An Immortal’s Destiny and a Protagonist’s Sinister Plot

It had been three days since Xia Yi began learning alchemy from Pei Yunxiang.

At last, the Star-Moon Sect discovered that Grand Elder Guang Pengyi was missing.

They had yet to fully investigate the disappearance of the previous elder, and now another one was gone—and not just any elder, but the Grand Elder, whose strength was second only to the Sect Master himself.

Panic rippled through the entire Star-Moon Sect, prompting the Sect Master to personally lead the investigation into the elders’ disappearances.

Only then did the disciples across the various peaks regain some semblance of calm.

Despite the immense scale of this thorough investigation, it had nothing to do with Xia Yi.

Though it was indeed he who had killed Guang Pengyi, who would ever believe that a newly established Foundation Establishment disciple could slay a Grand Elder at the Half-Step Core Formation realm?

Furthermore, Guang Pengyi had been incinerated by the Extreme Yang True Flames, leaving not even ash, and Pei Yunxiang had skillfully misled any potential inquiries.

No matter how deeply they investigated, the trail would never lead back to Xia Yi.

And so it proved; the Star-Moon Sect Master merely visited Spirit Sword Peak once, asked a few simple questions, and then dismissed any suspicion toward Xia Yi and his companions.

Pei Yunxiang, seizing the opportunity presented by the Grand Elder’s disappearance, brought Fei Miaoyun—who had been living alone—to Spirit Sword Peak.

Her given reason was fear of malicious individuals targeting Fei Miaoyun, suggesting that living together would provide greater safety.

Owing to the execution of ‘Zhen Aoyu,’ the Star-Moon Sect Master felt a sense of guilt towards Fei Miaoyun and thus tacitly approved their arrangement.

While the extensive investigation continued, Xia Yi’s life on Spirit Sword Peak remained remarkably peaceful and fulfilling.

Each day, he spent his mornings learning swordsmanship from Fei Miaoyun, and his evenings dispelling the Malevolent Cold Yin Flames from Pei Yunxiang while simultaneously studying alchemy.

With such dedicated study and the aid of his Alchemy Compendium One (I) (TL Note: Likely a system notification or skill name for his alchemy progression), Xia Yi’s alchemy skills advanced by leaps and bounds.

In just three months, his proficiency had already reached Pei Yunxiang’s current level.

However, due to cultivation limitations, refining Grade-three medicinal pills remained a formidable challenge.

His swordsmanship, under Fei Miaoyun’s direct, hands-on tutelage, also saw significant improvement.

Not only had his movements become far more fluid, but Xia Yi’s comprehension of the Vast Righteous Sword Intent (TL Note: A profound concept in cultivation, often associated with justice and powerful, upright energy) had also ascended to a new height.

It could be said that, as of three months later:

If Xia Yi were to face Guang Pengyi again, he would no longer be rendered unconscious as before—though this was, of course, referring to the Guang Pengyi who had already fought Pei Yunxiang.

If he were to confront Guang Pengyi at his peak, Xia Yi still knew better than to provoke him.

Currently, Xia Yi’s cultivation was barely sufficient to contend with a late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator; facing a Half-Step Core Formation realm cultivator in a desperate struggle might offer a slim chance of survival.

As for a Core Formation realm cultivator, that would simply mean awaiting death.

“Master, why am I still unable to break through to Foundation Establishment?”

Adhering to the principle of asking when in doubt, and possessing a Master who was like a veritable treasure trove of knowledge, it would be foolish not to inquire.

After three months of therapeutic dispelling, all the Malevolent Cold Yin Flames on Pei Yunxiang’s exterior had been removed by Xia Yi, save for those deep within her body, which remained beyond his current capabilities.

Pei Yunxiang had, as she wished, adorned herself with a dazzling array of ‘five-colored’ white dragon scales.

This had nearly caused Xia Yi to lose his composure the previous night while dispelling the lingering, stubborn Malevolent Cold Yin Flames.

Firstly, he was not a non-human fetishist.

Since he was dispelling the Malevolent Cold Yin Flames from the remnants on her dragon horn, Xia Yi had been in an overhead position to perform the task for Pei Yunxiang.

Secondly, he was not a non-human fetishist.

From Xia Yi’s perspective, he could clearly see the contents of the Great Snow Valley (TL Note: A euphemism for a woman’s cleavage or inner thighs), and after her confession to him, Pei Yunxiang’s dressing style had become increasingly unrestrained.

Her main focus was on coolness, and coupled with her draconic nature (TL Note: Often associated with a strong, sometimes primal, curiosity or desire), Pei Yunxiang always seemed keen to study human physiological structures.

Consequently, Xia Yi often found himself distracted by various factors during her treatments.

