The Calamity of Yang and the Unveiling of Truth

“It was Zhao Qiubai! The junior sister of Xuanji Zhenren, who was rumored to have met her demise within a demon’s maw on the outer battlefield, the former Sect Master of the Xuan Nv Sect’s own sibling in discipleship! A full decade after the cataclysm had struck, she—she had astonishingly returned!

Her form was gaunt, her body marred by indelible scars of demonic energy, and half of her flesh was scorched almost to cinders; yet, she persevered, sustained solely by an indomitable will to survive, born from the very brink of death.

Her return was not one of full restoration; rather, she had burned the last embers of her life, tearing through the manifold obstructions of the defiled demonic realm, and, after countless brushes with death, had clawed her way back to the human world.

She bore tidings of that war beyond the realms… Her very return was a bolt of lightning, cleaving through the pervasive darkness! And when, with her final reserves of strength, she stood before the Xuan Nv Sect’s mountain gate, in the presence of all the righteous path’s paramount leaders, revealing the true conclusion of that sanguinary conflict and exposing the male cultivators’ utterly despicable act of betrayal… the entire cultivation world was plunged into a profound, deathly silence, which quickly erupted into an overwhelming, boundless fury!

Ji Xue’s voice rose, imbued with a newfound power. “So that was it! In the latter stages of the outer realm war, the conflict was indeed savagely brutal. Xuanji Zhenren, having slain three Demon Generals, was already teetering on the brink of exhaustion. At that critical juncture, the male cultivator contingent, who were meant to provide flanking support and remained relatively unscathed, not only failed to reinforce the main battlefield, but instead, amidst the chaotic melee, launched a vile, treacherous backstab! They conspired to ambush the few remaining, most pivotal female cultivator leaders, among them the severely injured Xuanji Zhenren! They brutally cast her into the abyssal depths of the dying demonic tide! Their singular objective was to monopolize the credit for sealing the demons, silence all witnesses, and obscure the colossal conspiracy they had long harbored: a secret pact with certain outer realm devils, intending to seize absolute control upon their return! Those male cultivators were not merely the lone survivors who returned from suppressing the demonic invasion a millennium prior. More damningly, they were the very traitors who had instigated the demonic invasion! Zhao Qiubai, in her hiding, had utilized a record stone to meticulously document every detail, thereby exposing the full truth. It was only after enduring countless near-death experiences that she managed to return to this realm.'”

Exhaling a heavy breath, her face still etched with the raw tremor of recounting such a tragic history, Ji Xue’s voice, though low, resonated with the weight of a solemn pronouncement: “For the truth to truly be unveiled to the world. Verification, naturally, was indispensable. Yet, upon thorough verification, their claims crumbled entirely under scrutiny. The surviving male cultivator leaders and their factions, alongside all the brutes who had engaged in the harvesting of bloodlines, were utterly annihilated by the righteous path, who, driven to the precipice of despair by their rage, tore them out root and branch, scattering their souls to the winds! Subsequent verification revealed that the overwhelming majority of male cultivators within the immortal cultivation world were implicated in this heinous affair. The ramifications were far-reaching.

With Zhao Qiubai’s return and her courageous unmasking of the traitors, her prestige skyrocketed to its zenith, establishing her as the steadfast pillar guiding this momentous rectification of wrongs. From that point onward, the reputation of men… irrevocably plunged into an abyss of eternal damnation. Consequently, the cultivation world ignited an unprecedented war of opposition between genders. The outcome, I imagine, needs no further elaboration.

Her gaze grew complex and heavy, settling upon Lin Mo, who stood beside her, silent as a statue. “This,” she began, “is the ‘Calamity of Yang’.”

The glory of the initial endeavor was utterly defiled and eclipsed by a second, far more insidious betrayal, one personally wrought by those self-proclaimed ‘heroes’. That millennium-old backstab, coupled with the subsequent barbarities of harvesting and sacrifice, collectively forged the true ‘Calamity of Yang’.

Every man was branded with the indelible mark of original sin: ‘greed,’ ‘tyranny,’ ‘shamelessness,’ and ‘betrayal.’ They were universally regarded as untrustworthy, the very wellspring of all defilement. Female supremacy and male subservience became the sole established order, meant to safeguard the world from ever repeating its past transgressions. Men were relegated to servants, slaves, and base instruments, condemned to live within the generational shadow of atonement. Any audacity to defy the established norms, any coveting or clandestine hoarding of power, was immediately interpreted as a resurgence of the treacherous gene latent within that defiled bloodline, and thus had to be severely suppressed, or even eradicated entirely.

Though a millennium had elapsed, and men were no longer permitted to cultivate, they were now, at least, able to lead ordinary lives. They were even allowed to marry female cultivators and bear children. Nevertheless, discrimination… remained an enduring reality. And their societal standing was certainly not what it once been.

Therefore… your younger brother… has been grievously wronged.'”

Having delivered her account, Ji Xue gently patted Lin Mo’s shoulder.

A heavy silence settled between them.

