Chapter 64: The Truth of Cultivation

Chapter 64: Chapter 64: The Truth of Cultivation

Ye Xuan extended his hand, gesturing for Yi Xin to leave his room at the inn.

Just before she left, however, she stopped and turned around. Her gaze settled on Ye Xuan once more.

"We should hurry before they realize you’re here," Yi Xin replied.

"We’ll leave tomorrow," Ye Xuan stated.

He closed the door and locked it. The room was now quiet, free from any more exhausting confrontations.

Ye Xuan walked over to the bed and lay down.

"What is the Sea of Mist Realms like, Qingyu?"

[I imagine it’s a place covered in thick fog. There are even areas filled with poisonous mist.]

[As for Yi Xin, I think we can use her to learn more about the region.]

"I was thinking the same thing. She knows far more about the demonic territories than we do," Ye Xuan replied.

"Let’s see how she behaves tomorrow. If she deceives me and tries to kill me, I’ll kill her immediately."

***

The next morning.

That morning, Ye Xuan absorbed the last spirit stone floating in front of his face.

He had used a total of 75 spirit stones, and his body had completely recovered. He felt refreshed and full of energy.

Several knocks came from the door, even before Ye Xuan had finished cultivating. He activated Myriad Eyes and looked at the person standing outside.

The qi aura was familiar and easily recognizable. It belonged to the woman he had met the previous night.

Ye Xuan stopped cultivating. He rose to his feet and walked toward the door to open it. What he saw next surprised him.

Yi Xin’s appearance was completely different from the previous night. Ye Xuan was certain he still remembered exactly what she had looked like.

She had a petite stature, resembling a little girl. She wore a black dress adorned with accessories made from snake skulls, scales, and leather. Her short, jet-black hair reached her shoulders, the area around her eyes was black, and her pupils were purple.

Her appearance was unmistakably that of someone from the demonic cultivation path. No one would argue otherwise.

But the woman standing before Ye Xuan now looked significantly different. She wore a long dress and had a tall figure. Her hair was silver mixed with black, her skin was fair and flawless, and her face looked healthy.

"What are you doing?" Ye Xuan asked.

"With my current appearance, we can at least minimize suspicion from other cultivators," Yi Xin replied in a soft, elegant voice.

Yi Xin’s beauty and gentle demeanor made someone sulk.

Qingyu emerged from the domain ring and flew in front of Ye Xuan’s face, turning her back toward him.

Without hesitation, Qingyu glared at the woman and opened her mouth wide.

Crimson lightning shot toward Yi Xin, startling her and sending her flying backward.

Fortunately, she managed to form a qi barrier before the lightning struck her. Had she been even a second too late, she would have been injured.

"What the hell is wrong with you?!" Yi Xin shouted, still in her fairy-like form.

[Don’t you dare mess with Ye Xuan. He’s mine!]

Only Ye Xuan could hear Qingyu’s voice.

He immediately explained to Yi Xin that Qingyu disliked it when someone tried to flirt with him.

Yi Xin rose to her feet and stood gracefully, once again adopting the elegant posture of a beautiful fairy.

"She has a protective personality. That will be quite useful in helping protect you later."

[She’s weird!]

I agree with you.

Ye Xuan gestured for Qingyu to return to her domain ring. Qingyu agreed and went back inside, transforming into a small orb of qi.

The young man walked past Yi Xin. He patted his bag of holding and took out his black straw hat.

The moment he placed it on his head, his aura was immediately concealed.

He left the inn with Yi Xin walking beside him.

Because of the woman’s extraordinary beauty, many cultivators were drawn to her and grew curious.

"Your disguise is putting me in danger," Ye Xuan complained in a whisper.

"Don’t worry. I’m using my illusion ability so that anyone who looks at me will only see me, not you," Yi Xin explained.

"I hope so, because I don’t want to fight right now."

Ye Xuan summoned his sword and flew east, leaving the city behind.

Yi Xin followed from behind. Even the cultivators captivated by her beauty began flying after her.

Ye Xuan realized that Yi Xin’s actions were becoming quite troublesome. He was worried that the charm she was using would attract even more cultivators ahead of them.

That would be a huge inconvenience for Ye Xuan, who was trying so hard to conceal his identity from others.

Gradually, Yi Xin seemed to do something to those cultivators, causing them to faint and fall from the sky.

Ye Xuan glanced behind him and was startled to see cultivators dropping from the sky one after another.

Yi Xin flew alongside Ye Xuan, still radiating her charming aura. However, she explained that she was doing it purely for her own amusement.

"I don’t know much about the Sea of Mist Realms. Could you give me a brief explanation?"

"Of course. I’ll explain it in a way that’s simple enough for your tiny brain to understand."

Ye Xuan narrowed his eyes and listened to Yi Xin’s explanation.

The woman explained that the Sea of Mist Realms was different from a kingdom or an empire. It had no single ruler who held absolute authority.

The Sea of Mist Realms was divided into three major regions: the Eastern Mist Mountains, the Mystic Valley, and the Yondu Eye Abyss.

Each of these three major regions had its own ruler. As for the Mystic Valley, the Netherworld Palace was the key power that ruled it.

"The three regions are often involved in conflicts with one another. Even though we all follow the Sacred Cultivation Path, our hatred toward them is rooted in the past of our sects."

"Even so, compared to righteous cultivators like the Daoists and Zen practitioners, we hate them far more."

Ye Xuan fell silent for a moment before turning to glance at Yi Xin.

"What makes your cultivation path different from ours?"

"Because the truth we pursue is different from yours, and you consider it wrong. Daoists teach the balance of nature. Zen practitioners teach compassion. As for us, followers of the Sacred Cultivation Path, we teach the principles of truth through action and conviction."

"We try to attain the truth through the most realistic means. That’s the principle you people despise."

"The truth you follow must be based on the laws of Heaven, compassion toward all living beings, and noble conduct. That’s idealism."

"However, once you enter the cultivation world, idealism won’t save your life. A realistic and pragmatic attitude will."

Yi Xin turned toward him and smiled faintly, "Forgive me. I shouldn’t be discussing something like this with you. You probably don’t understand, do you?"

Ye Xuan fell silent for a moment. This wasn’t the first time he had heard such ideas.

Senior Wang had also once told him about the concepts of accepting Heaven’s will or defying Heaven. In practice, they were two different paths toward different goals.

Senior Wang had always advised him to leave, wander, and see the world.

Perhaps there was another reason behind that advice. Perhaps there was a hidden truth waiting for Ye Xuan to uncover.

"I understand," Ye Xuan stated.

"Your expression makes it seem like you’re just pretending to understand."

"Think whatever you want," Ye Xuan replied. "My cultivation path belongs to me. I’m the one who walks it."

"Whether it’s Daoism, Zen, or the demonic path, I’ll find the truth for myself!"

"...Even if it means going against Heaven in the end."