After the Immortal Venerable Failed to Attain Dao - Chapter 5

I’m Not the Kind to Cling Desperately Either…

Shi Li paused, then turned expressionlessly, though he didn’t move forward. Instead, he stood where he was alongside the female cultivator.

Xue Zhun hadn’t yet recovered from the shock. She stared intently at the lower half of his face, unable to recall who this familiar person might be, and finally asked hesitantly, “Who are you? How do you know my name?”

“Have you forgotten?” Shi Li glanced at her. “I’m Shi Che. Twenty years ago, in Maitiao Village, I shared a steamed bun with you.”

“I’ve passed through too many villages and shared steamed buns with many people.”

He snorted coldly. “So you forgot me. I could tell from the way you broke the bun back then giving me the smaller piece and keeping the larger one for yourself that people like you aren’t worth getting close to!”

Seeing that he could even recall such details, Xue Zhun was astonished. “I always explained that I tried to split it evenly! Sometimes it didn’t break perfectly that’s not my fault. I had to take the larger piece, or I’d go hungry!”

“You…”

“Are you done discussing?” A cold voice sounded beside them.

Since they weren’t moving, the Young Master approached first. Step by step, he closed in, his gaze fixed intently on Shi Li’s eyes behind the mask. “What did you do to my Illusion Demon?”

Shi Li retreated under his pressure, his back hitting the wall. He remained silent at first, his peripheral vision glancing toward Xue Zhun.

In those brief and shallow impressions, she had always been a kind-hearted person who would draw her sword to help others.

The kind-hearted person did want to help him, but she opened her mouth only to hesitate, unsure of what to say.

Shi Li waited a moment, sighed inwardly, then met the Young Master’s probing gaze. Behind the mask, a hint of clear foolishness flickered in his eyes as he asked, “What’s an Illusion Demon?”

Beside him, Xue Zhun clapped her hands together this person had asked exactly what she wanted to ask!

“Then let me rephrase it.”

The Young Master’s lips curled coldly as he drew the long sword embedded beside Shi Li’s face and tapped it against his mask.

The blade was cold and hard, clinking against the metal mask.

“What did you do to me?”

The two stared at each other in silence.

The cave was dark and cold. The Young Master was smiling, but his blue eyes were like frozen pools, concealing a smoldering rage beneath.

Shi Li thought to himself, How annoying.

Then he tilted his head, hiding a hint of shyness on his face, and said softly, “Brother, you’re so mean, asking questions you already know the answer to.”

The Young Master’s smile stiffened. “What?”

“You were the one who came to me first.”

“?”

“And you were so fierce.”

“…”

At that moment, the Illusion Demon approached. Seeing the two already at swords’ points, he hurriedly tried to mediate.

First, he grabbed the Young Master’s hand, moving Hua Jing away from Shi Li’s face. Then he took one of Shi Li’s hands.

Next, he raised both hands in front of himself, silently urging them to make peace and not fight.

Both of them shook off his hands at the same time.

The pain from the lightning strike on Shi Li’s back had spread throughout his body. He glanced at the two identical faces before him, waved a hand, and said nonchalantly:

“If you don’t want to take responsibility, fine. Just let me go. I’m not the kind to cling desperately either no need to put on this act together and then turn around and blame me.”

The Illusion Demon couldn’t believe that Shi Li was still thinking of leaving. They were originally one entity where could he possibly go?

So, right in front of the Young Master, he suddenly reached out, grabbed Shi Li’s wrist, and pulled him into an embrace.

Shi Li wore an expression that said, “See? You really did force me,” as he struggled against him. “Let go of me!”

The young lord looked as if he had seen a ghost, his voice low as he spoke to the illusion demon, “Let him go.”

The illusion demon refused to release its grip. Suddenly, Xue Zhun, standing nearby, seemed to have thought of a plan and shouted:

“Shi… Che! That’s enough! Stop teasing the young lord. He cultivates the Path of Heartless Sword, how could he possibly have any involvement with you? I think it’s you who’s obsessed with the young lord and have lost your mind!”