Their heavy, suppressed breaths struggled to rise and fall, battling against the oppressive air, thick with the lingering scent of historical bloodshed.

Upon hearing her words, a veil of confusion seemed to lift slightly from Lin Mo’s mind.

If Ji Xue’s account held true, then the men of this world had, in a sense, brought their misfortunes upon themselves…

Yet, as this notion began to take root, a sharp, unsettling sense of incongruity pricked him, like thorns against his back.

‘How, he pondered, could there be no evidence or proof of these male cultivators’ dealings with demons?’

‘Even more perplexing was the sheer scale—only a paltry few male cultivators had survived the outer realms back then. How, in a mere decade, could ‘the vast majority of male cultivators’ have been compelled to participate in such heinous atrocities?’

‘If such dark arts possessed the power to ensnare minds, why would they exclusively target male cultivators?’

‘Would it not have been far simpler to subvert a few female cultivators to collaborate from within and without, thereby implicating entire sects and aristocratic families as accomplices?’

‘With such a strategy, what risks would they possibly fear?’

‘Unless… that nefarious technique inherently demanded male essence blood as its catalyst? Or did they possess some infallible method to utterly bewitch male cultivators?’

A torrent of questions arose, one after another.

Regrettably, Lin Mo was no longer the bedridden young man he once was; he simply did not possess the luxury of time for meticulous investigation.

For the present, understanding the root of the animosity towards male cultivators sufficed.

‘I see now… those men from the past were truly despicable…’

Lin Mo mused, a sigh escaping him.

‘Societal prejudice has long since solidified; attempting to alter it is akin to a mayfly trying to shake a mighty tree,’ Ji Xue lamented.

‘If this were truly the case, would there truly be no sanctuary left for men in the entire world?’

‘If I am to be treated this way regardless of where I go, then what difference does any destination make?’

Lin Mo yearned to voice the question… but to do so would make his current situation glaringly obvious.

Furthermore… he was cultivating immortality right now, wasn’t he?

Provided he continued to amass immense power in the future, what corner of the world would dare deny him a place?

His decision to remain by Mu Qingli’s side was, therefore, not misguided.

‘My tale is told, and my stomach still feels rather empty,’ she declared, casually wiping the corner of her lips before rising to resume her meal at the dining table.

‘I have a persistent feeling… that I’ve forgotten something,’ Lin Mo’s voice suddenly drifted from behind her.

‘You must abandon this habit of forgetting things,’ Ji Xue chided, reaching for a piece of pastry. ‘You are to serve me from now on; how can you possibly manage if you continue like this?’

‘Oh! I remember now!’ His voice brightened perceptibly.

Meals, by long-standing tradition, always adhered to a strict time limit.

The moment the allotted time elapsed—

Before his words could fully form, a blinding white light abruptly swallowed their entire field of vision.

Once the intense light dissipated, Ji Xue’s delicate hand, still poised to retrieve from the meal box, remained suspended in the air. Both she and Lin Mo now found themselves within a pavilion crafted from verdant bamboo, a half-finished cup of tea still warm upon the stone table.

‘So, they’ve also ‘invited’ us out.’

Lin Mo scratched his head awkwardly, a blush creeping up his neck.

Ji Xue’s forehead was veined with prominent blue lines, and the corner of her mouth twitched incessantly.

‘I haven’t had enough to eat yet… why didn’t you inform me sooner…?’

‘Ah… Your Highness… I… I genuinely forgot…’

‘Your pay will be docked.’

Ji Xue’s two frigid words delivered an immediate verdict, sending a sudden chill through Lin Mo’s very core!

He instantly prostrated himself on the ground, clutching Ji Xue’s thigh and wailing, “No, Your Highness! I’ll do anything! Please don’t dock my pay! This humble one simply cannot endure it!”

For some inexplicable reason, that particular exchange felt distinctly off-kilter.

‘You’ll do anything?’ Ji Xue’s eyes narrowed slightly. ‘Truly?’

‘Of course! Just don’t dock my pay! You can make me do anything at all!’

Ji Xue offered a faint smile. ‘This Princess requires a personal carriage… you understand…’

‘Right away!’

Lin Mo grasped her meaning instantly! He immediately ducked beneath Ji Xue, hoisting her onto his shoulders from below!

He then bolted out of the bamboo grove!

‘That’s not what I meant! I—’

Before she could utter another word, Lin Mo charged forth, causing Ji Xue to collide head-first with a crossbeam.

Ji Xue’s head, being no match for the sturdy crossbeam, instantly sent her into a faint.

From that day forward, the residents of the Hall of Clarity bore witness to a novel form of ‘cruelty’!

Rumor had it that Disciple Lin, a subordinate of the Imperial Princess, employed this particular atrocity to punish those who dared defy her, an act deemed utterly shameless!

It was whispered that the condemned had their feet hoisted onto Disciple Lin’s shoulders, leaving them to dangle freely, thereby offering an unimpeded view beneath their skirts!

Such a method was, indeed, truly malicious…