CH 18

“Xiao Fuxuan.” Wu Xingxue turned his head and looked at him.

“Mm,” Xiao Fuxuan gave a deep response and let go of his hand.

The warmth from his hand disappeared instantly. Wu Xingxue rubbed his fingers and asked, “Are you testing me?”

Xiao Fuxuan withdrew his gaze. After a moment, he replied, “No.”

“Really?”

“……”

Wu Xingxue was about to keep asking, but he suddenly realized that the handwarmer in his palm is starting to warm up again. The slightly scorching heat seeped into his skin and traveled up to his fingertips, allowing him to feel a soothing and relaxing feeling in his bones.

It was obvious who did it.

Xiao Fuxuan glanced at him and didn’t speak again.

What he said just now, “it’s cold as ice,”  didn’t seem to be pointing out the frigid internal force he was circulating just now. It was as if it was nothing more than a natural statement.

Wu Xingxue was spacing out while holding his hand warmer. Suddenly, someone bumped into him.

He stepped aside and saw that the people who bumped into him were the commoners who came here to search for their missing relatives.

Those commoners didn’t know how to use spiritual powers. They were so frightened after falling into this catacomb and being surrounded by yin beings’ corpses that they didn’t know where to step. Their faces were pale, and they tried to avoid the corpses on the ground. Because they weren’t paying attention to what was behind them, they accidentally ran into Wu Xingxue.

“Sorry, sorry,” they apologized repeatedly, “This… this place is so scary.”

They tightly wrapped their thick winter jackets around themselves, making their movements seem clumsy. Their nods as they apologized looked more like bows, and when the cotton-filled coats compressed, a certain smell mingled in with the wind.

Wu Xingxue sniffed it and found the smell familiar.

Before he could ask, the cultivation disciples had already spoken, “What a strong incense smell.”

“Did you guys bring incense?” they asked the commoners.

The commoners stammered.

The cultivation disciples became worried, “Didn’t we tell you guys not to bring these? Why didn’t you all listen to me?!”

“What’s the problem with bringing incense?” Wu Xingxue lent a hand to the woman who had stumbled.

One of the disciples replied, “Didn’t the people who were ordained appear in dreams, telling their family members to come to the Valley of Great Sorrow to bring them some offerings? Normal offerings are either food or incense, but this is precisely where the problem lies.”

The cultivation disciples looked towards the woman whose eyes were completely red and said hesitantly, “The people who were ordained… they’ve most likely already passed away, if they really are in a state of scattered limbs and bodies like they appear in the dreams, then being in a wicked place like the Valley of Great Sorrow is a very ominous sign.”

The woman’s eyes turned even redder as her body trembled.

Although she knew that the odds of them being alive were practically zero, hearing it being outright confirmed by someone else felt a lot worse. She looked like she couldn’t stand it anymore as her other companions quickly came to her aid, clumsily patting her in reassurance.

The cultivation disciples had faces full of remorse, but they still forced themselves to continue: “Food and incense are used to worship real deities. If they’ve become sinister beings, then offering these things won’t work at all. What they want are living humans. If you fool them with incense and desserts, won’t you just make them furious? It’s like if you were hungry and having food handed to you that you were unable to eat. Wouldn’t that make you hungrier?”

Afraid that those ordinary people were obstinate and wouldn’t understand, they almost broke everything down into the simplest terms in order to explain.

Those few commoners gathered next to the rock wall, listening obediently and even agreeingly licking their lips.

The disciples: “……”

They truly had a headache, “Haven’t you heard? Before, a few families were too hasty and worried and didn’t ask the cultivation sects for help. They went directly to the Valley of Great Sorrow on their own with some incense and food. And then what happened? Not a single one of them came back. Those who entered the valley afterward said that they only found some bloody scraps of clothing, leftover body parts, and some broken limbs. You guys! Sigh!”

The commoners fell silent. Their expressions were very ugly, as if they had become dumbfounded by the fright.

Wu Xingxue sniffed the scent around him and looked at them. Suddenly, he reached out a hand and asked, “What kind did you guys bring? Dig them out and let me see.”