Hearing that name, the young lord’s eyes trembled slightly.

“Let him go,” he said, looking at the illusion demon and repeating himself. “If you don’t release him, I’ll turn you back into a radish and pickle you for wine.”

The illusion demon froze for a moment before reluctantly letting go.

As a living soul trapped inside a radish, it would suffer immensely.

The young lord sheathed his sword, pulled the illusion demon back to his side, and glanced at the young man rubbing his wrist. He then turned to the female cultivator beside him and asked, “What did you just call him?”

Xue Zhun suddenly felt uncertain, as she had only just learned the young man’s name herself.

She tentatively replied, “Shi Che?” After speaking, she quickly nudged him with her elbow. “Right?”

Shi Che remained silent.

Shi Li’s skeptical gaze shifted between the two of them as he asked coldly, “Who sent you here?”

“What?” Shi Che looked up, pretending not to understand.

“The name Shi Che,” Shi Li pressed, staring intently at him. “Who told you that name?”

Shi Che looked baffled. “I’ve been called that since I was born. Who else would have told me? My mother.”

“Take off the mask.”

“I can’t,” Shi Che demonstrated, tugging at the mask, which remained firmly stuck to his face. “I’ve worn it since I was a child it’s practically welded to my face.”

Shi Li tried to remove it himself and found that it truly wouldn’t come off. After studying the face for a while, he suddenly turned to Xue Zhun.

“Fellow disciple, your swordsmanship is quite impressive. Under which Sword Venerable do you train?”

Xue Zhun scratched her head sheepishly. “No one, actually. I haven’t formally apprenticed under anyone yet. But I am on my way to Xuanqing Mountain, and once I complete my apprenticeship, I’ll be able to answer your question, young lord.”

Her tone was casual, but her words were audacious, as if she were certain she would be accepted into the Xuanqing Sect.

Neither of the two present questioned her claim. Shi Li simply nodded and said, “Someone taught you the Carefree Sword.”

Since she hadn’t yet entered the sect but had already mastered the Carefree Sword to such a degree, she could only be a disciple left outside by one of the Sword Venerables, taught in secret until she was ready to formally apprentice.

Xue Zhun smiled but still replied, “Once I complete my apprenticeship in a few days, I’ll be able to answer you, young lord.”

Shi Li nodded and didn’t press further, though he thought to himself, I hope it’s not He Qianqiu.

Within the Xuanqing Sect, the Path of Heartless Sword and the Path of Carefree Sword stood as two distinct schools. Though not openly hostile, they were often in competition.

He Qianqiu, the foremost of the four Sword Venerables of the Carefree Sword Path, had always belittled and suppressed the Path of Heartless Sword, looking down on it with disdain. Of course, Shi Li had never thought much of him either.

The Path of Heartless Sword had only two Sword Venerables: his master, Ling Yin, and his good-natured martial uncle, Meng Suisui.

When Shi Li first entered the sect, the Path of Heartless Sword was still in its infancy, unable to compare in any way to the centuries-old Path of Carefree Sword.

Over the past two hundred years, despite He Qianqiu’s constant mockery and provocation, his master had stubbornly guided him, developing the newly emerging Path of Heartless Sword until it could now stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the Path of Carefree Sword within the Xuanqing Sect.

However, the Path of Heartless Sword was still relatively young, and its disciples varied greatly in skill. To secure its place within the sect, it had to gain the upper hand in its competition with the Path of Carefree Sword.

To this end, Ling Yin specially established the Inquiry Heaven Island to cultivate a group of top-tier emotionless sword cultivators.

Those with exceptional talent, bone structure, and physical fitness would enter Inquiry Heaven Island, where they would be personally instructed by the two masters and undergo regular assessments, with the lowest performers being eliminated.

The eliminated disciples would be transferred to Meng Qingsui’s sect, where they would only need to study swordsmanship alongside ordinary disciples, no longer subjected to the high-intensity training under Sword Venerable Ling Yin.

