In the fifth year of the Human Calendar’s Jianyuan era.
Yue Continent, Shan County.
Early spring.
Ever since spring arrived, the rains in Yue Continent had fallen incessantly, day after day.
Mist and haze filled the air, while the green mountains stood freshly washed.
A group of Immortal Alliance disciples escorted what was currently the Immortal Alliance’s most important prisoner, hurrying toward the Golden Court Jade Terrace for execution.
The mountain paths after the rain were difficult to traverse, with the soil soft and muddy. A single step splashed mud onto everyone’s bodies.
But the Immortal Alliance stipulated that when escorting prisoners to Shan County, all flying magical tools had to be abandoned. They had to parade through the streets for all to see, all the way until they ascended Golden Court Mountain and reached the Golden Court Jade Terrace.
The continuous rains left the Immortal Alliance disciples feeling doubly unlucky.
The leading disciple saw everyone’s low spirits and felt helpless inside.
Fortunately, cultivators were strong and robust. Another day and night of walking, and they would reach the territory of Golden Court Mountain.
“Everyone, hold on for one more day!” He raised his voice, looking around at them, and encouraged, “This is the task the Immortal Alliance has given us! We’re almost at Golden Court Mountain— we can’t slack off now!”
As he spoke, his gaze involuntarily turned to the disheveled figure in the center of the group.
This was a young man around his early twenties.
His black hair was lush and vibrant, his brows and eyes bright as daylight, his nose straight, his lips thin and soft. He had the appearance of an exceptionally handsome man.
The misty rain blurred his thick, long eyelashes. The man’s posture remained as silent and resilient as ever, like ink faintly blending into the spring rain.
From Qing Continent to Yue Continent, ninety thousand li away, the journey had been incredibly arduous, yet this man had remained utterly silent the entire way, never uttering a sound.
The leading disciple felt a mix of emotions as he thought of this.
Who could have imagined that Mu Daoying, once the chief disciple of Jade Clarity Temple, hailed as the rare flower of the immortal capital, would fall to such a state?
Because of the shackles on his feet weighing a thousand jin, Mu Daoying’s steps were heavy and staggering. The flesh on his ankles had been worn away by the heavy irons, exposing the white bone beneath.
The yoke on his shoulders and neck pressed his shoulders high and swollen, bleeding and festering, now revealing the stark white bone.
Yet Mu Daoying endured it all through sheer force of will.
Even as the lowliest prisoner, with the yoke bending his spine, he lived up to his innate sword bone. He remained profoundly calm and self-possessed, his expression serene, his demeanor proper—only a faint weariness lingered in his brows and eyes.
Rain wet Mu Daoying’s eyelashes. His eyelids were slightly swollen from days of interrogation, aching sharply with every movement. As he lowered his gaze, a crystal raindrop rolled down.
From his master suddenly betraying Jade Clarity Temple to him being escorted to the Immortal Alliance for trial, it had all happened too quickly, catching him off guard.
Half a month ago, the former head of Jade Clarity Temple, True Person Zixiao, had reached the end of his lifespan and returned his soul to the Dao mountains.
The position of head had thus hung undecided between his master, True Person Ling Yuan, and True Person Qingxu.
The Eastern Florescence Realm brimmed with spiritual energy, a rare paradise for immortals. Within its borders, including the Demonic Sects, there were tens of thousands of cultivation sects of all sizes.
Among them, Jade Clarity Temple, Supreme Harmony Sect, and Wandering Sword Pavilion stood as the three preeminent sects.
With these three sects holding sway, the Demonic Sect dared not act rashly.
The stability of these three sects meant peace for the Eastern Florescence Realm.
At this tumultuous time of handing over the headship, Mu Daoying, as the Sword Pavilion Chief Seat of Jade Clarity Temple, dared not lower his guard.
His master Ling Yuanzi was free-spirited and unbound, harboring no desire for the honor of headship. True Person Qingxu succeeding him was only fitting.
By tradition in Jade Clarity Temple, the head also guarded the temple’s Dao artifact, the Seven Treasures Soul-Returning Lamp.
Mu Daoying knew that the Eastern Florescence Realm had not been peaceful in recent years. With the shifting of heavenly cycles, the former head True Person Zixiao had foreseen the turning of fortune, the coming of human calamity, and the rise of the Demonic Sect.
In these years, the Eight Demonic Sects had grown restless, engaging in endless petty schemes. Rumor had it they secretly colluded with many righteous sects behind the scenes and even flirted closely with the neither-righteous-nor-demonic Joyous Union Palace.
