Lanke Chess Edge

Chapter 450: Relocating Xianxia Island; Ji Yuan Returns Home

So where were the seemingly divine figures these people mentioned?Although Ji Yuan and Chang Yi had asked someone else to deliver the message, they had not yet left. At this moment, they were standing in the cemetery of Maotan Village. However, even if someone were to pass by, they would not be able to see them. The local Land God was beside them.

They now stood in front of the grave of the armored warrior ghost, or more precisely, the joint grave of the two recently deceased soldiers. After all, the people of Maotan Village only buried the strangers’ bodies, they couldn’t possibly give each household their own grave.

At this moment, the leading armored soldier in the grave had awakened and was sitting above his grave, telling Ji Yuan and Chang Yi about his experiences in life and death.

As darkness fell, the cemetery gradually became “lively,” with the ghosts of the armored soldiers and other ghosts emerging from the graves.

An ordinary person would probably be terrified at this scene, but Ji Yuan, Chang Yi, and the Land God naturally didn’t have any particular reaction.

After listening to the soldier recount his life story, Ji Yuan and the others understood that this man had not been particularly special in life. He had originally been just a lowly squad leader, later promoted to the lieutenant general’s personal guard. His military camp was not far from Dahe County, but a mutiny occurred in the army, and he and the general died in the chaos. Their bodies drifted to this side with the river.

However, this armored soldier did have some extraordinary qualities. Ji Yuan was more inclined to believe that he died too young; if he had lived longer, he might have achieved something great in the future.

As for whether he had been a pillar of the court or a force of the rebellion, it was hard to say. After all, ghosts had their own scales of judgement. Most unusual was the fact that this man could act on his thoughts, not just follow the crowd.

In fact, most people had their own scales in their hearts. Both good people and bad people could distinguish good and evil. Even those who claimed not to understand were often just pretending to be ignorant despite very well knowing the truth. Most of them were just following the majority, while those like the armored warrior who could stand out were relatively rare.

“So what are your plans for the future? The underworld cannot tolerate ghosts who form an army.”

Ji Yuan asked, and the entire cemetery fell silent.

“Then we won’t form an army. We can stay in our graves, or perhaps we can be sent to the Ghost City of the underworld.”

The Land God nodded.

“There are more ghosts in the underworld than living people in the mortal world right now, and we are short-handed. Under normal circumstances, we would not dare to use you casually. But after this battle against the plague demons, I can vouch for you, and I guarantee that the underworld will find a use for you. Although you may not gain the status of underworld officials for a long time, it would still at least be a legitimate job in the underworld.”

The Land God’s words greatly appealed to the ghosts at the cemetery; working in the underworld would be far better than what they were doing now.

Ji Yuan originally thought about whether to try to get these ghosts to go to the Endless Ghost City, but ghosts, like humans, had a strong attachment to their homeland. It would be a good for them to stay, especially since they would be given legitimate jobs in the underworld, which was much better than going to the underworld’s Ghost City. So he didn’t say anything.

“If the underworld is willing, it wouldn’t be bad for you to go there.”

After thinking for a moment, Ji Yuan added to the Land God’s words.

“You can mention me and Mr. Chang to them as appropriate. I believe that the underworld would expedite things a bit more, saving you a lot of trouble.”

The Land God quickly bowed and expressed his gratitude.

“This humble deity obeys the decree!”

“Hmm.”

Ji Yuan looked up at the night sky and then exchanged a glance with Chang Yi.

“Mr. Chang, let’s go.”

“Alright.”

So the two bowed slightly to the Land God and the ghosts, and rode directly away on the clouds as the ghosts and Land God watched them leave with unwavering respect.

However, as the clouds and mist receded, a faint light shone back into the cemetery. After the light vanished, it transformed into two spiritual coins that appeared in the hands of the armored soldiers.

…

Flying through the sky under the stars and moon, the two naturally headed southeast. On their way back, Ji Yuan finally had a suitable opportunity to ask Chang Yi a question.

“The northwestern branch of Xianxia Island was destroyed by demons. Will you send someone else to rebuild the mountain gate here?”

The cultivators of Xianxia Island had a branch sect here, which was quite effective in deterring demons and evil spirits. Even if the mortal world was in great chaos, with demons, monsters, and spirits, they could not take things too far. Now that the branch had been destroyed wouldn’t there be a vacuum?

However, Chang Yi’s answer put Ji Yuan at ease.

“If our Xianxia Island were to abandon this mountain gate, wouldn’t that mean that we immortal cultivators are afraid of demons? Even for the sake of saving face, our sect leader would not give up this location. Moreover, those surviving branch disciples would be equally unwilling to swallow this insult. Although mortals call us immortals, we still have tempers.”

Ji Yuan smiled.

“No one can claim immortals don’t have emotions.”

“Exactly!”

On the journey here, they had set up an array formation and flown a long time at great speed. Returning, they didn’t need to rush, so their flight naturally took even longer. Half a month had passed and they still hadn’t spotted the country of Dazhen. Instead, Chang Yi received a special message.

On that day, Chang Yi and Ji Yuan, who were riding on clouds, suddenly saw a streak of light flying in from the horizon. It was very fast, but in Ji Yuan’s eyes, it was lifeless.

“Mr. Ji, this is a message sent by flying sword from Xianxia Island.”

