Chapter 1

Mount Shu is a mountain with multiple ranges which pierced through the clouds. It is famous for its vast form, high peaks, deep valleys, and magnificent forests. It is also known as the first immortal mountain due to Wuliang Sect, the leader of the Immortal Alliance who lived in seclusion in this mountain.

For hundreds of years, there were those who ascended Mount Shu to seek help, education, and medicine day after day regardless of the season.

However, what caught Xie Bi An's interest was a mysterious flower in Mount Shu's Diancang Peak, which was rumored to bloom in autumn when other flowers had withered and would die when transplanted. The spring water in Mandarin Duck Pond was naturally sweet, and it was used to make tea, which leaves a rich aftertaste. Lanxi Town, which was at the foot of the mountain, produced all kinds of delicious food and wine, and he always had a big feast when he visited. 

It was a pity that on this trip to Mount Shu, he didn't get a chance to enjoy the mountains, water, tea, and wine, because the City God of Mount Shu came to the Underworld with a report and requested him to help harvest souls.

The City God's name was Sun Xia Zhen. He was once an elder of Wuliang Sect. When he was alive, he performed exorcism everywhere and helped commoners. He enjoyed his good reputation, but his cultivation was limited which prevented him from ascending. The Underworld allowed him to choose: to reincarnate into a wealthy and powerful family, and enjoy a lifetime worth of glory, or to become a local City God, where one day when he accumulated enough merits, he could get ranked among the ghosts and immortals and transcend reincarnation.

Usually, the deceased was taken back to the Underworld by the local City God or by the ghost servants. Only those that were difficult to deal with would be handled by the Underworld Generals.

The person Sun Xia Zhen reported this time was one of Wuliang Sect's high-ranking cultivators. The cause of the death was a terrifying one----he died from a dug-out golden core.

As an Underworld General, Xie Bi An traveled between the human and ghost realms with his master since he was young. He had seen many horrible deaths. What really terrified people from the deaths of cultivators who had their golden cores stolen was the fear of the comeback of the demonic practice which involved “using the inner core to train the outer core”. 

Since ancient times, this type of heartless cultivation method has been taboo in the cultivation world of the human realm. The outer core trained by using the inner core was called the "human core". The more powerful the golden core that was used to create the human core, the more the user's cultivation would improve by. Obtaining a core could improve a person's cultivation by a few years up to a decade, and it is not impossible to change one's substructure. The temptation was too great, making these demonic cultivators massacre others endlessly.

Because the golden core must be dug out when the person was still alive, the victim’s cultivation would be destroyed for his entire life, and most of them would die from severe injuries or from being silenced. In order not to fulfill the demonic cultivator's wish, those with an upright temperament would rather commit suicide. These types of deceased would have a very strong resentment, thus their souls were not easy to harvest and could easily bring harm to the world.

Xie Bi An, who still didn't know the details, already became worried after hearing the two words "stolen core". When he visited the City God Temple, Sun Xia Zhen was also very worried.

"Hey, Little White Master." Sun Xia Zhen's eyes went straight over Xie Bi An, looking behind him, "where is Heaven Master Zhong?"

Xie Bi An cupped his hands together in greeting: "Elder Sun, master has gone on a trip, and his return date is uncertain."

Sun Xia Zhen has a violent temper. He has a shallow cultivation because he intruded too much in earthly affairs. He was angry and anxious when he heard these words: "Where did that old drunkard wander off to again? Letting you come by yourself."

Xie Bi An said helplessly: "Junior doesn't know. Elder Sun might as well tell me the situation." He had been alone since 14 years old. He had seen stormy waves* before. Even if his master wasn't here, he wasn’t afraid.

"Little White Master, it's not that I don't believe you, it's just that this time this person is really difficult to handle. This person is my martial nephew's martial nephew..." Sun Xia Zhen was pondering for a while and still did not understand, "anyway, he is Xiang Qu Zhen Ren's first disciple*, Meng Ke Fei. Have you heard of him?"

