Chapter 2: The Betrayal and the Profound Yin Netherworld Art

A year prior, he was known as Ye Lan, an outer disciple of the Sky Philosophy Sect.

Under the guidance of his sect, he embarked on a trial within a secret realm that had already been explored two or three times.

Initially, he hadn’t taken this trial seriously; after all, every Senior Brother and Senior Sister who had ventured into this particular secret realm unanimously described it as nothing more than a knee-deep stream by the village — a mere stroll through the water.

Yet, it was during this seemingly ‘stable as an old dog’ trial that he stumbled.

To reap rewards from a secret realm trial, one relied entirely on serendipity.

Serendipity, in this context, meant that encountering it was a chance, but seizing it was also a chance.

Those who entered were primarily juniors, and once inside the secret realm, the distinctions of good and evil vanished; aside from fellow sect members and allies, everyone else was a rival for one’s own serendipitous gains.

Ye Lan’s luck proved rather good; before long, he discovered his own serendipitous opportunity, even though a rogue cultivator had arrived first, claiming it as theirs, and coincidentally, this rogue cultivator was an old acquaintance.

As always, this old acquaintance’s understanding of serendipity wasn’t particularly profound.

Hence, Ye Lan, out of their shared history, offered a slight ‘guidance,’ whereupon the old acquaintance immediately grasped the true essence of serendipity and promptly presented the opportunity to him.

He only hoped that the next time they met, the man wouldn’t forget his ‘teachings’ and would hand over his possessions without a hint of resistance.

No, perhaps next time it would be better to simply eliminate him.

After several messy encounters where the other party always managed to escape, a sense of unease settled in Ye Lan’s heart; he felt it was best not to leave things to chance.

His serendipitous find was an unnamed sword box.

Though no larger than a palm, it contained five finger-sized flying swords, each emanating an imposing sword qi.

Crucially, these five flying swords bore no spiritual imprints, nor were they imbued with any cultivation method attributes, making them a rare set of unaligned flying swords.

With this set, he could entirely dismiss any concerns about spirit treasures at the Return to Origin realm.

Even though Ye Lan, having just entered the Return to Origin realm, could only wield one of them, it filled him with boundless joy.

For any aspiring immortal cultivator, both cultivation methods and spirit artifacts were indispensable; even within a sect, acquiring either required significant resources and time.

Now, with a spirit artifact directly in hand, his cultivation progress would undoubtedly accelerate by a substantial margin.

Moreover, countless fellow disciples had been bled dry by those ‘thousand-year mosquito spirits’ from the Artifact Forging Palace in their quest for a decent spirit artifact.

Decades of hard-earned spirit stone reserves vanished in a flash, leaving them burdened with immortal debts (TL Note: ‘Xiandai,’ referring to a loan taken in the immortal cultivation world, often with spiritual resources or future earnings as collateral).

While the interest wasn’t exorbitant, given their shared sect affiliation, it was still enough to force ordinary disciples to tighten their belts and subsist on meager spirit fragments.

Having stumbled upon such a grand serendipitous opportunity, Ye Lan had no intention of growing greedy.

Realizing that ‘a bird in hand is worth two in the bush,’ he prepared to exit the secret realm immediately and seek the protection of the sect elders waiting outside.

However, as he made his way back along the secret realm’s void passage, he encountered an inner disciple from his own sect.

This was Liang Tong, known far and wide for his refined features and handsome appearance.

He was like a finely carved jade pendant, exuding a captivating radiance.

His physique was long and robust, his lean frame conveying a subtle, elusive strength.

Tall and upright, he seemed to touch the sky itself, displaying an unparalleled elegance and confidence whether standing or moving.

Liang Tong, too, had found his own serendipitous opportunity and shared Ye Lan’s urgent desire to depart.

Given that Liang Tong, as a disciple of the Enforcement Hall, maintained the sect’s rules with strict impartiality, he enjoyed a respectable reputation within the sect.

Thus, Ye Lan decided to partner with him for mutual support.

Liang Tong, with a discreet awareness, refrained from inquiring about Ye Lan’s gains.

Instead, he conversed with Ye Lan in a friendly manner, sharing amusing anecdotes from their time in the secret realm.

Though somewhat introverted, Ye Lan’s relationship with Liang Tong had always been one where he knew of him by name, but rarely saw him in person.