The commoners stared at him blankly for a second, then reached their hands for the incense. 

The cultivation disciples almost shrieked, “Don’t! Make sure you don’t! Young Master, you can’t tell them to do just anything!” 

They turned their heads, glaring at him.

Wu Xingxue’s face was full of innocence, and in his heart, he actually found this quite strange.

He thought, “I’m like a venomous snake or scorpion, shouldn’t I be avoided by everyone? These kids seem to have some guts, and they even dare to glare at me.”

But he quickly realized that these little disciples were still young. Twenty-five years ago, when he’d been nailed inside the Northern Frontiers, they probably hadn’t even been born yet. No wonder they didn’t recognize him.

“Young master, although your travel companions are all very powerful,” Those few disciples looked at Xiao Fuxuan, Ning Huaishan, and Fang Chu, “But there are still many uncertain factors in this place—”

Wu Xingxue felt much better inside after hearing this.

Look, they didn’t even recognize the Celestial Immortal. They probably didn’t see the “Mian” character mark and mistakenly took him as just some powerful rogue cultivator.

“Since you’ve brought these offerings already, it’s better to hide them than to take them out.” One of the little disciples had a straightforward personality. He brought his hands together and bowed towards those few commoners, “I’m begging you, cover them up tightly at all costs, and don’t run around. Since those sinister beings have already tasted the flavor of live human offerings, they can’t go back anymore. If no humans are offered to them, they might even come out to catch people themselves.”

Those few commoners swallowed hard. They tucked the thick fabric even tighter around their bodies and then nodded.

After they finished with their instructions, the disciples took out a golden compass, an artifact used to detect the sinister, and started investigating around them. 

One of the disciples held the compass towards the divine statue to check, and suddenly let out a gasp, asking, “Have you guys checked out this divine statue? How come I don’t recognize him? Who is this supposed to be?”

Those cultivation disciples all turned their heads, looking over. They were just as surprised, “Wait, you’re right, who is this deity? I’ve never seen him before; do you guys recognize him?”

“No.”

“Didn’t you memorize the names of every immortal?”

“But I still don’t recognize him.”

None of the cultivation disciples recognized the divine statue? This was indeed strange.

Wu Xingxue raised his head.

The quake just now caused some thin and clustered cracks to appear on the statue, but one could still tell that the deity was handsome, his bearing elegant and kind. One of his hands rested on a white banner, while the other held a green branch. The long twigs extend upwards, blossoming into a flower at the top and covering one of the divine statue’s eyes.

Such a statue, if someone had really seen it before, it wouldn’t be easy to forget. But the cultivation disciples racked their brains and still couldn’t remember anyone similar.

In fact, even Yi Wusheng didn’t recognize the statue, let alone those disciples. Squeezing the paper, he frowned, also trying to think hard, but it still ended in vain.

Wu Xingxue had become even more curious now.

He raised his hand and poked Xiao Fuxuan, then pointed at the statue and asked, “What about you? Do you recognize it?”

If even Xiao Fuxuan didn’t recognize it, then it really was a bizarre situation.

Fortunately, Xiao Fuxuan did recognize it. He glanced at the statue and nodded.

“……”

Wu Xingxue waited for a moment. After getting no other response other than the nod, he poked him again.

Xiao Fuxuan’s low voice came, “His name is Yun Hai. He used to be Mingwu Hua Xin’s disciple, and then he ascended to become an immortal.”

Wu Xingxue started to find this even stranger, “Mingwu Hua Xin’s disciple? Then he should have some Hua Sect connections. After all, Hua Xin is the Hua Sect’s ancestor. How come even Yi Wusheng looked like he has never heard of him before?”

Xiao Fuxuan replied, “Because afterward, he wasn’t an immortal anymore.”

Wu Xingxue was stunned.

Xiao Fuxuan seemed to have suddenly remembered something. After saying this, he went silent again. Only after a long time did he again look at Wu Xingxue, saying, “Because he wasn’t an immortal anymore, in the mortal realm, the common people, cultivation sects, and even the people who had the deepest history with him all forgot who he was.”

