I have been marked,* Xu Ying thought silently. As he circulated and cultivated the *Mud Pill Hidden Scenery Longevity Art*, he had been stamped with the mark of the next prey. "While you are gazing at me, I am gazing at you as well." Xu Ying smiled and spoke to the nonexistent illusion of Zhou Qiyun, "Senior Brother Zhou, please be on your way. I am stronger than you, cleverer than you, and I will avenge you." The image of Zhou Qiyun before his eyes vanished, leaving behind only the books upon the shrine.