Chapter 90

Every beautiful lake has no shortage of beautiful stories, and Fengming Lake is no exception.

Legend has it that millions of years ago, this was once a common bathing place for celestial beings and mortals during spring and autumn. When the war between the gods and earthly beings caused Jiuzhou to become a scene of disaster in one’s eyes, this place became a rare Pure Land*. However, in order to stop the war, Zhuanxu Sect destroyed the connection between heaven and earth, and the celestial beings had to return to their original place and leave the earth forever. Before leaving, they used up all their life's work to create a cave for their heirs and people that contained boundless spiritual power, which is located at the bottom of Fengming Lake.

Whenever there is a stronger fluctuation of spiritual energy at the bottom of the lake, the water in the lake will make a murmuring sound, hence getting the name Fengming Lake*.

The Kunlun people claim to be the descendants of celestial beings and mortals, worshipping and guarding the Shen Nong Ding for generations. In fact, to them, the Fengming Lake cave is as important as the Shen Nong Ding.

But the cave is not accessible to everyone. It is said that the Ice Palace has an underground passage that leads straight to the heart of the lake, which can only be opened by the head of the Cangyu Sect.

At this moment, the stars and moon are hanging upside down over the surface of Fengming Lake, like a piece of sinking jade and emitting dots of crystalline light. As if the lake really has the ability to pick the stars and gather the moon, creating a galaxy on earth.

An ethereal humming accompanied the cold wind and swept across heaven and earth, as if a phoenix with golden plumes and jade feathers will soon soar into the sky.

Such a marvellous spectacle was not only dumbfounding to Xie Bi An and the others, even many of the Cangyu Sect disciples had never seen it before.

"Senior Brother!" The disciples of the Cangyu Sect backed away to either side to make way.

Just as the crowd was gathered around the lake, not knowing what to do, Yun Zhong Jun appeared.

He also seemed to have woken up in a hurry and was not wearing a mili, but his face was still covered with a pure white mask.

Lan Chui Han said, "I hadn't seen so many Cangyu Sect disciples when I came here during the day. This sect is really rich in Yin and lacks Yang, with far more women cultivators than men."

"Yeah." Xie Bi An stood on his tiptoes and stretched his neck, looking around. There was no sign of Fan Wu She yet, and he was very worried.

"If Yun Zhong Jun asks you later where your junior brother has gone, how will you answer." Lan Chui Han looked at Yun Zhong Jun who was strolling and said in a low voice without changing his expression.

"Uh ... he went to relieve himself."

"Idiot." Lan Chui Han scolded lightly, "With Heaven Master."

Just as the words left his mouth, Yun Zhong Jun stood in front of them, sizing up the two of them, "Where are Heaven Master and Black Immortal?"

"Master and junior brother came out first, they're probably over there." Xie Bi An pointed randomly. Anyway it was very dark right now, and there were hundreds of people gathered around Fengming Lake, so he had to find them.

Yun Zhong Jun narrowed his eyes. He obviously was also troubled by the strange situation at Fengming Lake and had no time to ask questions. Calling a few disciples, he instructed them to go and find them, while he himself walked straight to the lake.

Xie Bi An and Lan Chui Han followed.

"Senior Brother, what's going on? The spiritual pressure in the lake is so weird." A valiant high-ranking female cultivator stood at Yun Zhong Jun's side.

Yun Zhong Jun frowned: "What happened beforehand?"

"I was on guard tonight and saw nothing unusual. Could it be that something happened in the cave?"

Yun Zhong Jun shook his head, "I went to check there first, and no one broke in."

The female cultivator's eyebrows knitted together in worry, "Could it be that Master ..."

"Don't say it." Yun Zhong Jun said, "Let everyone disperse first."

"Yes." The female cultivator ordered the disciples to disperse.

Although the crowd was confused, they could only go back one after another.

But at that moment, the spiritual pressure at the bottom of the lake soared. The lake’s surface glowed brilliantly, and the sound of the phoenix grew louder and louder, almost resounding throughout the entire Fenglin Continent, but the more they heard it, the more unusual it became. Although no one had ever heard a phoenix cry, it sounded like ...

"A horse? Are there horses somewhere?" Xie Bi An looked around in amazement.