Before entering the island, they were all prodigies, but after passing through Shi Li’s hands, half were labeled as failures. As a result, many in the Xuanqing Sect harbored resentment toward him.

Shi Li didn’t care only the incompetent vented their anger on others.

His master wanted to promote the emotionless sword path, and he knew exactly what to do.

He despised He Qianqiu’s attitude toward his master. While he wouldn’t go so far as to crush the Carefree Sword Path, he certainly didn’t want to see them thrive.

This female cultivator before him would undoubtedly join the Carefree Sword Path. Shi Li was well aware of this, and while he felt regret, he couldn’t help but grow wary.

If she truly entered He Qianqiu’s sect, the path ahead for him and his master would become much more difficult.

He Qianqiu had refrained from taking disciples for so long precisely because he was waiting for an opportunity.

His first disciple had to surpass Shi Li, just as he himself had always sought to surpass Ling Yin.

And in their recent exchange, they had fought to a draw.

This was truly not good news for Shi Li.

If the earlier disturbance in his soul had only made him uneasy, the appearance of this female cultivator was enough to make him wary.

However, fortune and misfortune often go hand in hand. While he had gained a potential opponent, he had also gained a potential ally.

“Shi Che,” he placed his hand on his waist, rubbing the hilt of the Huajing Sword as he looked at the young man wearing a silver mask. “Are you with her?”

Shi Che was momentarily taken aback, a strange feeling stirring in his heart. Seeing Shi Li’s calm expression, he couldn’t help but laugh inwardly.

He actually remembered that name.

In his lonely childhood, he had once picked up an egg and hatched a little turtle.

At the time, he didn’t know it was an immortal egg capable of hatching an immortal turtle.

When the little turtle broke out of its shell, the first thing it said to him was, “Mother.” It scared him half to death.

Later, the little turtle grew up, its small golden eyes sparkling, its entire body crystal clear, with a radiant blue shell overflowing with spiritual light.

Back then, he was just an ordinary mortal child, powerless against the turtle, chased and beaten by this immortal turtle every day.

The immortal turtle didn’t want to be called “turtle” and insisted on taking his surname, demanding that he give it a name.

He gazed at the turtle’s crystal-clear shell, and an idea immediately came to mind.

Since its shell was so transparent and clear, pure and bright, clean and lucid.

He would call it Shi Ke!

With a name, Shi Ke stopped beating him and began protecting him instead. They huddled together in a dilapidated hut, biting to death all the low-level demons and ghosts that came to attack.

But later, it was boiled alive by someone.

Before dying, Shi Ke weakly pawed at his fingers and said, “If you ever raise another turtle, don’t give it such an ugly name. Otherwise, when I enter the cycle of reincarnation, I won’t even know how to introduce myself.”

Then it tilted its head and breathed its last.

Shi Li tried for a long time but couldn’t shed a tear, though his heart ached deeply.

With the immortal turtle gone, those ugly ghosts would come to scare him again.

He buried the immortal turtle, making a small grave mound and erecting a wooden plaque.

It read: Tomb of Beloved Turtle Shi Che.

He had given Shi Ke a better-sounding name, in memory of its clear and beautiful shell.

Later, he sought revenge, and after avenging it, he never thought about the turtle again.

Until he joined the Xuanqing Sect and saw the divine beast Jin’ao dragon-headed, tortoise-bodied, lazily imposing perched atop the peak. That was his little turtle, long overdue for the afterlife.

At the time, the divine beast lord coiled above the nebula, its dragon tail swaying gently as it lazily rested its head on its claws, its narrow golden eyes glancing sideways at him. “Yo.”

Shi Li weighed his own capabilities at that moment and stayed silent.

Two years later, the sixteen-year-old young lord, sword in hand, broke through the Tian Shu Nebula Formation and, unbeknownst to the entire sect, beat the noble guardian beast so thoroughly it retreated into its shell, crying out for its mother.

To this day, Jin’ao still thinks its name is Shi Ke.

Only Shi Li himself knows the name Shi Che.

