The air carried a cool, autumnal ambiance, as the rhythmic crunch of leaves accompanied each step the disciples took. Lu Ye looked about his surroundings. He had traveled to a distant place, far from the confines of the Qing Shan Sect. While he had been on missions before, this marked the first time he went on a quest without the guidance of his master, Damu Lan.
Along with his fellow senior disciples, specifically Hua Ran, Lu Ye ascended the Ming Yue Peak. Their objective, entrusted to them by Cang Ren, was to locate a rare grass that grows exclusively on the peaks during the fall season.
"Seriously, where are we supposed to find this grass? They all look the same to me," Fei Yi grumbled, his frustration was showing.
Cuo Yi shot him a nonchalant glance and retorted, "If it's anything like Master Cang Ren, it must be the wildest-looking plant out there."
"Hua Ran glared at them with a soft—but threatening expression. "You twin better get your act together."
Fei Yi and Cuo Yi were both studying under Zhang XiYi and were two years older than Hua Ran. However, Hua Ran became a disciple ahead of them, so they naturally considered him their senior and obeyed.
As they chatted, they wandered into a forest filled with gigantic trees. The atmosphere was peculiar and chilly, shrouded in a transparent mist.
Lu Ye kept his eyes fixed on the three senior disciples ahead, ensuring himself not to get lost. He absentmindedly gazed upward and was taken aback by the sight that greeted him—not the autumn sky, but an immensely large centipede.
"It's the Celestial Guardian!" Fei Yi exclaimed.
"Since when do heavenly creatures look like this?!" Cuo Yi questioned, bewildered by the monstrous appearance of the centipede.
The centipede reared up, its body towering over Lu Ye, obstructing his view of the sky. Its countless legs moved in a ceaseless rhythm, each segmented limb meticulously aligned along its elongated form.
Without warning, the centipede lunged, seemingly intent on toppling over Lu Ye, who then quickly evaded its attack by leaping to the side.
"Twins, keep your distance!" Hua Ran shouted urgently.
As they observed the centipede, a viscous liquid dripped from its fangs, hitting the ground with a heavy thud. Instantly, the earth began to melt, emitting a steaming heat.
"It's venomous, be careful, Senior Hua," Lu Ye warned, even though the danger was obvious.
The centipede was anything but welcoming, attacking them one after another, spewing venom. They were left with no choice but to leap and dodge, trying to avoid the venom.
Lu Ye drew his sword and approached the centipede, aiming to cut its fangs, but to no avail. The sword clashed with the fangs, making a resounding clang. It seemed the fangs were as hard as metal. Figured, Lu Ye changed tactics, leaping over the centipede's body, and trying to slice it, but the impregnable skin thwarted his efforts.
As he darted away, the centipede chased after him, causing Lu Ye to lose his breath from all the running.
Suddenly, Hua Ran leaped over its head, attempting to cut it, just as Lu Ye had done, but with the same futile outcome.
"Where are senior Fei Yi and Cuo Yi?" Lu Ye shouted in concern.
"Don't worry about them! If we don't deal with this thing now, it'll follow us wherever we go!" Hua Ran replied urgently.
Hua Ran noticed that, unlike regular centipedes, the body of this so-called Celestial Guardian was significantly longer.
"Junior disciple, run around the trees! Tangle it up!" Hua Ran suggested.
Lu Ye obeyed, dashing from tree to tree, luring the centipede into tangling itself up. As the creature struggled to free itself, Lu Ye finally caught his breath.
As a disciple of the Blade Knight, Zhang XiYi, Hua Ran could cut through objects as thick as wood and stone, but not metal, which was a level beyond his current capability.
Hua Ran channeled his qi, infusing it into his sword before swinging it forcefully to cut down the trees and topple them onto the centipede. With a loud cracking sound, the trees crashed onto the creature's body.
"Junior disciple, burn it!" Hua Ran commanded.
Following his instructions, a flame ignited at the tip of Lu Ye's finger. He grazed his finger against his sword, intensifying the fiery blaze. With a swift motion, Lu Ye swung his sword, setting the centipede ablaze, ensuring that the fire wouldn't spread to the rest of the forest.
