The Immortal’s "White Moonlight" Reborn - Chapter 31

Her consciousness is drawn into her Senior Sister’s nightmare.

“Sect Leader!”

The crack that split the sky over Cloud Mist Mountain sent tremors through the entire sect. Noticing the faint leak of demonic energy and haunted by the shadows of a century ago, the disciples and elders wasted no time rushing toward the source.

Because Yun Heng had remained silent for so long, some elders were even nervously gripping their magical artifacts, ready for battle.

“It is nothing. The demonic cultivators have been dealt with.”

Hearing Yun Heng’s voice, the crowd outside finally breathed a collective sigh of relief. Inside, Yun Heng steadied herself against a nearby table. Aside from the slight redness around her eyes and a ghostly pallor, she appeared normal.

However…

Something felt off. The room was too quiet. A familiar sound was missing.

That’s right—the little creature that looked so much like Qing Tuan was unusually silent today. She wasn’t her usual lively self.

Yun Heng had been living in a daze lately. She only vaguely remembered that whenever she returned, the little bird would greet her with clear, melodic chirps, never annoying, always bright.

Yun Heng walked over to the cage. The little thing was asleep, her breathing steady and healthy, showing no signs of illness. The spiritual fruits Yun Heng had left earlier were untouched. Perhaps she doesn’t like them, Yun Heng thought. I’ll try a different kind next time.

She couldn’t even remember how many varieties of fruit she had cycled through, yet the picky little thing hadn’t touched a single one. Though her temperament was gentler than Qing Tuan’s, she was certainly more high-maintenance. Once Dong Shiyue returns, I’ll hand her over, Yun Heng decided. I’m afraid I won’t be able to raise her properly here.

Calculating the time, Yun Heng realized it had been nearly a month since Dong Shiyue left.

She had already chosen her successor for the Sect Leader position. Once she settled the future of this little bird, she would have no lingering attachments left in this world.

Lowering her gaze, Yun Heng vanished from the room without a sound, careful not to wake the sleeping fledgling.

**

Outside, the elders hurried forward the moment she appeared.

“Sect Leader, what happened? Why was there demonic energy on the mountain?”

Yun Heng swept her divine sense over the earth she had just split with her sword intent. In her nightmare, she had heard her Junior Sister’s cry for help. In her fury and panic, she hadn’t given a thought to leaving survivors.

The strongest of those who had come to rescue the Demon Lord was merely at the Earth Immortal Realm. Decades had passed since the Myriad Soul Demon Lord was captured; in the Demon Realm, where power is everything and morality is non-existent, a leader’s disappearance usually meant their territory was carved up by rivals. Most of his subordinates had fled or scattered; the Golden Immortals had gone off to start their own sects. Among those still willing to risk their lives by infiltrating an immortal sect, only one Earth Immortal remained.

“The Demon Lord managed to send out a distress signal. The demonic cultivators lurking in Dongzhao came to rescue him,” Yun Heng explained, withdrawing her divine sense.

The elders looked enlightened. So, the Sect Leader was drawing the snake out of its hole. It was common knowledge that the Demon Lord hadn’t been killed on the spot by the Immortal Venerable. There would always be loyalists who believed he was still alive. Recently, there had been strange movements across the Dongzhao region, and they had suspected the Demon Realm was behind it.

The Sect Leader’s move had just cleared out a major hidden threat.

“Sect Leader, regarding the Myriad Soul Demon Lord… should he be dealt with permanently?” one elder asked, hoping to avoid further trouble.

They understood her desire for vengeance, but keeping such a creature within the sect was a liability. No one wanted to take that risk.

Yun Heng didn’t speak for a long time. An inexplicable, heavy pressure began to settle over the elders’ hearts, and a cold sweat broke out across their backs.

“I understand,” Yun Heng finally said, breaking the silence. Only then did the suffocating pressure lift.

One elder wiped the sweat from his brow and sighed inwardly. Decades had passed, yet the Sect Leader still hadn’t let go.

“I will deal with him shortly. Rest assured, he will not affect the sect.”

Yun Heng was always meticulous; she never made mistakes. Hearing her reassurance, the elders felt at ease. None of them suspected that what she was planning was incredibly dangerous—not to the sect, but to herself.

“Go back. Calm the disciples and tell them there is no cause for alarm.”

“Yes, Sect Leader.”

The elders took their leave, descending the mountain.

Moments later, silence returned to Cloud Mist Mountain. Surrounded by wind and snow, the flora here hadn’t seen sunlight in a long time. Neither had Yun Heng. Standing under the shadow of the trees, she was enveloped in a deep, thick gloom.

Inside the room, the little white fluff-ball remained in a deep sleep, but it wasn’t a voluntary one.

Seeing her Senior Sister in such a terrifying state, Wen Qiwu couldn’t possibly sleep. She had been watching over Yun Heng until she noticed a faint black mist swirling around her.