"Xiang Qu Zhen Ren? Isn't that Alliance Leader Li's junior brother?"

"Exactly! Meng Ke Fei’s innate talent surpasses others. He could already be in charge if he was put in an ordinary immortal household.”

Xie Bi An suddenly understood why Sun Xia Zhen was so anxious. Xiang Qu Zhen Ren's senior brother was the head of Mount Shu's Wuliang Sect, the heir of Wuliang's sword, and the leader of the Immortal Alliance, Li Bu Yu. As the elder of Wuliang Sect, anyone who became Xiang Qu Zhen Ren's disciple was definitely not a layman. Even he died from a stolen core in his own territory with his cultivation level and status. Which demonic cultivator was so powerful and arrogant? Wouldn't everyone be in danger then?

"Wuliang Sect has always been leading all the immortal families in killing demonic cultivators. Although there are occasional core thieves throughout the year, only a few low-level cultivators suffered. The murder of Meng Ke Fei indicates that there are high-level demonic cultivators. I'm afraid that there will be another bloody storm in this place." Sun Xia Zhen stroked his white beard. His eyes condensed with sadness.

Cultivators in the human realm had different ways to cultivate. Sword cultivation, martial cultivation, instrument cultivation, alchemy cultivation, and talisman cultivation. There was no fixed method, but those who cultivated by harming or influencing others would be classified under demonic cultivation, and they were despised by the immortal families. However, it was not necessary to kill off ordinary demonic cultivators. The ones who stole cores were the only ones that had the right to be punished. Not only was it because of the cruelty of the method, but also because a hundred years ago, this method once produced a Supreme Demon, who almost overthrew both the human and ghost realms. It was the longest nightmare in the human realm's immortal cultivation world.

Sun Xia Zhen was just a little disciple at that time, who had experienced the horrors of the Supreme Demon, and Xie Bi An had also heard many evil legends since he was young. The world hated and feared these core thieves, and they were even more secretive about the Supreme Demon. No one even dared to speak his name.

Xie Bi An consoled: "Elder Sun, you don't have to worry. The demonic cultivator can't run away from Wuliang Sect's investigations. We should go see the deceased first. There might be changes if we are too late."

---

They were still too late. They hurried to where Meng Ke Fei was murdered. Xie Bi An sensed an unusual spiritual pressure---someone was setting a formation to call back the spirit of the dead.

Soul-calling formation was a forbidden technique. This technique was very dangerous. It used one's own spiritual power to force a dead soul to return back to life. Even a person with a high cultivation level might not be able to control the resentful soul. Any mistakes would cause self-immolation. A damaged cultivation level at the minimum, and life endangerment at worst.

Even if it's just possession, the self-inflicted damage was not minor. Moreover, when they were harvesting the soul, they have to face the problem of not hurting the living while collecting the soul.

It seemed like they dared to take the risk even though the death of Meng Ke Fei would have a great impact on Wuliang Sect. As the number one immortal sect, the sect leader's nephew had his golden core dug out in his own territory and lost his life. This was a blatant provocation to the Wuliang Sect as well as the entire Immortal Alliance. If the murderer is not quickly found, apart from throwing Wuliang Sect's face, it would be difficult to give an explanation to their disciples, allies, and everyone else in the world.

In order to find the murderer, asking the victim directly was the quickest way.

It was too late to stop. Xie Bi An and Sun Xia Zhen saw an elder with few other cultivators channeling their spiritual powers to activate the formation. They dared not disturb them, afraid that they would distract them, causing them to receive a backlash from Meng Ke Fei's soul.

Sun Xia Zhen was so furious that his beard flew up: "This Xiang Qu Zhen Ren is such a muddle-head. They are all idiots from my junior brother's side. They cannot escape unscathed from a normal soul-calling, let alone from a high-ranking and resentful cultivator's soul like Meng Ke Fei!"