Hua Ran descended to the ground from another tree, joining Lu Ye as they watched the centipede struggle in its final moment. Its life force waning as it succumbed to the engulfing flames.
"Should we have really killed it?" Lu Ye questioned, doubting the matter.
Hua Ran turned to leave, responding firmly, "What are you talking about? It attacked us first."
"But there must be a reason why it's called the Celestial Guardian. Its venom and its metallic body… There must be a reason why other immortals allowed it to roam freely."
"You're overthinking it. Let's regroup with the twins. It's getting late," Hua Ran responded, dismissing Lu Ye's concerns.
"But Senior Hua, you see—"
Lu Ye attempted to explain further, but Hua Ran paid him no heed. With a nod, Lu Ye followed Hua Ran's footsteps.
"Lord Savior…"
A voice whispered, catching Lu Ye off guard. "Who is it?" He asked instinctively, turning his head to see who had spoken. But his gaze fell upon the centipede, still ablaze, its legs still in motion.
Taking note of Hua Ran's distant figure, Lu Ye stretched out his arm towards the burning creature. In a sudden surge of power, the flames were drawn into the palm of his hand, disappearing entirely.
Without a second glance, he walked away, leaving the scene behind.
.
As evening settled in, they had been wandering for hours, tirelessly searching for the grass. The description of the grass being orange was hardly helpful, as almost everything in sight now seemed tinged with that hue. Exhausted, the disciples decided to take a much-needed break.
"Lu Ye, where are you going?" Fei Yi asked, watching as Lu Ye walked away from their resting spot.
"I'm just going to explore a bit. Don't mind me, go ahead and rest," Lu Ye replied tersely.
Lost in thoughts, Lu Ye walked farther than he intended, now finding himself unsure of the way back. But, he remained unbothered by this realization, confident that he would eventually find his way. So he walked even farther.
Lu Ye couldn't help but notice the striking difference from any other forest he had been into. He noticed a presence of a spell being used within the forest, but he was unsure of its placement and what type of spell it was.
Surrounding him was an ethereal charm as he walked through the forest's hallway. Sunlight filtered through the lush of trees overhead, casting a mesmerizing pattern of light and shadow upon the forest floor. The air felt charged with an ancient energy, as if the trees themselves whispered secrets passed down through generations. This place was like no other, devoid of name, and seemed to exist in a realm untouched by time and human influence.
Soon, he stumbled upon a majestic waterfall. The waters fell heavily, creating a piercing sound. Leaves floated serenely atop a small rounded lake at the base. Lu Ye took his time, splashing water on his face, refreshing himself.
"My lord," a voice suddenly called out, different from the one he had heard earlier, yet strangely familiar, echoing the fragments of his incomplete dreams. The only words whispered were, "my lord."
Whose voice was it? Who was his lord? Why did he keep experiencing those painful dreams, feeling as though his life was being choked out of him, only for the dream to shift to another, with nothing but the sound of that voice lingering?
Lu Ye turned his gaze towards the waterfall, as if someone was pulling him closer to what veiled behind the waterfall. He reached out his hand toward the falling water, but a sudden piercing ringing noise jolted through his ears, followed by sharp pains stabbing his head.
"Arghh!" He yelped, the pain overwhelming, his hand instinctively clutching his head.
After a while, the pain subsided, and everything seemed normal again.
Lu Ye hurriedly exited the water, soaked to the bone. He took his time drying himself off, contemplating his situation. After a while, his gaze settled upon the waterfall once again.
An unsettling doubt gripped him. It felt as though delving deeper into the voice and recurring dream would unlock an unwanted memory. He swallowed hard, unease filling his thoughts. Ultimately, he made the decision to walk away.
His eyes were suddenly drawn to a peculiar patch of grass. At first glance, it didn't appear much different from the common grass surrounding it. It was long like any other grass, but it emitted the same fragrance as a flower. This grass possessed a mesmerizing texture, almost as if delicate strands of silk had been woven into its being.
Lu Ye plucked the grass from its roots and carefully placed it away in his pouch bag. He was convinced that this could be the grass Cang Ren had mentioned. Well, it was worth a shot.