Wu Xingxue said softly,  “I see…”

He was silent for a while before asking again, “Is this one of the Immortal Capital’s rules?”

Xiao Fuxuan shook his head, “It’s the rules of Heaven.”

Wu Xingxue continued to ask, “Then how did he end up like this?”

Xiao Fuxuan: “In his early years, he disobeyed a heavenly decree and was punished.”

……

Back then, Yun Hai was a disciple raised personally by Hua Xin, and the two had a very close relationship. Once he had ascended as an immortal, he managed matters of joy and misery, an occupation with one of the most generous returns in incense. Afterward, because he made a mistake, the Lingtai received a heavenly order to relocate him to a different place.

That new place was none other than the Valley of Great Sorrow.

At that time, the mortal realm was at its most peaceful and prosperous. The world was just and harmonious, the cultivation sects flourished, and though devils and yin beings still existed, they didn’t pose any threat. The Valley of Great Sorrow at that time didn’t yet have those heinous incidents that would later occur. It just sat in between a few large cities. Carriages and horses would often come and go, but they all hurriedly passed through, never stopping to stay.

It didn’t have any rumors, and it never gave rise to any dangerous incidents. So people wouldn’t get off their carriage in the middle of a rushed journey, searching for the temple in the valley to burn incense. After all, they didn’t have anything to pray for.

As everyone knew, deities relied on incense and offerings of worship. If no one came to inquire for a long while, then there was no need for the immortal to exist.

Just like that, not even a hundred years after Yun Hai became an immortal, he fell back into the mortal realm and became forgotten.

But ten years later, the peaceful days of the mortal realm had come to an end. Wars erupted all around the world, disasters sprouted everywhere, and afterward, devils started wreaking havoc. This raged especially severely in the region of the Valley of Great Sorrow, so much so that refugees appeared in crows. Anyone who came nearby in their carriages would tremble with fear.

Therefore, only then did people finally start to remember that this Valley of Great Sorrow also had its own mountain temple. From then on, before the cars, horses, and travelers entered the valley, they would all go and pray inside the temple.

That temple was very small, with only a platform for incense and not even a divine statue. But no one was ever curious, because no one remembered that the Valley of Great Sorrow had once also been managed by a deity.

Wu Xingxue pretty much understood the gist of the situation. He asked, “What happened to Yun Hai after that?”

Xiao Fuxuan: “… died.”

“How did he die?”

For a moment, Xiao Fuxuan’s expression had a hint of irony, “He died in the Valley of Great Sorrow, devoured by devils.”

Wu Xingxue let out a soft “ah.”

That was indeed too ironic. The deity that was once in charge of the Valley of Great Sorrow had, in the end, died at the hands of devils from the valley itself. And after he died, the incense in the temple flourished, but it no longer had anything to do with him.

Wu Xingxue looked up at the divine statue once again. He suddenly thought of something, and asked, “Since no one in the mortal realm remembers him anymore, then why is there a divine statue of him here?”

Xiao Fuxuan replied, “Back then, when Hua Xin heard the news of his death, he ignored the Lingtai’s heavenly law and came down to the Valley of Great Sorrow, slaughtering all the devils in the valley. Beneath the ground of the Valley of Great Sorrow, he built this catacomb.”

Ah, no wonder.

Wu Xingxue remembered what Ning Huaishan had said, that this long-abandoned catacomb was sealed by spiritual powers. So it was no wonder why Xiao Fuxuan could open it.

“So you knew about this catacomb?” Wu Xingxue asked, “Then have you come here before?”

“I have.”

“… to come to see this Yun Hai?”

For a second, Xiao Fuxuan seemed to be lost in his thoughts. He seemed to be reminiscing about something, and after a long while, he finally replied, “In the Immortal Capital, he wasn’t the only one who was knocked back down to the mortal realm like this, unable to have a peaceful end. His divine statue is also not the only one inside this catacomb.”