Shi Che curled his lips into a faint smile, stepping forward to stand beside Xue Zhun. “That’s right, we’re together.”

“Both heading to Tian Shu, to Xuanqing Mountain?”

“Correct.”

Beside him, the phantom demon blinked upon hearing this, its hand tightening unconsciously on Shi Li’s sleeve.

Perfect, two pieces of candy.

Shi Li let it tug at his sleeve. “Alright, I have no further questions. The sect recruitment is in three days. I’ll be waiting for both of you at the Xuanqing Sect.”

With that, he turned and left, taking the phantom demon with him.

“Young lord, take care!”

Xue Zhun bid him farewell from afar, then lowered her voice to Shi Che. “I never expected the young lord to be so approachable! Not only was he willing to spar with me, but he even welcomed us in advance… Speaking of which, Brother Che, I had no idea you were also heading to Xuanqing Mountain!”

“Indeed.” Shi Che’s ears still rang from her earlier enthusiasm, so he first asked what concerned him. “From the look of it, you admire him greatly?”

“Of course! What swordsman doesn’t admire him? My master wasn’t lying the Ruthless Sword’s opening stance truly can break through a thousand techniques. Paired with a fine sword, it’s practically invincible!”

She gazed in the direction Shi Li had departed, a smile curling at her lips, her eyes sparkling. “I experienced Hua Jing today. Truly worthy of being the number one divine weapon in the Star Realm even the feel of its strikes is different from ordinary treasured swords. I’ve admired the young lord for so long because when he wields his sword.”

Shi Che cut in, “He looks so dashing, you can’t help but feel admiration.”

Xue Zhun gave him a strange look. “That’s nothing. When the young lord wields his sword, he exudes an aura of righteousness and solemnity. With Hua Jing Sword in his hands, he can surely vanquish demons, save the world, and bring peace to all. Isn’t that worthy of admiration?”

Shi Che fell silent, lowering his gaze to the broken sword at his waist.

For three hundred years as fellow disciples, he and Xue Zhun had never been close.

From the time he hadn’t even noticed this new junior sister, she had surged forward like an unstoppable force, shining brightly under He Qianqiu’s tutelage.

During their first direct confrontation, Xue Zhun’s gaze had been cold. Her unremarkable sword was drawn, parrying and breaking through his techniques, until its tip hovered an inch from his eye.

As she sheathed her sword, she uttered, “Senior brother, my apologies.”

He Qianqiu laughed heartily, the first to rise and leave.

The spectators below dispersed, the elders on the platform departed, and at the center of the arena, only his master remained with him throughout the night.

He was accustomed to the attention of others, but Xue Zhun had never looked at him. Her gaze was always calm no provocation, no disdain, let alone the blatant admiration she now displayed.

If Xue Zhun had admired him before joining the sect, what had caused her disappointment afterward?

Shi Che lowered his gaze and smiled faintly.

Perhaps it was because she realized Hua Jing Sword wasn’t as perfect as she thought, and the one who wielded it couldn’t vanquish demons, save the world, or bring peace to all.

Everything he did was for himself.

“Brother Che? Are you listening, Brother Che?” Seeing him lost in thought, Xue Zhun was about to nudge him when Shi Che suddenly reached out, pulled the sword from his waist, and extended it, still sheathed, toward her. “Do you still have the strength?” he asked.

“?”

Xue Zhun grabbed the sword and pulled him out of the cave. As they walked, she said, “I didn’t realize you were injured you can’t even walk properly. But did you really have to use the sword? I could’ve just helped you.”

“No need,” Shi Che replied, leaning on her for support. The lightning coursing through his body had spread from his back to every inch of him, and he was now wracked with a sharp, needle-like pain from the inside out. He added sincerely, “I was afraid of shocking you.”

Xue Zhun fell silent for a moment. “Brother Che, even though I can’t see your face clearly, and you might very well be a handsome man, not just anyone can give me that electric feeling of ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah.”

Shi Che withdrew the finger he’d pressed against her back. “Understand now?”

Xue Zhun: “Understood.”