.
Lu Ye managed to find his way back to where his senior disciples were resting. As the three senior disciples sat down to eat, Lu Ye casually presented them with the possible grass they had been searching for this mission. The eyes of the three seniors widened in disbelief.
"Where did you…find it?" Hua Ran spoke up.
Fei Yi circled around Lu Ye, sniffing the grass intently. "I want to eat it," he exclaimed. But, Lu Ye quickly pulled the grass away from him and returned it to his pouch bag.
"I found it lying somewhere within the forest, though a little bit farther from here," Lu Ye replied.
"I had a feeling. It took you long enough to come back. We were just about to go look for you. If anything were to happen to our precious junior disciple, we'll have to take responsibility," Hua Ran commented with a hint of sarcasm.
Indeed, the sun had set long ago, and they were currently gathered in front of a crackling woodfire that provided warmth for them and heat for their meals. They had spent the entire evening searching for the grass while Lu Ye was away but couldn't find a single one that could be considered "strange-looking."
Returning to the Qing Shan Sect would take too long at this point, so they decided to camp in the same spot. The ground beneath them was smooth and soft, resembling a mattress, making it the most comfortable spot to spend the night.
.
The woodfire had already burnt out, and the night had grown old. They took turns keeping watch over their surroundings, and at that moment, it was Hua Ran's turn after Cuo Yi and Lu Ye. Fei Yi had insisted that he couldn't stay awake for long, so Hua Ran had to extend his shift. Well, there was no other choice, it couldn't be helped.
The streaming moonlight was suddenly hidden behind the clouds, descending darkness completely upon them. Hua Ran noticed an unwelcoming presence—with malicious intent. So he stood guard, ready to defend as he woke up the fellow disciples.
Growling sounds of a horde of approaching unconscious devils could be heard echoing within the forest.
Even though Fei Yi and Cuo Yi were both awake, Lu Ye seemed to still be in a deep sleep.
"Junior disciple, wake up!" Hua Ran shouted as he tried to defend himself and defend the sleeping beauty—Lu Ye.
The unconscious devils let out their ghastly moans and groans as they spoke. Yes, they could speak, but unconsciously. Logically speaking, they were uttering words of curses and expressing their sorrows and malice intents.
"Please kill my cousin…he took everything from me!" One of the male unconscious devils spoke as he tried to choke Fei Yi, who then were defended by Cuo Yi.
"My baby, please give me back my baby!" The female unconscious devil cried blood. Her eyes were red, while her pupils appeared gone.
"Junior disciple, please wake up!"
Hua Ran noticed that Lu Ye wasn't sleeping as peacefully anymore. He was drenched in sweat, excessively. His brows furrowed, his teeth gritted, and his hands were desperately clawed onto the flattened ground. Nightmare? It could be.
"Junior disciple!" Hua Ran shouted again, as this time, one of the unconscious devils started approaching Lu Ye in his sleep, and he got his hands full of the ones attempting to attack him so he couldn't defend Lu Ye any longer.
But just when the unconscious devil started to attack Lu Ye in his sleep, Lu Ye woke up, grabbing the devil by his neck.
In a moment, the rest of the unconscious devils stopped moving, resulting in confusion to the rest of the disciples.
"A dream. It's just a dream." Lu Ye said, his eyes still closed, but his hands making a gesture, forming light fire at his fingertip.
"It's just a dream, a dream."
"I bestow upon you a peaceful night. Set yourself free." He said, then poking his fingertip at the devil's forehead, swiftly causing it to catch on fire and turn into dust.
Then he opened his eyes and turned to his senior disciples who were still in awe. They were aware of the fact that Lu Ye was an incredible disciple of the glorious Qing Zhu Jun, but it still took them by surprise at how easy it was for Lu Ye to handle the unconscious devils.
"You mustn't kill them, but set their souls free." Lu ye said, his hand cautiously lowering the sword Hua Ran was holding.
Then, he made the same gesture as he had done earlier, swiftly poking into the forehead of the remaining devils.
Their bodies turned to dust, but as they did, a little light could be seen escaping from their bodies, almost resembling the fireflies, reaching toward the sky.