Yet, through Liang Tong’s warm conversation, Ye Lan gradually opened up.

“I recall Senior Brother Liang is soon to become the Grand Elder’s personal disciple, aren’t you? Congratulations!”

Liang Tong shook his head with a wry smile.

“Junior Brother Ye, you jest,” he replied.

“I fear some sect member has generalized.

Please don’t spread such rumors carelessly in the future, as it might attract trouble.”

Ye Lan looked at Liang Tong, puzzled, but Liang Tong didn’t keep him in suspense.

“Becoming the Grand Elder’s personal disciple is hardly simple,” he explained.

“I am merely a candidate.

Besides me, Senior Brother Leng and Junior Brother Yuan are also among those under consideration.

Afterward, we will determine who becomes the Grand Elder’s disciple through a competition.”

“Senior Brother Leng and Senior Brother Yuan are participating too?”

Ye Lan was somewhat surprised, then immediately understood the reason behind Liang Tong’s warning and wry smile.

For not only were Senior Brother Leng and Senior Brother Yuan outstanding among the inner disciples, just like Liang Tong, but they also possessed an advantage that neither Ye Lan nor Liang Tong shared: both were direct descendants of powerful sect elders.

The resources they received from childhood, and their close relationships with various elders and even the Sect Master, were incomparable to those disciples who had merely joined the mountain gate.

Rather, the mere fact that Liang Tong could stand on the same rung as them already attested to his exceptional talent, and his cultivation was no less than theirs.

However, it was widely known that in the cultivation world, a cultivator’s personal strength wasn’t solely determined by their cultivation base; spirit artifacts also played a crucial role.

A well-suited spirit artifact could even double a cultivator’s power.

Liang Tong indeed possessed such an artifact, though it was merely a top-grade spirit artifact from the Artifact Forging Hall.

While not something an ordinary disciple could acquire, it was ultimately a premium product among mass-produced items.

The other two, however, had top-grade spirit artifacts bestowed upon them by their influential family elders.

If Liang Tong were to become the Grand Elder’s personal disciple, such benefits would naturally follow.

Alas, he was not, at present.

And it was highly probable he never would be.

Liang Tong likely understood this, which was why he had hoped to find some serendipitous opportunity within the secret realm—either something that would significantly advance his personal cultivation beyond others, or a spirit artifact that wouldn’t hinder his progress.

Judging by his demeanor, it was clear that while he had gained something this time, it was not what he truly desired.

At this thought, Ye Lan subconsciously glanced at his storage pouch.

The sword box nestled within might indeed be capable of bridging the gap between Liang Tong and those two rivals.

Regrettably, his relationship with Liang Tong was nowhere near close enough for such an investment.

After all, a spirit artifact could only unleash its full potential once refined, and refinement implied binding it to a cultivator.

Thus, few would lend their personal spirit artifacts to others.

Even if the binding could be undone, doing so would not only cause a significant backlash to the original binder but also degrade the artifact’s quality.

Liang Tong fell silent, his earlier garrulousness gone.

Ye Lan knew the recent topic had created a knot in his heart.

After all, the Sky Philosophy Sect Master, by tradition, did not take disciples; instead, an outstanding individual was usually chosen from among the personal disciples of the various elders.

Indeed, the past four generations of Sky Philosophy Sect Masters had all been personal disciples under the Grand Elder.

For any disciple who had joined the Sky Philosophy Sect, this represented the loss of an immense opportunity.

Ye Lan, however, harbored no such anguish, for at least for now, he couldn’t even afford the ‘ticket’ to ascend the mountain, let alone gaze upon the peerless scenery of ‘all mountains small beneath his feet.’

Just as Ye Lan was lost in thought, something utterly unexpected occurred.

A sudden wave of malice enveloped his entire being, sending an instant chill down his spine.

Relying on his body’s extreme reflexes, he shifted slightly, but a long sword, carrying fierce sword qi, still pierced through his abdomen.

Great gushes of blood erupted from his mouth and nose as Ye Lan stared in disbelief at Liang Tong, the man he had believed he could trust.

Although both were in the Return to Origin realm, Liang Tong’s opportunistic sneak attack, coupled with Ye Lan’s complete lack of defense, plunged Ye Lan directly into a dying state.

In that instant, he understood that his previous actions had exposed his gains.