Lan Chui Han was also at a loss.

Suddenly, Fengming Lake swirled up from its position in the center of the lake.

Xie Bi An and Lan Chui Han drew their swords in unison.

Yun Zhong Jun called out, "Move away from the shore and set up an array!"

The disciples of the Cangyu Sect quickly retreated backwards and formed an array with several people in order, looking warily at Fengming Lake.

A black shadow rushed out from the whirlpool in the center of the lake.

There were shouts of alarm from the shore.

It was a skeletal warhorse, sprinkled with a black death aura. It galloped on the ripples of water as if on flat ground, spreading its long legs and running towards the shore. At the same time releasing a sonorous neigh.

"What is this thing!?"

"There are evil spirits in Fengming Lake!"

"Don't panic, it's just an evil spirit."

Xie Bi An’s heart was beating like a drum. He glanced at Lan Chui Han and could tell from the expression on his face that the two of them had the same thoughts. If it was before, he would not have associated everything with a hundred years ago, but everything that had happened recently was related to people and events from the time of Emperor Zong, so how could one not make the connection?

The skeleton horse jumped to the shore in a few steps. Its pitch-black hooves wrapped in a layer of white snow as soon as it hit the ground.

The black skeleton horse, with its four hooves treading on the snow.

A scream came from the crowd, "Could it be the demon foal Wuya*!?"

There was a terrifying commotion.

"Wuya ..." muttered Xie Bi An.

The demon foal, Wuya, was a legendary evil spirit that appeared in the picture books which every child in the immortal cultivation world read as a child.

It was originally the mount of the King of the Western Chu, the number one divine horse at that time, and when the King committed suicide at the Wu River, it also died from starvation to accompany its owner. But a hundred years ago, the Supreme Demon Zong Zi Xiao summoned it out with the Xuanyuan Heavenly Secret Talisman.

Legend has it that during his ten years of exile, Zong Zi Xiao traveled all over Jiuzhou, specializing in finding ancient battlefields. What would be a better place to gather more powerful lonely ghosts than an ancient battlefield? He was able to summon a large number of Yin soldiers at each place he visited. When he returned to the immortal cultivation world with his overwhelming black death aura, the immortal clans and families were utterly defeated by this group of Yin soldiers who neither needed to eat and drink nor tire themselves out and die.

The Supreme Demon Zong Zi Xiao’s black-clad and black horse riding alone, was a centuries-old nightmare for the immortal cultivation world.

But this horse should obviously have been sealed by the Great Emperor Beiyin along with the Xuanyuan Heavenly Secret Talisman. How could it appear here?

Lan Chui Han said in a deep voice: "Previously, when it was said that all these things were related to the era of Emperor Zong, I still had doubts in my mind, but now that the demon foal has appeared, could it be that the Supreme Demon ..."

Xie Bi An's heart was beating fast. He had a premonition that they were constantly piecing together a picture that was being split up. Meng Ke Fei was one piece, Li Bu Yu was one piece, Zong Ming He was one piece, Xu Zhi Nan was one piece, and here was the next piece. When this picture was put together, the truth that was presented before their eyes could be far more frightening than they had imagined. Now unable to get a glimpse of the whole picture, they were simply walking themselves into a trap.

A lightning bolt of white light struck at Wuya, who darted to avoid it, and an arrow condensed from ice crystals was stuck in the spot where he had originally stood.

Once again, Yun Zhong Jun bent his bow to a full moon shape and said coldly, "Beast, don't act wildly."

Enraged, Wuya's front hooves ploughed the snow a few times and raced towards Yun Zhong Jun.

Yun Zhong Jun opened his five fingers and three ice crystal arrows appeared in between his fingers, all of them flying towards Wuya.

Wuya leapt up on his front hooves and jumped high on his hind hooves.

The Cangyu Sect disciples took out their bows and for a moment the arrows rained down. But ordinary arrows could not hurt Wuya, and there were very few high-ranking cultivators who could use their spiritual power to condense arrows. As they watched, Wuya was on the verge of reaching Yun Zhong Jun, still unharmed.

Yun Zhong Jun also stepped on the void and rose up, changing his form and position in mid-air, firing one ice crystal arrow after another. One finally hit Wuya, and the horse neighed loudly.

