Chapter 204: Two Pieces of News
Thirteen months later...
Jiang Yue sat in a daze. He looked a little lost, and he sighed every few moments.
’Azhen, our birthday is in five days. Are you going to miss it?’ He thought and sighed again.
He released his pipa and began to pluck the strings.
The plucking was seemingly random, but the result was a haunting melody that echoed around the courtyard.
When he heard it, senior Niu sighed.
’Young love.’ He lamented but didn’t understand.
He was born alone, lived a long time, and had never had a lover. It was difficult to empathise with the young lad’s loneliness.
However, senior Niu knew better than to say anything about the matter.
Although he didn’t understand the feeling between the two young men, he understood their importance to each other.
"Uncle Niu, why do you think he is late?" Jiang Yue asked.
From their Taoist contract, he knew Yu Nianzhen was fine but didn’t know why he was late to their meeting.
"Young Yu is a responsible man. He will arrive when he is meant to arrive."
Jiang Yue rolled his eyes when he heard that.
At times like this, the bullock reminded him of phoney fortune tellers in his previous life. When they didn’t know what to say, they would say such words that sounded profound but actually had no meaning.
However, Jiang Yue also knew things were different in the Cangxing world. Unlike Earth, fate had meaning in this new world.
With such thoughts, he sighed again and continued to play the pipa.
A day later, a knock sounded at the courtyard door.
Jiang Yue raised his head and sighed before standing up.
Every time he heard a knock, he hoped it was Azhen, but he was disappointed every time.
This time, the guests were Qi Shuo and Qi Feiyan.
After leaving the Lu family residence, Jiang Yue went into seclusion to consolidate his strength.
The retreat lasted ten months, and the moment it ended; the Qi siblings appeared outside his door. Since then, they visited every few days, and Jiang Yue did not turn them away.
This was not because he enjoyed their company but because they brought news.
With their visits, Jiang Yue knew everything that happened in Black Wind city, the Sea Cloud region, and the surrounding territories.
"Young master Qi, young lady Qi, come in."
"Yeying." The two greeted and entered the courtyard.
"I was just thinking of making a cup of tea. Do the two care for tea?" Jiang Yue asked.
"Please." Qi Shuo answered.
"What about the young lady?"
"Tea is fine."
The Qi siblings settled down, and Jiang Yue prepared tea.
Soon after, three cups of tea were placed on a stone table, and the three drank before they started talking.
"Did Yeying consider the matter? Qi Feiyan asked.
"My answer is still the same." Jiang Yue said helplessly.
Qi Feiyan still wanted to invite him to travel to the Ice Palace with their Qi family.
However, Jiang Yue couldn’t think about it.
Although travelling with the Qi family and by extension, the Sea Cloud sect would be much faster, Jiang Yue didn’t consider it even for a moment.
He didn’t want to deliver himself and Yu Nianzhen into the tiger’s mouth!
Unfortunately, he couldn’t explain these things to the Qi siblings.
They thought he refused because he didn’t trust their Qi family and often tried to convince him.
"Let’s not talk about it anymore. Did anything happen in the city?" He changed the subject, and the two sighed.
"As a matter of fact, something happened." Qi Feiyan said, and her eyes filled with excitement.
"Two things, actually." She continued.
"Tell me quickly."
Although Jiang Yue was not very interested in gossip, the girl’s reaction made him curious. From her excitement, he knew that her news was a big deal.
"There is news that the Nine Treasures secret realm is about to open." She said, and Jiang Yue’s heart skipped a beat.
The Nine Treasures secret realm was the most mysterious secret realm in the Cangxing world.
It was open to origin-tempering realm cultivators and had countless treasures to temper the origin.
However, the Nine Treasures secret realm was peculiar compared to other secret realms in the Cangxing world.
The first difference was that ordinary secret realms opened after a fixed period at a fixed place. Contrary, no one knew when or where the Nine Treasures secret realm would appear until three years before it opened.
Another difference was that there was no age restriction or limit to the number of cultivators that could enter the Nine Treasures secret realm. The only constraint was cultivation level.