The view was calming as the moon started to show itself again.
"This is what happens when we hurt the Celestial Guardians."
"Junior, what do you mean?"
"The immortals must be using the Celestial Guardians to guard the forest from the unconscious devils targeting the village down this peak," Lu Ye added. "And since we hurt it, it must be taking a break from its role."
"Didn't we kill it? Hua Ran asked.
"I figured it wouldn't be best if we kill it, so I reverted the fire I started," Lu Ye retorted.
Hua Ran was taking note of Lu Ye's words seriously. Zhang XiYi's hatred towards the devils was unfathomable, so he would never go easy when dealing with them, unlike Damu Lan, who seemed to be gentle towards them, acknowledging them as helpless souls.
Lu Ye bowed to the souls, showing his respect for the deceased. As they saw him, the senior disciples did the same.
Just when they thought everything was settled, there goes Cuo Yi, who collapsed to the ground, his head cradled in his hand. "I'm sorry...I'm sorry...I'm sorry..." he mumbled, trembling with fear.
"What happened to him?" Hua Ran asked, panicking.
"He accidentally swallowed a drop of the unconscious devil's blood that was spat out...!" Fei Yi exclaimed.
"There is side effect to such a thing?!" Hua Ran questioned, alarmed.
Lu Ye approached Cuo Yi, placing his hands gently on top, cupping his head with both of his hands.
"Senior Disciple Cuo Yi, do not give in to your evil spirit." He said.
"It's just a dream. It's just a dream." Lu Ye tried to calm him down, but he wasn't listening.
"What's going on?"
"Every human is born with an evil spirit who is doomed to follow us until we meet our end. The only difference lies in how far we surrender ourselves to them," Lu Ye explained, "The side effect of swallowing the blood of the unconscious devils is a nightmare, a path for him to meet his evil spirit is open. So right now, he is listening to his evil spirit urging him to surrender everything to 'him'."
"A nightmare...? It must be the time when mother and father used to whip him," Fei Yi paused.
"Do you mind sharing more?"
"We are twins, but our parents wanted only one child. They wanted their child to become a scholar, but my brother didn't have the intelligence, so he was beaten up a lot whenever he made mistakes."
"He ended up joining the Qing Shan Sect. I rebelled against my parents and followed him because I didn't want to sever our bond," Fei Yi explained again, his voice filled with sorrow.
"I see. Then Senior Disciple Fei Yi, his condition hasn't plunged too deeply into the depth of the nightmare. It's best if you encourage his soul to surface, before he becomes completely consumed."
With that, Lu Ye glanced at Hua Ran, signaling him to leave the two alone.
.
"Did Qing Zhu Jun teach you that too?" Hua ran asked.
Lu Ye remained silent for a moment before responding, "Kind of."
"My master only focuses on enhancing our sword techniques, so we know less about these devil things. I apologize if I haven't been much of a helpful senior to you."
Lu ye looked at Hua Ran with respect in his eyes and replied, "It's fine, Senior Hua. I already learned how to fight much from you. It's only fair that I share my knowledge with you."
A brief silence dawned upon them, only until Hua Ran started speaking again.
"Frankly speaking, I was one of Qing Zhu Jun's disciples."
Surprised, Lu Ye's expression was enough to comprehend what he was going to ask: what?
"Just like many of his previous disciples, I also couldn't... handle all the training he provided," Hua Ran admitted. "So I want to say that you're a very impressive man."
"You're flattering me, Senior Hua. I'm no man of a good nature." Lu ye replied as he nodded down, his voice and expression remained unreadable.
"What do you mean?"
Their conversation was cut short by Fei Yi's sudden appearance.
"My brother has gone to sleep... I suppose, but his temperature is going high!"
Hua Ran wet the cloth and placed it on Cuo Yi's forehead.
"It's just a normal fever," Hua Ran sighed with relief.
"It's common to have such a high fever after encountering such a nightmare. It means he succeeded in getting himself back."
"People that succumbed to their evil spirit supposedly have lower temperatures, which is why they dislike fire," Lu Ye explained.
"Did your master teach you that too?"
"I'm not sure…"
"Did he..?"
.