With a bitter laugh, he suddenly lunged towards the outer edge of the void path.

The void path was not an inherent feature of the secret realm; rather, it was a passage collectively crafted by the elders of various sects to ensure the safe return of their juniors from the secret realm to the outside world.

However, this passage was only wide enough for two adults to walk abreast and lacked any protective railings.

Thus, Ye Lan plummeted smoothly from the void path.

On either side of the void path lay the secret realm space itself, a mirror-flower-water-moon-like purple void radiating a mysterious yet illusory beauty.

When a cultivator traversed this secret realm space, they would be randomly teleported to any corner of the realm.

Ye Lan’s intention was simple: even if he were to perish here, he absolutely would not allow this despicable wretch, who had harmed a fellow sect member, to succeed.

Yet, in Ye Lan’s fading vision, Liang Tong simply watched him fall into the depths of the secret realm space, his gaze vacant.

The long sword that had pierced Ye Lan clattered onto the void path, and Liang Tong then lowered his head to stare at his own hands, as if his recent actions had been performed by his hands, against his brain’s will, of their own accord.

Ye Lan, however, no longer possessed the surplus consciousness to ponder such matters.

With a flash of purple radiance, his form vanished into the secret realm space.

****

Immortal qi swirled, a hundred trees flourished, verdant canopies embraced the land, brimming with vibrant life.

Amidst this scene of tranquility, Ye Lan lay sprawled on the soft grass, his white robes stained with blood, his long hair disheveled.

Whether it was the awakening of past-life memories or a transmigrator possessing his body, his mind now held thirty years of memories from a ‘Blue Planet.’

In any case, they merged with his current memories without significant conflict, rendering the question of whether it was a past-life awakening or a soul transmigration irrelevant.

He had no interest in agonizing over the question of ‘who am I?’ to the point of self-destruction.

‘If only it were possible, he truly wished these memories had awakened sooner.

The memories of a thirty-year-old ‘Red Youth’ offered no immediate solution to his current predicament.

Had they awakened before his encounter with Liang Tong, Ye Lan, having devoured countless fantasy cultivation novels, would never have revealed the specifics of his serendipitous gains to Liang Tong.

Now, however, it was far too late.’

That Ye Lan, despite having missed the optimal age for cultivation, could still reach the Return to Origin realm so swiftly was partly due to his undeniably extraordinary innate talent, and partly the result of decades spent in an almost ascetic cultivation life.

Having had few trials outside the sect, his understanding of the cultivation world’s unwritten rules and the treacherous nature of humanity remained too superficial.

He struggled to sit up, gazing at the wound on his abdomen.

The ghastly gash confirmed that everything that had transpired earlier was no mere illusion.

Yet, miraculously, despite the wound not having been maliciously tampered with, no fresh blood flowed from it.

A wondrous spiritual energy circulated throughout his body, preventing his immediate demise.

He lifted his head to survey his surroundings.

While light was never scarce within the secret realm, this particular space was clearly extraordinary.

Opening his palm, he cupped the light descending from above; the warmth on his hand told Ye Lan this was likely the radiance of the sun.

This differed entirely from the monotonous, milky-white illumination in other areas of the secret realm; here, it seemed to be a living world, not merely a treasure trove.

However, what truly captivated Ye Lan’s gaze was a manual lying in the center of the grass.

Though ancient in appearance, it emanated a milky-white glow and an extraordinary aura.

He staggered to his feet and slowly walked towards the manual, softly uttering its name: “Profound Yin Netherworld Art.”

Life hanging by a thread, health locked against death, a manual descended from the heavens.

Such a protagonist’s destiny filled Ye Lan with considerable delight, and he eagerly flipped to the first page.

‘First, only males possessing pure Yang qi may cultivate this art.’

‘A cultivation method, which by its very name, clearly belonged to the Profound Yin category, yet it demanded cultivation by males possessing pure Yang qi.

Hmm, it seemed rather unconventional.

But no matter, he happened to possess pure Yang qi, which was a significant reason why he could still advance rapidly despite having missed the optimal age for cultivation.’

‘He read further.’

‘To cultivate this art, one must first transform the Yang-tipped organ, reverse Yin and Yang, and convert to a soft Yin physique.

Therefore, those who wish to cultivate this art, beware, beware, and thrice beware!’