Whispers Under the Night Sky

Outside the valley, the night offered no additional solace, its darkness undiminished by the tranquility within.

A streak of emerald green light, like a meteor plummeting from the Milky Way, tore through the heavy curtain of night, carrying a sharp, whistling shriek as it hurtled towards a graceful peak within the sect grounds.

The night had deepened considerably, and most of the sect disciples had retreated to their respective cave dwellings and quiet chambers for meditation and breathing exercises, save for those whose cultivation arts demanded absorption of moonlight and starlight, or the duty-bound disciples on patrol.

While cultivators, from the moment they first perceived Qi Sensation (TL Note: ‘Qi Gan’, the initial awareness of spiritual energy) and guided spiritual energy into their bodies, gradually shed the shackles of mortality, no longer reliant on sleep for rejuvenation.

Yet, the profound mysteries of the Great Dao lay in the balance of exertion and rest.

The mind and spirit were not indestructible divine metal; they would inevitably suffer wear and tear, and without proper methods of rest and recuperation, the consequences could sometimes be far more dire than a mortal’s sleeplessness.

As the Three-Unity Sword Sect was no minor faction, its disciples naturally understood these intricate principles.

Even those sleepless disciples of the late night had long since perfected their own methods of ‘exertion and rest,’ appearing vibrant and spirited at this moment.

Despite their vitality, they were engaged in rather monotonous tasks, so these night owls, awake in the wee hours, inevitably sought some amusement.

Grouped in twos and threes where the starlight was dimmest, they conversed in hushed tones, their chatter desultory and intermittent.

The sect’s ironclad rules were stringent, explicitly forbidding night-duty disciples from private communication; violators faced consequences ranging from solitary contemplation to expulsion from the sect and revocation of their cultivation registration.

However, rules were rigid, while people were adaptable.

Over the long years, as long as no duties were neglected, the sect’s higher-ups had always turned a blind eye to this antiquated regulation.

This sect rule, which had once safeguarded countless weaker cultivators from powerful demonic beasts, was ultimately, gradually abandoned.

Only a secret tale, however, still circulated among the older disciples: decades ago, when a certain Grand Elder Mo of the sect was still in his nascent stages of cultivation, he had nearly been framed by others.

His adversaries had relied upon this ancient, ironclad rule of “night-duty silence,” intending to use it as a pretext to obstruct his path and sever his future.

Yet, the world’s affairs were capricious, and fortunes turned.

This once-unknown outer disciple astonishingly chose to undertake a terrifying trial that no one before him had ever completed, and he succeeded in conquering it!

From that point onward, Grand Elder Mo rose against all odds, advancing triumphantly until he encountered a formidable boundary that finally halted his progress.

His cultivation was heaven-shattering and earth-shattering; apart from the Golden Core (TL Note: ‘Jindan’, a stage of cultivation where a golden core forms in the dantian) Dao Lords who had long faded into legend, he had no rivals in the world, his might shaking the very heavens!

Meanwhile, his scheming adversary from those days had long since vanished into the vast sea of humanity, their very name reduced to dust.

Since then, this particular sect rule had become a dead letter.

At present, the disciples felt no great fear, though they did not neglect superficial adherence to the rules.

Conversing late at night, they naturally spoke of whatever caught their eye.

“Hey, did you see that?”

A younger disciple, his voice barely containing a tremor of excitement, nudged the person beside him with an elbow.

“Martial Aunt Lin’s escape light just now was truly faster than even those powerful specters in the trial illusion!”

For this ordinary disciple, who had barely ventured outside the sect, the fastest things he had ever witnessed were the myriad strange ‘specters’ within the year-end trial illusions.

“Indeed, look at that urgency, as if her eyebrows were on fire; she moved faster than I did when I was chased by a Phantasmal Demon (TL Note: ‘Huanmo’, a type of illusionary demon) all those years ago,” an older senior disciple remarked, squinting towards the direction where the green light had vanished.

“What could prompt such a swift journey through the starry night, even at the cost of depleting the flying boat’s Original Source (TL Note: ‘Benyuan’, the fundamental essence or energy)?” he mused with curiosity.

“Surely, it can’t be that she captured some demon lord and is rushing to suppress them in the sect’s death prison?”

Not far away, a rival from his own generation, overhearing this, immediately cut in, “You’re just boasting! Chased by a Phantasmal Demon, indeed.

If I hadn’t been in the same inner sect assessment as you back then, I might actually have been fooled.

Junior disciple, don’t listen to his bluster; those so-called Phantasmal Demons were merely illusions within the assessment illusion crafted by Grand Elder Mo.

If he’d truly encountered a Phantasmal Demon, he would have been devoured without a trace.”

The older senior disciple’s face flushed crimson, and he mumbled something unintelligible about “phantasmal demons in illusions still being phantasmal demons.”