A single dragon horn alone required four or five nights to completely purify, and astonishingly, the horn, having been seared by the Extreme Yang True Flames, now appeared even more beautiful than Pei Yunxiang’s original ones.

The entire dragon horn was as clear and translucent as azure glazed glass, resembling a work of art that made Xia Yi instinctively want to lick it.

Finally, he was not a non-human fetishist.

Thus, three months had passed, yet the Malevolent Cold Yin Flames on one of Pei Yunxiang’s dragon horns remained unpurified.

The progress of the Book of World Cleansing (TL Note: A mystical artifact or cultivation manual) was also stalled at 9%.

“Do not fret, Yi’er. Your current cultivation is at the thirteenth layer of Qi Condensation, also known as the Immortal-grade Dao Foundation Realm.

The tenth layer is Mortal, the eleventh is Earth, the twelfth is Heaven, and the thirteenth is Immortal.

Therefore, Yi’er, you can and must forge an Immortal-grade Dao Foundation, especially since you possess an Immortal Spirit Root. Immortals are governed by destiny, and by my reckoning, your immortal destiny (TL Note: ‘Xian Yuan’ – predestined immortal fate or opportunity) is about to arrive.

You merely need to follow your inner impulses in the coming days. To put it another way, you could close your eyes and walk, and still stumble upon your immortal destiny, which will help you achieve an immortal foundation.”

“Is merely waiting truly enough?”

“Naturally. In my inherited memories, all geniuses who reached the thirteenth layer of Qi Condensation eventually awaited their immortal destiny. Some even waited for decades, but they possessed a Mortal Spirit Root, unlike you, Yi’er.”

“Alright then. I had originally planned to leave the Star-Moon Sect after breaking through to Foundation Establishment, but it seems we’ll have to depart sooner now.”

As time passed, Xia Yi’s desire to leave the Star-Moon Sect grew increasingly intense.

After hearing Pei Yunxiang’s explanation, Xia Yi’s resolve to depart from the sect only strengthened.

Not for any other reason, but because Zhen Aoyu’s second plot arc was about to commence.

In the original novel, after successfully establishing his Foundation and destroying the Star-Moon Sect, Zhen Aoyu adopted a new identity and went to the side of the second fated heroine, Bing Yingying, to prepare for his advancement to the Golden Core realm.

Zhen Aoyu’s plan was to win Bing Yingying’s affection, then, on the very day of their grand wedding, just before he would forge his Golden Core, he would use the Absolute Resentment Heavenly Art (TL Note: A powerful, malevolent cultivation technique) to control her into personally massacring her entire family.

He would cripple her cultivation and five senses, reveal the truth to her, and then place her alongside her loved ones whom she had personally killed and he had refined into malevolent spirits.

He would allow the resentful spirits to torment Bing Yingying for sixty-four days before finally killing her, using her accumulated resentment to forge his Golden Core realm.

Given that the Foundation Establishment realm was still a full Core Formation realm away from the Golden Core, and Bing Yingying’s ice-like personality,

this particular plotline had consumed a significant portion of the original novel.

From their initial meeting to Bing Yingying finally treating him like a person, it took Zhen Aoyu a full two years to gain her familiarity.

It then took another five years for Bing Yingying to even truly acknowledge him, at which point Zhen Aoyu could no longer maintain his composure.

He was forced to resort to indirect tactics, leveraging Bing Yingying’s filial piety and obedience by currying favor with her parents.

Using her parents’ words to pressure her into marriage, he barely managed to have their grand wedding just as he was about to advance to the Golden Core realm.

This was precisely why Zhen Aoyu later manipulated Bing Yingying into harming her own parents.

What was originally a warm and beautiful family was shattered and destroyed by Zhen Aoyu.

Xia Yi, who had lacked a pleasant childhood even before his transmigration, had almost wanted to “fire” the author and confront them offline (TL Note: ‘Line-offline 1V1’ is a Chinese internet slang for a direct, often confrontational, face-to-face meeting) when he first read this plot segment.

Mainly, this “dog author” (TL Note: A humorous, slightly derogatory term for an author, often used by frustrated readers) was incredibly skilled at depicting those warm, everyday scenes, writing them so vividly and beautifully that they felt utterly real.

Even though Xia Yi, whose own childhood wasn’t particularly pleasant, knew that these beautiful daily lives would later be shattered and destroyed by the protagonist, he couldn’t help but continue reading.

Therefore, since fate had brought him into this very book,

he was absolutely determined to save the beautiful daily lives of those fairies (TL Note: Often used to describe beautiful, ethereal women in cultivation novels) who were persecuted by the protagonist!

It was definitely not because the illustrations of those fairies were beautiful, alluring, and even had non-human forms that he was doing this!

Mm, definitely not.