True disciples of Xianxia Island would leave their spiritual aura at the sect. If there was an important matter within the sect, they could send out a sword or other spiritual artifact. With their aura, the disciple’s approximate location could be calculated, and their location pinpointed using the energy to send a message.

Before Chang Yi could finish explaining, the radiant light had already arrived. He reached out and beckoned, and the light immediately flew into his hand and remained still. Ji Yuan examined it closely and found it to be a small sword, only the length of a palm. It was rather more like a dagger, except that it had a very short hilt.

Chang Yi traced the blade of the small flying sword with his sword fingers, concentrating for a moment as if listening to something. After a few breaths, he turned to Ji Yuan, cupped his hands in a bow, and spoke.

“Mr. Ji, there are urgent matters at the sect, so I must take my leave.”

Having spent some time with Ji Yuan, Chang Yi had come to understand Ji Yuan’s temperament, so he was no longer as careful with his words as before and was more frank. As it was better to be more open and honest, he added:

“The island is currently investigating the previous incidents involving evil spirits and demons, and is also planning to relocate the island. Therefore, it is not convenient for us to receive guests at the moment. Once the relocation is completed, I will personally travel to Ning’an County to invite you to visit Xianxia Island!”

Relocating the island?

Ji Yuan was slightly startled. Xianxia Island itself was not exactly small. After all, with cultivators flying around, a small area would feel cramped. Moreover, a sect like Xianxia Island was probably some kind of blessed land or even a hidden paradise. Moving it would be no small feat.

‘Is it truly possible to move mountains and fill seas?’

Despite his surprise, Ji Yuan didn’t show it on his face; he simply returned the salute by bowing to Chang Yi.

“Mr. Chang, you should go ahead. We can meet again at the Cultivator’s Grand Assembly. Hmm, you’ll be there, right?”

“I will be there! Of course I will! Mr. Ji, until we meet again!”

“Until we meet again!”

After bidding each other farewell, Chang Yi stepped off of the cloud beneath his feet, transforming into a beam of radiant light. In an instant, his speed increased dramatically, and he shot off towards the southeast.

Ji Yuan paused in the air for a moment, looked down, shook his head, and continued flying towards home. He really didn’t want to go for a swim down there right now.

It took about ten more days to return to Ning’an County. Even now, Ji Yuan felt he had flown enough. It was no wonder that cultivators, even though they could learn the art of flight after reaching a certain level, still had creations like the Realm-Crossing Ferry. Long-distance travel was indeed more comfortable that way, especially one traveled alone.

Of course, if Ji Yuan really wanted to chat, he could release all the his calligraphy spirits, which would make things more lively than a vegetable market. But since he was traveling in the sky, he decided against it.

It is now the middle of the third lunar month, the season of renewal. As Ji Yuan gradually descended, he could see the ground is ablaze with red and green hues, with vegetation sprouting and growing, and flowers like as azaleas and peach blossoms in full bloom.

Upon landing outside Ning’an County, Ji Yuan’s nose twitched as he smelled a unique floral fragrance wafting over—it was the jujube tree’s blossoms from his own yard.

‘They bloomed earlier than usual this year?’

However, this jujube tree was no longer an ordinary tree; it could decide when to bloom and didn’t need to worry about the flowering season.

Upon returning to Ning’an County, no one recognized Ji Yuan when he entered the town, so no one greeted him. However, as soon as Ji Yuan turned out of the alley outside Tian Niu Lane, the little girl’s clear voice came from the alley.

“Grandpa, Grandpa, Mr. Ji is back!”

The voice belonged to Sun Yaya. Sun Fu, who heard the voice, was looking in the direction his granddaughter was pointing when he saw Ji Yuan, dressed in white, walking gracefully towards him.

“Mr. Ji, you’re back?”

“Yes, I’m back.”

Ji Yuan answered with a smile as he approached the noodle stall, reaching out to pat Sun Yaya’s head. This time, the little girl didn’t flinch or dodge.

Looking around the stall, he could see that there wasn’t a single customer, which was quite unusual.

“Oh, welcome back. Braised noodles and offal?”

Ji Yuan thought for a moment and then nodded.

“Thank you for your trouble.”

So Sun Fu happily got to work.

After eating noodles at the Sun family’s noodle stall, he greeted two people he was familiar with on Tian Niu Lane, then went straight back to Ju’an Pavilion.

As soon as Ji Yuan opened the door, he saw that the jujube tree was in full bloom, and a swarm of bees was busily flitting among the flowers.

“Excellent, we’ll have some spirit honey to eat. Who knows, we might even be able to refine some honey crystals.”

Bees had a very short lifespan, only a month or two. However, this bee colony was likely from the same batch as last year’s so their hive was likely also in the same place. It would be very easy for Ji Yuan to get some honey later.

Once home, there was no need to be reserved. Ji Yuan took out the Sword Intent Inscription from his sleeve, let the chattering little ones make noise, and went inside to sleep.

Skills truly did grow stronger and more refined with use. After unleashing the Heaven-Rending Sword Technique, he gained some insight into the power of heaven and earth, which led to some new ideas about the long-stagnant Dimensional Storage technique. However, he still felt unsatisfied. In any case, he decided to take a nap first, and refine his cultivation in his dreams.

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