The soul-calling formation was flashing with blue light, which was very strange. The cultivators from Wuliang Sect could not see it, but the two beings from the Underworld could see it vividly. Meng Ke Fei's soul appeared in the middle of the formation with a blank face. Initially, he tried to walk out from the formation, but after repeated unsuccessful attempts, his expression gradually became angry and sinister, and he started to go on a rampage, crashing against layers upon layers of the invisible barrier. 

The turbulence of the formation was causing suffering to the low-level cultivators. Some of them began to turn pale due to the lack of spiritual power. Xiang Qu Zhen Ren tensed his face, drew a talisman in the air, entered the formation, and shouted: "Soul return!"

Meng Ke Fei's soul was temporarily suppressed. A whiff of demonic wind rose, rolling up small dust and stones into the air.

Xiang Qu Zhen Ren shouted: "Meng Ke Fei, is that you? Master is here. Tell master, who did this to you!"

Meng Ke Fei was still at a loss.

"Ke Fei, tell master, who dug out your golden core!"

When a person just died, their three souls and seven sprits were slowly dispersing. Their consciousness would be in a state of confusion. Most of them didn’t know that they were dead. They didn’t even know what they were doing at that moment, but this sentence immediately caused fluctuations in Meng Ke Fei's memory. He lowered his head and looked at his abdomen. His clothes which looked normal, suddenly had blood rushing forth like a fountain. A hole had been dug in the dantian* area. The moment he remembered, resentment soared, and he roared to break through the formation.

One of the cultivators spat out a mouthful of blood. The formation was clearly extinguishing, like a flickering candle flame in the wind.

"Not good." Xie Bi An rushed over, grabbing the void with his right hand. A green jaded stick appeared in his hand.

"Who is it!?" Xiang Qu Zhen Ren looked at the person who came.

A young man dressed in white holding a jaded stick had appeared unexpectedly. His white clothes fluttered like snowy waves, his black hair was as beautiful as a sea of ink, and his tall white hat was inscribed with an ancient talisman. He had a handsome face, a heavenly appearance, dazzling and elegant like a fairy.

Meng Ke Fei's soul was like a hungry tiger and possessed that low-level cultivator's body. Xie Bi An held the soul suppressing stick, propped towards that person's back, and tried to force Meng Ke Fei's soul out, but because he didn't dare to exert force, he failed. Instead, he angered Meng Ke Fei. Resentment raged like a gust of wind, and numerous cultivators were thrown out. The formation looked like it was about to go out.

Only Xiang Qu Zhen Ren with profound spiritual power was left maintaining the formation strenuously: "Are you the Impermanence Immortal?"

Xie Bi An exclaimed: "Zhen Ren, quickly close the soul-calling formation!" Meng Ke Fei was absorbing spiritual power through the formation, and it would become more and more difficult to deal with.

"But I haven't asked about the murderer yet!"

Xie Bi An started fighting against the cultivator possessed by Meng Ke Fei: "He's already dead. Whatever he had gone through when he was alive, the Underworld will interrogate him, how can you violate soul-calling? If you can't get an answer, it'll endanger this cultivator's soul. If you don't close it, I will lodge a complaint against you and have your lifespan reduced!"

The possessed cultivator's eyes became bloodshot as if he was looking at his mortal enemy who was after his life. Meng Ke Fei had an outstanding cultivation level, and his swordsmanship was unpredictable and hard to deal with. Xie Bi An was afraid of harming innocent people, and he could only try his best to dodge the attacks. His right arm was soon stabbed by the sword.

Sun Xia Zhen was anxiously watching on the sidelines. He couldn’t help Xie Bi An as he is unable to touch the living. 

Xiang Qu Zhen Ren looked at the crazed cultivator, and had no other choice but to suppress his hatred and close the soul-calling formation to help Xie Bi An suppress Meng Ke Fei.