However, the main difference wasn’t these factors.
The biggest difference was that there were countless treasures in the secret realm, but they couldn’t be taken out.
If one encountered suitable treasures, they had to refine them before leaving the secret realm. Otherwise, the treasures, including those in storage artefacts, would be pulled back into the secret realm when it closed.
’Azhen and I are very lucky.’ Jiang Yue thought excitedly.
The reason he was happy was because he and Yu Nianzhen were about to break through to the origin tempering realm.
He thought they would need to travel around to find origin-tempering treasures, which would take decades or even centuries.
Fortunately, the world had sent them pillows just when they were about to fall asleep.
If they used their time in the secret realm well, they would reach the peak of the origin tempering realm in just a hundred years.
"We should be the sons of luck." He muttered under his breath.
"Did Yeying say something?" Qi Shuo asked.
"Nothing." Jiang Yue answered and focused on the siblings.
"Is the news confirmed?"
"The notice is posted at the city gates, and I have also bought news from the border guards’ arena." Qi Shuo said and nodded.
"Where will it open?"
"The Ice Palace region." Qi Feiyan said and chuckled.
"How accommodating." Jiang Yue said and also chuckled.
"Yeying is right."
Qi Shuo was also amused.
He didn’t know if it was a coincidence, but he suspected that the world followed a grand design.
Since everyone was heading to the Ice Palace for the meeting, the world decided to make things easy for them by opening the Nine Treasures secret realm in the region.
Although there was no way to prove this matter, they all suspected it and couldn’t help but be awed by the dao of heaven.
"I expect most qi transformation realm cultivators will try to break through to the origin tempering realm in the next three years." Jiang Yue said.
"That’s a must." Qi Feiyan agreed.
"It’s best to prepare before heading to the Ice Palace region." Qi Shuo reminded.
Unlike the Thousand Herbs Garden which opened for a year, the Nine Treasures secret realm would be open for one hundred years.
If one did not prepare properly, they would exhaust their resources ahead of time.
’Lu family...’ Jiang Yue thought.
When he thought about the resources he and Yu Nianzhen needed to enter the Nine Treasures secret realm, Jiang Yue remembered his plans for the Lu family.
If he was hesitating before, all his hesitation was now gone.
"YeyinG." Qi Feiyan called, and Jiang Yue schooled his features.
"What about the second piece of news?"
"The second news is about the Cangxing list."
"Cangxing list?"
Jiang Yue had heard about the Cangxing list but didn’t know much about it.
Recalling that Yeying was from a ’hidden family’ and didn’t know many things, Qi Shuo explained.
From him, Jiang Yue learned that the list was a ranking of all the cultivators in the Cangxing world.
It was divided into five categories corresponding to five cultivation realms starting from the origin forging realm to the nascent soul realm.
"How is it made?" Jiang Yue asked.
"The only ones who understand the details are the elders of the Celestial Sky sect."
’Celestial Sky sect...’ Jiang Yue remembered Li Futian and was somewhat assured.
When he heard that the list included all the cultivators in the Cangxing world, he imagined a census like those in his previous life.
However, a census wasn’t practical.
It wasn’t just because the Cangxing world was too large and governed by different rulers. It was also because cultivators were eccentric.
Most could be found in cities and such areas, but others lived in inaccessible areas or practised in forbidden areas.
Another reason was that the list was a ranking. Jiang Yue couldn’t think of a way to test everyone while maintaining fairness.
After thinking about it, Jiang Yue questioned the two siblings, who knew more than he did.
"I heard that a mysterious test stone will fall from the sky when the test begins. You only need to hit it with all your strength. "Qi Shuo explained.
Although Qi Shuo was approaching one hundred years, the list appeared once every century. This would be his first time on the list, and he didn’t know much more than Yeying.
"Are there any benefits from being on the list?"
"Of course, there are." Qi Feiyan shouted and then hesitated.
She turned to her brother, and Qi Shuo nodded.
"The top ten in each cultivation realm will receive rewards from the dao of heaven." She informed.