Wen Qiwu hadn’t been idle lately. She had been working hard to digest the inherited memories of the Phoenix clan. Her body seemed special, carrying the bloodline of the Ancestral Phoenix, which gave her access to far more memories than a typical fledgling.

She had been searching those memories for a way out of her predicament, looking for any technique that could bypass the cage’s restrictions. Yesterday, she finally found one.

Using a secret art of the Ancestral Phoenix, she could detach her consciousness. Consciousness is a concept that transcends the soul; it has no offensive power, which means it is least affected by physical or magical restraints like the cage.

The only catch was that without the soul’s control, the consciousness could easily drift away and get lost. She had been trying it in small increments.

But seeing the ominous black mist on her Senior Sister, she had to gamble with this half-baked technique to see if she could send a “dream message” to someone nearby. However, the moment her consciousness fully detached, Wen Qiwu realized how difficult it was to navigate like a piece of duckweed in a storm.

She couldn’t control her direction, let alone perform a high-level feat like dream-walking.

Just as her anxiety peaked, she suddenly heard a soft “Chirp, chirp.”

I didn’t make that sound, she thought. Where is it coming from?

Wen Qiwu turned her head to find a fluffy little creature hopping toward her. The two little fluff-balls pressed against each other like they were looking in a mirror.

No—if one looked closely, their feathers were slightly different, though it took a very careful eye to spot.

“Qing Tuan?”

Wen Qiwu looked at the bird in disbelief. The little thing standing beside her was the real Qing Tuan!

“Where have you been all these years? Wait, how did you find me!” Her eyes were wide with shock.

Her drifting consciousness suddenly felt anchored, no longer at risk of being blown away by a stray thought. She knew she wasn’t skilled enough to do this on her own. Had Qing Tuan helped her?

Qing Tuan didn’t speak. Given its lifespan, it should have reached the Core Formation stage by now. Spirit beasts at the Observation stage gain the ability to speak, but Wen Qiwu had never heard it say a word.

Qing Tuan flapped its wings and flew ahead. Wen Qiwu instinctively followed, knowing the little guy was guiding her.

After flying through a surreal tunnel of consciousness, Wen Qiwu plunged into a place thick with the stench of filth and despair. The swirling black mist was heavy with negative emotions; Wen Qiwu nearly buckled under the weight of it. Beside her, Qing Tuan let out a piercing, resonant cry. The darkness recoiled like it had met its natural predator, dissolving instantly.

“Amazing.” Wen Qiwu looked at Qing Tuan with a complicated expression. “Qing Tuan… you’re a Phoenix too, aren’t you?”

Qing Tuan glanced at her. Wen Qiwu knew she was right. Then again, looking at how similar they were, they had to be related.

“Are we… sisters?” They did look like twins, after all.

Qing Tuan’s expression seemed to carry a hint of exasperation. It gave Wen Qiwu’s head a light peck—much gentler than in the past and then flew ahead to lead the way.

Not sisters, then. What else could we be?

Wen Qiwu followed, but as she looked down, she noticed her feet becoming translucent. This was her first time detaching her consciousness; maintaining it for this long was already a feat. She would be pulled back to her body soon.

“Qing Tuan!” Wen Qiwu called out urgently. “Is your body near me? I’m trapped in a cage and need someone to open it from the outside. Senior Sister is in a bad way—I have to wake her up!”

Before she could finish, Qing Tuan spread its wings and soared into the air. Its talons tore a literal rift in the darkness. Through the gap, Wen Qiwu saw her Senior Sister… and another “self” standing right next to her.

“This is” Wen Qiwu froze. Whatever Qing Tuan had done, she could now hear clearly what that other “self” was saying.

She was goading Senior Sister into a death trap!

Ignoring Qing Tuan’s warning, Wen Qiwu charged forward, but she collapsed halfway there. Her wings began to dissolve into mist.

Qing Tuan looked in another direction, its fluffy little face appearing uncharacteristically solemn.

With another flap of its wings, a different image appeared in the black mist. A group of stealthy demonic cultivators was sneaking up Cloud Mist Mountain, nearing the mid-mountain area where the Myriad Soul Demon Lord was imprisoned.

Wen Qiwu couldn’t reach Yun Heng physically, so she began to sob and shout at the top of her lungs, calling out to the Senior Sister who was about to be dragged into the abyss by her “inner demon.”

Fortunately, Yun Heng reacted to her voice. But that thing—that inner demon was despicable and cunning, nearly stealing her sister away! In desperation, Wen Qiwu had to use painful words to jar her sister awake.

The moment the nightmare shattered, her consciousness was expelled. As she sank into a peaceful darkness, Wen Qiwu thought she heard a sigh unfamiliar, yet incredibly tender.

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