Everyone joined together and finally subdued the cultivator. Xie Bi An used his soul-suppressing stick to give a knock on top of the cultivator's skull. Meng Ke Fei's soul was knocked out. Under the pressure of the soul suppressing stick, that soul behaved itself.

Xiang Qu Zhen Ren was in tears: "In the end, who hurt my disciple? Impermanence Immortal, can you tell me?"

Xie Bi An gestured a blood coagulation enchantment to stop his injuries. He sighed: "My condolences. It's not that I don't want to tell you. I'm only in charge of harvesting souls. He has to go to Yanluo Hall for his life to get interrogated and judged. Matters of the living are matters in the human world. Matters of the dead are matters in the Underworld. They are insurmountable."

"But...Heaven Master Zhong does interfere with humans' matters occasionally."

Xie Bi An felt awkward: "Uh...Master and I have different statuses." His master always did things his own way. If he could go to heaven, he would even dare to interfere with Great Emperor Haotian's matters.

"So where is Heaven Master Zhong? Doesn't he hate the golden core thieves too?"

"He went on a trip, and his date of return is uncertain. Zhen Ren, farewell." Although he's a living being, he tried to avoid the living as much as possible when harvesting souls, because most living beings had motives for them. Xiang Qu Zhen Ren knew the rules of the human and ghost realms. Even if he sought answers, it was not excessive. Xie Bi An had encountered plenty of people who begged, forced, and bribed him in order to achieve various goals. Every time he encountered them, he had a headache.

Xiang Qu Zhen Ren was disappointed and grieving. Looking at Meng Ke Fei's corpse, he said with hatred: "Ke Fei, I hope you'll reincarnate well. Master will search for the murderer and avenge you!"

---

Xie Bi An brought Meng Ke Fei's soul to the Underworld and handed it over to the ghost servant. His task was completed. The following good-evil judgment was the matter of the Yanluo Hall. He was planning to treat his injuries when he heard a loud voice from afar: "White Master, White Master!"

A teenage boy rushed over, his face filled with fear as he shouted: "Heaven Master, Heaven Master is back!"

This boy was their close attendant, Bo Zhu.

Xie Bi An was surprised and delighted: "What? Master is back?" He hadn't heard from his master for months. Of course, he was happy at that moment, but when he saw Bo Zhu's flustered expression, he became worried that his master got into trouble again.

"He came back, and...and brought back someone."

"Huh? Master suddenly got into business."

"No." Bo Zhu panicked, "He didn't come back from soul harvesting, he...he brought back a living person."

Xie Bi An gaped: "A living person?"

"Before Official Lord Cui comes, you have to go and take a look quickly."

Xie Bi An broke into a cold sweat: "Let's go!"

 

SQC's note: GONG will appear in the next chapter~

 

----

Translator Thoughts

PS: It's been a hell translating, PHEW! I rely heavily on Google translate, dictionaries and Google a lot because Shui Qian Chen's style of narration is very deep. She makes quite a lot of references from other books, which I have to spend time reading before translating and explaining. Subscribe to get email notification once a new chapter is up :):) Have fun reading :D

 

seen stormy waves*[见过风浪] ---- been through hardships

dantian*[丹田]---three inches below the navel (around abdomen area)

first disciple* [大弟子]---first disciple accepted by the master

Editor Thoughts

Hi everyone, limit here! I will be helping Ari re-edit the chapters to improve the flow of the novel. If there are still any confusing parts (to me) after editing I will try to clarify them in the editor thoughts at this section :)

If anyone is confused about the core business -> cultivators have a golden core -> demonic cultivators kill them to use the golden core to make a human core -> human core boosts their cultivation -> repeat

Leave a comment "Like" if you liked this chapter! 

Edited on 08 Mar. 21 (Emzie)

Edited on 15 Jun. 21 (Ari) --- sentence structure, grammar, rephrasing, additional footnotes

Edited on 16 Jul 21 (Limit) -- flow of the story

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