Suppressed laughter rippled through the crowd, filling the air with a lively mirth.

“Escorting a demon lord? I don’t think so.”

The lanky disciple who had earlier restrained his impulsive junior shook his head, feigning sagacity.

“In my opinion, it’s more likely that one of the old ancestors in secluded cultivation has made a significant breakthrough.

Martial Aunt Lin is quite close to those two, so perhaps she received news and rushed back to stand guard for them, or even… to deliver good tidings?”

As he uttered the words “deliver good tidings,” a hint of hopeful anticipation crept into his own voice.

“Hmph!”

Someone immediately scoffed, a burly man with a square face and wide mouth.

“Dream on! If an old ancestor truly broke through their seclusion and took that final step… our Three-Unity Sword Sect would instantly become a top-tier cultivation holy land in the entire cultivation world!

Would it be our place to gossip here?

The bells and drums would have long since chimed in unison, startling all corners of the realm!”

By the end of his statement, however, even his own bluster had faded.

The others fell silent for a moment; though his words were unpleasant, they rang true.

How could such a figure emerge without causing a stir?

This disciple was not ill-intentioned; it was simply that in the past three millennia, those who had broken through that particular boundary of the current cultivation methods could be counted on fewer than ten fingers.

“Both Grand Elders have glimpsed the path for decades, yet made almost no progress during that time, so how could they possibly achieve a breakthrough within a mere eight years of secluded cultivation?”

“Furthermore, even the fastest Dao Lord rumored to have shattered that boundary spent over a century.

To achieve a breakthrough… it is difficult, difficult, difficult.”

The repetition of ‘difficult’ three times eloquently conveyed the arduousness of the path ahead.

“Speaking of which, Grand Elder Mo and Grand Elder Jiang seem to have been in secluded cultivation for eight years already, haven’t they?” a plain-looking disciple interjected, breaking the silence.

“Who knows how much longer it will be until they emerge.

Although Martial Aunt Lin Xiaoxiao maintains order and suppresses minor troublemakers within the sect, her presence ultimately doesn’t bring the same peace of mind as those two Grand Elders.”

With this remark, the floodgates of conversation once again opened among the disciples.

A round-faced disciple picked up the thread, “Exactly! Though those two old ancestors are said to still be below the ultimate boundary, having not yet attained the Great Dao and achieved the Golden Core stage, their cultivation is far more terrifying than many old eccentrics who claim to be ‘half-step Golden Cores.’

They are truly akin to terrestrial immortals.”

“Eight years ago, Grandmaster Mo sealed his Dao Fruit (TL Note: ‘Dao Guo’, a spiritual fruit representing a cultivator’s enlightenment and achievement), re-entered the mortal world, and resolved to walk the most arduous path: the Path of Red Dust Enlightenment (TL Note: ‘Hongchen Zhengdao’, a cultivation path where one seeks enlightenment through worldly experiences).”

“Now, with no news of him, he must be at a critical juncture, perhaps even undergoing the perilous Inner Demon Tribulation (TL Note: ‘Xinmo Jie’, a trial of the mind and spirit) – who can say?” another disciple, sporting a short beard and an aged countenance, added to the discussion.

Discussing these two legendary figures, everyone naturally grew more animated.

Another chimed in, “According to rumors, Grandmaster Jiang once severed herself, re-entering the cycle of reincarnation, and is now in her third lifetime.

Moreover, she is said to have discovered a Dao path never before trodden.

If she were to emerge from seclusion, perhaps…” He left the sentence unfinished, but the unspoken implication was enough to ignite a warmth in everyone’s hearts.

Suddenly, a voice filled with alarm and doubt broke through, belonging to a young disciple.

He pointed a trembling finger towards the peak where the green light had landed, his voice quivering slightly.

“Wait, senior disciples, look closely.

Isn’t that mountain, that very spot… Grandmaster Jiang’s cultivation retreat?”

“Grandmaster Jiang?!”

These three words, as if imbued with magic, brought all whispers to an abrupt halt.

The gathered disciples whipped their heads around, their eyes locking onto each other, instantly erupting with an incredulous gleam, a mixture of surprise and awe!

An ineffable tremor exploded within their hearts.

The mountain forest, which had just moments ago hummed with quiet chatter, became so silent that a falling needle could be heard.

Only the mournful sigh of the night wind rustling through the treetops remained.

This deathly silence persisted for several breaths.

Finally, the young disciple who had noticed Lin Xiaoxiao’s direction could no longer suppress the curiosity churning within him.

He licked his somewhat dry lips, and with a barely perceptible tremor in his voice, he whispered tentatively:

“Um… senior disciples, with such a momentous event unfolding right before us, should we not… follow along and investigate?”