A normal evil spirit would have been killed by such an arrow, but Wuya became even more furious and kicked at Yun Zhong Jun with his thick black iron hooves.

Yun Zhong Jun was usually elegant and cool, and his body was always straight, but he had never fought such a fast opponent in his life, so he dodged a bit awkwardly and barely managed to hold Wuya at bay. Wuya was so incredibly fast that if he hadn't been wrapped up tightly, it might have gotten away in the blink of an eye.

The cultivators of the Cangyu Sect quickly gathered around, chanting incantations and drawing formations, and aura lights flashed in the snow.

Wuya immediately spotted the human’s trickery and jumped out of the formation with a single step.

A green light appeared in the sky and came with a whoosh.

Wuya tensed his front hooves to death and the horse was forced to back away. The crowd fixed their eyes on the Qingfeng sword stuck in the ground.

A boundary spread out around the Qingfeng sword, blocking Wuya's path. The array set up by Cangyu Sect cultivators was formed, and Wuya was trapped in the formation, grumpily digging at the ground.

Zhong Kui walked up to the front of the formation and looked at Wuya carefully, "Is it really the demon foal Wuya? Why is it here?"

Yun Zhong Jun straightened his lapel and arched his hand, "Thank you for your help, Heaven Master."

Zhong Kui waved his hand and looked towards Fengming Lake, "Can a mere beast generate such great spiritual pressure?"

"It is not an ordinary horse after all."

Zhong Kui looked into Yun Zhong Jun's eyes and said nonchalantly, "A hundred years ago in the battle of Mount Luofeng, Zong Zi Xiao died in defeat, and the Xuanyuan Heavenly Secret Talisman and all its Yin soldiers were sealed in Jiuyou by the Great Emperor Beiyin. The Cangyu Sect owes the Cultivation World an explanation as to why this horse was hidden at the bottom of Fengming Lake."

Yun Zhong Jun was silent for a moment, "Junior really doesn’t know anything about this. Junior will ask my master for an explanation."

"Of course you don't know, how old are you?" Zhong Kui let out a yawn and looked at Wuya carefully, "What a majestic horse."

"By the way, Heaven Master, where is Black Immortal?" Yun Zhong Jun looked around alertly.

Xie Bi An and Lan Chui Han happened to be walking over. Xie Bi An glanced at Zhong Kui and gave a surreptitious squeeze of his eyebrows, "Master, isn't junior brother with you?"

Zhong Kui froze, "Ah ... him, yeah, he was here a while ago. Strange. Gone to relieve himself I think."

Lan Chui Han turned his face away.

Yun Zhong Jun narrowed his eyes, "Where exactly is Black Immortal? This disturbance has come out of Fenglin Continent. Junior wants to ensure the safety of the guests."

"He ..."

"Master, senior brother." Fan Wu She appeared behind the crowd at some point and seemed to look as normal.

Xie Bi An glared at Fan Wu She.

"Master is not hurt, right?" Fan Wu She asked in a seemingly concerned manner.

"I’m fine."

Yun Zhong Jun looked at Fan Wu She coldly, "Where did Black Immortal go just now?"

"I was here the whole time." Fan Wu She said without changing his expression.

Yun Zhong Jun was about to say something when a female cultivator shouted, "Senior Brother, this formation is unstable. Why don't we reinforce it with ice spirits? Otherwise it will break free sooner or later."

Yun Zhong Jun gave Fan Wu She a deep look and turned to walk away.

Zhong Kui looked at Fan Wu She and his tone was somewhat icy: "Go back and talk."

 

 ----

Pure Land*[净土]---clean and unpolluted place

Fengming Lake*[凤鸣]----Phoenix Cry Lake

Wuya*[乌雅]---English name is crow (but it’s not a crow). Although King Chu’s horse is "乌骓", pronounced as Wuzhui (it is inspired from the Chinese novel 《西汉演义》: https://baike.baidu.com/item/乌骓  ), SQC didn’t write 乌骓 in novel purposely, just like how she name 谢必安 (Xie Bi An) as 谢彼安 (Xie Bi An) and 范无救 (Fan Wu Jiu) as 范无慑 (Fan Wu She)

 

Edited 7 Apr. 21 (Emzie)

 

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