Yet no one had expected that on the eve of True Person Qingxu’s inauguration as head, his master Ling Yuanzi would collude with the Demonic Sect, steal the Seven Treasures Soul-Returning Lamp, and betray the sect.
When he raised his sword to confront Ling Yuanzi, the usually calm and steady Mu Daoying froze for a moment.
He could not swing the sword in his hand.
Ling Yuanzi said, “Ning Xia, do you believe me or not?”
“Qingxu is the one colluding with the Demonic Sect! If he becomes head, the Seven Treasures Soul-Returning Lamp will inevitably fall into their hands.”
“If you believe me, then don’t stop me.”
Mu Daoying’s heart turned to chaos in an instant.
Before him stood his master, who had taught him swordplay hand in hand, led him into the Dao, and raised him personally. On his shoulders weighed the heavy responsibility as Sword Pavilion Chief Seat of Jade Clarity Temple.
Mu Daoying struggled fiercely inside. After a few moments of thought, he finally turned his sword, made his decision, and said coolly, “Master, hurry and go. Leave this place to me.”
He had practiced the sword for decades and should have drawn it to protect his fellow disciples. Yet today, he faced his brothers and sisters with blade and sword.
Mu Daoying had no intent to harm anyone. After Ling Yuanzi fled the mountain gate, he sheathed his sword and allowed himself to be captured.
With Ling Yuanzi having betrayed the sect, Mu Daoying, as his accomplice, was arrested on the spot and escorted to the Immortal Alliance’s Golden Court Jade Terrace for trial.
“You say this Immortal Mu truly is with that… Demonic Sect?”
A young Immortal Alliance disciple, unable to endure the boredom of the journey, couldn’t help whispering to his companion beside him.
“He’s so young, with such outstanding talent and a bright future ahead… A century or two of proper cultivation, and he could join the Alliance. Why go to such lengths? Besides, we’ve never seen him—”
“You wouldn’t understand. Tell me, do you know of Joyous Union Palace?”
“Joyous Union Palace?” The younger disciple coughed dryly. “Who doesn’t know of it?”
The other lowered his voice. “I’ve heard that in recent years, Joyous Union Palace has grown close to the Demonic Sect. This Mu Daoying has been entangled with people from Joyous Union Palace since he entered the Dao…”
This much he knew. Jade Sword True Heart Mu Daoying possessed an innate sword bone and jade-like features. Countless demonesses from Joyous Union Palace had thrown themselves at him for dual cultivation.
Could it be that Mu Daoying had connected with the Demonic Sect through Joyous Union Palace?
“I’ve also heard that the demoness Immaculate Old Mother of Joyous Union Palace is stunningly beautiful. Be they righteous or demonic, countless cultivators have fallen under her pomegranate skirt, becoming souls lost to her charms…”
The disciple glanced at the upright Sword Pavilion Chief Seat of Jade Clarity Temple and chuckled. “Looks like even heroes can’t resist the beauty pass?”
“They say this man despises ghouls, monsters, demons, and freaks the most. But now it seems he’s no different…”
“Shh! Say less. Mu Daoying is pure and upright, exceedingly just. Whether he truly colluded with the Demonic Sect is still up for debate…” His slightly older senior brother saw him going too far and hurriedly glared at him, then quickly looked up at Mu Daoying, fearing the junior disciple’s reckless words had been overheard.
After all, “Jade Sword True Heart” Mu Daoying was aloof and righteous, incorruptibly just, clear on good and evil. He wielded the Encounter Spring sword and enforced the sect’s inner laws. He was the epitome of an upright gentleman, a figure of the gods.
The days of torment had left Mu Daoying mentally and physically exhausted. In truth, he no longer had the energy to discern the Immortal Alliance disciples’ scattered words. His remaining thoughts dwelled solely on the great upheaval at Jade Clarity Temple half a month ago.
The young Immortal Alliance disciple was unconvinced. “What do you mean ‘up for debate’? There’s human testimony, material evidence, proof—”
Just as the group reached a pear blossom grove, a faint pink fragrant miasma suddenly spread from all directions within the woods.
Mu Daoying was the first in the group to react.
As the senior brother of Jade Clarity Temple, he had led sword enforcement teams for years, slaying countless demons and evils under his blade. Even now, gravely injured and mind clouded, his years of battle-honed instincts made him the first to sense something amiss.
His first instinct was to draw his sword, but he realized Encounter Spring was no longer with him. With a thought, he could only shout coldly, “Enemy attack!”
The leading disciple heard his cold shout, looked up to see the fragrant miasma spreading wildly, and his eyelids twitched hard. He bellowed, “Be careful— the prisoner’s in danger!”
The young disciple froze in place, swallowing the word “certain” back down his throat. He stood there with his mouth agape, dazed.
…Could he really have guessed it? Was this Mu Daoying truly colluding with the Demonic Sect behind his refined facade?
The fragrant miasma came so swiftly and spread so rapidly that in the blink of an eye, it isolated everyone.
The miasma carried a faint sweet scent as it entered mouths and noses. The young disciple felt his vision blur, the world spinning, and his sword hand went limp, unable to muster any strength.
At that moment, the originally formless miasma underwent a bizarre change. Strands of miasmic gas twisted into threads as thick as spider silk, gleaming with cold light under the post-rain sunlight.
A flash of cold light, and in an instant, the Immortal Alliance disciples were beheaded, perishing in the miasma.
Those who had inhaled the miasma met even more gruesome ends. Countless fine threads pierced from their throats deep into their abdomens, swiftly riddling their vital organs before bursting out from every part of their bodies.
The Immortal Alliance disciples escorting Mu Daoying were elite inner disciples from the major sects, yet under this strange miasma, they had no power to resist and became livestock for the slaughter.
The leading disciple finally recognized the origin of this bizarre fragrant miasma, but it was too late. He could only murmur hoarsely, “Joyous Union Palace… It’s Joyous Union Palace’s fragrant miasma…”
Mu Daoying truly had colluded with Joyous Union Palace!
…
The moment the mist rose, Mu Daoying’s expression changed drastically. He staggered forward with his shackles, wanting to rush ahead and aid them. But the chains on his body were all made of special Chenshui refined steel—the more a cultivator struggled, the tighter they constricted.
Seeing the leading disciple’s dazed expression, on the verge of dying to the miasma.
Mu Daoying ignored the chains digging deep into his flesh. His face paled, his fine brows furrowed tightly, and enduring the pain, he leaped forward!
“Get out of the way!”
Unexpectedly, a vast force surged swiftly through the pear blossom grove and slammed into his back!
At the same time, Mu Daoying was struck flying several zhang away, his heart and lungs nearly shattering.
The mist also tore the leading disciple’s limbs apart, sending blood mist flying everywhere.
Hot blood poured down onto Mu Daoying’s face.
Warm.
His mind buzzed, and his once-boiling brain suddenly cooled.
Mu Daoying fluttered his eyelashes. Blood beads slid down his porcelain-pale face. Calmly, he raised his eyes—stars immersed in frost—and stared with undisguised hatred at the graceful figure slowly emerging from the mist.
“Does your sect not fear the Immortal Alliance’s pursuit for such open slaughter near the Golden Court Jade Terrace today?”
The mist dispersed, pear blossoms stained with blood.
A woman crushed the pear blossoms underfoot and approached through the blood.
She had a pair of exceedingly alluring phoenix eyes, with slightly upturned corners, skin crystalline as pears, lips brighter than cherries.
“Forgive us, Immortal Mu.” The woman smiled faintly, her phoenix eyes rippling with charm, radiance bursting forth. “This one is Chen Yuro, chief steward of Joyous Union Palace, here on orders from the Palace Lord—the Immaculate Old Mother—to invite Immortal Mu to visit the palace.”
East Florescence Realm housed tens of thousands of sects, and Joyous Union Palace stood apart as neither immortal nor demonic.
Its disciples did not cultivate the righteous path but pursued immortality through yin-yang dual cultivation arts of gathering yin to supplement yang and vice versa. For thousands of years, it had been deeply despised by the righteous path.
Even someone as pure as Mu Daoying had heard of Joyous Union Palace’s Palace Lord, the Immaculate Old Mother.
No one now knew the Immaculate Old Mother’s secular name or origins. Legend said she was extraordinarily beautiful, favored by the old Palace Lord, taken as a concubine and retained, then using every trick to be accepted as a disciple.
In a mere three years, she rose from an obscure bed-warmer to a world-renowned, ruthless demoness.
Rumors long persisted in the Eastern Florescence Realm that the old Palace Lord’s death was tied to her.
After the old Palace Lord’s demise, the Immaculate Old Mother swiftly purged opposing forces within the palace, seized full control, and became the new Palace Lord.
They said that day Joyous Union Palace lay littered with corpses, blood flowing down the mountain. It soaked the steps before the palace gates, and even daily scrubbing by disciples could not wash away the bloodstains in the stone cracks.